Shiurei is just like Haruhi Fujioka!
Okay, maybe ten times more awesome, but still, the two of them do share the same weakness. They both react in a very different way. Haruhi learned to crawl into a closet and wait till it’s over, while Shiurei sought refuge at Seiran.
In any case, a few things which happened at the previous episode became clear. First: Shiurei didn’t come back because Ryuuki wanted her to. In fact, he doesn’t even know she’s in the palace. She just got a good offer for a job as the masked guy from last episode’s assistant. For some reason, Kouyuu finds it a good idea to keep her existance away from Ryuuki. Ensei also serves this guy. I find this a bit strange. After all, Ensei looks like he’s some kind of war hero. Then why wouldn’t he join the royal army?
We start the episode with Shiurei coming back to the masked guy after running one of his errands. His direct assistant praises her, and then the masked guy calls to her. For some reason, he adresses her with “Kou Shuu”. I guess she decided to use a nickname, but doesn’t this seem to obvious? If I remember correctly, women are not allowed to work in the palace, which was the reason Shiurei had to work as Ryuuki’s wife in the first place. But still, the same rule still applies. Could it be that Shiurei was employed as a man, in order to bypass this little problem? But still, Ryuuki remains smart. Why hasn’t he figured it out yet? I mean, one look at her name and she’s discovered, no? *kicks lack of japanese*
In any case, the masked guy seems to be dealing with a lot of books and paperwork, and he gives Shiurei a lot to do, as there are a lot of piles of books and paper which have to be cleaned up. We then switch to Kouyuu and Ran as she walsk by, carrying a pile of books. The two of them talk a bit. I assume that this was about Shiurei, and how it would be troublesome if she was found out. The reason behind this still remains a mystery until I can get my hands on the subbed version of this episode.
That evening, it seemed that Shiurei asked Ran and Kouyuu to join her, Ensei, Seiran and Shouta for dinner at her home. Ensei doesn’t have too many manners, and Shiurei asks Kouyuu to help her continue her studies. Seiran, meanwhile, notices that Ensei keeps wandering off towards some place, which doesn’t seem to be too smart.
The next day, the masked guy gives Shiurei and Ensei another job of delivering some papers. When they’re done, they complain a bit about the ridiculously hot weather, and they wonder why the masked guy wears a different mask at each different occasion. For some reason, Ensei keeps calling Shiurei a princess. Even though he had yet to be introduced at the time Shiurei played for queen.
A bit later, Shiurei carries a couple of books, and she runs into Ryuuki. It takes a while for him to notice her, so she quickly hides. Ryuuki meanwhile decides that he’s seeing things again. When Ryuuki has left, a random guy pops up from out of nowhere, and offers to carry the books for Shiurei. He introduces himself as a very weird guy, and he seems to be getting all exited over the strangest things. When the two of they say goodbye, he tells her his name. He does this while making a bishie-pose. The combination that he’s no bishie at all, along with the fact that he carries a pile of books turns this into a hilarious sight. His name seems to be “Ojii-san”, by the way. I think he was kidding when he said that…
When Shiurei returns to the masked man’s office, he seems to be sleeping on a couch. Then, a small thunderstorm starts. It doesn’t take too long (about a minute), but it takes long enough for Seiran to be worried about Shiurei, and Shiurei to scream on top of the masked guy while the masked guy tries to comfort her. This doesn’t end up well when the thunder ends and Ensei the masked guy’s direct assistant enter the room, which results in a totally hilarious scene.
That evening, Shiurei’s still worried about what happened, while she studies a bit. Ensei then brings her some onigiri. The two of them then talk a bit about something my horrible Japanese couldn’t understand, while Seiran and Shouta listen from another room. Shiurei knows that the two of them are listening as well, because one of the onigiri looks horribly deformed (Shouta’s work ^^).
The next day, Kouyuu talks to Ryuuki a bit, surrounded by piles and piles of books. The latter really is down because of his lack of seeing Shiurei. He has some kind of plan, but the episode’s not long enough to show this. We then see “Ojii-san” talking to the masked guy without his mask, indeed laughing at his own performance a couple of days earlier. The two of them are up to something. probably they plan to do something to Shiurei as well, in order to break Ryuuki. I couldn’t understand what that might’ve been, though.
