Fushigi Yuugi by Yuu Watase. Published by Viz. Retail: $9.99 18/18 Volumes released in Englis. Rated T+ for older teens (sexual situations, attempted rapes, pretend rapes, lots of death). D-.
Dear Readers,
Imagine if you will being stuck in the middle of the
That spring is Fushigi Yuugi.
You see, there didn’t used to be any shoujo manga, manga for girls, released over here. “Everyone” knew, “everyone” being male comic book sellers, that girls didn’t read comics. Then Sailor Moon came along and kicked some sense into them, and the smarter ones started seeing the light. Viz was one of the smarter ones, and brought over an extremely popular girls’ title from
Miaka, the heroine, and Tamahome, the hero, love each other. Well, love by their warped definitions. This is pure bodice ripper. They split up and get back together using every cliché in romance. There’s a friend who loves Tamahome, so Miaka martyrs herself for the girl (don’t get me started on her martyr complex). Split up. Tamahome gets magical amnesia. Split up. Miaka thinks she’ll die and doesn’t want to hurt him by staying with him. Split up. Tamahome play-acts liking someone else to get crucial information and Miaka believes it. Miaka thinks someone else deserves him. Tamahome thinks he doesn’t deserve her. Miaka thinks she doesn’t deserve him. Split up. Split up. Split up. The entire series consists of this. Oh sure there’s some farce of a plot about recovering some artifacts so a god can be summoned and save the world, but it’s all there so we can have this uber-melodrama.
Miaka is also TSTL, and that’s being kind to her. She acts rashly. Miaka trusts enemies after countless betrayals and distrusts her boyfriend / fiancé / husband(!) at every opportunity, even when he has proven himself time and again. 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.
Does anyone blame her? I can’t tell you the number of times I hoped that someone would get around to slapping the stupid off her face, but my hopes were crushed every time. 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. By the end of the series [MAJOR SPOILER] Everyone except about 10 people in that world are dead. Everyone. E.v.e.r.y.o.n.e. And it’s basically her fault for trying her stupid schemes and being wishy washy. [/MAJOR SPOILER]
I must confess that the only reason I made it through the entire series was my hope of seeing her, at some point, die a death as painful as what she was putting me through.
I suppose all this might appeal to the sort of 12 year old emo girl who thinks the world should revolve around her and her angst. But I have trouble wanting to read about Miaka’s and Tamahome’s angst over not being together when it’s their own damned faults, and when the kingdom is falling apart around them because of their idiotic alternating martyrdoms!
Sincerely,
ジェーン
(JÄÂn)
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I hope you are sooooo happy MISSY!
I now want to actually read this. EVERYONE?… and still no one blames her ass?
That has got to be SOME twisted story there.
I’ll go out and get it after I finish watching my original Bubblegum Crisis DVDs again.
Everyone except the few who make it back to her world with her. But never fear, it’s all magically undone for the next two sequels which repeat the WHOLE FRIGGIN THING over again.
Nooooooooooooo! Just rent the first DVD, then you’ll understand. Wait, I have all the DVDs. Want to buy some
camel pissfine entertainment?LOL! Excellent review! Finally, someone with a clear mind!!! I hate Fushigi Yugi… well, I like the eye-candies, but they’re aren’t enough to save the manga. Miaka is a TSTL Mary Sue, she’s painful to read about and all you want is for her to die. The plot is draggy… and the art is only so-so. Did you read other work from Watase-sensei?!? They all look like Tamahome and Miaka!!!!!!!!!!!!! anyway, they are much better shoujo manga out there! But go ahead if you want to torture yourself :D
Sillly me, I’ve read Alice 19th, Ayashi no Ceres, Imadoki (which I don’t recall as being that bad, possibly because it’s shorter), and Zettai Kareshi, which I dropped after the second vol when the repetition started. They were all the same. Alice 19th and AnC were total brain rotters, and both had been recommended as great romances. Ack.
(I’ll be doing Cipher and Mars next, both much better shoujo)
Wow, Jan, you read some of Watase-sensei’s other works too? I’m impressed! (Actually, I shouldn’t talk because I stumbled through the first few chapters of Ayashi no Ceres myself.)
I’m looking forward to your post on Mars. It’s considered an older title these days, but it’s still my favorite shoujo romance.
