Twelve Kingdoms - Premium Box I
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DVD Cover Information
Artist: Artist Not ProvidedBrand: Media Blasters
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Japanese (Original Language); English (Original Language); English (Dubbed)
Format: Animated, Box set, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 550 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-09-27
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Anime Works
Movie Reviews of Twelve Kingdoms - Premium Box I
Movie Review: Refreshing and Beautiful
Summary: 5 Stars
This animated adaptation of Fuyumi Ono's light novel series of the same name is enchanting, provacative, and thoughtful. Though the novels are in their essences, records of the 12 Kingdoms, the anime focuses on the adventures of Yoko, the Japanese school girl who gets transported to the 12 Kingdoms and becomes the queen of the Kingom of Kei.
The first twenty five episodes that belong in this set are broken into three chapters or books. The first and the third arcs belong almost exclusively to Yoko. The second arc however, revolves around the story of the Kirin of Tai, Taiki. This still ties into Yoko's story as her own Kirin (a magical being that chooses the king of his or her country) Keiki, tells her Taiki's story in response to a question of her's. Instead of making the storytelling feel choppy or erratic, the three arcs expand on the world of the 12 Kingdoms and still mangage to smoothly bring the story back to Yoko.
Animation is especially good in the series. It depicts an ancient quasi-Chinese landscape with vivid colors and character designs. While it does have the typically crazy anime hair/eye color combination (plantinum hair and violet eyes), they are believable, and on some characters, quite beautiful. Also, of note, both male and female character designs are wonderfully normal. Yoko isn't buxom, nor does she have huge eyes. She is a natural beauty. Her handmaidens even point out that while her red hair and green eyes are normal occurances, their shades are rare. There are no bishounen here either; however there are a few handsome men, for instance, the King of En.
The music compliments the wonderful artstyle extremely well. The opening sequence sets the tone for the entire series and there are many cases when the music gives added depth to a scene. The English and Japanese vocal cast give excellent performances.
As this is the Premium Box, one might expect that it would show with the actual box itself. It does.The set up is much like the Lord of the Rings extended DVD releases. A sturdy box with a pull-out makes this an easy thing to display proudly. It has 5 fold outs with the cover art from the original DVD's on the inside. Luckly, it also comes with a beautiful little booklet as well that gives a glossary of terms and a fairly detailed map of the Twelve Kindoms.
The combination of the epic fantasy, animation, music, and acting has made this anime my favorite. Watching the main characters develop is utterly amazing. Yoko, for instance, only begins to show her potential, but then she loses her confidence around her ministers and falls back into her old habits. There are so many moments in the story that are profound that its impossible to ingore it. The great part is that this only the first half. I highly recommend this to anyone.
Summary of Twelve Kingdoms - Premium Box I
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