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Colorcloud Palace Versus Fushigi Yuugi
By aimee | November 4, 2007
Now, before I start with my take on a comparative essay between these two animes, let me just say that I do not aim to belittle any one of the two. I just can’t do that since I’m a big fan of the two. ^_^
The idea of comparing the two just came up when I realized that Colorcloud Palace a.k.a Saiunkoku Monogatari (Man, that was a bit hard to spell. LOL!) is, in a number of ways, similar with the Fushigi Yuugi or Curious Play. And I do not mean the story as their difference with the plot is already quite obvious from the beginning. But of course, anime fanatics can’t help but notice that the setting is both a kingdom or palace in China from a hundred of years back. I think comparing the two is quite inevitable, I’m sure I’m not the only one who noticed their ‘obvious’ similarities, right?
First off, there’s the style of drawing. I know the makers of Colorcloud Palace did not mean to make it look like Yuu Watase’s Fushigi Yuugi, it just came out that way. Perhaps it is safe to say that the illustrator of Colorcloud Palace, Kairi Yura, was inspired by the series the series. Or perhaps not, it’s just my two cents there. Anyway, inspired or not, the characters of the two animes undoubtedly look the same.
Now let’s go to the emperor of both animes. We all loved Hotohori of Fushigi Yuugi, and now (don’t deny it) we’re all beginning to love the character of Shi Ryuuki in Colorcloud Palace. Their personalities are obviously of different sides with Hotohori being all serious with everything while Shi Ryuki is loving the carefree life. But their looks - the long hair and the beautiful face (it’s funny describing men as beautiful but I can’t help it! They both have beautiful faces! Haha! ^_^V ). It’s so easy to mistake them both for one another if not just for the style their hair was designed! Hotohori loves his mane flowing but Ryuuki would rather have it ponytailed in half. Of course, if they start to speak, you’ll easily know who’s who! LOL!
Miaka Yuki and Shurei Ko could easily pass themselves off as fraternal twins! And they also exude the same auras of being light-hearted and strong! But of course, some of their personalities still differ. Miaka is a carefree little girl and easily energized by just the sight of food (who can forget that, right? Haha!) and blinded by the idea of spending her life with her only love, Tamahome (okay, I just sounded cheesy). Shurei Ko is undoubtedly on the mature side, being discipline and hard work her constant companions throughout her growing years. By the time Shurei Ko went to the palace to help the emperor ’straighten’ out his way of life and leadership, she already knows the hardships of life and so was more than prepared to help His Majesty realize the importance of being an emperor of a seemingly dying kingdom. But let’s not belittle Miaka’s knowledge of the world. After all, at the time she had been engulfed by the book into another world of the past, she was still preparing to go to a university with her best friend. What does she really know about suffering and the magical world right? It had also been her first time to experience romance and so she had been blinded by it. Shurei Ko, however, (I think) had made it a point early on with her life not to have anything to do with romance until her family’s life is financially settled. But since Colorcloud Palace has some bits of romance in its story, Shurei Ko will sooner or later welcome it in her life. Haha! I’m already making conclusions to an anime that is yet to end!
Between the two animes, if I am to be asked on what I prefer more, Colorcloud Palce will be my choice. I just love how things are going and how the story unfolds in the series. Colorcloud Palace is a relaxing anime as it does not have all the complexities of four different worlds and magic that Fushigi Yuugi is known to have. But don’t get me wrong, I once fancied it and I have to admit it was because of the romance of Miaka and Tamahome (I was still a naive little girl who dreams of romance back then! Haha!). But when Fushigi Yuugi included all the characters and the four worlds into the romance of Miaka and Tamahome, I was lost. Well, it’s not all because of the story, it was also partly because I hadn’t had the time to watch all the episodes. I still don’t have the luxury of time no with Colorcloud Palace but since I’ve discovered the geniuses of YouTube and Torrent downloads, I know I can watch it whenever I want to and whenever I have the time. Haha!
Also, Colorcloud Palace seems to be one of the animes wherein you could easily catch up with the story even though you’ve skipped an episode or two. Or perhaps it’s still too early to say. We’re still on the first season in Animax anyway. So we’ll see. I just hope it remains a simple and relaxing anime for a simple anime addict like myself who simply wants to be entertained by the big-eyed and small-lipped (is there such a word?!) characters in a Japanese cartoon. Haha! ^_^
To watch some of the episodes of Colorcloud Palace, click here.
Disclaimer: Photos are not mine.
Topics: Anime Addiction, Colorcloud Palace, Fushigi Yuugi |
November 28th, 2007 at 5:24 pm
umm… Aimee-chan,i totally agree with u.. in how Fushigi Yuugi and Colourcloud Palace had their similarities and differences especially with Miaka and Shurei…
I hope u keep loving anime..
if ever u have friendster account,kindly add me:
nizzaleignnuestro@yahoo.com
arigato gonzaimas!
