History Anime / TheTwelveKingdoms

[[redirect:LightNovel/TheTwelveKingdoms]]

[[quoteright:208:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cit_twelve_kingdoms.jpg]]
->''"I swear never to desert my post before your throne, I swear never to disobey your orders."''

''Record of the Twelve Kingdoms'' (''Juuni Kokki'') is a series set in a massive other world with a detailed and enthralling plot. The series begins following Youko Nakajima, an [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent ordinary]] {{class representative}} who is dragged into this world kicking and screaming by a [[{{Bishonen}} golden-haired man]] who swears loyalty to her. After being given a Hinman (a creature that possesses her and gives her amazing combat skills) and a magic sword, she is left alone in this world to fend for herself. Fighting her way past hordes of youma -- powerful monsters who seem to be following her -- and a corrupted king who wants her dead before she can fulfill her destiny, Youko discovers why she was brought to this world and comes to accept her responsibilities.

At first it bears a resemblance to ''FushigiYuugi''. It has similar premise tropes (notably OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent, TheChosenOne, and TrappedInAnotherWorld) but with a different storyline and no romantic elements (aside from some healthy {{shipping}}). The world may be outlandish and magical but the people have a striking realism to them; very little of it is forced. The series, and even more so the books, is arguably rather more about psychology and politics than action.

The story is broken into {{Story Arc}}s, based on novels and short stories by Fuyumi Ono. The first thirteen episodes deal with Youko's arrival in the kingdoms, with episode 11 featuring Enki's backstory from another novel. Episode 14 is largely recap, arguably useful in this case. Episodes 15-20 are a compression of 1.5 other novels -- Taiki's coming to the kingdoms, and a mangled version of ''Demon Child'', Taiki as an amnesiac in Japan. Then comes a short story episode and sixteen episodes for the second Youko novel, followed by another short story episode. Four more episodes squeeze in the rest of the En novel followed by yet another recap -- of those four episodes. The anime has frozen there, though there's one more Youko & Taiki-centric novel and a Kyou novel.

Youko and her friend Rakushun are used as narrative frames, excuses to tell stories from books they had nothing to do with. The series mixes or even makes up characters in dramatic or foreshadowing ways, but sticks pretty closely to the novels where it matters.

Not to be confused with TheTenthKingdom. And not [[RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms The Three Kingdoms]] either (maybe). And definitely not [[{{TheKingdom}} The Kingdom]]. And naturally not the [[{{SevenKingdoms}} Seven Kingdoms]].

Has a [[Characters/TheTwelveKingdoms character page]], please put related tropes there.
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!!Examples of:
* AbortedArc: The story of Taiki just cuts out in both the anime and the light novels, albeit at different points.
* AdaptationExpansion: Asano and Yuka were anime-only characters, added to the story to help externalize Youko's struggles. (Yuka did exist in the novels, but was just a minor character; she was Youko's classmate, and never managed to get in the Twelve Kingdoms with her.)
* AdaptationInducedPlotHole: Why on earth would Youko leave Yuka (who doesn't speak the local language) completely alone on arriving in En?
* AlienSky: In the Twelve Kingdoms, the sea is in the sky. Quoth Enki, "well, where else would rain come from?" Which might be a sensible conclusion given the setting, but Enki is from Earth and visits it casually, even in modern times. Maybe he didn't pick up on science along with the blue jeans and democracy, or else was yanking her chain.
* AmericaSavesTheDay: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] America actually causes problems for characters in this series. One old man found himself in Kuo just a few weeks short of the US [[AmericaWinsTheWar ending the war against Japan]] by [[NuclearOption nuking]] his hometown. Upon hearing this news, he loses it and sells out the heroes to the local authorities.
* AncientTradition
* AnyoneCanDie
* AudibleSharpness
* BadassAbnormal: Rulers are immortal, vulnerable only to beheading by a certain type of weapon, capable of understanding and speaking any language, and in at least some cases (Youko's included) have a hinman that increases their fighting ability greatly.
