Fushigi Yûgi: The Mysterious Play, Vol. 8: Friend

ふしぎ遊戯 [Fushigi Yûgi] #8

by Yuu Watase

After finding a mysterious book, Miaka and her friend Yui are transported to a strange world that is reminiscent of ancient China, where they befriend seven Celestial Warriors and try to return home through the help of the god Suzaku.

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels, Shojo, Fiction, Comics

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 26, 1994

About the author

Yuu Watase (渡瀬悠宇) is a Japanese shoujo manga-ka. She is known for her works Fushigi Yūgi, Alice 19th, Ceres: The Celestial Legend, Fushigi Yūgi Genbu Kaiden and Absolute Boyfriend. She likes all music, except heavy metal and old traditional music.

She received the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo for Ceres, Celestial Legend in 1997. Since writing her debut short story "Pajama de Ojama" ("An Intrusion in Pajamas"), Watase has created more than 80 compiled volumes of short stories and continuing series. Because of her frequent use of beautiful male characters in her works, she is widely regarded in circles[which?] as a bishōnen manga artist.[citation needed] In October 2008, Watase began her first shōnen serialization, Arata: The Legend in Weekly Shōnen Sunday.
Her name is romanized as "Yû Watase" in earlier printings of Viz Media's publications of Fushigi Yūgi, Alice 19th, and Ceres, The Celestial Legend, while in Viz Media's Fushigi Yūgi Genbu Kaiden and Absolute Boyfriend her name is romanized as "Yuu Watase". In Chuang Yi's English-language versions of Fushigi Yugi (spelled without a macron or circumflex), her name is romanized as "Yu Watase".

Reviews

[fawkes · Rating 4 out of 5]

NURIKO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

[Lemoona · Rating 5 out of 5]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Valentina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Basta io la devo smettere di affezionarmi a determinati personaggi perchè tanto alla fine muoiono sempre, Martin non mi ha insegnato bene evidentemente... T___T
Tristezza.
Ovviamente le 5 stelle sono tutte per Nuriko, miglior personaggio ever. <3

[MargReadsManga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devastating. I remember watching this part in the anime and crying my eyes out! I will forever be heartbroken over the loss of Nuriko.

[Jolly Ann Paciencia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the book but I am sad what happened to one of my favorite character.

[chelci whorley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forgot how heartbreaking this volume is

[Pixie &#x1f35c; · Rating 4 out of 5]

I forgot entirely that Nuriko dies. Or maybe I never read this far - I’m sure I did, but it was when I was 13 or 14 so I can’t be too harsh on myself. I definitely remember reading a volume where Tamahome went to our world but also sometimes volumes weren’t available in order at the library so maybe I just skipped some lol.

Either way, while it is a shame she dies, it’s also the first time you begin to realise that it’s likely things will only get worse for the Fushigi Yugi pals. The fact that only at volume 8/18 we really shouldn’t be this far into the plot too. They’ve already lost the chance to summon Suzaku the first time, and now they’re looking for the Genbu relic. Which I guess is what Genbu Kaiden follows in the past (200 years ago). I’m curious how long ago that was in our world since time moves differently.

As for Nuriko, I believe this is the first trans/ gender fluid character I ever read. Admittedly at times it is played for laughs at the beginning, but generally is respected that she uses she/ her pronouns and they don’t question it. They generally refer to Nuriko as a woman despite acknowledging she is crossdressing. We later find out why she crossdresses and it’s kind of nice that she herself admits to not being sure about who she feels she is. She’s living for her sister who died for a long time, and refers to herself as her male and female selves at times. In this volume she finally decides to lay her sisters memory to rest and live as a guy somewhat, realising that over time her true desire was to finally be herself. Despite this, the others do still call Nuriko she, but acknowledge that it doesn’t matter what pronouns she or he goes by because they’re just Nuriko and they loved them.

