Saiunkoku Monogatari Review

Saiunkoku Monogatari on ANN

Plot Summary: Saiunkoku is a world of eight provinces or houses, each named after a different colour. The new Emperor, Shi Ryuuki, has gained for a reputation for being uninterested in courtly matters and for flaunting his love for men. Shuurei, although born of the important Kou family, has difficulty making ends meet. She easily accepts an invitation to be the Emperor’s concubine in order to turn him into a good ruler. The mysterious Seiran, a young man who was adopted by her father, goes with her as Ryuuki’s bodyguard. Entering the imperial palace revives Shuurei’s dream of being a court official, and, together with the many companions she meets along the way, continues moving bravely forward while trying to fend off the Emperor’s advances. – AnimeNewsNetwork

Shuurei, even though of noble blood, was unlike the usual nobles. Her family is not rich and after her mother died she ended up playing the role of the wife and daughter to her dad. When tempted by an offer of 500 gold pieces guess what she did? Yup she took up the offer and ends up having to deal with a king.

Don’t worry, the prince is not spoilt. He is actually a darling and has the right values in life. He is a compassionate king and he is a loyal friend as well as a caring husband to Shuurei. (the king *can* be quite foolish at times though… haha)

This anime might bore some people with its politics and internal battles.

This is basically a story about how a girl who has the intelligence to become a good official in a time where girls were look upon as nothing more but wives. She strives to prove herself, strives to do what is right and overcomes the many problems that she is faced with.

I was first tempted to watch it when i saw the trailer on the television. But the impression that the trailer was giving out was one of comedy and fun, nothing serious and all interesting. But it is not really true, it does have it fun moments but those are rare and far apart.

To girls who love looking at bishounen characters and ogling at them <g> this is the anime for you! It is filled with bishounen characters waiting for you to fall in love with.

To guys, if you want to watch an anime that might stimulate your mind a little, or to watch a strong willed woman make it in a world dominated by men, this might be the anime for you.

The execution of this anime was done is a nice relaxing manner with light creamy colors filling the screen to ensure that you are visually appealed and happy.

Each of the character has a strong personality and they are developed quite well. You see many of their struggles and their will towards doing what they feel is right.

I felt like i was watching a chinese drama in the form of an animation though. This can be seen as both a good and bad thing i guess.

It gets draggy at points and the story line is not so strong that it would be able to make it a good watch for 39 episodes.
However, i do like it because of the main lead – Shuurei. I guess you might want to be her, full of confidence and the will to fight for what is right yet remain feminine.

Rating? 7/10

Not a great anime, but it is not a bad anime either. Unless you have time on your hands, i would not recommend you to watch this anime. There are others that might interest you more, however when you are done with those you might want to take a look at this.

-ra out! ^^

P.S. There is a second season to this anime.