AnimeSuki Forums

Kaoru Chujo · 2006-04-08, 21:59

A title based on a josei novel. Shows at 9 am Saturdays. I enjoyed it. There is a real story here, real characters and some amusing comedy.

The setting is a fantasy version of medieval China, called Saiunkoku or "Land of Many-Colored Clouds." The heroine Shuuri is the daughter of a high-born family that has become poor. She plays the erhu and earns money for the family, but is frustrated by their poverty. One day she is invited to the palace to be a tutor to the new young king. Beautiful young men in elegant robes abound.

The main character is the main attraction. Shuuri is played extremely well by Kuwashima Houko (Sango in Inuyasha, Kagura in Azumanga, Rose Tomas in FMA, etc., etc.). Seki Tomokazu (Sousuke in FMP, Rentarou in Futakoi Alternative, etc., etc.) plays the young king.

The setting is a combination of Japanese cherry trees and a slightly-off but enjoyable rendering of the Imperial Palace in Beijing. I loved the more-or-less Tang Dynasty Chinese costumes, especially Shuuri's.

The director is Shishido Jun, who directed Okusama wa Joshikousei (don't hold it against him) and some episodes of Beck. Wonderful Chinese-tinged music by Ryo Kunihiko (Twelve Kingdoms, Emma). Nice script by Yoshida Reiko (Kaikan Phrase, School Rumble, ARIA, Peach Girl, Scrapped Princess, episodes of Marimite, etc. -- and series composition for Canvas2....) The OP sung by Hirahara Ayaka is lovely, and so is the ED, written and sung by Tainaka Sachi, who does the OP in Fate/Stay Night.

ANN page
official site

miaka · 2006-04-08, 22:13

Wow... another NHK anime. I love its ancient setting and most of all, bishie characters.

ladida · 2006-04-09, 00:47

AH, more bishounen overload!!! Can't wait for this =D

NeoSam · 2006-04-09, 01:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

Another shoujo title for kids, showing at 9 am Saturdays. But I enjoyed it. There is a real story here, real characters and some amusing comedy.

This is not a shoujo novel, not a shoujo manga and not a shoujo anime.
It doesn't really matter at what hour its broadcasted.

====================

彩雲国物語
Saiunkoku Monogatari

Broadcast: April 2006

Its based on a novel thats serialized in the josei(young women's) novel magazine The Beans, and published under the josei(young women's) label Beans Bunko.
For now there are 11 volumes released of this novel, here are the covers:

A manga based on the novel is serialized in the seinen/josei manga magazine Beans Ace (this is a magazine for young men and young women)
Here's the cover of the first volume of the manga:

Since tha manga is based on a josei novel, its a josei manga (but the magazine Beans Ace is NOT a josei manga magazine, its a seinen/josei manga magazine. it has seinen manga and also josei manga)

Info from AnimeNfo.

Genre: Josei, Comedy, Historical Settings, Romance

====================

ladida · 2006-04-09, 01:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeoSam

This is not a shoujo novel, not a shoujo manga and not a shoujo anime.
It doesn't really matter at what hour its broadcasted.

A manga based on the novel is serialized in the seinen/josei manga magazine Beans Ace (this is a magazine for young men and young women)
No volumes of the manga are out (Beans Ace is a new seinen/josei manga magazine)

Since tha manga is based on a josei novel, its a josei manga (but the magazine Beans Ace is NOT a josei manga magazine, its a seinen/josei manga magazine. it has seinen manga and also josei manga)

Sheesh, do all these labels really matter? Would you enjoy it less knowing it's running in a seinen/josei magazine? As opposed to some shoujo mag? Or a shounen mag? If so, then you're doing a disservice to yourself by shutting out a lot of good stuff.

At first glance, many people will notice that Saiunkoku Monogatari has...
- an art style closely associated with the shoujo genre
- a fanbase of which the majority is female
- a heroine surrounded by numerous pretty boys in period wear

Does this mean male fans can't enjoy it? Certainly not. Does it mean female fans are more likely to enjoy it? Perhaps. Will these labels affect how popular the novels already are or the quality of the story? No.

NeoSam · 2006-04-09, 01:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by ladida

Sheesh, do all these labels really matter? Would you enjoy it less knowing it's running in a seinen/josei magazine? As opposed to some shoujo mag? Or a shounen mag?

To me they do matter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ladida

Would you enjoy it less knowing it's running in a seinen/josei magazine?

Where exactly did I even suggest that I'll be watching this?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ladida

If so, then you're doing a disservice to yourself by shutting out a lot of good stuff.

