A habitant of a neighboring village? A fauve? A demon? Yoko was lying on her side, cheek in a puddle, unable to get up, unable even to cry - when she heard a rustling in the underbrush behind her.
Her instincts screamed at her to seek cover, but she could barely raise her head to see what was coming A villager? A wild animal? Of course, she thought, no matter what it was, the end result would be the same. View 2 comments.
Yoko Nakajima is a Japanese high schooler. Her main defining trait seems to be that she wants to make everyone happy, which leaves her with all the spine of a wet noodle. After being dropped into a fantasy country with the clothes on her back, a sword, and a spirit that lets her use it, this personality trait is not going to help her out.
One reason I really liked Sea of Shadow was that Yoko showed a great deal of character evolution through the book. Her journey teaches her to both become self-r Yoko Nakajima is a Japanese high schooler. Her journey teaches her to both become self-reliant, and allow herself to rely on others without just becoming what they want to see. The lack of knowledge Yoko has of what exactly is going on is well handled, when her guide, Keiki, disappears later on. My one critique of the book is that the ending feels rushed.
Once Yoko figures out why she was brought to the Twelve Kingdoms, and comes up with a plan to rescue Keiki from imprisonment, the last couple of scenes feel rushed, like the author felt like they weren't as important as the inner journey Yoko went through.
Aug 04, Eugene Woodbury rated it it was amazing. With the Twelve Kingdoms series, Fuyumi Ono has created a high fantasy universe on a par with the more familiar medieval European milieu. Her "Middle Earth" springs out of ancient China, and boasts a highly complex cultural and political system, interwoven with the "rational" use of magic. At the same time, the trilogy of novels covering Youko's adventure is a classic exploration of the hero's journey or " monomyth ".
The moral evolution of her character, symbolized by her encounters with the har With the Twelve Kingdoms series, Fuyumi Ono has created a high fantasy universe on a par with the more familiar medieval European milieu. The moral evolution of her character, symbolized by her encounters with the harassing id of a monkey spirit, builds towards a profound and satisfactory resolve.
On a more technical note, I laud Shadow of the Moon, a Sea of Shadows in particular for the author's disciplined use of a single POV narrative, something rarely done this well. My comments are based on the Japanese editions. I've put together a bibliography of some of the other available English translations the TokyoPop versions are out of print. View all 6 comments. May 29, Ro rated it really liked it. This book was on my shelf for about a year, taunting me with it's width and bright blue dust jacket.
I had this particular attachment to it, that I can't really explain or understand. It had the familiarity of walking into the room and seeing my cat curled up on the couch. Whenever I picked it up and looked at it's cover, I'd wonder why I noticed it so much and why, because of this, I still hadn't read it yet. I can wonder that no longer! I'll have to admit that because of this weird wonderm This book was on my shelf for about a year, taunting me with it's width and bright blue dust jacket.
I'll have to admit that because of this weird wonderment I experienced for nearly a year before finally reading this, the book fell a little short of my expectations. However, it was still a great read, and was actually a lot different than what I had expected. I don't think it's fair to compare it to Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away my favourite movie , because they're presented in two different mediums and are their own respective works, but there are notable similarities.
The biggest similarity and much to my delight is the character growth of the main characters. And I love it. I don't mind a main character that starts out as a sniveling, annoying brat, as long as you can see them progress as their journey does. They don't even have to become a good person; as long as their actions and experiences shape them, it's This book or books? It is a pretty long book, but you're rewarded with little drawings every 60 pages for a little break and a refresher of where the characters are at in location and looks.
Also refreshing: no instalove. There aren't even any crushes. That is mighty refreshing in a young adult book. Granted, there aren't really any characters that stick around long enough for a relationship to build, but I've seen YA books that introduce a male character only to take him away again, with the heroine helplessly in love and doing anything in her power to see him again.
All in all, good book. I will continue to the series as soon as I get my hands on the next book. It's becoming increasingly harder to get copies of these books, so for any of you who are interested in reading this series but don't know French or don't have the resources to get the books in print, there are online translations of most of the books in this series and its side series.
Conduct a simple Google search and it should be one of the first results. You didn't hear that from me, though! View 1 comment. The entire Twelve Kingdoms saga is by a mile-long one of my absolute favorite fantasy reads. I have all the books and I also have every DVDs of the anime version.
I remember coming home from school when I was in middle school. My mom owned a bookstore and we used to live upstairs. The absolute dream for a bookworm, I would come home, chose a book, and go up in my room -and very often barely go back downstairs to have dinner.
This day, I chose the first book of The Twelve Kingdoms. Back then, only The entire Twelve Kingdoms saga is by a mile-long one of my absolute favorite fantasy reads.
