Koukyuu no Karasu

Among the royal court, there is an individual feared as much as revered: the Raven Consort Ryuu Jusetsu. Residing in her jet-black palace and isolated from the emperor, she is the subject of countless rumors. Claimed to possess mystic abilities, she is said to take on any request—from finding lost items to inflicting curses. While some call her an immortal sage, others believe her to be a terrifying revenant. But such comments fail to faze Jusetsu, who prefers to spend her days in quiet solitude. That is, until the emperor, Ka Koushun, barges into her court and asks for her assistance with a mysterious case.

The young emperor's request requires Jusetsu to step out of her palace for the first time. Despite Ka Koushun's frequent visits annoying her to no end, she cannot bring herself to turn him away. Her predecessor's teachings echo in her ears: the Raven Consort is destined to remain forever alone and never desire anything. Yet Jusetsu finds herself making the first of several bonds when she asks Jiujiu, an innocently inquisitive court girl, to be her sole attendant.

Together, they begin fulfilling requests from the people of the palace. However, unknown perils lurk in the outside world, and drawing attention to herself may bring Jusetsu face-to-face with a past that is better left undisturbed.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Ryuu, Jusetsu Main

Mizuno, Saku Japanese

Ka, Koushun Main

Mizunaka, Masaaki Japanese

Ei, Sei ing

Yashiro, Taku Japanese

On, Kei ing

Shimazaki, Nobunaga Japanese

Tan, Kai ing

Okamoto, Nobuhiko Japanese

Jiujiu ing

Kouno, Marika Japanese

Ishiha ing

Hirata, Mana Japanese

Sai, Enrin ing

Kugimiya, Rie Japanese

An, Keiran ing

Kugimiya, Rie Japanese

Hou, Ichigyou ing

Ogata, Mitsuru Japanese

Saitou, Souichirou Producer

Inoue, Megumi Producer

Miyawaki, Chizuru Director, Setting

Aketagawa, Jin Sound Director

Reviews

Dec 24, 2022

KANLen09

Recommended

"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 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-shot ... LNs 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 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.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Dec 31, 2022

WritaHolic

Mixed Feelings

Koukyuu no Karasu isn’t exactly incredible, but it still provides the Fall 2022 season with a solid breath of fresh air.

In many ways, Koukyuu no Karasu reminds me of Production IG’s xxxHOLiC. Slice-of-life, supernatural mysteries with Asian folkloric influence and a tinge of gothic horror? Check. A main character who develops slowly but surely across the series as they struggle to find their identity and self esteem? Check. A relationship that’s cute and constantly shipped but has about 0.1% likelihood of becoming canon? Check.

Of course, xxxHOLiC and Koukyuu no Karasu differ vastly in setting, and that’s one of the latter’s greatest strengths. Koukyuu no Karasu ... is set in ancient China, which makes it stand out from the current, all-too common Western-RPG-inspired anime. The animation and art, while appearing rather low-budget, take inspiration from Chinese traditional art and are quite enchanting to look at—I could stare at that one magic peony animation forever, and that's not even mentioning the beautiful animations which take their influence from traditional puppetry. The soundtrack and sound design also take some (albeit vague) traditional influence, and really help create an immersive experience (and the OP and ED are bangers, too).

Koukyuu no Karasu also has decent pacing, in spite of its mystery-of-the-week format. Each mystery contributes more information to the story, and although there are two very clumsy exposition dumps regarding the lead character, they’re spaced well enough within the anime’s setup. Although the anime leaves off with obvious loose ends for a sequel, this first season doesn’t feel fruitless; a lot of characters show lasting development by the final episode. That said, the pacing still leaves a lot to be desired, and the plot leaves too many things unresolved to feel complete.

I would recommend everyone to watch this one, because it's a breath of fresh air that's really flown under the radar, but I know the genre makes it more difficult to get into. Still, if you’re a fan of traditional aesthetics like I am and you don’t mind some inconsistently-paced, sort-of slice-of-life, you’ll probably like Koukyuu no Karasu. There are just two things to consider before watching. One: due to setting, the characters’ names are Chinese, but the Japanese dub uses Japanese pronunciations for the names, which can cause a lot of confusion—it may be worth waiting for a Chinese dub, unless you want to memorize twice the number of names. Two: the anime plays around quite a bit with OP and ED placement, so you’ll want to watch everything all the way through, even if the ED starts playing two minutes in. Take those to heart, sit back, and enjoy some nice anime aesthetics with a decent story and solid characters behind them.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Jan 10, 2025

Valentine07

Not Recommended

(Spanish review below)

It feels... soulless?

If you've already seen 'The Apothecary Diaries' or 'Yatagarasu', 'Raven of the inner palace' has more or less the same essence, setting, power games in palaces, and a detective context. BUT 'Raven of the inner palace' doesn't have a soul like the others.

It's repetitive. Each chapter is the same as the previous one and the situations are resolved in exactly the same way (it even has the same animation).

The animation isn't as good as in 'Yatagarasu' and 'The Apothecary Diaries'. It's average, as is the character design.

It was really boring to watch. At first I had hopes because it seemed interesting, ... but it's not or at least the repetitive aspect kills the entertaining part.

The characters are stereotypes without much more to offer. I don't have a problem with stereotypes if the characters develop throughout the chapters and offer something more. This is not the case.

I don't recommend it

...

Se siente... ¿sin alma?

Si ya has visto ‘The Apothecary Diaries’ o ‘Yatagarasu’, ‘Raven of the inner palace’ tiene más o menos la misma esencia, ambientación, juegos de poder en palacios, y un contexto detectivesco. PERO 'Raven of the inner palace' no tiene alma como las demás.

Es repetitiva. Cada capítulo es igual que el anterior y las situaciones se resuelven exactamente de la misma forma (incluso tiene la misma animación).

La animación no es tan buena como en 'Yatagarasu' y 'The Apothecary Diaries'. Es normalita, al igual que el diseño de los personajes.

Fue realmente aburrida de ver. Al principio tenía esperanzas porque parecía interesante, pero no lo es o al menos el aspecto repetitivo mata la parte entretenida.

Los personajes son estereotipos sin mucho más que ofrecer. No tengo problema con los estereotipos si los personajes se desarrollan a lo largo de los capítulos y ofrecen algo más. No es el caso.

No lo recomiendo.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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