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

[Xellos-_^]

Just got around to watching Ep2 sub.

Finally we have a female with brains. When she said that she won't make a stupid for something like country where everyone is happy. I almost start crying, I was so happy. She is the anti-Arika and Miaka. Why can't we have more female characters like this. Instead we keep getting doses of Miaka and Arika in this type of anime.

How many Eps is plan for this Series? I heard the manga has 10vols so far. I hope we get more the 26 Eps.

Now we just need some more female character and maybe a evilloli like illya to spice things up. As Emperor he needs a bigger Harem.

Edit: Does anyone have any good images for this series and is the manga avaible in chinese? Besides Yesaisa, is there another place online I can buy Chinese Manga? And is there a cheaper place then Yesasia?

[miaka]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

Just got around to watching Ep2 sub.

Finally we have a female with brains. When she said that she won't make a stupid for something like country where everyone is happy. I almost start crying, I was so happy. She is the anti-Arika and Miaka. Why can't we have more female characters like this. Instead we keep getting doses of Miaka and Arika in this type of anime.

How many Eps is plan for this Series? I heard the manga has 10vols so far. I hope we get more the 26 Eps.

Now we just need some more female character and maybe a evilloli like illya to spice things up. As Emperor he needs a bigger Harem.

Edit: Does anyone have any good images for this series and is the manga avaible in chinese? Besides Yesaisa, is there another place online I can buy Chinese Manga? And is there a cheaper place then Yesasia?

Ouch....
I also like Shurei's character and determination. However,

Spoiler:

the king is still the smartest person in the story.

It is planned to have 39 episodes. Next week episode, ( epi 7) will conclude the first novel. BTW it is based from novel series and japan has already published 10 novels and not manga volumes. If you are looking for chinese version, i think 5 novels have officially translated and released by kodokawa. However, i only have the first book. Its manga version is still ongoing and i can only see scanalation around. I heard the vol 1 will be released soon ( maybe in june ).

The one in yes asia is not a manga. Its japanese novel so better check carefully before buying.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by miaka

Ouch....
I also like Shurei's character and determination. However,

Spoiler:

the king is still the smartest person in the story.

It is planned to have 39 episodes. Next week episode, ( epi 7) will conclude the first novel. BTW it is based from novel series and japan has already published 10 novels and not manga volumes. If you are looking for chinese version, i think 5 novels have officially translated and released by kodokawa. However, i only have the first book. Its manga version is still ongoing and i can only see scanalation around. I heard the vol 1 will be released soon ( maybe in june ).

The one in yes asia is not a manga. Its japanese novel so better check carefully before buying.

I know, i saw the that it is in japanese only My chinese isn't good enough without pictures. I gotta wait for the manga.

Hope the Author is in better health then the Author for 12kingdom.

[Futaba-chan]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

Finally we have a female with brains. When she said that she won't make a stupid for something like country where everyone is happy. I almost start crying, I was so happy. She is the anti-Miaka.

The series sort of reminds me of Fushigi Yuugi without the magic book leading to modern Japan, and with a protagonist that I don't want to strangle.

How many Eps is plan for this Series? I heard the manga has 10vols so far. I hope we get more the 26 Eps.

39! 39! Three whole quarters of pretty pseudo-Chinese goodness. Wai!

[NeoSam]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

I know, i saw the that it is in japanese only My chinese isn't good enough without pictures. I gotta wait for the manga.

Hope the Author is in better health then the Author for 12kingdom.

The first volume of the manga thats based on the josei novel will be released on 26/6/2006.

I'll post its cover once its available.

Covers of the novel can be seen on the first page of this thread.

[poisonakki]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

I know, i saw the that it is in japanese only My chinese isn't good enough without pictures. I gotta wait for the manga.

