Book Description: For high-schooler Yoko Nakajima, life has been fairly ordinary--that is until Keiki, a young man with golden hair, tells Yoko they must return to their kingdom. Once confronted by this mysterious being and whisked away to an unearthly realm, Yoko is left with only a magical sword; a gem; and a million questions about her destiny, the world she's trapped in, and the world she desperately wants to return to.More than just a fantasy story filled with horrific monsters, half-beasts, and magicians, The Twelve Kingdoms centers around a world reminiscent of Chinese mythology and rife with civil and political upheaval. Sea of Shadow, the first volume of this ongoing seven-volume epic, takes you on a wild ride that leaves you questioning the bounds of reality and fantasy."An exciting, fast-paced adventure that will keep readers on the edge of their seats."--BookLoons.com "This is a fantasy novel displaying a grand imagination and soaring adventure."--ActiveAnime.com"Fuyumi Ono weaves a bewitching tale of strength in adversity, bravery despite fear, courage above all, and trust â€" in yourself and in others."--Yabookscentral.comFuyumi Ono was born in Oita Prefecture, Japan. She graduated from Otani University with a major in Buddhist studies. During college she was a member of Kyoto University’s mystery story club for readers and writers of the mystery genre. In 1988, she made her publishing debut in Kodansha’s teen-targeted X-Bunko Teens Heart series. Besides The Twelve Kingdoms, Ono has written other novels in such genres as mystery and horror.
twelve I was very happy to finally see the books upon which the anime was based. It's a quite enjoyable read, and I'm very eager for future volumes in the hopes that they'll complete the story that the anime left off.
wonderful I watched the anime version of this story several times. It is my favorite anime. The book is great too. After reading the book I understood the story line much better because it is in some situations quite distinct from the anime and in my opinion much clearer. I recommend this book for all twelve kingdoms fans. Unfortunately they just publish one volume in a year. And in this volume you don't know how Youko will act as an empress just how she becomes the empress. I have to wait another year or two.
AWESOME FANTASY/FOLKLORE! MUST-READ IF YOU LOVE THE ANIME!! This volume had some editing errors here and there, but otherwise well-written and not hard to read either.
For people who did not watch the anime (Japanese animation) of this series, this book is an introduction to a completely new world created by a Japanese author who studied Buddhism. The main character in this particular volume is a Japanese high school girl that is used to shutting up, fading into the background, and/or letting others walk all over her. She gets misunderstood a lot because of this, even by her own parents. The action starts when she meets this guy Keiki, who has her come with him (without adequate explanation) to what turns out to be a completely different world! The girl gets separated from her "abductor," who gives her some items for defense, and she ends up making a long, arduous journey to where he instructed her to go. I know, I'm not being so specific, but it's been a while since i read this book and I don't remember all the details that come in at this point. Anyhow, her journey, for me, dragged on like crazy, but I knew the basic story from the anime already and wanted to get on with it. However, you learn a lot more about the girl and what is going through her head as she journeys through an unknown land, trying to figure out who she can trust and who she can't, finding out what the customs of the land are and adhering to them, learning how to be a warrior, getting used to the sight/smell/feel of blood. At the end of her journey, things seem to speed-up plot-wise. My explanation does not do justice to the fantasy involved, nor the inner turmoil that the main character goes through. The descriptions in the book are much more in-depth.
For people who watched the anime like me, it was great to see that there were no annoying classmates in the main story of this novel, as opposed to the anime, which had two that accompanied her on her journey (sort of - watch the anime for details). Yoko is traveling on her own and you learn about her hardships, physically and mentally. The details, while unnecessary if you watched the anime, are just interesting to learn about, like about how Yoko met and got to know Rakushun and Shoryu. In a way that is also why it was a bit tedious to read through, in my opinion. I watched the anime and knew the general story, but Yoko's traveling in this volume seemed to go on forever! I just wanted to get to the part about En! Unfortunately, that is towards the end of the volume.
not as good as everybody claims I picked up this book as a fan of the Fantasy and Sci-Fi genres, and had heard this claimed as the Lord of the Rings of Japan. It is apparently very popular in Japan, and the reviews on this site are so glowing (check them out for plot summaries), I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed.
First of all, this novel is definitely geared towards young adults. There is a lack of depth in all the characters (despite considerable time spent on Yoko's internal struggles) and the history/politics of the Twelve Kingdoms. It just seemed superficial to me, only extending as far as the scope of the book and not like an actual alternate world. It's nowhere near the level of the Lord of the Rings. But I would say the book is unique enough, with all the Japanese and Chinese mythology, to entertain younger readers.
Secondly, compared to other uber-popular young adult fantasy novels like The Golden Compass and Harry Potter, not much happens in the book. The beginning is very good, but the middle section is quite repetitive (wander in forest, fight demons, get screwed by humans, talk to blue monkey, etc.). Then by the end, we get an invasion of another country, but the entire invasion is skipped over! We simply see the aftermath. At least it is enjoyable to see Yoko come into her own over the course of the book and become a character the reader can actually root for.
I think this is a good book, and probably worth reading, but my expectations were too high, and I was somewhat disappointed. If it adds anything, I have not seen the anime version, and after reading this book, I don't plan to.
Astonishingly good I couldn't put this book down. I stayed up all night to finish it, and went to work the next morning like a zombie. The story is extremely well-written and the translation is handled perfectly. I did not expect the character development to be so in-depth--this book is a must-read for both children and adults. I can't wait for Book 2 to come out!
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