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| Fushigi Yūgi | |||
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| ふしぎ遊戯 (Fushigi Yūgi) |
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| Demographic | Shōjo | ||
| Genre | Fantasy, Romance, Bishonen | ||
| Manga | |||
| Author | Yuu Watase | ||
| Publisher |  Shogakukan |
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| Serialized in | Shōjo Comic Animerica Extra |
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| Original run | May 1992 – July 1996 | ||
| Volumes | 18 | ||
| TV anime | |||
| Director | Hajime Kamegaki | ||
| Studio | Studio Pierrot | ||
| Licensor |  Odex Geneon |
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| Network | Animax, TV Tokyo |
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| Original run | 6 April 1995 – 28 March 1996 | ||
| Episodes | 52 | ||
| OVA: 1 | |||
| Director | Hajime Kamegaki | ||
| Studio | Studio Pierrot | ||
| Episodes | 3 | ||
| Released | 25 October 1996 | ||
| OVA: 2 | |||
| Studio | Studio Pierrot | ||
| Episodes | 6 | ||
| Released | 25 May 1997 | ||
| OVA: Fushigi Yūgi Eikoden | |||
| Director | Nanako Shimazaki | ||
| Studio | Studio Pierrot | ||
| Episodes | 4 | ||
| Released | 21 December 2001 | ||
Egmont Kustannus
Seoul Publish
Fushigi Yūgi (ふしぎ 遊戯? , literally Mystery Game but usually rendered as Curious Play) is a Japanese manga series created by Yuu Watase and serialized in the manga magazine Shōjo Comic. The name is rendered as Fushigi Yūgi in the Viz versions and as Fushigi Yugi in the Chuang Yi version. Many fans use either the latter or Fushigi Yuugi. The Fushigi Yūgi manga was adapted into an anime series which spans a total of 52 TV episodes, divided into two seasons. Additionally, there are 2 TV "specials", and a total of 13 OVAs. The first OVA has 3 episodes, the second OVA has 6 episodes and the sequel OVA Fushigi Yūgi Eikoden has 4 episodes. There is also a prequel currently being published under the name Fushigi Yūgi Genbu Kaiden.
Contents |
Plot summary
Miaka Yūki is a junior-high student desperate to pass the entrance exam for the illustrious Jonan High School. Her best friend, Yui Hongo is a straight 'A' genius applying for the same school, and her mother is pushing her also in an attempt to see Miaka gets the best education available, although Miaka would rather attend Yotsubadai High School and not go through all of the stress. The result is Miaka is constantly under pressure to study and attends juku (cram school) every day, when she’d rather be with her friends and eating. While Yui is returning a book in the library, Miaka drops a coin by the food machine (in the anime). When she reaches down for it, Suzaku appears before her and leads her into the Restricted Section. As the girls go through the books, Miaka stumbles across The Universe of the Four Gods and both girls start to read. In a flash of bright red light, the two girls are then sucked into the book-world, and are saved from assault by a man with (鬼 Oni?) written on his forehead, who is later revealed to be Tamahome. Just then, Yui is sucked back into the real world and she continues reading the book to help progress the story. Miaka, now stuck in the book, runs into a gang looking to sell her to a brothel. Tamahome steps in and helps her again, and in trying to repay him, gets them into a sticky situation with the Emperor’s men. They tried to escape the dungeon, only to come across the Emperor, Hotohori himself, who explains that they believe Miaka is the legendary Priestess of Suzaku (Suzaku no Miko), a girl from another world who will gather Konan’s Celestial Warriors and summon the phoenix god, Suzaku. Doing so will grant her the power to grant any three wishes. Miaka decides to accept the responsibility, and already has a head-start, as Tamahome and Hotohori are two of the seven Celestial Warriors, distinguishable by characters for their respective constellations on their bodies. The third, Nuriko, is found quickly afterwards in a somewhat unconventional way. Soon Miaka and company are setting out across Konan in search of the other four warriors. The series describes their travels and their adventures along the way to summoning Suzaku, enduring various trials along the way, both quest-driven and personal. Miaka, however, would soon discover that her greatest enemy would lie in her own best friend. Yui, who was sucked into the book after helping Miaka escape it briefly, has assumed the mantle of Kutō (or "Qu Dong" in the manga)'s priestess of Seiryū, Suzaku no Miko's deadly enemy.
Characters
Main characters
The main characters are Miaka Yūki, who is brought into the other world and declared to be the "Suzaku no Miko" or shrine maiden of Suzaku by emperor Hotohori and the seven Suzaku-seishi or celestial warriors of Suzaku. Suzaku is a red phoenix, the Guardian of the South in Chinese astrology, and the Suzaku-seishi corresponds to the Chinese constellations.
