Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
boochirp
This had the potential to be a 10/10 anime. The premise was interesting, the characters felt real, the plot was entertaining, and it's a character-driven story. My only issue is that the first episode belongs in season 2, but I don't believe there will be a season 2, which is unfortunate for such a good story like this. I think the adaptation would've flown much nicer if the first half of ep 1 was cut out or if ep 1 was shortened because imo there has to be a shorter way to introduce the chronicles without an hour-long episode that we never get back to again. It's disappointing that season 2 most likely won't be produced, and we will never get back to the present again. This would've been much better had it only shown the past recorded in the chronicles. One thing I will do, though, is put…
Read at the sourcePlozinho
Translated with Google Translate: Portuguese
We often see romance anime that are extremely poor when it comes to the story, or the characters are completely poorly written or simply have the personality of a 5 year old.
In oooku we are blessed with a good script and what appears to be a very extensive universe creation.
The art often leaves something to be desired, but compared to the offensiveness of anime today... it's not that bothersome.
If the only romance-related thing you want to see is a cute little girl getting shy every time she sees her senpai, find a girlfriend.
Read at the sourceTruck-kunArrives
No spoilers review-
If you’re looking for something even remotely cute, heartwarming, or happy romance, this is not for you. This is a fair warning as to what kind of story it is so you don’t have different expectations going in. It’s definitely not wholesome or uplifting. This is on the morose and depressing side. Personally, I wouldn’t even categorize it as a romance even though it technically is. I wouldn’t say it’s a court drama about consorts either (examples of what it is not like in terms of court drama: Apothecary Diaries, No Doubt in Us, Psychic Princess).
It has several dark themes. Content warnings for sexual violence (throughout the show), violence (many overt murders), and suicide. Sexual violence is done by both genders and often in same gender situations.
It left me feel…
Read at the sourceLuxuriousHeart
This actually could’ve been a masterpiece, if only the manga were fully adapted. The concept itself is very intriguing. The concept is a period drama where a plague takes out most of the men in Japan, so the gender roles are flipped. Women start to work the fields, take positions in government, and do the traditional jobs for men. Because people didn’t want the plague to wipe the men out, they started keeping the men indoors and only used them to have children, which was a sexist role reserved for women back in the day.
This anime starts off good. We see the ramifications of that through women working the fields, men being prostitutes at the red light district, and a female shogun. After we meet the new Shogun and some events happen, she wants to study the history of how they got there.…
Read at the sourcei-like-this
The Japanese YMCA.
Ōoku: The Inner Chambers is a fascinatingly dark alternative look at an Edo-era Japan where a disease called the Redface Pox has ravished the country, decimating the male population to around a fifth and leaving the women to pick up the pieces by working the male roles such as farming, smithing, running the family business and even taking charge as the Shogun.
The narrative revolves around the inner chambers of the Ōoku, where eight hundred of Japan's most beautiful men are sealed off from the outside world and the Redface Pox only to be seen and used by the Shogun as concubines. Whilst the first episode is a mighty 75 minutes, it sets the stage and atmosphere of the palace's inner walls and what life has become after years of disastrous events. Episode two then swings…
Read at the sourceEnjyu
Recommended for viewers in need of a fresh story, lacking in tropes and recycled content. (Don't be put off by the "josei" tag", I nearly missed it because of that)
The last 15 or so years of the anime industry have been very heavy and insistant on the same story, art and characters, the same technique has been so overused that the line between so many series becomes blurred in the eyes of a viewer that has grown up with the classics, is certainly grown tired of the same droppings, different season, and has a solid base for comparison. The factors for that are many, but a major one to mention is the very basic consupmtion = demand = production correlation, so naturaly at some point quantity inevitably overwhelms quality, as in many other products on the market. It's like authors and produ…
Read at the sourceKoiwaihomare
Feels like something that would be much more enjoyable if you are familiar with the source material. Watched this because someone online said Miyano’s acting was really good in it. And it was.
The acting is great. The animation is good. Only a few scenes had that obvious CGI that takes you out of it. Very much a Josei. That’s the audience it’s made for. Not probably going to like it if you really don’t jive with Josei.