* BeautyEqualsGoodness: ''Kirin'' are creatures of mercy and are all, without exception, beautiful. With ordinary humans, on the other hand, all bets are off.
** One of the Nyosen (who have watched over Kirin and their selection of rulers for centuries) once mentions that she's yet to see an ugly ruler - and Kirin always select good people as rulers. (How long they STAY good is another matter...) So, for human rulers, it seems that Goodness Equals Beauty, at least.
* BecauseDestinySaysSo: The ruler of each kingdom is chosen by the ''kirin'', who receives a revelation from the Heavens regarding who to choose.
* BigDamnHeroes: Shouryuu's people show up with bows and arrows to save his life in his final battle in feudal Japan. [[spoiler:They're all killed inmediately by the enemy archers.]]
* BigFancyHouse: The royal palaces of the kingdoms are impressive. They're built over their own mountains and have thousands of staff members. But to be fair, they are thousands of years old and were built with the approval and possible indirect aid of the gods themselves.
* BizarreAlienBiology, and specifically BizarreAlienReproduction: The citizens of the Twelve Kingdoms look and act just like normal humans. But babies grow in eggs on special trees. And yet there are brothels, so they ''do'' have sex but apparently it's just for fun.
** It doesn't end there: Sometimes still-growing egg-fruit accidentally fall from their branches and into ''shoku'' (storm-induced portals to the real world), where they are "somehow" transported into the wombs of pregnant women.
*** In the novels, Rakushun comments on ''Hourai's'' BizarreAlienBiology. He finds being born from a womb bizarre, and children resembling their parents to be creepy.
* BladeReflection: Youko's magic sword shows her prophetic (and sometimes misleading) visions when she looks into the blade.
* TookALevelInBadass: Nearly every character gets to have a crack at this trope after their CharacterDevelopment, most notably Youko, Taiki ([[spoiler:when protecting Gyousou from Gouran, and then taking said youma as his servant]]), Suzu, and Shoukei.
* CallARabbitASmeerp
* ChangelingFantasy
* CharacterDevelopment: Brilliantly done for most of the main characters; Youko, Suzu, and Shoukei in particular.
* TheChooserOfTheOne: The kirin.
* CrapsackWorld / WorldHalfFull: Kingdoms with virtuous rulers are peaceful and naturally prosperous. Kingdoms ''without'' virtuous rulers (or a ruler at all) are overrun by man-eating monsters and beset by unnatural storms, plagues, and other various calamities. This essentially makes democracy physically impossible according to the laws of the universe. On top of that, the laws of Heaven mandate that the state ultimately owns all property, and due to a lack of fossil fuels the Industrial Revolution can never happen, such that goods like cotton and jars are rare and valuable commodities. In short, the world of the Twelve Kingdoms is one big [[GloriousMotherRussia Glorious Mother]] [[strike:Russia]] China. Nonetheless, while there's still prejudice, still people willing to sell others into slavery, and still bandits and criminals, it is implied that continuing human virtue can make the world of the Kingdoms quite a nice place to live.
** This can also be applied to the life in Hourai itself, which is portrayed as a dark place full of gossipers and hypocrites, and no matter if you are a nice person, everyone always will think the worst of you, even your friends and parents.
* DefiantStoneThrow: Shoukei.
* DemonicInvaders: The youma. When a kingdom starts going downhill, youma begin to spawn to terrorize the countryside.
* DiagonalCut
* DramaticWind
* EmpathicWeapon: Youko's magic sword has a mind and a (bad) personality of his own. At one point, Youko's consciousness is sucked into the blade, where she [[spoiler:meets the spirit of the sword in the shape of a talking monkey who tries to corrupt her into TheDarkSide. She must beat him in a dialectical duel to break the psychic entrapping, return to her body and (finally) gain full control of the sword.]]
* FantasticRacism: The king of Kou hates Kaikyaku (people displaced from our world) and spreads rumours in his kingdom that they cause the destructive Shoku, so that his people will feel the same way.
