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The Twelve Kingdoms (9 books edition) #0
十二國記: 魔性之子
我找不到屬於我的地方
實習教師廣瀨回母校實習時，注意到一個名叫高里的學生。高里無法融入其他人的身影，讓他回想起自己的過去。
欺負高里的人都會發生意外，所以大家都說「惹他會遭殃」、對他敬而遠之。
高里的神祕，和他曾遭「神隱」有關嗎？廣瀨想要保護他，卻發生了更大的慘劇……
翻開內心深處的黑暗，「十二國記」系列最戰慄的序章！
實習教師廣瀨回母校實習時，注意到一個名叫高里的學生。高里無法融入其他人的身影，讓他回想起自己的過去。
欺負高里的人都會發生意外，所以大家都說「惹他會遭殃」、對他敬而遠之。
高里的神祕，和他曾遭「神隱」有關嗎？廣瀨想要保護他，卻發生了更大的慘劇……
翻開內心深處的黑暗，「十二國記」系列最戰慄的序章！
424 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
7 people are currently reading
198 people want to read
About the author
Fuyumi Ono
168 books329 followersKanji 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
December 31, 2015
There weren't any proper reviews of this novel, so I decided to write one myself. Mashou No Ko (Demon Child, as it is usually translated) is a horror novel connected to, but not actually a part of, the Twelve Kingdoms series (Juuni Kokuki). In the latest Japanese re-publication (2012), it is listed as "Volume 0" in the series. Ono Fuyumi wrote it before beginning the series, and later worked it into the series.
Demon Child is told from the point of view of Hirose, a student teacher who has returned to his alma mater to teach before he graduates. There, he reconnects with his old favorite teacher, Gotou, who is supervising his training. On his first day teaching, Hirose notices that one of the students, Takasato Kaname, is different from the others. The other students often act as though he doesn't exist, and some of them tell Hirose about what they call the “Curse of Takasato”—whenever anyone crosses Takasato, something bad almost always happens to them, which can never be directly connected to Takasato. Strangely enough, Takasato never shows any anger towards others, but in the past those who hurt him have ended up injured or sometimes dead. This, they say, is attributed to the year that Takasato was “spirited away,” when he vanished and returned a year later with no memories of the missing year.
As Hirose begins to learn more about Takasato, and becomes closer to him, the strange occurrences around Takasato began to strike more fiercely and rapidly towards those connected to him. Frightening monsters surround Takasato, causing these events, which Takasato cannot control. As Hirose tries to understand Takasato, he begins to identify with him as someone who feels he does not belong in this world.
Demon Child is a good standalone horror novel (I think it would make quite an interesting film) but is also, of course, connected to the Twelve Kingdoms series. In the context of the series, this novel tells the story of Taiki (Takasato) as he returns to Japan accidentally. The novel itself is—briefly—retold in Tasogare no Kishi, Akatsuki no Sora from the perspective of those in the other world, so it is not necessary to read this novel to get the complete story, but it an interesting companion piece.
Although I am not normally a reader of horror novels, I did enjoy this one very much. Of course, it's connected to a series that I have enjoyed. It is also nice to get a better perspective on Taiki, especially as Ono hasn't continued his story arc yet. I would probably not have picked this one up otherwise, but I'm glad I did.
Demon Child is told from the point of view of Hirose, a student teacher who has returned to his alma mater to teach before he graduates. There, he reconnects with his old favorite teacher, Gotou, who is supervising his training. On his first day teaching, Hirose notices that one of the students, Takasato Kaname, is different from the others. The other students often act as though he doesn't exist, and some of them tell Hirose about what they call the “Curse of Takasato”—whenever anyone crosses Takasato, something bad almost always happens to them, which can never be directly connected to Takasato. Strangely enough, Takasato never shows any anger towards others, but in the past those who hurt him have ended up injured or sometimes dead. This, they say, is attributed to the year that Takasato was “spirited away,” when he vanished and returned a year later with no memories of the missing year.
As Hirose begins to learn more about Takasato, and becomes closer to him, the strange occurrences around Takasato began to strike more fiercely and rapidly towards those connected to him. Frightening monsters surround Takasato, causing these events, which Takasato cannot control. As Hirose tries to understand Takasato, he begins to identify with him as someone who feels he does not belong in this world.
