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Vol 2 Issue 8
[ANIME REVIEWS]

Fushigi Yuugi OAV 2
— by Roderick "Agitator" Lee

Just three months since the end of the first OVA series, the FUSHIGI YUUGI creative braintrust shifted back into gear with the opening release of a new second OVA series, this one slated for double the length of its predecessor, six volumes. Fans perplexed, confused, or just plain dissatisfied with the first OVA series will welcome the news that this second set returns to the manga timeline of original series creator Watase Yuu.
  Reader beware: Since this latest series is a continuation of both TV and first OVA, spoilers from both will naturally pop up in this review.
  The end of the TV series, which coincides with the close of the thirteenth manga volume, features the sudden appearance of an unnamed character, dressed in contemporary clothing and looking very much like Tamahome. He greets Miaka by telling her "At last, I have found you..." and holding up his hand to reveal the ring that she gave to Tamahome. Then, just as Tamahome promised in his letter, he responds to her startled gaze with "Wo Ai Ni" (Chinese for "I love you"), thereby closing both TV series and manga volume.


  Although he is never named in the previous chapter, volume fourteen of the manga picks up the story three months later, introducing the character Sukunami Taka, with the obvious implication that he is the same individual as in the close of the preceding volume. But, with three months to play with, the writers of the first OVA decided to tweak the manga continuity a bit and stake out some new territory with a convoluted plot, in a seeming attempt to better explain Taka's quest in the later volumes (and precisely the ones for this second OVA series). In this modification, the unnamed character is still Tamahome, and Taka appears in the final scene of the third volume (again with Tamahome's ring), after the credits. The first OVA also serves to introduce the demonic Tenkou, the chief antagonist of this latter storyline.
  Despite all these machinations, though, the second OVA still assumes that viewers are familiar enough with the manga to know who Taka is. Following an opening sequence which recaps the first OVA scene of Yui calling upon Genbu's power to seal Tenkou, we shift back to the real world where a late Miaka rushes out the door (stuffing her face along the way, of course) to meet Taka before school. But who is he? Taka is a real person (as opposed to a character from The Four Gods of Earth and Sky) who has vague memories of an alternate world in which he was one of seven protectors for a young woman he fell in love with. Although he does not remember much about that world, he does know that he loves Miaka and has lived his life waiting for the day when he finally meets her. He is the human reincarnation of Tamahome, though neither he nor Miaka knows that yet.
  Before Miaka awakens for the day, though, Suzaku appears briefly to her, calling for "Suzaku no Miko" to summon him and give him power. The seal that Yui placed on Tenkou has a physical manifestation and Suzaku's physical section of the seal is crumbling (reason unknown, but this actually happened historically). Tenkou has taken advantage of Suzaku's weakness by sending his minions into the real world; they can then attempt to free him by taking Suzaku's power. Suzaku, in turn, calls upon the power in his Miko for assistance.
  At Yotsubadai High School, all of the student body is abuzz about the new student, Shigyou Ren, a handsome young man with a disconcertingly sinister air about him. Miaka and Taka are tricked into meeting on the roof. Just as they realize that something is not quite right, Suzaku calls Miaka again, asking her to hold The Four Gods of Earth and Sky (a.k.a. Shichi Tenshishou) again and summon him. Taka senses something is wrong, but before either one of them can react, a group of students, Ren's followers, confront them. They try to escape, but one of the students catches Miaka and throws her off the building. Taka, in a vain attempt to save her, leaps after her, but it is Miaka who saves the both of them when Suzaku calls upon her again: "Miko. Summon me. Summon the Shichi Tenshishou." In a flash, she wills herself back to the Universe of the Four Gods.

