Fushigi Yuugi

Young Miaka Yuki is completing her third and final year of middle school, and now has plans to apply to Jonan Academy... provided, of course, that she doesn't fail by sleeping through all her classes...

While accompanying her friend, Yui Hongo, at the National Library, Miaka and Yui discover an ancient Chinese book - Shijin Ten Sho - in which is written that the book itself is a spell into a mysterious world, and whomever reads the book become characters in the story... Suddenly, Miaka and Yui find themselves drawn into the past... the past of ancient China!

This shoujo series was created by popular manga artist Yu Watase, and is distributed in North America by Pioneer. Pioneer's packaging also includes two Ani-Mayhem cards per video.

Parental Guidance Advised - The series is rated as "13 and Up" by Pioneer. This shoujo series is aimed at the young junior female crowd, but several scenes of intense nature, and some mature subject matter may not be suitable for all audiences.

Miaka Yuki is will be completing her third year of middle school this year, and plans to apply to Jonan Academy... as long as she doesn't keep daydreaming about food during classes. But Miaka wasn't expecting to be literally drawn into a story when she accompanied her friend, Yui Hongo, to the National Library. After all, Yui was only there to return a book!

But when Miaka follows the faint rustlings of a beautiful flame-red bird into the reference room, the pair discovers an ancient Chinese book -- a book whose first pages are the incantations of a spell that allows the reader to become characters in the story itself... and suddenly, Miaka and Yui find themselves within the story of Shijin Ten Sho, and into the heart of medieval China! Things get even worse when the first people they meet aren't members of the local tourist bureau, but are a pair of slave traders. But just when things look hopeless, a mysterious gentleman appears, rescuing them from their horrible fate... a man with the Chinese character for 'ogre' emblazoned on his forehead.

The first thing that came to mind when I read the back jacket of the video was that this series would be an interesting take on The Never Ending Story, only with a Japanese twist. Well, aside from the book idea, FY shares little with the wonderful 1984 movie.

There are two things that you have to keep in mind when viewing this TV series. First of all, it's based on a shoujo manga series, so a lot of this won't appeal to the attention-deficit males in the audience. Secondly, it's aimed squarely at the junior miss group, so you can expect a lot of silliness. And silliness it has in spades. Liberal use of SD characters, not to mention Miaka's re-interpretation of the Japanese pro-wrestling circuit will keep the younger one's attention squarely on the tube, and leave older folks cringing in their seats. Definitely keep tongue planted firmly in cheek. Finally, it's a good idea to remember that this is just the first episode of an involved universe; there's a lot more material to come.

Characterisations are suitably "cute", and in the case of Miaka Yuki (played by Araki Kae), it's annoyingly cute. Music is a mixed bag -- the opening theme is catchy enough, but really doesn't do anything to showcase Sato Akemi's wonderful voice. Much of the rest of this first episode is heavily synthesizer-based; this is not a big-budget TV production. Similarily, animation is very limited, even by TV standards.

What I found most interesting about this series is the main plot device itself -- the ancient Chinese novel, Shijin Ten Sho, is a great vehicle which opens up all sorts of episode possibilities. It will be interesting to see how the series unfolds...

Unaware that her friend Yui has already returned to the library, Miaka finds herself on a desparate hunt for the mysterious man who might hold the key to the whereabouts of Yui. But Konan is a large place full of people, and it seems that there are slave traders everywhere. Luckily for Miaka, the mysterious man finds her...

But Sou Kishuku (Tamahome), bearer of the oni character on his forehead, doesn't offer much consolation -- it appears that he is somewhat of a mercenary, and wants to be paid for his services... and to make matters worse, he claims to have absolutely no idea where Hongo Yui might be.

Yet as chance would have it, a royal procession carrying the Emperor of Konan passes by them, and in a fit of inspired recklessness, Miaka decides to ask the Emperor himself for one of his crown jewels, in order to pay for Tamahome's services. Not unexpectedly, her attempt fails, and Tamahome finds it necessary to try to extricate them from yet another situation. As "payment" for his services, he exacts the prices of a kiss... but when he lands a gentle kiss on Miaka's forehead, a bright red glow eminates from her, and Miaka momentarily disappears. When Miaka returns, the Emperor of Konan orders their capture, and the two find themselves in the royal dungeon.

