Open the Shijintenshou......
Fushigi Yuugi -- This is my top 1 favorite anime ever! I fell in love with Fushigi Yuugi's story and characters since the first time I saw it. It has drama, romance, action, comedy, adventure and mystery rolled into one 52-episode animation series!
I already mentioned that Fushigi Yuugi is a 52-episode anime. The series was taken from the 18-volume manga by Watase Yuu. The story that was in the series are taken from volumes 1-13 of the manga: the real FY story arc. Volumes 14-18, the Tenkou arc, is the storyline for the second FY OVA. The story arcs of the three Fushigi Yuugi OVAs:
FY OVA I - happens within the arc of the series
FY OVA II - happens after the series
FY OVA III - happens 10 years after the second OVA
What is Fushigi Yuugi all about?
Fushigi Yuugi is the story of a girl, Miaka, who one day visits the library with her best friend, Yui. Miaka then wanders off to the restricted section as she tries to find a red bird that caught her attention. Yui finds Miaka in the restricted section when a book suddenly falls open in front of them from one of the shelves. The title of the book was "Shijintenshou"...
As soon as they start reading the Shijintenshou (Yui was reading because Miaka can't read Chinese characters), the both get sucked in the book by a red light and find themselves in ancient China. They meet a group of slave drivers who were about to take them away but they get saved by a mysterious man with a mark on his forehead. Then Yui and Miaka go back to the real world just as they were thanking the man. Soon enough, Miaka enters the book again, finds out that she is in a country called Hongnan (Konan) and is promising the young emperor of the country to become the Priestess of Suzaku...and that's how Fushigi Yuugi starts. If I continue more than that, I'll end up telling the whole story.
Fushigi Yuugi was influenced by ancient Chinese myths. Shijintenshou translates to "The Universe of the Four Gods". These four gods are the ruler of the North, South, East and West and their powers are based on the four basic elements: ice, fire, wood and water respectively. These gods have 7 constellations each under them (28 known constellations of the ancient times have been divided into 4). Oh and these gods are represented in animal form too.
For a breakdown of the gods and their constellations:
Genbu (direction: north, element: ice, animal: white tiger) - Uruki, Tomite, Hatsui, Namame, Hikitsu, Inami and Urumiya
Suzaku (direction: south, element: fire, animal: phoenix) - Tamahome, Hotohori, Nuriko, Chichiri, Tasuki, Mitsukake and Chiriko
Byakko (direction: east, element: wood, animal: reptile) - Tokaki, Subaru, Tatara, Kokie, Amefuri, Karasuki and Toroki
Seiryu (direction: west, element: water, animal: dragon) - Nakago, Amiboshi, Suboshi, Soi, Ashitare, Tomo and Miboshi
I'm hoping that that tempts you enough to watch Fushigi Yuugi. Honestly, it's something that girls would like more although I've had guy friends who liked the story as well. It's a feel-good anime. You'll cry with them, laugh with them and the characters (and story) really grow on you.
