Pure Speculation: Romance?

sk · Post by sk » Sat Feb 04, 2006 10:07 pm

hmm I agree with fragile_bloom in the Twilight series,
Youko and Keiki are much more "cuter", I read the Japanese version and to me, it looked almost like a new couple getting to know each other.. kinda like a VERY old fashion arranged marrige type deal.
They are still very much in the stage of learning to trust and learning how to react to one another. They've got eternaty to help that all into a couple love relationship. I hope the next book (still no plans as to when it will come out) has more keiki and youko interaction in it.

nightchaser · Post by **nightchaser** » Sat Feb 04, 2006 11:07 pm

After all - it did take Rokuta 20 years to completely trust En-ou. Of course, it can be argued that as an abused child he had a reason to be distrustful of adults

Now they are just like brothers - arguing one minute and defending each other the next, then running off and doing their own thing a minute later

I think Keiki has some baggage to deal with before he can totally trust Youko. The deal with the previous queen really traumatized him. I also keep wondering why he was so emotionally stunted to begin with - perhaps he underwent some other type of trauma as a child at Mt. Ho, or maybe some kirin are just like that (like personality differences). They are incredibly cute together though - kind of like they are both discovering the world together

I still think the cutest couple would be Gyousou and Risai. It was just, well, cute, the way they invited Taiki along on their hunt. Like they wanted to show each other how good they are with little kids. And then Gyousou made Risai General of Taiki's provincial army. Was it to stay close to her? I think so

Carrie Asagiri · Post by **Carrie Asagiri** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 9:17 pm

Newbie here^^ I finished JK today and I loved it till the point of being totally obsesed with this.
About the romantic side...well the fact that the story isn't romantic that doesn't mean that the characters couldn't be in love or have relationships, is just that isn't matter of the kind story that Ono sensei wants to tell.
I think that Youko/Rakushun is the most correct pairing since they are great friends and they need to each other. About Youko/En-Oh isn't so crazy, I think that both of them have certain attraction and even when a formal relationship between would bring political problems, I think that wont nothing wrong if they have some love affairs as lovers.
And about Gyousou and Risai they look so perfect together!!! But I wonder where Gyousou is now or better, what really happened to him.

nightchaser · Post by **nightchaser** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 1:32 am

Did you guys read tge chapter 43 translation by Eugene Woodbury? Rangyouku tells Youko her "servant" is waiting for her at the inn then laughs at her when Youko blushes, then tells her that if she isn't going to be home tonight to let them know. Youko gets to the inn and the servant who shows her to Keiki's room gives her a "knowing look" when he lets her in. Then she hears Hankyo laughing at her, and she asks Keiki why he asked for her instead of sending Hankyo and he says he wanted to see what kind of a place the orphanage was...

This is just too funny... Hankyo - who is a shirai - knows what the situation is and that Youko has been embarassed. But does Keiki realize this? Is he teasing her on purpose or is he just naive? Anyway - it was a good laugh

While the author doesn't explicity define relationships, she does seem to love to tease Youko with them. Perhaps it could be a jab at the reserved nature of Japanese toward displays of affection (with Youko representing the Japanese)? Probably reading more into it than I should

beranda · Post by **beranda** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 1:28 am

nightchaser

This is just too funny... Hankyo - who is a shirai - knows what the situation is and that Youko has been embarassed. But does Keiki realize this? Is he teasing her on purpose or is he just naive? Anyway - it was a good laugh

Frankly speaking, it suprises me that you noticed it only in the book. It's the same in the anime (even though they dropped some details) - they clearly show how Keiki unconciously "embarasses" Youko and how Keikei and Rangyouku think he's her lover. So i already had a good laugh back then.

Nah, Keiki doesn't even think his behavior is awkward. He doesn't know his right hand from the left in such cases. That's the fun of the situation.

nightchaser · Post by **nightchaser** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 1:36 am

Yeah - I saw it in the anime but it was only Rang that was teasing Youko so I just thought of it as two teens teasing. In the book it was Rang, the innkeeper and Hankyo so the embaressment was 3 times as bad

, That just made it funnier to me. Too bad they didn't add that to the anime

beranda · Post by **beranda** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 1:50 am

Oh, now i understand!

Yes, you're right, it's even funnier that way. Unfortunately, you have to sacrifice things during the adaptation. I guess, the anime makers thought they made the point with Rangyoku and Keikei clear enough.

Actually, let's admit it, they did, it's just a bit funnier in the novel.
The only thing i'd add is Hankyo's laugh - simply because this is an additional evidence (along "the Shore of Maze") of how Keiki's shirei has more sense of humor than his lord. (remember Hankyo teasing Taiki?)

I have to add that after reading the novels i'm even more amazed how well adapted the anime is. Of course, some sacrifices were inevitable, but all the ideas and the essense of mrs. Ono works are there to behold.
And G-d bless mr. Woodbury for his hard and professional work. Every sunday is like a holiday.

