KANLen09

"Deep in the inner palace, there lives a consort known as the Raven Consort. She holds a special position, and despite her "consort" title, she does not perform night-time duties. Though she lives there, it is said that she can perform mysterious arts and even gain some friends along the way, but she has no contact with the emperor, nor kneels before him. Such is the Raven Consort." The Fall 2022 season has seen quite a diversity of shows, but one show that I really AM desperate to talk about is Koukyuu no Karasu a.k.a Raven of the Inner Palace, novelist Kouko Shirakawa's only work (barring her 2 one-shotLNs released in 2015 and 2016), because this show isn't really that much discussed about outside of the anime and seems to have flown under the radar for such a hyped season as this. If I can really esteem what it means to be a standout show, this anime would be one in the most stereotypical, but MYSTERIOUS way possible that it can only really pull off. The original LN that spans 7 volumes and serialized from April 2018 to April 2022 under Shueisha's Orange Bunko imprint that targets the Shoujo demographic, that I can say that no matter the Shonen or Shoujo reading the LN or watching the anime, it's really very intriguing to say the least. For one, the setting is in Ancient China, a very large contrast to the generic Isekai where every town looks the same no matter the layout, and even the characters are Chinese-ified with their Kanji-like names, which is also a standout that usually with translations, the romaji is often generally used. But in this show, staying true to the Chinese names literally amps the setting that it's based upon, creating a work that's detracts from what we are so used to towards the Japanese context. And as an Asian Chinese myself, it's definitely a welcome surprise given that Chinese historical dramas were somewhat of an influence in my growing-up years, and in trying to respect the source material that it's based upon, this just brings a smile onto my face. You don't really see such dedication in drawing the line between Japanese media and dutiful Chinese cultures and customs, and its kudos to whoever in Crunchyroll was doing the translations for the show. In the context of Chinese literature, the source material's setting is very similar to that of the Qing Dynasty, where there're classes of people separate by the positions/ranks that they are held to, and this is most certain for the Raven Consort Liu Shouxue a.k.a Ryuu Juusetsu herself because of the rule that emperors could not even contact her. Despite the entire system being somewhat of a harem-ish context, that is not the highlight for both the source material and the anime, though the emperor Xia Gaojun a.k.a Ka Koushun is somewhat of an oddity, almost as if like he's intentionally trying to break the Consort's customs by leaning onto a semi-cordial relationship with the latest 16-year-old successor. The Raven Consort can perform mysterious arts, such as calling forth spirits of the deceased and exorcising and purifying them peacefully, accompanied by a yellow chicken (the "Watchman of the very first Raven Consort Niao Lian"), a lady-in-waiting (Jiu-jiu) and a few servants (Gaojun's Wei Qing a.k.a Ei Sei and Shouxue's Wen Ying a.k.a On Kei) inside her residence, and despite her tsundere attitude, she cannot resist when being served her favorite food, baozi. That being said, this show feels like your typical historical fantasy show with hints of mystery and the supernatural with the "mystery of the week" segments as we see the locked-up Raven Consort converge with the other palace ministers and servants around her to solve the mysteries surrounding the Ye Ming Palace, growing as the stories grow and tally along with character development to boot. I especially like how the stories are being told here: if you're an Asian like me, you would've noticed that the stories are shown akin to a wayang kulit style, which is a traditional form of puppet-shadow play that's originally found in the Java and Bali cultures in Indonesia. It really gives the stories the feel of a rich, but tainted history, and most importantly, adjective into the historical context that the series is based upon. Stories ranging from the daily mundaneness of life filled with the occult (e.g. ghosts) to the Raven Consort's past of generations alike, it's really that engaging. Though the one weakness that it has is its case use of repetitiveness to showcase ghost sightings but in different layered forms from murder to suicide, it can wear down the viewer when the "plot" feels disconnected at times. Aside from the production looking a bit low-budget, BN Pictures did their best at adapting the source material, and this is due in part to the long-time veteran director Chizuru Miyawaki, whom you might know her as the director of the GOAT comedy anime of all time: Gintama. Being a director in this kind of setting takes a much more superlative ideal since Kouko Shirakawa's novel is actually quite unique by Japanese standards, so having to imagine all that and working to the best through translation, is a tough job, but nothing too short of the acclaimed director herself being not just a director knowing comedy, but in resourcefulness and stylishness. It may not win awards in the production department, but for how the anime turned out, it was style over substance, and I'm acceptable with that if it was intended to be shown this way. For a unique series, you gotta have a unique OST, and what we got here was truly something else. Ziyoou-vachi, or Queen Bee as the rock band is called, has definitely brought its "fashion punk" song into the series, and if you know any better, their Anisongs featured in Tokyo Ghoul:re and the 2019 remake of Dororo will get you up to speed. I LOVE the heck of how ancient, mythical-feeling Queen Bee's OP is, and with the sense of allure that's the gift that keeps on giving, with Avu-chan's MYSTEEEEEEEERIOUS~~~ singing vibe of majestic beauty. Definitely one of the better surprising OPs of the season. This is the same for krage's ED being just what I expected if you have to have J-Pop soul invicted into the typical Chinese drama. It's a very different feeling of having a triple-layered song of Japanese, Chinese and English lyrics infused to what should a solemn song, but just like Queen Bee's OP, it's just mesmeriziing in the most magisterial way possible, and it's powerful enough to convey emotions. What an OST that I'm worthy to put this above all else as one of the absolute best of the season. I can understand why a show like this is very hard to recommend, especially if you're the type that doesn't care for surface-level drama but make no mistake that this is as close to a typical Ancient Chinese-ified drama as it can if it were made in a Japanese dub kind of way. And that to me, is a win in experiencing the same thing but in a different medium, that it feels better than watching the typical Chinese drama that I'm so bored with over the years being so devoid of creativeness. I honestly don't know...try this show for yourself and see how it does to you. But I can definitely say that I've enjoyed the show much more than I initially did.

