New Novel for Juuni Kokuki

Nox--- said:
Looks like the story will be set in Tai. I haven't started the second novel series regarding Youko just yet (i hate reading, and reading in english is difficult for a non native speaker like me). Looks like the manuscript was delivered by Fuyumi Ono on 12/12/18 (Twelve Kingdom Day, supposedly). Personally, i'm more like Rakushun, i want to see what kind of kingdom Youko will build over time, and how much she will fulfill the hopes everyone has for her as the Imperial Kei. I'm way more interested in that than in the Tai story.

I love the anime series, which is still number 1 in my list. But it is a rather free adaptation of the novels, which means there is a lot to find in the novels, even if you have watched the anime. There are many differences with the novels. If i were to just point out a few, this would be:

-Youko herself is not exactly the same. She doesn't appear to be as meek as in the anime, probably because she's more cheeky and more of an asshole since the start (though it is conveyed by her inner thoughts), but her character development is probably even greater in the novels, for different reasons.

-Asano does not exist in the books, and Sugimoto only has a tiny role. She never joins Youko past the Shoku, and she appears only once afterwards, when she's interrogated by the Tokyo Police, and Youko spies on her with the sword. That means that Youko actually wanders alone for a very long time, and from that terrible solitude, dark things will be born. Her descent to hell is better reflected in the books because of that. But i guess having just one character wandering alone with no dialogues would have made it hard to translate it in an anime.

-Many secondary characters do not exist in the book. The theatre company is one prime example. Once again, for most of the first arc, Youko struggles alone, until she meets Rakushun. She still meets other secondary characters, but things happen in the different way. I like it better in the books.

-The books are way more violent and gory. Fuyumi Ono does not hesitate to go to great extents to describe the absolute horror Youko goes through, notably when she kills the first Kochou. While in the series she fights random youma from time to time, in the books, she actually spends all her nights besiedged in the moutains by hordes of youma, making for a rather bloody and desperate struggle. Living such a life, the way her character evolves makes even more sense.

-The end of the first arc is even more abrupt in the books. I was looking for more details on how she reclaimed her throne, but there are none. The short stories she wrote afterwards do not give any more hindsight regarding this point. That's probably the only thing i like better in the anime.

-Do not consider what i wrote as being spoilers. These are not. They are just mere examples to help you understand how the story and characters can have a wholly different feel in the books. Each chapter will bring you its share of details and hindsights the anime failed to capture. If anything, watching the anime will help you being familiar with characters and settings, but for me, that's it. I could never say confidently "i watched the anime 2 times already, i know what will happen now". It's not the case, you will always see new and different things, all more accurate and detailed.

The bottom line is that i would recommend reading the books if you liked the anime.