Lots of hate comments here, and I have to say that Fushigi Yuugi deserves them to some extent. I also see a lot of people comparing the manga series to the anime series, which I personally haven't watched, but I heard that the anime series kept most the plot points intact, so I'll assume the same applies to both adaptations.

Fushigi Yuugi is...a classic. It's not the first of the time traveling school girls, but it's definitely old enough, and sets up enough archetypes to earn the name of a classic. Hell, Miaka and Yui were sucked into the world of a mystic Ancient China a good 4 years before the famous Kagome first made her trip down the well. With this point made, I think it's fair to point out that Miaka fits the image of most shojo characters at the time: an innocent, naiive, cute, ditzy, but ultimately courageous girl that finds the strength in herself to save the world. While that might be overused and seem horrible today, back in 1992, maybe it wasn't so bad, especially considering the target audience.

Of course, our values in good shojo manga have long since changed, and 10 years later, Yuu Watase-sensei shows that she has been improving her storytelling and keeping up with the demands of a new female audience that wants to see more action from the heroine herself rather than the protection of handsome men. I think that this new set of expectations towards shojo manga is what blinds people to some of the better aspects of Fushigi Yuugi, and prevents people from enjoying it as much.

Most people complain about Miaka's character, but I think her character makes her human. She does develop bit by bit throughout the series as well. I'm not a particular fan of her character, and god knows how many times she's frustrated me, but I think people tend to focus too much on the negative traits and fail to see the development of her character. Beyond just the character of Miaka though, I think that people fail to give the vast and colorful supporting cast enough credit. Fushigi Yuugi has a myriad of different characters, from the seven soldiers of Suzaku to the seven soldiers of Seiryuu. Chihiri, Tatsuki, Nuriko, Mitsukake, Suboshi, Amiboshi...most people can find at least someone to relate to.

As for the length, while 18 volumes seems hefty, I think it's necessary in order to cover through all the plot points that Watase-sensei did. 13 volumes to develop and describe the huge cast of characters as well as move forward the plot that took place in ancient China wasn't really too long. If it had been any shorter, things might have been overly rushed. I think there were some scenes that could have been cut, but I don't think they were negatively impacting the story since the plot is very character driven and each scene helped develop at least some of the characters. I wasn't nearly as fond of the latter half of the series, but it helped in showing Miaka as she matured and gave an almost 'coming of age' type of air to the series, so it kept me until the end.

As for the art, I personally like Watase-sensei's art, and she improved through the course of the 18 volumes. As for Miaka 'ugliness' as commented by a few other people...I don't think it's important to the plot at all, and besides that, it's purely subjective based on one's opinion of the art in general, so I won't bother commenting.

This is a pretty biased review since I have a lot of fond memories tied to Fushigi Yuugi. If I had read this series today and not back when I was first introduced to manga, my opinion would probably be very different, and I might have hated the series. But nostalgia does a lot, and I really do appreciate the classic storytelling of Fushigi Yuugi.

To Krysic:
This IS THE ORIGINAL STORY. Fushigi Yuugi: Genbu Kaiden was a prequel; a simple glance at the years should already tell you so: this was done in 1992, while Genbu Kaiden followed in 2003, more than 10 years after this.



So having said that, I think it's only fair that we shouldn't compare this with Fushigi Yuugi: Genbu Kaiden. Rather, it should be the other way around. 10 years is a lot of time for a mangaka to improve.

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This was a very entertaining read. It was a nostalgic experience for me, having watched the anime more than a decade ago. Not a big fan of shoujo, but this makes me want to explore Watase's other work. It's definitely not perfect, but a manga doesn't have to be perfect to entertain.

And I agree with spiritedaway, Miaka is a strong woman. Yes, she's an idiot glutton who doesn't know how to fight... but she has a strong sense of self-sacrifice. Countless of times she'd rush the enemy as bait... just so her celestial warriors, who are obviously much more able than her, could get away safely. Stupid? Maybe. But as they say, there's a fine line between stupidity and courage.

well i saw bother the anime and manga and if you really think about it all they ever talk about is sex and its a little childish. And yea you see her mature but idk it i read it along time ago back when i was young and still in middle school, and i thought it was really good, but now... im in high school going to junior year anytime soon and now that i think back to this manga i think its boring because there are many mangas that are similiar, im more interested in like skip beat and nana, but its only my opinion.

first of all miaka yuuki the heroine IS NOT A WEAK FEMALE LEAD. she even fought a couple of gangsters bravely to save herself. touched hotohori's(emperror) chest, provoked the guards at the palace to fight w her, went to a forest alone to not cause any harm to her guardians etc....

yes she is an airhead but when the story progresses ohh you just cant get enough of her. she got STRONG! very strong

. All of them got their characters developed especially miaka.

... Last updated on July 3rd, 2010, 9:28pm

It's been years since I started reading manga and this happened to be the first manga/anime I read. If I'm reading this now, I'd hate it, but at the time, it was something new and different from the Famous Five and Harry Potter books. I'd say if you're a sucker for cheesy romance this is perfect.

