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Saiunkoku Monogatari
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Animation - 8.8 |
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Sound - 8.3 |
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Story - 8.9 |
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Character - 8.7 |
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Value - 8.4 |
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Enjoyment - 8.9 |
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Average - 8.7 |
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| Average |
6.7 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| This is the story of a go-get-em girl who breaks boundaries in a China-like dynastic empire. Long and very long, it at times engages and at others loses its way.
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Rinoa |
(2008-03-16 21:49:47) 2008-03-16 21:44:30 |
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| Average |
9.8 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Overall, Saiunkoku Monogatari easily is one of my favorite anime series. The story follows Shuurei Kou, a poor 16-year-old noble, who wants to become a government official. The problem is, females aren't allowed to hold government office... but throughout the series, she pursues that dream.
It begins with an arrangement to get Shuurei, a teacher, to move into the palace and influence the 19-year-old emperor to get involved in political affairs. She gets the status of concubine (if I understood the subs correctly), but she is convinced that the emperor likes men, so her virtue is safe. We later find the situation to be far more complex, of course, and I won't explain it because I'd give away the story.
In terms of genre, Saiunkoku Monogatari seems to be drama, comedy, historical, reverse-harem, and a coming-of-age story. There isn't much love-romance, but there is definitely romantic tension throughout. There is more than enough bishounen to go around, and the individual characters' stories are very entertaining to find out about.
Pros:
- Nice animation;
- Refreshing story about a woman attempting to overcome the gender barriers to political office in an ancient kingdom;
- Complex character backgrounds;
- Coming-of-age for several characters... you watch them mature through the series.
Cons:
- Music gets a little repetitive, but it is enjoyable.
For more info, see my detailed review.
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nauXolo |
(2007-09-29 05:03:02) 2007-09-29 04:58:57 |
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| Average |
7.2 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| Based on 20 episodes:
This anime lacks any real tension. For this first half of the 39 episodes, everything has essentially taken place on the grounds of the Imperial Palace of Saiunkoku. In other words, we don't see much action - just a lot of political drama, discrimination against women, and funny imperial officials (and emperor!) that if existed in real life, would lead to the downfall of a country.
However, Saiunkoku Monogatari has a strong storyline. Even though it follows a linear progression with Kou Shuurei gradually building up her respect points and gaining higher and higher positions, the story has plenty of things going on. Again, the main problem lies in the fact that there is absolutely no tension. You kind of just sit there watching this anime, idly nodding your head. There aren't really that many events that make you open your jaw in surprise. Nevertheless, there's plenty of story elements to follow, which would most likely be more successful in a book-format. We have political dramas - where corrupt officials like to bully other officials. Family dramas - where noble families vie for power. Romance dramas - where almost all the male bishounen characters have some sort of romantic or attraction towards the plain girl. Etc...
Characters - okay, I really don't like these characters. They're more political pieces than characters. In other words, while the Emperor may act naive and stupid, his relationship with the female lead amounts to nothing. This is the case with all the other officials, friends, and family members. Rather than thinking about them as potential romance interest, as was advertised and focused on in the first few arcs, it is more interesting to focus on the characters based on their rank and motivations. I commend the storyline for giving each character a semi-rich past, but I feel the characters (here and now) are lacking.
Overall, I had really high hopes for Saiunkoku Monogatari. I was hoping for a rich fusion between personal and political, as well as a realistic and interesting fictional world. I have yet to fully involve myself into this anime, but I have high hopes. Gain, this anime needs more tense situations to make it more enjoyable. Nevertheless, Saiunkoku has a detailed storyline, with attention towards interesting scenarios. Try not to put too much emphasis on the characters, and you'll be able to enjoy this more.
I may or may not bother finishing this...
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
9.3 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| This is one very very good ancient china story. It has a love story, a coup, power struggles, and bishounen which will go well with the girls. Actually this story was made to go with the girls and clearly shows from the character design. The story is like fushigi yuugi+12 kokuki except there is not really a romance story but more of a nation building thing.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
10.0 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| This is a perfect anime for those who love Junni Kokki and never get to see the end. It is very different from other genre, this genre is the best if you know what I mean, such as Hikaru no Go. If you like "real" romance then you will love Saiunkoku. Plot and story are well made, they don't seem like just made up to fit the time. By the way I just finished watching episode 28 so I know what I am talking about here. Those only watched a few, their review are not as credible.
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| Average |
8.8 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| If you had enjoyed Juuni Kokki (Twelve Kingdoms), Fushigi Yuugi, Harukanaru Toki de Hachiyou shou or somewhere along that line, you are bound to truly enjoy this anime.
The character development for each different character is surprising and refreshing. It gives an insight to each character which many animes fail to do so.
Although plot wise, it consists of mainly various short stories that have a somewhat connection to each other, each story was amusing and enjoyable.
An anime worth re-watching.
