ssjakira1's Full Review: Fushigi Yugi - The Mysterious Play Special Vol. 1:...
Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.
The other day I was chatting with the girl who had lent me her Fushigi Yuugi tapes (yes, all gazillion of them) and mentioned how I had gone on some sort of anime watching bonanza (yes, BONANZA!), and so of course we fell into the topic of anime. Surprise, surprise. Eventually we got onto the subject of OAVs (original animated videos, you may have also heard of them as OVA, which is the same thing, only mixed around) and I mentioned how I kind of wanted to see the Fushigi Yuugi OAVs and she smiled and said, “Oh, I have those!” (where do these people get their money?! Maybe they were all Christmas presents…)
¬.¬
I promptly asked if I could borrow them.
Now if you’re at all familiar with Fushigi Yuugi then brace yourself because this is all going to come at you with the speed of a roller coaster. If you have no idea of what Fushigi Yuugi is at all, then I recommend going back and watching the series. Yes, all 52 episodes of it (hey, that’s nothing compared to other series!). If you don’t, you will have no idea of who the characters are, what they’re talking about, why they’re getting sucked into this book, where all the angst comes from, etc. etc. In short, you’ll be staring at the screen, head cocked to one side going “Huh?”
Having said that, there are 3 OAVs: the first (3 episodes) and second (6 episodes) are connected, leaving the third (4 episodes) on its own. She had the first two OAVs on VHS, but the third apparently only came out as a DVD set (yeah, go figure), so for those of you waiting for my review on the third OAV, you’ll have to wait because I refuse to have my first experience with the Japanese version in the very last bit. You’re going to have to wait until I meet the characters all over again in Japanese. Would I really deprive everyone of a review just for that?
Yes, I would, but let’s get to OAV #1 first.
1. Lost Bonds – Everything is back to normal (whatever qualifies as normal for them anyway) and Miaka is happily dating Tamahome, and Yui is dating Keisuke’s friend Tetsuya. Miaka, Tamahome, Keisuke, and Tetsuya are visiting the graves of Suzuno and Tatara, as well as Takiko (Priestess of Genbu). But Tamahome keeps hearing someone calling to him and then suddenly finds himself engulfed in red light – the same red light that Miaka’s experienced so many times in the past. Looks like it’s time to find a certain piece of literature again…but can they? Meanwhile, Tamahome finds himself in Konan – 50 years after he and the others managed to summon Suzaku.
2. Flash of Grief – This strange woman claims that Tamahome is actually Nakago, and it seems true. But if 50 years have gone by, then why are Chichiri, Tasuki, and Mitsukake’s cat out and about? This doesn’t make sense. Why is Takiko’s grave disappearing? And Yui – what did Yui do this time? Much will be revealed, and much more bringing us further in the dark. A lot of old friends and a lot of old enemies keep popping up and trust me, you won’t know what to think.
3. Separation, and Then… – Where the heck did these Genbu warriors come from? What is with all the dead people showing up…or coming back? Maybe Taiitsukun can shed some light on things. And they say that Nakago used for work for this guy? Tamahome is in bad shape, Miaka must once more summon Suzaku, but is it really all a part of someone else’s plan? I guarantee at some point you’ll say, “What? You’ve got to be freaking kidding me.”
I had a lot of initial thoughts after the very first episode: Why is Tamahome awed by the train ride? I thought at the end of the series he’d been reborn into Miaka’s world, not just transported there like before. *baffled* Wait, ok, so someone stole the book…? Wow, it really sucks to be Tamahome – that guy just can’t get a break, I feel sorry for him. Yui, doll, love the longer hair, makes you look much more mature. Miaka, kudos on having your hair down instead of up in those Sailor Moon style buns. Started to get real tired of those. And lastly, Nakago? What? Eh? What? *more confusion*
The second episode cleared up a lot of things and then just brought out more that I just kept going “Huh?” to. I actually watched all 9 twice and there are still some things I don’t quite get. The wandering spirits I don’t quite get still, I don’t ever remember anyone saying anything about who Nakago used to work for in the series before the Emperor of Kutou, no one ever explains why Yui does what she does (or was it the earring?). Things just happen and they’re all so squashed together, it’s can be a bit frustrating actually.
These first 3 episodes really are way too condensed. I think if anything they should have let it be at least 4 episodes. Everything just BAM! happens without any clear-cut explanations. I mean, there are explanations, but they just get thrown out there and they come in chunks, instead of gradual understanding. The way the last episode ended was annoying because of how condensed it was, flipping back and forth from what was happening in the book to Keisuke and Tetsuya simply reading it. And then Yui’s sudden ability – just where and how did that come about? *sigh*
All right, well, aside from the super-crammed, sudden plot (and speaking of plot, how many times are we gonna do this Miaka/Tamahome can/can’t be together thing?), everything else is just fine and dandy. The English voices are all the same as they were in the series, and though I enjoy certain voices, such as Nuriko and Chichiri. I really do wish that Tasuki’s voice wasn’t so Chichiri-like and a little more, mmm, manly, but then again, that’s part of why I got so excited over the last volume…
The animation is the exact same as before – everyone, down to their hair and clothes looks the same, aside from Yui having long hair and Miaka leaving her hair down (which I heartily approve of, as mentioned above). It’s really well done, and even though it didn’t make sense to me, I really liked the way the newest bad guy looked. The music is all the same too, aside from opening and closing themes, which have the same “Heh, this was made a while back” sound to them, but they’re pretty good.
Warning to all parents – nudity and violence is involved.
But there’s more. Originally this gets 4 stars, and though I’m not rounding up like usual, it gets an actual 4.5 stars for the following.
At the end of each episode, for some reason they’ve decided to give you a random mini-story (omake or extra), entitled “Fushigi Yuugi Rest and Relaxation Bus Trip: The Tale of the Forbidden Women's Hot Spring Resort.” Basically it’s the characters totally out of character, and who get called by both their character names and by the names of the VAs. When it first popped up I had no idea what to think because there was Ashịtare on top of a bus, being weird, and then Nakago asks Soi to fry him (which she does and the shot of him later is hilarious). But as things progressed, I found myself just laughing myself silly because it was so goofy. I mean, come on, imagine Nakago out of character? I felt so sorry for poor Suboshi and Amiboshi – the notes that were getting sent from the Suzaku bus to the Seiryu bus were enough to bring tears to my eyes. So ridiculous. And later all the guys end up dressing in drag…. I’ll let you ponder over that for a while, haha.
At the end of this OAV I was left thinking, “What? WHAT? Are you serious?? What is up with that?” But that was before I realized they connected with the next 6 episodes, so I was eased somewhat.
“I work with idiots.” – Nakago.
NT
P.S. I will see all of Fushigi Yuugi in Japanese someday! This I promise you! (and then I will have full power over the Fushigi Yuugi reviews! *muahahahaha!*) --I made good on that promise, as you can see below...
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