The Story of Saiunkoku Volume 1

Shurei Hong comes from a noble lineage, but her family is broke and as a girl, her career aspirations are limited. So when she's offered a lot of money to act as the Emperor's consort, she jumps at the chance before she realizes what she's gotten herself into. Can Shurei's smarts and straight talk get the seemingly irresponsible emperor to take charge of his country?

Set in a fantasy-version of the Chinese imperial court, The Story of Saiunkoku offers an intelligent heroine, a handsome hero who needs some rescuing, plus gorgeous guys and sumptuously-drawn details. A pleasant, albeit slightly preachy love story.

Although she comes from a noble family, Shurei Hong must take on odd jobs and pinch pennies to make ends meet. Then she gets an offer she can't refuse: she is asked to live at the palace to be the Emperor's consort.

Sound like a fairy tale come true? Not quite. Ryuki, the Emperor is rumored to favor the company of men over women, and he seems uninterested in ruling his nation. For a civic-minded girl like Shurei, Ryuki's lackadaisical stance is inexcusable and unfathomable. But as Shurei gets to know the young emperor, she finds that his reputation for indifference to women and his civic duties is not exactly accurate.

Chinese Imperial court drama isn't a new theme in manga. But unlike the dry, stiff and overly-expository The History of the West Wing, and the drama-filled fantasy-adventure of Fushigi Yugi, The Story of Saiunkoku is a more light-hearted, albeit dialogue-heavy read. Yura and Yukino's story has lots of dense explanations of the political machinations of the Imperial court, but it's leavened with moments of humor and heart-touching romance.

Shurei is portrayed as an intelligent, practical and out-spoken girl who has a strong sense of justice, and a sometimes comical obsession with thriftiness. In many ways, Shurei reminds me of Tsukushi in Boys Over Flowers or Elizabeth Bennet in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. She's a self-described plain-looking girl (who really isn't that plain) from less-than-wealthy means who catches the eye of the hottest, richest and most desirable man in the room with her straight talk and unbridled intelligence. And like Tsukushi and Elizabeth, Shurei is a smart girl who gets schooled in the ways of love when she least expects it.

The Story of Saiunkoku is a fun read for girls who don’t buy into the "act-dumb-and-look-pretty" playbook, but it's still essentially a manual for how good girls should behave. Yura bashes readers over the head with themes like "Oh! The injustice of it all that a girl who is as smart as Shurei can't aspire to be a government bureaucrat!" and "Oh! The injustice of it all that the Imperial Palace is filled with wasteful indulgences while Shurei must whimper over a rusted needle!" Wastefulness is bad. Being lazy and not studying is bad. I get it, I get it. Can we move on now?

Yukino's sumptuous artwork does offset the preachy-ness a bit, by surrounding Shurei with an array of handsome swordsmen, scholars and noblemen, and outfitting her with lots of lovely gowns and elaborate hairstyles. Hey, smart girls need eye candy too, you know.

The Story of Saiunkoku's essential theme, "Be smart, be who you are, and love will find you," offers a pleasant respite from the rich and mean Gossip Girls, dumb but loveable dingbats, or frail damsels in distress that you find in many teen romances. It's a bit preachy and a little dense, but overall, the Story of Saiunkoku is pretty and pretty enjoyable.

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.