4/5 KISS ME OR KILL ME
  by Sesho (Pasadena, TX USA)
Reeling from an assassination attempt by some of her closest advisers, Youko realizes that she knows nothing about the country she rules. So she decides to disguise herself as a commoner and live among the people so that she will learn the best way to meet their needs. Suzu, meanwhile, sets out to meet Queen Kei, hoping to find someone who can identify with her sufferings. On the way there, she meets a young boy whose life makes hers look like a cakewalk, and forces her to confront the weakness in her soul. Lastly Shoukei, the once and still uppity princess of Hou, has been exiled from her land to serve in the court of young (well, young-looking) Queen Kyou. Her status has improved but it's not long before Shoukei's sense of entitlement and jealousy cause her to do some crazy stuff. Stealing a load of the Queen's jewelry, she takes off. It will not be long before these three disparate young women cross paths.

This show is great, great, great! One of the things I like most about it is that characters evolve. Yes, in the beginning they are very weak, or have some horrible flaw, but it's cool to see them try to work through things, through their own fears and timidity. They grow, just like in real life, if they have any heart at all. These girls just keep striving towards a goal, even if it might be wrongheaded. They don't give up. Some of the shots in these episodes would serve as the basis for a film that would dwarf the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I think this would make a great movie or weekly TV show. Seek this show out.

5/5 Great Anime
  by Daniel Robertson (Coeur D' Alene, ID)
The most recent volume in the incredible 12 Kingdoms series. This volume continues the third story arc in the series, which follow the story of 3 girls.

Yoko Nakagima, the lead of the 12 Kingdoms series, and the recently ascended Queen of Kei, is unsure of herself and her ability to lead Kei. To make things worse, some of her court officials tried to assassinate her. Yoko decides to leave the palace to get a better understanding of how her people live. While she is away, she stumbles on a group that seem to be planning a rebellion. Will she be able to discover their plans and stop them? We'll have to wait for the next DVD to find out.

Suzu is a girl from Japan who was blown to the 12 Kingdoms 100 years before Yoko became the Queen of Kei. Suzu is registerd as a Senin, which is why she is still young even though she's been there over 100 years. Suzu is tired of serving her cruel mistress, who takes every opportunity to insult Suzu, giving her impossible tasks to perform. So, Suzu decides to run away and seek the help of the Queen of Sai. Queen Sai helps Suzu, but she does not believe she is ready to live in a palace. She sends Suzu out into the real world so that she can grow up. She decides to go to Kei, dreaming that the Queen of Kei, being from Japan, is the only one who will be able to understand her.
In her travels she meets a young boy, Seishuu. Seishuu tells her to stop feeling sorry for herself all the time, that everybody suffers. He told his story how how he lost his home and family, and Suzu finally realizes that she must move on from her past. Seishuu falls ill because of an old injury, becoming weak and blind. Suzu takes him to Kei with her, where she beleives that Queen Kei will heal him.

Shoukei was the spoiled princess of Hou, but the people grew tired of her father's brutalaty and rebelled, killing her mother and the Kirin right before her eyes. Now Shoukei lives as an exile. The young queen of Kyou allows Shoukei to become one of her servants, but Shoukei becomes jealous of the queens beauty and riches. She steals some of the queens jewely, using them to pay for passage to Kei. She plans to assassinate the queen of Kei and take control of the kingdom. On her travels she meets Rakushuun, the Hanju (half beast) friend of Yoko. He tries to teach Shoukei about doing the right thing.

The last scene is the most touching in the series to this point. I wont spoil the story by revealing what happens, except to say that Suzu and Yoko finally meet, although Suzu has no idea that this is the Queen of Kei she so reveres. The ending will leave you begging to find out what happens next.


4/5 the plot thickens -- slowly
  by Terry Dawson (Appleton, WI USA)
The high quality story-telling continues in the seventh volume of the series. The three plotlines introduced in volume six continue to develop deliberately. This is narrative which takes its time and respects character development and the intelligence of the audience.

In this volume, Youko, the Queen of Kei, continues her self-imposed exile to learn the ways of her people. Because we already know her well, her story feels a bit secondary to the other two women who continue to grow and learn even while their journeys bring them closer to Youko. The emphasis here is on empathy for suffering, and learning to take responsibility in an imperfect world. The return of a long-lost character from early episodes provides additional story punch along with some ideas about sanity and madness. It's the juxtaposition of the characters and their storylines the provides food for thought -- watching the Twelve Kingdoms is like viewing a large tapestry. While there some dramatic action sequences, characters spend a lot of time sitting and talking about the world and their lives.

As throughout the series, the animation is not breathtaking but very serviceable, while designs and colors work to make the world and cultures of the kingdoms feel real. The voice dub performers do a good job, and the disk works well as sub or dub. There are no substantial extras this time, just a few trailers.

5/5 Epic Story Telling
  by Fantasychick18 (Buffalo, NY)
The Twelve Kindoms is my favorite show in anime. Each new chapter is compelling and wonderful. Especially Reflections; it held me in its tight grip right until the end- then I wanted more.

Youko, now the Queen of Kei, is still not fully comfortable in her new role. Heading down to live amoungst her subjects, she starts to learn about life in her new world. Suzu, still on her quest to find the Queen of Kei, finally realizes that people are just the same as her. They can feel pain and grief, something that she thought could never happen. Finally, Shoukei, former princess of Hou, begins to see through her own disillusionments about her family and being a ruler.

The animation is top notch and is beautifully vivid. The voice actors in both languages are excellent. No over acting or corny lines here. The English voice actors are a little more expressive but they don't over do it.

Another great aspect about Twelve Kingdoms is that it makes you think, well, aleast it made me think. Most of the conflicts that the characters have are internal, there aren't that many external enemies that they have to go and beat up. When there are external antagonists, they mostly symbolize the insecurities of our protagonists.

This show is one of the greatest and should be recognized along with some of the flashier animes out there(Inyuasha, Gundam). I recomend the show for anyone looking for a different anime show. It will certainly impress.




5/5 The importance of feedback and the dangers of self-pity.
  by turbotiger2002 (the United States)
The redheaded girl and the giant, talking rat finally get a good amount of screen time again. The redheaded girl wisely decides to learn first-hand about the needs of the people she is supposed to be ruling. It is like the importance of exchanging feedback directly with ones friends instead of relying upon rumors and wishful mind reading.

The story of the ex-princess from the previous disc is used to emphasize a moral about self-pity being dangerous and unproductive. The story suggests that some people actually suffocate themselves in self-pity, because their suffering gives them a feeling of importance. Unfortunately, it also causes them to verbally abuse themselves as well as the people around them, making everyone miserable without solving any problems. The story suggests that everybody suffers. The story also suggests that the best way to make things better is by working together as a team to help each other appreciate the little things in life and overcome immediate difficulties instead of complaining about the past and competing for the title of most miserable.

The two themes work really well together, because feedback sessions can sometimes turn into self-pity sessions. This is truly a five star DVD.