It falls into that common alternate history trope where the characters are written more like historical figures than like fictional characters. They grow and change but not in a way that’s really in service of a character arc. Things just happen to them and they have to respond. The world isn’t shaped to facilitate rewarding payoffs and character moments. And the narrativ…
Read at the sourceBelsel
This anime has surprised me and I liked it a lot, but it has left a bittersweet taste in me because halfway through the series I thought it might deserve a 10, but it is deflating and the last chapter is very rushed, so I had to give it a thumbs up. 8. If anyone is interested, I am a man.
What is most surprising at first is the exchange of roles (although the series itself reveals that there has not been a reversal of roles; and it is true, since basically the women deal with what they already dealt with, in addition to working and Men only dedicate themselves to procreate and are in great demand for it). The first chapter lasts almost 1h and 20 minutes and is truly captivating, where a story is presented. But in the following 9 standard-length episodes, they present another related but d…
Read at the sourceCaptainKenshiro
Hello, here´s an incel misogynistic cisgender male pig reviewing the feminist anime Oooku, a Netflix property based on a rather famous, acclaimed and highly rewarded manga, in turn inspired by many other series and movies which uses the same setting of a real place in life and history of Japan.
The premise this time around has to do with an everlasting pandemic around the Edo era that only affects men for some reason, leading to a matriarchy government and way of how society functions in Japan. So, basically is the kind of stuff that makes you instantly think it’s woke garbage. Not only that, but the first episode, which is 80 minutes long for some reason, is half exposition to explain how things are inside the chambers the series is named after and takes place in, and half of it is comic…
Read at the sourced_t_a0811
READING TIME: ~2 minutes
INTRODUCTION
Ooku is a moving period piece on an alternate-history Edo era Japan. It promises nuanced character relationships, compelling themes, and consistent tone and exceeded my expectations in all these categories. Despite a somewhat awkward transition from its first episode to the remainder of the story and some disturbing scenes of sexual violence, this show is certainly worth your time to watch.
NOTE ON THE FIRST EPISODE
First, anyone’s experience with the show will be better if they understand that the first episode is 1) over an hour long and 2) is mostly an unrelated framing story to introduce episodes 2 – 10. The remainder of the show does tie to one major plot point of the first episode, but the transition from episode 1 to 2 may ultimately feel disj…
Read at the sourcegingerholic
Having watched the live-action Japanese drama and movie starring Sakai Masato over a decade ago, I was shocked to see that Ōoku wasn't animated until recently (the manga itself began in 2004 and ended in 2020).
Set in the Edo period governed by the Tokugawa shogunate, this anime portrays an alternate universe where a traditional patriarchy becomes dominated by women due to a red-face smallpox pandemic that wipes out 75-80% of young men. Women are rainmakers while men are preciously preserved behind closed doors serving as fertility storks or left to thrive in the Yoshiwara red-light district as male courtesans. I was constantly reminded while watching this anime that the live-action drama/movie from over a decade ago is deeply ingrained in my mind as I still vividly recall the plot surrou…
Read at the sourcekchakrak
Period drama anime Game of Thrones. If you like show where there is nothing but sadness and depression, along with a boatload of slightly dull political intrigue this is for you. It doesn't have quite the amount of violence and rape as GoT, but it's not far off.
My biggest problems were it's failure to have a fixed central narrative, in particular it's insistence on being weirdly historically accurate in this alternate-history story. I'm still clueless as to what the premise has to do with any of the story. For the majority of the story the patriarchy is in full control and it doesn't play with the gender roles at all. Sure, you could argue it's realistic but I still don't see what the premise is adding, at least without it the show would be a slightly dark political drama as opposed to a…
Read at the sourceBYZANTIUMN
Fans of Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju will get a taste of something they may enjoy again, but may be left wanting for more.
Many of the best of Deen's longtime VA talent join together and give perhaps their most emotional and heartfelt performances in a decade.
But the story almost seems hostile to the viewer in that it wants you to get invested over and over again only to never give any payoff, aside from a few moments.
That describes much of every episode, but also the series at large.
I wanted to LOVE it, but I come away just liking it. Not bad, not amazing.
The voice acting is what makes this worth watching at all to be frank.
While the direction was overall phenomenal, the sound design aside from the spoken words was extremely lacking, and the story was just plain awful.