Back then, only the two first volumes had been published in France and I would like to think it was the first time a light novel for teenagers was. The format was different, smaller than a pocketbook, the illustrations beautiful, and the blurb amazing for my young experience. It was dumb luck. But today, I still worship these books and I would still watch the series.
I have shown the animated version to many people and they all loved it. And from today's discussion, my mom would watch it again. The Twelve Kingdoms is the epic journey of many different characters that will learn along the way who they are and that the world is not only black and white but many shades of grey. Whether they come from Earth, whether they are destined to be leader, whether they are simply a soldier or a scholar, their personal quest will lead them to one another and help them become a better version of themselves.
But more than just the characters, it also manages to reach the reader. A must-read for any fantasy lover. May 19, Jessica Severs rated it really liked it. And some authors seem stuck on emulating J.
Fuyumi Ono, however, creates an unchartered world for our imaginations to explore. She introduces us to Yoko, a studious high-school girl who obeys her parents and her peers. At least, until the creature attacks. This book is the first of a seven-volume epic, and it concentrates on developing naive, hapless Yoko, who almost wishes for death, into a strong-willed survivor set on defining her own destiny.
Nov 11, Maya rated it really liked it. Sometimes a publisher wanting to cash in on a popular genre is actually a good thing. The author of the Twelve Kingdoms series, Fuyumi Ono, is usually at home in the genres of horror and mystery, which maybe explains the detailed gorey descriptions during the fighting scenes. Her editor suggested to her to visit the fantasy genre, because it was popular at that moment, and Ono ended up creating one of the major works of modern Asian Fantasy. At the beginning, main character Yoko is very annoying.
She is a real Not a brat, but a crybaby and extremely passive. She starts out as an obedient, shy girl, who cares for mundane stuff like watching her favorite TV series and her biggest problem is doing her school homework.
Too bad for her, she was born with naturally red hair in a country where everybody has black hair and dyed hair is considered rebellious behavior of delinquents. In response Yoko just tries to fit in even more, by being a model student. She is unable to stand up for herself and even less for others. But then she gets thrown into the magical world of the Twelve Kingdoms, all alone and in constant danger. Sea of Shadow is very much Yoko's story. As said, she is annoying in the first chapter.
In the second, luckily, there are already the first hints that she will develop, since she slowly starts acting instead of crying. Her character development continues over the whole book, as she comes to terms with herself and grows a backbone.
I liked the fact that Yoko at first behaves not heroic at all, but like a scared, lonely girl. She is all on her own for a large portion of the way. The writing doesn't feel very polished even though I had the impression that it got better as the story progressed , and the pacing is far from perfect.
For me, the story only got really interesting in the second half, once the other major characters are introduced. As the reader we start out the same as Yoko, thrown into the unknown and understanding nothing about the world of the Kingdoms.
We get information at the same time as Yoko does on her journey. There is a number of big, main questions to be answered, and the author takes her time to reveal things. But when she does, I did find the answers very interesting and creative. There is also some social criticism in connection with Yoko's changes, concerning uniformity, hypocrisy and self-confidence.
All in all, I love the world of the Twelve Kingdoms. Despite the main character being a Japanese girl, the fantasy setting and world-building is actually inspired by Chinese history and mythology, and it is so wonderfully different from everything else I have encountered in the fantasy genre. I've also grown fond of the different characters, a varied cast among which you find half-beasts and unicorns.
In the end, Sea of Shadow is little more than an introduction to the setting. Therefore, a bit of patience is probably needed until you get to the second half of the novel, but for me at least, it was well worth it. Highly recommended for anybody who likes Asian Fantasy, talking rats or unicorns. Sea of Shadow can be read as a stand-alone novel. Jul 26, Lara rated it it was amazing Recommended to Lara by: Yoko. Shelves: novel-owned. 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. And I'm still hoping for a license rescue for this series. I'd love to see official translations of the books Tokyopop never got around to publishing, and I'd definitely rebuy the books I already own.
Heck, I own multiple copies of Taiki's book as it is, just in case one falls apart and I need a backup. I wanted to finally read the fourth book, but it's been four years since I read the second and third and more than six since I read the first, so I decided that it'd be best to start from the beginning. This book introduces the world of the Twelve Kingdoms via Yoko Nakajima, a high school student in Japan.
When we first meet her, Yoko is as bland and inoffensive as she can make herself. Pretty much the only thing that makes her stand out and that she refuses to change is her hair, which is red enough to look like it's been dyed. She prefers to wear it long, even though it looks redder that way, and even though her mother keeps pushing her cut or dye it so she'll blend in better.