It's a girl's fantasy come true. Every nice guy falls for her and the guys she loves says that she is his life all the time. And Miaka, really I can understand people here, she is the most annoying girl ever on earth. The ever useless damsel in distress. I guess that was why Tamahome liked her that much? He does have a 'needing' issue going on.

On the other hand, as slow as character development was, once she starts maturing, much much much later on, she's more bearable. and lets face it, she does grow on you after the large number of chapters/episodes. In fact, in the OVA I thought 'THAT'S more like it' even though she does retain her annoying weakness. At least she's not screeching Tamahome at every turn.

Apart from the main leads, ie. Miaka and Tamahome, everyone else are just simply HOT. Wonderful characters that will make you fall in love within seconds. Hotohori, Tasuki, Nuriko, hell even the 'evil' guy Nakago. They are characters that I will always love.

why is it that I hate all the works by her even when I just started reading, so at the very beginning? Well, I haven't read much of her works (3 or so) but I didn't like any of them.

What I absolutly disliked about Fushigi Yuugi: Stupid main heroine that always thinks about food, only one big love, very predictable, very very stupid heroine(o wait, haven't I written that already?) and... the art. It was just so-so for me.
Just for your Information: I've read several volumes of this manga. And I'll probably NEVER finish it. I'll also never finish the other mangas by Watase Yuu I've began!

By the way, I just love Kraust's comment. It's wonderful! I had to laugh so hard.... and I always had to thought: Wow, I think pretty much the same! Even if I just gave it one chance.

... Last updated on December 23rd, 2009, 1:14pm

When I read this years ago, Watase's works were popular at the time but they had similar love harems, plots, an artistic style that didn't change at all, and even the same humor. I read most of them and it became repetitive, which is originally why I rated this manga a 3/10 as I felt at the time that it didn't really stand out. Fast forward to 2020, I decided to give this manga another standalone chance. Though in some ways I'm glad I did, I was still generally underwhelmed by the entirety of it. It was mostly how I remembered it, especially the humor and artistic sense, but now I realize that the story is more coherent and solid.

WARNING: In this review, I am referring to Watase by their preferred pronouns so it may be confusing when I am jumping from "they are" to "Watase is". This is information I gained from Wikipedia and am using it as respect for what they want.

One thing I always appreciate about Watase's story-telling is that they are always able to answer questions that you may have about a character, plot, or action. They are able to fill holes at a later time and in a manner that made sense. This means that Watase left the plot generally open in some areas to allow them to put in a creative plot should they want. Despite all of the numerous character introductions, Watase was able to create a mascot that holds and control them: the priestesses, which I thought was the most effective form of multiple character introductions. Though I am glad that almost every character we meet has a unique backstory, including side characters, I definitely know that they have did not give a lot of Seiryu characters much thought.

In the story, we follow Miaka and her Celestial Warriors to summon Suzaku. So it makes sense that we know every characters' backstory, struggles of individuality, and their contributions to the team. The same justification is not being applied to Yui and her Celestial Warriors though, and it truly felt like they exist solely as enemies. There really isn't anything wrong with this but I wish that there was more diversity in moral ethics, especially since most of the characters have been so memorable. The Seiryu Warriors existed solely for the sake of villainy, which I thought was a little...well...uncreative. But besides this small opinion, I feel that Watase has a good sense of humor despite the typical '90s manga humor (i.e. a character who eats too much, too perverted, too sassy, too etc) and has a great ability to be able to recycle plots but expand it with a different context. This allows Miaka to persevere and become a great leader, despite the occasional selfish request of wanting to be with Tamahome.

The story then has a "part 2" in which Miaka and Tamahome reunite in her world. I felt that this was irrelevant and was something Watase created to milk more out of their love story. It really does nothing to emphasize the original story and really has no connection, besides the new villain being an entity that Nakago had worshipped. The character-building in this part is subpar compared to the previous one, but still generally has good plot even though the characters are not as memorable. However, I am glad that this one is short and isn't an absolute necessity to read after reading the original manga. In this age, reading this might throw someone off but I would still generally recommend this manga to those who are looking for a decent isekai to read.

... Last updated on December 14th, 2020, 8:25am

I had fun reading this manga and would and will read it again. I'm a fan of sappy romance and this has it.

i read this manga a few years ago and i loved it. but then again, i love cheesy over-dramatic stories...

but upon reflection, fushigi yuugi wasn't as amazing as i first thought it to be. the art is gorgeous, you can't dispute that. but yeah, i can see how miaka can get on people's nerves. both leads are typical, nothing too special. but i think my favourite character was hotohori; really loved him (he was too good for miaka).

to summarize:
read it if you like the cheesy, over-dramatic sort of cliched love story. also a word of caution: halfway through the series, the whole thing turns into something of a soap opera. but on the bright side, the art is really really stunning and there are a handful of memorable characters. (: