(L) Saiunkoku Monogatari (1st Series) The Story of Saiunkoku

[SeijiSensei]

Ep. 38

When Shurrei refers to "that man," is she talking about Sakujun or Ryuuki? I believe she's used that phrase to refer to both of them at different times. I think in the context of most of the episode she's probably referring to Sakujun, but given her upcoming journey could she have been thinking of Ryuuki?

As an ex-academic, I applaud Shurrei and Eigetsu's decision on the best way forward for Brown Province.

[SeijiSensei]

I know if I watch episode 39 once more, I'll cry all over again. What a lovely ending to an extraordinary first season. May all the gods watch over Sai Yukino so she can continue to tell us more about the lives of these wonderful characters. And, may their blessings extend to the We Suck and Shadow Dreams teams without whose work I would never have been able to enjoy this series.

Let the second season begin!

[usagijen]

Originally Posted by KingMoo-chan

I adore the entire first season, and this one seems to have started promisingly and moved straight into a balance of plot (with Ryuuki's marriage situation and Kurou's plans for Shuurei) and comedy, with the familiar characters of the capital finally returning after all the time spent in Sa Province.

The new OP sequence is also interesting, too, especially as it reveals a couple of characters that make me wonder. The brown-haired girl that appears at the start and end seems likely to be the Rose Princess due to her hair ornament and the way she is compared with Shuurei, and I deduced that the seemingly unknown man who appears next to Son Taifu in the throne room shot is one head of the Emperor's guards. I must ask, though, if anyone knows who the white-haired bishounen that appears in the opening is.

Spoiler:

My outlandish and supernatural theory is that he is Sakujun, for a number of reasons
-Sakujun "died," but clearly has another role in the plot given his body's removal
-Enjun is supposedly the Sage of Sa, and yet he lived a normal lifetime, as his backstory, Chuusou and Eiki atest to, while the Sage of Shi Shou Taishi appears immortal and was supposedly around at the start of the kingdom
-With Enjun now gone to another world, the Sage could need a new body to continue to use, and Sakujun is the only fitting member of the Sa clan given the clan's situation
-He appears in the OP around the same time Sakujun did, and Sakujun is absent, although this could be brought down to the secrecy of Sakajun's continued survival
-Something about his appearance, especially his eyes, reminds me of Sakujun

My other suggestion is that he could be related to the situation with Yougetsu and Eigetsu, although if that was the case he probably should have appeared in the OP with those two and Kourin.

Finally, a "Rin Sen'ya" appears on tne ANN cast list for season two. I vaguely recall a mention of a Lin merchant family that Sakujun may have killed. ("On top of that, Shuurei has learned that the Lin clan was killed by the Satsukinzoku a few days earlier," from episode 26) Perhaps this, therefore, is a member of the real Lin family.

I also must wonder who the last two characters on the official website are. (http://www.kadokawa.co.jp/saiunkoku/almanach/index.php) Their appearance on that page would suggest they are important to the future plot, although they do not seem to enter the tale until around volume 10.

didn't notice about the appearance of Rin Senya in ANN's cast till you mentioned it o_o;; this could either be the real one from the Lin clan, or... Sakujun, revived? o_o

all this is making me want to read the novels... *to read or not to read?* >.<'''

on a side note, I'm just 2/3 through the series (till ep27.. hoping to finish the 1st season by this week), and I just had to let out some comments / rants I had regarding Sakujun being Shuurei's weakness... sigh... anyways, those who want to read it can just go here

[Ch1kane]

[QUOTE=The new OP sequence is also interesting, too, especially as it reveals a couple of characters that make me wonder. The brown-haired girl that appears at the start and end seems likely to be the Rose Princess due to her hair ornament and the way she is compared with Shuurei, and I deduced that the seemingly unknown man who appears next to Son Taifu in the throne room shot is one head of the Emperor's guards. I must ask, though, if anyone knows who the white-haired bishounen that appears in the opening is.[/QUOTE]

wow you sure have shape eyes! i din even realise there this brown hair girl i think. since she's a princess i think she's going to be matchmake to Ryuuki ( he needs a empress/concubine) and i just realise that Saiunkoku Monogatari sure have some popular seiyuus

[SeijiSensei]

I need some enlightenment on the ages of Seiran and Ryuuki. I've been rewatching season one from the beginning, and at one point Seiran (Seien) claims to be 21. Ryuuki, I believe, is supposed to be 19. Yet there were six brothers, and I think Seien was second in birth order, while Ryuuki was last. Both brothers speak as if all six of them were conceived by the same mother, so I would have thought Seien had to be much more than two years older than Ryuuki. Ryuuki says that Seien left when Ryuuki was six. If we imagine that in the flashback scenes Ryuuki is 5-6 (which looks plausible given his character model), that would have made Seien 8 or so. He looks much more like he's 10-12 in those scenes.

