Saiunkoku Monogatari: Difference between revisions

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The court intrigues and politics are a game where you have everything to gain and everything to lose, and Shuurei is walking straight into the center of it all.

The first season of the anime was licensed in North America by [[Geneon]] in 2007, but only 2 of the 9 planned volumes (totalling 10 episodes of the 39) were released before the company folded. After nearly a year in limbo - during which time the dub and subtitle work were completed - [[~~FU Nimation~~]] released and distributed the rest of the season as part of an agreement which also saw several other "orphaned" series finished. As of December 2010, Geneon's license and Funimation's distribution deal have expired and the series is out of print. The second season (episodes 40-78) was never licensed.

The first season of the anime was licensed in North America by [[Geneon]] in 2007, but only 2 of the 9 planned volumes (totalling 10 episodes of the 39) were released before the company folded. After nearly a year in limbo - during which time the dub and subtitle work were completed - [[FUNimation]] released and distributed the rest of the season as part of an agreement which also saw several other "orphaned" series finished. As of December 2010, Geneon's license and Funimation's distribution deal have expired and the series is out of print. The second season (episodes 40-78) was never licensed.

The manga has been licensed by [[Viz Media]] and is being released under their Shoujo Beat line. The light novels remain unlicensed.

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** Early in the series, Shuurei begins to tell Ryuuki a fairy tale about a "Rose Princess" who had magical healing powers and married a mortal human man. This one is not only ''also'' absolutely true, it's {{spoiler|the story of her parents' marriage}}. Although it is probably not, as Shuurei claims, the reason roses have thorns.

** Averted in one case: When a disease begins spreading in the Sa province, the Jasenkyou, a cult in the area, spreads rumors that the cause of the illness is the gods' anger that {{spoiler|a woman was made the province's governor}}. Many people believe it out of desperation, making Shuurei's attempts to solve the problem a lot more difficult than they need to be, but of course it isn't true.

* [[Aren't You Going to Ravish Me|Aren't You Going To Ravish Me]]: Said almost exactly word for word by Shuurei to {{spoiler|Sa Sakujun when she's sort of captured in the Sa Residence, but she's glad he's not going to (yet), rather than insulted.}}

* [[Aren't You Going to Ravish Me?|Aren't You Going To Ravish Me]]: Said almost exactly word for word by Shuurei to {{spoiler|Sa Sakujun when she's sort of captured in the Sa Residence, but she's glad he's not going to (yet), rather than insulted.}}

* [[Asskicking Equals Authority]]: {{spoiler|Ro Ensei, governor of the Sa Province.}}

* [[Attractive Bent Gender]]: {{spoiler|Li Kouyuu}} (Mentioned in the novel, he was forced to participate, crossdressed as a girl, and won ''first place'' in a the annual youth beauty pageant when he was a kid. But this is top secret, don't let him know that this troper has spit it out.)

* [[Badass Grandpa]]: Sou Taifu, one of the eldest and most respected men in the Imperial Court, is a huge burly man who taught Ryuuki and Seiran their craft and shows up to basically kick everyone's asses.

* [[Barbie Doll Anatomy]]: Eigetsu and Yogetsu.

* [[Big Screwed Up Family]]: The Sa, Kou/Hong, and Hyou clans especially, but all of the eight noble clans have at least a little of this except for the Shi family - and that's only because Ryuuki is the only known member still alive by the time the series begins, four of his five older brothers having been executed thanks to their battling over the throne, and the fifth exiled and presumed dead.

* [[Big Screwed-Up Family]]: The Sa, Kou/Hong, and Hyou clans especially, but all of the eight noble clans have at least a little of this except for the Shi family - and that's only because Ryuuki is the only known member still alive by the time the series begins, four of his five older brothers having been executed thanks to their battling over the throne, and the fifth exiled and presumed dead.

* [[Bishonen]]: The entirety of the main cast, with the possible exception of Ensei. Basically if they aren't one, they [[I Was Quite a Looker|were]] one.

** Give him a razor and a change of clothes and Ensei becomes [[Beautiful All Along|Bishounen All Along]].

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* [[Chain of Deals]]: The old "single piece of straw for a fortune" legend is parodied when Ran Ryuuren starts out with money for dinner and, through a chain of random deals, ends up with a single piece of straw.

* [[Cherry Blossoms]]: How Shuurei and Ryuuki met for the first time.

