The Twelve Kingdoms Book 2 - Shadow of the Moon, Shadow of the Sea: Part 2

十二国記 [Jūni Kokuki] #2

by Fuyumi Ono, Akihiro Yamada (Illustrator)

UNSEEN, A DESTINY UNVEILED

Thrown into the mysterious kingdom of Kou, high schooler Youko Nakajima faces a world brimming with mythical beasts, political turmoil, and unrelenting trials. Yet, in this land where trust is scarce, an unexpected ally—a scholarly half-beast named Rakushun—refuses to abandon her. Together, they journey toward the kingdom of En and the powerful ruler who may hold answers to her purpose in these strange realms. As the shadows of her fate come into focus, will Youko confront her own fears and accept the throne she never wanted?

The acclaimed novel series that inspired the hit anime returns with an all-new translation and captivating illustrations!

Genres: Fantasy, Light Novel, Fiction, Japanese Literature, Adventure, Novels, Young Adult

290 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1992

About the author

Kanji Name: 小野 不由美.

Fuyumi Ono (小野 不由美, Ono Fuyumi) is a Japanese novelist who is best known for writing the Twelve Kingdoms (十二国記, Juuni Kokuki) series, on which a popular anime is based. Her name after marriage is Fuyumi Uchida (内田不由美, Uchida Fuyumi), but she writes under her maiden name.

Ono was born in Nakatsu, Ōita, Kyūshū in 1960. She graduated from Ōtani University in Kyōto with a degree in Buddhist Studies, and in 1988 was employed by the publisher Kōdansha. Her debut story is titled Sleepless on Birthday Eve.

Ono is married to Naoyuki Uchida (内田直行, Uchida Naoyuki), a mystery novelist who writes under the pseudonym Yukito Ayatsuji (綾辻行人 , Ayatsuji Yukito).

Before she started work on Twelve Kingdoms, Fuyumi Ono wrote The Demonic Child (魔性の子), a horror novel about a boy from another world. She later worked certain events from this novel into the Twelve Kingdoms series. Short stories set in the various kingdoms include: Kasho, Toei, Shokan, Kizan and Jogetsu. In February, 2008, the first new Twelve Kingdoms short story, Hisho no Tori (丕緒の鳥) was published in Shinchosha's Yomyom magazine.

According to an interview at the Anime News Network, she is "currently rewriting a girls' horror series (she) wrote long ago."

- Wikipedia

Reviews

[Mylove4book · Rating 5 out of 5]

從最新的白銀之墟跳回第一集的月之影影之海, 大為震懾的與其說是陽子的蛻變, 不如說是小野主上的大躍進🤣 瞧那字裡行間的青澀, 讓人深深感受到27年的差距......
當看到陽子喊出那句「我只是個普通的女高中生啊!」差點噴茶. 月之影影之海作為初始作, 世界觀的著墨點到為止, 主線還是放在陽子心靈成長, 所以上半部略顯沉悶, 下半部則是快轉式的突飛猛進, 一眨眼仗就打完, 景麒歸隊, 陽子就登基了🤣🤣🤣等等而且塙王根本沒真正出場喔? 那我記憶中的塙王塙麟是哪來的...動畫嗎......相比之下白銀之墟的戰爭看得我頭都暈了......
本來是想在等白銀之墟3的期間複習, 等複習完整套應該就出3了. 沒想到一天就看完兩本, 進度比想像中快啊~空窗期該怎麼辦才好~~~

[Francois Arnion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un univers très attrayant qui se découvre progressivement, pour notre plus grand plaisir !

[Jordan DeMoura · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic sequel that really rounds out the edges of Youko’s character in satisfying ways and continues to impress with its detailed, fascinating worldbuilding. The world is so thought-out and comprehensive and feels very lived-in. The people of the world Youko finds herself in have their own political systems, cultures, and social mores that we get to learn a lot about but without over explaining or destroying any mystery. Fuyumi Ono does a great job of making you want to learn more about how things operate in this world, making what could maybe be boring exposition into really intriguing sequences where the mysteries of the world are unraveled for the reader along with Youko.

