One area this anime still holds up in is the characters. Now some of this feeling might be based in my nostalgic past, yet I still feel the anime holds true in character development, at least when it comes to the secondary and semi secondary characters. Even back then, the anime did a fantastic job in giving each character no matter their standing in the story an individual background and personality. Everybody's motivations and thoughts were distinct unto themselves.
I fell in love with my previous favorites all over again. Nuriko, Hotohori, Nakago, Amiboshi, and Tasuki still hold as fantastic, well-rounded characters that have installed their ways into my heart again. Even ones that I could have done without years ago like Soi and Suboshi I could grow to appreciate given a more mature outlook while re-watching this series.
Yet, I also see the glaring flaw in an aspect of this area, watching from the point of view of a middle-aged woman versus a teenager. That area is Tamahome, Miaka, and their cluster *beep* of a relationship. I seem to remember even back then being irritated by their whole relationship drama. Now, decades later, it's to the point of being unbearable. There is absolutely nothing admirable in Miaka's character. I have no idea why so many characters fall in love with her or want to have sex with her. Point blank, she's an idiot and in no way admirable. Their whole shouting matches at each other is irritating, so much so, that I fast forwarded through every exchange. If they were having a lovey-dovey seen, I skipped it.
Story wise, I think you have to keep in mind the timeframe this manga and anime came out. The whole Japanese teenager traveling to a different world stick wasn't as commonly done. Unless there are relatively unknown 70s and 80s manga or anime out there I'm not aware of with this storyline, I think FY might have been among the first to introduce it. So keeping that in mind, I feel the story in this series is pretty strong. There's a lot of growth, conflict, and emotional turbulence to go through. I felt the series kept audiences engaged with plenty of obstacles to overcome and maturing characters. This aspect, I feel, has held up against the test of time.
Again you have to remember this anime is on the older side when it comes to the art. For the time, some of the artistic techniques were revolutionary. When you compare FY to other contemporary titles like Sailor Moon, you'll notice that fight scenes and general animation flow stand out. Colors are bright and fight scenes draw you in, especially when tied in with the high emotional content of this particular title. Yet, when compared with anime from today, one can say the art doesn't stand the test of time. It's obviously dated; though emotionally driven, fight scenes can appear clunky and sometimes facial structure gets boxy. If I was someone new to anime and this was my first title, I might not notice the now substandard art. However someone who's been around the anime block now and then will definitely notice.
Sound I felt was fairly good, especially the opening theme. There's just something about that opening number that gets you excited for the upcoming episode. It's just so iconic and doesn't sound like anything else I've ever heard. Maybe that's a bit of the nostalgia talking; yet, I can't help but be revved up by that opening number. Whoever put this musical score together also knows how to use music for emotional moments. For an anime that has as many tragic moments and emotional turbulence as this one, that's a key point to success. Other sound effects like for fighting and other exchanges are fairly common, like most other anime. Nothing too awesome stands here.
Even after 20 years, this title still holds a special place in my heart, despite it's now more glaring flaws. Even with the dated artwork and the whole freaking Miaka/Tamahome thing, I still felt myself enjoying FY again. Thankfully some of those aspects that are irritating now I can fast forward through. I was still moved by the other characters, their trials and fates. I think an even score of seven is about right. FY will always hold a place as an anime classic, despite its many issues. It's a part of my personal anime history so stands out for me. Whether anyone else will find enjoyment out of it, I think they'll need to just keep in mind that this series is an older one. I think with that thought percolating in the back of anyone's mind, this title could still be enjoyable to anyone.
