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The Story of Saiunkoku, Vol. 4

(The Story of Saiunkoku #4)

Kairi Yura,

Sai Yukino,

Su Mon Han (Translator)

4.20 · Rating details · 476 ratings · 19 reviews

Shurei Hong, destitute but of noble birth, has always dreamed of working as a civil servant in the Imperial court of Saiunkoku, but women are barred from holding office. The emperor Ryuki, however, refuses to take command, leaving everything to his advisers. Shurei is asked to become a consort to the emperor to persuade the ne'er-do-well ruler to govern.

Shurei has been di ...more

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Paperback, 192 pages

Published August 2nd 2011 by VIZ Media LLC (first published February 26th 2009)

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Average rating 4.20 ·

Rating details

· 476 ratings · 19 reviews

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Apr 17, 2017 Jane rated it it was amazing

Ah, Ryuuki, you're stealing my heart all over again! <3 ...more

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May 03, 2016 Luna rated it it was ok

Shelves: graphic-novels-and-manga

2-3 Stars
Given up after 4 books.

I love the artwork, I really do - because it’s stunning. Somehow though I’m just not connecting with this series – it’s not bad but after the third book I getting bored and I decided by the end of the fourth that it wasn’t worth continuing. Might return later to try again.

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Mar 13, 2020 Kati rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2020, in-english, manga-non-bl

I'm dropping this manga. I loved the anime but the manga's snail pace just isn't doing it for me and pages after pages of them discussing law making are not my cuppa. Also, Shurei is the only thing the emperor can think of but she barely even thinks of him and when they meet and talk, she treats him rather like his mother than a potential lover. Besides, the only thing Shurei wants is a job as a state official, she's definitely not interested in love, let alone marriage, let alone marriage to th ...more

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Jul 05, 2019 Christina rated it it was amazing

This series is ugh I love it so much!!!!!! The conversations this particular volume has with women's rights and loving someone while still allowing them to follow their dreams 😊. I also appreciate that there was so much that occurs in this volume (unfortunately its so much spoilery content I cannot write it in this review). The art style especially when it comes to the setting is really beautiful and atmospheric and the political intrigue is very tricky and the secrets that unfold throughout the ...more

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May 19, 2019 L.L. Tibbetts rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

She's growing!

Much like the cherry blossoms she loves so dearly, the main female character is growing. I'm not disappointed in the slightest with this series. ...more

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Jan 17, 2019 Stephanie Molnar rated it it was ok

Wow, the slowest manga I've ever read. Giving this series a break for now because this one was so slow. ...more

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Sep 16, 2018 R rated it it was amazing

Wonderful installment!!! Gorgeous!

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Sep 30, 2017 Kayla rated it it was ok

Shelves: library, manga

This volume felt like it dragged on. I thought it was never going to end.

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Dec 31, 2018 Kristina rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2018-reading-challenge

We want so desperately for dreams to be real, but even Freud would caution you to think critically on what ends and means are occurring around you.

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Nov 19, 2018 Amanda Setasha Hall rated it really liked it

Shelves: zzz-2018

WHY ARE ALL THESE CHARACTERS SO EXTREMELY ATTRACTIVE??? HELP.

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Aug 05, 2011 Estara rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: fans of the series

Shelves: manga, read-in-2011

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This volume does not bother with reintroducing anything (apart from the first page added by the publisher explaining about some of the characters and the basic set-up, similar to the upper part of the copy at the back of the volume) and I can honestly say that if you haven't read the earlier volumes you will have no idea what is going on.

AND HOW GREAT IS THAT!!!

The author and mangaka expect us to be invested enough by now to get right to the nitty gritty and the machinations and manoeuvrings at This volume does not bother with reintroducing anything (apart from the first page added by the publisher explaining about some of the characters and the basic set-up, similar to the upper part of the copy at the back of the volume) and I can honestly say that if you haven't read the earlier volumes you will have no idea what is going on.

AND HOW GREAT IS THAT!!!