But fate often has a strange way of righting things that are wrong... or at least making things more complicated than you'd want. And Miaka finds herself in just such a situation: on the run from the imperial guards, lost in a great courtyard deep inside the palace grounds, separated from the one person she knows in all of Konan... and being appointed the Priestess of Suzaku by the Emperor himself???

Why had I not paid attention to this series earlier? I found myself in uncontrollable fits of laughter through much of this episode, and in continual denial that I'm enjoying something so obviously targeted at a young age group.

Despite its low production values, the incredibly well-timed use of SD characterisations, slap-stick comedy and right-on-the-mark delivery made this one of the most enjoyable shows I've watched this year. I haven't had so much fun with a TV series since Slayers. And that's no mean feat. (There are some very important lessons contained in this episode: for example, two ways how not to address royalty, and an inventive use of gum that would have made even McGyver proud.)

Fushigi Yugi has one advantage over Slayers, however -- while our cute story of the cute sorceress with the not-so-cute attitude had a rudimentary story, it's very apparent that FY is going to introduce us to quite an assortment of characters, and a fairly involved universe. (For example, we get introduced to the four protectorates: Seiryu to the East, Genbu to the North, Byakko to the West, and Suzaku to the South.) That's a good thing, since story, characterisation and direction is about all that this TV series seems to have at this point. Animation is very crude, but the directors make the best of the situation by liberal use of slapstick moments during key points in the story.

This is one episode that really works best if you understand Japanese -- and if you don't understand it well, don't worry. The language level is really easy, so you should be able to follow it without much difficulty. Otherwise, reading the subtitled dialog will do nothing other than make you miss all the good lines. I still can't believe that I had ignored this series for so long!