So m…
Read at the sourcefishblanket
This show literally felt like a #NoBetaReaderWeDieLikeMen or w/e tag on Ao3 put in anime form. It had an interesting concept but went about it so backwards it was honestly a hot mess.. and yet I binged it in a day so like it was semi entertaining to say the least. The ending was so disappointing it honestly felt like it just ended in the middle of an episode, no resolution or cliff hanger or anything, it just ended full stop which bothered me.
If you're looking for a classic romance, look somewhere else. However if you're looking for something more akin to a greek tragedy, this might be more your style.
Read at the sourceYoonzino_03
If you're here because you thought the synopsis was intriguing, you made the right choice. This offers a lot more than what you initially expected.
STORY (10/10)
Oooku: The Inner Chambers is set in the Edo period or the period in medieval Japan marked by the Tokugawa shogunate's reign. The male population is reduced to 1/5th of the female population due to a fatal disease that affects only males. The anime starts with the appointment of the eighth Tokugawa shogun Yoshimune who goes on to uncover the secrets and the origin of the Oooku, or the residence of the 'harem' of young men for the shogun through the journal maintained since its creation "The Chronicles of the Dying Day."
ANIMATION/ART AND MUSIC (8/10)
The animation was satisfactory. It remained true to its source material, i.e. m…
Read at the sourceAveryFB
I Will Write Write This Review Spoiler Free
I feel very conflicted on how to rate this, on the one hand, it doesn't leave you feeling good in the end, its like My Lie In April but more depressing. On the other hand, very few anime make me feel such emotion even if that emotion isn't a good one. Oooku: The Inner Chambers is only worth watching for a very specific type of person. If you like a Tragic Romance anime that is very dark than this may appeal to you. If you are person who would like to watch an anime and not feel like crap than I would avoid this one.
Read at the sourceOtakuGirrl
Set during the Edo period, this story flips traditional gender roles on their head. A devastating pandemic known as the Redface Pox has decimated the male population, leaving women to outnumber men four to one. Over the span of 80 years, society has drastically shifted, women now govern the nation, while men, stripped of status and stability, are often left to fight for survival. Marriage is now a privilege reserved for the wealthy, and conventional family roles have all but vanished. The plot centers on the female shogun ruling Edo Castle and the lives of the many men confined within its inner chambers.
The premise immediately caught my interest, it’s a bold and fascinating setup, and I was genuinely excited to dive in. But the actual experience was incredibly difficult. The main couple…
Read at the sourcedanrsilva
The first episode is an '1 hour 20 minutes long film that will introduce us the main character of the anime: The Ooku. It was for me a nice choice, telling a hole story to show us the manner that place works and make us wonder how thigs get to this point, as it did it to the xogun. At same time most of the people showed in theis first episode (and was a lot), make the viewer more confused than bringing something to the table.
In the following episodes the characters hasn't the maniqueist aprouch we used see in most anime, they have depth and meaning to the story telling and meke the audience sympathize, and hate them at the same time. Tho, so much subjetcts are introduced that they lost the capacity to keeping tracking, losing the meaning and make the anime looks like a soap opera.
In s…
Read at the sourceFNAleex
This show was really unique—definitely not your average anime. If you are into Japanese culture and traditions, you'll like this show. If you are looking for your classic Isekai, sorry, this is probably not the right show for you.
The story takes place in the Edo period of Japan, where a disease killed the majority of men,so now women have taken on all the roles traditionally granted to men.
Characters are well designed,especially their personalities; everybody has their own goal in the show and a motive for why they are acting like that (something very rare in most anime).
However, be aware that the show becomes very dark, with people being killed, a lot of abuse of power, rape and sex scenes (mostly non-explicit) and so on.
The animation is really good;with the only exception of combat s…
Read at the sourceKurochuDeviluke
Studio DEEN has always been one of the most criticized animation studios for being too inconsistent. Sometimes they make awful adaptations with pitiful animation quality and other times they just produce brilliant and cared series like this.
Imagine that suddenly world turns around and a huge percentage of men simply die due to a pandemic disease. Women now has the power and young men became a valuable treasure due to their capacity to procreate with so many women. Even being prostituted and sold for a lot of money. And everything setted in Edo period. That's what Oooku is about.
One of the things that impressed me the most was how the author wasn't afraid of anything. She didn't care of any kind of controversy, she felt just free enough to draw the story she wanted without avoiding an…
Read at the source