* FisherKing: The ruler of each kingdom is directly responsible for the state of the land. If they rule well and mercifully, the land flourishes. If they oppress the people or rule generally poorly, crops fail and the land is overrun with youma.
* {{Foil}}: ''Kirin'' and the rulers they select tend to be opposite in certain aspects, usually either sex or apparent age. As a result, some of their more extreme characteristics tend to balance out in their rulership.
* GenreDeconstruction: The first arc basically destroys TrappedInAnotherWorld story conventions by showing what a shy, insecure teenager dropped into a medieval fantasy war zone would ''really'' act like.
* GuardianEntity: ''Shirei'', youma bound under contract to a kirin. They act as bodyguards and spies, and in return for their service, they are allowed to eat the kirin upon his or her death.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: All ''kirin'', with few exceptions, are born with golden (not blond, ''golden'') hair to further amp up their IncorruptiblePurePureness. They are the only beings in the Kingdoms to have this coloring. Their hair tends to be called their "mane", and will not hold dye, so a unique physiology is implied.
* HalfHumanHybrid: The hanjyuu, sort of. Given how creatures are [[BizarreAlienReproduction actually born in the Kingdoms]], this equates more into a case of {{Animorphism}}, than anything else -- [[spoiler:Rakushun]]'s nonhuman form, for instance, is simply a [[spoiler:rat]] capable of walking on two legs.
* HorseOfADifferentColor: Kijyuu, wild beasts that often have the ability to fly, and when trained, become completely loyal. They have a variety of MixAndMatchCritter traits, especially those of big cats, horses, and deer.
* HumanOutsideAlienInside: The natives are apparently indistinguishable from Earth humans, but instead of reproducing "normally" they are born out of large fruit that grow on special trees. They can have sex, but it looks like it's for fun and not for reproduction.
* HybridMonster: Nyokai. Both nanny and bodyguard to their ''kirin'', and, the more beast parts they are born with, the luckier they are considered. The results can be... [[NightmareFuel interesting]]. An example is Sanshi, who has the tail of a lizard, the lower body of a leopard, the torso and face of a human woman, and the neck and eyes of a fish.
* ImmortalImmaturity: Most sennin - that is, people who are on the Register of the Immortals - tend act the age they look like. Very obvious in the case of Shoukei, who is 46 years old, but acts like a spoiled preteen [[{{CharacterDevelopment}} at first.]] Both she and Suzu (who is over 100) talk about meeting Youko, a girl of "their age". All have the apparent physical age of about 16. In fact, they simply consider themselves their apparently age.
* ImperialChina: The setting of the series. Well, [[{{FantasyCounterpartCulture}} close enough.]]
* KneelBeforeFrodo: [[spoiler:The entire Kei army kneeling before Youko as the new queen of Kei.]]
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: Though only a handful are plot-vital at any given point, there are always a lot of side-characters around, and matters are made confusing by the fact that almost everyone has two or three names plus a title or nickname.
* LeftHanging: The series was supposed to be much longer, but abruptly cuts off about twenty episodes before the projected endpoint. A popular fan-rumor is that they were waiting for more books to be published, but nothing is confirmed.
* MagicPants: Averted! Whenever the Kirin take on non-human forms, they're in the buff until they can find something to cover themselves upon changing back. Ditto for hanjyuu like Rakushun. Strangely, they don't leave the clothes behind, either, so anything they're wearing seems to just disappear.
* TheManBehindTheMan: Gahou behind Shoukou, and [[spoiler: Seikyou, the head minister, behind Gahou]].
* MeaningfulName: Nearly all names in the series have some meaning. ''Kirin'' that are especially beloved by their ruler are often given a special name.
* MedievalStasis: All of the kingdoms seem to be locked at the tech level of ImperialChina, or at least pre-industrial China; printing (and Buddhism) is mentioned as an import from our world, and the books have a reference to a lack of fossil fuels. (Though the Tokyopop book translations (which has problems) reference kerosene.)
