From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fushigi Yūgi Genbu Kaiden (ふしぎ遊戯 玄武開伝
?) is a manga written by Yuu Watase. It premiered in Japan in 2003 in
Sho-Comi, moved to an off-shoot
magazine, Fushigi Yūgi Perfect World, in 2004. It was
serialized sporadically in Monthly
Flowers until 2008 when the series went on hiatus until
spring 2010. Individual chapters are collected and published in
tankōbon
volumes by Shogakukan
with the first volume was in October 2003; as of September 2008
nine volumes have been released. A prequel to Watase's Fushigi
Yūgi, the series details the creation of "The Universe of
the Four Gods" and tells the full story of the Priestess of
Genbu.
The series is licensed for English language releases in North
America by Viz Media and
in Singapore by Chuang
Yi.
Plot
In Japan of 1923, a seventeen year-old girl named Takiko Okuda
is living with her ill mother after recently moving to a small
town. Her father comes home one day (he's never home, being a busy
novelist), much to Takiko's chagrin. He apparently has been working
on something called "The Universe of the Four Gods" and even after
returning home, is obsessed with the book. Her mother soon dies and
Takiko becomes angry at her father for ignoring the two of them.
These feelings, paired with her feelings of loneliness and
uselessness at being rejected both in love and by her father, lead
her to attempt to tear the book apart. However, it instead whisks
her away to the country of Hokkan (Beî Jîa) where all of her
adventures begin.
Characters
- Takiko Okuda (奧田 多喜子, Okuda Takiko
?)
- A seventeen year old schoolgirl, whose mother has recently died
of tuberculosis
and whose father seems to care more about his research than his own
family. She is revealed to be the Priestess of Genbu, whose destiny
will be to summon the god Genbu with her own will after she has
gathered the Celestial Warriors and have it grant three wishes of
her choosing. Takiko is impulsive and strong willed, though she can
be insecure at times. She can fight well with a naginata, a spear-like weapon, and does well
in her studies. Takiko was in love with Takao Ohsugi, a friend of
her father's, but her love was unrequited. Uruki falls in love with
her and she eventually comes to reciprocate, though they must keep
their relationship a secret. In the drama CDs, she is voiced by Satsuki
Yukino.
- Uruki/Rimudo Roun (女宿 ロウン·リムド, Roun
Rimudo
?)
- Uruki is the sixteen-year-old crown prince of Hokkan and the
only son of the emperor's brother. At the time of his birth, a
priest prophesized for his father "When the Priestess opens the
Book of the Four Gods of Heaven and Earth and appears, your son
will definitely kill you." At this time, the Prince, fearing for
his own life, tried to have his son killed. Rimudo's mark means
'women' and only appears when he is in female form. Rimudo must be
in female form in order to utilize his celestial powers of
controlling the wind, which seems to be a sore spot with him. He is
in love with Takiko and they confess their love for one another
later, but their relationship is kept a secret. In the drama CDs,
he is voiced by Takahiro Sakurai. His female form is
voiced by Miki
Nagasawa.
- Tomite/Chamka Tan (虚宿 ターン·チャムカ, Taan
Chamuka
?)
- Sixteen year old Tomite is a bounty hunter from the Ha tribe
and Hikitsu's childhood friend. He's a bit of a pervert, but
sensitive about his mother Boraate (Borate). His mark means
'emptiness' or 'void' and he is a master archer. Combined with his
ability to create ice, Tomite is able to shoot arrows of ice. He is
the first Celestial warrior that Takiko gathers, as Uruki, the
first found, refuses to acknowledge his destiny until later on, and
is in a delicate position with the Qu-dong army. Tomite appears to
be jealous of Uruki concerning his relationship with Takiko,
possibly because he has some feelings for Takiko. However the
author has stated they have a kind of brotherly/sisterly
relationship. He later gains a love interest in the form of
Hikitsu's sister, Aira.