(sigh) I never understood why men thought comics don’t appeal to someone without a Y chromosone or if they do, they must have a female lead. I grew up Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse!
If you’re going to read comics, try something like The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller.
Guaranteed not to suck.
I watched the anime version of this.
It’s REALLY REALLY bad. I wanted Miaka to die a horrible death.
[quote comment="28730"]If you’re going to read comics, try something like The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller.
Guaranteed not to suck.[/quote]
I grew up on Marvel / DC as well and still have many of my comics from the 70s, but I got tired of it during college and never went back. I don’t find them appealing any longer. That’s not to say there aren’t good ones. Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns is on my bookshelf, but it’s one of very few. I prefer the Japanese aesthetic these days.
But as in all genres, per Sturgeon’s very true law, there are some good and many not so good. Really, if one picks up any manga or comic at random, chances are it will be mediocre at best. Hopefully this column will warn readers away from the latter, and encourage them to buy the former. :)
[quote comment="28727"]Wow, Jan, you read some of Watase-sensei’s other works too? I’m impressed! (Actually, I shouldn’t talk because I stumbled through the first few chapters of Ayashi no Ceres myself.)[/quote]
What can I say? They got me when I first started reading manga and just didn’t know any better. I actually didn’t quite finish AnC so much as skip to the last volume to see if it was as bad as I thought. And it was worse. :(
[quote]I’m looking forward to your post on Mars. It’s considered an older title these days, but it’s still my favorite shoujo romance.[/quote]
Have you seen the TV series? It’s showing on AZN now. I clicked on the television this week and saw this Mandarin soap, and thought it sounded familiar, except the names. Sure enough, it was Mars.
It made me want to read it again. The good thing about older titles is that so many, if not all of the books are out.
[quote comment="28731"]I watched the anime version of this.
It’s REALLY REALLY bad. I wanted Miaka to die a horrible death.[/quote]
This was the first anime I ever bought, after Spirited Away. I owned the best and the worst LOL. What a waste of money. It might be worth owning only if I were a college student who wanted to play a drinking game where I drank shots every time Miaka shouted “Tamahomeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!” Heck, it might even come bearable to watch after the fifth or sixth.
I have to say, clueless as I was when I first started, I thought the series was interesting. and then… I continued to read it. I realized it was bad and walked away without looking back. I have tried her other work and was disappointed, except for Imadoki which I thought was cute. Probably because it was so short.
Looking forward to the review of Mars. But really, what do you think about Hot Gimmick?
[quote comment="28737"]I…except for Imadoki which I thought was cute.Probably because it was so short.
Looking forward to the review of Mars. But really, what do you think about Hot Gimmick?[/quote]
Heh, I said the same thing about Imadoki in a comment above.
I started reading Hot Gimmick but stopped after a couple of volumes because I couldn’t take the doormat heroine. Does it get any better? I mean, lots of shoujo heroines are dootmats, but she was one of the worst I’d seen.
Good lord, Jan.
You should just IV the keg straight to your vein.
Jan did you like Starblazers?
And Image (remember Spawn?) and Vertigo (Sandman, Hellblazer)…
I think I’m crushing on Hunter Rose. And Mirth. Anyone here know Mirth?
[quote comment="28773"]Jan did you like Starblazers?[/quote]
I actually got into manga and anime only in the last 5 years, so I didn’t watch on TV back then (I won’t tell you how old I was, except that when it came to sf/adventure I loved Johnny Quest).
However now, I really love Leiji Matsumoto. His Galaxy Express/Railways and Captain Harlock series are corny at times, but they really pack an emotional punch, and they’re so very romantic and visionary. Some day I intend to watch Star Blazers, and everything else he had a hand in.
[quote comment="28777"]And Image (remember Spawn?) and Vertigo (Sandman, Hellblazer)…[/quote]
Vertigo and Image put out some superior books. By the time they showed up I was working with a couple of guys who kept trying to get me into comics again. I read a couple compliations of The Sandman, and even followed one series, Preacher, for a little while.
But in the end, I was looking for romance with happy endings, and that took me to romance novels and eventually manga. :)
I’m showing my age by admitting to having watched Star Blazers on TV…. Loved that show, and it’s out on DVD, but the boxed set is pricy enough that I think I’ll put it off for now.
