The Twelve Kingdoms (十二国記 Juni Kokuki), also known as Record of 12 Countries, and originally incorrectly romanized as Juuni Kokki or 12 Kokki, is a Japanese fantasy series by Fuyumi Ono consisting of eleven novels and a short story collection, and a 45-episode anime series produced by Studio Pierrot in 2002. The story is loosely based on ancient Chinese mythology and set in a world influenced by Han-era China.

The first novel was published in Japan in 1991 and the last volume in 2001. The novels are licensed in the United States by Tokyopop and the first volume was released in hardcover in March 2007 as part of their Pop Fiction line. The entire anime series has been released on DVD in the United States by Media Blasters.

The story of the anime centers around a girl named Youko Nakajima from Japan, who is suddenly transported to another world and eventually discovers that she is the queen of the kingdom of Kei. This part of the story is based on the novel Tsuki no Kage, Kage no Umi (Shadow of the Moon, Sea of Shadow). This novel, and thus anime, follow the general Monomyth pattern, but several twists and inversions of the pattern give them originality.

Unlike Fushigi Yugi, Twelve Kingdoms is not a romance anime, but closely traces the development of the heroine, Youko, describing how she finds a place for herself in this strange new world.

The anime casts Youko in the role of the main character; however, in the novels, Youko is only one of many main characters and her story is focused upon in only two novels.

The anime focuses on the Kingdom of Kei and the events surrounding it. Several of the other countries are introduced, the most prominent being Kou, En and Tai, while Kyou, Hou, Sai and Ryuu play a minor role compared to the other three. The rest of the countries are only introduced by name and a brief description of the current emperor and taiho. The anime also introduced the characters Asano and Sugimoto to accompany Youko to the twelve kingdoms. Their role is to externalize some of Youko's problems that were internal in the novels.

The anime closely follows Youko and is divided into the following parts:

• "Tsuki no Kage, Kage no Umi" (Shadow of the Moon, Sea of the Shadow), episodes 1-14
Youko travels to the world of Juuni Kokki, develops as a person and starts to embrace her new destiny.

• "Kaze no Umi, Meikyuu no Kishi" (Sea of the Wind, Shore of the Labyrinth), episodes 15-21

Partial story of the black Kirin, Taiki.
• "Shokan" (Correspondence), episode 22
Concise retelling of the events so far.

• "Kaze no Banri, Reimei no Sora" (A Thousand Miles of Wind, The Sky of Dawn), episodes 23-39
The story of Suzu, Syoukei, and Youko as they struggle with a rebellion in Wa Province of Kei.

• "Jougetsu" (Ally of the Moon), episode 40
Short closing of past events in the Kingdom of Hou.

• "Higashi no Wadatsumi, Nishi no Soukai" (Sea God of the East, Azure Sea of the West), episodes 41-45
A story from the past about the Emperor of En and his kirin, Enki suppressing a rebellion.

The anime ended abruptly at episode 45, although the initial plans were made for 68 episodes. The company animating Twelve Kingdoms, Studio Pierrot, decided to stop production until further novels are released by the writer. As of March 2007, there has been no news of further release.

- From Wikipedia