The Twelve Kingdoms
| The Twelve Kingdoms | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Original Manga | Fuyumi Ono (Light Novels) |
| Director/Artist | Tsuneo Kobayashi |
| Format | Anime(TV) |
| Made By | Studio Pierrot |
| Episode Length | 25 minutes |
| # of Eps/Volumes | 45 |
Contents
Genre
Sum it up in a Sentence:
High school students are transported to a magical world.
Main Description
An elaborate fantasy world steeped in other-worldly traditions, monsters, wars, and people. The eponymous Twelve Kingdoms comprise its land, and a multitude of people inhabit them. Our chief protagonist is Yoko Nakajima, a shy girl who feels alienated from her friends and family due to her strangely red hair. After a series of events in which a strange man visits her at school and a monstrous bird attacks them both, she finds herself transported into the Twelve Kingdoms where she must realize her destiny.
However Yoko's tale is not the only one to be found within the Twelve Kingdoms, for it is a place with a deep history and perhaps even deeper future.
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Personal Opinions
Guyver
I really wanted this story to keep going since it seemed like there's a lot more to tell. A few low spots but pretty good through-out. The characters made me hate them sometimes but most of the time that was short lived. I was wanting a "By This Axe I Rule" moment from the Queen of Kei near the end but never got it really. 8/10
Clanpot Shake
I pretty much agree with Guyver. It's a really good show, but they don't go into enough detail. I imagine the manga is better. Still, very much worth watching.
Nate RFB
The best description I can give towards TK is that it feels like a Japanese take on a Tolkien epic. Despite the fact that we are only privy to a few of the kingdoms, there are constant hints of a greater story and history within every plot line. It utilizes a large cast that are all sufficiently developed and succeeds at engrossing the viewer/reader. I believe the character development is the largest asset this story holds, for by the end of the main plot everyone is dramatically different (for the better) from how they started out. This needs to be emphasized I feel because many of the characters, Yoko in particular, can be considered annoying at first. On the flip side, the disadvantage of having so many hints of other stories to be told makes the story as a whole feel incomplete. Indeed, the anime leaves off before wrapping up several plot threads, and even the original novels themselves have not seen much activity in the last decade. Still, Yoko's story is sufficiently developed and I do not feel the lack of a final ending should dissuade people from watching this series or reading the light novels. If it's fantasy you want without any of the usual anime frills, Twelve Kingdoms is a very down to earth story that treats its characters competently and aspires for (and mostly achieves in my opinion) greatness.
