The reason why Asen's betrayal is so much more painful is because he used to be so caring and considerate toward ALL of his retainers to the point that they genuinely loved him and then he goes and turns on them.

love how the people who most annoy asen in hills are two teenagers

Twelve Kingdoms 30th Anniversary Guidebook

I drew Keiki from 12 Kingdoms for a zine 💜

I am rewatching this incredible anime series again and I dream of a continuing

this is not the finished version but i like the process

by Akihiko Yamada

"Let me tell you something of humankind, Keiki." The king turned to her advisor. "When people feel true emotions, such as gratitude or heartfelt respect toward one another, they bow their heads or clap their hands or embrace--because it is natural for them to do so. These gestures do not decide the content of our hearts; it is the content of our hearts that finds expression through our actions."

- Yoko, Glory-King of Kei in The Twelve Kingdoms: Skies of Dawn by Fuyumi Ono, translated by Alexander O. Smith

Taiki, Sanshi, & Shushou By Jo Cheol-Hong (Mi-Gyeung)

gotta love how Rousan mentioned the private army she was sneaking into the palace once but never mentioned it again

The Twelve Kingdoms Character Highlights:

Youko Nakajima, The Imperial Kei

The Imperial En and Enki had ruled their kingdom continuously for five-hundred years. To face them and declare, “I shall go forth,” required as much courage as she could muster. She still knew almost nothing of this world, nothing of how a kingdom actually ran, nothing of its political structure. She hardly had the right to call herself an empress. Which was why she had no choice but to venture forth, despite how reckless it appeared. If war was what was called for, then to war she would go. And because she could only keep going forward once the ball started rolling, locking herself away in Gen’ei Palace was unacceptable.

Obscure Anime of The Day:

Juuni Kokuki

Aired: 2002 - 2003

Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Magic, Psychological, Seinen, Violence