Story of Saiunkoku 2

Sai Yukino / Kairi Yura – Viz – 2011 – 7+ volumes

This is another series based on a series of light novels (the other I looked at today was Toradora), and another really wonderful adaptation. I’ve had really good luck with light novels (Haruhi Suzumiya, Book Girl) and their adaptations (both this and Toradora are good) lately, and it makes me want to pick up more. A shame that there’s not more of a market for them in English.

I liked the first volume of this, but the second confirms that this is well on its way to filling the Apothecarius Argentum-sized hole in my fantasy-loving heart. It’s a light fantasy series about a couple that seems to slowly get together, one member of the couple is completely clueless while the other is smitten. Coddled rulers that are determined to do well play a role in both, and both have a really wonderful sense of setting and history, something that’s either glossed over or told in excruciating, boring, and un-relevant detail. So far, the biggest sin of The Story of Saiunkoku is that the older characters are almost indistinguishable from one another. One of the main plot points was the treachery among the older advisers, but I couldn’t tell one from another. This is partially intentional, and admittedly which adviser did what isn’t that important, but it looks like it might have a bearing on the story later.

Shurei and Ryuki only became more likable in this volume. Emperor Ryuki comes clean about some of the techniques he uses to disguise his wits, and Shurei is angry for wasting so much time tutoring him. Ryuki is devastated and completely smitten with Shurei (who still thinks he prefers men, another lie Ryuki tells about himself). While the two are trying to sort that out, the attempts on Shurei’s life get more serious, and she is eventually kidnapped as part of a plot to possibly overthrow the Emperor and put his estranged brother on the throne. There are several parts to the rescue, all of which are politically and emotionally complex, and all of it rings surprisingly true for being only the second volume of a series.

I am impressed that all the plot detail from the novel is translating so well into comic form. It can be a little wordy, and as I said, parts of the conspiracy were lost on me since I couldn’t tell the old men apart, but it comes across pretty well. The backstory and mythology for the story are pretty detailed too, and I had unfortunately forgotten most of it since reading volume one. I remembered all the important details within a few pages though, and most of the rest came to me before I was finished. I do wish there had been a summary page at the beginning of the book, though.

A fantasy series like this needs time to be truly addictive, but I like what I’ve seen so far. The characters are good, the setting is detailed, the politics aren’t overly complicated, and everything is coming across very well. Volume two leaves off on an unusually final stopping point, but the romance between Shurei and Ryuki is far from over. This has all the makings of exactly what I love in fantasy, and I’m very much looking forward to future volumes.