Hope the Author is in better health then the Author for 12kingdom.

it's true that the anime will be based of the novels but there is also a manga version that is being serialized in Kodokawa's Beans Magazine. The manga is far behind the novel as it just started. The first volume of the manga will be released June 2006. Someone has already posted links to the chinese scanlations of the Japanese Manga published in beans Magazine

[poisonakki]

Originally Posted by Futaba-chan

The series sort of reminds me of Fushigi Yuugi without the magic book leading to modern Japan, and with a protagonist that I don't want to strangle.
39! 39! Three whole quarters of pretty pseudo-Chinese goodness. Wai!

the only thing it has in common with Fushigi yuugi is the setting in ancient china and the bishounen. otherwise I don't think it's at all like FY.
and yeah Shuurei has brains and is not a love sick clumbsy teenager like Miaka...

[Futaba-chan]

Originally Posted by poisonakki

the only thing it has in common with Fushigi yuugi is the setting in ancient china and the bishounen. otherwise I don't think it's at all like FY.
and yeah Shuurei has brains and is not a love sick clumbsy teenager like Miaka...

The back story talks about the country being founded by eight magical warriors who banded together to drive away supernatural enemies, which sounds remarkably like the Fushigi Yuugi seishi to me. On the other hand, if the legend is kept in the realm of legend, and the eight heroes of color turn out to be just helpful modern people with the right names but no superpowers, and it remains as a thoughtful palace intrigue drama, that would be a very different series than Fushigi Yuugi. I haven't read the novels, so I can't say....

[Codex]

Originally Posted by Futaba-chan

The back story talks about the country being founded by eight magical warriors who banded together to drive away supernatural enemies, which sounds remarkably like the Fushigi Yuugi seishi to me. On the other hand, if the legend is kept in the realm of legend, and the eight heroes of color turn out to be just helpful modern people with the right names but no superpowers, and it remains as a thoughtful palace intrigue drama, that would be a very different series than Fushigi Yuugi. I haven't read the novels, so I can't say....

I believe they were sages, not warriors. And immortal sages are more or less a mainstay of Chinese traditional legends/stories. The Eight Immortals are regularly depicted in art and sculpture, which can often be found in Chinese homes.

I think the element of myth and legend adds a lot of culture and flavour to the series, not unlike how the myths of the Twelve Kingdoms gave a sense of weight and history to the said world. In any case, Saiunkoku Monogatari should be judged for its own merit, not for the incidental resemblance of some plot point to another anime. I understand your concerns when you juxtapose the situation with that of Fushigi Yuugi, I doubt that they'll all start popping up as dashing young warriors, and in any case, they'll owe their allegiance to the King, not the main female lead.

[Xellos-_^]

Pointless speculation:

Anyone feels that when the wars breakout. Ryuuren (Shuuei strange younger brother) is going to become a top stratagist? The guy is too wierd not be that smart.

Edit: If someone can amke cool SaiM Sigs. i really appreciated it. We need to pump this series up for it is own forum.

[Sinestra]

really enjoying the series so far and as a lot of people have stated its nice to see a female lead that thinks for her self and does fall into the typical female lead anime charcters. Its really light hearted and the comedy not half bad either i learning that i like the more laid back series for a change of pace. I like the conversation that the emperor and Shuurei have about why her hands look rough. She was not affraid to say that her family is poor and that she had to work really hard to get back and thats why her hands were not all porcline white and lady like. I respected Shuurei for saying this. she is not ashamed of situation and shes not so arrogant enough to beleive that she is owed something just because of her family name.

[jedinat]

My poor post was deleted from the Suggestions section, so I'm moving it here...

How/why is she suddenly the queen? They didn't have a wedding. She never even saw the emporer until she was already living in the palace as the "queen"... And it seems she's under a 1 year contract or something. And the usually huge issue with a story like this is the sex. You know, wedding night and everything... but that isn't even addressed. Only once vaguely mentioned in a joking way. What about making heirs and crap? How does that work with a 1 yr contract? The whole anime just seems to have a lot of plot holes... Oh, and it seems the emperor is gay. Which is annoying and shows that the show is obviously aimed at girls. It's too bad cuz I usually love palace intrigue type stories.. with the romance and plotting and complicated relations of nobles, etc... This anime just seems kinda.. dumb

[Sakuya]

In the Chinese palace, the emperor probably has over 100 (or even more, I'm not sure) wives and he does not visit or have sex with all of them. That's why, it's a constant war between the wives. I think some don't even see the emperor...

