Oooku

Edo-period Japan stands strong and proud, decades after its imminent doom was prophesied. The new shogun, Yoshimune "Nobu" Tokugawa, encounters an array of traditions that, to her modern judgment, make little sense. An epidemic exclusively rages among men, resulting in men making up only one-fifth of the population. Still, three thousand young, agile, and beautiful men serve in the Oooku—the shogun's Inner Chambers.

To unearth the origins of the existing hierarchy where women head their families and govern the nation, Nobu reviews the chronicles of the odd disease. Customs and traditions have changed to accommodate for the plague; these new laws dictate the current culture and reflect the cruel story of the first female shogun, Iemitsu Tokugawa. Most notably, these customs seem to lead back to the moment a young monk, Arikoto Madenokoji, must abandon his way of life and devote his remaining days to the shogun and her Oooku.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Madenokoji, Arikoto Main

Miyano, Mamoru Japanese

Tokugawa, Iemitsu Main

Matsui, Eriko Japanese

Tokugawa, Yoshimune Supporting

Kobayashi, Sanae Japanese

Mizuno, Yunoshin Supporting

Seki, Tomokazu Japanese

no Tsubone, Kasuga Supporting

Inoue, Kikuko Japanese

Onobu Supporting

Satou, Miyuki Japanese

Abe, Tadaaki Supporting

Takahashi, Shinya Japanese

Hotta, Masamori Supporting

Matsukawa, Hiroki Japanese

Sutezou's Father Supporting

Matsukawa, Hiroki Japanese

Sutezou Supporting

Fukuyama, Jun Japanese

Saitou, Takayuki Producer

Abe, Noriyuki Director, Sound Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Ooba, Hideaki Episode Director, Storyboard

Ezoe, Hitomi Episode Director

Reviews

Feb 6, 2025

Plozinho

Recommended

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.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Nov 28, 2024

Truck-kunArrives

Mixed Feelings

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 feeling empty. I wasn’t expecting a sugary show, but definitely not this either. Immediately after I had to watch a cute romance with a happy ending to cleanse my palate (Tonikawa).

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Jul 24, 2023

kchakrak

Not Recommended

Funny

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 confused mess.

Another key problem is the characterisation. Outside of a couple of characters most are one-dimensional. Kasuga is a complex, well written highlight but honestly most others feel incredibly basic, with no real personality that extends beyond a D&D alignment chart.

I get that GoT was popular, and people like period dramas in general, but this feels like a confused mess. A really depressing mess too. If you want the complex character sadness thing watch Scum's Wish, it's miles better. If you want the complex political/period drama thing I'm sure there are many that do that job better.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Manga 'Oooku' Gets Anime Series in Summer 2023

The Netflix Anime Special Stage at AnimeJapan 2023 announced an anime adaptation of Fumi Yoshinaga's Oooku (Ōoku: The Inner Chambers) manga on Saturday. The ani...read more

Mar 24, 2023 9:01 PM by Vindstot | Discuss (20 comments)

	Poll: Oooku Episode 10 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Mirorin - Jun 29, 2023	52 replies	by Sun_Chan »» Aug 30, 2024 2:25 AM
	Poll: Oooku Episode 9 Discussion SabreDrago - Jun 30, 2023	10 replies	by Sun_Chan »» Aug 30, 2024 2:02 AM
	Poll: Oooku Episode 8 Discussion SabreDrago - Jun 30, 2023	7 replies	by Sun_Chan »» Aug 30, 2024 1:45 AM
	Poll: Oooku Episode 7 Discussion SabreDrago - Jun 30, 2023	9 replies	by Sun_Chan »» Aug 30, 2024 1:38 AM
	Poll: Oooku Episode 6 Discussion SabreDrago - Jun 30, 2023	9 replies	by Sun_Chan »» Aug 30, 2024 1:23 AM