Fushigi Yûgi - The Mysterious Play

This is the best TV show i have ever seen. I have the box set and i watch it all the time! The characters are sooo good! Yuu Watase is just awesome. You can't beat her. You get so caught up and might i mention that it is ADDICTIVE. You watch the first 5-10 episodes and you will have to watch all the way to 52! Tasuki is the best though everyone is wonderful! I was never a big anime fan, but i LUV THIS! Basic plot: Girl unhappy with life gets trapped in a magical book set in ancient china, finds the guy of her dreams, becomes a priestess, becomes enemies with her best bud, and learns quite a bit about herself!

This is NOT pokemon, i wouldn't recommend anything past the first few episodes for kids under 12 or 13.

IMPORTANT: GET THE SUBTITLED VERSION!!!!! PLEASE!!!The dubbed version (from what i have heard) totally BUTCHERS it!

WATCH IT!

Fushigi Yuugi is by far one of the most powerful love stories out there. Although you do have to put up with the gushy love, there is trauma and tragedy that negate this, not to mention the added comedy bonuses through out the series. There are characters that impress; Tamahome, Nuriko, Hotohori, Tasuki and Chichiri and villains that make you wish they'd get theirs.

It's a classic story of good versus evil, betrayal and of course love. Bring a box of tissues for this story and be prepared to be blown away by the outstanding performances of the voice actors who bring these characters to vivid and beautiful life.

If this masterpiece of a cartoon series ever makes its way unscathed into American TVs, it will forever transform the image of the cartoon.

As the Japanese continue to prove time and again: cartoons are NOT for children. They are for adults.

Fushigi Yuugi is an ultra epic(33 30 minute episodes) of an earth girl and her quest to save a mysterious world. In the process she learns how shallow her earth life was and how unaware she was of who she truely is.

The many characters in this story, jump off the screen with such depth that you will shake your head at how such a thing is possible with pencil lines. Special mention needs to go to Tamahome and Nuriko who are more three-dimensional than anything Disney has yet to create in its animated classics. Please don't miss this set.

I've heard so much praise for this series that I decided I have to watch it myself... What better for a fantasy freak like myself, I thought, than an anime with pretty art, an alternative fantasy universe with gods and magic, and a little romance on the side? I was wrong. "Fushigi Yuugi" is one of the worst series I've ever watched - I had to quit it halfway, I just couldn't take it anymore.

The basic story, if not too original, has potential - but it is dealt with in such an annoying and cliche way that it's totally uninteresting. I only kept watching as far as I did because I was interested in what happens to the twins.

The characters are mostly horrible - the heroine is one of the stupidest, most detestable ever to appear on screen. Sorry Miaka-fans, I just find her to be ditzy, idiotic, dependant and horribly annoying. Her male counterpart is only a little better - after a while you really get sick of the whole "Tamahome!!!" - "Miaka!!!" recurring motif. Most of the protagonists are not much better, save the wonderful characters of Nuriko and Tasuki, who really don't get enough screen time at all. Mostly I found myself rooting for the bad guys, though they also are led by the uninteresting Nakago, who may seem cool at first, but is really no more than the usual power-crazed maniac. The twins Amiboshi and Suboshi, however, are fascinating and identifiable, and really save the viewer from total boredom. Too bad they don't get that much screen time either.

The animation is pretty bad, and Yuu Watase's beautiful drawings fail to be transferred onto the screen faithfully. It is a good indication of the animation quality that Hotohori, supposedly the most beautiful man in the world, often looks squashed and deformed and very unappealing.

All in all, this series is horribly overrated, imho. For GOOD fantasy anime, check out Slayers or, if you're looking for a really fascinating story and gorgeous art, try Utena (which is the best anime ever, imho.)

I love this series! It was the first anime I bought years ago. The story line may be a bit predictable but, hey, that's shojo anime for you. I think all the characters are well rounded and have real feelings behind them, you just have to wait, sometimes, to find out what those feelings are. Also, I like the fact that the story takes place in several different settings, such as a country based on ancient China as well as in modern day Tokyo. I feel that the characters develop well going to the different places. I would definitely recommend this series to anyone who likes anime, especially anyone who likes "Ceres: Celestial Legend" which is buy the same author. And don't forget to watch the multitude of OVAs that come after the series, for the most part, they finish up the storyline.