Impression: Fushigi Yugi 9

With volume nine, I have hit the half point of the story. Like last time, I'm going to try and keep the summary short with more focus on my own reactions to the story.

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Summary

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Volume nine beginning with Nuriko's funeral, after which the remaining warriors head inside the cave. Once inside, they discover that the Shentso-Pao is guarded by two of Genbu's warriors. Unfortunately for the Suzaku warriors, these two are ghosts and cannot be defeated. It is then that Miaka steps up and begs the two to let her pass. They agree so long as Miaka can prove she is indeed the Priestess of Suzaku.

The test involves Miaka overcoming the ice powers of the two warriors. And just when all hope is lost and Miaka is fully frozen, thoughts of Nuriko awaken his bracelets that Miaka is wearing, and Miaka bursts forth, out of the ice. Having proven that she is indeed the Priestess, the Genbu warriors present her the Shentso-Pao.

But before they can celebrate, a giant wolf steals the Shentso-Pao right out of Miaka's hands as she is leaving the cave and brings it to Nakago. Nakago confirms it is Ashitare, whose wolf blood has taken over after his human death, and promptly kills him.

Miaka, depressed, runs off again and Tai-Yi-Jun appears before her. When Miaka asks for her help in getting the Shentso-Pao back, Tai-Yi-Jun suggests the bedding technique to disrupt Nakago's chi. Miaka, confused, asks how she can have sex when the Priestess must be a virgin. Tai-Yi-Jun laughs that she lied and that it was just a precaution against love disrupting the quest. She confirms this by pointing to Yui, who was raped. After Tai-Yi-Jun leaves, Miaka decides she wants to try it since Nuriko gave his life for the Shentso-Pao. Meanwhile, Tai-Yi-Jun appears in front of the Suzaku warriors and tells them that she is taking care of Miaka and tells them to go on ahead to the southern city where the second Shentso-Pao lies.

When Miaka makes it to Nakago's camp, it appears he has been expecting her. He confirms this and tells her that the Tai-Yi-Jun she saw was a fake created by one of Sieryu's warriors. He then proceeds to have his way with her, which he states will remove any chance she has to summon Suzaku. When Miaka asks about Yui, Nakago, with glee in his eyes, tells Miaka she was never raped. He saved her before anything happened but she is convinced she was violated.

Meanwhile, Tamahome has an ill feeling and decides to head back to check on Miaka. After he finds her, the two of them do not know how to react with what just happened. Eventually Tamahome tells Miaka that she looks just as pure as ever and that nothing could ever tarnish her. After a loving embrace and maybe more (it is not certain since nothing is shown explicitly), Miaka decides that she has to run away once more because she is unworthy of both Tamahome and summoning Suzaku.

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My Thoughts

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Well, this was certainly a very dramatic and tense volume. I sort of found it strange that it is titled Lover, given what happens to Miaka...but maybe the editor was aiming for the final chapter. Just, personally, I find it rather ironic that the subtitle is "Lover" when Miaka gets raped...supposedly. Yeah, I have my doubts. I mean, we know the good girl wins in the end and I have a vague idea that Tama (Tamahome's real world counterpart) was created through Miaka's wish...so if the virgin deal is real, then nothing happened and it was more a psychological attack on Nakago's part. Plus this is a shoujo series and I have yet to encounter one where the main character is actually raped. Lots of shoujo series come close, (probably to amp up the drama) but none cross the line, and I cannot see this being different.

Half the volume was actually pretty good, until the ill-fated rape scenes (nothing is shown, mind you, only implied). I've got nothing against depicting rape, but it seemed to me that it was included just to amp up the drama, and that sort of annoys me. But maybe I'm wrong and volume 10 will confirm that Miaka was actually raped, who knows?