	S.O.T.A. Revolution \| home Anime Reviews \| Ah! 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While accompanying her friend, Yui Hongo, at the National Library, Miaka and Yui discover an ancient Chinese book - Shijin Ten Sho - in which is written that the book itself is a spell into a mysterious world, and whomever reads the book become characters in the story... Suddenly, Miaka and Yui find themselves drawn into the past... the past of ancient China! This shoujo series was created by popular manga artist Yu Watase, and is distributed in North America by Pioneer. Pioneer's packaging also includes two Ani-Mayhem cards per video. Parental Guidance Advised - The series is rated as "13 and Up" by Pioneer. This shoujo series is aimed at the young junior female crowd, but several scenes of intense nature, and some mature subject matter may not be suitable for all audiences. Episode 1: Densetsu Shoujo (The Girl of Legend) Copyright: © 1995 Yu Watase / Shogakukan Shojo Comic / TV Tokyo / Studio Pierrot, © 1998 Pioneer Entertainment Length: 25 minutes Rating: PG-13, Parental Guidance Advised Format: Japanese Language/English Subtitled (VHS) Director: Kamegaki Hajime Original Story: Yu Watase Character Design: Motohashi Hideyuki Series structure: Urasawa Yoshio Miaka Yuki is will be completing her third year of middle school this year, and plans to apply to Jonan Academy... as long as she doesn't keep daydreaming about food during classes. But Miaka wasn't expecting to be literally drawn into a story when she accompanied her friend, Yui Hongo, to the National Library. After all, Yui was only there to return a book! But when Miaka follows the faint rustlings of a beautiful flame-red bird into the reference room, the pair discovers an ancient Chinese book -- a book whose first pages are the incantations of a spell that allows the reader to become characters in the story itself... and suddenly, Miaka and Yui find themselves within the story of Shijin Ten Sho, and into the heart of medieval China! Things get even worse when the first people they meet aren't members of the local tourist bureau, but are a pair of slave traders. But just when things look hopeless, a mysterious gentleman appears, rescuing them from their horrible fate... a man with the Chinese character for 'ogre' emblazoned on his forehead. The first thing that came to mind when I read the back jacket of the video was that this series would be an interesting take on The Never Ending Story, only with a Japanese twist. Well, aside from the book idea, FY shares little with the wonderful 1984 movie. There are two things that you have to keep in mind when viewing this TV series. First of all, it's based on a shoujo manga series, so a lot of this won't appeal to the attention-deficit males in the audience. Secondly, it's aimed squarely at the junior miss group, so you can expect a lot of silliness. And silliness it has in spades. Liberal use of SD characters, not to mention Miaka's re-interpretation of the Japanese pro-wrestling circuit will keep the younger one's attention squarely on the tube, and leave older folks cringing in their seats. Definitely keep tongue planted firmly in cheek. Finally, it's a good idea to remember that this is just the first episode of an involved universe; there's a lot more material to come. Characterisations are suitably "cute", and in the case of Miaka Yuki (played by Araki Kae), it's annoyingly cute. Music is a mixed bag -- the opening theme is catchy enough, but really doesn't do anything to showcase Sato Akemi's wonderful voice. Much of the rest of this first episode is heavily synthesizer-based; this is not a big-budget TV production. Similarily, animation is very limited, even by TV standards. What I found most interesting about this series is the main plot device itself -- the ancient Chinese novel, Shijin Ten Sho, is a great vehicle which opens up all sorts of episode possibilities. It will be interesting to see how the series unfolds... - AN, 1999.04.04 Episode 2: Suzaku no Miko (The Priestess of Suzaku) Copyright: © 1995 Yu Watase / Shogakukan Shojo Comic / TV Tokyo / Studio Pierrot, © 1998 Pioneer Entertainment Length: 25 minutes Rating: PG-13, Parental Guidance Advised Format: Japanese Language/English Subtitled (VHS) Director: Kamegaki Hajime Original Story: Yu Watase Character Design: Motohashi Hideyuki Series structure: Urasawa Yoshio Unaware that her friend Yui has already returned to the library, Miaka finds herself on a desparate hunt for the mysterious man who might hold the key to the whereabouts of Yui. But Konan is a large place full of people, and it seems that there are slave traders everywhere. Luckily for Miaka, the mysterious man finds her... But Sou Kishuku (Tamahome), bearer of the oni character on his forehead, doesn't offer much consolation -- it appears that he is somewhat of a mercenary, and wants to be paid for his services... and to make matters worse, he claims to have absolutely no idea where Hongo Yui might be. Yet as chance would have it, a royal procession carrying the Emperor of Konan passes by them, and in a fit of inspired recklessness, Miaka decides to ask the Emperor himself for one of his crown jewels, in order to pay for Tamahome's services. Not unexpectedly, her attempt fails, and Tamahome finds it necessary to try to extricate them from yet another situation. As "payment" for his services, he exacts the prices of a kiss... but when he lands a gentle kiss on Miaka's forehead, a bright red glow eminates from her, and Miaka momentarily disappears. When Miaka returns, the Emperor of Konan orders their capture, and the two find themselves in the royal dungeon. But fate often has a strange way of righting things that are wrong... or at least making things more complicated than you'd want. And Miaka finds herself in just such a situation: on the run from the imperial guards, lost in a great courtyard deep inside the palace grounds, separated from the one person she knows in all of Konan... and being appointed the Priestess of Suzaku by the Emperor himself??? Why had I not paid attention to this series earlier? I found myself in uncontrollable fits of laughter through much of this episode, and in continual denial that I'm enjoying something so obviously targeted at a young age group. Despite its low production values, the incredibly well-timed use of SD characterisations, slap-stick comedy and right-on-the-mark delivery made this one of the most enjoyable shows I've watched this year. I haven't had so much fun with a TV series since Slayers. And that's no mean feat. (There are some very important lessons contained in this episode: for example, two ways how not to address royalty, and an inventive use of gum that would have made even McGyver proud.) Fushigi Yugi has one advantage over Slayers, however -- while our cute story of the cute sorceress with the not-so-cute attitude had a rudimentary story, it's very apparent that FY is going to introduce us to quite an assortment of characters, and a fairly involved universe. (For example, we get introduced to the four protectorates: Seiryu to the East, Genbu to the North, Byakko to the West, and Suzaku to the South.) That's a good thing, since story, characterisation and direction is about all that this TV series seems to have at this point. Animation is very crude, but the directors make the best of the situation by liberal use of slapstick moments during key points in the story. This is one episode that really works best if you understand Japanese -- and if you don't understand it well, don't worry. The language level is really easy, so you should be able to follow it without much difficulty. Otherwise, reading the subtitled dialog will do nothing other than make you miss all the good lines. I still can't believe that I had ignored this series for so long! - AN, 1999.04.13