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Forum - View topicREVIEW: The Story of Saiunkoku DVD 2
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sabriyahm
 Posts: 292 Location: Georgia |
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I hope this review will cause more people to pick this up. Now that the politcal intrigue has begun in ernest the show really takes off. Eventually there will be almost too much intrigue.
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Tortoiseshell Tabby Girl
 Posts: 153 |
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I'm both surprised and pleased that the second volume of The Story of Saiunkoku has been reviewed on this site. After the problems with Geneon, I did not think that there would be a review. I hope that this review may prompt people to pick this volume up, despite the uncertainty of future releases of the title.
This is a good review that amusingly used "pretty" in a similar way that the review for the first volume used "pink" (dare one say that it's "pretty in pink"?). And as far as using the adjective "pretty" to describe the show, it's not too hard to see that it is a fitting description of Saiunkoku. It is pretty and very aesthetically pleasing (although there are a few problems with proportions, etc., such as in episode 10 when Ryuki is asking where Ensei Ro went--his head and facial features just looked too large and disproportionate for a moment there). But such flaws are easily forgiven because it's still pretty and colorful, the story is engaging and absorbing, and the characters are delightful while being delightfully complex. This review does well in conveying the poltical intrigue and almost confusing complexity of the first two episodes of this volume. There are so many revelations, it was incredibly involving and surprising to learn things about certain characters and their connections to other characters. Simply amazing relationship web-work was woven into those episodes. And, just like when I watched Volume 1, I was so sucked into the story of Volume 2 that I had to keep watching all five episodes even though it was late and I probably should have been asleep in bed. I think this show would be incredibly appealing and attractive to people who love well-developed characters and complicated character relationships. I personally enjoy the ol' shojo romantic-comedy aspects that remain in Saiunkoku, partly because I think they somehow seem new and fresh in the show while remaining pleasantly familiar. It's like making new friends, but keeping the old. One is silver, and the other's gold...  And on that note, I really love the humor in this show, and I myself never found that the humor didn't work well with the serious parts. Along with the tremendously funny parts mentioned in this review, other funny parts that stand out for me are when spoiler[Shurei is scared of the thunderstorm and jumps on top of Kijin Kou and then Ensei Ro and that other guy come in and see them, when Shurei asks Ryuki to stand still like a good boy so she can hit him after he kisses her, when Koyu tells Shurei no one will recognize that she is a girl because of her figure (now that was just so wrong), when Koyu is afraid of how happy Ryuki is acting and asks if he ate any garbage, when Shurei's father mistakes Shusui's embroidery for a lion instead of a flower, when we find out that Ryuki sent Shurei a huge block of ice, a voodoo doll, etc., and when Ryuki senses Shurei in the palace, but she hides and her uncle acts really weird around her (or seems really weird, since she doesn't know he's her uncle)]. Oh, there are other parts too, but those are the ones that are coming to me right now. Those were some lol parts for me. I love it when anime makes me lol. 
I agree that episode 10 of Saiunkoku is a pretty good place to stop, whether we have to wait a long time for more Saiunkoku or whether we never get anymore because it has a sense of completeness and there aren't any cliffhangers. However, I really do hope that we get more, because there are many questions I have, some about Shurei's mom and dad, some about Kijin Kou, etc., but most importantly some about the fantasy elements that were introduced in this volume concerning Advisors Sho and Sa that were really "what in the heck is happening?" moments. One can't help but love a show where every episode's title is a saying that has meaning in that episode and is actually mentioned in that episode. I've already watched the English dub and the Japanese dub of this volume and I eagerly await the possibility of seeing more episodes. It's really uplifting to watch a strong and smart female character who is working hard to help her country by entering the arena of politics and breaking down the barriers placed around women. I really get a kick out of seeing that, and hope that other women and girls may be inspired by the unique character of Shurei. |
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phoenixphire24
 Posts: 260 Location: SoCal |
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I love this show and I'm glad that reviews are comingo ut despite Geneon's hang ups. I hope that some people who believe this show is too "cute" for them will pick up this show because while it is filled with color and has beautiful art, the plot and characters are the real driving force behind this anime. One can only hope that Geneon, or another company, will distribute the rest of season 1 and season 2 which is currently airing.
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minakichan
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(Psst: Chinese. The erhu, for example, is a Chinese instrument that the Japanese have never claimed. It would also make sense, considering that the series takes place in China, and everyone's names are... Chinese.) Yay, the meat of Saiunkoku appears! Now it starts looking less and less like a romantic comedy, and more and more like... dare I say it? Chinese historical drama! I still do not believe the series should be called "pink," but I suppose "pretty" is a little better, although the romantic comedy aspects are just going to keep decreasing until they just about disappear for a while (long stretches of episodes without any Ryuuki-Shuurei interaction, for example). But the visuals will always be pretty. |
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HitokiriShadow
 Posts: 6251 |
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Not that its going to matter at this point, since the fate of the rest of the series is in limbo. |
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Randall Miyashiro
 Posts: 2451 Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park |
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I really enjoyed the second volume as well. The characters are very likable and I find it hard not to smile through most of the episodes. I think this is only helped by the list of favorite voice actors in the series led by Kuwashima Houko, who does her best at being adorable.
The animation holds up pretty well. I was a bit skeptic seeing as how over half of the animation directors listed here are from the Korean studios. I think I remember seeing a good chunk (I think 100% in some episodes) of the key animation staff is also from Korea. I remember back in the 80s it was easy to spot the difference in quality for those episodes that were outsourced, and I think there is even a joke about that in ADV's Macross' audio commentary. These days I can't tell the difference, even when a complete episode's animation (after the storyboards) is outsourced. While not as engrossing as 12 Kingdoms, this series really won me over fast. I think I will miss this series almost as much as I will miss When They Cry and Black Lagoon. |
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stevek504
 Posts: 216 |
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The situation is sad; this could have been a good series for Geneon (financially). The story looks good so far, and production values look to be a cut above some of the other stuff out there. Even though I did hear what was happening to Geneon, (and that future volumes of this series were in doubt) I did purchase both of the available volumes (and the "box" which is cute, but is not very functional for me - I would never use it). I even pre-ordered other volumes, just to watch them canceled from my queue. Why? I hope that if someone is watching the numbers they will see that The Story of Saiunkoku was "hot" and will pick it up quick. So, I still hope that more people purchase what IS available and if we are lucky we may see someone put out more volumes later next year (with a different box). |
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Raven Shinobi
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Now that I've seen the second volume, it saddens me that I won't know what happens next anytime soon, but I hope that the first two volumes have done well enough to warrant the possibilty of them being picked up by someone else.
To those who are not interested in the series because they think it's a rip-off of both Fushigi Yuugi and Twelve Kingdoms, I assure you that this series so far blows FY out of the water in every area imaginable and the only thing it shares with TK is the implementation of political intrigue within the story and the chinese setting. |
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nargun
Posts: 930 |
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Sorta-kinda: the show is never actually said to take place "in china" [just some fictional china-like place], and the names are... somewhat chinese [and more so in the R1 than the japanese release!]. Has the name issue been gone into? I think I missed the v1 review thread. |
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