I think somebody said that the emperor is bisexual. I seriously have to wonder where this story is going.

[jedinat]

I did not get the impression there were any other wives. And she is always refered to as "the empress" and the emperor's wife, not 'one of his wives'. And her little speech at the end of episode 2 sure doesn't give the impression that she's one of 100 wives he's got around the palace. And she doesn't look like she's competing in a harem. She'd be acting awful independent for being the "new" wife.

(another thing: there is no way in hell the emperor would be allowed to so casually leave the palace as he did in ep 2...)

[miaka]

Originally Posted by jedinat

My poor post was deleted from the Suggestions section, so I'm moving it here...

How/why is she suddenly the queen? They didn't have a wedding. She never even saw the emporer until she was already living in the palace as the "queen"... And it seems she's under a 1 year contract or something. And the usually huge issue with a story like this is the sex. You know, wedding night and everything... but that isn't even addressed.Only once vaguely mentioned in a joking way. What about making heirs and crap? How does that work with a 1 yr contract? The whole anime just seems to have a lot of plot holes...

I guess you don't have any background in chinese history regarding imperial court drama.

Spoiler:

Shuurei is NOT a queen in the first place... a girl cannot enters a palace unless she is a servant or a consort. Since Shurei accepted the job, and with her noble status she can be an imperial consort automatically. Wedding ceremony is not necessary, as long as a group of high status officials make some recomendation and in Shurei's case its the 3 senior ministers ( leaders among the ministers).

with regards making heir issues...
She went to the palace to teach and not to make heir, although its a responsibility for a consort to have offsprings, but in shuurei's case taching is her main responsibility.

little off topic
As Sakuya stated a king can have many wives inside the palace and sometimes they didn't even met or know each other.

Originally Posted by jedinat

Oh, and it seems the emperor is gay. Which is annoying and shows that the show is obviously aimed at girls. It's too bad cuz I usually love palace intrigue type stories.. with the romance and plotting and complicated relations of nobles, etc... This anime just seems kinda.. dumb

The show has more politics issues than romance...
I've watched up to epi 6 and read the first novel and this is what i found ..

Spoiler:

The emperor is NOT a gay. He has a reason behind for inviting male inside his room and you'll know why when you watch more episodes. It is something related to his past experiences. You'll discover more secrets among the officials in later episodes, so don't worry and watch more.

Originally Posted by jedinat

I did not get the impression there were any other wives. And she is always refered to as "the empress" and the emperor's wife, not 'one of his wives'. And her little speech at the end of episode 2 sure doesn't give the impression that she's one of 100 wives he's got around the palace. And she doesn't look like she's competing in a harem. She'd be acting awful independent for being the "new" wife.

(another thing: there is no way in hell the emperor would be allowed to so casually leave the palace as he did in ep 2...)

I think Sakuya is referring to REAL life emperor in ancient china and not Ryuki.
As of now Shuurei is the only wife. The king is just new to his throne ( 6 month) and he is only 19 years old. There is a rumor that the king is a gay thats why no one dare to send their precious daughter inside the palace knowing that she'll be left alone forever.

[Yaoi_Pocky]

Thanks Miaka for the clarification!
Just wanted to add a little something...

Originally Posted by jedinat

(another thing: there is no way in hell the emperor would be allowed to so casually leave the palace as he did in ep 2...)