Despite maybe not being the perfect show of a character who has a queer identity, considering this manga came out in 1993, unlike a lot of manga since with the obligatory cross dressing character who never seems to be acknowledged as trans but is also played for laughs and often is a love rival until this is revealed, I think this did a better job. Watase refers to Nuriko as male and she is the author so I guess has ultimate say on what she intended, but I’m glad she did such a good job with what she did write. It’s also nice to find out there’s some light novels that cover Nuriko’s backstory.

Nuriko really didn’t need to die though so I am kinda mad about it. We literally have a healer my dudes.

[Lexie · Rating 4 out of 5]

ITS NOT TRUE TAKE IT BACK GDI BOOK WHYYYYYY.

:coughs:

Ahem. Sorry. Welcome to an-another r-recap of Fushigi Yugi...OH SCREW IT I'M TOO SAD TO BE CRITICAL.

I don't care if this was written two decades and more ago! I don't like. How could it happen? DOES NO ONE CARE BUT ME?

This is basically the prelude to what becomes six more volumes of people dying for love of Miaka (Farscape reference). Like. Seriously. Yui loses Warriors but none of them (with the exception of Suboshi) are there for HER. They were gathered by Nakago (effectively) and follow HIM.

Just another sign that Qu-Dong/Seiryu sucks by the way.

Nakago also starts showing his true colors with how he treats Ashitare. We learn next to nothing about the character, but we learn plenty about Nakago because of him.

Also holy crap I forgot about Soi's um unique problems.

[Bibliothecat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review for complete series



I am actually really sad and disappointed. Fushigi Yuugi was that one classic shoujo fantasy that I never got around to reading even though I was convinced I would love it. I love Watase's art - this is an older work and the art is a tad dated, but it's perfectly lovely. It's a portal fantasy quest story with Chinese lore and it's not ridiculously long like many of its peers (I'm looking at you Inu Yasha and Yona of the Dawn). Eighteen volumes seemed like the perfect length and there was just no way I wasn't going to love this. It turns out that this manga has some of the worst pacing I have ever come across.

At its core, the story is pretty straight forward: Miaka is your normal school girl who comes by a magic book, gets pulled into an ancient fantasy world and is sent on a quest to collect items that will help her save the world she's in. For this, she needs to pull together some preordained set of warriors who fight by her side. Of course she falls in love with one of them and there's the big drama or which world she will end up staying in. All of this is pretty standard in this type of portal fantasy but that's exactly what I am here for. So while the premise isn't hugely unique, it's definitely not the problem I had with this story.

The first couple of volumes were insta-everything. I'm not just talking about Miaka and Tamahome falling madly in love from volume one, all other relationships are established in the same way. Yui, Miaka's best friend, is also in love with Tamahome from the moment they meet. The emperor is in love with Miaka from before they meet. All allies join their ranks effortlessly and they become best buddies just because. There's no real effort in recruiting any of the characters nor even finding them. Part of the whole point of this quest was to find these characters yet they just sometimes stumble into a scene, introducing themselves and declaring they're part of the gang and are already set to join them on a quest - no questions asked. It was so extreme that I don't think the last two characters added to the group were given much of a personality and were completely forgettable.

The problem with tossing these characters together like that is that there are no real developments. They say they all love and care for each other but, as far as I am concerned, I can't really believe them. If I see characters get to know each other, grow and form bonds, I will care for them. If they just pop out of the blue and risk limb and life for each other I feel there is something sorely lacking. I can't invest into friendships or romances that just kind of happened without any development whatsoever.

The plot becomes continuously more dark and a lot of deaths and loss occur. I'd normally feel something for these characters by that point but everything feels so over the top dramatic given what it is all based on. The pacing did improve quite a bit halfway through the series and the last couple of volumes were over all well-paced. The problem is that the damage was already done - the characters grew on me to some extent and while their actions and motifs became more believable, it still didn't do away with how wishy-washy their starting point was.

I also need to dedicate a paragraph to Yui - I feel no sympathy for her whatsoever. I don't care if she was manipulated, her actions were shallow and selfish. She blames Miaka for things she didn't do and sets heaven and hell loose just to get an uncalled for revenge. It's such a shame because I liked Yui's character in the second arc but yet again, it was already ruined by how she acted in the first arc. I'm not saying a character can't redeem themselves, Yui did do her part to earn forgiveness. The problem is that her anger and bitterness was completely misplaced and out of proportion.