* [[The Clan]]: The eight noble families of Saiunkoku, as well as the Hyou family. The Kou/Hong and Ran families especially fit the trope, and many if not all of the clans also double as [[Big Screwed Up Family|Big Screwed Up Families]].

* [[The Clan]]: The eight noble families of Saiunkoku, as well as the Hyou family. The Kou/Hong and Ran families especially fit the trope, and many if not all of the clans also double as [[Big Screwed-Up Family|Big Screwed Up Families]].

* [[Character Development]]: Meeting Shuurei does wonders for Ryuuki's... management skills.

* [[Colour Coded for Your Convenience]]: The eight noble families (and the provinces they govern) are even named after colours. Clan members will usually wear clothes of their colours too, and a some will even wear matching ear studs (such as Reishin's red ones and Hakumei's green ones).

* [[Colour-Coded for Your Convenience]]: The eight noble families (and the provinces they govern) are even named after colours. Clan members will usually wear clothes of their colours too, and a some will even wear matching ear studs (such as Reishin's red ones and Hakumei's green ones).

* [[Crouching Moron Hidden Badass]]: Shuurei's sidekick, Shin Suou aka Tan-Tan. Sure, he's a slacker, a tanuki-loving borderline [[Cloudcuckoolander]], and shows little initiative in his job unless physically pushed and pulled into it by Shuurei, but he's highly perceptive of people's character and has an excellent nose for clues enough to earn fame as one of the most successful investigators in the Inspector General's office. It is unclear, though, if he really just likes [[Obfuscating Stupidity|playing the fool]].

* [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass]]: Shuurei's sidekick, Shin Suou aka Tan-Tan. Sure, he's a slacker, a tanuki-loving borderline [[Cloudcuckoolander]], and shows little initiative in his job unless physically pushed and pulled into it by Shuurei, but he's highly perceptive of people's character and has an excellent nose for clues enough to earn fame as one of the most successful investigators in the Inspector General's office. It is unclear, though, if he really just likes [[Obfuscating Stupidity|playing the fool]].

* [[Dreadful Musician]]: Ran Ryuuren and his flute-playing, which seems to become more dreadful as the series progresses.

* [[Dub Name Change]]: The name of Shuurei's family is changed from Kou to Hong in the English localization to avoid confusion with the similar sounding Ko, as the short vowel/long vowel distinction which Japanese audiences could hear just fine would be lost on English ears.

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* [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture]]: They're all Chinese people by another name.

* [[Fantasy Pantheon]]: Immortal sages of eight colors, all with colorful personalities.

* [[First Name Basis]]: Ryuuki asks Shuurei to call him by his name instead of "your highness", at least in private.

* [[First-Name Basis]]: Ryuuki asks Shuurei to call him by his name instead of "your highness", at least in private.

* [[Flower Motifs]]: The symbolic gift of a flower from the emperor carries great significance, and recurs several times throughout the series.

* [[Freudian Trio]]: Reishin, Kijin, and Yuushun appear to have been one in the backstory of the series, with Reishin as Id, Kijin as Superego, and Yuushun as Ego.

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* [[Spoiler Opening]]: Ryuuki, I am sorry but your efforts to convince people you are gay do not fool the audience one bit once you and Shuurei are revealed to be the [[Official Couple]].

* [[Title Drop]]: Each episode of the anime has a proverb for its title, and in the first season, the proverb always gets used by someone (usually Shuurei) before the episode is over. Some of the title drops work more naturally than others; the practice is dropped in the second season.

* [[Why Do You Keep Changing Jobs]]: Not really pointed out or used for comedy, but Shuurei seems to be holding down a truly spectacular number of part-time jobs before entering the palace. We know for a fact that she's a teacher and the accountant for a brothel, but she also apparently cleans restrooms and plays her erhu in several places, among other things. She does even more in the light novel, such as stints serving as handmaidens for rich families. Basically, she is willing to do any job that pays. Seiran seems to accompany her to most of these (with the exception of the brothel) while still acting as the family's retainer and serving in the army.

* [[Why Do You Keep Changing Jobs?]]: Not really pointed out or used for comedy, but Shuurei seems to be holding down a truly spectacular number of part-time jobs before entering the palace. We know for a fact that she's a teacher and the accountant for a brothel, but she also apparently cleans restrooms and plays her erhu in several places, among other things. She does even more in the light novel, such as stints serving as handmaidens for rich families. Basically, she is willing to do any job that pays. Seiran seems to accompany her to most of these (with the exception of the brothel) while still acting as the family's retainer and serving in the army.