The worldbuilding is an undisputed highlight of this book as most people will point out but I also want to recognize the character writing. Rakushun is such a lovable character it’s impossible not to love the guy and the influence he has on Youko can’t be overstated. I find Youko to be really relatable in her self-doubt and how she is critical of her own moral failings. The way she responds to being given the role of Queen and the responsibility that comes with that is exactly how I would. I vividly remember a promotion opportunity at work that I was unsure of applying for. I felt I probably wasn’t competent enough, didn’t have the demeanor for it, etc. And while I was ruminating on this, I was rewatching The Twelve Kingdoms TV adaptation and watched this segment of the story and saw how Youko grappled with these feelings. And it ultimately inspired me to go for it. And I’ll always appreciate this series for reinforcing that lesson to me. It’s one that I will keep with me. I also really resonated with what Youko learns about trust and betrayal in this segment of the story. The conclusion she comes to that if she chooses to trust people and they betray that trust, it is their shame and not hers. She shouldn’t just interpret it as her naïveté or foolishness. Trusting people is a choice, and as she learns, the trust of one person will often exceed the pain of betrayal of many.

Overall, I love this series and I look forward to getting the rest of Youko’s story (even though the next book will not be that).

[Mladoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

J'ai cette série depuis une petite éternité sur mes étagères et il est plus que temps que je m'y penche sérieusement.
Dans ce second tome, on suit toujours Yoko dans sa quête d'identité, face à ses doutes, ses peurs et certains pans de sa personnalité qu'elle ne croyait pas avoir. Rakushun est un compagnon absolument adorable et dévoué. On en apprend plus sur le système politique des 12 royaumes et sur les luttes intestines qui couvent.
J'aime beaucoup le développement du personnage principal et sa façon de s'épanouir dans ce monde nouveau pour elle. Ce qui est plus perturbant c'est que certaines batailles cruciales sont englouties dans des ellipses de plusieurs heures, jours, mois. Les sauts de chapitres sont donc par moments très perturbants et cette cassure de rythme déstabilise même si elle n'enlève rien à la compréhension globale, c'est quand même un peu frustrant.
Je suis curieuse de lire la suite, même si dans le rivage du labyrinthe les protagonistes changent du tout au tout. Dommage, j'aurai aimé avoir plus de détails sur le destin de Yoko, peut-être plus tard dans la série.
Pour les amateurs de fantasy pur jus, une fois le vocabulaire de l'univers bien assimilé, vous prendrez un réel plaisir à arpenter les royaumes.

[Claudia Ng · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending is so fast.

[Lu · Rating 5 out of 5]

1.重看之後覺得陽子還蠻堅強的，一個人身處異鄉，在面對未知的情況下自己一個人經歷數次的背叛、飢餓、居無定所又顛沛流離好幾個月，但還能夠選擇活下去。（沒食物也沒辦法好好睡，日夜顛倒一直砍妖魔的生活過三天就受不了了，還要過好幾個週...）
2.陽子能發現水愚刀的猿反映的是自己內心的脆弱真的蠻厲害，從上集的錯愕到下集的蛻變真的成長很多，最後決定走出自己的選擇真的很帥。
3.仔細想想天命真的也是個蠻可怕的事情，即使是成為一國之君也不見得是多麼欣喜的事情，在沒心理準備的情況下離開自己原本的生活，要去面對這樣的重任，還蠻佩服延王沒有馬上逼迫陽子一定要做出怎樣的選擇。
4.重看一次還是覺得樂俊好棒啊！

[Lorelei · Rating 5 out of 5]

I put my reading on hold while I binge-rewatched the anime series. This really is such a good book! The series left out some details and little interactions between Youko and Rakushun that I loved reading. Onto the next one!

[Riri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Youko’s journey in the first half of Shadow of the Moon, Shadow of the Sea has left her wary and distrustful of others, so this volume nicely smooths out her edges to make her a more balanced character. After surviving a near death experience, she is saved by a new, adorable rat friend who then becomes her travel companion: Rakushun. Youko learns a lot as she spends time with Rakushun. Not only she figures out what kind of person she wants to be, but also her identity and why she was brought to the land of the Twelve Kingdoms. Even if she’s still a flawed character, she grows a lot in this book as she goes through many instances of self-reflection and decision-making.