Then one day a man with strange clothes and golden hair appears at Yoko's school and tries to take her away. She refuses, at first, until terrifying creatures she'd previously only seen in her dreams suddenly attack. The man, Keiki, hands her a sword and tells her to fight. When Yoko protests that she doesn't know what to do, Keiki tells Joyu, a jellyfish-like creature, to attach itself to her and help her, forcing Yoko to kill for the first time in her life.
They escape to a strange new world and are soon separated. All Yoko wants is to go home, but first she has to find Keiki and figure out how to survive in a place where everyone and everything seems to either want to kill her or betray her.
I had vague memories of not really enjoying the first book, but also not hating it so much as to cross the entire series off my TBR list. I liked it more this time around, because I had a better understanding of what was going on and what it was all leading towards, but it wasn't exactly an enjoyable read.
This book is pages long, and over of those pages featured bad things happening to Yoko. She was betrayed multiple times, forced to kill demons every night, tormented by visions of home, and taunted by a blue monkey that seemed determined to throw all her worst thoughts and actions in her face.
She'd have died of her wounds, starvation, and exhaustion multiple times over had it not been for a jewel that Keiki gave her. Like I said, not pleasant, and it didn't help that Yoko wasn't very likeable either. When she was in Japan, she said nothing when a group of students bullied another girl, because she was afraid of being their next victim. She also lied to others in order to avoid confrontation.
She spent her first days in the world of the Twelve Kingdoms refusing to allow Joyu to fully help her, because the bloodshed horrified her. As her experiences wore her down, it became harder and harder for her to trust anyone, to the point that she contemplated stealing from or even killing someone who had previously helped her. While I could sympathize with some of Yoko's thoughts and actions, dealing with them for pages was a bit much.
The good thing is that Yoko was forced to take a long, hard look at the person she'd been and who she'd become. While she wasn't given a choice about her role in the Twelve Kingdoms, she at least got to decide how she wanted to proceed. One of my favorite moments was when she met Keiki again and he realized how much she'd grown as a person since the last time he saw her. He'd named her his master because he'd had no choice, so his more complete acceptance of her by the end of the book was nice.
Keiki was barely in this book, so I think the second book may have colored my perception some. Although it deals with a different set of characters, it provides a closer look at view spoiler [the kirin and their relationships with their rulers. However, I found the world of the Twelve Kingdoms to be fascinating enough to make up for that.
Whenever Yoko spent more than a few minutes with anybody, she usually received a lecture on some aspect of the Twelve Kingdoms. It should have been boring, especially on a reread, but I ate it up.
I loved learning about life in the kingdoms of Kou, Kei, and En. Rakushun, a hanjyu half-beast with the form of a rat, was a fount of fascinating information. I loved him for that, as well as for being incredibly nice. All in all, this was definitely worth a reread.
During my first read, I was as clueless about what was going on as Yoko. Having a better understanding of the world meant that certain scenes had more impact for me this time around. I admit, though, that I'm now even more disappointed at the way Ono structured the series. While this first book reunites Yoko and Keiki, by the end Yoko is still in danger, the false ruler is still in power, and the king of Kou is still out there.
And instead of continuing the story, the next two books take readers to earlier points in the world's timeline. It's frustrating. The anime does a better job of tying those loose threads up before moving on. May 12, Jennifer Wardrip rated it liked it Shelves: read-by-other-reviewers , trt-posted-reviews. She's a good student, she always does what she's told, she never complains, she never calls attention to herself -- perfect.
Except for her red hair that stands out everywhere in Japan, but no one can explain that one. Aside from that, she's perfect. So, when she starts falling asleep in class, it's surprising to everyone. If it weren't for those terrifying dreams, maybe she could get some sleep at night. And then when a strange man shows up at school, and windows start exploding, and Keiko the strange man commands her to accept his undying loyalty Somehow landing in a foreign world after falling through the moon seems almost normal.
Except that there is absolutely nothing normal about any of it! Yoko is attacked by monsters, gets thrown in jail, learns to steal, fights with a sword she has never learned how to use, and the only person she knows, Keiko, is nowhere to be found.
All Yoko knows now is that she's the only person she can trust. And her hopes of getting home grow smaller and smaller every day. But she can't stop searching -- for Keiko, for home, for herself. This book started with a pop, and then dropped to a slow buildup. It was a little frustrating. Yoko, as well, bothered me in the beginning. Perhaps it was more of a traditional depiction of a young Japanese girl, and having been raised to be extremely independent, I got irritated. That all being said, the end of the book redeemed everything for me.
I loved where it went! I want to read more. Also, there's a lot of interesting discussion of languages and symbols and Japanese characters. I'm sure I could have learned a lot from it, if my brain had some basis of prior knowledge. May 24, branewurms rated it really liked it Shelves: poc-authors , sci-fi-fantasy , poc-characters , childrens-and-ya , library , read On the downside: the prose was a bit flat and clunky once again, no idea if this was a matter of translation or not , but it wasn't too bad.