Demon Child is a good standalone horror novel (I think it would make quite an interesting film) but is also, of course, connected to the Twelve Kingdoms series. In the context of the series, this novel tells the story of Taiki (Takasato) as he returns to Japan accidentally. The novel itself is—briefly—retold in Tasogare no Kishi, Akatsuki no Sora from the perspective of those in the other world, so it is not necessary to read this novel to get the complete story, but it an interesting companion piece.
Although I am not normally a reader of horror novels, I did enjoy this one very much. Of course, it's connected to a series that I have enjoyed. It is also nice to get a better perspective on Taiki, especially as Ono hasn't continued his story arc yet. I would probably not have picked this one up otherwise, but I'm glad I did.
April 9, 2024
This book was my first foray into Fuyumi Ono's 12 Kingdoms series and while I did end up having some nitpicks, I thoroughly enjoyed it and really loved some parts of it!
From all I gather, 魔性の子 (The Demon Child/The Changeling) is a bit of an outlier for the series - it's a weird inter-mid-quel kind of deal which involves a storyline that becomes relevant only several books later and it doesn't actually take place within the eponymous 12 Kingdoms - it is instead a horror-thriller-mystery story set in the... uh... normal world? human world? sorry i'm a bit foggy on the nomenclature here. anyway.
Despite the difference in genre, 魔性の子 very obviously carries the 12 Kingdoms' DNA and I found it to be a very interesting teaser for the things that are to come in the "main" series.
魔性の子 is a story that largely revolves around a chain of mysterious incidents caused in some way by a high school student called Takasato. Whenever someone confronts or upsets him, bad things of cataclysmic proportions are almost certain to happen to them. It's a gloomy, unforgiving narrative which sees a ton of characters meet grisly ends for unfair reasons, very much against the will of Takasato himself, who doesn't wish for harm to come to basically anyone. This sadly means that a lot of characters end up as little more than cannon fodder. It's... curiously similar to Ayatsuji Yukito's Another in some regards, which is very interesting, considering he's Ono's husband... and he wrote it like... 10? 15? years after 魔性の子 was released. I genuinely wonder if he didn't draw some inspiration from this novel.
I'm not usually a fan of this kind of story, not to a huge degree, at least. I did expect this kind of narrative going into it and I did get pretty much exactly what I expected... but despite my expectations, I actually really liked how the story is told.
What carries this book is, before anything else, the friendship between Takasato and a student-teacher called Hirose (who's the actual POV for most of the book). It's a very heartwarming but flawed human relationship with a surprising amount of nuance to it. It delves into interesting themes which I didn't quite expect this book to approach and it does so with a lot of grace. Hirose is a very interesting character and the book prods around in his brain quite a bit - his character conflict is easily my favorite part of the entire novel. Love my guy he's a #realstruggler.
Something more minor that I liked a lot were the small post-chapter bits showing random laymen encountering weird supernatural shit and having no idea what to make of it. It's a nice change of pace from the character-driven main plot, it shows the reader a fun peek into what's going on behind the curtains and it even feels like these parts have some jitsuwa kaidan-like DNA, which is absolutely delightful.
All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book. I found it a tad bit overlong and the things that happened around Takasato sometimes felt overkill, but it had some really stellar writing in the parts which matter most to a reader like me.
Really excited for 月の影、影の海 (Shadow of the Moon, Sea of Shadow) now!
❕Disclaimer❕
This review was written on 4 hours of sleep and was caused by a sudden, manic typing fever. This review was NOT proofread. Gootnight.
From all I gather, 魔性の子 (The Demon Child/The Changeling) is a bit of an outlier for the series - it's a weird inter-mid-quel kind of deal which involves a storyline that becomes relevant only several books later and it doesn't actually take place within the eponymous 12 Kingdoms - it is instead a horror-thriller-mystery story set in the... uh... normal world? human world? sorry i'm a bit foggy on the nomenclature here. anyway.
Despite the difference in genre, 魔性の子 very obviously carries the 12 Kingdoms' DNA and I found it to be a very interesting teaser for the things that are to come in the "main" series.