Suzaku
Suzaku is a Vermilion Bird god and also the protector of the country of Konan (Hong Nan). He appears to Miaka later when she has returned to her world and asks for his help. His element is fire, and his priestess is Miaka Yūki.
Celestial warriors of Suzaku
Seiryū
Seiryū is the Azure Dragon, protector of the country of Kutō (Qu Dong). Its element is water, and its priestess is Yui Hongo .
Celestial warriors of Seiryū
Genbu
Genbu is the Black Tortoise, the guardian of the country of Hokkan (Bei-Jia). Its element is earth, and Takiko Okuda is the priestess.
Celestial warriors of Genbu
Byakko
Byakko is the White Tiger, the guardian of the country of Sairou (Xi-Lang). Its element is metal, and Suzuno Ōsugi is the priestess.
Celestial warriors of Byakko
Other characters
- Keisuke Yūki
- Miaka's older brother.
- Tetsuya Kajiwara
- Tetsuya is Keisuke's best friend.
- Miaka's Mom
- Miaka's mother is a single mother, who divorced her husband when Miaka was a little girl. Miaka clearly remembers how hard it was for Mrs. Yūki to get over her divorce and vows to make her proud at any cost. Extremely hardworking, she only wants what is best for her children, and pushes them to do their best.
In the case of Miaka, she pushes her to apply for the prestigious Jonan high school even though Miaka really wants to go to Yotsubadai High School. This leads to tension, and causes Miaka to run away from home at one point in the manga. In the anime, she criticizes Miaka for being happy that Yui decides to apply for Jonan as well, saying that if Yui makes it, the chances of Miaka getting in are unlikely. Despite sounding cold, Mrs. Yuki really believes that she is doing her daughter a favor by telling her such harsh truths, wanting to make her work her hardest so she can be the best.
- Tai Yi-Jun (a.k.a. Tai Itsukun)
- Voiced by: Hisako Kyouda (Japanese), Catherine Luciani (English)
- As the creator of "The Universe of the Four Gods", Taiitsukun watches over all. In the manga, she is known as Tai Yi-Jun. Usually appearing as a wrinkled old woman (giving rise to the Sunukake-baba (Sand Witch) nickname), she frightens all of the Suzaku Warriors (usually it would be Tasuki) except Chichiri who claims he is gotten used to her face in the three years he had studied under her.
She resides at Mount Taikyoku, which is very beautiful, but to those with evil in their hearts will see nothing but rocky cliffs. She is aided by the Nyan-Nyans. Her true identity is eventually revealed to be the Jade Emperor.
- Nyan-Nyan
- Voiced by: Tomoko Kawakami (Japanese), Melissa Charles (English)
- The childlike goddesses serve Taiitsukun and reside at Mount Taikyoku with her. They are also known as Lai Lai. They can take the appearance of floating orbs and can appear when commanded.
They have healed Miaka and her warriors when it was necessary, also offering to fix Nuriko's perversion (much to his dismay) and Taiitsukun's face (much to her annoyance). Their other function is to serve as vessels for the spirits of the dead Celestial Warriors, so that they can fight along side their priestess, in which case they take on the appearance of whomever they are inhabited by, and have all of their powers.
- Toki
- Voiced by: Katsuya Shiga (Japanese), Jeff Nimoy (English)
- The adopted grandson of Suzuno Ōsugi, priestess of Byakko, he always thought the tales of her being a priestess in the Universe of the Four Gods were ludicrous. When Toki finds out that Keisuke and Tetsuya know about the Universe of the Four Gods, he takes them to Suzuno and tells them that she claimed to have been a priestess of the book.
Until Suzuno died, he had always been skeptical of the story but realized its truth when he sees Tatara's and Suzuno's spirits (shown as how they looked like when she was the young priestess) rejoin again in their love. Toki is not actually related to Suzuno, as she never married once she returned to life in the real world. Toki's grandfather was in love with Suzuno, but as her heart belonged to Tatara only, he married someone else. He and his wife had children, one of whom is Toki's father. Toki's grandfather remained close to Suzuno, and as she grew older Toki took on the responsibilities of caring for her. Toki described his relationship to Suzuno as a "ridiculous real-life love story."
- Hahm Xi-Fang
- The adopted daughter of Tokaki and Subaru. About the same age as Tamahome, she is told by Tokaki to make Tamahome forget about Miaka. While she and Miaka are talking, she tells Miaka that she thinks that Tamahome treats Miaka like a little sister.
While their relationship did start this way, at this point it was clear that they couple had a strong love. However, deep down she knows that she cannot compete with the love that Miaka and Tamahome have.
