Pros: Nice to see some familiar faces again.
Cons: Plot needs some work, too much squashed into 4 episodes, enough closure already
The Bottom Line: If this didn't exist, it wouldn't matter, but if you have to finish off your Fushigi Yuugi collection, then it's not a total waste of money.
Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot. What’s Fushigi Yuugi you ask? Ooh, my friend, you are at the wrong end of things to be asking that here. You’re going to have to start at the start – the series. The 52 episodes will show you all you need to know. If not, this is going to make zero sense. And I mean zero.
So, were you paying close attention to the credits in the OAV before this one? You know, #2? Heh, probably not, but as the episodes of this OAV roll along, you might spot some things that showed up then anyway…
This is the last OAV concerning the mysterious play, totaling 4 episodes of, um, unnecessary stuff, actually. I’ll give you short rundowns and then explain what the problem is with all of this.
1. The Legend Unfolds... – Aww yay! Miaka and Taka are married! Who is this strange girl who catches the bouquet? Her name is Mayo, and already we notice she has some issues – she looks angry at the happy couple, and she’s got the “Universe of the Four Gods” in her possession. A while after Taka and Miaka get back from their honeymoon they find out Miaka is pregnant! Joy! However, it’s not long before the book wakes up and starts dragging people into the book – including Miaka’s unborn child.
2. Desert Quest – Mayo’s ugliness has just begun as Taka goes with Chichiri and Tasuki to find the other reborn celestial warriors in order to try and summon Suzaku (yes again). What is wrong with everything inside the book though? Dark clouds, ugly lightening, scary looking birds – who is behind all this? Er, is that Chiriko? That’s kind of…weird…
3. Rebirth of the Seven Stars – Once more, Keisuki, Tetsuya, and Yui are doing their best to help in their world, attempting to connect with Mayo and talk some sense into her, and they’re not the only ones. Meanwhile the others continue their search for the other Suzaku Seven, encountering more monsters along the way.
4. The Advent of Suzaku – Will we understand Mayo’s feelings from her past? Will everyone disappear? What is wrong with the book and why is this happening? How will they prevent it without Miaka? Where are the answers?
Hmm…final thoughts on this?
*BLARG!*
All right, now that I’ve gotten that outta my system, let me explain to you what makes and breaks this OAV.
The Good
The few things about Fushigi Yuugi that never changes is the skill of the animation – everyone still looks the same, aside from a few changes in clothes, Tasuki has longer hair (aww he’s so cute!), and Miaka and Yui have nice long hair (as in the last few OAVs). Then the music is just as good as always. I enjoy the opening song, it’s nice and soft, and the ending song is pretty good too, upbeat and with a male singer for a change of pace.
It’s nice to see the same faces with the same voices, both in English and Japanese, and we even get to see Hotohori’s son, Boushin, grown up. Aww he looks just like his daddy! How cute. We also get to see all four Beast Gods again (even though some of them were created via computer graphics and that looked a little awkward since there’s never been a lick of CG stuff in any of Fushigi Yuugi before). When Keisuke and the others were trying to communicate with Taka, they did so using his cell phone and I thought that was kind of cool.
The Bad
This has a lot of problems and here are just a few:
• Ok, so in the beginning, a computer turned on and deleted the book from the computer files – did the book do that? Was that even necessary?
• Taka/Tamahome’s English voice is different, which might not be so bad, but since everyone else had the same voice (not counting new characters of course – and I don’t count Houki either because she never spoke enough for me to really notice), it made things a little awkward. David Lelyveld is an okay voice, but after hearing David Hayter for so long, it’s kind of weird.
• I thought they sealed that stupid book away, but then I thought that last time after OAV #1 and was wrong then (I guess) so I suppose they were allowed to get away with it, but still.
• Taka never explains what really happened in the first story to Mayo while she makes up all these ridiculous fantasies and tells them to Houki, and later when she claims that Miaka wished for her own happiness – at least try to set her straight please.
• Um, where did Mayo get that crystal ball? Did she cough it up? (that’s a legit question)
• Houki’s story to Mayo was really weird considering just who was in the love triangle she was talking about. I mean honestly, what was that? Lame.
