This is the story of a girl
who single-handedly gathered the Seven Stars of Suzaku
and gained the power to make all of her dreams come true.
The story itself is an incantation
and whomever reads it gains the main character's power
to have their wishes granted.
As soon as the page is turned,
the story will become real and begin
I can remember going to the local library after school, and when I think of it those memorys don’t seem to be unusual. I have been told that going to the library is a great childhood experience, and that many other teenagers go to their own local libraries (even if they don’t let other people know). But in the story of Fushigi Yuugi (The Mysterious Play), a usual trip to the library becomes the beginning of an epic adventure.
The story focuses on 2 school girls, Miaka Yuuki and Yui Hongo, who are studying for their high school entrance exams (the equivalent in importance of British GCSEs and American college applications). After seeing a beautiful and magical red bird flying into a restricted room, Miaka and Yui go in to take a closer look.
The girls are sucked into a book named “The universe of the four gods” and instead of studying they have to deal with the conventional dangers in the fantasy book-world. Before they can ‘go home’ they must collect seven seishi (cellestial warriors) each.
As seekers of the seishi, the girls become divine representatives themselves, each taking on the mantle of chief priestess of the gods Suzaku and Seiryuu.
With 16(english translated)/18 (japanese translated) manga books to read through and 52+12 anime episodes to watch there is more to the story than just a simple ‘man hunt’. Without telling you too much the girls get themselves caught up in a web of lies and deciet, however there are some amazing twists in the plot which leave you begging for more.
Fushigi Yuugi is a story filled with humor, tragedy, courage, and hope. But most importantly, it's about friendship, love, and the preservation of these relationships you share with others.
A warning for those of you who are obsessive. This story is magically obsessive, I do not know anyone who has watched it and has not enjoyed it and bought some of the merchandise.
Speaking of merchandise, it isn’t avaliable in the UK without going on Ebay.co.uk or searching for a specialist shop. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t any you just have to keep looking.
The television program goes straight into mini movies (otherwise known as OVAs) and you can purchase them in VHS or DVD format. The manga books have been released up to 9 in the UK, 11 in the US and the whole series has been released in Japan. Other books such as ‘The Artwork of Fushigi Yuugi’ has been realeased. They contain pictures, sketches and comments from Watase Yuu (Yuu Watase, the author). Unfortunately I don’t read japanese >_< so I can’t get the small illustrated novels on key characters. But, the merchandise I like best are the smaller things like the UFO catcher dolls (I have Chichiri ^_^), the pencil boards, stickers, t-shirts, keychains... Well I could go on and on and on.
