The Twelve Kingdoms

15 eps

Hampered by static animation, esp considering when it was made, & the author abandoning it before the end. Also a principal character's very unsympathetic initially. Having said that it's a premium world creation anime IMHO beaten only by that of Legend of the Galactic Heroes which IMHO isn't as entertaining. Apparently drawn from Chinese mythology so not original but still superbly realised. There is a reason that this is regarded as a classic even though you'd really wonder for the first eps.

Maybe it gets better later on, I couldn't put up with these characters long enough to find out.

The show is notorious for its awful and cliched first 10 or so episodes, but eventually, that makes way for a much more complex story with developed characters. The main issue I have with it aside from the first 10 episodes is that often times the narrative feels incomplete and that's made even worse by the fact that the final episode is a summary episode. Sometimes it can be unfocused as well. However, despite all of that I felt the show was worth watching.