How exactly the mentioning of facts is shutting myself from a lot of good stuff.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ladida

At first glance, many people will notice that Saiunkoku Monogatari has...
- an art style closely associated with the shoujo genre
- a fanbase of which the majority is female
- a heroine surrounded by numerous pretty boys in period wear

If it has a style associated with a shoujo manga or not, it doesn't matter at all.
I guess I see how much you know about manga.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ladida

- a fanbase of which the majority is female
- a heroine surrounded by numerous pretty boys in period wear

Why exactly are you mentioning this, where did I say that the majority weren't female?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ladida

Does this mean male fans can't enjoy it? Certainly not. Does it mean female fans are more likely to enjoy it? Perhaps. Will these labels affect how popular the novels already are or the quality of the story? No.

And where exactly did I suggest that male fans will not enjoy this?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ladida

Perhaps. Will these labels affect how popular the novels already are or the quality of the story? No.

If you do not like facts do not read them, yes that means just do not read my posts, and spare me of your crappy posts.

ladida · 2006-04-09, 02:05

NeoSam, when I asked, "Would you enjoy it less knowing it's running in a seinen/josei magazine?" I was directing it to the fandom in general, as is the case with the rest of the questions in my previous post. So please don't take them personally. I don't mean to imply whether you've watched or are to planning to watch this series. Personally, I couldn't care less.

NeoSam · 2006-04-09, 03:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by ladida

NeoSam, when I asked, "Would you enjoy it less knowing it's running in a seinen/josei magazine?" I was directing it to the fandom in general, as is the case with the rest of the questions in my previous post. So please don't take them personally. I don't mean to imply whether you've watched or are to planning to watch this series. Personally, I couldn't care less.

You quoted me, and started with "Sheesh", how could I understand that you were directing it at the general fandom ?

What I'm saying is that if you wanted to ask questions, you could have asked them in a different way; in a way that wouldn't have suggested that I was being flamed over the mentioning of facts.

Kaoru Chujo · 2006-04-09, 04:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeoSam

This is not a shoujo novel, not a shoujo manga and not a shoujo anime....

Josei sounds even better. Thanks for all the great info.

miaka · 2006-04-09, 10:37

I've seen this series and i love it. The intro of the story tells something about the history of the country 彩雲国 (how the country was established). I found the first epi very informative. The story looks nice too. Lots of comedy too.

Spoiler:

gknight · 2006-04-09, 12:04

sounds nice i'll definitly check it out.
too bad it's the manga's 1st cover which has the best art and yet the animation seems like more towards the later covers.

hope it'll get subbed soon, thanks for the information! ^^

dk-dragon · 2006-04-09, 13:41

Woah !

Episode 1 is wonderful!

Spoiler:

Oneiropolos · 2006-04-09, 14:35

Any idea if any group intends to sub this one? It just looks gorgeous and I'm hoping someone does *crosses her fingers*

Edited: Nevermind! XD Seems there is a group doing it after all. Answered my question!

domino · 2006-04-09, 15:01

Ohh this show is already out? I look forward to it. ^_^ Love the artist!

How is the animation? I'm worried that it will get the usual shoujo anime low budget... pretty art that barely moves ^_^;

But still, looking forward to it. I love shows with this kind of setting! Hell, these days, I'm so sick of high school drama anime that anything NOT in a high school setting is appealing.

Simon · 2006-04-10, 05:58

Kuwashima Hōko. The historical setting. Those gorgeous costumes. (And did I mention Kuwashima Hōko?)

Bring on the sub!

DaFool · 2006-04-10, 07:39

Can anyone PM me where to get a raw which is NOT 646mb!

Given this animenfo description: "Ko Shuri is a daughter of a highborn family, but they’re badly off. To earn money, she applied a nice job. It is a tutor of a bad king who has just succeeded to the throne, and she has to live in his harem house as his wife."

Lol, I'm sold, regardless if the harem is actually more of bishies than bishoujos. A harem is good, oh yeah!

And yes, classification is very important, it is to inform the ignorant who immediately diss a title as "eww, its for kids." or "eww, its for girls". or "eww, its for boys." Labelling the exact target audience should not detract anyone open-minded to watch something, however it should inform those who do not even know they're the target audience.

NeoSam · 2006-04-10, 08:41

Volume 10 of the josei novel Saiunkoku Monogatari was released on 31/3/2006 (according to amazon).

Here's the cover of it:

The cover was also added with the other covers of the novel in this post.

Kaoru Chujo · 2006-04-10, 16:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaFool

Can anyone PM me where to get a raw which is NOT 646mb!