Shusei 2 · Post by **Shusei 2** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 11:53 pm

Well damn, looks like I've gotta start reading the translations again...

rosecream · Post by **rosecream** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 11:56 pm

yoko and that mouse guy are much better suited first they're friends and friendship is one great way a romance can begin second she and that white hair guy whats his name? theyre more on the master and servant and th whole thing with his past master loving him that way nope it would be too much if yoko started to feel that way about him actually i thought that yoko would end up with that girl with the younger brother she thought yoko was a boy at first and later when yoko meet the other kirin disguised in a mask so that when anyone saw it they would see the person they like or love the most and yoko saw that girl but that romance couldn't happen since she's dead but i'm just saying that yoko seems to be only paired with guys

Shusei 2 · Post by **Shusei 2** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 12:31 am

Um, it's great to see different people's opinions on things, and I know this isn't english class but you really should practice the art of sentence structure. And the mouse's or rat's (depending on who you talk to, or what translation you read) name is Rakushun. Youko's Kirin is called Keiki.

I'm sorry, I know I must sound horrible and pompus but why don't you know even the main character's names?

rosecream · Post by **rosecream** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 1:17 am

actually its been a while since i thought about the 12 kingdoms and so the names slip my mind and its a forum using grammar all the time isn't my thing oh i also wonder when the next novel is coming out i mean the last one was 2001 and when reading the novels my opinion about some of the characters the last book when it does if it ever comes out in english will also have many people chnaging their favorite characters

Shusei 2 · Post by **Shusei 2** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 12:29 am

I see. That makes sense I suppose. Sorry if I sounded really rude, but the grammer thing and such is a pet peeve of mine. If that's the way you talk online, that's the way you talk online. It's just that, for me atleast it's a bit bothersome-detracts from your post.

fragile_bloom · Post by **fragile_bloom** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 9:20 pm

OK, enough of this grammar thingy. I understand both Shusei and Rosecream because I was once upon a time, long long ago in a land far far away, a teacher.

I made a wrong post earlier thinking this is the thread "Who is your favorite character" so I wrote something on that. However, now I know this is "Speculative Romance".

I'd go with Youko X Keiki, can't imagine her with anyone else with that kirin so close around her.

Shusei 2 · Post by **Shusei 2** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 11:21 am

You were once a teacher? Dude that's awsome! What grades? Was the pay crappy? How were the students? I only ask because there's a push for me to persue a teaching career but I don't know if I want to. (I've been psuedo assisting an art teacher teach grade nines this year-Oi. They don't like to listen and they don't like to work hard. Sorry I know this is off topic)

YoukoxKeiki doesn't sit well with me but it is an understandable pairing. I must admit that in the very begining of the series I thought they might make for a good couple but as things unravelled I found myself loving the scenes between Youko and Rakashun hence my stance on that couple.

fragile_bloom · Post by **fragile_bloom** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 1:51 pm

Become a teacher only if you like the students and can see youself helping them. You must understand students, their culture, strengths and weaknesses.

I wish Youko can have more choices. Often, monarchs don't get to choose whom they marry. Rakashun is nice and he's good looking but I keep having this uneasy feeling that if Youko gets together with Rakashun, something terrible might happen. Same for Youko X En-Ou. She's stuck with that Kirin!??!

I find it tough to speculate romance in the 12 kingdoms.

rosecream · Post by **rosecream** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 2:25 am

We'll for youko maybe she doesn't need a romantic partner she has friends and no that white hair guy being her romantic interest just feels weird actually i get a sibling vibe from the 2 and think about it many of the leaders don't have a romantic partner from that young empress to the old one and not to mention the samuari guy actually most of the successful kingdom rulers don't have a romantic partner expect for that guy that has ruled the longest the one with 3 kids

Shusei 2 · Post by **Shusei 2** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 10:32 pm

I don't know if the bond between Youko and keiki can be classified as sibling but I personally feel that's a more accurate description of their relationship compared to a romantic one.

you know, more than likely, Youko won't end up with anyone. Right now She's to buisy trying to keep her Kingdom together and learn the ways of the world to even be thinking about being attracted to anyone, we fans, we like to dream. It's part of the fun in following a series of stories: Speculating, reading between the lines, searching for innuendo... ^-^

Pyrite · Post by **Pyrite** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 12:13 am

Meh. I went into "Kaze no Banri, Reimei no Sora" thinking that Youko/Rakushun was a good pairing. (But somehow, Youko + Naked Rakushun is slightly disturbing...

)

Somewhere along the middle, I started watching the various character interactions, and thought that if not for my starting preference, Shoukei and Rakushun may have been possible. Suzu/Sekki also seemed likely.

At about the end of the arc, somewhere between Shoukei/Kantai, Suzu/Kosho and/or Suzu/Sekki, I gave up and decided that 12 Kingdoms wasn't really made for pairings.

(I still like Youko/Rakushun, though, so some things don't change.)

Jinx999 · Post by **Jinx999** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 6:48 am

One thing I'd like to reiterate is that Youko is not in a position to freely chose who she can have a relationship with. To be precise, several choices would have a signifcant political cost.

1) Keiki. The previous empress went mad, lost the throne and died because she fell in love with Keiki. Even though Youko wouldn't act irrationally the way she did, any signs of a relationship between them would invite comparisons - and cost her a lot of political prestige.

2) Shoryu - En-Oh. Their duties to their respective kingdoms would keep them apart most of the time and it would give the impression that En is dominating Kei and that Youko is Shoryu's tool.

In both cases, the actual reality of the situation is irrelevent. It's entirely possible, if extremely tricky, that she could have a relationship with them without losing her objectivity. What is important is how the relationship would be percieved by her people.

The Twelve Kingdoms Forum

Pure Speculation: Romance?

Youko and pairings