I always pictured Seiran as about 24-26, which fits better with the flashbacks. It also makes him a bit old to be a potential husband to Shurrei as well, since she starts out in the show at 16.

[poisonakki]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

I need some enlightenment on the ages of Seiran and Ryuuki. I've been rewatching season one from the beginning, and at one point Seiran (Seien) claims to be 21. Ryuuki, I believe, is supposed to be 19. Yet there were six brothers, and I think Seien was second in birth order, while Ryuuki was last. Both brothers speak as if all six of them were conceived by the same mother, so I would have thought Seien had to be much more than two years older than Ryuuki. Ryuuki says that Seien left when Ryuuki was six. If we imagine that in the flashback scenes Ryuuki is 5-6 (which looks plausible given his character model), that would have made Seien 8 or so. He looks much more like he's 10-12 in those scenes.

I always pictured Seiran as about 24-26, which fits better with the flashbacks. It also makes him a bit old to be a potential husband to Shurrei as well, since she starts out in the show at 16.

The Shi brothers do not have the same mothers. The previous emperor, Senka,
had multiple concubines so neither Ryuuki or seiran and their brothers have the same mother. Think about it. If Seiran and Ryuuki had the same mother than both Seiran and Ryuuki would have been exiled since Seiran was exiled because his maternal grandfather planned a coup.
Seiran is 26 at the beginning of the story (he lied about his age)
Ryuuki was 19 at the beginning of the story.

Hope that helps

[Nightengale]

Originally Posted by katyqueen

Does anyone know when that would be with subtitle?

Patience is golden. There will be subs in time.

I just rewatched about 20 or so key episodes of Season 1, and it really made a lot of difference in perception for me.

I've always thought that the first few episodes were the black sheeps of SaiMono, since they gave a weird first impression that may turn off potential viewers with yaoi-ish vibes among other things, but looking back, a lot of pieces really fit into place even though I still think it could've been animated better. It's like every single second of the anime be it from episode 1 all the way to episode 39 slowly, but surely layed out every single foundation to build up the show to how it ended in Season 1, be it Shuurei's slow climb to being a government official and so many other plot and character developments. Sai Yukino officially rocks. Easily my 2nd favourite novel-to-anime novellist, 2nd only to Fuyumi Ono with her 12 Kingdoms and Ghost Hunt work which were also great.

Easily the most underrated show in recent years in my opinion. It may not as vague as some even more obscure series, but the quality of the writing and storytelling in SaiMono deserves way more exposure than what it's getting.

Watching Seirei no Moribito for example, made me feel weird in a lot of ways. SaiMono is a great show, but like I said, it suffered from mediocre visual and atmospheric direction. It has strong pacing and great stories/characters, so it's still a great show, but I can't help but lament the thought of SaiMono getting Seirei-level...or hell, even other Madhouse-level of strong, solid visual direction which SaiMono so deserves, due to it's psuedo-oriental historical feel which could've been so strongly enforced by detailed background and faithful animation. Kairi Yura's illustrations and manga of SaiMono showed perfectly the level of vibrancy, detail and colours in SaiMono that would've been works of wonders, had it retained more than 60% of it in animation.

[KingMoo-chan]

Originally Posted by Impz

Oh...is he. I am still wondering what is it all about. I personally thought

Spoiler:

Sakujun, and perhaps the immortal of Sakujun. I guess I was wrong of sorts...

Thank goodness for your summaries, Impz, they're invariably useful for confirming my understanding of the episodes.