In Hong Kong dramas and movies about imperial China, there always seem to be a scene where emperors do leave the palace casually and secretively. This is referred to as 微服出巡 (translation from Chinese: an Emperor going out on the town in casual clothes, often incognito). Since there are enough such scenes in HK dramas, I would assume that this is common practice in actual imperial China...I'm now looking up Google to find citations of such practices, but I can't look it up for too long; I'm actually getting ready for going to work.

[jedinat]

Originally Posted by miaka

I guess you don't have any background in chinese history regarding imperial court drama.

Spoiler:

Shuurei is NOT a queen in the first place... a girl cannot enters a palace unless she is a servant or a consort. Since Shurei accepted the job, and with her noble status she can be an imperial consort automatically. Wedding ceremony is not necessary, as long as a group of high status officials make some recomendation and in Shurei's case its the 3 senior ministers ( leaders among the ministers).

with regards making heir issues...
She went to the palace to teach and not to make heir, although its a responsibility for a consort to have offsprings, but in shuurei's case taching is her main responsibility.

I see... well that makes a bit more sense... it doesn't seem the person who subbed the fansub I watched used the most uhh.. comprehensive word choices for the translation. And no, I've no background in chinese court history... you wouldn't think it would be required for an anime aimed at (as far as I can tell) younger girls.

[jedinat]

Originally Posted by Yaoi_Pocky

Thanks Miaka for the clarification!
Just wanted to add a little something...



In Hong Kong dramas and movies about imperial China, there always seem to be a scene where emperors do leave the palace casually and secretively. This is referred to as 微服出巡 (translation from Chinese: an Emperor going out on the town in casual clothes, often incognito). Since there are enough such scenes in HK dramas, I would assume that this is common practice in actual imperial China...I'm now looking up Google to find citations of such practices, but I can't look it up for too long; I'm actually getting ready for going to work.

He was wearing his usual garb, not even disguised. Not exactly incognito imo. But I guess if he's never been out of the palace before, no one knows what he looks like... w/e

[NeoSam]

Originally Posted by poisonakki

it's true that the anime will be based of the novels but there is also a manga version that is being serialized in Kodokawa's Beans Magazine. The manga is far behind the novel as it just started. The first volume of the manga will be released June 2006. Someone has already posted links to the chinese scanlations of the Japanese Manga published in beans Magazine

The magazine that the manga is serialized in is called Beans Ace, and not Beans Magazine (there's no magazine thats called Beans Magazine).

The novel is serialized in the josei(young women's) novel magazine The Beans.

A manga based on the novel is serialized in the seinen/josei manga magazine Beans Ace (Beans Ace has seinen manga that based on seinen novels, and josei manga that based on josei novels).

[ommseti]

Originally Posted by jedinat

And no, I've no background in chinese court history... you wouldn't think it would be required for an anime aimed at (as far as I can tell) younger girls.

--It helps to remember that its intended audience will have grown up with a different set of background literature and history than we did, and the Japanese imperial court borrowed very, very heavily from the Chinese patterns. ^_^ So sometimes they take that background knowledge for granted...

For me, it was very hard for me to watch Shuurei in the salesman scene. She's such a practical, matter-of-fact kind of person, she's completely oblivious to the fact that she could be embarrassing herself in front of the very people she's wanting to convey a message to. And because the emperor (to the best of anyone's knowledge) doesn't have any life experiences that could compare to selling hairpins in an open-air market, I was really worried that he would totally focus on the wrong message and come away with the impression that Shuurei was an idiot with no dignity, rather than coming away with the impression that everyone has a job to do, or a new beneath-the-palace view of his city. But fortunately, Ryuuki was a very good sport and went along with it, and I was very grateful for that. But I was still annoyed at Shuurei for throwing him into a situation that he couldn't possibly have anything to relate to.

But after I thought about it--- Shuurei has been through so much, she's realized that certain things are more important than projecting a certain image, or being considerate enough to slowly get people used to new ideas, rather than throwing them in all at once and seeing what happens. :o) She only has a year; she doesn't have time to be subtle. ^_^ And then I forgave her a bit more.