Season aired: Fall 2022

Number of episodes: 13

Watched on: Crunchyroll

Translated by: ?

Genres: Supernatural, Mystery

Thoughts: Raven of the Inner Palace takes place in a fantasy dynasty China during the era of emperors and concubines. Deep within the Inner Palace lives the Raven Consort. Despite her title, she never tends to the emperor like the other consorts. Her duties are relegated to the mysterious and unknown due to her connection with a bird goddess. The Raven Consort’s isolation soon changes when the newly crowned Emperor Gaojun comes seeking her help — revealing her name, her powers, and her complicated connection to the royal family.

I approached this anime with a lot of enthusiasm. As a Chinese American who grew up watching Chinese dynasty dramas, I was incredibly curious to see how an anime would fare in the same setting. I found myself endlessly pleased and surprised by not only the anime’s dedication to the historical accuracy of the most subtle details, but also the heart of the story. Mystery and intrigue surround the anime, but at the end of the day, Raven of the Inner Palace is also about love and how destructive and scary it can be.

The anime portrays that tone by taking a common yet successful format: episodic cases that slowly provide answers and pose more questions about the biggest mystery of all. Shouxue, the current Raven Consort, possesses the supernatural ability to help ghosts, some malicious and all disrupting the lives that reside in the palace. However, despite the Raven Consort’s importance to the imperial family and the Inner Palace, no one ever questioned how she received her powers, when a new girl was chosen, and why she was hidden away in the palace.

Gaojun, the newest emperor of the Inner Palace, breaks the unspoken system as the first emperor to even talk to the Raven Consort, and then he takes it a step further by asking those questions. Framed and exiled when he was younger, Gaojun empathizes with Shouxue’s expected isolation and feels a personal obligation to understand and release Shouxue from the Raven Consort’s duties.

Gaojun’s decision leads to many interactions between the two that electrify the screen with their chemistry. Shouxue is aloof and untrusting after being isolated for so long. Gaojun is patient and kind as a purposeful rebuke to his and his mother’s treatment under the prior emperor and empress. Despite their initial wariness towards each other, the two feel an instant connection. I adore every scene they have together. Their subtle moments of caring, such as Shouxue conjuring dreams to help Gaojun sleep, warms my heart, and if I were to request anything else from the anime, it would be more scenes with those two together.

The supporting characters are equally important, and they illustrate the brutality of dynasty China while contributing to the story in tandem. Jiujiu, Shouxue’s lady-in-waiting, is a window into the danger of serving royal families due to her connection with a murdered consort in the past. There are also three supporting characters who illustrate the various ways one can become a eunuch: by independent choice, by punishment, and by choosing between poverty or isolation. The inner workings of the Inner Palace operate separately from the rest of the country, and the fact that the anime portrays it all accurately in a fantasy story impresses me beyond belief.

Even the clothing designs are accurate. The consorts’ distinct style is reminiscent of the Tang Dynasty, where the makeup is bold, and consorts have symbols painted on their foreheads. Black and gold represent power, and only Shouxue wears those two important colors. Gaojun is the only one with an inaccurate character design as his style is more reminiscent of princes than actual emperors, but I believe that was a creative choice to help with the animation process to portray Gaojun’s more down-to-earth attitude.

The pacing of the story, the themes of the exorcism cases, and the complexity of the characters are perfect, but the animation doesn’t keep up with the lushness of the anime. Shouxue’s supernatural powers surpass just sending ghosts away, but when it comes to her more offensive abilities, the animation doesn’t change at all. We often see the same rehashed, albeit beautiful, sequence of her blowing a flower, regardless of whether she is gently sending off a lost ghost or forcefully pushing a malicious ghost back. In unique circumstances, Shouxue even has the ability to kill, and the same animation sequence is used again.

Thankfully, that is the only technical aspect of the series that falters. The music takes direct inspiration from famous ancient Chinese music, and the anime is littered with music from traditional Chinese instruments like the wooden flute, erhu, and pipa.

The cast was also a joy to listen to, but I must give a special recognition to the two leads. Saku Mizuno, the voice of Shouxue, and Masaaki Mizunaka, the voice of Gaojun, are newcomers who only booked leading roles in recent years yet sounded just as experienced as the remaining cast. Their effortless portrayal of the two protagonists often blended in better than the award-winning cast members, so I cannot imagine how these two will thrive once they gain even more experience.

Their portrayal of the two leads made me fall in love with Raven of the Inner Palace in the first place. Their chemistry hooked me in, and the episodic stories of love and destruction kept me emotional and engaged. There’s still much to explore in the world-building, as the anime introduces near the end, and many more conflicts to resolve. Shouxue is still not free from her duties, and a greater danger now lurks overhead. I would love nothing more than another season to fully explore the world and continue the plot. However, even if Raven of the Inner Palace doesn’t get a second season, I am truly thankful for the story and characters this anime has introduced me to.

Rating

Plot: 8.5 (Multiplier 3.5)

Characters: 8 (Multiplier 3.5)

Voice acting: 7.5

Art/Animation: 6

Soundtrack: 7.5

FINAL SCORE: 78.75

Source link