I am not saying that this is a bad manga. I do think that a lot of people who like this are driven by nostalgia and I think I would have liked it a lot more had it also been one of my first manga. But after years of manga reading, this just doesn't deliver emotionally what I would expect of a good fantasy manga. The art is its strongest point, the characters are nice but they were never given the time they needed to grow. I don't think that eighteen volumes was too short, I just think that Watase priorities the wrong things over proper character and relationship development. I am not even sure what I am going to do with my copies - it's a good chunk of eighteen volumes taking up shelf space and somehow I don't see myself reading it again. Yet there's a part of me that just really wants to like this - but of course, wanting to like something and actually liking it are not the same thing. I think it will ultimately depend on how much I like its prequel Genbu Kaiden - I expect it to be a better work as it was written later and Watase has already proven in other works and in Fushigi Yuugi's second arc that she can write a properly paced story.

[Lore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Justice for Nurikooo T.T

A new character is introduced on Yui's team, he's inspired on a werewolf. So things get interesting to say the least.
It ends on a very sad cliffhanger, that I hope... maybe... they can find a solution on the next one?...
It wasn't my favorite volume, but it was entertaining.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this a lot more tolerable than the previous volume, and it helps that Miaka actually does stuff in this book. Plus, there's more of Yui and her squad and what they do having actual consequences for Miaka's group. Not crazy about the contrived back and forth drama of Miaka and Tamahome.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nuriko deserved better ☹️

[✨Samantha Lopez✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vol 8 𝐹𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑑

Chapter 43 The Sealed Castle Walls & Chapter 44 The Spark of Combat


After being thrown around in a sea of danger created by Soi. The Celestial Warriors and the Lady Miaka arrived safely to shore, but upon arrival they find themselves on an island where no men aren't allowed. As a sign of warning a soldier of the Empire is hanged by his ankles and both eyes gouge out. One of the Celestial Warriors Chiriko comes up with a plan, but in doing so he loses his powers and becomes like Tasuki. Before losing his powers the plan was for the men to dress up as women to fool the ladies of the island. Natural Nuriko is already dressed and acts like a lady (cross dresser). While the others look great as a cross dresser I'm looking at you Tamahome and Tasuki. Unfortunately, one of the Celestial Warriors stick out like a sore thumb. The ladies of the island couldn't be fooled by his appearance so they take him away to the dungeon while the rest of the Celestial Warriors goes in and eat as much food there is. A maid of the kingdom escorts Tamahome and the Lady Miaka to their rooms for the night. Upon resting for the night Miaka is in disbelief of whether or not Tamahome is upset with her. Then the lady Miaka finds herself being embraced by Tamahome. His breath smelled of sweet wine and fell into a deep sleep on her breast. While sleeping the lady Miaka looks at the sleeping Tamahome and wished for being by his side forever, but fate has something else planned in store for these two lovers. Chapter 44 The Spark of Combat. Chichiri goes in search for Mitsukake the one who was taken away by the guards. In search for his friend, he finds himself being surrounded by the guards planning what to do with him. Chichiri planned to save his friend goes bad and the ladies being fooled by the Celestial Warriors dressing up as men! All of the ladies end up chasing them all! While on the run alone the lady Miaka finds herself alone, then out of the darkness a hand grabs her her by the arm and is pulled by a woman who is under disguise is really Soi! Being dragged out by the bushes Miaka makes a run for it. While the others are at the top of a cliff with no where to go! They all jump into the ocean, leaving the ladies defenseless.

((((Skipping Chapters 45 & 46 and going start to Chapter 47 & 48.)))

Chapter 47 Watching You Always & Chapter 48 Sorrow in the Snow!