I actually wasn't annoyed that Miaka believed the fake Tai-Yi-Jun. It was a perfect trap. And it was honourable of her to try and do something herself, even if it wasn't well thought out (she knows she has no sexual experience, so how is she suppose to seduce Nakago??? She even doubts she can do it while heading there, so I just don't understand why she thought she could do something...ah shoujo heroines, so stupid sometimes.) No actually the part that annoyed me the most was Miaka running away, yet again. She showed a little character growth/maturity with the Genbu test, but yet again it's all discarded and she reverts back to her weak emotional self. Where is the brave talk of doing this for Nuriko? Now, when more then ever she needs to be strong, she caves in and runs away. Agh! When will we finally get some character growth out of this heroine?! But I guess I shouldn't expect much out of someone that needs to be told what to do (i.e. Tamahome needs to tell her that grieving now will waste Nuriko's sacrifice.)

Honestly, I'm not trying to hate on her....I'm really trying to give her the benefit of the doubt and trying to be realistic....but I can't help but wish for a stronger heroine. I guess that's just the kind I like, since I've never been one to depend on others for everything the way some of these shoujo heroines do.

But enough about Miaka, time to talk about Tamahome. Is he ever unrealistic. I mean, your girlfriend has been raped, and you're totally fine with it? I'm not saying he should be disgusted by her, I'm saying he should be confused. Confused as how to react, how to comfort her...but nope, Tamahome is like a sage, he knows exactly what to say and do. It's sort of ridiculous. Gah, I know I know, it's shoujo and it's suppose to be idealistic love, but it just takes me out of the story when a character acts so unnaturally. Personal taste I guess, but I dislike idealistic depictions of love. The cynic in me sneers at them.

So I bet you're thinking, if you hate the main leads so much, why the hell do you bother reading this anyway? Especially since I've dropped other manga for the exact same reasons. Well, it's because, while Miaka and Tamahome do annoy me from time to time, I haven't yet learned to loathe them like Hatsumi and Ryuko from Hot Gimmick, and the secondary characters are actually likeable. But the biggest reason is that the story is still engaging; I'm still interested in Nakago's goal, whether Yui or Miaka will summon their god first, what will happen to the fictional world, and just whether there is more to the Universe of the Four Gods than has been laid down so far. So for these reasons, I'm willing to continue reading even if there are a few weak volumes, like seven, and the main leads make me roll my eyes from time to time. So yes, I'm still looking forward to volume 10.

~Joanna

Impression: Fushigi Yugi 8

Impression: Fushigi Yugi 7

I found volume 7, so I picked it up. I'm not a big fan of Fushigi Yugi, but I like it enough to keep reading and buying the volumes. I'm going to try and keep the summary short, here goes....

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Summary

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After failing to perform the ceremony for Suzaku properly in volume 6, Miaka and the Suzaku warriors are told that there is one other way to summon the god, and that is to travel to the northern country of Genbu, Bei-Ja, and recover the Shentso-Pao. Miaka agrees to go, but she isn't too sure about how she will be able to fight against Yui again.

On top of that, she finds out that in order to summon Suzaku using the new method, she must remain a virgin and cannot have any intimate relationships with any of her warriors. Determined to summon Suzaku, she tells Tamahome that it was all a fling and he means nothing to her, just as he asks her to marry him.

Later the group decides to enjoy their last night in Hong-Nan at the star viewing festival. It is there that Tamahome corners Miaka and asks her to be truthful with him. She finally decides to tell him the truth. Tamahome is shocked at first, but declares that once the ceremony is performed, he will make Miaka the happiest bride on earth. A joyful Miaka agrees.

Before the warriors leave, Hotohori gives Miaka his sword, and tells Tamahome that he will give his family a crown paid residency for their hospitality towards him. Tamahome is overjoyed and he, Miaka, and Nuriko go to tell his family the good news. However the three of them aren't greeted by Tamahome's happy family; instead they see his whole family slaughtered. Just as a very familiar melody plays. Miaka runs to see who it is, knowing that Amiboshi cannot be alive. It turns out to be his twin brother Suboshi and he has come to get revenge. Since the Suzaku warriors killed his only family, he determined he would do the same to Tamahome. Just as Suboshi is about to kill Miaka with his attack, Tamahome comes to her rescue and easily overpowers Suboshi in his rage. Thankfully for Suboshi, another Seiryu warrior, Soi, saves him by preoccupying Tamahome with an injured Miaka, and the two of them make their escape.

