Oh, I love Saiunkoku Monogatari with an unholy passion

[dangermousie]

So, to blab on:

You disappoint me, Evil Counsellor.

I kept hoping that with your squinty glare and abundant mustache, you could make our heroes' lives a living hell for at least a few episodes.

But I hate to point out to you, Sir, that your plot has holes the size of a truck at a demolishion derby.

(Oh, katranna, ep 6 is where the plot kicks in, with assassination attempts, coups, kidnappings and lots of swords).



OK, fine. I give you points, you discovered that Seiran is Prince Seien, the exiled missing one.

In abstract, getting him to replace his currently ruling brother, Ryuuki, is not a stupid plan: new one will be grateful to you after getting put on the throne, blah blah.

In abstract.

Have you considered people involved? Or the logistics? Or is there only hair inside your head, too?

Yeah, yeah. Kidnap Shuurei, use her to draw Ryuuki into a place full of assassins. Meanwhile offer the throne to Seiran.

Brilliant. NOT.

1. Seiran will OF COURSE go along with having his loved little brother assassinated. Clearly. WTF? And it's not as if you are deluded about Seiran's views on things, you are all 'you were the only one who cared for Ryuuki.' WTF.

2. Great, activate option 2. You will make Seiran unconscious, and by the time he comes to, Ryuuki will be dead and he will be on the throne. Brilliant. He is going to be so grateful to you for killing his brother and also placing Shuurei in harm's way. You just offed/harmed 67% of people he cares about. Of a guy who is awfully good with weapons and lives to protect those he cares about.

You think you had problems controlling Ryuuki. Seinen is THE capable, alpha brother. You are kidding when you think he'll be docile, right? Unless you plan to keep him drugged all the time (in which case good luck controlling anything) or you think he will magically be 'ehhh, nothing I can do to fix it now, buh-hye, Ryuuki, where's my crown?'

3. Umm. Ryuuki. Is the best damn swordsman around. With the possible exception of Seiran. Which you should have at least some inkling of! You live at court! You send him into a building full of assassins and he just might, you know, wipe them all out? He is sweet and oversocialized, not suicidal or weak.

4. Fine, you don't know that Shuurei's father is the feared legendary head of the assassin squad. I am trying to figure out, if your coup had succeeded, whether, after he finished cutting off bits from you on Shuurei's behalf, he would first start cutting off bits on behalf of Ryuuki, whom he took care of when Ryuuki was an abused little tot, or on behalf of Seiran, whom he took in over a decade ago, and treats like family. Hmmmm.

But you DO know that this assassin dude is out there somewhere, loyal only to dead Emperor and would probably not be keen on you playing musical chairs with succession.

YOU FAIL.

Also, I think we are supposed to feel sorry for Kourin, the 13-year old who wanted to help her father figure, Evil Advisor, and attempted to off Shuurei on her own (without him ever telling her to do anything!) but I just think she is too stupid to live.



Speaking of the opposite of 'too stupid to live,' I adore Shuurei! Finally, a heroine in shoujo with a lot of common sense.

It's amazing to me that she is just so full of common-sense, down-to-earth, and undramatic. She never does the stupid, high-flown thing.

When she first meets Ryuuki and he pretends to be only a court official, you realize later that she recognized him as the Emperor right away but just let him carry on with it. As she points out, who else could it be, no military uniform, wandering around in informal clothes around everywhere in the Palace like home.

Or later, when he comes into her room, and just falls asleep sitting up, she just tucks him into her bed and is all 'where am I going to sleep?' and instead of doing something stupid, like sleeping on the floor is all:
(1)it's a big bed
(2)Ryuuki likes guys
(3)no way can he mistake me for one
(4)I'll put a bolster between us just in case
(5)snore.

You rock, Shuurei!

Plus, I completely crack up when Kouren comes in with tea in the morning and misinterprets and runs out, and Shuurei wakes up to find out Ryuuki has kicked the bolster away and is now hugging her. LOL.

Cuteness.

She also doesn't go starry-eyed around bishounen, which is nice. When her father is all 'be nice to Ryuuki, he is lonesome and had childhood from hell' she is 'yeah' (and she was beforehand anyway) but is not 'Awww, let me soothe his woobienss with my adoration.' (sidenote: Dad was all 'he came into archives every day with cuts and bruises and I put stuff on them' What on earth do you put on bruises? Cuts, fine, some medieval bandaid type thing, but bruises? Other than raw steak?)

And I love that she thinks Seiran and Ryuuki are a couple. LOL. And is totally fine with it, even if it is her husband and her best friend.

I totally adore Ryuuki btw. I think he is my favorite character in this.

He does wander around for the first few eps in a sort of shell-shocked trance (which makes sense, what with big civil war which offed the rest of his unenviable family, and abused child issues, and lack of exposure to the real world) but he is funny. And sweet. And very very bi. (Sidenote 2: I love that even in such a total mainstream, shoujo anime, much more suited to kids than Fushigi Yuugi, it's a matter-of-fact thing to have the hero be bi. Heh).

