I finished FY!

[miz ducky]

It took me three days of devoted watching, but I managed to finish the FY TV series.



I felt that the first half was sort-of-a weird Never Ending Story.
And the second half had way too many "I must rape the priestess", almost hentai moments.

I didn't cry once, almost, but nothing really got me more than a little choked up.

Miaka screamed way too much for me to like her.

The ending was good though, and made me feel ok about the 20+ hours I lost watching it.

I found the moral of the story to be a bit hilarious though.
"Don't be afraid of your HS exams and take the future and your dreams into your own hands."

Maybe I'm a bit too cynical to enjoy it much at my age.

Did you like FY?
What were your favorite and least favorite parts of the TV series?

[Maiko]

Miaka screamed way too much for me to like her.

The ending was good though, and made me feel ok about the 20+ hours I lost watching it.

I think that's the biggest downfall about this series; the main/central character is the most annoying person. It's really hard to like a series with the majority of it's screen time devoted to a character you can't stand.

That's my biggest gripe. Otherwise, I do find the series enjoyable. Not one of my favorites, but enjoyable.

[Kujaku]

Did you watch the very ending of the show, after the credits?

[Mara]

I've never understood the "Miaka is annoying" feelings a lot of people have. I think she changes a lot throughout the series, and I love her as a character. She always puts the well being of others before her own, and I know I wouldn't be strong enough to do that so automatically. In the past I've heard people scoff at the idea that Hotohori, Nuriko, and Tamahome would all have romantic feelings for her, but I definitely see why they would. I think Miaka's sudden arrival from another world, her bond with them as Priestess and Seishi, and her determination all filled different kinds of voids that they each had had in their lives and didn't want to face.

I'm sure people will disagree with these ideas, but I just can't watch FY with cynicism; I love it too much!

[Kaona]

Miaka! Tamahome! Miaka! Tamahome! Miaka! Tamahome! Miaka! Tamahome! Miaka! Tamahome! Miaka! Tamahome!

I first watched series with Japanese subs, and although the continuous Miaka whining and constant repetition of each other's names left me cringing like fingernails on a chalkboard, I still have a true soft spot and love for Fushigi Yuugi. I've seen and listened to the series at least 5 times in English dub - while my children watch it over and over, and the whine is ten times more annoying in English.

The rape/male aggression went a little overboard, and could have been more implied rather than shown because this series is incredibly attractive to very young girls too young to comprehend that behavior. Yes, Mommy censors those scenes every time!

The individual characters were charming, nicely rendered and overall it was a sweet, innocent series with lots of pretty guys and very pretty cels!

My favorite part was Tatara....any part with Tatara. Any part of Tatara! The omake was beyond hysterical.

[glorff]

I collect it, so I think that says everything. You really have to remember that FY is 13 years old now and anime has changed a lot since then

[duotrouble]

I collect it and Amiboshi is my all-time favorite anime character with Suboshi a close second. Does that tell you what I think of the series?

I cried a lot during Fushigi Yuugi. I saw it when I was your age, ducky, 28. I also only watched 3 episodes a day so I could absorb what the story was all about. I'm sorry but this is one of the few soapboxes I have. Don't marathon your anime and you'll enjoy it more. I have never enjoyed a marathoned anime and I hate hearing people doing that. Now, if it's an anime you've seen before, by all means go for it. That's my rant and I'll stop now.

I didn't get the Miaka was annoying, how can everyone love her, either. I can see it since others have pointed it out over the years but I guess that my tolerance comes from not marathoning. I do agree that the rape Miaka bit was a little overdone. With the exception of Nakago, I guess it's pretty obvious these guys haven't been with a girl before. Geez! If they really wanted to do it, it would have been done. (Not that I was hoping it would be.)

And the ending after the credits, I think I was holding my breath. WOW! Those final few seconds are the real meaning behind the story.

[sailorsv13]

This is perfect! I just finished watching the series today too! (spent two days of pretty much non-stop watching ^.^) I couldn't help watching the whole thing at once because I got so wrapped up! And every darn episode in FY is a cliffhanger!

It made me laugh, it made me cry, it was the most torturous anime I've watched so far! I think the possibility of me having a long life has been drastically reduced due to anxiety! ...and I absolutely loved it Although I am a sucker for older anime. I can't decide which character I love the most though...the character developement was great. Nurkio is amazing and Tasuke is hilarious! Tamahome is too good to be true! *Sigh* I watched the japanese version and didn't really find Miaka to be annoying...well not anymore than a 15-year-old should be LOL

*Oh and that ending! I thought I would DIE until the end of the credits redeemed it all for me!* Now on to find a copy of the OVA!!!
~ Bri ~

[miz ducky]

I'm glad to hear so many similar and varying opinions! I knew there would be some.

