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Forum - View topicREVIEW: The Story of Saiunkoku GN 8
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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I've only watched the Anime version, so maybe the Manga is different, but after this arc the story quality is all downhill. This is pretty much the story's peak in terms of themes and writing, although future arcs do have some surprises to unveil regarding various supporting characters.
I do give Shurei credit for being intelligent, strong-willed and having the conviction to follow through with her beliefs. She proves that a woman does not need to be an ultra-tough fag-chomping beer-guzzling macho chick who blow the brains out of mooks to be a strong independent character. |
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Maidenoftheredhand
 Posts: 2634 |
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I really love Saiunkoku and would consider collecting the manga if it was to cover content not animated but from what I heard that is not the case. I hope this is incorrect information.
Saiunkoku is the unfortunate case that not knowing Japanese I will never be able to experience the entire story it seems. |
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marie-antoinette
 Posts: 4136 Location: Ottawa, Canada |
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I read the first volume of the manga but didn't get any further because I don't think it really added much to the story that wasn't also in the anime. Which is not to say that it isn't good but it just didn't really click for me.
Also, I personally found the next arc to be one of the most interesting, though a slightly unhealthy love ofspoiler[ Sakujun] probably is behind most of that, though I also like Shurei's development as well. IIRC, the rest of the characters' storylines aren't all that strong though. |
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Crisha
Moderator
 Posts: 4290 |
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Shurei is also my favorite part of the series for the same reasons dtm listed. But I do love it for other reasons as well. spoiler[OH GOD, SAKUJUN. I never thought I would care for him, but damn what a painful kick to the gut that was later on.
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Yes, while the manga does cover the same material as the anime, there are some differences. It's been a while since I've read the first few volumes and watched the anime, but I remember thinking how some events go out of order or something. Another main difference is that we see Kijin's face often in the manga. At least in the first season on the anime we didn't see it at all despite him taking off the mask to confront the corrupt official. I buy it on the hope that I can someday see the ending to the novels. Not all of the novels have been translated (though there are people who have summarized what happened in all of them, which is how I know how the series ends). Also important is that Kairi Yura, who did all of the illustrations for the novels that Sai Yukino wrote, is the one who's doing the manga for Saiunkoku. I thought I read somewhere that she works Sai Yukino on it, but I'm not seeing it on Wikipedia. Regardless, she is one of the original sources, so I feel comfortable with her staying true to the source material and being able to adapt it well to manga form. Of course, if I do ever see the ending it won't be for a long, long time. In Japan, it's taken 7 years just to release 9 volumes. 
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Sailor S
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According to the credits at the back of the volumes, Sai Yukino does the story for the manga too, so the manga is not only drawn by the illustrator for the novels, but it's written by the author of the novels. So, I'd have to imagine that they'd be pretty true to the novels. |
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hyojodoji
Posts: 586 |
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The credit title given to Yukino Sai in the Japanese manga version of Saiunkoku is 'gensaku'. As I said in another thread, the term 'gensaku' can have two meanings in the manga industry. Even in cases which Pattern 1 is applied to, it it possible that the manga version fairly faithfully follows what was written in the novel, however. |
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Maidenoftheredhand
Posts: 2634 |
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What I was told in the Saiunkoku Live Journal community is the manga is finished in Japan and definitely did not cover all the novels. Again though I am not sure if this information is accurate and I would love some confirmation on this. Even if the manga at least covered the 2nd season of the anime that would be something (since it seems we won't be getting that in the US). I also know what happens in the end through summaries but well it's not the same as experiencing it for yourself. I do love Kairi Yura's artwork though. I have the novel artbook for the series and it is one of my favorites I own, every page is absolutely gorgeous. |
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Sailor S
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Perhaps, I don't claim to know the nuances of the Japanese language. But, since no one else is credited with writing the script for the manga other than Sai Yukino in the credits page for the English version, I'd say it's more likely that she wrote it. |
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Crystalyn
ANN Managing Editor
Posts: 585 |
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The manga version ended in Japan in April with the ninth volume. Kadokawa's website lists the ninth volume as the final one. The manga covers the story of the first three of 18 light novels. |
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Maidenoftheredhand
Posts: 2634 |
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Thank you and sadly that is why I won't be buying the manga.
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phia_one
Posts: 1661 Location: Pennsylvania |
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Damn, and I already own seven manga volumes
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marie-antoinette
Posts: 4136 Location: Ottawa, Canada |
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There was a letter in the back of the first volume of Saiunkoku from Sai Yukino which talked about the writing process a bit more. I don't have my copy accessible but from what I can recall, it sounded like she and Kairi Yura were working very closely together to create the manga as well as the light novels.
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st_owly
 Posts: 5234 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland |
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I've just looked at that letter, and Sai Yukino describes the manga and the novels as "the story may be the same, but there's more to it than that" "every little thing in this manga is just bursting with the essence of Saiunkoku."
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hyojodoji
Posts: 586 |
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I have dug up the Asuka Comics DX edition of Volume 1 of Saiunkoku Monogatari and have read the afterword by Yukino Sai to the manga.
In the afterword, Yukino didn't say that she had written the script for the manga version. Portions in the afterword like '由羅先生オリジナル要素' and '私がハッキリと書かなかったことまで（私が何も言わずとも！）すんなり描かれて出てきた' suggest that Yura added things which Yukino had not written to the manga. |
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Aynslesa
Posts: 199 |
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My love for Saiunkoku continues to grow with each book, despite having watched the entire anime series already. The plots are fairly identical, both having been adapted from the same source material, but the manga provides me with two aspects that make me as willing to collect it as I was the anime - first, that there are occasions were the dialogue adjusts, likely due to translation, that make me go 'hey wait a minute' on a few occasions, and second that there are often several smaller added side stories that delve into the inner thoughts of characters other than Shurei, and also provide information about the past (most notably concerning her parents and their relationship).
The manga also provides Kairi Yura's artwork and character designs, which are just as gorgeous as the anime designs. The level of detail that comes out in volume after volume rather amazes me, as I have yet to find any point where it seems to breakdown or feel rushed, and I find myself staring at the art just as much as the story itself. This series definitely remains high on my must-buy list, and the only reason, really, that it's not at the top of it is because I already know most of the story from the anime. Looking forward to seeing the next arc in the manga! |
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