With regards to Riou,

Spoiler:

I thought, or was that hoped, that he was Sakajun, based on a long theory about sages, but he certainly seems to be Riou now. I knew Riou existed, but I did not think he would have as large a role in the tale as the opening sequence seemed to indicate. Still, I'm glad Riou has such a design, because the magic behind his character seems to demand one. If Shunki, with some blood of the Hyou clan through Eiki, can use magic powerful enough to command others, who knows what Riou will be able to do?

I notice that he holds the rose as shown in the new opening sequence. I think he will be key to the plot-line revolving around the Bara-hime story, and I wonder if he is looking for his own Rose Princess to give the rose to. His knowledge of Shuurei, perhaps, could relate to her mother, who is also of the Hyou line.

Sakajun, on the other hand, simply must be alive in some form or another, and must have a role in the plot. The disappearance of his body must point to a further purpose for his character, and so further interactions with Shuurei. At least, I hope.

[usagijen]

I am almost done watching the first season of Saiunkoku (4 episodes to go), and I was amazed by how the story was wonderfully weaved from the beginning. At this point, Sakujun has really growed on me, but nevertheless there are still some questions that I need to be clarified with, specifically regarding one decision that Shuurei made... I have made some speculations about it, but I'm not quite certain of them... so it'll be a great if you guys can help clear my mind off this

Spoiler:

The decision of Shuurei I'm referring to is the decision that she made to go to the Chrysanthemum Manor all by herself... Why do you think she decided to go there all by herself when she already knew the danger that awaits her?

I thought that perhaps it's because Shuurei thought she was prepared for it, and that she thinks she would be able to handle it... she didn't think that she would run out of strength just like that (judging from the way things happened...)

Another speculation I had was that perhaps Shuurei wanted to confront Sakujun face-to-face, and either (1)know his true identity (with the hunch that he is Sa Sakujun), or (2) have this little hope that he is not Sakujun but the Rin Senya she [thought] she knew.
=> which still seems to reflect some wavering on Shuurei's part... probably due to disbelief that "Rin Senya" was not the kind of person she thought (and also because of the undeniable (and perhaps passing kind of) attraction she had on Sakujun.

But once again, the question as to "Why did she go there ALL BY HERSELF then?", remains a question... What would she have achieved (or thought of achieving) by doing so? Considering that she could've known about his identity even if she's not alone (and has someone to accompany her). Shuurei might have been courageous in terms of doing this all by herself (and probably didn't want to drag other people into this mess), but I think it was really a not-so-wise decision, considering the danger that she already knew she would be in in (Ryuuren already knows this danger, that's why he immediately told Seiran that Shuurei is in trouble)

I still can't help but think of "What-ifs" in that particular episode... like, "What if Seiran and his company didn't come to her aid that time?" I was thinking that something would've really happened to Shuurei because she seemed to have run out of strength already (physically that is... in my opinion...)

I think that's pretty much about it... hope people can help clear this up for me... >.<

That said, I really have to go finish watching this and watch season 2... >o<

[SeijiSensei]

I have an even better question along these same lines: Why did Ryukki go alone to rescue Shurrei in the first story arc? Why didn't Ran Shogun say, "You're the emperor. Of course, you can't go alone; I'll send along some guards to help you." Or, even more plausibly, "You stay here, and I'll send some of the imperial guard to rescue her."

I think the answer to both these questions is simply dramatic license.

[NoSanninWa]

Because he couldn't leave Shuurei's rescue to others and still be a man! Or so someone would probably say...

[usagijen]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

I have an even better question along these same lines: Why did Ryukki go alone to rescue Shurrei in the first story arc? Why didn't Ran Shogun say, "You're the emperor. Of course, you can't go alone; I'll send along some guards to help you." Or, even more plausibly, "You stay here, and I'll send some of the imperial guard to rescue her."

I think the answer to both these questions is simply dramatic license.

Someone from the Saiunkoku LJ community helped me clear my mind off these questions... and just to sum up the answers they gave me:

Spoiler:

Unlike Ryuuki's decision to save Shuurei in the first story arc, the reason behind Shuurei's decision of going to the manor wasn't simply for dramatic license reasons. Remember that Shuurei made a promise with "Li Senya" before, that she will go to the Chrysanthemum Manor to visit him. And with the type of person as Shuurei is, she doesn't back down and keeps her promise, despite the foreboding danger that awaits her.

