Product Details

• Actors: Mari Devon, Kate Davis, Houko Kuwashima, Aya Hisakawa, Dorothy Elias-Fahn
• Writers: Fuyumi Ono, Shô Aikawa
• Format: Animated, Color, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English, Japanese
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Anime Works
• DVD Release Date: September 30, 2003
• Run Time: 125 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00009V7O1
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #235,410 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Twelve Kingdoms - Chapter 2 - Empress" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Youko’s legend continues as she journeys deep into the world of the Twelve Kingdoms. Will she be able to remain true to herself once she learns the terrible secret of her destiny?

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Fantasy Anime, January 31, 2004

By 

Akira "gigatonx" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Twelve Kingdoms - Chapter 2 - Empress (DVD)

In volume two of the Twelve Kingdoms series, Youko Nakajima joins up with the half-beast Rakushunn. Rakushunn tells Youko of the Kingdom of En, a country to the north where she won't be persecuted. While on their journey Youko will have to get through the minions of the King of Kou and also fight her own inner demons. The character development and plot of the story are very well thought out, and make for a enjoyable viewing experience. If you liked the first volume then you certainly won't be disappointed with this one.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HOW THE WORLD TRULY WORKS, June 18, 2005

By 

Sesho "www.sesho.libsyn.com" (Pasadena, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Twelve Kingdoms - Chapter 2 - Empress (DVD)

After being left for dead by Sugimoto at the end of Volume 1, Youko is nursed to health by Rakushun, a human sized talking mouse who just happens to be a Hanjyuu, which, similar to the characters in Wolf's Rain, can change into human form when they want. But Rakushun doesn't like to wear clothes so he stays mousey most of the time. He tells Youko about the land of En, a land ruled by a king who is also from Japan, who welcomes all people and half-beasts, not like the murderous King Kou who sees all Kaikyaku as harbingers of ill fortune. Rakushan offers to guide her to En, but Youko has a hard time trusting anyone after all the betrayals she has suffered. Besides that, in moments of trance, there is a being that appears to her, trying to ferment her distrust of people, even urging her on to suicide. Meanwhile King Kou still seeks to destroy Youko and enlists the aid of Sugimoto to that end, even altering her face to conceal her identity.

Volume 2 was a 100% improvement over the first. I was worrying that I would have to listen to Youko's mushy and overly emotional harangues for the whole series. In Volume 2 she really steps up to the plate and asserts her will over her fate. She is able to accept that you have to treat others with kindness and trust even when they do not. The world of this anime is deftly imagined and just reveals layer after layer of depth. The characters become more intriguing each episode. The only complaint I have of it is that the evil spirits sent to kill Youka look less than frightening. Great show!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of the fantasy-themed animes, September 15, 2004

By 

W. Scott Heitman (Gainesville, Fl United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Twelve Kingdoms - Chapter 2 - Empress (DVD)

I've seen a good deal of anime (read: way much more than I responsibly should have). It ranges from train-wreck-bad to truly inspiring. This anime falls so close to the latter category that I've already placed it in my top 5 series after seeing only the first 2 DVDs. Very few animes can captivate a viewer to the degree where they don't even stop to look at the time, where they don't really expect the story/episode to stop. Every time I finished an episode, it always surprised me- I was so caught up in the story. The series is based on a number of well-crafted books which create a well thought out Tolkien-esque world. While developing this world, the series also finds time to develop its very interesting cast of characters. The music is also quite fantastic. The animation wins no superlatives, but it accomplishes its task quite well. The fight scenes, especially, are well animated. The one thing I worry about is the incompletion of the series. At 45 episodes, the story of the 12 Kingdoms is incomplete. I have been told that the 45 episodes effectively finishes the story of the main character- so some closure is reached. But 23 more episodes were apparently planned to reach an ultimate fate of the 12 Kingdoms- sadly, these will probably never be made. Still, this series is absolutely fantastic thus far and not to be missed!