Alternative title:
ColourCloud Palace
Saiunkoku Monogatari
彩雲国物語 (Japanese)
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Historical Romance, Shoujo
Plot Summary: Saiunkoku is a world of eight provinces or houses, each named after a different colour. The new Emperor, Shi Ryuuki, has gained for a reputation for being uninterested in courtly matters and for flaunting his love for men. Shuurei, although born of the important Kou family, has difficulty making ends meet. She easily accepts an invitation to be the Emperor's concubine in order to turn him into a good ruler. The mysterious Seiran, a young man who was adopted by her father, goes with her as Ryuuki's bodyguard. Entering the imperial palace revives Shuurei's dream of being a court official, and, together with the many companions she meets along the way, continues moving bravely forward while trying to fend off the Emperor's advances.
No. of Episodes: 39
Opening theme
"Hajimari no Kaze" by Ayaka Hirahara
Ending themes
"Saikō no Kataomoi" by Sachi Tainaka (first season)
"Asu e" by Miho Teruya (second season)
Main Characters:
Kou Shuurei
Shūrei Kō is the daughter and only child of Shōka Kō of the Kō clan, one of the two most powerful clans in Saiunkoku. She is sixteen years old when the story begins. As a descendant of the direct line, she has the title hime, which means 'princess' or 'lady'.
Despite the high social status of her family, Shūrei grew up in relatively impoverished circumstances. Her father's job brought little income, and much of the wealth of their family home was given to the needy during the devastating fight for the imperial succession eight years ago. There are no servants at the Kō residence, so Shūrei has grown adept at household chores such as needlework, cooking and cleaning, traits unusual in a lady of high social standing.
She has also held a number of odd jobs to earn money, acting as a professional erhu player, working as an accountant at Kōchō's brothel in the Red Light District, and serving as a teacher at the local temple.
Shi Seiran
Seiran Shi is a low-ranking army officer and the sole remaining retainer in the Kō household. Seiran was taken in thirteen years ago by Shōka Kō, and he has made a vow to spend his life repaying that kindness.
He helps the Kō family by protecting them at their home, performing repairs on the family estate, and taking small guard jobs to earn money. He is a very skilled fighter and swordsman and is usually found following Shūrei to guard her, even when she doesn't know it.
Seiran is very secretive and keeps to himself most of the time, usually putting others before himself. This makes Shūrei worry about him because he doesn't talk about himself much, while she talks to him about everything.
The two are sometimes mistaken for a couple due to the amount of time they spend together, but there has been no evidence of romantic feelings on either side. His attitude towards her points more to him seeing Shūrei as his little sister.
Shi Ryuuki
Ryūki Shi is the reigning emperor of Saiunkoku. He is nineteen years old when the story begins. The youngest of six brothers, he was an unlikely candidate to ascend to the throne. Of his five elder brothers, four killed each other over the succession and one was exiled for treason.
As a child, Ryūki was badly treated by his mother and his brothers, except for his brother Seien, who seemed to be the only one who truly cared for him. His other brothers and mother used to beat Ryūki and lock him in a closet for hours at a time, telling him his birth order was bad and that he stole affection from his siblings.
These experiences led to a lingering fear of the dark and sleeping alone. Ryūki often took refuge in the garden or the imperial archives, where he first encountered Shōka Kō. Shōka tutored the young prince and encouraged War General Taifu Sō to teach him swordsmanship.
Due to his father's dying wish, Ryūki ultimately rose to the throne. However, he avoided any involvement in politics or government, wandering the palace for hours so no one would be able to find him. He even spread rumours that he preferred the company of men to fuel speculation he could not produce an heir.
Ryūki secretly hoped that Seien, his beloved older brother, would eventually return and take his place as Emperor. Ryūki's avoidance of responsibility came to an end when he met Shūrei, who told him of her dreams of making a better life for the nation's people. Ryūki decided to take on his responsibilities and become a respectable Emperor.
Shūei Ran
He is the General of the Shaorin army. Also part of the Ran family, one of the two greatest clans. The fourth oldest of five brothers. A very skilled swordsman and is usually calm, but likes to tease others. He was supposed to be guarding the Emperor with Kōyū, but since Ryūki was nowhere to be found, he and Kōyū were left in the library for a month being bored.
He claims to be Kōyū's best friend, though Kōyū keeps denying it. Shūei is usually the one that gets Kōyū all riled up by mentioning things like his lack of direction and his woman-hating ideals. Unlike Kōyū, Shūei is a womanizer. He often mentions how nice it is to spend time with women and was seen surrounded by a horde of women after winning the fighting tournament. He's also a regular at the Red Light District and usually spends time with the number one woman in the number one brothel.
Along with Kōyū, Shūei also receives a flower and swears his loyalty to the current Emperor, establishing Ryūki's reign since the top two upcoming officials of the palace now back him up. He knows Seiran's true identity. Later, he reveals to Kōyū that nine years ago, his elder brothers ordered him to track down Prince Seien's whereabouts, but he didn't succeed.
