Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play, Vol. 1: Priestess [Paperback]

Yuu Watase (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2003

The discovery of a mysterious book transports Miaka and her best friend Yui into a strange new world reminiscent of ancient China. They set out to find and befriend seven Celestial Warriors, including dashing mercenary Tamahome and wannabe empress Nuriko. Only then can Miaka summon the power of the god Suzaku, find her true love, and get home safely.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

A manga artist for over ten years, Yuu Watase's debut came in 1989 at the age of 18 when her short story Pajama de Ojama (An Intrusion in Pajamas) appeared in the monthly Sh?jo Comic manga anthology. Since then she has written and drawn some 50 volumes worth of different short stories and long-running manga series, including the fantastically popular Fushigi Y?gi, also available in English from VIZ. Her works have provided the basis for two television series, an OVA series, anime soundtrack CDs, and a string of novels.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; Original edition (June 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156931957X
• ISBN-13: 978-1569319574
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #849,035 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this series., November 27, 2004

By 

Gwenn Cosmis "cardcaptor moon" (the planet cosmos) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play, Vol. 1: Priestess (Paperback)

Yu Watase is an extraordinary comic book artist. One of the resons is because she made this great comic series, Fushigi Yugi, the mysterious play. I'm so happy I decided to try out this series. I've always liked her other creations of Ceres, Celestial Legend, Alice 19th, and Imadoki!.

The main characters that are introduced in this comic is Miaka Yuki {the main character, a 15 year old who's mother is making her study for her high school entrance exam and depriving her of fun, The Priestess of Suzuku}, Tamahome { a gorgoues guy who saves Miaka and her best friend Yui when they first go into Universe of the Four Gods, he expects to be paid whenever he helps someone, a constellation of Suzuku}, Hotohori {the emporer of Hong-Nan, he is one of the seven constellations of Suzuku who cares deeply about Miaka} and Nuriko { a girl who is actually a guy, he has a thing for Hotohori and doesn't like Miaka, another constellation of Suzuku}.

The series is about a girl named Miaka Yuki who has to study every night for her high school entrance exams. One day at the library, Miaka and Yui find a book titled The Universe of the Four Gods, and they actually go into the book. And after not spending that much time in the book {they meet Tamahome who saves them from some whakos}, they somehow comeback to the library. On the second time in Miaka goes alone to escape from her mother. She meets Hotohori {and mistakes him for a woman
^-^}, who tells her she is a girl from a legend who must become the priestess of suzuku to save the empire, Hong-Nan {Suzuku is one of the four gods of China}. And that means Miaka has to the seven constellations of Suzuku. But what happens if the book becomes closed!?

The series takes place in Ancient China, inside the universe of the four gods.
Highly Recommended

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More mature than Sailormoon, more gripping than Ceres..., September 4, 2004

By 

Adrian Davis "Nyankohime" (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play, Vol. 1: Priestess (Paperback)

It's Fushigi Yuugi! I first began this series a little over a year ago, when I recieved the first two volumes for my birthday. I killed them both off in one night, grateful that I possessed the second volume as well as the first. I yearned for more Tamahome and Miaka romance, more of Nuriko's hilarious antics, and more devoted Hotohori!

While this series may be compared to Sailormoon by the more ignorant anime otaku, I find it to be simply the best shoujo manga out there. The story begins with Miaka Yuuki, a dim-but-serious exam student and glutton extrordinaire, frivolously dreaming of food in the middle of class! Miaka and her intelligent best friend, Yui Hongo, later visit the local library and find a mysterious book called the Universe of Four Gods. When an earthquake causes the pages to turn, they are sucked into the world of the book, where they are attacked by slave traders. Luckily, the dashing miser Tamahome comes to their aide. Upon their return, Miaka has a conflict of interest with her mother and returns to the library to "kill some time reading". She returns to the book's version of ancient China, looking for Tamahome. After a dangerous brush with the emperor Hotohori, Miaka is asked to remain in China's southern kingdom, Hong-nan as the priestess of Suzaku. Thus begins the tale of the fierce rivalry between the Suzaku and Seiryu chosen.

The series may seem very light-hearted, but it eventually evolves into a grim epic filled to the brim with sorrow, death, sabotage, and other unfortunate events. You'll fall in love with characters like Tamahome, Hotohori, Tasuki, Amiboshi, Suboshi, and Tatara at first sight, but others, such as Miaka, Nuriko, Yui, and Nakago grow on you over time. Still others, namely Tomo, Miboshi, and Tai yi-Jun will never appeal to you. Fushigi Yuugi is the most involving, absorbing, and exciting manga you will ever read!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fushigi Yugi: Priestess, September 10, 2005

By 

Bretta Hall - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play, Vol. 1: Priestess (Paperback)

Yu Watase is an excellent author of mangas, outdoing herself in this book. Miaka, our heroine, is an ordinary junior-highschool student who's trying to get into a good school to make her mother happy. She comes upon a book titled "The Universe of the Four Gods" while with her friend, Yui. They somehow enter the story, or universe, where Yui narrowly escapes being sold by slavers, being rescued by a handsome mercenary-warrior with the demon mark on his forehead. After that, they return home abruptly, apparently without any reason. Miaka gets in a fight with her mother and storms out of the house, feeling lost and guilty, and finds herself in the library where she found that mysterious book. Opening it again, she returns to that strange world where she met that warrior. After getting put in the emperor's dungeon for attempting to steal a few jewels off his crown to repay her debt to Tamahome, the mercenary-warrior, the book is found by the librarian and closed, sealing her exit from the strange medieval China world she is in. To escape, she must become the Priestess of Suzaku and gain the power of Suzaku.

Meanwhile, Miaka developes a budding love for Tamahome, but the emperor's love (or obsession?) for her makes things awkward. Things get worse when she finds her third Celestial Warrior is Nuriko, who's in love with the emperor. Nuriko nearly gets Miaka drowned, and is determined to make her pay for attracting the notice of the emperor. Being amazingly strong and unfortunately charged with protecting Miaka as the Priestess of Suzaku, as Nuriko, the emperor, and Tamahome are her Celestial warriors, Nuriko is a formidable enemy, if not the smartest one. Can Miaka reconcile their friendship, or will Nuriko kill her inch by inch, and will she ever return home?