魔性の子 is a story that largely revolves around a chain of mysterious incidents caused in some way by a high school student called Takasato. Whenever someone confronts or upsets him, bad things of cataclysmic proportions are almost certain to happen to them. It's a gloomy, unforgiving narrative which sees a ton of characters meet grisly ends for unfair reasons, very much against the will of Takasato himself, who doesn't wish for harm to come to basically anyone. This sadly means that a lot of characters end up as little more than cannon fodder. It's... curiously similar to Ayatsuji Yukito's Another in some regards, which is very interesting, considering he's Ono's husband... and he wrote it like... 10? 15? years after 魔性の子 was released. I genuinely wonder if he didn't draw some inspiration from this novel.
I'm not usually a fan of this kind of story, not to a huge degree, at least. I did expect this kind of narrative going into it and I did get pretty much exactly what I expected... but despite my expectations, I actually really liked how the story is told.
What carries this book is, before anything else, the friendship between Takasato and a student-teacher called Hirose (who's the actual POV for most of the book). It's a very heartwarming but flawed human relationship with a surprising amount of nuance to it. It delves into interesting themes which I didn't quite expect this book to approach and it does so with a lot of grace. Hirose is a very interesting character and the book prods around in his brain quite a bit - his character conflict is easily my favorite part of the entire novel. Love my guy he's a #realstruggler.
Something more minor that I liked a lot were the small post-chapter bits showing random laymen encountering weird supernatural shit and having no idea what to make of it. It's a nice change of pace from the character-driven main plot, it shows the reader a fun peek into what's going on behind the curtains and it even feels like these parts have some jitsuwa kaidan-like DNA, which is absolutely delightful.
All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book. I found it a tad bit overlong and the things that happened around Takasato sometimes felt overkill, but it had some really stellar writing in the parts which matter most to a reader like me.
Really excited for 月の影、影の海 (Shadow of the Moon, Sea of Shadow) now!
❕Disclaimer❕
This review was written on 4 hours of sleep and was caused by a sudden, manic typing fever. This review was NOT proofread. Gootnight.
May 19, 2023
十二國記中最早出版的一部，但還好我不是從這部讀起。非十二國中人視角、「全部死光光」的這本恐怖小說，和其他冊風格迥異，又毫無轉圜餘地，讀來竟有些令人尷尬。最後幾段來自異世界的搜索，後來在別部作品中以不同視角出現，回過頭來看倒是有點幽默：
廉麟知道自己變成都市傳說了嗎？
廉麟知道自己變成都市傳說了嗎？
September 27, 2017
Background of the review:
The first time I read it, 4 years ago, it was right after reading Taiki's story in The 12 Kingdom's series, so my knowledge of the time he was "spirited away" was still fresh. I have subconsciously related the resonance between Takasato and Hirose to Taiki and his Taiou, which made me very partial of Hirose.
Now that I've re-read it as a stand alone, I have a more neutral take on how Hirose acts throughout the story. While I was less surprised by the events through the re-reading, the development of Hirose's character was still superb despite me knowing how it will unfold. If anything, I felt him more relatable as a fellow human.
Since this book was released prior to the actual series it belongs to, I know that it will be hard for readers to be satisfied with the open-ended conclusion of the story. I wanted to try reading it as a stand alone as how it was initially published and I realized that I liked reading it more chronologically, when I just read the other books. Now I have the desire to re-read the entire series.
For the actual review, I still gave it 5 stars because the entire series is too amazing for me.
What I liked about it: Hirose. The diverse characters. Hirose's narration gave each character their own light in a humanly biased way. This makes this story relatable despite the heavy supernatural and fantasy mixed in it. There is the admission of being partial in his part, or for humans in general, which was eloquently stated by Gotou as liking everyone means not liking anyone at all. Gotou served as the conscience throughout, and his inconsistent support is similar to how people who cares for us still draws the line on until where they can actually support us.
I am pretty sure that there are several ideas in the books which were lost in translation, but the main idea that the book brought me is that it is about the irony of being human. Almost everything that occurs in this book is ironic, and the fact that everything is abnormal actually brings out more of each character's humanity in the best but mostly, worst ways possible.
Another element played halfway through is how there is always two sides of the same coin. That is the limit of being human, we put a line to differentiate things that are essentially the same and make ourselves believe that they are different while knowing deep inside that we are just fools trying to fool everyone including ourselves.
