Twelve Kingdoms: Complete Series

The Twelve Kingdoms features many of the trappings of epic fantasy: a complex fantastic realm with plenty of back-story, powerful monsters, and spectacular sword duels. But at its heart The Twelve Kingdoms is really a wonderful study of how seemingly worthless people can be tempered by severe hardship into people of great character; from people you would avoid to people you would be happy to call friend. I actually felt like a better person when I finished it; not a feeling I normally get from watching anime.But you should know a few things before you get into this excellent show: It features four separate story arcs, and only two of them actually involve the main protagonist Yuoko. I highly recommend new viewers only watch episodes 1-13 and 22-39; my five-star rating pertains primarily to just those episodes. The episodes in-between tell an unfinished and unrelated story, and are likely to leave viewers feeling frustrated. Episodes 14 and 21 are unimportant "recap" episodes I'd only recommend watching if you still feel confused after watching the first 13.The first few episodes (1-5 and 22-29) of these story arcs can be tiresome, as the protagonists start as annoying, whiny characters; but I urge everyone to "stick with it" and keep watching as the payoff at the end is certainly worth it: Twelve Kingdoms features one of the best endings I've ever seen (at episode 39). It's important for us to see these characters as annoying and somewhat pathetic so that we fully appreciate the strong, self-aware people they become in the end. For this reason re-watching the series is a special treat; I recommend watching it again at least once.The setting of The Twelve Kingdoms is complex and the myriad of special terms may put some people off; but I would again urge people to be patient; Yuoko generally knows less than us, and her lack of understanding is important to the story, so a bit of confusion on our part helps us to empathize with her.Finally, I'd recommend watching the Japanese audio with English subtitles if you can stand to do so. Yuoko's voice is much more expressive on the Japanese track and features noticeable changes in tone that reflect and highlight the changes in her attitude as the story progresses. However, most of the other English voice-overs are actually fairly good.Twelve Kingdoms is from 2002 and so the quality of the animation, while good, isn't quite up to par with modern animes like Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit. There is no sexual content of any kind (and although some characters are depicted taking baths, nothing racy is seen), and almost no romantic content whatsoever. There is no gore, almost no blood shown, and most deaths occur off-screen. While many episodes feature exciting and well done action, fighting isn't quite the focus of The Twelve Kingdoms and the entire first half of the third arc (episodes 22-32) features almost no action at all. Although the content is probably safe for kids, I can't imagine any kids being able to follow the complex plot, or deal with the intense emotions portrayed within. Twelve Kingdoms isn't tame for the sake of a PG rating; it simply understands its focus is storytelling and therefore doesn't need to delve into sex or violence to make for a truly entertaining experience.

I didn't really know anything about this anime when i bought it but I've read good reviews about it, and so I decided to buy a copy of my own and boy was i surprised! I mean I was very surprised how great of an anime this is...Even if you're not a fan of fantasy genre, please take some time to enjoy this...Pacing 5/5-I love how the stories are told...so SAVOR every episode...i know some viewers don't want an episode of recap...you have to expect about 3 or 4...though they're not completely recap episodes...they're merely "teaching episodes"...i mean the whole series is glutted with terminologies that work only in their own fantasy world...it's nice enough for the director of the show or whoever is in charge to include some episodes to guide the viewers through the seriesTheme 5/5-it's about taking on a role and learning about it (leadership to be more precise)Characters 5/5-there's a lot of characters but each of them contributed so much to help keep the viewers from getting bored...it's very multi-layered when it comes to characters....i also love how they developd through the whole series, though it's divided into 4 main arcs, each arc is very well-written, especially the 3rd one about the main character, Yoko, and the other 2 girls who seem to go through the same Yoko is in....that is one of the best arc i have seen in a long timeMusic 5/5-the music is very well-done...it will surely give you goosebumps...it's that good...Animation 5/5-very realistic...All in all 5/5...what can I say it's worth it to buy it at $45...even if it's $90...i'd buy it in a heartbeat...I wish Media Blasters had pampered this series more and packaged it in a very good-looking sturdy artbox...and i'd give (2/5) just for that...it's a shame...the series didn't deserve it...So to everyone who hasn't seen this series yet, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this to all of you...I assure you, you won't regret it...This is just my opinion...I'VE LEARNED A LOT THROUGH THIS SHOW...and that's enough to recommend this to everyone...BTW I only watched the English-dubbed version, besides, I don't speak Japanese...anyway I hope you'll enjoy it...This should have a special place in your collection...and it certainly has in mine...

In a sense, 12 kingdoms is like the Lord of the Rings for Asia. Not because of the story structure, as those are totally different. The comparison comes from the fact that LoTR was heavily influences by European mythology and Catholicism ( Tolkien being a devout Catholic ). 12 kingdoms is heavily influenced by Asian Mythology and Confucianism. If you read further into the books, there's some Taoism and Buddhism as well.The main character is flawed and grows through the course of the story. She's almost too flawed, as I kinda hated her at the start of the story but if you can stick with it to give her time to grow, it's worth it.Music for the series is amazing.

love it, if you like ATLA you'll definitely like this show. Must watch.

for me it say it will get here at 19 august but it came at 14 august that fast

十二国記。知る人ぞ知る名作。小説原本も最高だが、アニメのオリジナルも良い。初めて小説を読んだ時の衝撃。こんな作品があるのかという驚き、里木(漢字合ってる？)から子供が実るということ。王と麒麟。王に選ばれたからといって試練がないわけじゃない。自分を律し、周囲の意見を聞いて、王政を敷くということの難しさ、などなど色々ありますが面白い。慶国推しですが、秦国も好き。もちろん恭や延も好きです。

I love this anime but I was not happy that the case for it fell apart inside. I have yet to watch the dvds and some of them have scratches on them. Now I have to spend more money on replacing the case hopefully I can find one that matches the original one.

国産版ではありえない一万以下で買えるのも場所をとらないブルーレイ一枚分のサイズのケースも良い!ただその分ディスクをむりやり5枚入れてるので着たとき一枚飛び出していたので気になる方はケースを変える事で対応した方が良いかも。自分は傷が付くのが怖いのでケース交換しました。それ以外文句は全くないです！オススメ！

数年前に購入したDVDの盤面が黒く変色し、2枚に1枚の確率でレコーダーが認識しなくなり、仕方なくコチラを購入しました。DVDよりもキレイで、結果的に良かったと思う事にしました。