Saiunkoku Monogatari

Saiunokoku Monogatari


Thanks, or should I say no thanks, to Cindy, I'm now hooked on this anime. I wanted to look for downloads online but unable to find any concise ones, so I ended up watching all of them on youtube. Youtube's really great~ I'm now up to episode 24, but once again, as with Gakuen Alice, there were problems with the subs, ep20 wasn't subbed, so I went online for a translated transcript and watched with having the transcript by the side. Episodes 21-24 are all Chinese subbed. Once again, I thank god for being able to understand Chinese. lol~

There will be a total of 39 episodes in all. So I guess I'll be a slave to youtube until the run completes.

Plot: The story is about a young noble but poor girl wanting to be an official but was drafted into the palace as a consort but her main duty was to educate the emperor. The emperor fell in love with her. Then she had to leave the palace. And add a long suffering adopted brother who happens to be the real brother of the emperor and an adopted cousin whom the family wanted him to be married with the girl. This is one complicated story.

Outside all the love relationships there's also the problem of the state duties. Everyone has a duty they have to do, the anime also chronicles their duties and all their trials and tribulations. Sometimes tracking back and show the bad times of the past and the character history. Quite a nice plot, I'd say.

After watching a couple of shojos, I think I've figured out the MO of a shojo anime/manga. It's definitely a reverse harem situation. Like the other anime I'd jusy finished watching, Ouran High School Host Club, Saiunkoku is definitely a reverse harem. And as with all other reverse harems, it's really difficult to guess who the lead will end up with. Take Fruitsbasket for example, the decision made by Tohru is well, to me, very unexpected, okay, not so much of unexpected than of unaccepted. But I've just found out that the seiyuu for Kyo was actually the seiyuu of Touya of Cardcaptor Sakura, so in a way, I'm like more open to Kyo now, he isn't really that bad after all. wahaha~

As in the case of Ouran, I've also a latest favourite in Saiunkoku. In Ouran, I really liked Tamaki, which is quite unlike of me because usually I prefer stoic characters like perhaps Mori. I like Kyoya too, but I just can't see Kyoya together with Haruhi. In Saiunkoku, I've fallen in love with Ryuuki. If this was the normal Joan, I think I should prefer Seiran to Ryuuki, but don't know why I just really want want want Ryuuki to be with Shuurei. Of course, I do like Seiran, and Kouyuu too, but well, there's this charm of Ryuuki that I just can't withstand.

There's something wrong with Flickr and I can't seem to be able to upload photos. hmm... I think I shall try uploading images on Blogger, but not so sure if it'll be good anot... try ah~

Shi Ryuuki.
He's the emperor. but he's also deeply in love with Shuurei. Sometimes he can seem like a bakatono (stupid emperor), but in fact, he's really one smart guy. He's also slightly arrogant, as with all people with authority, and I really like it when he kisses Shuurei, he's just so shuai. Of course, I want him to get his girl in the end. But then hor, his elder brother, his only kin, also likes her, so I don't know how things will work out.

The thing about these people with authority that I'm interested in knowing is their sex life. He's the emperor, so he should have tons of girls in his harem waiting on him, so techinically he should be having a very fulfilling sex life, but is it? In a conversation with Shuuei, Ryuuki revealled that he did have had his fun with many women before. In another heartfelt moment with Shuurei, Ryuuki said to her that he never had a woman for a year since she left the palace. So can I conclude that Ryuuki before meeting Shuurei had sex with those women in his harem before but after meeting Shuurei became devoted to her and live a life od celibacy?

I watched this TVB drama serial Stitches and Riches, there was this triad leader Rong Laoban. He was deeply in love with this woman, but the woman had a boyfriend already. There was once this woman needed Rong Laoban's help and went to look for him in the middle of the night only to find him having sex with this other woman. She didn't look very shocked, but I was shocked for a moment. So he said he loved her so how come there's another woman in his bed? Okay, I understand that men need sex, especially men of authority, especially since they can get any woman they want, so why was I so shocked? Maybe it's because it's TV, in TV all men are pure, and don't need sex. But I guess that was just trying to reflect the real world.

But anyway, in the case of Saiunokoku, I hope that Ryuuki did not lie to Shuurei and he really doesn't have any woman by his bedside.

Shi Seiran.
This Shi is written as a different Shi as Shi Ryuuki's Shi. But well, this Shi was chosen also because of this reason, for it to be a Shi but to be different from that Shi. Seiran was adopted by Shouka (Shuurei's father), among many reasons and other things he's hiding, he appears to be older than he claims. His real identity is that of Ryuuki's brother Prince Seien. Ryuuki knows that, and always calls in Big Brother in private, and many times want him to take over the throne, but Seiran prefers to stay by Shuurei's side and be her guard peacefully, leaving the throne for Ryuuki to keep.

I thought I'd prefer Seiran to Ryuuki because I prefer older, more matured men. I prefer the long suffering yet keeping things to himself kind of men. I like the troubled soul. But somehow there seems to be a lack of charisma in Seiran. I don't know if it's the problem of the anime or something, but there is something very very lacking which I cannot point of Seiran.

Ri Kouyuu.
He's the adopted son of Shuurei's father's brother. Shuurei's uncles all hopes that Shuurei can get married to Kouyuu. But much as I like Kouyuu, I prefer Ryuuki. bah~

Kouyuu is a very cute character, he says he hates all women, and seems to be have a rather hanky panky relationship going on with his best friend who happens to be a womaniser. Kouyuu also has a very bad sense of direction and always gets lost. But he's a true and loyal friend and deeply commited to his adopted father. he and his best friend, Ran Shuuei were given flowers by the emperor, an act of loyalty. Seiran wasn't given a flower but as what Ryuuki said, Seiran didn't need to accept a flower to prove his loyalty, his loyalty was there and Ryuuki can always count on him no matter what happens.

As with all anime, there is a manga. Actually unlike most anime, this isn't from a manga, but from a serialised novel which haven't ended yet. The manga and anime both comes from this novel. I'm thinking, now that I've completed the released anime, should I go and read the manga, or search for the novel?

Anyway, you can watch it here episode 1 part 1 of 3 by memoryofwings. I've watched a couple of videos by memoryofwings, one big anime fan. But you can search for the videos yourself too.

(okay, I shall publish this post to see how blogger's photos will look like, if it sucks, I'd edit the uploaded pictures and use the normal flickr ones.)