The Twelve Kingdoms: Difference between revisions

Line 47:

* [[Genre Deconstruction]]: The first arc basically destroys [[Trapped in Another World]] story conventions by showing what a shy, insecure teenager dropped into a medieval fantasy war zone would ''really'' act like.

* [[Guardian Entity]]: ''Shirei'', youma bound under contract to a kirin. They act as bodyguards and spies, and in return for their service, they are allowed to eat the kirin upon his or her death.

* [[Half Human Hybrid]]: The hanjyuu, sort of. Given how creatures are [[Bizarre Alien Reproduction|actually born in the Kingdoms]], this equates more into a case of [[Animorphism]], than anything else -- {{spoiler|Rakushun}}'s nonhuman form, for instance, is simply a {{spoiler|rat}} capable of walking on two legs.

* [[Half-Human Hybrid]]: The hanjyuu, sort of. Given how creatures are [[Bizarre Alien Reproduction|actually born in the Kingdoms]], this equates more into a case of [[Animorphism]], than anything else -- {{spoiler|Rakushun}}'s nonhuman form, for instance, is simply a {{spoiler|rat}} capable of walking on two legs.

* [[Human Outside Alien Inside]]: The natives are apparently indistinguishable from Earth humans, but instead of reproducing "normally" they are born out of large fruit that grow on special trees. They can have sex, but it looks like it's for fun and not for reproduction.

* [[Human Outside, Alien Inside]]: The natives are apparently indistinguishable from Earth humans, but instead of reproducing "normally" they are born out of large fruit that grow on special trees. They can have sex, but it looks like it's for fun and not for reproduction.

* [[Hair of Gold]]: All ''kirin'', with few exceptions, are born with golden (not blond, ''golden'') hair to further amp up their [[Incorruptible Pure Pureness]]. They are the only beings in the Kingdoms to have this coloring. Their hair tends to be called their "mane", and will not hold dye, so a unique physiology is implied.

* [[Horse of a Different Color]]: Kijyuu, wild beasts that often have the ability to fly, and when trained, become completely loyal. They have a variety of [[Mix and Match Critter]] traits, especially those of big cats, horses, and deer.

Line 74:

* [[Scenery Porn]]: With some actual scenery, but mostly of the big-fancy-castle variety. Lots of tapestries and murals.

* [[She Is the King]]: In Japanese, the word translated as 'king' is gender-neutral, like 'monarch'; thus in some translations, the ruler of a nation is referred to as the king regardless of gender.

* [[Silence You Fool]]: Youko, {{spoiler|when being confronted by Kei soldiers.}}

* [[Silence, You Fool]]: Youko, {{spoiler|when being confronted by Kei soldiers.}}

* [[Single Stroke Battle]]

* [[Sitting On the Roof]]: Youko and Keiki meet when they're in Youko's classroom, but then they have to go to the roof when they're under attack. Yuka and her boyfriend Asano ''were'' on the rooftop already, [[Trapped in Another World|and then...]]

Line 91:

* [[Unicorn]]: The magical Kirin.

* [[Weaksauce Weakness]]: The ''kirin'' have incredible powers, but they are deadly poisoned by ''blood'', to the point where even the scent can incapacitate them, and continued contact can kill them. Their status as creatures of pure goodness, kindness, and mercy is also specifically played up as a major weakness; it means they are inherently [[Stupid Good]], even when they know better. At one point, {{spoiler|a villain is able to force one to do whatever he wants by threatening a baby, even if it endangers the entire kingdom.}}

* [[Who Wants to Live Forever]]: It is stated in the books that most rulers fall around the time when they (and all the friends and family members they left behind when they took the throne) would have died of old age, as most are incapable of coping with the strain and loneliness.

* [[Who Wants to Live Forever?]]: It is stated in the books that most rulers fall around the time when they (and all the friends and family members they left behind when they took the throne) would have died of old age, as most are incapable of coping with the strain and loneliness.

* [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity]]: A major theme. Especially the former rulers of Hou, Kou, and Kei.

* [[What Happened to The Mouse]]: The plot involving Taiki and Gyousou's disappearance from Tai was never explained or resolved in the anime. Granted, it also still hasn't been resolved in the novels, but {{spoiler|Youko at least arranged an international search squad and brought the amnesiac Taiki back from Japan. That book, in turn, ended with a massive cliffhanger that still hasn't been resolved.}}

* [[What Happened to The Mouse?]]: The plot involving Taiki and Gyousou's disappearance from Tai was never explained or resolved in the anime. Granted, it also still hasn't been resolved in the novels, but {{spoiler|Youko at least arranged an international search squad and brought the amnesiac Taiki back from Japan. That book, in turn, ended with a massive cliffhanger that still hasn't been resolved.}}

* [[You Can't Go Home Again]]: Throughout the first arc, Youko is looking for a way to return to Japan. {{spoiler|But, as she is the new queen of Kei, she cannot return home to Japan without dooming Kei to starvation and destruction...and, as her life is now intertwined with Kei's well-being, she would die within a year or two. [[I Choose to Stay|Eventually she accepts the responsibility and becomes queen.]]}}

** It's not actually difficult to travel between the worlds, {{spoiler|at least for Kirin, as a character explicitly offers to send her home at one point}}. However, in practice this is impossible because as {{spoiler|Enki}} explains, {{spoiler|crossing between the worlds creates storms called Shoku, the strength of which are directly relative to the innate power of what is being carried over. So when a baby or debris drifts between worlds, it's probably hardly noticeable, but when someone as powerful as a King crosses the borders, it causes cataclysmic storms all along the coast they left from/arrived at, in both worlds.}}