It takes a girl with a steady hand and shrewd business sense to wake up a reluctant emperor.
Creative Staff
Art: Kairi Yura
Story: Sai Yukino
Translation/Adaptation: Su Mon Han
What They Say
Shurei Hong, destitute but of noble birth, has always dreamed of working as a civil servant in the imperial court of Saiunkoku, but women are barred from holding office. The emperor Ryuki, however, refuses to take command, leaving everything to his advisors. Shurei is asked to become a consort to the emperor to persuade the ne’er-do-well ruler to govern.
Shurei enters the palace as Ryuki’s consort, but he has yet to seek her out. It is rumored that men, not women, share the emperor’s bedchamber. Shurei must think of a way to stop the emperor from shirking his responsibilities, but she has to find him first!
The Review
Technical
Saiunkoku is being released under Viz’s Shojo Beat line, and it maintains the same trim size as the rest of the titles released under that banner. The cover and paper stock maintain the same quality as much of Viz’s shojo and shonen lines with decent paper and ink coverage.
The cover art is is the same as the japanese release, just cropped in slightly. It features Shurei, holding an abacus, with Ryuki at her back glancing over his shoulder at her. It pops with bright colors against a yellow background.
Anyone who is familiar with the anime adaptation of Saiunkoku will feel right at home reading the manga adaptation. Kairi Yura was the artist for the original light novels and it was her character designs that were used for the anime. Her art is beautifully detailed and perfectly fitting for the costume drama within. Here she gets to show off her talent for drawing pretty men in flowing robes and an expanded wardrobe for Shurei and the others. She’s not immune from having many of the young men look similar to each other, but with the different hair and clothes there’s no mistaking one character for another. Thankfully Viz included some color pages to start the volume which showcases Yura’s art even more.
The translation reads smoothly, and each characters’ personality comes through with the dialog. A minor quibble is the excessive use of the royal “we” by Ryuki, who even uses it when thinking, making his speech come across as more humorous than it probably is.
Contents (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
My first impression upon seeing any artwork from The Story of Saiunkoku was that, surely, it must be a reverse harem story. Just look at all those pretty boys framing the lead girl! How wrong first impressions can be. While there are many pretty characters, there’s more the Saiunkoku than eye candy.
Shurei is a daughter of the famed Hong clan. While her family name carries some prestige, her own branch has fallen on hard times. Her father doesn’t earn enough at his government job to keep the rather large family house in the best shape, so Shurei is always on the look out for money. When a job offer comes from the palace she eagerly jumps at the chance to earn a huge sum of gold.
Shurei’s not quite the typical heroine of these type of dramas. She’s well educated but she’s reached the glass ceiling of her country, which is set in a light fantasy world with ancient Chinese trappings. Her penny pinching ways and no nonsense attitude make her something of an unusual noble, but a nice change from the ditzy heroine archetype.
The focus of her new job isn’t quite what he seems either. The young emperor Ryuki is, at first, a sulky pretty-boy idiot who wants nothing to do with his station in life. He spends his time passing off decisions to advisors and sleeping with whomever he chooses, usually young men. Shurei approaches the situation in a businesslike fashion, but it’s her sincerity which ultimately makes an impression on Ryuki.
Also tossed into the situation is Shurei’s attendant Seiran. The young man was taken in by Shurei’s father and finds himself working as a guard at the palace. It doesn’t take long for Lord Advisor Sou to take notice of the young man, and almost expose a dangerous secret from Seiran’s past.
While there’s already early ‘will they or won’t they’ interaction between Shurei and Ryuki, there are also political games starting. Not everyone is happy that Shurei is the Emperor’s consort, and someone keeps attempting to poison her. Ryuki starts to gain the trust of his closest officials in order to protect Shurei.
In Summary
The Story of Saiunkoku begins on a strong note. The artwork is beautiful and the characters are fun and interesting. There are hints of trouble on the horizon for Shurei and Ryuki, and a web of complex relationships are already forming. If you enjoyed the worlds of The Twelve Kingdoms or Moribito, but were looking for a little romance to go with it, definitely check this out. You won’t be disappointed.
Content Grade: A –
Art Rating: A
Packaging Rating: B +
Text/Translation Rating: B +
Age Rating: 13
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: November 2nd, 2010
MSRP: $9.99