The author and mangaka expect us to be invested enough by now to get right to the nitty gritty and the machinations and manoeuvrings at court and in the ministries going on - with the overall aim of Emperor Ryuki being the legalisation of female civil servant candidates.

I adore the fact that when necessary the background of the problem is explained in much more detail than in the anime, so you understand why hurrying the process is so bad. It makes the work that her various allies do for Shurei and the trust they set in her even more vivid and believable.

The actual work in the ministry part of the story was finished in the last volume though, in this one we finally get a real intro to Seiran's old friend Ensei, and what he is doing in the capital at this time and what his importance is to the overall plot. Nice ^^. My favourite bit with him was the scene at the grave though - the fact that Shurei had someone she trusted but had not been part of the family to finally articulate her grief and fears to - a sympathetic ear, so to say.

I really have to question the decision of the translators/publishers to translate Ko Shurei as Shurei Hong, because all the subtle connotations of the Ko name - from Minister Ko to the Ko quarter in the capital can't be picked up by people who only read the manga.

There's a bit of light relief when Minister Kyo finally takes off his mask - we never got to see that in the anime, if I remember correctly (and I can understand the problem of the idea, although the mangaka does try to do her best to overcome it).

Another nice feature is that two characters the anime showed only in the Sa Province Arc coming up get introduce earlier - and their father's relationship to Shoka shown in more detail (now I'm a bit sorry we never got a flashback episode to the time of the Wolves of the Wind for good). The relationship between Ran Shuei, Shusui and Shoka gets a side glance - interesting because the anime kept this to the second series entirely.

Ryuki again was fairly distant (due to the plot and understandably in his position) - he got some cute time in his earnest love and misunderstanding though, and an intelligent comparison of the way he loves and the way Ran Shueei loves.

I especially enjoyed the final chapter of the volume, although it is only a coda to what went before, because it shows the internal and external growth of Shurei's self-confidence and trust - better than the anime I think.

This is a girl who wants to become a civil servant. The man who loves her is trying to enable that and even as he helps in the attempt he knows it may mean that he himself will never get the love he wishes for in the way he wishes for. To my mind - this looks like shoujo - and I love my bishies - but this is josei, or at least a manga for girls in their early 20s trying to define their way in life. And a manga for people who like to think of what good governance and politics would entail. ...more

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Aug 27, 2012 Judyth (Geeky Reading) rated it liked it

Shelves: own

~3/5

[Read more at my blog, Geeky Reading!]

I really want to like this series, but I think I’m giving it an indefinite pause for now.

It’s interesting. The characters are fun: I like Shurei, she’s smart and feisty. Ryuki is my favorite; he’s adorable and sweet and I love how he talks. There’s a bunch of other characters that intrigue me as well. The plot is interesting: I like the attraction between Shurei and Ryuki, and Seiran and Shurei, and their pasts. I really find where Shurei is going intere ...more

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Feb 26, 2015 Debby rated it it was amazing

Shelves: manga, mnc

suka suka sukaaa banget dengan vol yang ini membuat daku menyadari,

1. meraih cita2 tuh memang enggak bisa yah tanpa bantuan dan dukungan orang lain, minimal ada yang membukakan jalan seperti ryuki yang membuka jalan untuk shuurei. walau tetap kembali ke kemampuan shuurei sendiri kan akhirnya.
2. yah ampunnn ryuki kamu tuh puppy banget yah lol. kepolosan yang mengerikan.
3. aihhhh ada the ultumate cowo cantik bertopeng. lollll that why i love this comic a lot lol.....

kelemahan nih komik tetep den ...more

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Jan 29, 2011 Mely marked it as read-seq-art

Shelves: manga, shojo

"Your Majesty, you didn't dig up something strange and eat it, did you?" "What do you think I am?"

"Midnight tryst" is probably the best period-appropriate translation, but from everyone's reactions I think the most accurate translation for "yobiai" might be "booty call." Oh, Ryuuki.

I wish there were more women in this series, but I do like that Shurei is sincerely more interested in a career than romance. Poor Ryuuki, though.

I am completely at a loss as to why Kouyou is convinced Ryuuki will mak ...more

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