Twelve Kingdoms – 43/44/45 – Throwback Thursday

Welcome all to the finale of our Twelve Kingdoms watch! It was a long road to get here, filled with self-discovery and political intrigue. Sadly, as incredible as the journey was, all good things must one day end. And this is that day. So without further ado, lets jump right into it!

Right off the bat I have to say… this isn’t how I would have preferred the series to end. Admittedly, following up episode 39 was going to be a tough task however you slice it. There was an air of finality, of release, to such a long an intricate arc that nothing was really going to match it. But to end on a recap of all things? It leaves a sour taste in my mouth, one that isn’t fixed by the ending of the actual arc either. It really feels like Twelve Kingdoms was given 6 more episodes than it needed, and so had no idea what to do with them. Either that or it was canceled when they thought they had more time. Because there was clearly more story to tell, and lots of setup to tell it. As far as what we got though, I find it wanting.

As for the actual 5 episode narrative that closes out the show, it feels half-baked. It mimics the arc we just came from in a lot of ways, and its clearly setup to comment on/contrast it. But because of how short it is, and how fantastic the previous are was, it just feels… worse. Not necessarily bad, but weren’t as invested in Shoryu or Enki, and we aren’t given enough episodes to reinvest ourselves in them. Part of the issue I think is that the Shoryu flashback from ages ago originally takes place here. I think had that still been the case it would have worked much better. More time to reconnect with the characters and we get to contextualize the current arc with their first meeting in Japan. I have no idea how moving this would effect the previous arcs, but it would definitely help here.

Similarly, just as the arc isn’t given enough time to stew, neither is Shoryu’s relationship with Atsuyu. These to never actually meet until the very end. They are never given any time to bounce off of each other, to really let us compare/contrast the two. The whole arc is setup as a “His other half”, meant to reflect Shoryu as a King, but we never really see that. Yes, there is some clever positioning of the two. Shoryu is originally depicted as carefree and lackadaisical while Atsuyu is shown to be earnest and hard working. Only for the arc to flip this around by the end, revealing neither were what we thought on the surface. But that is about as far we really get with two. And with just how short the arc is, it really hurts my engagement in their story.

Compare this to Suzu or Shoukei who are used similarly with Nakajima. The reason they work is we spend a great deal of time with them, alone. We see their struggles, hear their thoughts, we get into their head. Unlike Atsuyu, who is slowly twisted and revealed to be different from presented, Suzu and Shoukei never lie to us. To the viewer. We always knew their darkness and who they really were. That’s what made their transformation over the course of the arc so incredible. We knew it was for real. Had Twelve Kingdoms done the same with Atsuyu, but in reverse, it would have been incredible. Show us a truly good and hardworking character beaten down by responsibility and corruption. Forced into a position they didn’t want, desiring to help people, but eventually failing and becoming something else. That would be a compelling contrast to the last arc.

As for the arc as a whole and why I don’t think it works, we can also compare this to Taiki’s. Taiki’s arc was similarly short, consisting of only 7 episodes. During those 7 episodes though we spent time almost exclusively with Taiki. We were inside his head, we saw everything he saw. Just like Suzu and Shoukei, and unlike Atsuyu, he never lied to the audience. And because of that we were able to really sympathize and connect with him. His struggles made sense. Sadly, Atsuyu’s do not. And so by the end he comes off more like a proud and petulant child, unable to accept his imperfection. Had more been done with his father, had we seen inside his head, I think this could have been resolved. Sadly this didn’t happen. And so Twelve Kingdoms was unable to stick the landing, though the journey was incredible.

I won’t be doing episode reviews this week as I think I summed it all up above. Instead I want to point out a few things I think were cool, end this on a positive note. For instance, is Kouya the same Sage we see on Mount Hou during Taiki’s story? He rides a red Youma and they get along well. It would be very cool if so, please let me know in the comments below. Moving on, I also enjoyed Shoryu’s strategy with the embankments, turning his populace against him. It was a clever move to win the peoples heart while putting Atsuyu at a disadvantage. Good army-leading there, King En. Lastly I did enjoy the end of the recap in episode 45 where Nakajima reflects on the journey here and those she has met. It was no episode 39 finale, but it was better than a recap.

So with everything said and done, how was Twelve Kingdoms as a show, and what happens now? Well for the first you will have to wait for a review, which should come sometime next week. Meanwhile for the other, that is up to you. I have created a poll right here where you can vote for the next Throwback Thursday series. If something you want me to cover isn’t on the poll then just leave a comment down below and it can get added to the next one. Thanks for sticking around everyone and I look forward to whatever series you lot pick next! See you in a bit once I have this final review done. Oh and fun fact, you can find the novels for this series on Amazon… guess I know what I need to pick up.