waiting for the phoenix to come
I've been wanting to watch Fushigi Yuugi Eikoden for years, ever since I found out it existed. Well, guess what: I finally got to watch it last night. (Or, to say it strictly, about an hour ago.)
At first I was psyched. Fushigi Yuugi being one of my favorite anime ever for all its twists and unpredictable moments (and of course, Le Bishies), I couldn't wait to see what was ahead. Although I DID keep telling myself not to expect anything. That was the best way I enjoy movies and series, anyway.
The OAV started out fine. The beginning was a bit confusing, but it was fine. After all, the story was only then unfolding. And so I sat and watched and waited.
Then, the action began to happen. The Book was opened, someone got sucked in, someone else fainted making everybody else worry, and some other people sat at the edge of their seats as they read the Book.
And then... I... got bored. Really. I'm serious.
I would have wanted to say that the four-plus years of waiting to finally watch the conclusion to the Fushigi Yuugi animated series was worth it... Really, I DO want to say that it was worth it. And maybe it is.
Sort of.
But not quite.
Let me take this time to warn thee. From this point on, possible spoilers abound. Do not read on if you haven't watched Eikoden. I repeat: spoilers ABOUND. Well, OK. maybe they're not spoilers, but you won't know what the hell I'm talking about if you haven't watched the OAV. If you wish to be wise and skip the spoilers, scroll down really quickly and look for "SAFE ZONE" marker.
Moving on.
Perhaps you're wondering why I have contradicting feelings towards the OAV. Let me explain, then.
There were a lot of funny scenes. Some where I literally laughed out loud. Like, Chiriko suddenly talking. And Mitsukake's childishness. Nuriko was cute, of course, and Hotohori was a bishie, as usual. Predictably, Boushin looked like him. Tasuki has THE best lines, and I think I Taka was cooler here than in the last OAV (maybe because of the minimized Miaka-Taka over-mushiness). Huh. Obviously, the Fushigi Yuugi bishounen have NOT lost their touch.
The fight scenes were good. Hotohori appearing out of nowhere to help out was a nice touch. Tasuki was funny and effective as well. As I said, the fight scenes were good. Good, but not awesomely great. Good enough for me not to say that they sucked.
"So, Sarah," you might say, "what's all the negative talk about then?"
"Well," I answer, "there are a few disappointing factors..."
Like, Chichiri didn't appear to be as powerful as he actually was (unless they wanted to make it look like he was getting old, thus his diminishing coolness). And Hotohori's "return" was simply an "Sheeeeesh, come ON" moment. Complete with the sweatdrop and the eye-roll. I mean, really. And what was Saori there for? I mean, she did nothing! No-thing. Her being Mayo's best friend wasn't even established enough, nor was it enforced.
It was also strange now that Suzaku has two priestesses. Is that even allowed? I mean, Taka and Miaka calling Suzaku together had already been a bit forced to me, but now they have another girl there? Come on. Besides, if Suzaku was going to have another priestess, wasn't Miaka supposed to disappear? Or was Mayo never really a priestess because she was simply a medium to call on Suzaku? That part was somewhat a loophole for me. I've been thinking about that for ages now. That, and why (oh why?) Suzaku seemed to be the leader of the rebelling gods.
And I couldn't understand why Houki and Boushin didn't see that Mayo was clearly lying. And where did Mayo get her spy orb thingy? It just appeared out of nowhere. And WHY did Taka's phone ring when Keisuke wasn't even using the phone when they were talking? Before, Miaka heard Keisuke's voice in her head, so what makes it different now?
And, really. Taka simply wasn't stressed enough when Miaka was giving birth.
In all fairness, though, Mayo's turnaround was a bit convincing. It wasn't too sudden (unlike Hotohori's brother was). Although it was still pretty hard to care for the girl by the time when the story wants us to, due to the fact that her antagonist side was pretty perfectly antagonistic. Her bad side was so perfectly done that it was hard (VERY hard) to see her otherwise. And I was a bit concerned about her feelings for Taka. That was never settled, I think. I mean, OK, so she was repentant and all that and sort of accepted that Taka was Miaka's, but...I dunno. She didn't say it out loud. It was implied, I suppose, but I don't think that was enough. Sure, she apologized to him but ARGH. I think it would've been better to say "I love you" then "I'm sorry" than the other way around.
