⚡ CLASSIC SPECIFICATION • ERA: 2001

Fushigi Yuugi

Name: Fushigi Yuugi Anime Review
Item: Fushigi Yuugi
Rating: 80
Author: calf

80%

ARCHIVIST: calf

LOGGED: 2001-02-19

📊 Production Parameter Matrix Scale 1.0 – 10.0

A [STR] Story & Narrative Direction 8 / 10

B [AGI] Animation & Cel Craftsmanship 7 / 10

S [INT] Character Dynamics & Cast 9 / 10

B [SYN] Voice Acting & Soundtrack 7 / 10

Consensus: Consensus Aligned ⚖️

CLASSIFICATION A-TIER

[+] Strengths & Highlights

I love the idea of living out a story in a book, and Chichiri's character (can't you tell?) since this series has 52 episodes the story can really progress into something fantastic. I also love how this anime has a lot of strong male characters which isn't something you find very often in a commical anime about a young girl.

[-] Vulnerabilities & Flaws

Well, nothing really bad stood out to me as i watched this. none of the characters were annoying, the only thing that was odd is that Miaka (a japanese girl) falls into a world like ancient China and there are no language barriers, but i suppose that would have been pretty hard to explain. Miaka does have problems with her clothing, money, and gum (very funny scene) seeming odd to the people in that world so that was done well.

⤢ Fullscreen • Hover 2001

Consensus Aligned ⚖️

Modern Consensus: Modern fandom regards Fushigi Yuugi with steady respect, in close harmony with the 2001 verdict.

📖 Overview

This anime is basically about a young girl (14 I believe) who opens a magical book that sends her back to ancient China and she must accomplish certain tasks to save the land she fell into, Konan. This series is more geared towards females.
Oh and on a side note, if you prefer dubs, i believe they released this with the title "Mysterious Play" but I'm not sure.

🎬 Storyline & Narrative

It's really hard to write about this story without spoilers because there are so many different parts, but i suppose i can reveal stuff that happens in the first 4 episodes.
The main character, Miaka, is told that she is the Suzaku no Miko, which means that she can call on the guardian of Konan, Suzaku, and get three wishes granted; however, she must first gather the 7 Suzaku seishi to enable her to get her wishes granted by Suzaku. Konan, needs a wish for proection from it's neighbor, and miaka needs a wish to get back home.
More complications come along as Miaka's best friend Yui is in the real world reading the book and can experience things that Miaka does.
The land that is fighting with Konan, named Kutou, also has a guardian which is Seiryuu, but they do not yet have a Seiryuu no Miko, so they send out some of their collected seishi to try and stop Miaka from calling on Suzaku to grant her 3 wishes.
The story is quite moving and the villians are charming yet evil. There is also humor thrown in which makes it a really good series.

👥 Characters & Dynamics

Miaka is your typical young anime japanese girl. She is constantly thinking about food and eats a ton and slacks off in school and also falls in love. She's pretty amusing, in one part she tries to fend off a gang of street smart men and actually does a pretty good job. She's feisty and the real "good guy" of the story, most of the emotion of the storyline is based around her.
Then there is her best friend since they were 5, Yui, who is kind of the opposite of miaka, she's really smart and works hard in school and is usually quite serious.
And you can't forget the seven Suzaku seishi, Tamahome, Hotohori, Nuriko, Chichiri, Tasuki, Mitsukake, and Chiriko, all sworn to defend the Suzaku no Miko.
There there's the seven Seiryuu seishi Nakago, Suboshi, Amiboshi, Soi, Ashitare, Tomo, and Miboshi who are out to stop miaka from calling on Suzaku to grant her the 3 wishes so that they can call on Seiryuu first.

🎨 Animation & Visual Direction

I really enjoyed the animation. All the Seishi are very cute/sexy, and Miaka is quite an animated character. The character designs are more unique i think, especially Chichiri

🎵 Voice Acting & Soundtrack

I haven't seen the dub, but I'm sure it's horrible since almost all dubs are. The sub was well done and the voices were pretty typical yet went well for the characters, I love Chichiri's voice since he is such a fun character.
The music is good too. I love the opening.

🟢 What We Liked: I love the idea of living out a story in a book, and Chichiri's character (can't you tell?) since this series has 52 episodes the story can really progress into something fantastic. I also love how this anime has a lot of strong male characters which isn't something you find very often in a commical anime about a young girl.

🔴 What We Disliked: Well, nothing really bad stood out to me as i watched this. none of the characters were annoying, the only thing that was odd is that Miaka (a japanese girl) falls into a world like ancient China and there are no language barriers, but i suppose that would have been pretty hard to explain. Miaka does have problems with her clothing, money, and gum (very funny scene) seeming odd to the people in that world so that was done well.

💬 Early-2000s Fandom Pulse Community Rating: ★ 4/5 (3 historical responses)

• Community Praise: Now I know there are people out there who consider themselves 'purists', and by that I mean, they will ONLY watched the original version of an anime series and not give its dubbed counterpart a chance, but I have to say this about FY: The dubbing was excellent. Seriously. Pioneer Entertainment (responsible for the english version of 'Tenchi Muyo' and 'Ah! My Goddess!') couldn't have done a better job recuiting good voice actors to play the characters parts. Each voice fit their character exactly. Most notable are Yui, Tamahome, Nuriko, Hotohori, Chichiri, and Nakago. Well hell, they were all outstanding! Miaka's takes a little getting used to, but I find that her english voice is a little more tolerable then her japanese one. I own all 52 episodes, + the 2 OAV series, but I much rather prefer to watch the dubbed version over the original. But either way, both are good. I just feel the need to defend the dubbed version, and lastly, say this: Not all U.S licensed anime series get butchered.

• Contentious Points: I agree this anime is pretty goood, BUT there is a lot of miaka! Tamahome! miaka! Tamahome! Miaka! Tamahome! miaka! Tamahome! in the entire series. THe ending in my opinion is also a little weak.

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