• And lastly, how does Nuriko (no spoiler – you knew he was gonna show up) figure out what Miaka did concerning Mayo? It was like suddenly it was so obvious to everyone when I thought, “No way would I ever do that – Mayo is psycho,” but I guess she didn’t know that, but then how did she know Mayo had the book? Makes no sense.
• Oh, and sorry folks but there aren’t any extra goodies this time. Just the 4 episodes.
The Ugly
Ok, the biggest thing about this OAV is that it was totally (and I do mean totally) unnecessary. I could have lived happily ever after when the series ended. Heck, I was able to live happily ever after OAV #2 ended even with all its flaws. But this? Sure, I can live happily ever after, but I honestly thought this whole thing was stupid and in the end, a waste of time. That sounds really bad, I know, but the only reason it gets its three stars is because what they seemed to be trying to do was a unique idea, but it just didn’t pan out right. The fact that it was super condensed didn’t help it either. OAV or not, I think it’s fair to compare it to the scenario of smashing all three LOTR movies (3+ hours each) into a single 3 hour movie. Yeah, not so well done, ne?
The whole deal about what Miaka did concerning Mayo was just really annoying considering how Mayo handled it (see some of the above comments) and Mayo is a really bad character you never feel sorry for. In episode 3 I know enough Japanese to be able to read what she wrote on the window even before they read it out loud, and I said to myself, “Whoa.” Even after you find out why Mayo has all this angst, I’m sorry, but that is just not enough to excuse her for what she did, threatened to do, and almost did do. Honestly, after all that, I would look her in the face and say, “Mayo, you need therapy.”
**Spoiler Warning!**
Another big problem is that you never really figure out what exactly the deal was with the book – the explanation that is given doesn’t match up well with what happens. If the book were trying to keep itself from being destroyed, it was doing a bad job because it basically was destroying itself through its actions. In which case, if the book itself was in charge, why is summoning Suzaku going to do anything? And then Yui’s explanation of her going into the book at the same time as Miaka helped to screw things up, well that just doesn’t seem to matter really. The book was going to get its fourth priestess eventually – then what? It would degenerate, try to start over, and get like this anyway? Mmm…just doesn’t seem to work very well at all.
**End Spoiler!**
Warning to parents, by the way. There is some mild language (one, maybe two swear words), very mild nudity, and of course your usual violence, but this time a major lack of blood – just Tasuki frying things and Tamahome beating stuff up, things like that. No biggie.
If you want, see it. If not, it’s really no big loss. Just look online for Tasuki’s hair change and you’ll be fine, haha.
NT
Recommended only to the major Fushigi Yuugi fans.
The Series (VHS format; English only):
Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play Vol. 1 - The Universe of the Four Gods
Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play Vol. 2 - Trials of the Heart
Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play Vol. 3 - Separation
Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play Vol. 4 - The Priestess of Seiryu
Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play Vol. 5 - The Dying Land
Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play Vol. 6 - Dark Reunion
Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play Vol. 7 - Goodbye, Tamahome
Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play Vol. 8 - Summoning Suzaku
Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play Vol. 9 - The Seiryu Seven
Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play Vol. 10 - Nuriko…
Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play Vol. 11 - The Quest for the Shinzaho
Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play Vol. 12 - Illusions of Love
Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play Vol. 13 - The Ties that Bind
Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play Vol. 14 - Summoning Seiryu
Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play Vol. 15 - The Fading Light
Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play Vol. 16 - The Last Page Turned
The Series (DVD format; dual language):
Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play - Vol. 1
Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play - Vol. 2
Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play - Vol. 3
Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play - Vol. 4
Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play - Vol. 5
Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play - Vol. 6
Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play - Vol. 7
Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play - Vol. 8
The OAVs
Fushigi Yugi - The Mysterious Play Special Vol. 1: Illusions
Fushigi Yugi - The Mysterious Play Special Vol. 2: Memories
Fushigi Yugi - The Mysterious Play Special Vol. 3: Reflections
Recommended:
No
Viewing Format: DVD