Known to fans of the original Fushigi Yugi, Tomite and his friend
Hikitsu became the guardians of the Shinzaho of the Genbu priestess
after their deaths. In the drama CDs, is voiced by Tetsuya
Iwanaga.
- Hatsui
(室宿 エルタイ·ザラ-, Erutai
Zaraa
?)
- Twelve year old Hatsui is the son of healers who finds it
difficult to trust in others. He cries a lot and also stutters when
he speaks (at least in the Japanese version of the manga). When his
parents died, they left him a large debt to pay off. The villagers
picked on him until one day he accidentally killed them with his
ability to fire needles from his body. When Takiko found him, he
was being 'looked after'(or rather, being used to kill off enemies,
particularly Takiko & Co.) by Fen (a female assassin who was
hired by Uruki's father to kill the Celestial Warriors and
priestess). In the drama CDs, he is voiced by Megumi Ogata.
- Namame
(壁宿
?, "Wall")
- Namame was born from the Seimei stone (Star-Life Stone) near
Iferui. He usually takes the appearance of a little stone doll,
although when Takiko first found him, he was a stone giant,
protecting the oracle Anlu, who was in his mouth. After being
traumatized by human cruelty when he attempted to fit in, Namame
found it very hard to trust others; it took Anlu a whole day of
sitting right next to him to earn his trust. He was "protecting"
Anlu when Takiko & Co. found him. Namame was the fourth
Celestial Warrior found by the Genbu priestess. His character,
"Bi", is typically found on the back of his head. Namame has the
power to control the earth, which allows him to manipulate the
ground itself, create earthquakes, and shape stones into whatever
he desires.
- Hikitsu (斗宿 チェン·エムタト, Chen
Emutato
?)
- Twenty-one year old Hikitsu is a member of the Han tribe. He
has a little sister named Ayla and once saved Tomite from being
killed by monsters (which also killed Tomite's father) when the two
of them were children. He controls water in the form of snakes, but
also has another power he called 'Shikyokan', where anyone who
looks upon the eye with his Seishi mark is forced to remember their
worst memories. The latter power doesn't seem to be under control,
the eye is usually covered and it has accidentally been used on
Takiko .
Known to fans of the original Fushigi Yugi, Hikitsu and his friend
Tomite became the guardians of the Shinzaho of the Genbu priestess
after their deaths. In the drama CDs, he is voiced by Nobuyuki
Hiyama.
- Inami (牛宿 タルマ, Taruma
?)
- Inami is a senior prostitute. She is not the owner of the
brothel as previously thought, she is just the temporary owner. The
original owner of the brothel had discovered that Taruma was a
Celestial Warrior and knew of the persecution Inami would faced if
found out, so they moved the brothel from Hokkan to Konan for her
safety. Inami's power is being able to control her hair to great
lengths and is able to use a pipe as her weapon. She joins Takiko
and the other Seishi after great encouragement from the other
prostitutes. In the drama CDs, she is voiced by Masako
Katsuki.
- Urumiya (危宿 ハーガス & テグ, Hāgasu
& Tegu
?)
- It is revealed that Hagus is only half of Urumiya (only half of
the character is shown), therefore, he is not complete. His elder
twin brother, Teg, carried the other half of the character. Though
Hagus fights against the celestial warriors of Genbu and has the
ability to absorb their powers, he is not necessarily evil as he is
seen saving children during some of the battles. He has a goal to
destroy Uruki, in order to rescue his brother. He is under the
command of Uruki's father, King Temudan. Teg is kept prisoner by
Temudan, who bribes him with the possibility of being reunited with
Hagus to get him to block the other seishis powers, thereby
protecting Temudan and the Hokkan army. In the drama CDs, he is
voiced by Takehito Koyasu.
