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Fushigi Yugi - The Mysterious Play - Volume 1, Suzaku

Fushigi Yugi - The Mysterious Play - Volume 1, Suzaku

List Price: $198.98
Your Price: $179.08
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I'd give it higher but no stars go that high
Review: I just have like one thing to say that sums everything up: if you have not seen this yet, WHY HAVEN'T YOU?!!!!!! No matter what anyone says, this is one of the best anime ever. However if you don't like shoujo then don't watch it. I think the plot is great and the characters are really interesting. Not to mention it is has many guys to drool over. I've seen this show countless times and still I enjoy just as much as the first time I saw it. You should also see the OVA. I've heard more people say it's bad rather than good but I think the OVA are really good too. Especially because after the t.v. series of this was over I was goin through FY withdrawal. I haven't seen the new OVA Eikou Den yet but I hope it' as great as the rest. However afer Eikou Den hopefully they won't do anymore with FY as they're staring to wear the novelty off.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best anime series I've seen
Review: I first heard about this anime from seeing it online and asking my friend about it. She is a huge anime source for me, so I always go to her when I'm interested in anime I've seen around the web. It was Christmas time, and I decided to get the box set of it. I took a really big risk of getting it at a store with no returns, and it being horrible, but it turned out that it was one of the best I've ever seen. My all time favorite anime is Escaflowne, but Fushigi Yugi is giving Escaflowne a run for its money. Aside from Escaflowne's intensidy (and the super hot Van), Fushigi Yugi has seriousness, but laugher the whole way through the first box set. It also has romance, and strong friendships. One downside is that is rushes through the action, but enough so you can see what happens, and how intense it's supposed to be.
It's basically about a girl named Miaka going to a library with her friend Yui and getting trapped in a book. They are saved by one of the Suzaku seven members just before they got sold off from some slave traders. Tamahome asks for money, which they dont have. He walks off, as Yui runs after him, very upset. Miaka is distracted trying to find some money, as Yui gets taken back to their world. Miaka assumes that Tamahome took Yui, so she wonders around looking for him. Tamahome saves Miaka from many life or death situations before she decides that she is the Priestess of Suzaku. Long story short, it turns out into a huge romance and betral story, with twists and turns throughout the whole series.
I dont think the romance was overrated, because it shows the intensity of Miaka's and Tamahome's relationhip, and how far they would go for each other. They only downside, is that there is a cliffhanger at the end of every episode. Than once you find one without a cliffhanger, you'll be left thinking "Thats it? Wheres the cliffhanger?" I recommend getting both of the box sets, because the end of the Suzaku series has a HUGE cliffhanger.
Lucky for me, I'll hopefully be getting the other box set around Christmas again. All I have left to say is not to be discouraged by reviews of bad taste. Take a chance like I did, and discover a 52 series anime that you've been missing out on.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: If anything gets better than this, i better know!
Review: I started out watching anime with Sailor Moon. Then I was into other things, like Pokemon and Dragon Ball Z. But this by far takes the cake!
This is a series for just about anybody. It has romance, action, drama, tragedy, miracles, and no one can forget comedy! That's what hooked me first. I started out reading the manga's, and after the first one I WAS HOOKED!!
It's about a fifteen year old girl, Miaka. She's a normal student preparing for her high school entrance exams. One day at the library, she and her friend Yui find a book and literally get sucked into it. Inside it, Miaka and Yui find themselves in Ancient China. They are rescued by none other than the hot Tamahome!! *grin* One thing leads to another, and Miaka finds herself as the Priestess of Suzaku. Miaka must find the seven Suzaku Warriors in order to summon Suzaku. She definitally matures, finding true love (Tamahome) learning of pain, betrayal (Yui), hope, faith, etc. Many things happen, and Miaka finds herself against her best friend Yui. They become sworn enemies when Yui becomes the Priestess of Seiryu. This ends at a cliffhanger,you learn of the impersonation of one of her Suzaku warriors, and that Miaka must find a new way to summon Suzaku.
Suprisingly, unlike a lot of other anime's that stray from the original manga's, this one sticks pretty close to the manga. There are only minor changes,like the reason they go into the room and learn of the book, Miaka's link with her brother, and when Tamahome's braid gets chopped off. Trust me, if your looking for something to keep you interested to the very last second, this is it! And you can't forget the hotness! Weather your a guy or girl...! SO MANY PRETTY PEOPLE TO CHOOSE SOME! Tamahome is always someone's favorite, but I LOVE CHICHIRI AND TASUKI! And Nuriko. They are the most hysterical characters. I feel like im starting to ramble, so I will leave you with this: If you see Fushigi Yugi anywhere, stop, pick it up, and BUY IT! You won't regret it!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A Girl Who Hates Fushigi Yuugi
Review: Fushigi Yuugi has gotta be one of the most overrated animes ever; it really gives anime a bad name. The formulaic plots, the one-dimensional characters (I know it's a cartoon, but I've seen more depth in one episode of SponegeBob SquarePants!), the cheesiest dialogue and the worst animation ever produced by Studio Pierrot.

