"Fushigi Yûgi" (1995) TV series 1995-1996

Director:

Hajime Kamegaki

Writer:

Yuu Watase (comic)

Genre:

Adventure | Animation | Romance | Drama | Fantasy

Plot Keywords:

Music Box | Quest | Priestess | Anime | Mythology

Cast

Kae Araki	...	Miaka Yuuki
Tôru Furusawa	...	Nakago
Nobuyuki Hiyama	...	Hikitsu
Kôji Ishii	...	Mitsukake
Tetsuya Iwanaga	...	Tomite
Nobutoshi Kanna	...	Tasuki (as Nobutoshi Hayashi)
Tomoko Kawakami	...	Chiriko
Takehito Koyasu	...	Hotohori
Hisako Kyôda	...	Taiitsu (voice)
Hikaru Midorikawa	...	Tamahome
Shinichirô Miki	...	Keisuke Yuuki
Ken Narita	...	Tatsuya
Ryûzaburô Ôtomo	...	Ashitare
Chika Sakamoto	...	Nuriko
Tomokazu Seki	...	Chichiri (voice: Japanese version)
Tatsuo Tobita	...	Tomo
Yumi Tôma	...	Yui Hongo
Yûji Ueda	...	Amiboshi

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Company:

Studio Pierrot Co. Ltd.

Quotes:

Nuriko: You pig! You even finished off my plate!

Definitely not what you're used to from American TV...

Miaka Yuuki is your average Japanese Junior High student... She goes to school, has a best friend, looks forward to her first boyfriend, and has an entrance exam to take. She also makes below average grades which look even worse when compared to genius-girl best friend Yui's grades. She's obsessed with food, sleeps in class, and has a mother who would like her to get into the best high school in Tokyo.

Things seem impossible until Miaka finds a book- The Universe of the Four Gods, Sky and Earth, locked away in a closed off part of the library. As Yui reads the first lines to her (they are in Ancient Chinese), a red glow pulls the two girls into the magical book. Soon the girls are rescued by a handsome young man, Yui gets pulled back to the real world, and Miaka is offered the chance of a life time: If she becomes the heroine of the book, finds the seven people with the mark of the Suzaku Stars, then summons Suzaku to protect this ancient chinese country, then Suzaku will grant her wishes. But things heat up when Miaka leaves to the real world, only to find Yui is missing. As she goes back looking for Yui in the book, she learns that the neighboring country is looking for their own Priestess to summon that country's god. But where would they find a girl from another world that could?

Miaka's journey then becomes one to rescue her best friend. What could possibly be the reason why Yui would become Miaka's enemy and even be sending people to try and kill her?

This show is not made for kids. It has many funny moments, though it covers very serious topics including rape, sex, suicide, and murder. The only problem I had with this series is that the beginning credits give away too much, so don't watch them until you reach episode 25. The episode previews ruin things throughout the series, so also skip these if at all possible. This is my favorite series from any country. On a scale of 1 to 10, its at least a 20! This is one book that you nor our heroine will be able to put down until the last page is turned- and then you'll have to check out the OAVs!