I love supernatural mysteries and supernatural stuff in general. I especially love the specific subcategory where people go to a shop or a hotel or something to have their problems solved. I dont care if its dark or lighthearted completely episodic or if theres an overarching plot. Raven in the Inner Palace looked like it would be my type of show especially with the gorgeous aesthetics and I am so glad I wasnt wrong. Deep within the inner palace the mysterious Raven Consort lives. She may be a consort but she doesnt serve the emperor and instead she is fabled to hold a host of supernatural powers and is the subject of many rumors. The Raven Consort can take on any request be it finding lost things or inflicting painful curses. The current emperor approaches Shouxue the current Raven Consort with a supernatural case which requires her to step outside of the inner palace. Little do the emperor and Shouxue know but this will be the beginning of a great change. Shouxue has been taught to desire nothing and remain alone as the Raven Consort but she finds herself forming bonds with others. I loved this anime. I enjoyed each and every mystery and how many of them tied to both Shouxue and the emperors pasts as well as the lore of the world. Shouxues character growth over the course of the mystery as she learns how to properly interact with others. I was expecting this to be an episodic mystery series with an emphasis on Shouxues growth as a person. In my mind it was going to be something along the lines of Natsumes Book of Friends. However there was a deeper plot involving the origins of the Raven Consort and her relationship with the emperor. Im very curious to see how this pans out in the future since this didnt adapt the whole story. Going into the series I wasnt expecting to want to keep up with the LNs but after I finished it I wanted to buy them once theyre officially released this year. Id also like to see more about the characters pasts and how they were shaped since I found the backstories shown to be very compelling. I adored Shouxue. She was very endearing to me since shes very quiet and introverted but shes also feisty and independent. She lacks the proper social skills and has a harder time understanding peoples emotions due to being isolated for almost her entire life. However she shows a lot of compassion towards others and actively tries to help people. Gaojun the emperor I didnt like as much. He was very serious likely due to his childhood trauma. I just never got a feel for who he was as a person. However for some reason it didnt bother me as much. I have a feeling that he will get explored a bit more if there is a second season. Jiujiu Shouxues lady in waiting was also a fun character to watch. I found her cheerful and stubborn personality to be compelling. As for the eunuchs Onkei Eisei and Tankai they didnt stand apart from each other very much. Tankai was more of a background character but he seemed to have potential to be a charismatic character if given more screentime. Onkei and Eisei I got mixed up and I only can tell them apart because Onkei has a scar and wears green while Eisei wears black. I found Eiseis backstory to be interesting but I wish the two characters had more personality to set them apart. There wasnt much romance which made me relieved since the emperor didnt have enough personality to stand on his own and instead it built more on a platonic relationship. I genuinely think having them develop character chemistry as friends was the right step. It allows them to learn to rely on each other and figure out what they like about each other. I think this might just be me liking natural slow burns though. The aesthetics were beautiful and impeccable. The color palettes and outfits were beautiful and the atmosphere really captured Chinese court life. It reminded me a bit of The Apothecary Diaries. The women in the series have such beautiful and distinct character designs. Shouxue and Jiujiu have such lovely recognizable designs. However the male characters suffer from same face syndrome. I had a hard time telling the eunuchs apart and Gaojun had the same face as most of them. It could get confusing but at least I always knew which one was Gaojun. I had a great time with this series and I feel like it was one of the strongest shoujo anime of 2022. If you like supernatural mysteries historical dramas or even just pretty art I strongly recommend this series. I was expecting to enjoy it but I was surprised by just how much. I actually didnt know much about LNs for women until these recent adaptations and series like Raven of the Inner Palace are compelling me to check them out.