However, I’m a big fan of Yuu Watase. Her short manga collection (Mint De Kiss Me/Kiss Me With Mint) is almost like a bible for me. I even used it as one of pop culture product in my presentation of my class.

If you’re not really into Fushigi Yugi but want to give Yuu Watase a chance, why don’t try reading Appare Jipangu! or Absolute Boyfriend. I can’t predict what would you say about these mangas, but all I remember I could only read Absolute Boyfriend because they’re lent by my friend because the books were sold out in bookstores. And I can’t even buy from the publisher who translated it in my country (Indonesia) because they were ‘out of stock’. Ugh!

P.S.
If you’re looking for clever shoujo manga, try:
Bara No Tameni (For The Rose), or any titles by Akemi Yoshimura –> she’s daaaamn good!
Diamond Life by Fujiwara Akira (almost makes me cry)
Baby Pop by Yayoi Ogawa (about a girl and her very-young step father)
Future Doctors by Kobato Uchida (so funny; the main plot is about three medical students who struggle with their daily life)

That’s all I can remember….

I was 10 when the anime first aired in my country. I fell in love with it straight away as in IN LOVE to death ! Hey I was 10, too young to notice the faults, all I cared about was this Tamahome character, and oh I hated Miaka for being stupid, weak and pathetic, always running away from Tamahome and then crying like a baby ! but it wasn’t about Miaka at all, it’s Tamahome ! =P I adored him so I wrote stories of me and him. Also..

I loved the idea of being transported into a book and I can say that in a way, I have been transported too. I learned to draw because of this anime and also I learned that if I didn’t like reality I can always run to my pen and notebook to get “transported” into the world I want to be in.

I wrote several anime/manga stories and I remember writing scenes and actually being there. I felt every raindrops, every breeze of cold air, I felt my characters’ joy and pain, I remember traveling with them in the hot desert lands and also being attacked by demons and monsters. It was an amazing feeling. Then I moved residence overseas and matured but never did I forget this anime. I was finally able to buy the dvd series when I was 17, I watched it all over again and both loved and hated the nostalgic feelings it brought with it. (Only then did I realized that the Tamahome-Miaka love affair was truly over-rated n cheesy).

I am now 21 years old and just bought (and finished reading) Fushigi Yuugi Genbu Kaiden manga latest volume and can’t wait for the next one! Once again the dreamer side of me has awaken. To be honest, when I was 10, i couldn’t wait to turn 15 just like Miaka and maybe I too can be transported into another world, I even made up a group where we each had elemental powers, it was an amazing childhood I had, but sadly when I finally turned 15 I never got transported into any world (duh). But even so, I am still thankful to have watched this series because I was able to create worlds and be in them. I was always excited to get home from school so I could continue writing. I even remember skipping school and going to the park, it was a peaceful sunny day, I was sitting on top of the slide on a top of a hill over looking the subdivision, it was such a beautiful day to write. ^

Sadly when I started liking “real boys” I stopped writing, my imagination stopped, my brain went dry. I no longer had a place to run to whenever I was down. I don’t remember when exactly I stopped writing but I was already living overseas then (still am). I am 21 and for 6 years I’ve been in this country I have tried countless times to write again, I even started my very own manga, but I guess I’ve matured and lost my childhood imaginations but still… It’s been 11 years since I first laid my eyes on Fushigi Yuugi, since I fell in love with Tamahome. I have a boyfriend now though and I no longer live in the fantasy world but here I am still a loyal wifey to Tamahome. Yes he is still my number one (and my boyfriend knows that ^^) For me, Fushigi Yuugi is not just some cheesy anime for 10 year olds, it’s actually a landmark of a part of my life I would love to return to, it represents the time when I was still able to be completely submerged into this world I created and be whoever or whatever I want to be. And for that reason Fushigi Yuugi, no matter how silly and cheesy is always going to be my most favorite anime EVER !!!

Sorry for the long read…I am just really crazii about this anime. 11 years in the making ! ^^ Toodles !

I have heard a lot about this manga,mostly from raving,insane fangirls who can’t type or use punctuation properly.
Despite that,I wanted to read it since I love historical anime/manga,and this one seemed really popular.
I was so positive I would love it to pieces.

I was utterly wrong.

I have read all 18 volumes,watched the anime fully,and the O.V.A’s.I’ll keep my ranting to the manga though,since this is where the story comes from.

1) The BASIC plot sounds really good.Girl gets sucked into a magical book,becomes part of the story,has to find some warriors,call something blah,blah.
It was not carried out well at all.

2) The main character Miaka is one of the worst,if not the worst female ‘hero’ I have ever seen.She’s weak,useless,clingy,a glutton,annoying,dumb,falls in love after 5 seconds,only cares about her boyfriend ‘Tamahomeee!!!’,shallow as hell too.And I think she’s rather slutty too ‘If Tamahome and me could of been in the normal world,we could of had a normal relationship like any other High School student.’
…Right.
Yes despite all this almost every single guy falls in love with her,just for the sake of a reverse harem.There’s barely anything to like about her,if anything at all.

3) Rape,rape,RAPE.How much attempted rape Is there?It’s gets so old after the first 10 times.And even the Suzaku Seven want to do it with her.It’s so annoying.

4) When it’s supposed to be a serious scene in the manga,it’s ALWAYS ruined by the chibis.Always.Even some other scenes that shouldn’t have chibis are ruined by them.The humor SUCKS,and it comes in at really bad moments.