We never get to see the masked guy’s eyes and forehead, by the way. Every time we see him in screen, the screen stops around his nose. He probably has something that the viewer must not see at this point in the show. Then their discussion turns light again, as Ojii-san forces the masked guy to put up a horribly ugly mask, and wear it for the rest of the next day. This mask has a very interesting facial expression. While his normal masks are just emotionless, this mask has a very sad look, almost as if it was crying. The masked guy doesn’t seem to happy with this. ^^
The next day, a startled Shiurei gets a demonstration on how this guy manages to drink his tea without putting his mask off. Later that day, the masked guy apparently unmasks Ensei. Or he at least says something that startles Shiurei and Ensei. Kouyuu, meanwhile is wondering about something related to Ryuuki. That night, Ensei gets caught by Seiran while trying to sneak out again. The two of them talk a bit as well.
“Could it be that Shiurei was employed as a man, in order to bypass this little problem? ”
You’re right. Shuurei pretends to be a man in order to gain employment from the masked dude. At one point, she even called her dad SHouka-sama.
As for the weird man, he withheld his name from Shuurei and asked her to call him Oji-san, something akin to uncle. I think he’s from the Kou family. He and the masked man seems to know her identity.
Anyhow, Ensei’s conversation with Shuurei is mainly about Shuurei’s doubts about her continued studying. She wonders if it’s worth reaching for her dream even if she’s a female. Then, Ensei bestows words of encouragement. Of course, Shuurei catches on that it was Shouka and Seiran’s urging to cheer her up since the tea and the snack has given it away.
I can partially understand some dialogue but I hope this helps a bit. ^^;;
Nice to have the comments fixed. I thought it had problems in my end. ^^
First, thanks for blogging this great anime! It’s a jem and it’s good to see it being blogged.
Second, thanks for fixing the comments! I tried to leave a comment yesterday but kept getting blocked.
Third and finally, I’m currently watching the Chinese subs of this series and will try to clarify a few things with episode 09. For the other epidoes, there’s a great site with line-by-line Eng translations at: http://shadow.randomfandom.com/saiunkoku/index.htm
On to the clarifications. First, I agree that Shuurei is a lot like Haruhi, both afraid of lightening, hee hee. Okay, it was Kouyuu’s suggestion that Shuurei work for the head of the dept of finance (mask guy Kou Kijin) for a month because of the short staff due to heat stroke of a lot of the members. By the way the “Kou” for the mask guy has the same sound as Shuurei’s surname but is a different character and means “yellow”. Kouyuu probably had several reasons for this, one is to impress upon Kijin how capable women can be, since Ryuuki is trying to pass a bill to allow women to take the National Exams for government positions. Ensei isn’t officially serving Kijin, but was forced by Seiran to take up Seiran’s role of protecting Shuurei since Seiran has been recruited to help catch a bunch of bandits that’s been invading the town from Sa Province.
Because women are not allowed to take the National Exam for government positions, Shuurei dresses as a guy (in the last episode she was sad because everyone said with her figure no one will figure her for a woman – lol) and takes on a more male name Kou Shuu. And as you guessed, Ryuuki doesn’t know Shuurei is back in the palace. When they almost ran into each other in the hall, Ryuuki thought he heard Shuurei’s voice, but then not seeing anyone, said outloud he was probably delusional from the summer heat. 😀
In terms of them having a meal together, Ensei is staying with them for a while, and apparently Ran and Kouyuu often gather at her home for meals while providing the raw ingredients (apparent from episode 8). The reason Shuurei studies so hard is because it’s always been her dream to be a government official, and as she said in a previous episode to Ryuuki, when she found out that dream will never come true because she’s a woman and can’t sit for the exams, she passed on her dream to the children at the temple where she teaches.
“For some reason, Ensei keeps calling Shiurei a princess. Even though he had yet to be introduced at the time Shiurei played for queen.” Ensei calls Shuurei “ojo-sama” – “my lady” because that’s what Seiran calls her, and because she’s the lady of a nobel family (the Kou’s).
“When Ryuuki has left, a random guy pops up from out of nowhere, and offers to carry the books for Shiurei.” We learn a lot about this guy during his conversation with Kijin. His name is Kou Reishin and he is actually Shuurei’s uncle – i.e. her Dad’s younger brother. Actually, remember in episode 3, when Shuurei said her dad’s younger brother sent the silver tea set? That’s the guy.
