Ôoku: The Inner Chambers

I wasn't sure what to expect from this anime, going in. I think I was hoping for an inverted history of Japan, where women have taken over, and all is right with the world, with a bit of erotica and "I told you so" thrown into the mix.

That's not what I got, though. Sure, it's about a world where women do and decide everything; but nothing is without its consequences. It's not all fun and games. In fact, I might even venture a politically incorrect opinion that it's worse.

Men are still men, with all their urges, needs and shortcomings. Women are still women, with all of their fallacies. It's just an upside down version of the world as we know it, and everything that that would realistically entail in a medieval setting.

There is a trigger warning to this anime - sexual violence. I was expecting it to be graphic, in true anime style. Nothing of the sort. And yet, violence abounds, in ways I never expected to see it. It spares no-one, regardless of gender. It's not the presence of violence, though, that is key. Is how people deal with it, react to it. What they choose to do afterwards. This violence serves an important plot purpose. It is a rite of passage for the characters and isn't there just for fan-servicing purposes.

This anime is so much more than it lets on at first glance. It takes real-life qualities of people and applies them in inverted-power-dynamic circumstances. It has been a while since I came across something so mind-bendinglly captivating on Netflix. I literally could not peel myself away. The story doesn't impart any superpowers to anyone, it doesn't create unrealistic relationships, or unrealistic characters. It does however show how people deal with extraordinary circumstances in a believable way. I can see myself in the characters' decisions. This could have very well been the top secret, completely justified reason for Japan's utter isolation policy back in the Edo period.

I'm uncertain about how the first character we encounter in the introduction contributes to the overall story, as we never see him again after the first episode. Initially, it seems like we're following him, but then that changes. Next, we think we're focusing on another character, only to find out that's not the case either. We start to follow the current shogun, but once again, that direction shifts, leading us back to the previous shogun. It feels like a series of character setups that only leave you dizzy. I paid close attention, yet I found it challenging to keep up due to the introduction of what appears to be a main character who ultimately isn't. Ooku: The Inner Palace is convoluted and difficult to follow.

I like the reverse gender control. It was a very interesting take on the idea and executed very well. The visuals were great! The plot was a bit boring and sporadic at times which made it hard to watch.

The idea of gender reversal, at this time (present history) was definitely a risky time to do this but they carried the idea well enough. It really did make men seem useless and women more naively arrogant. The flow of the story helped to lessen these things but they were still glaringly obvious. Which lowered the value in my opinion.

The visuals were beautiful! Everything looked so crisp and clean yet the colors were so vibrant it made it inviting. That was something I haven't seen in anything entertainment wise in a long time! It reminded me how it you can make the surroundings (background) more inviting not just appealing, it can really grab your audience's attention.

The plot was boring and didn't really go anywhere so it was a boring watch and a very uneventful ending.

Ooku: The Inner Chambers has a very interesting premise: Edo devastated by a plague targeting only men, that inevitably brings about a reversal of roles for men and women. So the shogun is now a woman, and she is served by a 3000 men strong harem (Ooku being the name of the building where the male concubines live).

I thought that it was pretty interesting for those who are familiar with the history of Japan (Edo era), but one never really relates to the characters, so... However, just to put things right regarding a 1 star review posted some days ago, implying that having 800 concubines were never the case in East Asia: the real Ooku was home to 3000 concubines at its peak,and don't even get me started with China. The Ming Emperor, for instance, had at some point 9000 concubines (many of whom he never, ever saw).

I really wanted to like this Japanese anime is a lot more. I really did. While the premise of "Ooku" is very interesting - though not quite unique - it did not manage to turn it into a compelling story.

The Good: The animation is satisfactory. The character design is also good. Use of music is not bad. The premise, as mentioned, is the strongest element, and had a lot of promise.

The Bad: However, the plot based on that premise simply did not deliver. The "action" of the entire series is simply palace intrigues, which, ultimately was boring and made it difficult to keep watching.

Without going heavily into spoilers, all that I can say is that if you are expecting to see a "what if" kind of story that shows interesting consequences to an entire civilization, you would be disappointed.

In the end, this was a mediocre story but I gave it an extra one or two stars for the premise and only somewhat interesting, albeit limited, story line.