* MightyWhitey: Of the Japanese variation, naturally. The King of En is one of the most successful rulers, being intelligent, {{badass}}, wise, and fair for over 500 years. Youko, the focus character, [[CharacterDevelopment becomes]] a great queen and fighter. In fact, part of her problem in her first arc is that a rival king fears the power of another nation ruled by another person from Hourai. Finally, the kirin who grew up in Japan turns out to be the most powerful and compassionate of his generation.
** It's played with, though; King Hou's fear of taika kings doing a better job than he has is called out as foolish (he's even posthumously known as The Foolish King) by just about everyone else in the story, native to the Kingdoms or not. There's also Queen Shushou of Kyou, who has been on the throne 90 years and counting, and her kingdom is rather prosperous as well. Provided she keeps doing whatever she's doing, she could no doubt be as successful as Shoryuu.
* NoTimeToExplain: Said by Keiki in his first appearance. Considering what happened to the classroom right after, he may have been right... though if he'd managed to blurt out ''one more sentence'', the plot could have been very different.
* OnlySixFaces: An early plot point is that Youko looks "so different" in the Kingdoms... except she doesn't look wildly different.
* OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent: Youko, Yuka, Asano, Taiki... the list goes on.
* OffWithHisHead: The only way to kill a ''sennin''. Brutally ([[GoryDiscretionShot but off-screen, mostly]]) proven by [[spoiler: Gekkei]], when he kills [[spoiler: both of Shoukei's parents as punishment for their cruel reign, and then beheads their ''kirin'' Hourin for choosing them in the first place.]]
** [[spoiler:Beheading Hourin may have also been a {{mercy kill}}, though, considering how very badly the poor ''kirin'' girl was stricken with ''shitsudou''. She also [[FaceDeathWithDignity seems to be almost happy to die]].]]
* PietaPlagiarism: Youko is seen cradling [[spoiler: Rangyaku]]'s lifeless body in her arms.
* PoorCommunicationKills: If Koukan's friends, who were also friends with Youko had communicated their reasons for inviting her to their mansion and stockpiling weapons that can kill a sennin, things would have gone VERY differently that arc.
* PoseOfSupplication: ''Kirin'' are only able to bow to their rulers. Their physical inability to bow to anyone else was a plot point in Taiki's first arc, where he was extremely insecure and constantly worried about either bowing in front of the wrong person or not being able to bow in front of someone who deserved it.
* AProtagonistShallLeadThem: Youko, and many other Emperors and Empresses in the world. All Emperors are chosen by the kirin, and in years when there is no ruler or a bad ruler the kingdom is ravaged by demons and natural disasters, so nearly any Emperor brushes this trope at least once.
* PsychoSidekick: ''Kirin'' are creatures that abhor violence, and become physically ill when exposed to blood or bad karma. Their ''shirei'', or demon servants, are a lot less pacifist, and protect their masters from those who would do them harm.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: A large portion of the cast are never-aging immortals.
* RecapEpisode: Every arc, though it is at least usually accompanied by a framing story. Notably, even the ''series finale'' is a recap episode.
* SceneryPorn: With some actual scenery, but mostly of the big-fancy-castle variety. Lots of tapestries and murals.
* SheIsTheKing: In Japanese, the word translated as 'king' is gender-neutral, like 'monarch'; thus in some translations, the ruler of a nation is referred to as the king regardless of gender.
* SilenceYouFool: Youko, [[spoiler:when being confronted by Kei soldiers.]]
* SingleStrokeBattle
* SittingOnTheRoof: Youko and Keiki meet when they're in Youko's classroom, but then they have to go to the roof when they're under attack. Yuka and her boyfriend Asano ''were'' on the rooftop already, [[TrappedInAnotherWorld and then...]]
* SketchySuccessor: Defied as the next king is not necessarilly the son/daughter of the previous king, but rather has to be chosen by the Kirin each time the previous one dies, as the fact that they are given nigh-immortality when they become kings/queens means that the king will live forever as long as they don't screw things up, so usually they don't have to worry about who'll be the successor for a few centuries. However this part isn't always true. Youko's predecessor only ruled for about six years, in comparison En-Ou has ruled for more than 500 years.
