Fushigi Yûgi: The Mysterious Play, Vol. 16: Assassin

ふしぎ遊戯 [Fushigi Yûgi] #16

by Yuu Watase

As enigmatic exchange student Lian slowly takes control of the minds of everyone in school, his agenda becomes clear: he is training an army of assassins to kill Miaka. Illustrations. Rated for older teens.

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

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 26, 1996

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

[Jolly Ann Troesch]

What an exciting scenes.

[Bibliothecat]

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.

[Karusi]

Yeah, this is where I stop. It's just meh, and I don't care after the main plot point ended. Oh well, now I know. I still love the series, just not at this point.

[Zennica Bunny]

While it doesn’t quite hit the same emotional heights as earlier volumes, this installment serves as a bittersweet epilogue with enough twists to keep you hooked. It’s a nostalgic farewell tour for the characters you love (and love to yell at), reminding us why we stuck with this wild ride in the first place. Four out of five stars for extra closure and extra tears.

[Lau]

2.5

Se ha vuelto repetitivo.
Y empalagoso. Empiezo a temer por mi colesterol.
Que todo gire en torno a separar a Miaka y Tamahome (o Taka, lo que sea) es bastante monótono.
Tendría que haber parado en el 13.

[Bee (BacchusVines)]

The drama bits are getting to be much. But seeing Nuriko again? Priceless *_*

[✨Sky✨ ♏]

3,5 stars

[Bradley]

Excellent tale. The demon was fun. =)

[Lindsey Lewis]

My heart

[Matt Ichijoji]

Puede que la segunda parte del manga no sea tan interesante cómo la primera. Pero la estoy disfrutando mucho. Dramitas por todos lados 🤗

[David Doel]

There's a new villain in this volume and she's not nearly as compelling.

[Pixie 🍜]

It’s taken me forever to finish this. I’m just not enjoying the story at this point as the most interesting aspect has gone.
However, perhaps the next two will be better.

[Margarita]

Este me ha gustado más cómo está desarrollada y evoluciona la historia. Me he reído mucho con Tasuki y Nuriko

[ⓘⓣⓐ]

2026 goal 105/99

[Veronica Ika]

A Sinister Agenda Unveiled
The enigmatic exchange student Lian's true intentions are revealed as he begins to exert control over the minds of everyone in school. His sinister agenda becomes clear: to train an army of assassins with the sole purpose of eliminating Miaka.

A Family's Vengeance
Lian's sister arrives seeking revenge on Miaka and Taka, unleashing demons to possess Taka's body. These malevolent entities hinder Taka from touching Miaka without experiencing excruciating pain, and prevent him from accessing the fourth stone crucial to their mission.

A Race Against Evil
As Miaka and her allies confront the threat posed by Lian and his sister's vengeful spirits, they find themselves in a desperate race against time to thwart their malevolent plans and safeguard their own lives. With danger lurking at every turn, they must unite their strength and cunning to overcome the darkness that threatens to consume them.

[Leila Anani]

The evil demon Lord sends yet another assassin to thwart Miaka and Tamahome's love - this one's a female who tries to seduce our disappearing hero, and infects him with demons that means he can't touch Miaka. 94 chapters in and these two still haven't reached happily ever after... sheesh! Talk about star crossed lovers.

Amazingly this volume is still at the quality of the rest of the series - wonderfully rich characters and totally emotionally engaging, with great artwork. This really is Shojo manga at its best. Nuriko's ghost makes an appearance in this one and we meet her older brother.

Love this series.

[Edelweiss]

Historia general: Coñazo. Los últimos tomos del manga me los he tenido que leer en diagonal por no abandonarlos. Conforme avanzaba me interesaba menos la historia y me daban más igual los personajes, le pongo 2 estrellas porque al principio está algo interesante… el shojo de los 90 no es para mí.

[Mel]

Boooobs

[Tamikan]

I'm here for the side characters. Art is still pretty.

[Danyka]

I watched and loved the Anime version of this since I was a kid. It also landed on my favorites.

For now, I got no plans for buying a copy.

[Raechel]

Miaka and Taka find themselves being pulled apart right and left. What are they to do?

[Galion Public Library Teens]

A.J. liked "all of it" and recommends the book to "anyone."

[Rei]

Gosh I'm getting tired of this, is turning into a complete cliché! I can't bear Miaka and Tamahome, sorry

[Indah Threez Lestari]

#Program BUBU

Pertama kali dibeli dan dibaca pada tanggal 1 Maret 2003.