(L) Twelve kingdoms (Juuni Kokki)

[Joojoobees]

I don't remember seeing this posted before, but the author of the novels that were adapted into this anime also wrote another series that was adapted into another anime Ghost Hunt.

[Proto]

Could I remind everyone that this is the discussion thread for the anime, not the novel.

If you wish to ask questions or discuss the novel, then please use the thread located in the Manga forum, Juuni Kokki (Twelves Kingdoms) Novel discussion.

Plus, the novel is licensed by TokyoPop and the first volume has been (or is about to be) released. So, no discussion of translations or scans please.

Amazon link for Twelve Kingdoms novel.

indeed, I was searching the link for the now licensed novels but I had this odd idea that they had been licensed by Del Rey

In any case, sorry for any confusion I may have caused.

[Zappster]

Originally Posted by Joojoobees

I don't remember seeing this posted before, but the author of the novels that were adapted into this anime also wrote another series that was adapted into another anime Ghost Hunt.

Maybe not in this thread but it's mentioned a couple of times at the start of the Ghost Hunt thread

[Jazzrat]

I m surprised this thread still have newer post but then again, i consider 12K a classic and an epic along with animes like Robotechs and etc that's worthy of revisiting from time to time.

While it's a pity that the series was left hanging in the middle of a story arc at the end, but episode 39 pretty much wraps up what i want from the series. It's one of the few series that did an excellent job to transport you to another world and once you got over the initial irritation of Youko's early behaviour, you ll appreciate the series better.

It's one of the few anime endings (episode 39, it even had a different ED) that i consider magnificient and grand. Youko's first Imperial address to the court is probably the most inspiring speech i heard from an anime.

[Joojoobees]

Originally Posted by Jazzrat

I m surprised this thread still have newer post but then again, i consider 12K a classic and an epic along with animes like Robotechs and etc that's worthy of revisiting from time to time.

Yes, for me, 12 Kingdoms is a true classic. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if some future generation has students watch it in school.

Youko's first Imperial address to the court is probably the most inspiring speech i heard from an anime.

I think the themes that are raised in connection with Youko are profound, and have relevance to all of our lives. I love the way her trajectory is compared to other people, first her school friends and then the other two girls who are her "age". It really gives the viewer an understanding that we have to take responsibility for our own lives.

[lommm]

i think political science classes could watch it and analyze the motivations and methods of the different rulers. i bet you could write papers on it.

[4Tran]

Originally Posted by Jazzrat

It's one of the few anime endings (episode 39, it even had a different ED) that i consider magnificient and grand. Youko's first Imperial address to the court is probably the most inspiring speech i heard from an anime.

I highly agree. I find most anime speeches to be poorly written, but I think that the one in episode 39 is absolutely excellent. Hisakawa Aya did an awesome job selling it, and the music that followed set the perfect tone.

Originally Posted by Joojoobees

Yes, for me, 12 Kingdoms is a true classic. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if some future generation has students watch it in school.

Originally Posted by lommm

i think political science classes could watch it and analyze the motivations and methods of the different rulers. i bet you could write papers on it.

I wouldn't be too sure about that. I believe that much of the third arc of Twelve Kingdoms is straight from Confucious' philosophy (Enho is pretty much Kei's version of Confucious ). I don't think that this is a very popular topic for Western schools, although I imagine that it would work better in the East.

Originally Posted by Joojoobees

I think the themes that are raised in connection with Youko are profound, and have relevance to all of our lives. I love the way her trajectory is compared to other people, first her school friends and then the other two girls who are her "age". It really gives the viewer an understanding that we have to take responsibility for our own lives.

Strangely enough, the messages found in Twelve Kingdoms are often completely at odds with most other anime. This one in particular, is one that I wish that I encounter more often.