* StoryArc
* StockSoundEffects
* StupidGood: All kirin are explicitly StupidGood by nature, as supernatural beings of mercy and compassion. One of the primary challenges faced by every ruler in the Twelve Kingdoms is learning when to listen to their kirin and when to ignore them.
* SupernaturalElite: The elites are immortal, can speak any language, and the kings and queens are so strong that killing demons is child's play to them.
* TalkingAnimal: Hanjyuu, who are {{Shapeshifter}}s as well. They are subject to FantasticRacism in most of the kingdoms.
* TheChainsOfCommanding / RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: [[{{FisherKing}} Being directly responsible for the welfare of an entire nation]] would make you stressed too.
* ToWinWithoutFighting: [[spoiler:Yoko riding on Keiki and flying out to meet the army at the end of ''Skies of Dawn'' results in this]].
* TranslationConvention: Most of the series takes place in the Twelve Kingdoms, which speaks a completely different language from Japan. As a sennin, Youko has a magical auto-translate for herself, but normal kaikyaku who get accidentally swept over are out of luck.
** Being in a world based on Chinese mythology, they write using Hanzi (Chinese ideographs). Youko is not completely illiterate because kanji is one of her best subjects (including the pre-spelling-reform versions that are very similar to Hanzi), but has quite a hard time reading the complicated treatises on ruling philosophy that she is given to study and usually has to ask Keiki to read them to her.
* TranslatorMicrobes: Becoming a minor god/immortal sennin allows one to understand any language; even that of animals. Hinman also serve this purpose in the anime.
** There seem to be different levels of microbes, as well -- Suzu, a kaikyaku, cannot speak the language until she's taken in by one of the sennin. As a low-level immortal, she can only understand the gist of what animals say, but she can understand the mumblings of a child with brain damage, which regular mortals cannot do.
* {{Unicorn}}: The magical Kirin.
* WeaksauceWeakness: The ''kirin'' have incredible powers, but they are deadly poisoned by ''blood'', to the point where even the scent can incapacitate them, and continued contact can kill them. Their status as creatures of pure goodness, kindness, and mercy is also specifically played up as a major weakness; it means they are inherently StupidGood, even when they know better. At one point, [[spoiler:a villain is able to force one to do whatever he wants by threatening a baby, even if it endangers the entire kingdom.]]
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: It is stated in the books that most rulers fall around the time when they (and all the friends and family members they left behind when they took the throne) would have died of old age, as most are incapable of coping with the strain and loneliness.
** Characters often give up their status as a sennin without a second thought, going from ageless immortals to plain old mortals without caring about the implications that they all of a sudden have an expiration date.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: A major theme. Especially the former rulers of Hou, Kou, and Kei.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The plot involving Taiki and Gyousou's disappearance from Tai was never explained or resolved in the anime. Granted, it also still hasn't been resolved in the novels, but [[spoiler:Youko at least arranged an international search squad and brought the amnesiac Taiki back from Japan. That book, in turn, ended with a massive cliffhanger that still hasn't been resolved.]]
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Throughout the first arc, Youko is looking for a way to return to Japan. [[spoiler:But, as she is the new queen of Kei, she cannot return home to Japan without dooming Kei to starvation and destruction... and, as her life is now intertwined with Kei's well-being, she would die within a year or two. [[{{IChooseToStay}} Eventually she accepts the responsibility and becomes queen.]]]]
** It's not actually difficult to travel between the worlds, [[spoiler: at least for Kirin, as a character explicitly offers to send her home at one point]]. However, in practice this is impossible because as [[spoiler:Enki]] explains, [[spoiler:crossing between the worlds creates storms called Shoku, the strength of which are directly relative to the innate power of what is being carried over. So when a baby or debris drifts between worlds, it's probably hardly noticeable, but when someone as powerful as a King crosses the borders, it causes cataclysmic storms all along the coast they left from/arrived at, in both worlds.]]
* YouCantFightFate: Played depressingly straight.
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