The Twelve Kingdoms: Shadow of the Moon, Shadow of the Sea

I watched the Twelve Kingdoms anime some years ago at the recommendation of a friend who called it “isekai but good”—a bit funny considering I still watch at least two isekai per year. Anyways, I had been meaning to read the novels since then, but the old license expired after the fourth book, so I always kept putting it off. Now that they're getting an all-new translation by Seven Seas (since July of last year), however, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to hop on.

The first arc's story, split in two books, follows Youko, a straight-laced girl raised by a conservative family in Tokyo who finds her life of simply going along with what everyone around her says turned upside-down when her school is attacked by monsters and an oddly-dressed stranger whisks her away to another world where she must fend for herself to survive.

I was very surprised by how different it is from the anime. No Sugimoto and what's-his-name classmate tagging along with Youko, for instance—which is fine since I didn't particularly care for them, but it's almost a bit funny how fast the story moves. It feels more like a children's story, somehow. Youko’s character development is still just as nice to witness, and it's a delightful read, all in all.

The worldbuilding is one of my favorite things about this series. A world shaped like a flower, divided into twelve kingdoms, where every living thing grows from magic trees and kings and queens are chosen by divine beasts and made immortal. It's a world full of cruelty and beauty, so much like and unlike our own.

The art is simply gorgeous. That cover art with Youko in her torn sailor uniform holding a sword is absolutely iconic, and the black-and-white illustrations on the inside are in a league of their own.

It was hard to pick just three favorites.

The next arc is one of my favorites from the anime, and I'm very excited about reading it too!