5) Almost everyone at the end of the manga DIES,and it’s Miaka’s fault,but they all say ‘omg she liek,tried her best!!’ ‘she waz s0 brave!!!
WTF?

6) The romance is so unrealistic.It moves WAY to fast.It has no buildup.They meet for like 5 seconds,and then they love each other.All Miaka thinks about is Tamahome,and she hardly knows him.I actually hate Tamahome because he’s so perverted.Wait,I hate almost all of them.I only like Nakago because he wants to kill them all,Nuriko before he likes Miaka,and Hotohori…At least he had some depth,and I felt sorry for him.

7) The character deaths happen,but somehow it always seems a little fake.When I say fake I mean it’s really put-on.And once they die,it’s like ‘Oh he died…Who was he?’ Like when Tamahome’s siblings died,all he could think about was Miaka.And the whole was just really lame.None of the manga deaths were like others I’ve read about.

8) The manga is so soap-opera-ish,and melodramatic,I can see why teen girls like it.

9) Two other anime/light novels that are a little similar to Fushigi Yuugi are Saiunkoku Monogatari (which is a reverse harem,tons of guys,takes place in ancient China) and 12 Kingdoms (about a girl who is taken to another world,and made Empress/King).People who have watched Fushigi Yuugi and then watch either of these animes or both have actually said how they couldn’t believe they watched F.Y and they thought it was utter crap after reading these. I think the main difference is that both the girls in these stories are amazing.They’re strong,kick butt,very smart,and mature without being slutty.They have their faults,but their faults are realistic,and they both continually mature.Both the series have a wonderful cast of characters,storyline,adventure,mystery….And in Saiunkoku the romance is really done well.It takes time,and it’s not sick or disgusting.The funny moments are well done too.12 kingdoms is more serious,and it’s not romantic unless you squint,and it really delves more into the adventure,and struggles of being a ruler.

10) Thoughts form other sources that I agree with
The characters of Fushigi Yuugi are so uninspired that it really works against them. I found that much of the main cast did not strike me as endearing. None of them really had something that makes you want to root for them along the course of the story. What makes it worse is the size of the cast. Why make it so large when only two characters matter?
Miaka ignores the advice of those wiser than her (i.e. everyone) and dashes off to act on her own plans, countless times. This usually results in the deaths of some innocents, soldiers, villagers, children, you name it. By the end of the story, she's responsible for the deaths of thousands, because she has to do things her way.
More times than I could count, this series fell into several pitfalls that romantic stories fall into. There is a big difference between someone saying they love you and someone showing that they love you. It takes effort for someone to show love, not a whole lot, but when that effort is used it hits dramatic gold. Instead we get unexplained events, awkward jokes, fan service, plot holes and other slipped-up script devices.I kept thinking that there was some essence of love in this production that would show up some time and completely blow me away. It never came. This is a product that could have been sky-high, but since it lacked the proper foundations of good storytelling, it collapsed upon its own ideas; a pretty little rubble heap.

I actually dislike the author’s other works too.She seems to recycle her characters,and there is always super-fast-romance,among other awful things.The only thing I like about her works is the art style.But everything else sucks.
All in all,I think if Fushigi Yuugi had cut back on many things,made the romance realistic,made the story more serious,took away the chibis,so much attempted rape,and had better characters,it would of been good.
For all the hype it gets,it really,really,really sucks.

All they did was fall in love with her, and say “You're a brave little girl, you have it so tough.”. Yeah, tell that to the massacred farmers.

Oh my God, this is HYSTERICAL and so true. And I say that as someone who still has a soft spot for Fushigi Yuugi – what can I say, I discovered it at a young and impressionable age and I still like a lot of the supporting characters. I won’t lie, if this manga had been the Tasuki, Chichiri and Nuriko show, it would probably be one of my favorites ever. Unfortunately the central couple is Miaka the self-absorbed nitwit and Tamahome with all the personality of a potato…

If I were one of Miaka’s other warriors and was continually getting beat up/trapped in magical spells/nearly killed on her behalf, and still ignored in favor of her latest dumbass stunt to secure Tamahome’s love, I think I would start considering employment opportunities in the evil enemy kingdom.

And to tell you the truth, I couldn’t agree more. Fushigi Yuugi was aired in Philippines ever since I was young. I don’t know how old I am but I do remember I was annoyed with Miaka (and I was a child back then!). And when my classmates and I watched it again (with some guys) coz somebody wasted her money buying the DVD, we were more than annoyed (we didn’t finish the whole episodes).

And we spent several hours bashing Miaka’s character.

Miaka is a good example of a Mary Sue character. Probably she’s the worst heroine in the anime fandom ever. I have to admit that I like Yui (was it Yui?) better, even if she’s the main villain.

So to all those people who never watched FY yet, don’t.

You’re welcome. I should probably say that 12 Kingdoms is a series of novels and an anime. The first novel is out in English, and I’ve bought it but not read it. I heard it’s mostly introductory though and doesn’t get into the main stories much yet.

Basara is an anime (short and incomplete) and a manga series of 27 volumes or so, 23 of which are out. I seem to recall that the story ends in vol 25 and the rest of the vols are side stories.

Soryo is an auto-buy for me now. The translation delay *pains* me but I suspect it’s still faster than me learning Japanese.

I lovelovelove Mars- both the manga and the live action. Soryo’s current series ES:Eternal Sabbath is also very good. Tramps Like Us and Kill Me, Kiss Me are other series that I use to get people hooked on manga.

Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah, Jan, I was ROTFLMAO at this review.

Thanks.

Sherry