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Kazel |
(2006-10-02 21:30:23) 2006-10-02 21:30:22 |
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| Average |
9.2 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| For those fans of Juuni Kokki out there, this is something you've probably been waiting for. After the much-left-to-be-desired indefinite hiatus of 12 Kingdoms, I can honestly say that this anime has filled that niche quite nicely. Sure there aren't all the same qualities and the storylines are completely different, but the colorful backgrounds, dramatic hardships, and explorative character builds are indelible here. Look beyond the shoujo animation style (if you're not a fan of this genre, although fruits basket rocks your face off) and see this anime. You'll be surprised and unable to put it down.
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andy |
(2006-11-04 19:02:46) 2006-09-13 22:25:30 |
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| Average |
6.8 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| I must first declare my distaste for the shojouish character design. But at the same time, i will point out my appreciation for some of the chinese backgrounds etc.
That said, i judged this book by its art style and i'm happy to say that i was wrong. The thing is this anime doesn't fit neatly into the typical shojou category (fruits basket, fushigi yugi), but at the same time, it seems like it is very much marketed towards girls. The main character is very role model like. But as a guy, i too could find many of her traits admirable. At first she whines a little, but she soon drops that side of her almost completely, showing her sense responsibility, ambition, and cleverness.
The rest of the characters are less dimensional than the two main characters (the emperor, and his hired tutor/ temporary wife) but that's typical of supporting characters. Their personalities aren't terribly interesting, but not repusively been-there-done-that cliche either.
The sound is nice. I like both the OP and ED, and some of the erhu and chinese string bgms are very nice. The rest of the stuff has a vague chinese flair, but only the strings really stand out.
There are a lot of sloppy things about the plot. The general setup, having shuurei teach the emperor, doesn't go smoothly with me. It just doesn't seem like a last resort to me. Certain characters are introduced too suddenly, without using much screen time. It's a case of learning their names, and a quirk of theirs or two, but without the amount of screen time really needed to solidly introduce a character, their presence doesn't really stay with you. The political climate is mentioned often, yet not elaborated on in the begining. If it's that central to the story, it deserves a little more attention.
I also have a distaste for the long bits of philosophy stuck in there. It tries a little too hard to inspire, when in reality, every philosophy lesson here has been done by several other anime's, and as anime philosophy classes go, it also suffers from the "oversimplifying the world" syndrome. Not to mention their discussions on philosophy are way over dramatized.
My complaints may seem plentiful, but to be honest, i do enjoy this anime.
*edit
My opinion of the series went down as i went on though. The plot holes were filled nicely, and plot twists were handled smoothly without too much over dramatization, but characters fell deeper into their own cliches, and even the 2 main characters ceased to hold my interest.
While it opens in a different manner than typical shoujou fare, it ends up treading the same path with overly expressive characters and philosophy you would expect to hear in kindergarten.
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DazeD |
2006-07-15 21:18:24 |
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| Average |
8.8 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| To be honest I was a bit skeptical about this anime at first. I'm not one to watch these types of anime. However, I was really surprised by what it presented.
Animation - The art is smooth and clean. Colors are vibrant and very fitting for the anime. Character models are nice. However, most of the males characters do seem to have the same design aside from the clothes and hairs.
Sound - Voice acting is very fitting for the characters. However, I was not a fan of the openning and ending themes.
Story - I find the story very unique. A prince ascending to the throne. He's kind and sof-spoken. However, he knows nothing of politics nor care about it. His atitude and motivations changed as a talented and brilliant young woman came into his life as a wife and ... a teacher? =P
Character - The cast is vast and interesting. Reminds me somewhat of Fruit Basket. The male characters proposed little interest to me. What was interesting was the heroine. She was fully capable. She is brilliant, kind, hardworking, and everything else. In short term she's almost perfect. Truly a turn for the better from recent anime titles where the heroines are a klutz or act idiotic.
This is one of the many good animes to come out this year. Truly worth a watch. However, the value was not perfect due to the fansub. The team is "We Suck" and they do some weird subbing. One of which is where the prince keeps referring to himself as "We". I am one to pay attention to little details. Aside from that, the anime is great.
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| Average |
9.5 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| This anime is surprisingly funny, yet remains sentimental. For some reason, I get hooked on anime with a strong, yet innocent (somewhat) female lead and a seemingly weak male lead (although in reality he is strong).
The dramatic irony in this anime makes it very interesting as well as the attitude of the female lead.
The animation is good, and the sound is excellent. The voice acting is very well done and the story makes you want to watch the next episode right away.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
9.2 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| This anime is Fairly new and i've only watched 3 episodes and so far, i find myself looking forward to the next episode release!
The story took place in ancient china, about the same era as Fushigi Yuugi BUT without the drama. It's light and comedic (AND FULL OF YUMMY BISHIES X3)
It's basically about a 19-year old emperor who lacks the will to do his job of governing so they picked Kou Shurei, a girl coming from a poor but noble family, to be his wife.
Anyway, the animation is amazing, but not so much as the sounds. The story is fairly good and the characters are enjoyable! As far as im concerned, i like this anime :D
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