You probably have this already, but there are a number of Chinese subs (of this unlicensed show) on bt.greedland.net

Here is my search URL:
http://s.greedland.net/s.php?k=%E5%B...%BA%91&c=g_all

I searched on 彩云

The .rmvb files, if you happen not to know, are Real Media files that RealPlayer and Media Player Classic will both play (if you have the Real Media plug-in for MPC). They're not quite as good as .avi files, but they are beautifully small. MPC is a better way to play them than RealPlayer because you can start and stop and jump backward quite easily, whereas you can't (or at least I can't) using RealPlayer.

Grifis · 2006-04-10, 21:24

I'm in love (again). The art looks even better than FY. Actually last year I saw a pencil board of this series on sale at a con. I didn't know anything about it but I thought it was so pretty so I bought it. I'm so excited that it's coming out in anime form. (I downloaded a raw, all 600 some mb of it, just to realize it's mkv and I can't play it. ;_; ) Looks like I'll be checking every ten minutes to see if the sub is coming out.

DaFool · 2006-04-11, 07:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

".

+ rep before our posts get edited. Yeah good thing I installed Realalt codec to work with mpc, oh yeah!

2006-04-08, 21:59	Link #1
Kaoru Chujo Yuuki Aoi Join Date: Jul 2004	Saiunkoku Monogatari (1st Series) The Story of Saiunkoku A title based on a josei novel. Shows at 9 am Saturdays. I enjoyed it. There is a real story here, real characters and some amusing comedy. The setting is a fantasy version of medieval China, called Saiunkoku or "Land of Many-Colored Clouds." The heroine Shuuri is the daughter of a high-born family that has become poor. She plays the erhu and earns money for the family, but is frustrated by their poverty. One day she is invited to the palace to be a tutor to the new young king. Beautiful young men in elegant robes abound. The main character is the main attraction. Shuuri is played extremely well by Kuwashima Houko (Sango in Inuyasha, Kagura in Azumanga, Rose Tomas in FMA, etc., etc.). Seki Tomokazu (Sousuke in FMP, Rentarou in Futakoi Alternative, etc., etc.) plays the young king. The setting is a combination of Japanese cherry trees and a slightly-off but enjoyable rendering of the Imperial Palace in Beijing. I loved the more-or-less Tang Dynasty Chinese costumes, especially Shuuri's. The director is Shishido Jun, who directed Okusama wa Joshikousei (don't hold it against him) and some episodes of Beck. Wonderful Chinese-tinged music by Ryo Kunihiko (Twelve Kingdoms, Emma). Nice script by Yoshida Reiko (Kaikan Phrase, School Rumble, ARIA, Peach Girl, Scrapped Princess, episodes of Marimite, etc. -- and series composition for Canvas2....) The OP sung by Hirahara Ayaka is lovely, and so is the ED, written and sung by Tainaka Sachi, who does the OP in Fate/Stay Night. ANN page official site __________________ YUUKI Aoi 悠木碧. b92.03.27 (age 29). 2008 Kurenai (Murasaki). 2009 Yumeiro Pâtissière (Ichigo), Kiruminzuu (Riko), Yutori-chan (Yutori-chan). 2010 Vampire Bund (Mina Tepeş), Shiki (Sunako), Samurai Girls (Juubee), Pokémon: Black and White (Iris). 2011 Madoka Magica (Madoka), Gosick (Victorique), A-Channel (Tooru). 2012 Symphogear (Hibiki). 2014 Pilot's Love Song (Claire/Nina), Nanatsu no Taizai (Diane). 2015 Owari no Seraph (Krul Tepes), Rokka no Yuusha (Fremy). 2016 Boku no Hero Academia (Tsuyu, Froppy). 2017 Kino no Tabi (Kino). 2021 Kumo desu ga (watashi), Kaizoku Oujo (Karin), Heike Monogatari (Biwa), etc., etc. Total of 513 roles in anime and games. Last edited by Kaoru Chujo; 2006-04-10 at 15:59.

2006-04-09, 10:37	Link #10
miaka Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005	I've seen this series and i love it. The intro of the story tells something about the history of the country 彩雲国 (how the country was established). I found the first epi very informative. The story looks nice too. Lots of comedy too. Spoiler: The main heroine is very energetic, friendly young girl. She comes from a well respected family, but live in poverty. Her father is a government official but earn little so Shuuri has to take many part time jobs to earn more money for food and house maintainance. One day, shyutaishi ( elder among the ministers) visited her house and asked her a favor. He'll paid her 500 gold for the job. Without knowing the details shuuri immedietely accepted the offer. She then become the "imperial concubine" to teach the irresponsible new king. Last edited by miaka; 2006-04-09 at 12:15.