...<... It's the way this anime was executed and especially the way Miaka is portrayed that makes this such a terrible show. Miaka is your standard whiny, obsessive, skinny chick heroine who eats too much and whines to much. Now sometimes a character like this can work, but not when every man in the show falls in love with her. It just makes no sense, and it becomes very annoying. ....

The animation is static, the backgrounds are rushed, the music is shrill. The characters are all drawn to be "pretty" and at times it's hard to tell them apart. The use of "Super Deformed" characters is abused for, I guess, humor effect, but it falls flat for me every time. The men especially are very bland, and after the first couple of episodes the action really slows down.

Yes, so there's my two cents on this show. But most people seem to love it, so use your best judgement here. People looking for deep, emotional entertainment need not look here. If you just want to stare at colorful pictures and listen to whiny characters being all romantic then this is SO for you. I would recommend titles like "Rurouni Kenshin" and "Cowboy Bebop" to people with more sophisticated tastes, and not for fans of this horrible show.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not worth the money
Review: As other reviewers have said, this series tackles dark topics such as rape. I find it interesting that they tackle these topics with a ditzy one dimensional lead character who's traits include gluttony and stupidity. Its not a bad series, it just isn't a quality series, and the transfer isn't a quality job. ...I suggest you buy something with a slightly better storyline, with better, more realistic characters... FY doesn't have the same caliber that other series have out there. And to make matters worse the second season is much worse, so you can't look forward to the series possibly getting better.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Disappointing and unintelligent
Review: I can't belive I ordered this thing.
First of all, it wasn't created with DVD in mind, so the quality isn't too good (unlike Cowboy Bebop, for example). But the main problem is that this thing sucks so much!
It was nice and funny until episode 9, but after that it started to be based on tragedies.. just like that, with no warnings.
In addition, Miaka, the main character, is horribly dumb, and it doesn't make sense that such a bucko would lead the gang. There's bad mixture between humor and tragedy there, and the music repeats itself too - you'll get sick of it very soon.

The characters look cute, though. So I'd recommend downloading pictures of them instead of buying this.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Not the Best- but I LOVE IT!!!
Review: I actually got this as a birthday present, but I have to say this is one of the top ten anime series i have seen. It does have everything, and while it would appeal mostly to girls, some of the action sequences are beatufully rendered. The plot is original, although I dislike the fact that everyone is in love with Miaka (the main character). Nonetheless, I would still recommend the hefty investment because you will enjoy watching this series over and over again. Get ready to cry your eyes out, especially during the second half.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Amazing
Review: I have all episodes of Fushigi Yugi The Mysterious Play. I re watch them when ever I can get some time to myself. It has a great plot, although sometimes the 'I love you so much but I can't be with you because of this/that' gets really frustrating. My favorite characters are Nuriko and Chichiri! Whoa! The kick a**. Anyhow this anime has it all, action/adventure, romance fluff, extremely sad and depressing moments, but it's worth it. This box set holds half of the 52 episodes. I prefer dubbed for this anime only because I like the voices when they speak english, the subtitles make them sound...strange. I definately recommend this! If you aren't into anime yet this would be a good starter, in my opinion anyway. I started with this one, and at first I wished I had gone with a shorter series, but then if I had I probably wouldn't be as addicted as I am now!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Flawed, but Great Nonetheless
Review: Every once in awhile some anime comes along that has otakus saying "DUDE!! DUDE!! YOU GOTTA SEE THIS!!! THIS IS THE GREATEST ANIME EVER!!!" And it turns out that the anime in question turns out to be so hyped up that it ends up dissapointing. Well, "Fushigi Yugi" is no exception. However, even though "Fushigi Yugi" may not be the greatest, it is certainly light years ahead from mediocre. And is definitely worth watching...many times over.

