The Twelve Kingdoms – Shadow of the Moon, Shadow of the Sea: Part 1 [LN1]

Unfortunately, I have a lot to yap about before I get into my thoughts about this book, as usual. It's pretty much impossible to come at this with no biases whatsoever because I've already seen the anime, read a previous fan translation, and generally have positive feelings towards the series due to it's beautiful artwork, enough to have collected the artbooks by Akihiro Yamada-sensei. 

So it's pretty much impossible for me to give any fresh impressions on a book like this. If you're interested in this series, I highly recommend watching the anime first before reading the books. It's not absolutely necessary, but I think the slow burn of the plot is better able to be tolerated in anime form, which has other charms such as the music and voice acting. 

The book itself cuts to the chase fairly quickly. Youko, a goody-two-shoes doormat of a high-school girl, gets isekai'd (no trucks this time, this is the 1990s) by Keiki, a mysterious man with blonde hair, who proclaims himself a servant of Youko. He uses summoned beasts (which are often more like chimeras that can talk) to whisk Youko away to another world. However, they get separated in the process, and Youko is left to fend for herself, with only a magical sword and a creepy body-controlling demon that gives her martial abilities. 

Due to the age of this series and the author's pedigree, nothing about this series follows the regular tropes of isekai light novels as we know them today. Rather than a power fantasy, Youko is left practically helpless, lost in a new world. She spends the entirety of the first book fighting physical and mental anguish. Rather than wanting to help her, most people are trying to hunt her down for her perceived sins. 

It makes for a compelling first book, but it's also only half of the story. I dislike when English Publishers do this, splitting up volumes of a story that is meant to be read together. Japanese publishers will often release multiple volumes either on the same release day, or barely a month apart, like the original publication of Shadow of the Moon, Shadow of the Sea.

So this book ends with no clear "ending". Anybody who is used to light novels that were polished from webnovels will be familiar with this, but just a word of warning. Since I read this fairly late (I was in no hurry since I've already read it before), the 2nd part of Shadow of the Moon, Shadow of the Sea is out tomorrow. Anybody reading this should buy both volumes before starting this series!

It's hard for me to recommend this series based purely on the merits of the first book, but in some ways, it represents a unique time period and a unique author in the light novel space. Twelve Kingdoms is a prestige work with an award-winning author, and the character writing in the first book clearly shows it. Youko is in no way prepared for the harsh world that she's been thrust into, and her insecurities continue to plague her. However, in this volume, she slowly starts to fight her way through her struggles, and establish herself as the main character.

This is not an author who is pressed to get to the "good stuff" right away. She has a world to build, and a story to tell, and it's worth putting in the effort to consume. 

Extra Thoughts

I wanted to save the discussion of the translation for after the main impressions, since it's a bit tangential to the point. Tokyopop initially licensed the series for the U.S., and produced the most hamfisted localization you can imagine, courtesy of the early 2000s "jelly donuts" style. Generally, nobody likes this translation due to a myriad of weird choices. 

I think the Seven Seas translation by Kim Morrissy did a great job; it was snappy and to the point, and kept my attention while reading. While I can read some Japanese, I'm not fluent enough to judge how accurate or inaccurate this translation is. 

However, I do want to let readers know that there is an alternative to the current official version. In the years where Tokyopop went defunct, and nobody had the license or intent to republish the series, Eugene Woodbury took on the massive project of re-translating The Twelve Kingdoms and did a fantastic job at it. He finished translating up to the most recent book (Hills of Silver Ruins as of now), but he unfortunately passed away recently in January 2025. He never got to see the re-release of The Twelve Kingdoms, but I earnestly believe that his hard work is what led this series to get licensed again. 

Woodbury's translation contains notes and reference material about the particular historical and cultural aspects that Ono included in her work. I'm not sure how much of this is something that the average Japanese reader is supposed to be aware of, but I found it really helpful, and edifying. I don't want his hard work to disappear, he literally kept this fandom alive! But I also don't want his work to be a replacement for supporting Fuyumi Ono through official means. 

Please, if you're interested in reading this series, support the official release by Seven Seas (even by checking it out from the library!). Once you've read that, do consider checking out the Woodbury version for some interesting additional context and alternate interpretations of the source.