The Twelve Kingdoms - Vol. 8: Alliance (2003)

Three above-average high school students are transported to the Twelve Kingdoms, a magical reality where they are sent to fulfill their destiny as key players in an epic adventure. In her old world, Yoko was her high school class president, but in the Twelve Kingdoms she is headed to become monarch of Kei, a war-torn land in the midst of political and social chaos. In this volume, Shokei, daughter of the King of Hou, experiences a new sense of maturity and modesty after seeing her parents being murdered and. She meets Rakushun the hanju, a man with rat-like characteristics, who takes her under his wing as an instructor. Yoko, the schoolgirl destined to be queen, goes to live with her dominion in order to master the art of leadership. TWELVE KINGDOMS is based on novels by Ono Fuyami. Both visually and aurally, it is unusually lush and artful for animé and the results are infectious and captivating.