Fushigi Yûgi: The Mysterious Play OVA 1

I was definitely hard to follow at first, and it makes so much more sense if you watch all three episodes and THEN go back and re-watch the first one. Like I said, it is okay, but nowhere NEAR as good as the series or the second OVA, but a hell of a lot better than the third one (which I would NOT recommend watching at all, unless you want to lessen your love for FY. Poor Tasuki is completely different in it...*sad sad*) OVA one is just basically a kinda summary of part of the manga, but it gives a plot to OVA two (Which I would HEAVILY recommend watching, if you want to GAIN tons of respect for Nuriko, Hotohori, Chichiri, and Tasuki ((the latter two more so)))

Anyway, OVA one was all in all okay, but really the only reason someone would watch it in the first place is to see how it turned out, if you get what I mean. The manga portion was SO much better than the animated version.

OVA 1 fails to incorporate the qualities of the original anime series that made it such a success. The story lacked both coherence and consistency, jumping around from one idea to another without much development. The entire premise was absurd, almost trivializing the events of the series. Perhaps the writers also forgot that dead people stay that way, as they brought several of them back to take part in the battle. Viewers are left questioning how and why the events occurred, a sign of a poorly made production. I certainly don't recommend seeing this 3 part OVA, even to die-hard, curious FY fans.

For anyone who likes fantasy or magic this is a must see. The series does a great job of having multiple magical characters who are still emotionally human. Its best point though is the way it manages to avoid the stereotypical bad guy good guy theme. Everyone in the series is just another character trying to find their way in this interesting in depth world. Warning, the first 30 episodes are character development and very slow but necessary. Without them the last 26 would not have the proper impact.

The only reason why this got 2 stars from me, instead of negative 5, was because nothing with Chichiri in it can be completely irredeemable.

That being said, the plot was a nonsensical mess. I just watched this and I already forgot what it was about. The old characters had no further development. I didn't get to know the new characters at all. Some of them I wasn't even sure why they were included.

The first episode attempts to build up anticipation and emotions, but it was completely forced. I couldn't relate to it. The action was over almost as soon as it started. I kept asking myself, why are the characters doing that, and why should I care?

I absolutely adore Fushigi Yuugi. However, the English version was mutilated beyond repair, so I special ordered my copies of the OAV's in Japanese. While the first tape is confusing at first, there is more to it than meets the eye, and it does satisfactorily explain by the end of the third episode. I loved the Fushigi Yuugi Special- the trip to the hotsprings... I recommend going back to the first tape after seeing all of the episodes- it is more easily understood. I found the OAV's to portray more depth of character than the series did, a fact for which I am immensely grateful. Overall, tape 1 was well put together, well animated, and fairly thought provoking- you couldn't just veg out in front of it and still follow the story. Kudos, once again, to Watase Yuu for her brilliance, and for taking the opinion of her fans into account.