By now, you probably have read the plot either from some other otaku or from someone else's review. Basically, two girls find a book that sends them to a mythical universe, the Universe of the Four Gods to be correct. There they meet a vast array of heroes and villains, face the trials of love and hate, and are even pitted against one another. There's more but I'll let you all figure it out for yourselves. Behind it all is a remarkable (if not cliched) love story.

The show is based on Yu Watase's popular shoujo (basically meaning "for girls" ) manga. Now the instant I say "shoujo" I end up turning off the attention of the male otakus. However, they must know that "Gundam Wing' was meant for a shoujo audience as well. So , if you've watched "Gundam Wing" and liked it, you will like/love this.

Much like "Gundam Wing" the series has plenty of love story for the girls, and lots of action for the guys. The story is unrelenting in its pacing (this is after all 52 episodes worth of story, not counting the OVAs). One minute the characters are caught in a wind of romance, next minute they're being tossed through the chaos of war, then they're faced with a new problem. Sort of an emotional rollercoaster that gives it a rather European feeling to it, and never lets go of the viewers attention.

However, the plot is uneven at times. Granted, this is a shoujo, so it is heavy on love. So heavy that at times it feels unusual when the two lovers start saying each others names...over...and over...and over again. There is almost a smothering feeling with the continuous "I love you but I can't" theme. At times it can be sweet, at other times it can drive a person to drive pins into their ears and eyes.

But, if there is one thing I can say about the love story aspect of "Fushigi Yugi," unlike most anime that feature this kind of story, the emotions the characters feel towards each other are real. So real that I couldn't believe that they were scripted.

Now, if there is one thing I could write accolades about; wonderful cast. The characters seemed as if they were created with personalities first, THEN molded into the bodies you see. The characters are so well made that viewers will feel the happiness, the pain, the sorrow, and the hope that the characters go through. You'd be hard-pressed not to like this wonderful crew of beguiled heroes and villains.

The animation is crisp and clear, almost on par with anime like "Trigun" and "Gundam X." There are only a few uses of stock-footage in battle scenes but that's forgivable.

The art is good but could have been a little better. This kind of artwork nearly reminded me of the plain art of "Berserk" or "Slayers." But like the stock footage, this can be overlooked.

Good music. Another plus. Nothing more to say on that.

Now, my MAJOR FLAW with the series is purely of an anime nature. Too many people like this anime. If you mention "Fushigi Yugi" in front of any otaku, they will go crazy. But that isn't the main problem; many of them don't even know why. Their reasons fall on the same plane; "Dude, it had a good plot" or "It was so cute!! WAI WAI WAI!!!" As one who has basically grown up with anime, it almost deters everything that anime stood for. If one wants to truly appreciate anime, you cannot do it by picking out the anime EVERYONE and their iguana know and love. There are few otaku who see beyond the "new stuff" and look at the classics that made anime what it is. Granted, this IS A GOOD ANIME (I said it, now don't lynch me) but there are others to.

In the end, "Fushigi Yugi" is like an old working golden watch you find in a treasure chest. Though it may be an old concept and has a couple of scratches, you can't help but look beyond the flaws and see it for it's real beauty and that it still gets its job done. "Fushigi Yugi" is a must watch for all anime fans.

-RW

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best Anime
Review: When I first started watching FY, I fell in love with the series. It has a GREAT storyline that will always keep you on the edge of your seat at the end of every episode. The only bad thing is is that the romance will start to get sappy and old soon, VERY SOON! All the characters have well thought out personalities and background info, so you will only be confused about what is happening some of the time, but it is usually explained. If you get this, you will definetly need to get the Seiryu box and Oni box also. By the end of this you will be DYING to know what happens next! Even before seeing the end of the series it soon became my favorite Anime.

Series order: Suzaku Box-1st season
Seiryu Box-2nd season
Oni Box-OVA's


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