ApplePieHunter

“Raven of the Inner Palace” was definitely one of the most surprising animes of the season. I went in with low expectations and a negative outlook but left feeling like I had an exhilarating trip through Chinese folklore. This is especially shocking considering I have a personal dislike of all things historical. Although I wouldn’t give “Raven of the Inner Palace” anime of the year or even the season, it ended up outclassing the majority of shows I’ve binged (and forgotten about) throughout 2022. So today, I want to talk about the 3 biggest features that make “Raven of the Inner Palace” stand out, andhow these features come together to create a wonderful and unique historical experience that anyone can enjoy. MYSTERIES AND SECRETS - A fantastic balance between the mystery of the Raven Consort and Shouxue. One of my favorite aspects of this anime is how well-written the mystery behind the main character is. Shouxue, also known as the Raven Consort, is in a constant struggle between the responsibilities of her position and her human desire to live a fulfilling life. The thing is, we don’t initially know what the Raven Consort’s job really is and why it exists. Likewise, no one, not even Shouxue herself, is sure what her fulfilling life looks like since she never sought human desires until now. In order to answer these questions, the show gives Shouxue a personal journey in the form of helping people around the inner palace. Whenever some new magical case or request is made, we see Shouxue learn more about others, establish relationships, engage in new activities, and, most importantly, make character-revealing choices. Her stance on important human aspects like love, death, friendship, and other topics is not just stated out loud in boring dialogue, but shown in tense, action-filled moments. This manner of character development lets us strongly connect with Shouxue and understand who she is, fundamentally, as a person. Likewise, these moments also develop, in a compelling manner, the mystery behind the Raven Consort. In particular, this mystery is built off Shouxue’s character development, allowing us to see how the two sides of her life clash and cause inner conflict. So each week I would find myself tuning in to answer some of my burning questions. Who is Shouxue as a person? What exactly is the Raven Consort title and where did it come from? Why is Shouxue trapped by this role? Can she ever find a happy balance between her duties and her desires? And with each week, I was never disappointed in how I got those answers. PLOTLINES - Interesting, but lacking ambition in key moments. As stated before, “Raven of the Inner Palace” uses the day-to-day duties of the Raven Consort to explore the mystery surrounding Shouxue. These duties usually entail smaller mysteries and short stories that push the characters forward in their development. Although the stories around ancient Chinese folklore were interesting and well-told, I sometimes found myself disappointed by the lack of ambition in major plotlines. Occasionally, Shouxue would be forced to deal with a problem that directly connects to her past or to her responsibilities as the Raven Consort. These personal stories have great potential to push the anime to grim places, exploring more controversial events seen in the darker side of humanity’s history. However, right before this push is made, we get our resolution too soon and avoid the real depth of the topic. In particular, I was disheartened by how quickly we “finished” the arc that had an antagonist directly related to Shouxue’s past, which had some serious morally dark topics. While I don’t think this lack of ambition ruins or takes away from the show as a whole, I often found myself wondering what could have been if we had an extra episode or two dedicated to these personal plotlines. Maybe we will see these things brought up again if the anime gets a Season 2, but for now, I’m going to have to be satisfied with what was given. ARTISTIC EXPRESSION - It goes to show that budget is always beaten by creativity. Now I’m not 100% certain on this, but I’ve heard here and there that “Raven of the Inner Palace” had a lower budget than most animes of this year. If this is the case, then I applaud Bandai Namco for such an excellent visual and auditory adaption. Even if the budget was infinite, the creative choices made during adaption beat out any flashy and showy style that you just throw money at. When telling the folklore and mini-stories, “Raven of the Inner Palace” employs historical theatrics that feels fitting for the era and tone. These theatrics do a better job of engrossing the audience in the story and time period than the standard filter screen flashback. Likewise, the color palette and musical choices give me the feeling of walking in a museum and learning about the history behind each display. It’s all so thematically appropriate that I could immerse and interest myself in a time period hundreds of years before my birth, something I never expected considering my rather negative bias towards media involving history. But when it’s time for significant action and magic, I feel like I’m watching a show of high budget and quality. The visuals for Shouxue’s magic or a eunuch's swordplay are fluid and well-made. The music does an excellent job of amplifying the emotion of the scene. And finally, the show is not afraid to show blood as a way of reaching through the magic and grounding the audience back in the harsh reality. FINAL VERDICT - “Raven of the Inner Palace” is seemingly niche and unappealing, but it turns out to be surprisingly well-made and definitely worth the 3-4 hour watch. Don’t make the same mistake I almost made! Put aside your preconceptions of historical shows and ancient storytelling so that you can give this anime a fair shot. It has such an enticing mystery with one of the most interesting main characters I’ve watched this season. It’s also a refreshing change from the overabundance of Isakeis and RomComs seen in the market, which I think should already be enough to convince most anime enjoyers to give it a shot.