Twelve Kingdoms - DVD Vol 2 of 10

I just finished the 2nd DVD of The Twelve Kingdoms - Empress.  I have enjoyed the story so far, it has a real epic feel to it (as I supposed it should being 45 episodes long). This DVD contains episodes six through ten. I rented these from NetFlix because I wanted to get into a long episodic anime.  Anime News Network has these rated very high also.

These episodes start out with the survival of Yoko after Sugimoto beats her in combat.  Kourin stopped her from killing her.  She's lost Asano in the conflict and finds herself nursed to health by a giant rat named Rakushun.  He tells her she needs to get out of Kou and into the kingdom of En.  They set out together.

On the journey, Yoko is plagued by visions from Aozaru who continues to cause her doubts and fears to take over.  She finally overcomes this to make her way to En with a troop of entertainers.  Once there she meets up with Rakushun again and, with the help of a local teacher, a kaikayu, gets more information on the world in which she's found herself.  She is introduced to King En who believes that she is the rightful queen of Kei.

These episodes do a good job of keeping you entertained and at the same time answering just enough questions to make you want more. The history and setup of the 12 kingdoms is interesting.  They are apparently based on some Han-era Chinese mythology that I know very little about.

There is also a lot of character development in these episodes as we see a swing from selfish, evil Sugimoto back to a somewhat sympathetic charcter and then to a hopeless, honor bound lackey for King Kou. Yoko also follows the prodings of her visions to become a non-caring person out for her own survival into a caring and compassionate person who wants to believe in people because that's her choice.

I am calmly awaiting the next installment.