Although most (maybe 90%) of Miaka's screentime was her being unconscious, I loved it that she was still instrumental to everything going around her, from beginning to end. I think she was still the heroine despite her lack of part in the action. Houki's story was nice. It actually gave her a bit more depth (so she wouldn't stay as "the girl who looks like Nuriko, the one whom Hotohori married").
***********************
SAFE ZONE
***********************
The explanation about why there was yet another fiasco inside the book was pretty well-done. I couldn't find a crack in there.
I suppose, with all the little details ignored, my problem with this OAV is mainly the character developments, and the conclusion of things. I kind of got the feeling that the time wasn't enough. They crammed so many things together that some parts weren't as effective as it could've been. I think they should have made each episode a 30-minute one. As in 30 minutes without the commercial breaks.
The animation was beautiful, though. As in gorgeous. The CGI was a bit over the top, though. OK, so it was done to differentiate the evil gods from the real gods, but I think it wasn't really necessary. Plus it didn't flow with the rest of the animation.
The score was great, and the opening theme was awesomely enchanting. It got me hooked. The closing theme was OK... I think they could've done better, but I'm not going to the mattresses because of it.
To wrap things up, I'd say that Fushigi Yuugi Eikoden was good, but not great. Die-hard fans (or maybe even the not-so-die-hard ones) will most likely be disappointed to a certain degree, and newbies... well... Newbies will NOT be motivated to watch the main series if they watch the OAV first. Fushigi Yuugi could've done fine with out this OAV. I'm not saying that it was better off without it (then again, maybe it was), but I'm saying that the title is fine if Eikoden didn't exist.
For me, the second OAV set was enough, as it was also the manga's ending. Okay, so Eikoden was one of the novels published after the manga, but...yeah. For me, the story would've been fine if it stopped at Volume 18 of the manga.
If the producers or whoever else suddenly decides to make yet another sequel, I'm still probably going to watch it for the sake of watching it. But I'm not going to be so excited about it anymore.
At first I was psyched. Fushigi Yuugi being one of my favorite anime ever for all its twists and unpredictable moments (and of course, Le Bishies), I couldn't wait to see what was ahead. Although I DID keep telling myself not to expect anything. That was the best way I enjoy movies and series, anyway.
The OAV started out fine. The beginning was a bit confusing, but it was fine. After all, the story was only then unfolding. And so I sat and watched and waited.
Then, the action began to happen. The Book was opened, someone got sucked in, someone else fainted making everybody else worry, and some other people sat at the edge of their seats as they read the Book.
And then... I... got bored. Really. I'm serious.
I would have wanted to say that the four-plus years of waiting to finally watch the conclusion to the Fushigi Yuugi animated series was worth it... Really, I DO want to say that it was worth it. And maybe it is.
Sort of.
But not quite.
Let me take this time to warn thee. From this point on, possible spoilers abound. Do not read on if you haven't watched Eikoden. I repeat: spoilers ABOUND. Well, OK. maybe they're not spoilers, but you won't know what the hell I'm talking about if you haven't watched the OAV. If you wish to be wise and skip the spoilers, scroll down really quickly and look for "SAFE ZONE" marker.
Moving on.
Perhaps you're wondering why I have contradicting feelings towards the OAV. Let me explain, then.
There were a lot of funny scenes. Some where I literally laughed out loud. Like, Chiriko suddenly talking. And Mitsukake's childishness. Nuriko was cute, of course, and Hotohori was a bishie, as usual. Predictably, Boushin looked like him. Tasuki has THE best lines, and I think I Taka was cooler here than in the last OAV (maybe because of the minimized Miaka-Taka over-mushiness). Huh. Obviously, the Fushigi Yuugi bishounen have NOT lost their touch.
The fight scenes were good. Hotohori appearing out of nowhere to help out was a nice touch. Tasuki was funny and effective as well. As I said, the fight scenes were good. Good, but not awesomely great. Good enough for me not to say that they sucked.
"So, Sarah," you might say, "what's all the negative talk about then?"
"Well," I answer, "there are a few disappointing factors..."