After years and years of cross dressing and acting like his sister Nuriko gives up being a woman and puts his younger sister to rest. Then he finds himself being in love with the Lady Miaka. Never realizing how he was in love with her he shares a piece of advice to Tamahome as a big brother and confess. But Nuriko tells him that he will always be watching them from afar and that he wishes nothing for the best for the Lady Miaka. Now, for the heart breaking most has arrived! One of the dirty Seiryu Celestial Warriors a wolf dog is out of his dog collar and goes on a killing to find the lady Miaka and the seven Suzaku Warriors. Nuriko and Tamahome and the Lady Miaka all split up in order to achieve the task at hand. Nuriko goes up to the mountains by himself and is distributed by one of the Seiryu Celestial Warriors and then a battle breaks! Lucky Nurkio one of the seven warriors defeats the beast but is in terrible condition. Bruises and cuts decorate his body as pools of blood drips down to the white cloud snows. The lady Miaka and Tamahome arrives to late. Seeing one of their friends drops down to the ice floor. In pain and covered in bruises and cuts Nuriko says his final goodbyes to the Lady Miaka. "Nobody's dying nobody's leaving you. I mean it's you we're talking about! Somebody has to watch you every minute. The way you overeat, you're so clumsy and dumb...and reckless. That's nothing compared to all the wonderful qualities you have. So whatever happens, you can't quit." With Nuriko final saying his goodbyes, he peaceful slips away into the blankets of the snow....

🌸RIP Nuriko thank you for all the laughs🌸

Watching the episodes made me burst into tears as I was watching a dearly beloved friend dying and slips away from the hands of the Lady Miaka.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Today's post is on Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play, Volume 8: Friend by Yuu Watase. It is 189 pages long and is published by Shojo Beat. The cover has the two main characters on it facing looking in the distance with excitement towards something that the reader cannot see. The intended reader is someone who likes historical fantasy, high fantasy, romance, and shojo stories. There is mild foul language, mild sexuality, and violence in this story. The story is told from third person close of the main characters. There Be Spoilers Ahead.


From the back of the book- A Friend in Deeds
A savage storm shipwrecks Miaka and her Celestial Warriors on a creepy island inhabited by a ruthless matriarchal society that enslaves men! Meanwhile, her former friend Yui and the Seiryu Warriors are within arm's reach of the sacred treasures that Miaka so desperately seeks. Will she arrive too late to summon the god Suzaku and save the nation from Hong-Nan?


Review- This is a very sad volume with a major character death. Most of the volume is about trying to get off the island and back on track for the land of Genbu and the artifacts to summon Suzaku. But with whatever the general for Seiryu is planning, he is getting more dangerous. Yui causes some problems for Tamahome but the real thing is that Nuriko dies in killing a very dangerous warrior of Seiryu. I should have seen it coming because Nuriko has some big character growth over the course of this volume. There is some character growth going on with one of the warriors of Seiryu and I think that he is going to be the one to save Yui from whatever the general is planning. Almost half way down with this intense series and I am starting to wonder how this is going to wrap up.


I give this volume a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this manga with my own money.

[Anne Mey · Rating 4 out of 5]

L'aventure continue avec un suspense bien entretenu. L'île des femmes est fascinante et on arrive enfin dans le pays de Hokkan. Il y a quelques thématiques qui font plus adultes (la société féminine utilisant les hommes comme esclaves sexuels, les relations intimes entre le général ennemi et une sous fifre). Miaka prend une décision sur son futur et le suivi de cette relation est intéressant. Voir à quel point ils sont dévoués l'un à l'autre et font face à des décisions importantes. Par contre grosse déception pour le revirement de Nuriko avant sa mort, j'ai bien aimé son histoire à vouloir faire continuer à vivre la mémoire de sa soeur mais je pense qu'on a déjà assez de personnes amoureuses de Miaka sans que ça devient la foire non plus. La révélation de Yui à Tamahomé va sûrement créer des problèmes par la suite mais c'est intéressant que cette question soit soulevée pour le futur des héros. Ca et la mort d'un personnage important changent vraiment l'ambiance du manga qui a progressé depuis le petit manga shojo un peu cliché à une aventure qui ne recule pas devant les moments difficiles.