The decision to just That was just a bizarre decision that made the ending a bit anti-climatic. Info-dumps were present, but remained engaging enough, and honestly I don't know how they could have been avoided. Yoko's angsting got repetitive from time to time - it's not like I didn't understand and empathize with her feelings, it's just that they didn't need to keep being reiterated. It's wildly entertaining - it just sort of pulls you along and you can't stop. Believable characterization, non-stop action, some really fantastic worldbuilding Some of the ideas and imagery were so gorgeously bizarre the eggfruit trees!
Otoh I am a tiny bit irritated to find that my idea of view spoiler [children growing on trees hide spoiler ] has totally been done, lol. Well anyway, suffice it to say, I'm picking up the second book at first opportunity. Oct 08, Andrea Peterson rated it liked it Shelves: fantasy.
Yoko's character development was pretty amazing -- I was shocked at how quickly and naturally she went from crybaby to badass. I liked the illustrations too -- much nicer than the stuff you usually see in Japanese light novels. Sep 03, Courtney rated it really liked it. The Twelve Kingdom series are the books that the anime is based on. So, if you loved the anime, which I did, then you will love the books! The books are a little more in depth than the anime, which is a plus.
I was happy to see that the artwork included in the books, is the art style used in the anime, so all the characters look familiar. Jan 07, Claire rated it really liked it Shelves: young-adult , beautiful-book-covers , unicorns , scifi-fantasy , awesome-illustrations , compelling-female-characters , heroic-fantasy , fantastic-world-building , reading-challenge , hopepunk. Seeing our protag Yoko grow from wimp to badass in such a realistic, hard-won manner is one of the most deeply satisfying character arcs I've seen in quite a while.
I feel like I've read a lot of YA where the hero protag is just awesome and beloved for no real reason, so Yoko as a lead was refr Popsugar Reading Challenge: a book with an at least 4-star rating on Goodreads If there's one trope I love even more than a slow-burn romance, it's slow-burn character development. I feel like I've read a lot of YA where the hero protag is just awesome and beloved for no real reason, so Yoko as a lead was refreshing.
This was the main selling-point for me with this book, but the world-building is nothing to sneeze at either. If Narnia is a Euro-centric idea of what a fantasy world created by God would look like, then the Twelve Kingdoms are a similar thing, except Asian-centric.
It was a little hard at first to wrap my head around a world where all living things come out of magical eggs that grow on trees that goes for humans too , but it grew on me after a while. Docked a star for a rather rushed ending and a bit of info-dumping in places, even if the in-story reason for info-dumping was slightly more justified than in most cases.
Oct 20, Toni rated it it was amazing. This is quite a surprising, whirlwind read. After having viewed the first half of the anime, I did not think I was going to like the main character, Nakajima Yoko any more in the novel. However, I was very impressed at the level of detail and rich history that Ono Fuyumi has woven into this story of the Twelve Kingdoms which spans over seven volumes only the first two have been translated into English thus far.
Ordinary schoolgirl Nakajima Yoko gets drawn into a world of demons, danger, mystery This is quite a surprising, whirlwind read. Ordinary schoolgirl Nakajima Yoko gets drawn into a world of demons, danger, mystery and folklore when golden-haired warrior, Keiki shows up at her school one day, swears loyalty to her and tells her that she is grave danger.
With the help of Keiki, Joyu a creature that attaches itself to her to allow her to wield the sword of her destiny , Kaiko and Hyoki, Yoko fends off attacks of strange flying creatures only to be drawn into the alternate version of her world against her will. It is there that the battle for her life and sanity really begins. This was quite the page turner and I am very much looking forward to Volume 2, Sea of Wind. Nov 11, Nate rated it really liked it Recommends it for: Anime or manga fans.
Explore Wikis Community Central. Register Don't have an account? The Twelve Kingdoms: Sea of Shadow. Edit source History Talk 0. This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia view authors. Plot introduction [ ] Yoko Nakajima 's life had been fairly ordinary. Les 12 Royaumes Tome 1 -La mer de l'ombre French novel cover. The Kochou and baboon youma in a repeated dream Youko keeps having. Kaiko taking Youko to the Twelve Kingdoms on Hyouki 's back while riding into a shoku.
Youko 's cart being attacked by kiki. Kourin finds Youko. Rakushun nursing Youko back to health. Youko lunging at a Kochou. Youko and Rakushun looking at a Riboku in a shrine. Youko and Rakushun consulting with Shoryu and Enki. Youko encouraging Keiki. Youko escaping.
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