Twelve Kingdoms: Vol 1-5 Premium Box I

Twelve Kingdoms

The Twelve Kingdoms is a brillant series, similiar in tone and storyline to Escaflowne and Fushigi Yugi, however much better than both (and as I love Escaflowne, I do not say that lightly). The story line is extremely addictive, the animation is above average and soooo beautiful, and the music is to die for. Although I have compared the storyline to the above-mentioned series, it is much more serious in tone due to its literary origins (it is based upon series of books by Fuyumi Ono). This is an epic story about three teenagers thrust into a foreign world in which they cannot speak the language. While they try to survive and find their own purpose in this new world they find themselves caught up in political intrigue, battles, and heavenly creatures. This story is grounded in a harsh reality in which people struggle to survive from starvation and stand up against corrupt officials. However, to counter-act the terrible scenes it shows, it also stresses the importance of friendship, trust, and courage. When I first noticed the series on Amazon I was not sure what to expect regarding the style of the story. However, I cannot emphasize enough how good this series is - always gripping, surprising, and emotionally involving. The story continues in boxset 2. The only one fault I can find with this series is that it only runs to 45 episodes and does not expand on one of the most interesting storylines. I read that the creators originally planned for the series to be 68 episodes. However, by concentrating on one main character (which the books did not) they did not have enough source material to continue for another series and are currently waiting for Fuyumi Ono to finish the series of books. However, please do not let that put you off as the series does have an exciting and satisfying finish to the story of the main character. Also, one of the problems with a story this good is that it could never be long enough. The series comes in two gorgeous and well made boxsets, w...