Welcome back to my Twelve Kingdoms watch! This is an important week, as we finally return to Nakajima’s queenly story. This week see’s political intrigue, budding rebellion and… two new side stories? It’s a lot to talk about so lets dive right in!
Starting off, the side stories. I’m not yet sure how I feel about what Twelve Kingdoms is doing. Not in a negative way, of course. This isn’t the first time Twelve Kingdoms has gone off on a weird storytelling tangent. Our entire last arc was basically a self-contained history for a character that we probably won’t see again in the anime. No, I am sure Twelve Kingdoms will manage to balance these three stories well between each other. It’s more that I don’t yet understand what connects these stories, these three characters. 2 of them, Nakajima and Suzu, are Kaikyaku, that one makes sense. Meanwhile Suzu and Shoukei are both effectively peasants, or have inverted each others roles, etc. Similar also holds true for Shoukei and Nakajima, queen and fallen princess after all. But so far, these connections seem very nebulous. Only option is to wait and see, I suppose.
That said, one thing we did get a look at were many different ways to rule. Twelve Kingdoms showed us a lot of variations, different ways that Rulers can fail, or a successful rule have issues. Take the King of Hou for example. He clearly believed what he was doing was right, restricting everything the way he was. He didn’t seem to take pleasure in his actions rather he legitimately believed he was helping his subjects. But he allowed himself to become disconnected from his people. He and his family never left their wonderland palace, never sought to understand his people’s hardships. What is death to an immortal after all, executions must sound easy. It doesn’t help that his wife was using him to punish and abuse those at the palace either. So it’s no surprise he became a tyrant, his people rebelled and his rule ended.
Twelve Kingdom’s also showed us an example of a successful rule, though one with issues of corruption. We see this in Riyou, the Sen-in who takes pleasure in abusing her servants. Clearly the kingdom is still going well, she still has her position and no one bothers her. But because of that, no one appears to come and check on her either. No one checks her power over her servants, effectively letting her run wild in her own little kingdom. That Suzu has worked for her for 100 years without anyone being the wiser is even more evidence at how easy this is to hide. This raises the question for Nakajima, who is in the middle of learning to govern, who can she trust? Just how much does she actually know about her officials and what they are doing in their own lands?
Speaking of Nakajima, her reign has only just started and already we are seeing cracks. I was sort of expecting this to be honest. Nakajima, for all that she has grown, is still a high schooler. She has a lot to learn about running a country of all things. And Twelve Kingdoms has done a great job of depicting this lack of knowledge. Showing how the old power reacts to Nakajima’s new power, as well as her ignorance of their customs. Having them mock her, call her names thinking she doesn’t recognize them, disrespecting her rule etc. There are a lot of subtle comments and actions that show them either manipulating or completely disregarding her. It doesn’t help that she barely remembers their positions, making faux pas almost daily it seems. Or that Keiki is overcompensating for his last queen by being extra serious with Nakajima.
What I liked in particular about Nakajima this week though was this idea of a “Ruler”. Twelve Kingdom’s isn’t the first series to do this, though it does predate another example in Fate/Zero. This idea that a Ruler must be larger than life, that they have a duty to be arrogant. The people and the ministers have an expectation for how a Ruler acts, so when Nakajima fails to meet that, they take it as weakness. Taking to long on a decision, or diddling around about it, come off as a lack of decisiveness, of self confidence. I have always liked these sorts of themes, because they have always rung true to me. Even if a leader isn’t sure of a course, they have to appear so in front of their team/subjects. How can anyone follow someone who isn’t even sure of their own actions after all?
Twelve Kingdoms gives us multiple examples of this, good and bad, this week as well. The bad example have already talked about in the King of Hou. The good example comes in someone we have known for awhile though, Shoryuu. He argues basically what I did above, but presents it in a better way to Nakajima. That a Ruler cannot be seen to struggle and that, in time, their subjects will come to accept their will as second nature. It apparently took him 300 years before his court would let him get away with wearing less formal clothes, for instance. I really hope Twelve Kingdoms continues with this relationship, because I think Shoryuu brings an interesting perspective to Nakajima’s struggles. He has been a King so long that its second nature, yet at the same time means well. I look forward to seeing how he helps Nakajima.
The last thing I wanted to talk about before getting into individual episodes was the Sen-in. Twelve Kingdoms introduced something interesting this week with them: Age. We see it with Shoukei and a little with Suzu, how being ageless effects a person. We know they physically stay the same age, but do they age mentally? Does Shoukei have the mind of a 30+ year old woman while being stuck in a teenage girls body? What about Suzu, who is over a century at this point? I really hope Twelve Kingdoms explores the effects immortality can have on a persons psyche as we go. A lot of media has it, but we often only see the end effects. The insane or depressed immortals who have lived to long. Very little media I have found actually shows us the process, and Twelve Kingdoms has a good opportunity here.
Onto the episodes, lets start with 22. This one slowly brought us back to Nakajima, bringing us back up to speed. I really liked how Twelve Kingdoms did this through “letters” between her and Rakushun. Giving us both a small time skip while also explaining events during it and continuing to build their relationship. The way they talk to each other, talk about their burdens and knowing there is more but not pressing it. If Twelve Kingdoms is going for some kind of romance, this is how you do it. Slowly but surely building up this relationship through a bunch of minor interactions. Beyond that we also saw the first cracks in Nakajima’s reign in this episode. Whether it be misremembering titles or being called “Kaitatsu” etc. This episode did a great job of preparing us for the arc to come and I really liked it.
Coming to episode 23, this was perhaps the weakest of the 3. Not because its bad, more because the other two were just better. This one introduces us to our other 2 leads for the arc, Suzu and Shoukei. Because of this we don’t get much Nakajima in it all, which hurts for me since I like her, but otherwise it’s good stuff. We see the poor treatment by Sen-in, the unknowing abuse of power by King Hou, and the repercussions of such. I think some of the actions taken were a bit extreme but I can hardly fault the Kei lord for them. Sadly though, because of King Hou and how that episode was structured, Shoukei is my least favorite of the 3 leads. Maybe she can grow as the arc goes on. But so far she is a spoilt brat, though one who didn’t necessarily do anything wrong.
Finally, episode 24. At this point Twelve Kingdoms has established everything we need and is diving in head first. We get a fair bit of the Baku province politics along with the continuation of Shoukei and Suzu’s stories. Of these, neither is particularly compelling just yet. Suzu’s quest to return home is interesting and I look forward to seeing how she makes it to Kei. Meanwhile though Shoukei is seemingly plotting to murder my Queen, and I can’t have that. On Nakajima’s end though we see her begin to assert herself a bit and I can’t wait. Questioning her officials, them finally taking some of her suggestions seriously, only to maybe be manipulating her, etc. There is a lot going on here and I don’t think its going to resolve cleanly. But that’s where the fun is right? Onwards to rebellion, except this time we are the defenders? I’m game.
So all in all, how were these three episodes of Twelve Kingdoms? Personally, I enjoyed them and thought them to be a return to form. Taiki’s story grew on me by the end, sure. And I like how it tied into Suzu’s, making it more and more relevant to the overall story. But I am much more immediately engaged with this current arc than I was with the start of Taiki’s. Part of that is because we start in the kingdoms, rather than Japan, sure. But its also because I enjoy Nakajima’s struggles as a character and I really like how she has grown. Her presence here makes me much more willing to sit through bits such as Shoukei’s drama, sort of solid foundation from which to branch out and experience the arc. Only time will tell if Twelve Kingdoms nails it, but for now? For now I’m in.