He actually makes me think of a mixture between Yuki from Furuba, Hotohori from FY, and Tamaki from Ouran.

Like Tamaki, he is a total blond, and is also very overdramatic, and kinda fragile. And very unfamiliar with normal world.

And like Hotothori, he has the whole hottie isolated Emperor thing going :)

And he has Yuki's whole stand-offish, overly polite oversocialized thing going, and the perfect mild manners which are just total shellshock in a way. Which makes sense as they have a very similar childhood background, what with being locked in dark rooms for days at a time, and being told they were unwanted, and being beaten every day because it made good amusement for his Mother and half-brothers.

Oh, and also mother issues. A mile wide. I think Ryuuki gloms onto Shuurei because she totally mothers him. And is all 'you can have the sweet buns later. I will tell you a story. You need to study. etc etc etc.' It's like 'whoa, Mommy figure that is not abusive?'

And I think it's cute they sleep together every night (not that way, alas, it would be a very different anime :D) because he doesn't like darkness or being alone.

AWWWW.

Now if he could only tell her he doesn't like only boys.

I love that he might be clueless about certain basics of life (such as walking and eating at the same time) but can tell what kind of poison was slipped into a cup just by looking at its shade in the silver. A very specialized kind of education.

Of course, anime makes clear he is not stupid at all, just unmotivated, and also I bet the whole 'Oh, I don't know anything, anything at all' must have been totally a surivival tactic in that creepy family.

Oh, and Seiran? ROCKS. I did love the whole bit where Ryuuki figured out who he was, and Seiran was all 'I am not your older brother, but if I was, if you revealed it, I would have to go away, and I am going to watch over you. And hug you now. But am not your brother, nope.' Awwww. Siblings.

Random note: I like Ryuuki's two advisors. They amuse me. I might or might not ship them :)



Ryuuki comes to see Shuurei at night:





Common-sense! I love you!



Ryuuki earns double points for being able to amuse me immensely by his use of the royal 'we' and make me want to pet him for the little lost boy 'nobody told me fairytales because they were too busy beating me' vibe. At the same time. Heh.



Common-sense wins again!





LOL





Advisor people and awesome hair-styles:



Ryuuki drinks poison intended for Shuurei. Because he can tell it's not fatal. That's a really useful education if he wants to join Pratchett's assassins' guild.



Ryuuki explains his emo:



I think this screencap is a little too dark, but I like how in the anime, the mother and siblings are just these giant dark silouettes with red eyes, and look as tall as they would to a kid. Very Furubaish.



I really like the peony in her hair. She always wears it. I wonder if it's some sort of proper imperial flower or what.



Seiran has his own emo, listening to his brother:



Because chibi!Ryuuki is uber-cute:



Shuurei playing that musical instrument to get Ryuuki to sleep:



Awwww, brotherly reunion, where it flashes back to their younger selves. I am glad SPN fanfic writers aren't in this fandom:







Two advisors:



Are worried that Seiran is in on the plot by Evil Advisor:



But Ryuuki is blonde, not stupid:



I love that shot of Seiran holding a sword to Evil Advisor's throat:



Common-sense heroine! Being logical even when kidnapped and tied up!



As I said, Evil Advisor's plot is utterly stupid because hello...





Meanwhile Ryuuki is all 'Grrrr, had to come to drafty dark place and I hate dark places. They kidnapped my OTP! And now my hair is getting mussed. Argh. Slash, kill.'



But is kinda single-minded, which is a family trait:





He throws his sword down because assassins tell him they have Shuurei. Seeing that this is only ep 6 out of 70+, I am not too worried:





Woo-hoo, Shuurei's Daddy is Super Assassin:



I think, so far, even though the animation is prettier (as this is my newer) and Shuurei is much smarter than Miaka, I do prefer Fushigi Yuugi, because FY had that deliciously post-modern tongue-in-cheek vibe where it was poking fun and metaing on itself. And also, FY had a hell of a lot more angst. I can't see how they can top what happens to Tamahome's family in FY or the death-toll (not that I want them too, one day bawling is enough).

It is, however, utterly awesome.

Comments

[ex-beautyof.livejournal.com]

It does look awesome, I have to say :=D

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

It really is. So pretty.

Do you dl? I can post links.

[ex-beautyof.livejournal.com]

I do indeed, I'd love links :=D

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

From what I recall when I was looking into this, you're supposed to ship the advisors.

Based on wuxia(where most high ranking chinese people have some sort of signature in their wardrobe) I'd say that the peony is a symbol of some sort.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I don't think so beacause I looked it up and the non-blonde one is in love with a court lady, later on.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Ok. The main writeup I recall went into great detail about how some men slept together, but it didn't mean that they were gay...people just did that. That may be more the manga than the anime, though.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Well, Ryuuki clearly has slept with men, but he is also in love with Shuurei. (I saw a spoilery bit later, where he basically tells her 'I don't only like men.') So he is bi. I wouldn't be surprised if others are.