:>
December 1st, 2007 at 3:15 pm
wew….i also agree,,,,
colorcloud palace interesting anime and ryuuki was so cute……..hehe
December 1st, 2007 at 3:16 pm
oh,, i mean
it is very ntrestng,,hehe
December 1st, 2007 at 3:56 pm
yeah yeah! colorcloud is really interesting and the characters are all cute!
December 2nd, 2007 at 6:05 pm
hmmm agreed! the moment i watched saiunkoku monogatari the first anime that popped to mind was fushigi yuugi! haha but gosh saiunkoku monogatari is so much better! however i do think that it is complex too, the way they are so thorough in their thinking of the politics and the impact of their actions and words, the ambiguity of certain relationships - e.g. seiran, and the layers of the characters.
heh i think shuurei is much better than miaka though x.x found it hard to sit through miaka’s squeals… can’t wait for the anime of genbu kaiden! if it ever gets made into one x.x
December 2nd, 2007 at 6:35 pm
yeah, i think now I can say that it is becoming complex too with the politics and the issue of Shuurei being the first female official. it sure is becoming really really interesting! also, i can’t wait for how the relationship of Shuurei and Ryuuki develops now that he’s trying all his might to win her affection (I think) haha!
I think genbu kaiden will be made into an anime sooner or later seeing the success Fushigi Yuugi got when it was aired. so, let’s wait!
December 4th, 2007 at 11:49 am
i love them both. but I really love how the story unfolds in colorcloud palace… i really love the emperor!!! oh Ryuuki!!! i really adore his character! i also think that the comlexity of the story is another key element… it makes us interested in politics and those other grown-up matters. let’s keep watching and supporting anime shows!!!!haha!!!
December 4th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
Nang una kong nakta ang Colorcloud Palace(Commercial),akala ko FUSHIGI YUUGI yun…then nakita ko sa TVscreen na COLORCLOUD PALACE pala, kasi para sakin talagang kamukha ni Myaka & Hutuhori ng FUSHIGI YUUGI ang nasa Colorcloud Palace…Gus2 ko cla pareho kahit d ko pa nakita ang COLORCLOUD PALACE…Riza
December 27th, 2007 at 11:07 am
Well, I’m just passing by to this website… BUT when I’ve read the article and comments… I definitely agree with all those stuff. Actually, when I was just around 10-14 years old… I’m really insane whenever I watch Fushigi Yuugi even though it’s been aired for several times in GMA and ANIMAX… BUT then again, now… that I’ve watched the Colorcloud Palace, Men!!! i’m totally in to it… I Love Saiunkoku Monogatari!!! Not just because of the looks… but also the personalities of each character, especially, Shurrei Kou… It’s really surprising because I’ve only spent 4 days in watching Colorcloud Palace via DVD. I watch it every afternoon and before I sleep… that’s why I finished it that fast! The bad thing is that… the season 2 of colorcloud palace has been cut… There’s only six episodes!!! Well of course…, I won’t give up ’til I find the continuation of the story. You know another thing that makes me really like the anime… is because… Shurrei resembles my behavior and she’s incredibly KAWAII!!! As for those who’ve read my comment… I presume that you’re all animelovers just like myself, right… So… maybe we could get along… If you want… and if you have friendster… kindly add me po… ^_^ Here’s my e-mail add: shanemlim@yahoo.com
December 28th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
OMG! Where did you get the DVD of the first season? I’ve been looking around and I still can’t find it! Yeah, I heard it was cut. It’s sad but I know they’ll somehow realize how important for us anime lovers this anime is and continue it. Hehe! Anyway, I really like to get a copy of the first season. I always miss the episodes in Animax because of work. Yeah, I already work. But I’m not old yet! Hehe!
January 7th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
I just bought it somewhere at the sidewalks… I could easily get anime DVDs that I want since our school is located at the town… Well… All I could say is that… They should release the continuation of the season 2 of ‘Saiunkoku Monogatar’ as soon as possible… It’s the resume of classes again… another boring days…(no animes for a while) Ahh!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’ve just finished the DEATHNOTE… it’s really cool!!! It’s advisable to watch it… The thing is… there’s not much ‘kilig’ scenes… BUT I’m still lovestruck to Colorcloud Palace though…^_^
January 11th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Yey! I finally got my Saiunkoku Monogatari DVD! I have until the Season 2 6th episode! But I still have yet to start watching it! I can’t find time because of work!