Differences between the anime and manga
Like most manga that are turned into anime, certain elements are removed from the story. The anime adaption of Fushigi Yūgi remains mostly faithful to the manga in the first story arc.
There are few major changes to the story, and of these the most significant is the omission of the Nyosei Island sub arc. Deemed too risqué for television, the arc contained in chapters forty-three, forty-four and the very beginning of forty-five of volume eight, the plot was rewritten so the encounter with Soi takes place on the ship and not on Nyosei Island. To make up for the omission, a reworked version of the Nyosei Island arc was created as omake, or comedic extras, for the 1st OVA. It was renamed "The Tale of the Forbidden Women's Hot Spring" It touches on the basic plot element from the manga: all of the men must dress up as women so they will not be captured and tortured. While the omake includes the Seiryu warriors, the manga only included the Suzaku warriors, and Hotohori did not participate. Another change that manga fans noticed was the inclusion of Keisuke and Tetsuya's quest to find out as much about "The Universe of the Four Gods" as possible. Though the author had wanted to include Keisuke and Tetsuya's side quest, page limitations did not allow her to follow through. She expressed pleasure at seeing more of Keisuke and Tetsuya, as well as all of the information regarding the book they were able to gather. During the second story arc the differences between the anime and the manga become more pronounced. The series one OVA covers completely new story material and does not have a manga relation. The series two OVA contains the basic plot elements from the second story arc; however, the presentation of the information is changed drastically. Unlike the series, there were very few panels to screen. Many of the sub arcs are more detailed and lengthier, meaning some of the character driven subplots are lost in order to make time for the central plot points.
Media
Tankōbon
The manga is broken into two story arcs. The first story arc deals with Miaka and Yui's quest to summon their respective beast gods and their rivalry within the book. The arc is covered from volumes one through thirteen. Then, the second story arc deals with Taka Sukunami, Tamahome's reincarnation, and the Demon God Tenkō, who is very briefly shown in volume seven as a pair of glowing eyes in a fire. It is covered from volumes fourteen through eighteen.
- Priestess
- Oracle
- Disciple
- Bandit
- Rival
- Summoner
- Castaway
- Friend
- Lover
- Enemy
- Veteran
- Girlfriend
- Goddess
- Prophet
- Guardian
- Assassin
- Demon
- Bride
Gaiden novels
Following Fushgi Yūgi's manga and anime success, Megumi Nishizaki was permitted to write a series novels that focused on the Celestial Warriors. While the manga and anime revolved around Miaka and Yui, the novels told the previously unknown backstories of the Celestial Warriors. There were originally eight novels, which was later expanded into thirteen with the addition of novels for Tamahome, Mitsukake, and Chiriko. The last two novels explain Tenko's activity within the book to gather the Shinzaho so he could break free from the book. Each novel was written solely by Megumi Nishizaki, but Yuu Watase gave her story elements to work with as well as original illustrations that were included in each chapter of the novel. Of the thirteen novels, the most recognized is Eikoden, which in 2002, nearly five years after the 2nd OVA was finished, became known as the 3rd OVA. 1. Genrō Den (The Legend of Genrō) (ISBN 4094207732)
- Release date: January 30, 1998
- Genrō Den tells of Tasuki's life between joining the Mt. Reikaku Bandits and the appearance of the Priestess of Suzaku.
2. Shouryū Den (The Legend of the Rising Dragon) (ISBN 4094207740)
- Release date: July 23, 1998
- Shouryū Den tells the story of Chichiri's life shortly after the accident when he loses his eye to when he first meets Miaka.
3. Yukiyasha Den (The Legend of the Snow Demon) (ISBN 4094207759)
- Release date: February 2, 1999
- Yukiyasha Den tells the story of Nuriko and his route to becoming a true cross-dresser as well as entering the royal harem.
4. Ryūsei Den (The Legend of the Meteor) (ISBN 4094207767)
- Release date: April 23, 1999
- Ryuusei Den tells the story of Amiboshi and Suboshi's tragic past.
5. Suzaku Hi Den (The Legend of Suzaku's Sorrow)
- Suzaku Hi Den tells the story of Hotohori, his brother Tendō and their relationship with Houki. It should be noted that this novel is summarized by Hōki in the Eikoden OVA when she explains her relationship with Hotohori to Mayo.
6. Seiran Den (Indigo Legend) (ISBN 4094207783)
- Release date: December 1, 1999
- Seiran Den tells of Nakago's past and his rise to power within the Kutō army.
7 and 8. Eiko Den (The Legend of Eternal Light) (ISBN 4094207791) and (ISBN 4094207805)
- Release date for Eiko Den Part 1: February 1, 2000
- Release date for Eiko Den Part 2: March 1, 2000
- Eiko Den tells the story of Mayo Sakaki, a girl who likes Taka, and is taken into "The Universe of the Four Gods." The two novels include many familiar characters from the manga - Tokaki and Subaru, Kaika, and Kōji.
