Alternative TitlesEnglish: Mysterious Play Synonyms: ふしぎ遊戯, Fushigi Yugi, Curious Play Japanese: ふしぎ遊戯
Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 52
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Apr 6, 1995 to Mar 28, 1996
Duration:
25 min. per episode Rating:
PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
L represents licensing company
StatisticsScore: 7.741 (scored by 8007 users)
Ranked: #5802
Popularity: #272
Members: 14,127
Favorites: 554 1 indicates a weighted score
My Info
Popular Tags
comedy drama fantasy romance shoujo |
SynopsisMiaka Yuuki, an average middle school student caught up in studying for exams, is sucked into an ancient Chinese novel titled "The Universe of Four Gods". There she discovers that she is in an ancient country in what is now China, Konan, and is to be the Priestess of one of the four gods, Suzaku. As the priestess, her duty is to gather the Seven Seishi of Suzaku, who are to be her protectors. Once they are gathered, the priestess will summon the god Suzaku and bring peace between the warring lands, Konan and Kutou. But it's harder than it seems. Along the road, many hardships are faced, as Miaka's best friend Yui Hongo enters the book and becomes her rival, the priestess of Seiryuu in the land of Kutou. Who summons their god first is up to the courage and skill of the priestesses and their seishi, as they meet triumphs and tragedies along the way. (Source: ANN) |
Related AnimeAdaptation: Fushigi Yuugi
Sequel: Fushigi Yuugi OVA
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
Reviews
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ParaParaJMo
23 of 31 people found this review helpful
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52 of 52 episodes seen
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| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
9 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
Though by some standards today, the story may seem a bit cliché, but for its time in the mid-1990s, it wasn’t really that much of the norm. So the Alice in Wonderland concept may not be something that will appeal to everyone since you’ve already seen it in more semi-mainstream animes in comparison to this one such as 12 Kingdoms, Inuyasha, and Escaflowne which came out after Fushigi Yuugi though this was the anime that did it before it became something semi-common. Even though this is primarily shoujo, the well diverse but archetypical cast do have mass appeal.
Each character for the most part has their own unique use and contribution to the story and they are presented in ways you get to know them. The characters or heck, maybe even one character will grow on you as you watch from start to finish. I would explain this, but it would be a significant spoiler, and if you’ve seen this anime, you know what I’m talking about. Whether that character is good or bad, you’ll love them. Hell, my favorite character Nakago is the primary antagonist and even Yuu Watase, the original manga-ka has admitted that Nakago is her favorite character.
The anime will hopefully satisfy men and women. The story overall is very diverse with its appeal, but it went a little longer than it should have, but it ends in a way where everything is resolved and the characters wonderfully develop. It has romance, adventure, excitement, comedy and action, which I will further get into. However, what will annoy male and female alike is the interaction between Tamahome and Miaka when they really get romantic with each other. It kind of drags and we don’t need that much hugging even if we can appreciate how much they love each other.
Well, the character design today doesn’t really stand out in comparison to most shoujo out there for the most part. The costume designs are a little flamboyant for the setting, but even so, they still compliment the character designs very well where it helps make them stand out a bit more. The action is well coordinated, technical and raw which will appeal to male viewers. The city settings captures the heart of ancient China very captivatingly and truly represents their culture at that time period where they gathered to worship the emperor. However, with the modern day settings, you get a different approach to the school uniform with the blazer and ribbon design you see in lets say Evangelion, than the more mainstream sailor uniform which I thought was unique to anime in the mid-1990s with Magic Knight Rayearth and Sailor Moon being the rage back then with those designs, so its nice to see something different. It is also unique to point out in the real world in Fushigi Yuugi, nobody has crazy color hair, but in the book, you got the typical crazy color anime hair which was somewhat of the intention of Watase and the staff at Studio Pierrot. So overall, the art may be descent, but the character design 100% stand out, but the action, costumes, and scenery makes up for it.
The dub of Fushigi Yuugi does have some credible names, but I don’t think the dub was good. First off, Tamahome is played by David Hayter who you may know as the voice of Solid Snake from MGS. When you hear that voice in relation to Tamahome’s image, it just doesn’t match. He makes Tamahome sound gruffy, though it’s not the voice he uses for Solid Snake, but when he does scream, he does scream like Snake. This kind of casting is to me, for the sake of casting a big name and you’re giving him a character he’s not appropriate for. However, this was a role I thought perfectly suited his Japanese counterpart, Midorikawa Hikaru, the voice of Heero Yuy from Gundam Wing, and Rukawa from Slam Dunk. Granted Midorikawa has played character opposite from Tamahome, he had a different kind of cool that Snake has, but he still has that passion and soft side that really captures him. As a matter of fact, Watase actually wanted him to play Tamahome because he had him in mind when he created the character.