I have Deathnote as well! DVD, I mean. The entire four volumes or seasons, thanks to a friend who gave it to me as a gift for Christmas! Yey! But of course, finding time to watch all these animes is my major problem! Hopefully by the end of the month I’ll find the time!
Yeah, study hard! But continue loving and watching animes still!
January 14th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Tnx for the advice…I will never forget anime… In fact it’s our periodical test the day after tomorrow… hehehe… I just really want to see my anime crushes just for inspiration for the upcoming long and fuzzy tests… Well.. anyway… good luck to your work too, aimee…
January 26th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
icant choose but I dont like Shi riyuki I prefer Shi Sairin
January 26th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
I very very very like shi seiran because he is veri cuuuuuuute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
February 7th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Hi Kimberly! Yeah, I’d have to say that Shi Seiran is much more appealing than Shi Ryuki! But of course, I still think Ryuki’s cute!
February 7th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Halu Kurama, yeah Seiran’s kawaii!
June 8th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
i love both of them too! xD
settings are almost the same, drawings look very similar..
but i prefer Colorcloud Palace, dunno why though..
maybe because Fushigi Yuugi is so yesterday… hahahah!!!
June 25th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
yah colourcloud palace is relly great
and i prefer to watch it than that fushigi yuugi
and its all about girl power…that womens can also make a difference in our society
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:10 pm
definitely fushigi yuugi is the best! but
Colorcloud Palace is good too!
(I love SCHOOL RUMBLE!)
July 3rd, 2008 at 8:44 am
yep! fushigi yuugi is great but the plot is getting really complicated, but still great! I have got to checkout school rumble, everybody’s saying that it’s good!
so many animes and manga, so little time! huhu!
July 27th, 2008 at 2:53 am
FUCK anybody who says Colorcloud is better!! FUSHIGI YUUIGI IS WAY BETTER THAN colorcloud!!!!!!!
July 30th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Hold your horses Sallee! This is just our opinion. You’re welcome to share yours but don’t curse anyone who doesn’t share the same opinion as you. We ain’t cursing anyone when we said we liked it more than fushigi yuugi. Take note: the operational words are LIKE IT MORE. Thus, we like fushigi yuugi as well. We just like CCP MORE. This is not about which is better between the two, it’s just a matter of one’s own preference.
November 28th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
color cloud cloud palace really rocks! i love the storyline. its very simple but has its own twist and turns in the right places. The love story is not as heavy as fushigi yuugi. how would i put it - very light but intriguing. Is there any other anime that could rival with this one? don’t get me wrong i love fushigi yuugi too but this one is special though. Shi Seiran is cute.
December 8th, 2008 at 12:12 am
I actually searched for an essay like this because I just started watching clouds and I couldn’t believe how similar they are in drawing! I was actually wanting to see who made Clouds as it is so like FY! Even some of the names are the same! Shoka as in Mitsukake’s fiance and even Tamahome’s li’l brother and Nuriko’s sister get a name in clouds! I do, however, find myself a bit angry at something that seems to me, to have far too many similarities to be coincidence. The emperer looks like Hotohori (mmmm) but so does his guard as his hair is tied up exactly like Hotohori’s and his face is identical! It’s too much.
I like this anime but it doesn’t really have as much to keep me hooked as FY does, that made me hang on every characters move and word and go through their emotions and even cry! Plus, give clouds more romance! WE WANT ROMANCE! It’s a bit slow paced for me without really having an end goal it plods along. FY was on a mission from start to finish but this is kinda left me thinking shall I just skip ten or so episodes to the good bit?
December 8th, 2008 at 12:18 am
p.s I don’t think I could ever say anything was better than F.Y……..I think it was the first anime that I really fell in love with (as well as the hot men haha) and it will always have a special place in my heart. Miaka is a young student when I was a young student and from this world so there was so much more to relate to and I think I was also a nieve there is true love young girl when I watched it so it has happy innocent memories!
December 11th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Hi buzzin_little_alto! I totally agree with you on the similarities, the very reason I came up with this article. Haha! And yes, we want more romance for Clouds! But I still haven’t heard of news on the continuation of the 2nd season, so there goes my hope of more romance between Shurei Ko and Shi Ryuuki. (I’d have to go and dig that up again).
I was really hooked to FY as well when I was in my HS years and, like you, immediately fell in love and got addicted to its gorgeous men ahah! But I guess its storyline got too complicated for me (or I just really lost track of the story), who’s at the same time, studying hard to keep up with school. Also, I just really wanted to watch the romance between Miaka and Tamahome that when a lot of things came to play in the story, I just lost that enthusiasm which got me hooked in the first place. Yes, I’m that kind of girl - I’m more interested in mangas and animes which offer much romance in their stories (you can tell from the animes I read and write about).