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Yuu Watase, the first chapter of Fushigi
Yūgi Genbu Kaiden was published in 2003 in an issue of Sho-Comi. The series moved to the
magazine's off-shoot, Fushigi Yūgi Perfect World, in 2004,
where it was serialized quarterly until the magazines' cancellation
in June 2008. The series then moved to Monthly Flowers where it was
serialized sporadically until 2008 when it went on hiatus, due to
Watase's health and other work commitments.[1][2]
She anticipates restarting the series in spring of 2010.[2]
The individual chapters are collected and published in tankōbon volumes by
Shogakukan with the
first volume was in October 2003; as of September 2008 nine volumes
have been released.
It is licensed for English language releases in North America by
Viz Media,[3], in
Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment, in the
United Kingdom by Gollancz Manga, and in Singapore by Chuang Yi.[4] Viz
released its first volume of the series in July 2005, with nine
volumes released as of November 2009.[5] The
series is also licensed for regional language releases in France by
Editions Tonkam, Spain by Glènat España,
and Germany by EMA.
Drama CDs
A series of five Drama CDs based on the series have been
recorded.[6]
Video
game
Idea Factory released the Sony Playstation
2 video game Fushigi Yuugi — Genbu Kaiden Gaiden:
Kagami no Miko in Japan on June 22, 2005. The adventure game
puts players in the shoes of Mariko Kobayashi, an original
character created for the game, who is taken into the Universe
of the Four Gods through a mirror.[7]
While searching for her friend, who was also taken into the mirror,
Mariko is aided in her quest by Genbu no Miko and the Genbu Seven.
A limited edition version of the game was released on the same
date, containing an art book and a CD of interviews with the game
voice actors.[7] A
PSP version of the game was
released in Japan on September 28, 2006.[7]
Reception
When it was released, the eighth volume of Fushigi Yūgi
Genbu Kaiden ranked ninth in the Japanese Comic Ranking,
listing the top ten selling manga volumes, for March 25–31,
2008.[8] The
ninth volume premiered in sixth place in the September 30–October 6
rankings.[9]
References
- ^ "Fushigi Yuugi's Yuu Watase
to Start New Original Work". Anime News Network. June 27,
2008. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-06-27/fushigi-yuugi-watase-to-start-new-original-work. Retrieved January 5,
2009.
- ^ a
b
"Fushigi Yuugi: Genbu
Kaiden's Return Pushed to Spring 2010". Anime News
Network. March 17, 2009. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-03-17/fushigi-yuugi/genbu-kaiden-return-pushed-to-spring-2010. Retrieved March 17,
2009.
- ^
"Viz To Release Fushigi
Yuugi: Genbu Kaiden". Anime News Network. May 21,
2005. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2005-05-21/viz-to-release-fushigi-yuugi-genbu-kaiden. Retrieved February 5,
2009.
- ^
http://chuangyi.com.sg/new/ecatalogtitle.php?title=Fushigi+Yugi+Genbu+Kaiden
- ^
"Fushigi Yugi: Genbu Kaiden,
Vol 9". Viz
Media. http://viz.com/products/products.php?product_id=8446. Retrieved November 15,
2009.
- ^
"Fushigi Yūgi: Genbu Kaiden
Drama CD 5" (in Japanese). YesAsia. http://www.yesasia.com/global/drama-cd-fushigi-yugi-genbu-kaiden-5-japan-version/1004897850-0-0-0-en/info.html.
- ^ a
b
c
"Idea Factory Brings Comic To
PS2". IGN. March 29, 2005. http://ps2.ign.com/articles/600/600025p1.html. Retrieved February 6,
2008.
- ^
"Japanese Comic Ranking,
March 25–31". Anime News Network. April 2,
2008. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-04-02/japanese-comic-ranking-march-25-31. Retrieved February 5,
2009.
- ^
"Japanese Comic Ranking,
September 30–October 6". Anime News Network. October 9,
2008. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-10-09/japanese-comic-ranking-september-30-october-6b. Retrieved February 5,
2009.
External
links
Shogakukan
Viz Media
Madman
Entertainment
Wikis
Search