Now that Youko is no longer alone and lost, it also opens up more room for worldbuilding. It’s a lot to take in at once, but the expositions are surprisingly easy to digest. Maybe it’s because most of them came from Rakushun and the King of En, both of whom speak super casually. The overall atmosphere is also a lot lighter compared to how bleak it was in the first volume, and again, it’s so nice how we gradually learn about the world and its politics through Youko’s eyes too.

My only gripe is that the ending is so rushed. The anime actually put more focus on it, most likely because it was an action-packed part of the story, while the novel highlighted more of Youko’s internal struggle and acceptance of her fate. Her ascension is just glossed over. But as the book itself says, this is only the beginning of her story. There’s plenty more to come, and I’m already looking forward to Taiki’s story which should be up next.

Also, despite being on the cover, Jyoei has very minimal presence in this book LOL.

[Pieter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Youko is at her lowest, on death's door, when she finally gets a break and is found by a friend. With it her life takes a turn, and while fighting mostly her self she gets a new purpose and we finally learn spread over the volume what exactly is going on and why. It was a good, although somewhat short, read, with some solid character growth at least for the MC and an intriguing different kind of world. The ending felt rushed even though it makes perfect sense from both a story and world perspective. It also makes me curious what future stories will be about, because a setting where the blessings of heaven is this literal I feel it can be a challenge to write a believable story at least. I mean, the motivations of one the story's movers was petty, which certainly happens in RL, but I find it somewhat unlikely in a setting like this. I am willing to trust the author though in that we don't know the whole picture and the source of the information isn't entirely reliable...

[Tyas · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's so nice to be back in this world with Youko, this time already with her beloved Rakushun! Her journey is still fascinating if hurtful time and again, as she discovered more about the world where she's thrown into (or returned to) and about herself. We also finally met En-ou and Enki! Hats off to the translator: I imagine it takes a lot of time to tweak the text to fit all the added explanation without disrupting the flow.

I was just a bit surprised and a tad disappointed because the ending felt kind of rushed, while I remember the anime was pretty detailed in the part when Kei-ou took back Keiki and her kingdom. However, I'm excited by the prospect of reading about Taiki soon.

[M. Nión · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este libro fue 4 estrellas la mayor parte del libro. En general, me estaba gustando más que el tomo 1; pero hacia el final hay demasiado infodump para mi gusto y se me hizo un poco pesado justo cuando debería de ser más interesante.
Tiene muchas ideas buenas y muchos elementos que me han encantado, como la evolución de Yoko, la protagonista, que a lo largo del libro me ha ido cayendo cada vez mejor.

[Ivy~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am absolutely loving this series so far. It does some really classic tropes really, really well, and the worldbuilding and story are so compelling and interesting, as are the characters. Yes, there are some flaws, but I'm still pretty enthralled, and I don't know how I'm going to bear waiting for the next one.

[Alejandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this way more than the first volume - the main character shows significant growth, and as she learns more about the world she is in, we get to see more of that too. The artwork is gorgeous, and Rakushun is precious. I was disappointed that the whole event I thought this was leading too was glossed over in an epilogue. There are 10 more volumes, so I'm looking forward to the next.

[s · Rating 4 out of 5]

‪20171109

#月の影影の海 下巻 #小野不由美 さん #読了 #再読‬

‪読んでて徐々に思い出してきた。愛すべき楽俊！ふわふわの毛並みだったら絶対ぎゅーってしちゃう。上巻では泣き言が多かった陽子も強くなってきてかっこいい。延王がゆるいのもなんだか懐かしかった。こういう人必要。‬

[Clothilde · Rating 5 out of 5]

perfect, I would have loved to read more of this story though! The book stops when the story really catches momentum and depth

[MariaStefania - Маша · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Inspiegabile la scelta di dividere il libro a metà

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fuyumi Ono is my god, 10/5 stars. I need book 3 to come out yesterday (also, shout out to the audiobook narrator, she made the reading experience so much more fun!)

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing story. I am so looking forward to reading the rest of this series finally.

[Bibliothecat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is for volumes 1-2 and was originally written for the Tokyopop translation - updated version to follow .

“She fought, cleaned her sword, and moved on.”

I took a bit of a gamble here: I don't start series that I can't finish, and The Twelve Kingdoms doesn't meet that criteria for more than one reason. The series was never completely translated to English and those volumes that did make it over are out of print and thus ridiculously overpriced. Yet it came recommended to me by a friend who also reckoned Sea of Shadow can work well enough as a standalone. Now I can breathe easy, for this costly book did not disappoint.