Like, Chichiri didn't appear to be as powerful as he actually was (unless they wanted to make it look like he was getting old, thus his diminishing coolness). And Hotohori's "return" was simply an "Sheeeeesh, come ON" moment. Complete with the sweatdrop and the eye-roll. I mean, really. And what was Saori there for? I mean, she did nothing! No-thing. Her being Mayo's best friend wasn't even established enough, nor was it enforced.
It was also strange now that Suzaku has two priestesses. Is that even allowed? I mean, Taka and Miaka calling Suzaku together had already been a bit forced to me, but now they have another girl there? Come on. Besides, if Suzaku was going to have another priestess, wasn't Miaka supposed to disappear? Or was Mayo never really a priestess because she was simply a medium to call on Suzaku? That part was somewhat a loophole for me. I've been thinking about that for ages now. That, and why (oh why?) Suzaku seemed to be the leader of the rebelling gods.
And I couldn't understand why Houki and Boushin didn't see that Mayo was clearly lying. And where did Mayo get her spy orb thingy? It just appeared out of nowhere. And WHY did Taka's phone ring when Keisuke wasn't even using the phone when they were talking? Before, Miaka heard Keisuke's voice in her head, so what makes it different now?
And, really. Taka simply wasn't stressed enough when Miaka was giving birth.
In all fairness, though, Mayo's turnaround was a bit convincing. It wasn't too sudden (unlike Hotohori's brother was). Although it was still pretty hard to care for the girl by the time when the story wants us to, due to the fact that her antagonist side was pretty perfectly antagonistic. Her bad side was so perfectly done that it was hard (VERY hard) to see her otherwise. And I was a bit concerned about her feelings for Taka. That was never settled, I think. I mean, OK, so she was repentant and all that and sort of accepted that Taka was Miaka's, but...I dunno. She didn't say it out loud. It was implied, I suppose, but I don't think that was enough. Sure, she apologized to him but ARGH. I think it would've been better to say "I love you" then "I'm sorry" than the other way around.
Although most (maybe 90%) of Miaka's screentime was her being unconscious, I loved it that she was still instrumental to everything going around her, from beginning to end. I think she was still the heroine despite her lack of part in the action. Houki's story was nice. It actually gave her a bit more depth (so she wouldn't stay as "the girl who looks like Nuriko, the one whom Hotohori married").
***********************
SAFE ZONE
***********************
The explanation about why there was yet another fiasco inside the book was pretty well-done. I couldn't find a crack in there.
I suppose, with all the little details ignored, my problem with this OAV is mainly the character developments, and the conclusion of things. I kind of got the feeling that the time wasn't enough. They crammed so many things together that some parts weren't as effective as it could've been. I think they should have made each episode a 30-minute one. As in 30 minutes without the commercial breaks.
The animation was beautiful, though. As in gorgeous. The CGI was a bit over the top, though. OK, so it was done to differentiate the evil gods from the real gods, but I think it wasn't really necessary. Plus it didn't flow with the rest of the animation.
The score was great, and the opening theme was awesomely enchanting. It got me hooked. The closing theme was OK... I think they could've done better, but I'm not going to the mattresses because of it.
To wrap things up, I'd say that Fushigi Yuugi Eikoden was good, but not great. Die-hard fans (or maybe even the not-so-die-hard ones) will most likely be disappointed to a certain degree, and newbies... well... Newbies will NOT be motivated to watch the main series if they watch the OAV first. Fushigi Yuugi could've done fine with out this OAV. I'm not saying that it was better off without it (then again, maybe it was), but I'm saying that the title is fine if Eikoden didn't exist.
For me, the second OAV set was enough, as it was also the manga's ending. Okay, so Eikoden was one of the novels published after the manga, but...yeah. For me, the story would've been fine if it stopped at Volume 18 of the manga.
If the producers or whoever else suddenly decides to make yet another sequel, I'm still probably going to watch it for the sake of watching it. But I'm not going to be so excited about it anymore.
Labels: fushigi yuugi, reviews, tv
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Oh...disappointing...
i stil love FY though. :D
Maybe this what happens to story sequels which become too...sensationalized. One expects too much.
Posted by
melody maker | 19:06