Li Kouyuu
Kōyū Ri holds the rank of Vice-Secretary of the Civil Affairs department, serving beneath Reishin Kō. Kōyū was an orphan living in the streets before Reishin adopted him thirteen years ago; he survived by selling tickets to a street lottery of his own design in which the prizes included branches of plum blossoms and bags of salt.
Kōyū became the youngest person ever to pass the official examinations at the age of 16, taking the top ranked "Jougen" spot. As the series begins, Kōyū has been assigned directly to the Emperor, a position that infuriates him because the wandering Emperor never carries out his duties and can rarely even be found.
After Ryūki agrees to be tutored by Kōyū, however, and begins taking an active role in government, Ryūki offers Kōyū an iris flower as sign of trust. Kōyū openly accepts the flower as a token of his loyalty and his belief that Ryūki is a worthy Emperor. Kōyū often works closely with the Emperor and revises the work that Ryūki does, such as written proposals.
Despite his reputation as a genius, Kōyū is notorious for having no sense of direction. He gets lost in the palace within 30 steps and it sometimes takes him two hours to get to a destination that only takes 15 minutes for another person, though he does seem to find his way when there is trouble or when he is drunk.
He has a close relationship with Shūei Ran, though he loudly denies being the latter's friend. He's easily annoyed and gets nervous speaking in public. He frequently states that women are nothing but trouble and refused all offers of marriage after he passed the official exam, despite receiving many proposals from families eager to tie themselves to an up-and-coming star. He frequently tutors Shūrei, however, and appears to regard her as a friend.
For more info on the rest of the casts,
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My say: Oh my stars, I LOVE THIS ANIME!!!! Historical romance rocks! It's such a welcomed reprieved after all those modern animes out there like Code Geass and D.Gray-man and stuff. I mean shounnen is fun to watch but not something you wanna re-watch (except SAIYUKI). Whereas anime like Saiunkoku, Ouran, Furuba or H&C are like real dramas that its really enjoyable. Like savoring fine wine. They have nicely constructed plots and well written storylines. And ROMANCE!!! Not the overly weird wtf is going on romance like Air too (never got past 5th episode) Plus they usually have really humorous lines and witty comments. Unlike the normally perverse ones found in Shounnen anime, Shoujo relies on puns and usage of words.
My deepest wish for this anime is that Shuurei would come to her senses and marry Ryuuki! They're so perfect for each iother la. Way better than Sakura and Shaoron, the pairing everyone seems to love. Ryuuki is so hot for an emperor. My newest fav. character liao *pushes Sanzo behind lol* and he reminds me a lot of Tamaki from Ouran. He has the same stupidity when it comes to common sense and always does things in outrageous proportion yet when it comes to emotions he understands it more than what you expect from him. In short, one lovable idiot. Shuei and Kouyuu calls him 'baka tohno' like the Hitachiin Twins did to Tamaki in Ouran too. Btw, Ryuuki looks like a cross between Ayame from Furuba and Gunter from Kyo Kara Maoh.
Speakin of Kouyuu.....HOT HOT HOT!!!! His names sounds like Sanzo's real name again - Koryuu. I should stop associating every anime I know with each other.....The second hottest bishie in Saiunkoku. A genius but suck at directions. He can even get lost after taking 30 steps. It's fun to see his reaction when he gets lost lol.
Ok enough of looks. I love the romance in the beginning but later it developed into a suspense and detective thriller and for a period of time I was annoyed and very very confused as I'm unfamiliar with majority of the political terms and had to replay each episodes again and again to understand just what the kimchi is goin on. But they gave me back a glimpse of romance again after the entire detective affair and I was deliriously happy again =P MORE ROMANCE I SAY!!!! This anime has lovely proverbs, wise sayings and very emotional moments that touches your heart. The storyline is damn good la in my opinion.
It's like those Chinese dramas set in ancient days like you see on TV only 1000 times better. I always HATED Chinese historical romance dramas. The girls were whiny and the guys overly stupid. The jokes made no sense and every thing was so 'kua zhang' to the point I wonder if the director ever consider the fact that his viewers might actually possessed a brain. Plus the guys are ugly with their half-shaved heads. The romance suck too. Very 'acting' like. Not believable to me at all.
Whereas this anime which possess the same settings and fashion sets itself apart by it's enchanting storyline and it's ability to switch between romance, humorous, action, drama and suspense. Then again it's ANIME which is why it's far more superior than Chinese dramas. I heard that Season 2 is currently airing at the moment.
Currently on episode 20 of Season 1 now. Am chionging to finish it to watch Season 2 haha. Plus it's addictive too and also considering the fact that Bleach and Naruto and D.Gray-man are getting horribly BORING now. I don't even bother to keep up with those anime anymore. All those downloaded episodes are just sitting in my comp untouched sucking up my space.
I recommend this anime! Simply nice. =D
Ps: THE OP RULES!!!!!!
*And I hereby claim Shi Ryuuki. And also Li Kouyuu as my backup choice. heh.*
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