2006-04-09, 13:41	Link #12
dk-dragon Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2006	Woah ! Episode 1 is wonderful! Spoiler: Mythical creatures lurking in the story backdrop, hidden immortals amongst the human realms, simplistic yet beautiful oriental sceneries... Even without going into the main plot of possible romance or courtly intrigues ... i'm hooked already lol (<-Oriental fantasy fan hehe) The female lead is a rare one, beauty and brains (makes greats buns too!) She seems to be a kind person that possess a great deal inner virtue to be chosen for the important task of “correcting & tutoring ” the young king … lol The little palace maid that serves the female lead tea was so cute!!! Thank goddess the main female lead didn’t make things difficult for her ^^ The male characters look teeming with potential too…already a possible hint at turbulences in the romance sector (in the future lol ?) between the female lead, her manservant and the young king. Somehow, the scene with the 3 elder officials sitting in the pavilion overseeing the meeting of the female lead and the young king … irks me … in a good way though lol I can imagine the three of them thinking inside “Ah, its time to seat back & relax & watch the show “ lol Probably at least one of them is an immortal in disguise? lol All in all, this series has great potential to become a masterpiece, I couldn’t help but compare it to Junni Kokki ^^ Can’t wait to see how it develops in the next episode lol

2006-04-10, 05:58	Link #15
Simon 気持ち悪い Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: New Zealand	Kuwashima Hōko. The historical setting. Those gorgeous costumes. (And did I mention Kuwashima Hōko?) Bring on the sub! __________________ And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Akihabara to be born?

2006-04-10, 08:41	Link #17
NeoSam Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Age: 43	Volume 10 of the josei novel Saiunkoku Monogatari was released on 31/3/2006 (according to amazon). Here's the cover of it: The cover was also added with the other covers of the novel in this post. __________________

2006-04-08, 22:13	Link #2
miaka Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005	Wow... another NHK anime. I love its ancient setting and most of all, bishie characters.

2006-04-09, 00:47	Link #3
ladida Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2006	AH, more bishounen overload!!! Can't wait for this =D

2006-04-09, 02:05	Link #7
ladida Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2006	NeoSam, when I asked, "Would you enjoy it less knowing it's running in a seinen/josei magazine?" I was directing it to the fandom in general, as is the case with the rest of the questions in my previous post. So please don't take them personally. I don't mean to imply whether you've watched or are to planning to watch this series. Personally, I couldn't care less.

2006-04-09, 12:04	Link #11
gknight shounen ai Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Israel Age: 36	sounds nice i'll definitly check it out. too bad it's the manga's 1st cover which has the best art and yet the animation seems like more towards the later covers. hope it'll get subbed soon, thanks for the information! ^^

2006-04-09, 14:35	Link #13
Oneiropolos Kuruizaki -Takamichi Join Date: Sep 2004	Any idea if any group intends to sub this one? It just looks gorgeous and I'm hoping someone does crosses her fingers Edited: Nevermind! XD Seems there is a group doing it after all. Answered my question!

2006-04-09, 15:01	Link #14
domino デレデレ Join Date: Dec 2003	Ohh this show is already out? I look forward to it. ^_^ Love the artist! How is the animation? I'm worried that it will get the usual shoujo anime low budget... pretty art that barely moves ^_^; But still, looking forward to it. I love shows with this kind of setting! Hell, these days, I'm so sick of high school drama anime that anything NOT in a high school setting is appealing.

2006-04-10, 07:39	Link #16
DaFool Resident devil Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Philippines	Can anyone PM me where to get a raw which is NOT 646mb! Given this animenfo description: "Ko Shuri is a daughter of a highborn family, but they’re badly off. To earn money, she applied a nice job. It is a tutor of a bad king who has just succeeded to the throne, and she has to live in his harem house as his wife." Lol, I'm sold, regardless if the harem is actually more of bishies than bishoujos. A harem is good, oh yeah! And yes, classification is very important, it is to inform the ignorant who immediately diss a title as "eww, its for kids." or "eww, its for girls". or "eww, its for boys." Labelling the exact target audience should not detract anyone open-minded to watch something, however it should inform those who do not even know they're the target audience.

2006-04-10, 21:24	Link #19
Grifis Eternal Dreamer Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Caladan	I'm in love (again). The art looks even better than FY. Actually last year I saw a pencil board of this series on sale at a con. I didn't know anything about it but I thought it was so pretty so I bought it. I'm so excited that it's coming out in anime form. (I downloaded a raw, all 600 some mb of it, just to realize it's mkv and I can't play it. ;_; ) Looks like I'll be checking every ten minutes to see if the sub is coming out.