The Twelve Kingdoms, Volume 1: Sea of Shadow [Hardcover]

Fuyumi Ono (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 13, 2007

For high-schooler Yoko Nakajima, life has been fairly ordinary--that is until Keiki, a young man with golden hair, tells Yoko they must return to their kingdom. Once confronted by this mysterious being and whisked away to an unearthly realm, Yoko is left with only a magical sword; a gem; and a million questions about her destiny, the world she's trapped in, and the world she desperately wants to return to.More than just a fantasy story filled with horrific monsters, half-beasts, and magicians, The Twelve Kingdoms centers around a world reminiscent of Chinese mythology and rife with civil and political upheaval. Sea of Shadow, the first volume of this ongoing seven-volume epic, takes you on a wild ride that leaves you questioning the bounds of reality and fantasy."An exciting, fast-paced adventure that will keep readers on the edge of their seats."--BookLoons.com "This is a fantasy novel displaying a grand imagination and soaring adventure."--ActiveAnime.com"Fuyumi Ono weaves a bewitching tale of strength in adversity, bravery despite fear, courage above all, and trust â€" in yourself and in others."--Yabookscentral.comFuyumi Ono was born in Oita Prefecture, Japan. She graduated from Otani University with a major in Buddhist studies. During college she was a member of Kyoto University’s mystery story club for readers and writers of the mystery genre. In 1988, she made her publishing debut in Kodansha’s teen-targeted X-Bunko Teens Heart series. Besides The Twelve Kingdoms, Ono has written other novels in such genres as mystery and horror.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9–11—Yoko is an ordinary high school girl with nightmares when a golden-haired young man tells her she's in dream-foreshadowed danger. Soon the teen is flying on the back of a huge bird to a kingdom in another world, where she'll eventually learn that she is destined for a throne. The prominence of a jewel and a sword (as well as purification by water) connects this tale to Japanese tradition. Chinese tradition contributes cosmography and the Mandate of Heaven. Anime tradition guarantees lots of bloody monster-killing by the reluctant (and imperfect) Yoko. This otherworld seems thinly realized, with confusing politics; however, violent action and odd creatures abound. The real-world frame plays a small role, though the fantasy of not really belonging to one's parents is key. Yoko leaves behind her conservative, sexist upbringing, putting on men's clothes and developing muscles, acknowledging the demonic within, and learning to assert herself. Yet, she fears trusting anyone and judges the absence of religion as the reason for people's selfishness. A cynical blue monkey, the heroine's amoral self, regularly suggests suicide. The reading level is not difficult, but names (Keiki, Kaiko, Kyokai, Kou, etc.) are tricky without a guide. Pacing is uneven: stretches of inaction drag on and anticlimax replaces a final confrontation with the forces of evil—but six more volumes are planned. Anime fans will be encouraged by the occasional manga-style black-and-white illustration, and the strong female protagonist will attract others to a fantasy with identity and self-acceptance at its core.—Patricia D. Lothrop, St. George's School, Newport, RI
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Tokyopop; First Edition edition (March 13, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598169467
• ISBN-13: 978-1598169461
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 5 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #671,447 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Never thought I'd see it, March 17, 2007

By 

Nurse Washu (South Burlington, VT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Twelve Kingdoms, Volume 1: Sea of Shadow (Hardcover)

Some time ago I saw the anime version of 12 Kingdoms, which I'd found to be one of the most brilliant and enjoyable anime series I'd ever seen. So it doesn't take much imagination to understand how dreadfully disappointed I was to see that it was never completed. The anime covered only four of the seven story arcs and unless the original novels were ever translated, there was little hope that I would ever see the ending of this wonderful series. That has changed now that Tokyopop is translating the novels too, so I'm more determined than ever to find out what happens at the conclusion.

At the beginning the main character, Yoko Nakajima, is the person everyone imagines when they hear the phrase "good girl". She is polite, well mannered, obedient to her parents, has a lot of friends, does well in school and is even the class president. Everything that one could ask for in a high school teenager's life, right? Wrong. In the night time recently Yoko has been tormented by frightful nightmares, which has made her tired and very unhappy. Then one day after a particularly embarrassing day at school, a strange man shows up at Yoko's school. He kneels on the floor in front of Yoko and swears his allegiance to her. Completely perplexed Yoko does nothing, however the man (called Keiki) is more than persistant and demands that she accept, warning her of great danger that quickly approaches. Scared and not knowing what to do Yoko accepts Keiki's oath as a great battle ensues between demons, Yoko, and Keiki's mythical beast servants. Fast and furious are the events and before Yoko knows what is happening, she is carried off through a "shoku" - a storm that forms a bridge between Yoko's world and the world that Keiki comes from.

The battle concludes, but Yoko wakes up the next day alone and stranded on a strange seashore. Keiki and his servants are nowhere to be found, and neither are Yoko's demonic enemies. Yoko is left to fend for herself in a completely alien world with only a sword and a Hinman (spirtual being) called Joyu that Keiki had infused into Yoko to enable her to defend herself. Being a visitor from the sea - a "Kaikyaku" - makes Yoko a hunted criminal in the new land she finds herself in, so every day is a trial just to survive for Yoko as she faces enemies everywhere - beasts, demons and the most cunning of all enemies: humans. Utterly miserable, Yoko cries every night wanting to go home to her unhappy but "safe" life. Indeed she is a pathetic victim, however her life on the run changes her slowly. With visions shown by the sword Keiki gave her, and strange monkey-like being, Yoko discovers her true self including her own dark side.