Also from Reishin and Kijin’s conversation, it’s revealed that Kijin has already figured out that Shuurei is a woman. They talk about how Kijin left in silence when Ryuuki brought up the issue of allowing women to sit for government national exams at the last council. Kijin replies that a drastic move like that takes time – both because attitudes have to be changed, and the culture will also be affected. Kijin then asks Reishin, who apparently is known for a cool-head and serious nature, why he didn’t object to Ryuuki’s suggestion. Reishin’s reply is that Shuurei is working very hard, and that she can pass the exam with flying colors – even Kouyuu says so. It is then revealed that Kouyuu is Reishin’s adoptive son (we 1st learn Kouyuu is adopted in episode 7) when Kijin praises Kouyuu as a genius. He also says Shuurei is very bright and that it may not be a bad idea for her to be married to him. Being the protective, and niece-fetished uncle that he is, lol, Reishin furiously refuses. Kijin remarks since he’s not a “real uncle”, he has no place to object. That’s probably because Reishin hasn’t been able to properly introduce himself to Shuurei, so she doesn’t know he is her uncle. So when he told Shuurei to call him “ojii-san” he actually wasn’t kidding, he wanted to hear her call her “uncle” and got giddy when she did. LOL. XD
You may have noticed in the council meetings that Kou Reishin is also among the members. He is the head of the Department of Civil Affairs.
Whew! That last comment was getting long, so I’m continuing in another comment. There’s a funny scene at the end of the scene between Reishin and Kijin when Reishin shows Kijin his newest work – a mask that shows signs of heat stroke. He said, “this way when people around Kou Kijin sees that even you get heat stroke, they will feel closer to you” (i.e. feel Kijin is more approchable). Kijin’s furious and tells Reishin to take the mask back. It’s interesting that Kijin did end up wearing the mask the next day. XD
Oops, I got off track. Back to the dinner table and Ensei and Shuurei’s conversation. First, at the dinner table, Ensei’s laughing about Shuurei being in Kijin’s embrace earlier when she was frightened by thunder (so funny). Seiran says he was worried but am glad to hear that Shuurei wasn’t by herself during the thunder. They also comment that it’s nice for Shuurei to work since she tends to be less energetic during the summer months (probably worrying about the thunder… ha ha). Shuurei then comments that it’s only for a month, and is sad. This is because her dream is to be a government official so to work in the palace is a dream but it’s a short one. Shuurei, not wanting them to worry, quickly adds that she’s satifised even if it’s only for a month.
Ensei is sent by Seiran and Shouka in to cheer Shuurei up, and she figures this out because of the deformed rice ball made by her Dad and the huge round rice ball made by Seiran. Aww! Ensei tells Shuurei that he once thought about taking the national exam as well, but then a bunch of stuff happened and he didn’t. Shuurei encourages him by saying it’s not too late for him to work hard. Ensei then says he’ll study with Shuurei. Shuurei replies that Kouyuu is very strict. Ensei then says, “then nevermind!” XD
Shuurei asks Ensei if harboring an impossible dream is stupid. Ensei replies that Shuurei’s dream is to be a government official. Shuurei wonders how he knows and he says because she studies til late every night, and love the work at the palace. Shuurei replies that no matter how hard she works, women are not allowed to take the exam. Ensei says that despite that, she’s working hard. Shuurei says every body has the right to chase after a dream. She adds that lately it seems like dream and reality is getting closer when she works at the palace. She contemplates that she never knew that it’s hard to chase after a dream even as an adult. Ensei encourages her not to give up. Shuurei says she will do her best. Ensei says that attitude is more like Shuurei, and that “a thousand miles begins with a single step” – which is also the title of this episode, by the way. Although a single step doesn’t seem like much, it will surely amount to great things. When he leaves, Ensei adds that he thinks Shuurei is very suited to be a government official and encourages her not to give up. Go for it Shuurei! 😀
Okay, last comment. Sorry for the long comments, and if they are not helpful in understanding the storyline, please let me know!
“The next day, Kouyuu talks to Ryuuki a bit, surrounded by piles and piles of books.”
Ryuuki has been working hard at writing a convincing letter of argument to present to Kijin (since he left at the last council meeting and the law Ryuuki wants to pass about women taking part in exams was not passed). Kouyuu comments that Ryuuki’s motive for the law is unpure since it serves for him to see Shuurie in the palace. Ryuuki puts forth a passionate plea that it’s not about his own selfish reasons, but that the world is built by men and women, and that the idea of government being run by men is old-fashioned. During that he smacks the desk and gets trampled by the books. Blushing, he says, “Just wait, Shuurei!” XD He’s working hard to pass the law so Shuurei can take the exam, pass and work in the palace. I’d say Kouyuu is right about the unpure motives. 😛
“Later that day, the masked guy apparently unmasks Ensei.”