I also enjoyed Kae Araki the voice of Sailor Chibi Moon as Miaka. She does sound annoying with her high-pitched voice, but it was at a certain tone where it really captured the character with all of these emotions whether sad, happy, concerned, or excited. And Seki Tomokazu, my 2nd favorite seiyuu who has played Miyata in Hajime no Ippo, Domon in G Gundam, Kamui in X The Movie, and many others was great as Chichiri, my 2nd favorite character. He is so multi-talented and he demonstrates it very well when you get to know his character more. Overall, the cast is just top notch and they all have great chemistry. Even though the romantic tension between Tamahome and Miaka gets annoying, their seiyuus truly make it believable.
The opening theme song Itoshii Hito no Tame Ni does open with this more traditional approach and then at the right moment, transitions to a more energetic J-Pop song. It’s very unique to me because it captures the cultural and romantic atmosphere of the series. And the ending theme Tokimeki Doukasen has a different kind of energy that is generic but still catchy and semi sexually suggestive in a more innocent sense. The background music is well orchestrated in every sense. Such as traditional Chinese music, more traditional cinematic.
Anyway, I think this is an anime I believe you should try to give a chance even if it may not be your taste. There are all kinds of good qualities this anime has that does make up for its bad ones. Even so, the bad qualities are still there but if you concentrate and stick to what you like, you’ll forget about them. I remember during the days of VHS fansubs, I used to talk to people who cried watching this series. It has all of these great themes such as love, friendship, loyalty, and betrayal and they are presented in a very realistically approachable manner. And believe me, there are moments where you might and I’m not ashamed to admit I have watching this series. The only anime that has achieved me to react like this since is the Kimura vs Mashiba oav of Hajime no Ippo. read more
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tehnominator
34 of 51 people found this review helpful
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52 of 52 episodes seen
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| Overall |
7 |
| Story |
7 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Character |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
The first does not necessarily mean the best.
Fushigi Yuugi (also known as Curious Play or The Mysterious Play) was probably one of the first reverse harem anime out there on the market. It seems to have flavoured many reverse harem anime that have followed in its footsteps. But despite it being largely popular during its time and inspiring many anime afterward, that does not mean that it is the pinnacle for the genre. But its imperfection aside, this is a good series.
The story may seem a little dated now, but it was pretty fresh when it was first released. A young girl named Miaka and her best friend Yui are trapped inside an ancient, magical book that Miaka finds in a public library in the restricted section. They are both taken back into an ancient Chinese or Japanese period in history, where they immediately get into trouble. They are rescued by a handsome stranger, Tamahome, and the rest is literally "history".
For what it's worth, this anime had a great premise. Being absorbed into a novel, having all your actions be seen on print in the regular world while you exist in another dimension, meeting several attractive young men who are willing to risk their lives for you because you're a priestess that can save their world. It was all very romantic and adventurous. There were significant portions of humour, numerous love polygons, cool magical powers, good-looking men and women to keep the audience's interest. While it was never boring, it honestly dragged on for far too long.
The story, under better direction, could have been told in half the amount of episodes of the actual series. The result of having more episodes than it should have was various moments of the characters screaming out the names of their beloved rather passionately and incessantly. It seems fine the first ten times, but fifty-two times is a little too much.
The art looks bad now, but I suspect that it was good when it first aired. There was not much detail in the backgrounds and the animation of the fight scenes were weak in places. Most of the art seemed focused on making the characters' hair look awesome and styled. But that's not a bad thing if you like bishounen eye candy. There's a lot of that.
Sound is pretty dated as well. It really hasn't stood up against time; the old cheesy synths were used in nearly every scene. But mostly, the sound is not offensive to the ears, so it is passable.
Some excellent things about Fushigi Yuugi are its characters. Considering the rather large cast (about eight or nine characters that belong in the main cast alone), it was a rather difficult task to give good personalities to each person, but somehow, they managed it. The anime had good protagonists and a great supporting cast. There's definitely a handful of characters that you're bound to like if you don't like most of them already. My personal favourites were Nuriko and Yui, but mostly because these characters seemed the most developed than anyone else. Even the bad guys and villains were colourful and developed. The seven men who have to protect Miaka each had their own personality and fascinating aspects to their characterisations.
Although I probably should not have, I enjoyed the anime thoroughly. Sure, it's repetitive. Yes, it's melodrama. Okay, it ran on far longer than it should. Uh huh, it's predictable. But Fushigi Yuugi is mindlessly entertaining.
If you're curious about the curious play, keep an open mind, remember that it's an old series and that it was really one of the first reverse harem anime created, and then give it a shot. read more
Recommendations
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Well you have your celestial warriors and then theres your love connections between each one of them to the priestess and well.....
Same basic show and premise.
Like Fushigi Yuugi,the most important character in Harukanaru Toki no Naka de is a girl called to another world,Kyou. Her name is Akane,and she has been chosen as "Ryūjin no Miko" or in english: Priestess of the Dragon God. The one who called her to the new world is Akuram,the Demon lord. With Akane,her friends Tenma and Shimon is also dragged with her to the new world. There,she must fins all 8 Hachiyō (Hachiyou.) The 8 Hachiyō protects the Miko,with their life. But all of them starts to realize that she means more to them then just being the Miko. And,will Akane be able to control her new-found powers? More importantly,will she and the 8 Hachiyō be able to defeat Akuram?