But I’m sure if I’d only been given the luxury of time to keep track of FY’s story when I was in HS, I would’ve finished and loved it till the end.
March 27th, 2009 at 11:38 am
buzzin_little_alto I’m a really big fan of fushigi yuugi too. I agree that until now, it’s still the best I’ve seen so far.
I fell in-love with FY, the story, the plot, and especially the characters. I also admired the values of love, friendship, and heroism, that the characters in the series and OVA has portrayed. When I first saw Colorcloud Palace, I thought it was created by the same artist of fushigi yuugi. The opening of both are very similar and the settings of both shows are almost alike. The characters look the same and the clothes they wear are almost from the same cabinet. hehe… Its boring to watch an anime with a little action and limited romance, that’s why i’m not so captivated with Colorcloud Palace. It has only been a few day since i started watching it, but it doesn’t interest me as much as fushigi yuugi did.
I was just passing by, looking for articles about Colorcloud Palace because it looked like fushigi yuugi, and that’s the number 1 reason why i’m interested in it. So many cute characters too…:P … I just wanted to share my opinions and views of the subject… I’m an anime fan too!! And I’ve read the manga on Genbu Kaiden 3 times, I hope they will make a series out of it, the characters and the entire story of Genbu Kaiden are great, though I know what happens in the end, i still wanna see it in action, plus there’s a character in Genbu that looks like the characters of Colorcloud Palace. til here lang ako!!
April 2nd, 2009 at 1:00 pm
U understand me!! The 1st anime i watched was 1 episode of fushigi yuugi. I was just 2 yrs old,and i was already an anime addict..Eversince then,i became curious..now,that iam 10 1/2,i discorvered fushigi yuugi once again..i cried tears of joy!! Cuz I saw it again.. Later on..I discoverd ColourCloud and it was too much like fushigi yuugi.. U ROCK ANIMEE!!
May 1st, 2009 at 6:56 am
Well, some physical similarities — Well, yeah… One girl protected by several men — But, the only difference is that they created Lady Shirley — A “Miaka” who has a brain. Aheheheh~ Miaka made me laugh but I like Lady Shirley’s personality better. And, although I think Hotohori is cuter with his dark hair, I like Color Cloud Palace better — I’m totally not into the “Miaka” “Tamahome” x 100 line.
Another similarity — The flute reminds me of Amiboshi in Fushigi Yugi.
Speaking of similarities — God! Save Our King! is like Fushigi Yugi too — Only their Miko is a male!
June 25th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
I don’t like Fushigi Yuugi at all.I just like Saiunkoku Monogatari(Colour Cloud Palace)
June 25th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
I don’t think Fushigi Yuugi like Saiunkoku Monogagari.
June 29th, 2009 at 11:56 am
woow!!
its a many information about
Saiunkoku monogatari and Fushigi yuugi
COOL..
November 9th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
i love these two animes ♥
weeee
December 8th, 2009 at 11:45 am
wow…i just really dont like FY.it’s just a love story between a boy character from a book and a dumb student from tokyo. saiunkoku monogatari is a lot more better to watch than always hearing:”tamahome” or “miaka”
December 26th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
are they going to make season 3 for colorcloud palace?…i think its nice…
February 8th, 2010 at 11:56 pm
i am so happy to see ccp 2 but too bad for me that i will be able to watch it only two eps. i have to go and stay in the hostel and Animax channel was unable there.hopes they will show it again and again on Animax when i get holiday also.in my state Meghalaya(India)its difficult to get ccp dvd.
February 19th, 2010 at 12:40 am
i agree dat both showz r similar in some ways but its still not cool if v compare dem coz somewere dey r unique in dere own way as well so it wud b betta not 2 compare both of dem!!!!!!!!!!!
April 1st, 2010 at 11:33 pm
hola a todos a mi tambien me gusta mucho fushigi yuugi pero no puedo ver el otro anime por q no lo encuentro colourcloud palace a mi me parece q son casi iguales por eso queria seber si alguien me puede decir como es realmente se lo agradeceria si me pudiaren decir por favor
grasias
besos
June 5th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
I definitely agree, fushigi yuugi is one of my favorite anime but i think colorcloud palace is really intresting and can be very unique in itz on ways like fushigi yuugi.
July 6th, 2010 at 1:07 pm
i like this review.. i also notice the similarities of Saiunkoku Monogatari characters from Fushigi Yuugi which triggers me to read Hotohori’s novel <3 but honestly, though i once become a fan of Fushigi i prefer Saiunkoku because its not focused on romance… i have watched fushigi wayback when i was only grade 6 and the scenarios are not that suitable for me, but for saiunkoku there are almost no romance scenes that i could watch it even if my younger siblings are around