Characters

In order of favoritism:


Taiki


Taiki was a kind, rather subdued child. But he sure talked a lot to people he’s comfortable with. I just loved this kid. He didn’t fret over the fact that he was taken away from his home, and though he felt lonely and missed his home, he thought of nyosens’ feelings so he didn’t say anything about his misery. He tried his best to be a better Kirin, and he’s simply so very very very cute. He was described as being so small, even smaller than other ten years old. How could Asen even consider raising his sword upon such a lovely kid?!

I love Kaze no umi, Meikyuu no Kishi, especially the second book. It’s so endearing to follow the story of Taiki who was truly afraid of Gyousou but couldn’t help wanting to be near him, just like a moth to fire (though I don’t think moths were ever afraid of fire).

Taiki’s story in Mashou no Ko is definitely heart wrenching. Thinking that the same sweet, loving kid had to suffer so much… He must have been half dead in Hourai. Kirin is supposed to be a being without his own intentions. Taiki’s whole existence is about Tai, Tai people, and Tai-Ou. So being in Hourai, with no memory of the other world, Taiki surely felt empty. People around him treated him badly for being different, and even his family rejected him. And to top it all, his parents and brother were killed viciously by his shirei (I haven’t finished Mashou no Ko, but I think that’s what happened). It really is too cruel for the soft hearted Taiki. However, it seems like Mashou no Ko was written in a totally different nuance than Juuni Kokuki, it’s almost like they are two different characters who share the same name.

Taiki is a black Kirin, that ‘fact’ was repeated over and over again, as well as the ‘special unknown traits/powers’ that black Kirin possesses. I wonder what that would be. Must be something really special. I sure hope Ono sensei hasn’t forgotten all about it. Probably he could summon Tentei? Probably a black Kirin possesses some kind of deadly weapons, or able to kill with his stare. Whatever it is, I want to know!

Taiki is the sun and the moon of this whole story, for me.

Gyousou

Saku Gyousou, the former Kingun General who was chosen by Taiki and then became the Emperor of Tai. The anime surely didn’t do justice to his characterization (only due to lack of airtime, probably). In Kaze no Umi, Meikyuu no Kishi novel we could see how different and extraordinary Gyousou was. He was brave, and extremely strong. He was famous even across Tai’s border, which was a very rare thing.

He got beaten easily by Gouran in the cave, but was brave and wise enough to help Taiki subdue the shirei. He felt strong affection for Taiki, but left Houzan early to free himself from the attachment. He chose to leave Tai instead of serving the new, other emperor. He’s very confident of himself and highly ambitious. I loved the part when he, Risai and Taiki went to hunt for Sugu. He was irritated by Teiei’s nagging words, so he couldn’t help acting like a jerk and made Taiki sad. Realizing that Taiki’s sad, he felt sorry and his irritation disappeared. It was a natural, so very human scene. He even dared to show his back while answering Taiki, the HouzanKou, just because he’s in a bad mood, haha.

When he found out that Taiki chose him while being convinced he’s not the emperor, he didn’t blame Taiki, he didn’t get upset and he wasn’t disappointed. He was just wondering if he’s the real Emperor. When he had the time to reflect on it, he might even feel honored that Taiki liked him so much that he decided to choose him ‘without’ the revelation.

The first book of Tasogare no Kishi, Akatsuki no Sora showed that Gyousou had seriously been preparing Tai’s future even before the former Emperor passed away. He was a man who preferred to keep The Way rather than getting a victory. He could be harsh and rather ruthless. Risai concluded that he was indeed a strange man, but that he saw Taiki as what he really was, a Kirin. His decisions were just and rightfully correct for his people. He knew exactly what his country needed, what his people needed. He couldn’t help hustling things because he knew how terrible life was for Tai people without a solid support from the government. Tai was almost like a freezing hell in winter.

In Kaze no umi, tasogare, and also Toei, it was clear how Gyousou favored Taiki and held him dear, and how Taiki adored him as well. I wonder whatever happened to Gyousou after Asen’s betrayal. It must be something terrible.