What the hell is up with shoujo manga and martyrdom? Reading/watching these series, a girl could get the idea that the three most noble things she could do are 1) Stupidly sacrifice herself for her boyfriend/friends 2) Wait for someone to save her 3) not get fat (can one throw a DVD at the wall? I started watching Wedding Peach as a joke, and promptly stopped when I got to the episode where the three main characters go on diets so that boys will like them and then an evil rice demon puts the “essence of fatness” into addictive rice to make all the schoolgirls fat and “kill the spirit of love” cause everyone knows guys don’t like fat chicks. There’s not enough liquor on the planet to make a drinking game fun after that shit.).
Are there any magical girl series out there that won’t make me want to gouge out my own eyes?
Anyhoo, lately I’m off of magical girl and onto just plain old girl. I like Nana and Othello (Othello may be a tad magical girl, but I’ve always been a sucker for evil twins and split personalities).
[quote comment="28797"]I’m showing my age by admitting to having watched Star Blazers on TV…. Loved that show, and it’s out on DVD, but the boxed set is pricy enough that I think I’ll put it off for now.[/quote]
Jules, if you’re just interested in rewatching Star Blazers, Netflix has series 1-3.
I don’t want to get your hopes up about Hot Gimmick. In certain circles it is known as the manga of deep feminist shame. I believe you can extrapolate the trend from that. I did however read it all the way through for the beautiful trainwreck that it was and the other couples who weren’t crazy.
Afterwards I felt a need to cleanse my mind and dug up Hataraki Man.
[quote comment="28815"]
Thanks, Bettie — I’ll keep that in mind for when I’ve finished the current batch of stuff I got from Amazon UK. (I do so love aving a region-free DVD player…)
I don’t know anything about girl manga except Sailor Moon and that series about a girl who gets power from flowers and went around looking for a magical rainbow flower, which must be v.v.old, because I watched it in China in the 80s. And if anybody knows what it’s called in English, please, please let me know.
Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah, Jan, I was ROTFLMAO at this review.
Thanks.
Sherry
I started the series years ago somewhere in grade ten after I got into Sailor Moon. (was I ever excited about the SM manga) but because originally they came out so freaking slow I never made it up to volume 18 because I stopped collecting when I when I moved to the U.k for awhile. I think it is a classic read, but the whole ‘everybody loves her’ is annoying. It is really perfect for teenagers. Anime had the same angst, I actually perfer anime wise Cowboy Bebop or Witch Hunter Robin. Manga wise, haven’t been able to get into any new series in years. Did like Magic Knight Rayearth though.
I am thankful that this is one series I can get from the library- as I am Curious but not prepared to shell out the cash.
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.
Dude, Soryo’s latest series (not available in English yet) is Cesare and it is pure awesome.
Vernieda- Thanks for the heads-up.
Soryo is an auto-buy for me now. The translation delay *pains* me but I suspect it’s still faster than me learning Japanese.
Thanks for the recommendations, Jan.
I heart Fruits basket, but I haven’t read 12 Kingdoms and Basara yet. They’re next on my list.
[quote comment="29155"]I heart Fruits basket, but I haven’t read 12 Kingdoms and Basara yet. They’re next on my list.[/quote]
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.
I love the anime fushigi yuugi very much so please grant me my wish Suzaku Saikun. please make a live version of this anime and I will watch it till the rest of my life..
Yeah, I agree, Fushigi Yuugi kinda sucks, it’s one of the worst manga I ever read. But that’s because almost all the manga I read is great. And even if manga kinda sucks, it’s still better than Batman (comment from Ann Bruce) or any other stupid american superheroes.
I love your honest review.
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.
Nice review! I really hate Fushigi Yuugi, save for some characters like Tasuki… haha.. just love his flamin’ red hair and his wild, fiery personality.. miaka sucks big time though. throughout the series, she was the bitch who acted without prior thought.. it was enough to drive any sane person insane! her “tamahome” screams are deafening and i really wish nakago raped her so much her internal organs bled and malfunctioned. really. she deserved a painful death after all her failures in the series… and heavens, the other warriors of suzaku actually liked her!!!!! talk about low life… anyway, she is the main character.. save yourselves from damnation though and stay away from this series..