The anime is based on a game,and in the game you will be able to chose how it ends. This is important to know,so you wont be confused when watching the anime-end.
Very similar themes - a miko recruiting warriors who are represented by Seiryuu, Suzaku, Byakko and Genbu
Similar in almost every way. The only difference is the length; HaruToki is shorter with only 26 episodes while Fushigi Yuugi is longer.
Basically the same show except the miko serves a different god.
In both Fushigi Yuugi, and Haruka the main girl gets transported to a new world. They become, priestesses to protect the world from chaos befalling the land. Plus they each have several protectors who help them in tight situations.
These two shows are extremely similar. A couple of high school students are transported to a "different" world and the girl is chosen as a priestess. No difference! What you need to know are the differences, which are: in Fushigi you have a harem anime with tons of romance and the love triangles/squares/whatever are blatantly obvious, plus lots of comedy. In Harukanaru there is a much more serious tone and much less romance (well, it takes much longer to be revealed and then it's much more discreet). Other than this, the plot is almost identical.
There's a girl who travels through time in both series and she has to collect seven mens to protect her and save the world. And both are priestesses, in Haruka; Ryuujin no miko and in Fushigi Yugi Suzaku no Miko. The theme is actually quite the same!
A girl in present time goes back to the ancient world to be a miko. Reverse harem theme. Fushigi yuugi is longer and has more depth, while Haru toki is shorter so you don't get dragging. Similarity: 3 1/2 *
both of them revolves around a girl from another world n they have many good looking guys who is protecting them so it kinda look similar in many ways. there s also romance involved n adventure..anyway i prefer fushigi yuugi cuz its wayy better but i enjoy watching both of em. gudluck >.<
Harukanaru Toki no Naka de ~Hachiyou Shou~ is the adopted pet of Fushigi Yuugi. It borrows a lot of the themes from the older anime, such as one girl who is a miko having the protection of a group of extremely attractive men, some of which who are interested in her romantically.
they are both about a priestess and about 4 gods/people
They both have a girl that is pulled into another world. They both have the same four gods - Suzaku, Byakko, Genbu and Seiryuu. The girls are both made mikos - Miaka is the Suzaku no Miko and Akane is the Ryuujin no Miko. Both Mikos are surrounded by men and they are both of their GUARDIANS - both have signs (Tamahome and the others have chinese signs, Tenma and the others have jewels). Also, more than one character falls in love with the main character - like Tamahome and Hotohori and Tenma and Yorihisa.
Girl transported to an ancient world and is the chosen Pristess, has to find her warriors to complete her role as the Pristess.
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Yuu Watase's greatest animes
The story line of an average school girl being dragged into a much more fantasy like world or situation is similar to that in fushigi yuugi. This is also a reverse harem anime, much like fushigi yuugi. The romance in this and the love triangle and obstacles are also similar in the two shows.
Both were beautifully done by Yu Watase and also have very unique stories in both of the series. Lots of fantasy with a mixture of romance in each of the stories. Enjoy!
Directed and written by the same respective director and writer. One is more naturally-paced than the other but both needs a lot of tissue boxes.
They're both created by Yuu Watase so the characters look very much alike and the mood of the series have a similar feel. They also both have this "you and me agains the world" theme and they each have their share of tragic, tearjerking moments. If you also like the track Wakatteita Hazu from FY, then you gotta check Scarlet from AnC. They both have a sad yet beautiful melody.
Even without remembering that Yuu Watase was the same magnaka for both series, I was already picking out similarities between these two animes within the first two episodes. The way romance is approached, art style and high dramatic appeal is pretty much identical. If you liked one, you'll probably like the other.
Yuu Watase has made both of them so they both have a love triangle, lots of drama and romance, and such :)
Both anime's are created by anime aclaimed author Watase, Yuu. The graphics and designs of characters are pretty similar. A story of risking one's life for the protection of another...Endless mysteries, magical powers, and intense romance.
Same author, same art style. While watching one you'll get the feel of the other. Both are made up of romance and fantasy. The only difference is that Ayashi no Ceres has a more serious atmosphere while Fushigi Yuugi has some comedy thrown in the mix.
They have a similar story line and were both written by Yuu Watase.
Anime by the same mangaka (Watase Yuu). It's less dark but still great. And there will definetely be the right Suzaku Warrior for you.
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Opening Theme"Itooshii Hito no Tame ni; For My Darling" by Akemi Satou
Ending Theme#1: "Tokimeki no Doukasen" by Yukari Konno (eps 1-32,34-51)
#2: "Kaze no Uta" by Chika Sakamoto (ep 33)
#3: "For Epilogue…" by Yukari Konno & Akemi Satou (ep 52)
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