As a horror, it actually did not dwell too much in adorning it with 'shock' elements. It actually used very simple yet vivid explanations for the scenes to send chills down my spine. The scare factor is how the scenes are too simple and seemingly normal, so it's more scary because it might just happen in real life anytime.
Mystery played a very big part on the novel, which makes it really hard to put the book down once you get into it. The ending just solved a fraction of it, and it's still best to read the whole series. Which is once again, very ironic because this book is supposed to solve the holes in the main series.
Overall, I find the book to be a worthwhile read especially on its psychological take on various human behaviour. After re-reading it, it still makes me wonder how, as an individual, would I react to such situations and how would I end up with an enemy that defies rationality.
The first time I read it, 4 years ago, it was right after reading Taiki's story in The 12 Kingdom's series, so my knowledge of the time he was "spirited away" was still fresh. I have subconsciously related the resonance between Takasato and Hirose to Taiki and his Taiou, which made me very partial of Hirose.
Now that I've re-read it as a stand alone, I have a more neutral take on how Hirose acts throughout the story. While I was less surprised by the events through the re-reading, the development of Hirose's character was still superb despite me knowing how it will unfold. If anything, I felt him more relatable as a fellow human.
Since this book was released prior to the actual series it belongs to, I know that it will be hard for readers to be satisfied with the open-ended conclusion of the story. I wanted to try reading it as a stand alone as how it was initially published and I realized that I liked reading it more chronologically, when I just read the other books. Now I have the desire to re-read the entire series.
For the actual review, I still gave it 5 stars because the entire series is too amazing for me.
What I liked about it: Hirose. The diverse characters. Hirose's narration gave each character their own light in a humanly biased way. This makes this story relatable despite the heavy supernatural and fantasy mixed in it. There is the admission of being partial in his part, or for humans in general, which was eloquently stated by Gotou as liking everyone means not liking anyone at all. Gotou served as the conscience throughout, and his inconsistent support is similar to how people who cares for us still draws the line on until where they can actually support us.
I am pretty sure that there are several ideas in the books which were lost in translation, but the main idea that the book brought me is that it is about the irony of being human. Almost everything that occurs in this book is ironic, and the fact that everything is abnormal actually brings out more of each character's humanity in the best but mostly, worst ways possible.
Another element played halfway through is how there is always two sides of the same coin. That is the limit of being human, we put a line to differentiate things that are essentially the same and make ourselves believe that they are different while knowing deep inside that we are just fools trying to fool everyone including ourselves.
As a horror, it actually did not dwell too much in adorning it with 'shock' elements. It actually used very simple yet vivid explanations for the scenes to send chills down my spine. The scare factor is how the scenes are too simple and seemingly normal, so it's more scary because it might just happen in real life anytime.
Mystery played a very big part on the novel, which makes it really hard to put the book down once you get into it. The ending just solved a fraction of it, and it's still best to read the whole series. Which is once again, very ironic because this book is supposed to solve the holes in the main series.
Overall, I find the book to be a worthwhile read especially on its psychological take on various human behaviour. After re-reading it, it still makes me wonder how, as an individual, would I react to such situations and how would I end up with an enemy that defies rationality.
November 24, 2019
如果没有先看其他十二国的故事，那我可能会觉得莫名其妙吧？到最后可能是“灾祸终于走了”的释然，虽然知道并不是他的错........
但看完黄昏之岸晓之天以后再回来看，从一开始只有“ki”，“taiki”，慢慢地看到了“sanshi”，“gaoalan”，然后到“ientaiho”。心情逐渐就激动起来，最后虽然尚隆没有正儿八经露脸，但是看在我马上要开始.........？？接下来这章是风之海 迷宫之岸啊（哭唧唧）
但看完黄昏之岸晓之天以后再回来看，从一开始只有“ki”，“taiki”，慢慢地看到了“sanshi”，“gaoalan”，然后到“ientaiho”。心情逐渐就激动起来，最后虽然尚隆没有正儿八经露脸，但是看在我马上要开始.........？？接下来这章是风之海 迷宫之岸啊（哭唧唧）
April 23, 2024
I became a fan of Ono Fuyumi's horror fiction after reading 残穢. The book barely works as a horror story due to having too many trappings of a prequel of an epic fantasy series. Unlike 残穢, which made me, the reader, feel like I was part of the darkness, I didn't feel any connection towards the main characters and mostly felt sorry for the normies who take the collateral damage of the otherworldly forces.
