Fushigi Yuugi is one of those rare series where the whole is a lot greater than the sum of its parts. Quite simply, there are a lot of flaws here, in almost all of its aspects, and yet it still remains a deeply enjoyable and interesting anime.
Story:
Miaka, a Japanese girl studying to get into the same high school as Yui, her more intelligent friend, is planning on attending, happens upon a wierd book in a restricted section of the National Library. Upon reading the book, Miaka and Yui get sucked into a world that resembles ancient China, and Miaka becomes the Preistess of Suzaku, destined to save the Southern quarter of the world from an impending disaster, and almost immediately falls in love with a Celestial Warrior, Tamahome. How is she, a normal girl with an inhuman appetite, supposed to save the Empire? Can she ever return home? Can she find a way to stay with Tamahome? Can she keep her figure despite eating more than a small army at every meal?
There were definitely some strong aspects to the story. It was interesting how they took the magical girl genre and applied it to an adventure series. Also, the series in general was simply fun to watch. Humor and drama were well-balanced, and the pacing was usually good, though a touch too slow during the first half of the series. The focus on the relationship between Miaka and Tamahome, while flawed in some respects, especially in the beginning, was still an effective way of bringing the story together.
At times, though, the story was a weak link of the anime. While it did a good job of bringing us along for the ride, there were two big drawbacks: first, it was a bit too long. Ultimately, the events that occur here could have fit better in around 45 episodes rather than 52. Or, to be more blunt, there was AT LEAST seven episodes worth of filler and dead time scattered throughout the series (in other words, WAY too much). It just felt at times like they extended things too much. Yes, it's good to spend time developing the characters, but they erred too far towards the side of making it longer rather than shorter. For 52 episodes, they should have cut out some of what they had, and used a couple episodes for something new.
Also, the ending seemed just a bit too predictable. Its presentation was effective, but it would have been better if they had done at least something to make it more creative.
The whole "magical girl" genre seems a bit overdone, but I though that their take on it was very good. To a degree, it is stereotypical, but they manage to find a way to write an interesting, involved story that, while not really that original, is still effective.
Character:
A mixed bag here. There are two big downsides here: lack of development for the more minor characters, and a very poor job setting up the Miaka-Tamahome relationship. The writers definitely could have spent a bit more time investigating characters other than Miaka and Tamahome. Yui, Nakago, Hotohori, Chichiri and Nuriko were developed a bit, but virtually everyone else was more or less ignored as far as development was concerned.
The Miaka-Tamahome relationship was interesting. Unfortunately, it's almost impossible to buy the relationship from the outset, as over the course of only a couple of episodes the two go from complete strangers to lovebirds. If you're willing to ignore that problem, though, things do get a lot more interesting later on. The relationship between the two is the main storyline of the series, as even more than the outer conflict, the plot really revolves around the two of them. Ultimately, this is where the series really shines, as they do a very good job of dealing with this relationship, its evolution, and how it affects everyone around them. Watching Miaka and Tamahome try and hold on to their love, even when it seems that the whole world is against them, manages at times to strike a deep emotional chord that allows the series to have a stronger impact than it would seem at first glance to be capable of.
Also, the characters here really shine when they're fighting against adversity. In their normal lives, and before things get difficult for them, they aren't as interesting, but they shine through when faced with danger and suffering. As long as you're willing to overlook the mediocre job of setting up the characters in the first few episodes, things actually do get a lot better in terms of character development as the series goes on.
Animation:
Decent, nothing incredible or terrible. Ultimately, animation was more than good enough so that it didn't take away from anything else. The characters were well-drawn enough, the action scenes were okay, but nothing that really blew me away either.
Sound:
The sound in general was about the level of the animation, good but not incredible. I liked the way the voiced a lot of the characters (note: I watched the English dub here), as they seemed to do a good job of mimicking the people they were playing, especially the whiny voice of Miaka.
I really enjoyed the opening song, which is why it gets an extra point here. Besides just being well-put together, it seemed to do a good job of reflecting the general tone of the series, generally energetic and alternating between light and serious.
Value:
This is a series which was fun to watch, but it's too long for me to seriously want to watch it again any time soon. It was a good ride while it lasted, but its flaws, especially in terms of pace, become much more apparent during a second run-through.
Enjoyment:
Even with all of its flaws, Fushigi Yuugi was a very well-done series. I really enjoyed watching it, and I was always struck by its energy. It was honestly fun to watch, and even during the down points, there was always something about it that made me want to keep watching. Ultimately, if you're willing to overlook the occasional holes in the story, sometimes too slow pacing, and lack of development of minor characters, you'll actually find yourself enjoying a good anime that manages to distinguish itself, because the things that are good about it outweigh the things that are bad about it.