  Meanwhile, a beautiful young woman, Miiru, also with that same sinister air, ingratiates herself into the presence of Keisuke and Tetsuya, possibly with an eye on seducing Miaka's brother. An irate Yui, thinking Miaka has ditched her for a date with Taka, soon notices the red glow and the scroll of the Shichi Tenshishou. Back in the Universe, Miaka and a bewildered Taka quickly meet up with Tasuki and Chichiri. Chichiri prompts Tasuki to hand Taka a small stone he has been carrying for the past two years.
  This takes the story back to the close of the first OVA, with the scene of the memory balls. Tamahome's memories were divided and sealed in seven memory globes, and Taka must find them to regain both Tamahome's memory and his powers as a Suzaku shichisei. The stone that Tasuki has been carrying is his memory globe, and viewers are treated to some wonderful flashbacks of Tamahome with Tasuki as these memories are returned to Taka. Chichiri's globe is at Mt. Taikyoku, and shortly after they arrive there, the spirits of Hotohori, Nuriko, Mitsukake and Chiriko materialize. Then, Taiitsu-kun appears and, after Taka receives Chichiri's memories, explains that an evil force is preventing the other four shichisei from being reborn.
  In the real world, Ren is consolidating power by running for student body president. The threat this poses is immediate and severe; not even Taiitsu-kun's refuge at Mt. Taikyoku is safe as the earth quakes and the mountain crumbles. Chichiri quickly teleports everyone to the imperial palace at Konankoku as the second volume begins.
  After a somewhat disappointing first foray into OVA-land, can this second attempt do better? The first volume fails to provide adequate exposition for Taka and never manages to reach a smooth pace in unfolding the plot. Perhaps this is why the second volume's release was delayed two months. In which case, the creators should be congratulated on their decision, because the second volume is a marked improvement over the first.
  Having found the first two globes, the four companions must now seek the globes of the deceased shichisei. As the second volume is set in the imperial palace, it should come as no surprise that the story is dedicated to Hotohori, his young widow Houki, and the son he never knew, Boushin. The pacing and dramatic tension are more in tune with the past FUSHIGI YUUGI storylines, and if the second volume is any indication, this should prove to be a great close to the series. Naturally, the fact that the writers are constrainted by Watase Yuu's own vision this time helps immensely.
  The third volume, which ships on 18 December, is slated to focus on Nuriko and Kourin, and if these two volumes are any indicator of the direction this second OVA will take, it appears that one volume will be dedicated to each of the remaining shichisei, their backgrounds, and the futures of the lives they touched. That would leave the final volume for the climactic battle against Tenkou.
  Somewhat unusual is the fact that, unlike most TV-OVA crossovers, FUSHIGI YUUGI managed to keep its entire creative production team intact; this despite the outside continuity of the first OVA. Character designer Motohashi Hideyuki is still on board, and Miaka's and Yui's designs have not skipped a beat since the first OVA. Taka is both similar and different enough from Tamahome to draw the necessary parallels while retaining his own identity. Ren is devilishly handsome while Miiru is enticingly beautiful. The very versatile Amano Yuri does alluring quite well, while Ishida Akira's Ren is like an evil version of Tsuchiya Kei (from MARMALADE BOY). The musical scores continue to envelop the viewer, and Sato Akemi returns to sing "Star," the latest OP. As in the first series, each volume includes a brief omake short. This time, the omake shorts, titled "Fushigi Akugi," are various outtake scenes. For example, in the omake version, when Miaka is hurled off the roof, Taka's sudden burst of acrophobia prevents him from leaping to save her, and she splats on the ground below.
  Consider the fact that only the first OVA diverges from the original manga story, and add in the overall rushed perception of the short three-volume series. Now, some suspicious minds might conclude that this second series was always in the planning stages, and that the first series was hastily planned together to gauge market interest and to placate fans while the "real" follow-up endured production delays. The fact that the second volume of the second series was delayed makes this hypothesis not entirely far-fetched.
  The first volume suffered from many of the pacing problems that made the first series such a whirlwind ride. Now that the series has come into its own in the second volume, it looks very promising. Never one to advocate spoilers, newcomers should steer clear of this (but then again, newcomers should not have read this far); there are just far too many elements to diminish the first-time experience of viewing the TV series. However, long time fans should be pleased, and they are, after all, who this series is targeted for.

  FUSHIGI YUUGI 2ND OVA
© Watase Yuu/Shogakukan, TV Tokyo, Studio Pierrot
© 1997 Watase Yuu/Shogakukan, Bandai Visual, Sudio Pierrot, Movic

Volume 1 "Kowaku no Taidou" (Seductive Trouble-Making), BEAL-1011
May 1997, ¥4800
Volume 2 "Chinmoku no Warabe" (Silent Child), BEAL-1012
September 1997, ¥4800
Volume 3 "Tensei no Hatsuro" (Reincarnation's Manifestation), BEAL-1013
December 1997, ¥4800
Each volume 30 minute CAV LD or VC


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