When Miaka wakes up, she finds Tamahome at the graves of his family, crying uncontrollably. He tells her to leave him alone, and unable to help him in any way, she runs away from him. She and Nuriko spend the night alone, but are shocked to see Tamahome back to normal in the morning. The group returns to the capital, where Miaka informs Hotohori of the tragedy and the Suzaku warriors (excluding Hotohori) and Miaka finally sail away to Bei-Ja. Miaka realizes that Yui would never have allowed the tragedy to happened, and knows it must have been the fault of the cruel Nakago. She decides she must stop the summoning of Seiryu at all costs, even if that should mean going up against Yui.

Meanwhile, Miaka's brother Keisuke is still researching The Universe of the Four Gods. He meets up with his friend and the two discover that the translator for the Japanese edition of The Universe of the Four Gods is not credited with the book's translation, nor is there an entry for it in the Japanese publications catalog. Even stranger is the fact that this translator killed his own daughter and then committed suicide. But worsted of all, Keisuke discovers a reference book about the Universe of the Four Gods where it states that in ancient China there was a sect that worshiped these four beasts, but were pronounced heretics because the ritual to summon the god beast required a maiden as a sacrifice.

Worried about his sister's safety, Keisuke contacts her via the ribbon, telling Miaka to come back home with Yui because the book is dangerous and both of them may be killed. Miaka is momentarily torn between listening to her brother's advice and Tamahome's dependence on her. However she decides that she cannot go back yet, and asks Tasuki to burn her ribbon. Before the ribbon is burnt, Keisuke tells her not to summon Suzaku, no matter what. Miaka isn't too sure what to make of this last warning, but before she can ponder it much longer, the boat is hit by a massive storm cause by the powers of the Seiryu warrior Soi. Keisuke, on the other hand is completely annoyed by his sister's idiotic behavior and vows to get to the bottom of the mystery involving the Universe of the Four God's translator.

Due to the storm's volatile nature, Tasuki accidently falls overbroad and he cannot swim. Miaka jumps in after him, but also cannot swim, so Tamahome jumps in after her. Nuriko, the only sensible one, throws a rope across to Tasuki, however, the waves pull him over as well just as Tasuki manages to climb back aboard. The intensity of the waves separates Nuriko, Miaka, and Tamahome from the boat, and the three of them find a small cave to hide in.

During their stay in the cave, Nuriko opens up and tells us that he too is afraid of losing someone close to him and that is why he started dressing like his dead sister, so that she would continue to live inside him. The chat is cut short however, when a bolt of lighting destroys the cave, and it starts flooding with water. Miaka looses her balance and Tamahome tries to save her, but he falls into the hole as well, thankfully Nuriko grabs his arm. Yet, Nuriko is at the limit of his power as he tries to push back the rushing water and at the same time tries to pull up Miaka and Tamahome. Lucky for the three of them, the bracelets he got from Tai Yi-Jun turn into bracers and give Nuriko the extra strength he needs to pull Miaka and Tamahome out before some lightning strikes them. The others find them soon after, and Miaka with her warriors are now adrift and land on an island far off from Bei-Ja. The good new is that the storm stopped; the bad news, that there is a dead Hong-Nan solider on the beach...this ends the seventh volume.

