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| 12. Yogi 
This is an interesting series, but a but to cliched to go too
far. It consists of a girl sucked into a world like Ancient China, who has to
complete various quests to summon a being which grants three wishes. Throughout
this, there is an element of romance between the girl and one of her protectors.
It would have been better if they hadn’t re-cycled the same plot several
times within the show, and if some of the other characters who SHOULD have gotten
equal screen time actually did. Despite the extremely light nature of the beginning,
this show gets surprisingly dark at the end. However, for most of the show, one
is hard pressed to take the entire thing too seriously. |
| 10. Iodine
Considered by many to be the height of the romantic fantasy
genre, FY is a guilty pleasure that hits every cliche in girls' anime several
times over. Two schoolgirls, Miaka and Yui, are transported into a fantasy version
of ancient China where they become the priestesses of opposing kingdoms and race
to gather up all of their celestial warriors and summon up each kingdom's protecting
god. Love triangles abound as multiple warriors on both sides inevitably fall
for the girls. The plot is extremely repetitive and often gets weighed down by
the tiresome overdramatics of the romances, but it's still very effective and
occasionally moving. Our heroine, the maudlin Miaka, eventually becomes little
more than a perpetual annoyance and drags her beloved Tamahome down with her.
Fortunately, the side characters, particularly transvestite Nuriko, whimsical
Chichiri, and firey
Tasuki, are far more interesting and endearing, ensuring
at least some degree of watchability. Despite a
decent length, the series doesn't really accomplish much. All the secondaries
and villains could have used more depth and development, as what little is provided
by way of backstories feels rather sparse. Animation is minimal, but decently
used. The music, likewise, makes the most of its limited themes. The few comedic
elements used in the beginning are quickly abandoned, and not missed. Some good
twists in the plot generally balance out the more eye-rolling ones, and the series
narrowly pulls off being a good watch the first time through. There are several
more adult elements that have been included in the series, but are never really
dealt with, including rape, incest, homosexuality, and child abuse. These are
more or less just cheap, fast excuses for characterization and their treatment
is obviously diluted for the intended audience of teenaged girls. |
| 8. Hybrid
Well if you take to best friends and put them on opposite sides,
and you add in seven celestial warriors for each of them, add in a deep engrossing
story full of adventure, comedy, plot twists, fighting, romance and great characters,
and you simple get one of the most popular adventure / comedy / romance tales
of all time. With a series clocking 52 episodes, this is definitely a series that
isn't for anyone. The first half of the series seemed to me just fly by, with
great character development, plot, animation and music, while on the other hand,
the second half of the show seemed to drag a bit, with also the quality of the
art and music seemed to drop off a bit, as the show wore on. The art and animation
of the show was very bright and detailed, and the use of static images did convey
and enhance the drama that was occurring on-screen. The music of the show was
very good and memorable (loved the ED theme). As with some anime the ending isn't
very good, but in the case of FY, the ending is good and worth the wait. |
| 6. dios
 
Fushigi Yugi is a rambling and emotionally manipulative
fantasy saga that at least has its heart in the right place. Miaka and Yui are
two Japanese schoolgirls who find a book that whisks them off to an imaginary
land based on Chinese legend. Not surprisingly they turn out to be chosen priestesses,
albeit on opposite sides of an imminent war, and each sets about finding seven
predestined companions in a quest to win the war and ultimately return home. Being
shoujo many of their companions are bishounen and provide romantic interest for
the girls. The setup has some nice dramatic tension that eventually sees fruition,
but the way there is marred by long patches where not much happens and sappiness
throughout, the latter being most evident in the annoying central character, Miaka.
There's also a lot of cute comedy and super-deformity, if that bothers you. Despite
all this, Fushigi Yugi has an innocent, organic feel that can be a welcome
break from more mature and structured anime, and despite the deliberately tear-jerking
scenes the emotional heart of the show shines through brilliantly in places to
produce genuinely moving moments. |
| 4. Tempy
Two ordinary Japanese schoolgirls, Miaka and Yui, are magically
transported into the world of a mysterious book they were reading. They become
part of the story and end up as enemies in a quest to gather the Celestial Warriors
and summon the gods Suzaku or Seiryu. Fushigi Yugi is one rollercoaster
ride of an anime show. There are moments where I wanted to smack a character with
a large blunt object for their stupidity, usually Miaka or Yui. And there were
many times where Fushigi Yugi reeked like a cheap soap drama. But these
low moments were compensated with exquisite highs. The art design is wonderful
(I'll have to try to score some art books), even though the animation itself is
of average TV-quality. There are tons of memorable characters, good music (the
op is great, up there with Lodoss War TV and Escaflowne), funny
moments (lots of super deformed goodness), and some excellent dramatic and tragic
scenes. At 52 episodes there are times when you have to suppress the groan impulse,
but the payoff is beautiful indeed. This show will leave you slobbering over the
girls (Yui, Soi, young Subaru) as well as the guys (Hotohori and someone I can't
name because of potential spoilers) :-) |
| 3. Jeneki
Fushigi Yugi has an interesting story but several pitfalls.
I didn't find Miaka, the main character, to be very likable at all. She does some
really stupid things, which makes it hard to sympathize with her when bad things
happen due to her actions. And believe me, there are a lot of bad things that
happen in this show. The story tries to counter all these negative events with
romantic elements, which unfortunately doesn't work when you don't care for the
characters. Fushigi Yugi is worth watching once if you can handle all the
negativity. The ending is by far the best part, so hang on till the end if you
can. |
| 1. weasl
Fushigi Yugi left me with a bitter taste in my mouth.
The story is excellent, but is sadly bogged down by terrible pacing. While it
contains a lot of great dramatic moments, they are forced down your throat way
to hard. Whenever something dramatic happens expect about 1-2 minutes of flashbacks,
mixed in with about 1-2 minutes of screaming and crying, which of course the lead
character is very good at. Needless to say this gets old fast, and adds to the
frustration of trying to enjoy the show on your own level. Those complaints out
of the way Fushigi Yugi is a good show. The second season by far outshines
the first season with lots of great plot twists, and some really heart wrenching
moments. People who enjoy lots of human drama, and tragedy in their anime may
want to pick up Fushigi Yugi (if you can stomach the 52 episode count),
others be wary though. Once you watch Fushigi Yugi it's a long and sometimes
painful run to the finish line. |
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