[saturnhime.livejournal.com]

This honestly looks really good :D

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

It is totally awesome.

[fenrir-khan.livejournal.com]

Also, I think we are supposed to feel sorry for Kourin, the 13-year old who wanted to help her father figure, Evil Advisor, and attempted to off Shuurei on her own (without him ever telling her to do anything!) but I just think she is too stupid to live.

Thank. You.
I hate how they try to redeem her (yep, that's not the last you've seen of Kourin). Sorry to say bb, you can't erase an assassination attempt with teary eyes and a bow... um, except if your name is Ryuuki and you give off emo vibes.

Speaking of Ryuuki, I'm happy you pointed out the similarities between him and Yuki in Furuba. Yuki is also my favourite character in that manga. I may or may not have a type...

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Re: Kouren. At 13, you really should know better. She was all prepared to kill a woman who did her no harm. It's quite creepy that she didn't seem to have any qualms about it.

you can't erase an assassination attempt with teary eyes and a bow... um, except if your name is Ryuuki and you give off emo vibes.

LOL.

Yuki is also my favourite character in that manga. I may or may not have a type...

He really did make me think of Yuki very strongly. It's funny, because while I like Yuki in Furuba, I prefer Kyo and Haru to him there (just as in FY, I am a Tamahome girl over Hotohori, much as I love the latter). I was trying to figure out if I have a fictional type but looking at my drama/manga/anime faves, I don't seem to, at all. Except for 'good guy with sucky life,' really. Which is crazily broad.

But I really really love that he is a little frozen and not a little childish (because I think he never GOT to be a child) but he is such a darling, really. Seiran is very much a grown-up but I love Ryuuki's impulsiveness more, and just the sheer niceness. Or maybe I just want to mother him.

[fenrir-khan.livejournal.com]

Come to think of it, if I have a type, it is rather proteiform although 'good guy with a sucky life is always good' :). However, I definitely have an anti-type.

Thus, I can't stand Kyo. I know I'm in the minority, but he's the character I dislike most in Furuba. I have no idea why either.

Also, heeee Tamahome! When I think back on FY, the things I flash on are Tamahome's braid and Miaka's clothes getting ripped off her body for the umpteenth time. Those were the days.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

It's OK if you don't like Kyo. More for me :)

I think if I were a boy, I'd be a Kyo-type, so maybe it's genderbending affinity.

Ahhh, Tamahome. My mad anime crush, and still, after all these other anime, my anime boyfriend :)

Tamahome's braid

But then he got it cut off in ANGST!

AAAANGST.

That anime enjoyed torturing Tamahome even more than Miaka loved her meals.

I really need a rewatch.

*uses her FY icon*

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :)

Yeah. Watase Yuu seems to understand how inherently silly shoujo manga can be; it comes out more in her lighter romcom-type series (Appare Jipangu). Of course, for me, that made the angst in FY more difficult to take seriously.

I loved the angst in FY precisely because of the crackiness of the lighter moments. Basically, both my inner 12 year old, which took it very seriously and swooned, and my outer 20-something year old, which mocked at it, were satified, because the show did BOTH by itself, too. It shared the duality.

since realized that it's a total shoujo manga cliche that the polite, refined "prince" characters always lose to the angsty, possessive, usually angry (subsiding over the course of the series to grumpy), emotionally retarded ones in shoujo love triangles. (Unless the emotionally retarded character maintains the polite, "perfect" facade, in which case he'll usually win out over the devoted childhood friend in the love triangle.) Alternately, of course, there's the "stolid, responsible nice guy" vs. the "good-natured playboy" trope (latter usually wins)....Holy crap, I read WAY too much shoujo.


LOL. Now I am trying to figure out where this places Zero and Kaname in Vampire Knight (if it goes Kaname/Yuki, instead of Zero/Yuki, I just might break something). Hmmmm...

I usually go for the woobiest one to ship with the heroine :)

He's definitely got the Tamaki=labrador puppy vibe.

Exactly. I was SO thinking Tamaki, when he was in the marketplace with Shuurei and she got him to help sell things and he was all taken aback and excited.

And also, like Tamaki, he is pretty capable when necessary.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, sometimes very pretty manga comes out not so pretty in the anime. I am thinking of Wallflower.

if shoujo manga has taught me anything, it's that the most alpha guy who gets the girl

Hmmm. The only exception I can think of is Peach Girl. I adore Kairi but don't think he out-alphas Touji. And I guess whoever Haruhi ends up with in Ouran *waves her Tamaki/Haruhi flag" unless she ends up with Mori, it won't be the alphaest. Hmmm...

I guess the alpha rule is also not so good for poor Ryuuki :)

I wonder how VK animation will go, seeing the manga is not over yet.

In the manga, I confess I have no interest in Kaname at all.