[Zennica Bunny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, Fushigi Yûgi, you’ve done it again. Volume 8, what a rollercoaster of emotions, and by "rollercoaster," I mean more like that loop-the-loop ride that you know is coming, but you just can’t bring yourself to get off.

First, let’s talk about the usual: Yuu Watase continues her flawless execution of making my heart both explode and break simultaneously. I can't even keep up with the love triangles, quadrilaterals, and whatever other geometric shapes the plot has decided to throw at us now. It's like a soap opera but with magical warriors and way more “wait, are they actually about to kiss?” moments.

Characters? Oh, they're still here and still ridiculous in the best way possible. You thought Tasuki was the ultimate "hot-headed but lovable" guy? Guess again! This volume doubles down on his emotional baggage and reveals even more reasons to question the sanity of the Suzaku Seven. (Seriously, what kind of mental gymnasts do you have to be to follow these plot twists? Someone get me a notebook, stat.)

[Liz · Rating 1 out of 5]

For those who've looked at what I rated the previous volumes and are wondering about the sudden drop in this volume's rating, no the art doesn't suddenly become terrible, no the characters don't stop acting like themselves, and no the story doesn't randomly stop making sense/moving in a believable direction. The sole reason this volume got only one star is because my very favorite character dies, and frankly I tried to read a few chapters past their death but simply couldn't make it through the next volume without said character. For me, the story died with them. For you, all I can say is be prepared to cry. A. Lot. Seriously, grab some kleenex or something. You'll need it.

[Aikazen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorite episode in this volume are;

Tamahome’s Return to the Suzaku Warriors: After breaking free from Nakago’s brainwashing in the previous volume, Tamahome fully reunites with Miaka and the rest of the Suzaku warriors. Their bond strengthens, and Tamahome reaffirms his commitment to protecting Miaka and helping her fulfill her mission.
and
The Gathering of Suzaku’s Treasures: The Suzaku warriors face deadly trials as they work to gather the last of the items needed to summon Suzaku. These challenges test their strength, loyalty, and teamwork. Some warriors make significant sacrifices for the greater good.

[Pittoresque · Rating 3 out of 5]

Für die erste Hälfte dieses Bandes war ich etwas genervt ("Diese Frauen wollen uns töten, aber wir können uns nicht wehren, weil wir können ja nicht gegen Frauen kämpfen" - ernsthaft?) aber dann habe ich die Reise sehr genossen. Da wird einem erst mal wieder klar, wie groß und divers China (bzw die FushiYu Variante davon) war bzw immer noch ist. Das Ende ist natürlich ein Cliffhanger, von daher bin ich froh, dass der nächste Band direkt bereit liegt!

[♡Kayla♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an absolute gut punch that ending was, I can't believe he's just gone like that.

For whatever reason, I really thought this series was going to be relatively lighthearted, with goofy jokes, a reverse harem, cool fantasy, and an interesting story, but it never occurred to me that we would not only face death, but that it would even take one of our main characters away.

[Frankie Frabizzio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even after nearly a decade after reading the first half of this series for the first time when I was a kid, the ending to this volume still gets me. Nuriko’s one of my all-time favorite characters in anything ever.

[Inah Solacito · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nuriko :(

[Bee (BacchusVines) · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual this book killed me. The death T_T

[✨Sky✨ ♏ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars

[Andrea Aguas · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a way to end this volume.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yey, another death! Much wow!

[mar ˖*ೃ࿔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this volume <3 I really want that Miaka and Tamahome end up being together, they make a wonderful couple. I felt sad about Nuriko :(

[Lindsey Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Noooooo

[Mayar · Rating 5 out of 5]

NOOOOOOOO!!!!! NURIKOOO. HE WAS THE BEST CHARACTER. WTH WHY ARE U DOING THIS TO ME!?!? I DID NOT EXPECT THAT AT ALL. I’m gonna go sob now…

[ⓘⓣⓐ · Rating 4 out of 5]

2024 goal 164/150