As a side note, I've been wondering if a lot of the things that make Twelve Kingdoms unique might stem from the fact that the original works are novels rather than manga. So far, the anime based on novels seem to be more likely to have a depth that isn't seen so much in other works. They also seem to have better dialogue. The main exceptions to this theory would be some of the light novels designed to appeal to younger readers, but I tend to think of them as a subset of manga in the first place.

[ZeusIrae]

Your probably right on that.Logh and Crest of the stars were based on novels too.They are among the best anime I have ever seen.

[Joojoobees]

Yes, and I love 12K and Crest of the Stars. I'm sure that part of what gives them the impact they have is that they were based upon novels. They seem to have deeper, more interesting plots, perhaps because there isn't the distraction that comes from trying to create a story that is visually compelling.

I really should check out LOGH, because I think I would like it, based upon what people have said. I guess I'm just hesitant because it is so long, and I am extremely lazy. :/

[iseng]

Is there any news regarding plans to continue this great series? Have just finished rewatching. Can't wait to see the continuation.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by Joojoobees

Yes, and I love 12K and Crest of the Stars. I'm sure that part of what gives them the impact they have is that they were based upon novels. They seem to have deeper, more interesting plots, perhaps because there isn't the distraction that comes from trying to create a story that is visually compelling.

I really should check out LOGH, because I think I would like it, based upon what people have said. I guess I'm just hesitant because it is so long, and I am extremely lazy. :/

Once you start LOGH, you wouldn't be able to stop. You will be watching non-stop till the last sub ep. As for the length you wouldn't even feel it.

[4Tran]

Originally Posted by Joojoobees

I really should check out LOGH, because I think I would like it, based upon what people have said. I guess I'm just hesitant because it is so long, and I am extremely lazy. :/

It is very good - one of the classics of anime. That said, it's narrative doesn't quite have the same kind of humanistic touch most other anime have. This doesn't necessarily detract from it, it's just a little different.

There's also other anime based on novels, but it's a little hard to tell if they're light novels or if they're regular ones. These would include Vampire Hunter D, Kino's Journey, Maria-sama ga Miteru, and so forth.

Originally Posted by iseng

Is there any news regarding plans to continue this great series? Have just finished rewatching. Can't wait to see the continuation.

It's very unlikely for it to be continued in the near future. There's lots of reasons why the production stopped the first time, and it's highly unlikely that it'll get started up again until Ono Fuyumi writes more novels. Right now, it looks like she's busy writing more Ghost Hunt books, so it'll be a while before she adds more to Twelve Kingdoms.

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

Once you start LOGH, you wouldn't be able to stop. You will be watching non-stop till the last sub ep. As for the length you wouldn't even feel it.

Agreed. Much like Twelve Kingdoms, the length of Legend of Galactic Heroes doesn't drag it down. It's also a show that's more enjoyable if you've got an interest in history.

[Jiji]

Originally Posted by 4Tran

There's also other anime based on novels, but it's a little hard to tell if they're light novels or if they're regular ones. These would include Vampire Hunter D, Kino's Journey, Maria-sama ga Miteru, and so forth.

I can't speak to the others, but Kino's Journey is a pretty good novel, even if it's considered "light". TokyoPop seems to have done okay with it, and vol. 2 is coming out July 10th, according to amazon's latest info.

Originally Posted by 4Tran

It's very unlikely for it to be continued in the near future. There's lots of reasons why the production stopped the first time, and it's highly unlikely that it'll get started up again until Ono Fuyumi writes more novels. Right now, it looks like she's busy writing more Ghost Hunt books, so it'll be a while before she adds more to Twelve Kingdoms.

In her interview with Tokyopop,

TP: The last novel, so far, was released in 2001. Do you plan to revisit the world of The Twelve Kingdoms and write more stories for it?
FO: Yes, I do.

But even this is not likely to resurrect the anime project. Which is a tragedy, as far as I'm concerned.

[4Tran]

Originally Posted by Ueda

In her interview with Tokyopop,

But even this is not likely to resurrect the anime project. Which is a tragedy, as far as I'm concerned.