Sea of Shadow begins, as most portal fantasies do, with the introduction to our main character Yoko in her perfectly ordinary life. I was a little surprised to see some of Yoko's darker sides right from the start; she's introduced as a goody-two-shoes - a good student and obedient daughter. And yet, there she is, not only turning a blind eye but even borderline participating in bullying. While it's great to have flawed characters, I didn't expect to see it so soon, and Yoko's conflicting morals are a constant theme throughout the story.

Of course, the real story starts once Yoko is whisked off to fantasy land, in this case, the Twelve Kingdoms. Now, she didn't stumble over a portal by accident but rather was brought over by Keiki who, unfortunately, goes missing the moment Yoko realises she's in another world. She's stuck in a world she knows nothing about and with no one to guide her, indeed she doesn't even find a companion once she sets out on her journey.

The journey makes up most of the novel, and it's less adventure than one might expect. Her goals being to find Keiki and a way home, Yoko's travels are surprisingly realistic and pretty much an ordeal. The world is very medieval, she's got demons on her trail, she's a fugitive and locals betray her left and right. She stumbles through the wilderness, avoiding humans and monsters alike, and nearly starves along the way - multiple times. It's actually a really slow read which makes me believe that it's likely not everyone's cup of tea - if you just want action and adventures, this is not the one. It's really a slow and wearying journey, but there's something very satisfying in the way it's done so realistically.

The battle scenes are also surprisingly gritty but it fits in nicely with the overall atmosphere of the book. Yoko's circumstances and the constant stream of demon assaults soon begin to alter her personality, or rather, enhance what is already there. She reflects a lot on her old life, questions her passive ways of how she used to try and please everyone, and then in turn compares it to her new life in this foreign world. She decides that she can't trust anyone and would rather be the betrayer than the betrayed. She spends almost as much time battling her inner demons as she does real ones. She is very relatable character, all the more so with all her flaws.

There are plenty of mysteries to keep the slow pace of the story going: why was Yoko brought to this world? Who is Keiki and what became of him? Why does she understand the local language? Why do demons target her deliberately? Not to mention figuring out how this new world fuctions. As the name suggests, this world consists of twelve kingdoms and Sea of Shadow only touches on some of them. The world-building goes into great detail and does indeed set up for several stories yet to come. Still, Yoko's story is perfectly readable on its own. The ending comes somewhat abruptly but it is satisfying enough.

As I have only read the English translation, I can't say how well it's been translated. There are a few typos but in terms of prose, it's well readable. I've seen that people aren't very happy with the translation, so chances are, the original is more elegant in it's writing. At the very least, I felt that the English edition was very much to the point. There wasn't much flowery prose more often than not, things were written just as they are. That being said, I felt that this style went well with the often times bleak atmosphere of the book. I'm sure it's not the best translation, but I wouldn't say it gets in the way of enjoying this novel.

Although I will likely never be able to read the entire series, I am thankful that my friend - coincidentally also named Yoko - has recommended this series to me. I love portal fantasies and this one is both captivating and unique.

[Yzabel Ginsberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un peu trop rapide sur la fin comparé au temps dévoué au reste. Mais cette fois encore, j'ai trouvé intéressante l'évolution du personnage principal, chez qui l'ont peut voir de véritables changements, avec acceptation de ses faiblesses aussi bien que de ses forces. A la suite des épreuves qu'elle a traversées, Yôko parvient à se trouver elle-même, tout en reconnaissant que son cheminement n'est de loin pas encore arrivé à son terme.

[Pauline · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'ai vraiment bien aimé ce volume, l'histoire va vite (peut être un peu trop sur la fin même... mais bon :) ) et on en apprend beaucoup plus sur les 12 royaumes.

Bon par contre les passages où Yoko se prend la tête avec elle même sont peut être un peu trop nombreux...

Sinon... le roi de En est bien marrant lol :D

Vite la suite!

[Julie O · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'avais visionné la séries TV et j'avais adoré. Une histoire épique sur l'ascension au trône d'un royaume fantastique par une jeune fille plutôt faiblarde au début mais qui s'affirmera au fil du temps et de ses aventures.

[Arito Sato · Rating 5 out of 5]

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