Enki


Enki or Rokuta or Baka. Just like Taiki’s personality fits Gyousou’s, Enki fits Shouryuu well. It’s funny that when I watched the anime I thought “Kirins and the emperors…they relate like romantically troubled couples.”, and turned out in Tsuki no Kage, Kage no Tsuki novel Shouryuu explained to Youko that indeed, ‘Kirin chooses an emperor based on intuition, like a man choosing his woman, or rather, a woman choosing her man.’ To me, Enki acts like he loves Shouryuu, very unsettled and jealous because Shouryuu can’t be faithful/cannot be trusted, and determined in showing that he doesn’t care at all about Shouryuu. In no way I would think that there’s anything romantic in this story, especially between emperors and Kirins. It’s just that Enki and Shouryuu gave a kind of vibe that similar to lovers’ quarrels. I’m also reminded that even though it’s obvious that for Kirins their emperors are everything, it’s not necessarily so for the emperors. However that’s not the case with Enki’s master. Shouryuu really cares about Enki as well.

I like how easy going and humorous Enki is. He loved to joke around, and doesn’t seem to take himself seriously. He wiped Taiki’s sweat with his sleeves without hesitation, and that scene I of course noticed. Yamada sensei created really nice illustrations of him, a beautiful young looking Kirin. I’d love to finish ‘Higashi no Wadatsumi, Nishi no Soukai’ as soon as possible.

Shouryuu

The king of En. He had ruled for five hundred years, so he’s a very successful emperor. He’s fun, easy going, happy go lucky, liked to visit brothels, he’s very strong and had amazing skill with swords, he loved to tease Rokuta and his officials. In short he’s a very attractive man. Just like Gyousou, he knew what to do to build his country, but he preferred a light, slow-but-sure approach, probably also to calm the people since the previous emperor of En was a cruel tiran.

He’s really not arrogant, that’s what I got from reading Tasogare. He could accept criticism well, and would admit his wrongdoings. He played with and teased Rokuta like they were elementary students. I imagined he got really excited when Rokuta and Keiki asked him to do some acting for Taiki’s sake.

Keiki

From Andy’s translation of Kaze no Umi: Taiki shook his head. Keiki saw this and couldn't help but think how incredible it was. How could a neck so thin hold up his head?

This highlights how endearing Keiki was. How could he think of such a thing? And the way he felt really discouraged because nyosens were angry at him for treating Taiki wrongly, so cute.

Keiki must have suffered a lot. His master, who was everything to him, loved him in the ‘wrong’ way. This alone would be a torture for him. Then she died to save him. I wonder what Kirin felt when their emperor died. Surely a very unpleasant feeling. Taiki got extremely restless and pained just because Gyousou’s whereabouts wasn’t clear. So to actually feel the death of their emperors must be a terrible experience.

The anime did a fine job with him. He surely looked pale, cold, and distant. But also kind and good-looking.

Youko

She was really annoying in the anime, but not so much in the novel. Probably also because I’m a fast reader (no, that’s not it. It’s because there were no Yuka and Asano, and because she’s simply better in the novel) Youko was annoying only for a very short time in the novel. While in the anime, it took her a looong time to change into a great character.

One of ‘interesting’ Youko scene: After Rakushun explained to her about children and Ranka, animals and fruits, she wondered what was actually going on in rooms in brothels, but she decided not to ask Rakushun. Too bad she didn’t have the gut to ask, haha. She’s a very smart and brave girl. However, for whatever reason, to me her determination to save Taiki didn’t come as sincere and kind as it should be. Probably I’ll think otherwise after finishing Tasogare.

Asen

Definitely not one of my favourites, but he's too important to ignore.

The ultimate villain of Juuni Kokuki. I don’t know why he did what he did. It seemed like it’s something deeper than being envy and hateful. But still I don’t care. What ever his reasons were, he should not be forgiven for making Taiki so miserable and for keeping Gyousou away from Taiki and his country for such a long time.

Blame yourself for having only two shirei.

You’re the bad one for choosing Gyousou as the emperor.

Grrrrr.

Ironically to my ears, he had the most Chinese name. The cute thing about Juuni Kokuki names is that they all use Chinese Reading of the Kanji, but it’s Chinese Reading in Japanese style, so they ended up sounding like Japanese anyway (though of course, it’s not common for Japanese names). Except for Asen.