Ten years have passed in the book from the end of the second part of the manga and the OVA of four episodes. 9. Shugyoku Den (The Legend of the Red Jewel) (ISBN 4094207899)
- Release date: December 21, 2001
- Shugyoku Den tells the story of Tamahome's life from his training under Tokaki to when he first meets Miaka and Yui.
10. Oumei Den (The Legend of Fated Encounter) (ISBN 4094207902)
- Release date: March 1, 2002
- Oumei Den tells the story of Mitsukake's romance with Shōka.
11. Yūai Den (The Legend of Gentle Love) (ISBN 4094208216)
- Release date: April 26, 2002
- Yuuai Den tells of Chiriko's whereabouts before he joined up with the rest of the Suzaku Warriors.
12 and 13. Sanbō Den (The Legend of the Three Talismans) (ISBN 4094208216) and (ISBN 4094208232)
- Release date for Sanbō Den Part 1: July 1, 2003
- Release date for Sanbō Den Part 2: September 26, 2003)
- Sanbou Den explains how Tenkō used his powers to influence people to do his bidding to break the seal the four beast gods placed on him, as well as to gather the Shinzaho of Genbu, Byakko, Seiryuu and Suzaku. The two main characters are Chichiri and Tasuki.
Opening themes
- (いとおしい人のために Itōshī Hito no Tame ni?) by Akemi Satō
- Note: This is the anime's opening theme.
- (夜が明ける前に?) by Akemi Satō
- Note: This is the first OVA's opening theme.
- Star by Akemi Satō
- Note: This is the second OVA's opening theme.
- (地上の星座 Chijō no Seiza?) by Yoko Ueno
- Note: This is the third OVA, Fushigi Yūgi Eikoden's opening theme.
Ending themes
- (ときめきの導火線?) by Yukari Konno (Episodes 1~32/34~51)
- Note: It is said that Hikaru Midorikawa, had some participation in forming this song by saying "Wo Ai Ni" near the beginning of the song.
- (風の旋律 Kaze no Uta?) by Chika Sakamoto (Episode 33)
- (for Epilogue...(ときめきの導火線＋いとおしい人のために) for Epilogue... (Tokimeki no Dōkasen + Itōshī Hito no Tame ni)?) by Yukari Konno and Akemi Satō (Episode 52話)
- Note: This is the anime's ending themes.
- (明日の私を信じたい Ashita no Watashi wo Shinjitai?) by Saori Ishizuka
- Note: This is the first OVA's ending theme.
- (夢かもしれない Yume Kamo Shirenai?) by S.H.E
- Note: This is the second OVA's ending theme.
- (YES-ここに永遠がある- Yes-Koko ni Eian ga Aru?) by Takehito Koyasu (Episode 1-3)
- (地上の星座 Chijō no Seiza?) by Yoko Ueno (Episode 4)
- Note: This is the third OVA, Fushigi Yūgi Eikoden's ending themes.
Episodes list
- Girl Of Legend
- Priestess Of Suzaku
- The Seven Stars Of Suzaku
- Missing Love
- Bewildered Heartbeat
- Even If I Die...
- Going Home
- Brief Parting
- Enemies Unseen
- Looking For Yui
- Priestess Of Seiryu
- Only You
- For The Sake Of Love
- Wolf In The Fortress
- The City Of Resurrection
- Battle Of Sorrow
- Magic Flute
- Love Trap
- Shattered Love
- Unreachable Hope
- To Protect You
- I'll Never Leave You
- Shadow Of Intrigue
- Resolution
- Love And Sorrow
- Star Festival
- Tombstone Oath
- Recap Episode
- Mysteries Afoot
- The Flash Of Battle
- Whirlpool Of Doubt
- To Die For The Star Of Suzaku
- Nuriko, Eternal Farewell
- Guardians Of Ice
- Hell's Mirage
- Trampled Love
- Bewitched Warmth
- Dawn Of The Heart
- Bewitched Illusions
- Deceptive Love
- Sunlight Of Rebirth
- Unbreachable Wall
- Farewell Reunion
- Moment Of Battle
- Divergent Light
- Boy Of Fact And Fiction
- Repose Of Soul's Light
- Even Wagering On This Life
- Wedding Celebration
- Atonement
- Entrusted Hope
- For My Loved One
See also
References
External links
- Studio Pierrot's official site
- Tokyo MX's Official site for Fushigi Yūgi
- Fushigi Yūgi (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
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Fushigi Yūgi (Yuu Watase)
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