This will probably be clarified in the next episode, since the preview mentioned it will be about who Ensei really is. Kijin surprises Ensei because they were talking about 2 more officials that got heat stroke, and Kijin puts Ensei in charge of their duties, saying that he’s sure Ensei is capable, then calls Ensei by his full name (which I don’t think was revealed before) – Rou Ensei.
“Kouyuu, meanwhile is wondering about something related to Ryuuki.”
Actually, Kouyuu is lost!!! Ha ha ha! I don’t know why I find this so funny, but since he’s famed as a genius because he’s the youngest to ever pass the national exams, it’s amusing to me that he has no sense of direction, hee hee hee. XD He kept mumbling to himself why he can’t seem to find Ryuuki’s room. He runs into assistant secretary Kei (the guy that works with Kijin) who wants to talk about “Shuu” (i.e. Shuurei). Earlier in the library Kei had talked to Shuurei about how bright “he” is and that “he” should sit for the next national exam. “Shuu” says thanks but that “he” can’t participate. Kouyuu was worried for a moment that it’s been discovered that Shuurei is a woman, but turns out Kei wants to talk about his opinion that “Shuu” is very suited for a government position and that he’s in support of “Shuu”. Kouyuu replies that Kei will learn the reason that “Shuu” can’t take the exam after “he” becomes a government official. Kei asks something about “Shuu” working at the department and Kouyuu says he will have to see what the higher-up has to say about it. He then innocently asks Kei where he is going, and when Kei says he’s going to see Ryuuki, Kouyuu suggests that they go together – HA HA HA HA HA!
“That night, Ensei gets caught by Seiran while trying to sneak out again.”
Seiran confronts Ensei about him sneaking off to catch bandits during the night. He adds that the bandits that he’s caught with the other army officials mentioned a man with a cross mark on his face. 😛 Seiran says Ensei can’t do that because it’ll bring trouble to Shouka and Shuurei. Ensei just stares and Seiran asks what he’s looking at. Ensei replies that he was just thinking about what a good family Seiran got involved with. He looks at Shuurei and comments on how hard she works every night. Then comes a funny part! =) Ensei suggests Seiran and Shuurei get married, as that would work out perfect: Shuurei can continue to study, and Seiran doesn’t have to worry about getting set up all the time (apparently Seiran is popular… hee hee) The cutest part is because Seiran is blushing during this!
Ensei even adds, “Besides, there’s few woman who would be willing to spend a lifetime with you, right?” Seiran’s comeback is that he’ll report what Ensei’s been doing to the official. Ensei hurriedly says “forget I said anything” and runs off.
I hope my previous clarification comments were helpful and not too long-winded (*grimace*). Thanks again for blogging this anime!
Ten and Lavender: Thanks a LOT for clarifying some of the difficult issues. You’re a great help. ^_^
I really had to laugh when I found out that Kouyuu was getting lost again. It’s so typical of a genius like himself to have no sense of direction. ^^;
I definitely agree with you psgels. I’m becoming quite fond of the short-tempered, straight-forward, no direction sense genius character of Kouyuu. =) Incidently he also got lost at the end of episode 8, as Shadow translated: http://shadow.randomfandom.com/saiunkoku/saiun_08.htm Poor Ensei and Shuurei for following him around for 2 hours! -_-
Just thought this page might be helpful http://www-personal.umich.edu/~weyrbrat/fanfic/anime/saiunkoku/ – it contains a summary of the first novel of Saiunkoku Monogatari, which covers the first 7 episodes of the anime. The anime has added some scenes but glossed over some details, which the novel summary fills in.
Hi! first of all…let me just say that I’m a bit late in watching this anime…in fact I only “discovered” it a week ago but I’ve gotta say that it’s really great!! I’ve been reading the comments and though it’s a year late, I hope that you read my comment.
Is it me…or is Kuoyuu like Ryoga Hibiki from Ranma 1/2…always getting lost and all…but very endearing 🙂
Also…since I’m only in this episode…I thought that Ryuuki is THE MAIN guy in this anime…but I’m quicky learning that he is not. I really like him though…he is a bit naughty, but quite lovable 🙂
I don’t know what’s gonna happen in later episodes yet but would it be stupid of me to say that I want Shurei to get together with Ryuuki in the end??? I love their moments together…. XD
By the way, thanks for blogging….keep up the good work!!