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My Thoughts

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Not much happens this volume, yet quite a bit does happen. I know that sounds contradictory, but it's very true. The plot doesn't progress at all, but we have a lot of build up with many things happening at once (Miaka-Tama mini-break up, Murder of Tama's family, Departure from Hong-Nan). All these incidents don't have much impact on the plot, but they do set up the next arc of the story so that the plot can progress in the next volume. For example, the mini break up and murder didn't change anything, but they, one, created a new reason for Maika and Tamahome to have their awkward romantic moments, and two, gave Miaka a goal to strive for and a very passionate reason to strive for it. Thus setting up the next part of the story where more romantic entanglements happen and where Miaka has a reason to fight against Yui. The departure, on the other hand, was simply a transitory tool used to make the shift between the first arch (aka gather the seven constalations and summon suzaku) and the next arc (aka find the sacred treasure). Everything done in this volume has a future aim making this volume feel a bit filler-ish. Thankfully, not to make it feel too filler-ish, there are also a lot of revelations made in this volume like the origin of the Japanese translation of the Universe of the Four Gods, as well as Nuriko's past.

Speaking of Nuriko, the guy is really growing on me. At first he was just this annoying vain man in drag, but he has grown and now he is a dependable and empathetic Suzaku warrior. He is still used in comic relief, but he now comes off as goofy rather then annoying. His story was also tender, albeit a little too simple and underdeveloped. I also quite like Tasuki because he acts so tough yet he is a big teddy bear (not to mention he is used very well in comic relief). Actually, all the Suzaku warriors are likable, all except Tamahome. I swear, with each passing volume, he becomes more and more cheesy and dumb. I kept rolling my eyes every time he told Maika that he still had her and would protect her no matter what. I mean how cheesy can you get?! Not to mention he does some pretty stupid things when Miaka is involved (like saving her every single time she does something stupid, often resulting in himself becoming injured)

And Miaka, why do I feel that every time she takes one step forward, she takes two steps back? Every time I grow even the tiniest empathy for her character, she goes and does something really stupid, making me loath her once more. I'm not talking about her stupidity in the comic relief sections (eating a whole bowl of soup, jumping in the water when she can't swim, ect), which I find quite funny and really enjoy. I'm talking about how she couldn't tell Tamahome about the virgin deal in the first place. How she broke the poor guy's heart right when he was spilling it out to her. Seriously! I DO NOT UNDERSTAND why she thought it was a good idea to pretend to be toying with him. Every single time she tries to act strong (trying to deny her emotions), she comes off as weak and immature. It really boggles my mind. Oh and don't get me started on her supposed guilt to Yui. She seems to remember that "guilt" whenever it is useful, and whenever it's not, she doesn't.

Ok, on to more positive things...I love Watase-san's humor and I really appreciate it. It gives Fushigi Yugi a much needed diversion from all the intense drama. I think the little comic scenes here and there really help me enjoy the manga and story. If there was no comic relief and only constant drama, I think it would eventually wear thin on me. I really do think so, because even Tamahome's family slaughter didn't raise any empathy from me. Rather I was thinking, 'ok more drama, yar' and I felt that it only occurred so that Miaka could have a reason to really fight tooth and nail with Yui, aka more drama to come. Luckily, the little bickerings and funny responses from the characters made me chuckle and reminded me that I really like the story, even when the drama gets to be a bit too much.

The art is as usual, gorgeous, but who could expect any less from Watase-san. Overall, this was one of the weaker volumes so far. It wasn't bad per say, just the plot was non-existent in this volume, and because plot is the main reason I read Fushigi Yugi, I ended up enjoying this volume a little less then the previous ones. Nevertheless, little moments of comic relief and revelations (that did advance the plot) did keep me happy. Not to mention that I got to see a lot of Nuriko this volume, and he is easily becoming my favourite character in the whole series, with Tasuki in a close second.

Drama was pretty high in this volume, but Watase-san knows that her little wacky characters and interesting story keep us fans coming back for more. Too bad the main leads are so unlikeable, if they were portrayed in a more mature and intelligent manner, Fushigi Yugi would become a really good read. Right now, it's just a good read. The bottom line, it's still worthy of more investment and I will be continuing with the series; it is just not at the top of my priority list at the moment.

~Joanna