Anime Reviews ⇢ The Twelve Kingdoms
The Twelve Kingdoms
Juuni Kokuki
Average Rating: 9.5 / 10

Hits: 13238
Ratings: 2
About these ratings

Add your own Rating/Review of this Title
Content Overview
Violence: 3.5 / 10
Nudity: 2 / 10
Theo Theme: 4 / 10
Neg Theme: 1.5 / 10

Brief Description:
Upon being confronted by a mysterious stranger, Youko is told of her destiny and pulled away into another world. Thus begins Youko's perilous journey to the Kingdom of Kei on an epic road of espionage, terror, and betrayal. The mystic world of The Twelve Kingdoms assails her with one challenge after another. Will Youko embrace her destiny? (Amazon.com)

Suggested Age: 13+
Year Released: 2002-2003
Licensor: Media Blasters
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=11200
User Reviews
03/20/2012: Atria35 [ Already Rated ]

To be honest, the synopsis sounds like a really bad fanfiction. This might be why a lot of people would approach this with trepidation- who wants a bad fanfiction with Mary-Sues and over the top romances? Thankfully, this is nothing like what it sounds like. This is about a girl finding herself and coming to terms with her destiny… both the good and the bad.

This presents great takes on fantasy tropes. Yoko understands the language of the nation, but her friends do not. Her fate, which is thrust upon her, is constantly questioned by herself and others. She isn’t perfect, coming to terms with very real inner struggles and striving to be a better person… whoever that person may be. All the characters that are brought to the forefront of the storyline are fully realized people with desires, flaws, issues, and make this a story that is as much about the people as it is about the rulers and the events that happen within the kingdom.

This is a very deliberately paced. There will be bursts of action and flurries of exposition, each with its purpose in moving the story forward. Statecraft is taken into account, teaching both Yoko and the viewers about the nation and its customs as well as providing insight into what is happening and why. The stories of the nations are entwined, as much as politics in real life are. That doesn’t mean this is a snoozefest- there’s double-dealing, shifting alliances, rebellion and war that make up the meat of the story and provide fascinating stories.

It also deals with themes of racism, isolation, abandonment and betrayal, which are told in arcs that again manage to provide a look at the world Yoko has been brought into. I love that this doesn’t focus on one place or time. People and events from all places manage to be the foundations of this anime, some mentioned only briefly or seen in a moment’s scene, but brought back later so that the stories entwine and bring about a full picture of what’s happening. The world-building is superb, and I could get lost in this land of magic time and again.

My only issue was with the last five episodes. Those seemed to drag more than the others- while the story was quite good, it could have been told in fewer episodes, and the moral was a little more heavy-handed than usual. I still enjoyed the show on the whole, though.

Violence/Gore- There is some death, most of it discreet or very brief.

Theological Themes- This story is based on the idea that there is a parallel world. There really isn't much in terms of magic- all the 'magical' creatures are considered perfectly normal and expected, as are their powers and abilities. They aren't considered supernatural, just very honored and important.

Nudity/Sexual Content- The girls are nearly sold into a brothel, but this is only stated and they escape very quickly. They are told about how people of this world get children (by tying a ribbon to a tree and praying for a child. A fruit that holds one grows.)

March, 2012: Rose Faerie [ Already Rated ]

Violence: There is sword fighting, monster slaying, and quite a bit of action. Death occurs, though the scenes are brief. The deaths are never frivolous and always serve a purpose within the story. Blood is minimal.

Sex and Nudity: The most sexual thing that ever comes out of this show is a scene where the girls are almost sold to a brothel. The scene is brief, and the only thing that clues you in is a tastefully worded line. As for nudity, Youko and Yuka are shown in the bath a couple times, though only their upper back and collarbones are ever visible. The Nyokai are magical creatures that seem to possess human and animal physical traits. One of the female Nyokai has the top of a human but doesn't wear a shirt. The vast majority of the time her chest is covered by her hair, and, the few times her chest is shown, she has barbie doll anatomy. I found it very tastefully handled. She is only relevant in the episodes that center on Taiki. A male character can turn into an animal. When he turns back he's naked. However, the camera angles always obscure everything, and he tries to avoid being seen in that state. These scenes are very rare (I believe it happened twice with reason). In general, there was little I found objectionable, due to the tasteful and non sexual handling of the partial nudity.

Theological Themes: There is a whole religion made up for this world. They speak regularly about their god Tentei. I don't remember if they have other gods. The heavens play a huge part in choosing a ruler, and the heavens are said to smite down rulers who fail to rule properly. People can become immortal and have their immortality revoked.

Problematic Themes: I recall exactly three uses of the d-word and one use of the h-word over the course of all 45 episodes. I don't recall any use of any substances.

Overall: I straight up love this show. One thing that I found interesting was its similarity to another anime I enjoyed, Yona of the Dawn. I could write an essay on the similarities, though I will say I found this one to be a tiny bit better and had to knock down my score of Yona in accordance.

The story starts off feeling like a bit of wish fulfillment. An unhappy girl gets pulled into a new world by a mysterious man, intended to be a queen. It sounds like so many bad fan fictions and cheesy YA novels. However, things here aren't as easy as they are in those types of stories.

Hardships and trauma abound as Youko starts her journey. The story also shows us things that happen in the past, as we hear the stories of people who had great influence in the past. The world building is magnificent, and, overall, the story is just plain well written.

The characters are equally well written. Everyone receives exceptional, realistic character development. No character remains unlikable except for those who you are intentionally supposed to dislike. Everyone grows and learns from their mistakes and works to overcome their fatal flaws, even if it doesn't happen overnight.

The art isn't the best, mainly because it's old, and the production likely wasn't high budget. I did like the music.

This title is very underrated. I wish more people knew about it.

I recommend it to teenagers and older (mainly due to hard death scenes and a few of the scenes with Sanshi, in addition to the show generally being really complicated.)

Added: March, 2012