BTW, the afterword by Kikuchi Hideyuki compiled in this Shinchō Bunko edition is terrible. First off, he needs to stop bringing up gender when commenting on Ono's writing, or any woman writer's for that matter. Second, he's trying too hard to sell the idea that like Takase and Takasato, we all feel like we don't truly belong to this world. Though I feel like I'm unfit for this world like Eiko in Convenience Store Woman, my mind doesn't jump to conjuring up another world that I might belong because, unlike Takase and Takasato, I've never been to one. Kikuchi is trying to universalize the two main character's common experience, but I don't think Ono meant it that way. If anything, she's emphasizing their isolation for better or worse.
BTW, the afterword by Kikuchi Hideyuki compiled in this Shinchō Bunko edition is terrible. First off, he needs to stop bringing up gender when commenting on Ono's writing, or any woman writer's for that matter. Second, he's trying too hard to sell the idea that like Takase and Takasato, we all feel like we don't truly belong to this world. Though I feel like I'm unfit for this world like Eiko in Convenience Store Woman, my mind doesn't jump to conjuring up another world that I might belong because, unlike Takase and Takasato, I've never been to one. Kikuchi is trying to universalize the two main character's common experience, but I don't think Ono meant it that way. If anything, she's emphasizing their isolation for better or worse.
July 1, 2025
I fell into an anime called Twelve Kingdoms and this is the prelude to the series which I could only read via fan translation but honestly, it's a solid horror story and sets an intense amount of groundwork for one character's development
January 25, 2018
Cautivadora historia de terror... aunque lo es? Increíble la manera que un cuento antiguo se llega a enlazar con lo que viene más adelante. Historia súper recomendada.
November 16, 2019
Taiki y su destino siguen siendo la razón por las que leí esta serie. Necesito saber más.
March 10, 2020
Soy muy fan del anime de los doce reinos, muy seguramente leeré todos los libros que han traducido los fans
August 13, 2023
Like the horror scenes but wasn’t a fan of the protagonist. A bit obsessive about Takasato. Obviously this is the book 1 of a long series so it ends with a lot to be discovered.
November 1, 2024
雖然是恐怖小說，但我感到很多的是悲傷，從高里的經歷，到無數配角的死亡，再到最後的離別。
讀到一半後我愛上了廣瀬這個主角。在故事中他視高里為同胞，一直支持這個被社會排斥了的學生，可是在結局，他卻成了被拋棄的一方。最後一幕的除了海潮水味外還帶來了無盡的悲哀，讓我泣不成聲。
小野老師的文筆非常美，文字間盡是寂寞，就連書中最後一句也是在強調主題。
讀到一半後我愛上了廣瀬這個主角。在故事中他視高里為同胞，一直支持這個被社會排斥了的學生，可是在結局，他卻成了被拋棄的一方。最後一幕的除了海潮水味外還帶來了無盡的悲哀，讓我泣不成聲。
小野老師的文筆非常美，文字間盡是寂寞，就連書中最後一句也是在強調主題。
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 30, 2025
Despite my rating, will continue reading
May 11, 2012
Loved every single book of this series. It's the kind of book that when you put it down at the very end you feel a mix of great satisfaction (because the story was packed with greatness), unbelievable anger (angry because it's over), frustration (because there's still so many unanswered questions in your mind), sadness and joy at the same time. Now the French edition is the only one that has translated the full series from Japanese (as of yet) and since it's my mother language I bought them in French (lucky me) but I suggest waiting for all the books to be out because.....you won't be able to put it down.
November 8, 2015
Having already seen the Twelve Kingdoms anime and read several other books in that series, the plot seemed a bit easy to see through........or so I thought. Fuyumi Ono managed to en-thrill just the same with this book as well. I knew the ending to some extent, it's just that the journey towards it was once again masterfully crafted. I absolutely love her books!
July 22, 2016
It wasn't bad. Since I knew from beginning what was going on because of reading the Twelve ingdoms series first and the I also saw the anime it wasn't so interesting as should be. But ayway it still a very good book.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews