âSix Crimson Cranesâ begins on the day Shiori falls into a Lake after she chases after her enchanted bird Kiki. Shiori brought Kiki through her thoughts to live. But she must be held a secret because her father, the Emperor, despises Magic and it is even forbidden in Kiata. Not surprisingly, nobody believes Shiori when she says that she saw a dragon at the bottom of the lake. The princess wouldâve forgotten about the incident if she wouldnât have met a boy at the Summer Festival some days later. His name is Seryu, Prince of the Easterly Seas and he is the dragon she saw in the lake, appearing in human form. Seryu tells Shiori that while magic might be rare, there are still humans who can practice it, under which Shiori. Even though Shiori was told all her life that magic is dangerous, she lets Seryu teach her how to use her power.
Shioris mother died when she was a baby and her father married the astonishing, but mysterious Raikama who becomes Shioris stepmother. Having once adored her when she came newly to the palace, Shiori doesnât know what happened that the two of them donât get along anymore. Out of curiosity, Shiori follows her stepmother one day into the forest. But what begins as innocently spying on her stepmother, has terrible consequences. Discovering Raikamas secret, her stepmother turns her brothers as punishment into six cranes with crimson crowns. Furthermore Raikama sets a walnut bowl on Shioris head, covering half her face and making her unrecognizable. As long as the bowl rests on her head, Shiori isnât allowed to make a sound, otherwise one of her brothers will die.
Being stranded in the Far North, far away from home, only the will to save her brothers keeps Shiori alive. Nameless, voiceless and penniless, Shiori learns that nothing â not even her curse â is as it seems in Lorâyan.
I loved the mixture of magical fairy tale and Chinese and Japanese folklore and myths in âSix Crimson Cranesâ. When I first began reading it, I kind of thought about the story âThe Wild Swansâ by Hans Christian Andersen. I found out later that it actually is based on that tale. The book is foremost a story about family bonds and forgiveness.
I was in awe of Shioris character development. Although she is a beautiful girl she doesnât have the manners of a well-behaved princess. A bit of a troublemaker, people also call her âthe liar princessâ. Dreading her betrothal with Lord Bushianâs son and her move to a Castle far from home, the princess misses her brothers, of which she has six. They are busy all the time with meetings and âother adult stuffâ while Shiori doesnât wish for them all to marry, grow up and grow apart. From this young, childish and stubborn girl she turns into a very mature, determined woman who goes above and beyond and endures silently all her pain to save her family and her kingdom.