Much of this first volume of the series "Sea of Shadow" deals with Yoko's transformation from a meek child of a girl into a fierce demon slayer. It is a rather insightful and inward journey as much as it is an outward journey through a strange land for the reader. Fuyumi Ono creates a richly detailed and real-to-life fantasy universe in Twelve Kingdoms that any fiction reader would enjoy, not just fans of anime or Japanese novels.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a fantasy story that does true justice to the human condition, and written well to boot!, March 18, 2007

By 

Sivant - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Twelve Kingdoms, Volume 1: Sea of Shadow (Hardcover)

I knew a bit about twelve kingdoms from a friend, who has seen the animated series. The setting is detailed and well thought out, and the challenges the characters face in the plot are primarily ethical ones. knowing a bit, and watching a few episodes I knew I wanted to read the book it was based on, but it was not available in English.

First, the writing style. While I do not know how much of this is credit to the author or the translator, the end product is amazing. I caught no typos, and no ambiguous grammar/syntax (which is rather astounding for a full length fictional novel). In that regard, it is technically impressive. But the witting style used caught me. the sentence structures tend to be basic, but each one is dense with importance for the story, leaving few wasted words. This causes the story to have a fast flow, which matches the sweep of the story, basically one long chase scene that concludes in a war. Reading a few sentences immediately draws the reader, and then doesn't let go. I was so impressed by the effect (which I have rarely experience in a per book ratio, and I don't recall the last time it occurred cover to cover) that I challenged several friends to start reading a few sentences in any random page, and see if they felt similarly, and most did. I am confident that, if nothing else, the translator/author/editor team of this book deserve great praise for that much at least.

Now, as a work of fantasy it is obvious that the author has kept their end of the bargain for the fantasy genre writing. In their head is a fully living world, that can be described in endless detail with congruency. The author seems to have keen sense of Chinese philosophy and metaphysics, and writes in a style similar, although less obtuse, to Chinese tales. If you enjoy Asian mysticism, and the importance placed on ethics and the proper order of things, you will enjoy the importance the author places on these things.

Regarding the plot, what impressed me was that nothing was simply a description for the sake of elaborating on the setting. Every sentence seems geared towards introducing a deepening series of ethical dilemmas. And the writing, which closely follows the thinking and limitations of the protagonist, is written so you can go on this ethical journey with her. The challenges are deep ones, and the quandary will likely be thought provoking for all but the wizened old readers or the truly narrow minded. No easy answers are allowed for the protagonist, and, like all of us, she ends up finally just making up ones for expediency. Unlike us, her adventure forces her to constantly challenge her deep beliefs, and so, her heart is always troubled, and it is the, sometimes truly psychotic and disturbing, places her inner life goes that we are pulled to journey.

This book is a great story about how shallow and yet profound the ideas of right and wrong are. It pulls no punches in that regard, and handles the ruthlessness of human nature well. In what I consider an ideal fashion, the author pulls two important tricks. One, she presents no 3rd person, or ultimate right answer. Two, she introduces person after person who, like all of us, have made the philosophical choices they had to in order to survive. So we see a world full of people no less or more noble then ourselves, and we follow the protagonist as she learns what the human heart (most important of all, her own) is made of.

On an end note. I learned that this book was categorized as young adult fiction. I suspect that has more to do with it being printed by Tokyo pop then anything else. The truth is, many parents will want to read this first, and consider if they should hand it to their children. There are sound arguments to be truly evil, and while the character's replies are presented, you may not like them and they are not conclusive. A person who is not ready to really understand evil behavior will have hard time with this book. On that same note, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone under 15 or so. I think their brains and hearts are not developed well enough to truly understand the story being told (although they may enjoy it.) Of course, if you are all about challenging your children to seek deep questions and tough concerns of adulthood, then by all means, this book is a treasure. Enjoyable, and uncompromising, you can ask for nothing more out of a piece of entertaining fiction. Also, concerning this book for children, it is violent and bloody. It demonstrated pretty much every reason why you would kill someone or something, and in so doing lots of things and people are killed, threatened, and abused. Children who do not understand the "ways of the world" may misunderstand or (hopefully) have a lot of questions. Be ready for that. Furthermore, there is a heightened amount of violence, but of a more ethically shallow and theatrical type, as the character is constantly beset by monsters for most of the story. Truly the most descriptive violence, but the least meaningful. If you have read, "heroes of the marsh", it is something like that, but more concise.

I do know a bit later in the story of 12 kingdoms then where this book ends (not much later though) and I believe that later books will not have the same focus on personal ethics. I suspect that the 2nd book will more strongly look at social structures and civil leadership, and follow a different protagonist, or maybe by the 3rd. Beyond that, I am not sure, and do not know the pacing of the original Japanese series of novels.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, March 14, 2007

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Twelve Kingdoms, Volume 1: Sea of Shadow (Hardcover)

Yoko Nakajima is the perfect daughter. 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.

Reviewed by: Carrie Spellman