Some of you may find my line of thinking about the Karasu wa Aruji wo Erabanai anime rather bizarre.

Wasn’t Karasu wa Aruji wo Erabanai one of the spring 2024 anime I recommended in this post?

What’s the point of recommending the anime if I didn’t enjoy the anime at all, right?

Just to let you know I do enjoy watching the anime.

But I certainly wouldn’t expect I would enjoy watching a fantasy historical this much.

And it’s even more so when the premise isn’t anything different from the Chinese period drama.

Despite all that, it’s another anime that I’ve been looking forward to watching apart from the Jiisan Baasan Wakagaeru anime.

That is saying something about this Karasu wa Aruji wo Erabanai anime.

The Karasu wa Aruji wo Erabanai anime story in a nutshell

If you’re familiar with the Chinese period drama, then you already know the drill.

The power struggle between the two brothers on who should be the rightful heir to the throne.

It will then lead to the split into two different factions – the elder brother and the little brother factions.

But that doesn’t seem to be the case in Karasu wa Aruji wo Erabanai, though.

Everyone seems to rally behind the elder brother, Natsuka, to inherit the throne.

But it was his little brother, Wakamiya, who got picked by the royal priest to become the Kinu instead.

Think of Kinu as a servant to the Mountain God.

After all, these people can transform into three-legged crows known as yatagarasu.

What’s saddening about this situation is that not even one person in the imperial court is on Wakamiya’s side, save for his friend, Sumio.

And then we have the fierce rivalry between the consort candidates chosen from the four main houses.

The house that these ladies represent will stand to reap the benefit if one of them becomes Wakamiya’s wife.

Rather than seeing everything unfold from Wakamiya’s standpoint, you’ll see things from his new teenage boy attendant, Yukiya’s standpoint, instead.

The character we all love to hate

There’s no denying a story like this will cause us to hate one character or two.

It can be the character who bites the very people who feed him or her.

This kind of character tends to be common in historical fiction with politics taking center stage in the story.

Or it can also be the character that is plain annoying and painful to watch.

One such character is Lady Asebi, the consort candidate from the Eastern house.

Unlike the other candidates who are only there for political gain, Lady Asebi purely loves Wakamiya for who he is.

It’s because of this reason she agreed to take her sister’s place to take part in the rite.

She was hoping she would reunite with him once again since she already met him when they were young.

So, what is it that causes her to be hated this much? Is it something to do with her wanting to be with Wakamiya out of love?

If there’s one thing that rubs me the wrong way about Lady Asebi, it will be her naivety about the palace rules and etiquette.

It’s a different story if she got picked from the street and thrown into the rite by force.

But as someone who comes from a noble family, she should be aware of the rules even if she isn’t trained to become a consort.

Sure, you can argue that she leads a sheltered and carefree life all this time. Thus, her naivety about the palace rules and etiquette.

But it’s still painful to watch her being goody two shoes and naïve about the real world.

It makes the other candidate, Masuho no Susuki, more bearable to watch.

At least she admits she wants to marry him to increase the Western house’s influence in the government.

What makes the Karasu wa Aruji wo Erabanai anime worth watching

The power struggle between Natsuka and Wakamiya on who has the right to inherit the throne and the rivalry among the consort candidates.

It doesn’t seem that much different from your typical Chinese period drama no matter how you slice it.

So, what is it that makes this anime worth watching, you ask?

Well, I will say it’s the plot twist, of course.

For one, the part where Wakamiya told Yukiya about this one person he can always count on in any situation.

Who is this person when no one, not even the ruler of the four houses, is on his side?

They want him dead just as much as the Empress, who is Natsuka’s mother and Wakamiya’s stepmother.

Should anything happen to him, then Yukiya should ask him for help.

Knowing Yukiya’s personality, he wants no part of it considering that he will only remain as Wakamiya’s attendant until spring.

Lo and behold, Wakamiya was in danger, forcing Yukiya to run for his life while seeking help to save Wakamiya.

Thanks to his quick thinking, he was able to figure out who that person was and save Wakamiya in the nick of time.

Who that person is? All I can say is it’s not someone you would expect.

And then here’s the part where Wakamiya finally comes to the Cherry Blossom Palace to pick one of them as his wife.

Out of many scenes, I will say this one is the most intriguing since it provides answers to all the things that happen in the Cherry Blossom Palace.

Just like the mystery person that Wakamiya trusts with his life, his pick on who gets to be his wife is rather interesting.

Will I consider giving the manga a try?

Well, you can bet I will if the manga gets licensed in English.

As much as I enjoy watching the anime, I realize some parts of the story in the anime don’t give much explanation.

One of them is why Lady Asebi was the one who went for the selection instead of her elder sister.

Does it mean the anime leaves out other crucial details in the story?

I can’t say for sure about that, of course.

But all I can say is I’m interested in giving the manga or perhaps the novel a try if it gets licensed in English.

It’s worth watching

Should you give this anime a try if you’re on the fence about it?

Of course, you should.

The unexpected outcome of the power struggle and the person Wakamiya picks to be his wife.

You can’t help but wonder what the anime has in store for you in each episode.

If you’re looking for an anime that has a deep story, this anime is for you.

P.S. Okay, I admit I don’t write a story that revolves around the power struggle on who is the rightful heir to the throne.

But I do write a story where the two characters do end up together after all the hardships they’ve been through.

If you dig that kind of story, then have a look at my psychological suspense novel, The Diary of Modern Cinderella.

Does the book catch your interest?

You can learn more about the book on my Payhip store. Use the coupon code SEKINAMAYUBLOG during checkout to receive 25% off if you decide to buy the book:

The Diary of Modern Cinderella by Sekina Mayu