Shadow of the Moon, The Sea of Shadow

I just completed the anime 12 Kingdoms. Even if you don't like anime, this is an amazing series to view. My only wish is that one day I can write a story this detailed and with as much depth as Fuyumi Ono.

The series tells several stories from the world of the Twelve Kingdoms, located on several islands only accessible through magic (or "shoku"). The societies are similar to classical China. While the inhabitants of the Twelve Kingdoms are aware of the existance of our world (Japan in the anime), the reverse is not true.

One of the major stories of the series centers around a girl named Youko Nakajima from Japan, who is suddenly transported to the world and eventually discovers that she is the Empress of the Kingdom of Kei. However, the anime does not concentrate solely on Youko, and tells stories of other characters. The anime uses Youko as a framing device for telling other stories, though.

Youko Nakajima, an unhappy high school student, is one day faced with a strange man who swears allegiance to her. After a battle with large beasts, he then takes her to another world along with two of her classmates. There, her appearance has changed and she can understand the language even though her classmates cannot. But their status as "Kaikyaku" (people who come from Earth) makes them hunted fugitives, so they wander the land of the 12 countries, simply trying to survive and to figure out the reason why they were brought to this world.

The characters are in the "realistic" section of anime; very beautifully drawn. It has elaborate backgrounds and very fluid animation. The music merely adds to the charm of the anime, with a celtic/epic feel to it.

Along the way, Youko meets many different characters, some of which she is suspicious of at first. After all, any half-beast would be weird at first, right?

She grows throughout the series, starting off as a simple high school student and growing into a true Empress.

MAP OF KINGDOMS:

By the way, you might want to keep your eye out on the next post--it's gonna be special!