I like to marathon anime in general (but thats just me). For this show though, it's probably the only way I could have finished it. There were times when I thought, "it is over yet?" And if I had stopped I might not have gone back to it for a long time.

The thing that bothered me the most about Miaka, aside from her whining (and yes I did listen in English - another one of my unpopular preferences, since I can't do something else with out missing something if I have to read), was that while she did show some growth, it was inconsistent and she wound up becoming helpless again. WHY DIDN'T SHE CARRY THE DAMN SWORD WITH HER ALL THE TIME?! (stupid girl should have picked it up before moving on to the next scene) Don't chase a giant wolf with out a method to fight it!!!
I can see how she was lovable. People who are genuinely caring and loving to others generally get those feelings returned. I just wish they had done more with her, instead of just the one who needs rescuing at every turn. They could have done better. They went in that direction and then... what? changed their minds?

I did watch until the very end. The final fight was good, the final ending was sweet and fitting (although I noticed the strong over tone of social engineering at work that sort of ruined the vibe for me).

Now for some context. I did not watch anime in the 90s. I do not generally enjoy older anime. New things hold my attention better and are much more appealing to my eye. I watched this because it was on the shelf and so many people here collect it I wanted to know what it was about. If you asked me what genre of movie/entertainment I like, my favorite is drama, some of my favorite movies make me cry every time. So I expected to like FY more.

I would say that I did enjoy it over all. But, its not something that I will be watching again, I think. I still have to conquer the OVAs which I don't hear great things about, but I think my will is stronger than to be deterred when I've already completed the long part.

I like Amiboshi a lot too. I wanted his brother to forget his revenge when he saw that Amiboshi was alive. But, No...

I thought that Tamahome was immature, and was less interesting to me because of it. But the love between him and Miaka was handled very well despite their continuous break-ups. I suppose that it was meant to be that way, since they both were very young anyway.

[duotrouble]

The thing that bothered me the most about Miaka, aside from her whining (and yes I did listen in English - another one of my unpopular preferences . . .

Add me to that unpopular group. I'll watch anime in any language but I prefer English for the first time through if I can. (I had an explanation as to why but decided to delete it. No sense having a second rant. Short end - I have dyslexia so I prefer ease.)

I'm so happy to hear you thought it was nice to watch. If you want a strong Yuu Watase character, check out Ayashi no Ceres. Aya is a much stronger character than Miaka. ANC is a lot darker than FY and shorter. It's 24 episodes grand total. No OVAs. (It's even darker in the manga. ) A lot of people who loved FY, didn't like ANC as much. Although, I also heard the reverse is true. I love them both but I love everything Yuu Watase does.

Congrats on accomplishing quite a feat! 52 episodes is a big commitment.

[miz ducky]

AnC is next up on my list!

[Kaona]

I prefer subs because I enjoy hearing the character's personality reflected in their voice the way it was originally intended.

However, my children are little (5 and 7) and cannot keep up with the subs, so I am always on the lookout for a good anime with an English dub. Otherwise, I end up having to read the subtitles to them, and reading Shounen Onmyouji aloud was quite the verbal challenge!

Am I wrong, or is Kyou Kara Maoh, Cardcaptor and HunterxHunter not available with English dub? Any other suggestions for similar series that are in available in English?

They have seen Fruits Basket, Inuyasha, Bleach, FY, hate Shounen Onmyouji in English, all Miyazaki movies, and Black Blood Brothers dubbed.

Sorry, Ducky, I didn't mean to go off on a tangent, but since this group seems to like a similar type of anime, I'd thought I would ask!

[miz ducky]

Kyou Kara Maoh was released by Geneon. They got all but the last 10? eps on dvd before they dropped out of existence.
But it's a start.

Card Captor Sakura is only available subbed.

[duotrouble]

If you want CCS in English, you'd have to watch Cardcaptors or either of the CCS movies. I actually saw Cardcaptors before I ever watched Card Captor Sakura. I liked it but was very confused. Then a friend of mine started telling me the whole story. I read the manga and he loaned me the DVDs. Yeah, I'll never go back.

(And just because Kaona mentioned it, I can't hear the difference in Japanese male voices. I don't have a hearing range of low, deep sounds so I can't tell who's talking when the character is off-screen.)

If you want to try something older, you can always watch the first 4 seasons of Sailor Moon in English. Season 5 is exclusively in Japanese because of the use of the "Uterus Attack". I recommend DNAngel. A friend just watched it after hearing me go off about how good it is. She wrote me a simple text message that stated, "Vic is sexy as Dark." And finally, I'd suggest Escaflowne. Kirby Morrow, who is Miroku in Inuyasha, plays the part of Van Fanel. Kirby will always be Van in my eyes.

[glorff]

If you need english I would say Martian Successor Nadesco or Full metal Panic are really fun to watch, and of course AnC, but it isn't bright and fun like FY can be