Yup. That's the same interview I was talking about. The problem is that she didn't give a timeframe for resuming the books, just a general impression that she's interested in doing so. We may see something next year, or five years from now, or ten years.

This question struck me as more important:

Q: Can you tell us about what you are working on now?
A: I'm currently rewriting a girls’ horror series I wrote long ago.

Presumably, this is referring to the Ghost Hunt series of books that just got made into anime. Given how slowly Ono Fuyumi writes, it may be quite some time before we see much new material on either universe. The rest of the interview can be found here - it's well worth checking out.

One thing I'd like to add is that it's important that any future Twelve Kingdoms anime have the same production staff as the original. They went on to produce the Emma anime, and it's quite obvious that their attention to detail is just fantastic. I think that it goes a very long way in selling the universe.

[Moonbase]

*sigh* I'm going to assume that since this thread hasn't been bumped in almost a year that my hopes for more episodes are baseless. I'm not quite done the final anime arc but I heard from friends that it ends abruptly/there were plans for more. I am really, really bummed out by this.

[sailor_titan]

Originally Posted by 4Tran

Yup. That's the same interview I was talking about. The problem is that she didn't give a timeframe for resuming the books, just a general impression that she's interested in doing so. We may see something next year, or five years from now, or ten years.

I read this on Wiki:

In February, 2008, the first new Twelve Kingdoms short story, Hisho no Tori (丕緒の鳥) was published in Shinchosha's Yomyom magazine.

A source is listed as yomyom's website, but it's all in Japanese. I could try translating it, but it would take me forever.

[DragoonKain3]

@moonbase
The anime doesn't actually end in a cliffhanger IIRC. From what I remember, if you didn't know that the series ended early, then you would be none the wiser. I say the ending was as conclusive as one can get, for something that's based on an ongoing novel.

[Moonbase]

Originally Posted by DragoonKain3

@moonbase
The anime doesn't actually end in a cliffhanger IIRC. From what I remember, if you didn't know that the series ended early, then you would be none the wiser. I say the ending was as conclusive as one can get, for something that's based on an ongoing novel.

Going on Wiki info, the novels started in 1991 and ended in 2001. The anime aired from 2002 to 2003. Assuming all 6 novel volumes were done by that 2001 date, there were at least 2 more arcs not covered in the anime.

It wasn't so much that it was a cliffhanger but the last arc in the anime was done so horribly when compared to the rest of the series. If I didn't know that the anime ended early, I would have been fairly put off by Episode 45 and (as I do now) view Episode 39 and the "real" ending.

[PastPrime]

Originally Posted by Moonbase

Going on Wiki info, the novels started in 1991 and ended in 2001. The anime aired from 2002 to 2003. Assuming all 6 novel volumes were done by that 2001 date, there were at least 2 more arcs not covered in the anime.

It wasn't so much that it was a cliffhanger but the last arc in the anime was done so horribly when compared to the rest of the series. If I didn't know that the anime ended early, I would have been fairly put off by Episode 45 and (as I do now) view Episode 39 and the "real" ending.

The last completed Novel still does not complete the story. It stops in the middle of the Kindom of Tai story, the story of which only a small part was shown in the anime. Another Novel was started, but not finished. If they had included the last completed Novel the anime would really have ended with a cliff hanger, one that might never be completed.

[Moonbase]

Originally Posted by PastPrime

The last completed Novel still does not complete the story. It stops in the middle of the Kindom of Tai story, the story of which only a small part was shown in the anime. Another Novel was started, but not finished. If they had included the last completed Novel the anime would really have ended with a cliff hanger, one that might never be completed.

I know the anime doesn't follow the exact same order, but wouldn't the Kyou story arc take place before the Tai one? Forgetting this, the En rebellion novel was completed at this time for sure but it was cut short and is the weakest arc in the anime. There wouldn't have been a cliffhanger ending.

But this is all moot because the studio cancelled it. Le sigh.