The Twelve Kingdoms (十二国記, Jūni Kokuki?, also known as "Record of 12 Countries" or "Juuni Kokki," a common alternate reading) is a Japanese series of light novels written by Fuyumi Ono and illustrated by Akihiro Yamada. The first entry in the series ("The Shadow of the Moon, The Sea of Shadow") was published by Kodansha in Japan in 1992; the last volume was released in 2001.
The Japanese mythology-influenced books were adapted into an animated television series in 2002. The Studio Pierrot production aired on Japan's NHK from April 9, 2002 to August 30, 2003, totaling 45 episodes.
The novels were licensed in the United States by Tokyopop and the first four volumes were released between March 2007 and November 2010 as part of their Pop Fiction line. Subsequently, the English license reverted back to Kodansha USA. The entire anime series has been released on DVD in the United States by Media Blasters.
Read more about The Twelve Kingdoms: Setting, Characters, Publication, Media
Famous quotes containing the word twelve:
“I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had to hailbomb, for twelve hours, and when it was all over I walked up.... We didn’t find one of ‘em, not one stinking dink
body. That smell, you know, that gasoline smell. The whole hill. It smelled like ... victory.”
—John Milius, U.S. screenwriter, Francis Ford Coppola (b. 1939)