Another thing that perhaps prompted her to pursue this decision was that she had this little hope that her presumption of Li Senya being Sa Sakujun was not true (and wanted to confirm that with her own eyes), since the image of "Li Senya" (being a womanizer and all) didn't quite fit the image of being a coldblooded murderer.

She knew she would be in danger, and prepared herself for a life and death type of situation. Little did she know that the danger she would be in is not quite the life and death kind of situation she imagined, but rather a "sexual danger"... Shuurei knows he is evil, but was naive and didn't quite know how physically evil men could get (as senbonbongenma puts it).

So there, Shuurei learned from that experienced and came to realize that she has "gaps in her defense against men" (as she mentions in the last episode)

[MemoryDragon]

I know better than to ask when, but this is more of an "if" question. Has anyone picked up subbing the second season? I'm starting to get worried. I'd be more than happy to wait patiently if these fears are rested.

[LKK]

Shadow Dreams plans to continue its subbing into season 2. However, that won't happen until the team finishes season 1 of course.

[Kourika]

Usagijen, from what I can tell from flipping through the novels Suou and Seiga end up working for Shuurei later in the series...in the latest novel, Seiga gets a bit, well, fresh with Shuurei as well, to put it mildly.

The novels are definitely worth reading if you can following Japanese or Chinese (I assume they've been translated) because there's a lot of stuff you can create in your own mind while you read the text. There's some stuff you'd rather not think about while reading the text (Shou-Taishi, quit having such creepy dialogue when you talk about Sa Enjun, thankyewverymuch).

I'm eagerly awaiting fansubs of Season 2, but I'd happily take raw if I could find them. Ah well, patience is a virtue.

[MemoryDragon]

Originally Posted by LKK

Shadow Dreams plans to continue its subbing into season 2. However, that won't happen until the team finishes season 1 of course.

Ah. Many thanks. T___T That some how just made me more depressed, but I can still hope they come out before it gets liscenced, right? ^^;;;

[kinbari08]

Shadow Dreams has another 6 episodes before they finish the 1st season. I was watching their releases but switched to We-Suck's at ep. 34 since I couldn't wait any longer. We-suck finished season 1 and I'm holding onto the hope that they will continue onto the second season. They were a little slow starting out season 1 last year if I rememebr correctly so hopefully we will see something soon.

[usagijen]

Originally Posted by Kourika

Usagijen, from what I can tell from flipping through the novels Suou and Seiga end up working for Shuurei later in the series...in the latest novel, Seiga gets a bit, well, fresh with Shuurei as well, to put it mildly.

The novels are definitely worth reading if you can following Japanese or Chinese (I assume they've been translated) because there's a lot of stuff you can create in your own mind while you read the text. There's some stuff you'd rather not think about while reading the text (Shou-Taishi, quit having such creepy dialogue when you talk about Sa Enjun, thankyewverymuch).

I'm eagerly awaiting fansubs of Season 2, but I'd happily take raw if I could find them. Ah well, patience is a virtue.

thanks for telling me that... and wow... that 'something' with Seiga made me even want to read the novel now... >.>'''

but about "creating the scenes" with your own mind, hehe... that could be quite dangerous... LOL ;P

[Nightengale]

Originally Posted by Impz

hahahah, that is extremely dangerous, especially when you have a very fertile mind.

It's still creepy in the anime. (( I get shivers every time I rewatch the episode where Sa was creepily fondling the ash-bottle and calling out Enjun's name with those... un-Sa-ish voice of his. )) Thank god we probably won't see too much of that anymore.

Haha, Reishin the pedo.

It's even worse if you read the Special Chapter for the SaiMono manga volume 1.

[MUAHAHAHAHAHA]

Oh when will they shift their attention from Sa Province?And i dont want Shuurei to go back,because that will mean less screen time for Ryuukie and his merry friends.

Did anyone read the novels here?I want to read but sadly i am a Chinese but i am not chinese educated so i cannot understand a word.Did the anime follow the novels closely?Can anyone tell me anything shock and big i can expect from the novel?(Aside of Ryuuki being forced to look for a concubine)

It has always struck my mind that Ryuuren may be a spy secretly working for the government,but i guess that theory of mine is a bit too far-fetched

And the guy with silver hair...i am getting addicted to SaiMono.It really intrigue me