Get Hold Of ふしぎ遊戯 白虎仙記 1 (Fushigi Yûgi: Byakko Senki, #1) Narrated By Yuu Watase Shared As Booklet

picked this one up knowing absolutely nothing about the two previous Fushigi Yugi series, and after this volume, find myself wanting to seek them out.


Though its the third entry in the serieswell, second, chronologicallyFushigi Yugi: Byakko Senki still reads as a

strong entry point to the series as a whole.
In this series, young Suzuno Ohsugi has been forbidden from touching the mysterious book The Universe of the Four Gods, but when her family is caught in the midst of a tragic earthquake, the only way for her to survive is to open the bookand through it be transported to another world, where she fulfills the prophesied role of the Priestess of Byakko.
Shes only there briefly, though, and when she comes back to her home world, its to find her entire family dead, and herself haunted by memories of that and the mysterious world in the book.


This single volume covers a whole lot of narrative ground, bouncing between two different worlds and two different eras, split by a time skip near the end of the book, but it does so with such artful efficiency that I was surprised at how short it actually was, relative to how much story Id experienced.


Suzunos family is so wellrealized in the few pages theyre present that the reader feels their loss as acutely as Suzuno herself, The world inside The Universe of the Four Gods is equally wellrealized and politically complicatedand is bound to become more so after a certain twist that occurs right before young Suzuno is spirited back to her home world.
The Suzuno we return to afterward is entering young adulthood, with all its possibilities and challenges, after being raised in a closeknit house of earthquake orphans who dont exactly know what to make of her dreams of other worlds, but want her to overcome them and have a good life.


And yet this is all merely the setup for what is bound to be a complex, epic story to follow, The art, too, is wonderfully composedno small achievement for a comic with so much information in itand contributes to an effortlessly readable whole, Unfortunately, the series has been on hold sincebecause of the creators health This publication only just came stateside in late, but given this strong starting point, I eagerly await its return, once Watase is well enough to come back to it.
So, so happy to be back in this world, even if I KNOW Im in for a pain fest involumes,

Watases original Fushigi Yugi was the very first manga series I picked up, and started me on a love affair with shojo that is still going strong.
While the original series does have its flaws, its lore and characters still hold a special place in my heart, Genbu Kaiden was a sleeker and sadder upgrade, and remains my favorite of Watases series to date, Ive been awaiting this series since that one concluded overyears ago, and I wasnt disappointed! Watases art is still sharp, and her skill at capturing complex emotions in her characters is on full display.


This volume does a great job of easing the reader into the story, and doesnt exclude those who are not familiar with the tales of Suzaku/Seiryu or Genbu.
Were introduced to Suzuno as a young child in Tokyo, which was a change of pace from Miaka, Yui, and Takiko, who were all introduced as high school students in their respective timelines.
Those who read Genbu Kaiden will be familiar with her father and other characters introduced later, and their importance to the overall narrative.
Getting to see Suzuno as a child, seeing the trauma of the earthquake and the loss of her parents, makes her appearance in the world of the book all the more heartrending.
She does not go in by accident, but rather by design, as her fathers final attempt to save her life, When she meets the new players Kasal and Karm, brothers who are part of a roving people, and NingLan, a beguiling young woman who can transform into a tiger, and who later assumes the identity of the Priestess of Byakko when Suzuno is returned to Japan there are fewer hijinks and more tender moments, with all the foundfamily vibes of the original series.


The jump into Suzunos high school years and her grappling with her experience in the book was it a dream or the chaos of the earthquake, or real was a great departure from the narratives of the other priestesses, and allows her the teenage plights of being an outcast, of finding, her place, and grappling with the attention of an unlikely to her, at least.
. . suitor.

Im keen for her to return to the world of the book as a full protagonist and her story to truly begin, Itll be a long wait for this series to complete, but maybe thats a good thing, . . I know there will be adventure and a LOT of heartbreak, but Im an adult now! I think my heart is ready I may regret this statement.
The biggest thank you ever to VIZ Media, NetGalley, and Yuu Watase for the opportunity to read Fushigi Yugi: Byakko Senki in exchange for an honest review.


I am a very longtime fan of Yuu Watases work, She is my alltime favorite mangaka, and I own all of her English translated volumes from VIZ, as well as a few Japanese volumes that were never translated VIZ, please translate Appare Jipangu and Eppotrans Mai, thanks!.
When I was in sixth grade, I walked into my small local bookstore and came across these strange books that read from right to left.
I later found out they were called manga, and that would shape my interests for the rest of my life, Those two manga I picked up were Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play and Ceres: Celestial Legend, two major works by Yuu Watase,

Following Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play, telling the tale of two of the four gods, Suzaku and Seiryu, Watase eventually released Fushigi Yugi: Genbu Kaiden, my favorite of the tales so far.
It was a long wait for that tenvolume series to complete, and even more of a wait knowing she must eventually write the story of the Priestess of Byakko.
And thus, in, Suzunos story is finally being released in English, Worth the wait with its beautiful art, this magnificent cover, and the beginning to a very promising story,

I was wondering how Watase would make the story of Byakko a bit different than her previous Fushigi Yugi tales, and I am not disappointed.
Rather, I am left quite excited!

While you can read this book without necessarily having read the other tales, I highly recommend at least reading Genbu Kaiden first, as it references Takiko the Priestess of Genbu and her father, and what happened to them both.


This volume begins with an eightyearold Suzuno who adores her father, Her father, a friend of Takikos dad, tries to destroy The Universe of the Four Gods, the book that brought Takiko inside its pages to become the Priestess of Genbu.
Worried for his own daughters fate, he tells Suzuno to stay away, When an earthquake hits, Suzunos father encourages her to enter the book to save her from being killed in the earthquake, The reader gets a glimpse of some of the key characters that will play a major part later in the story Suzunos stay as a little girl is quite short.


When Suzuno is eighteen, she struggles with waking nightmares, trying to remember what happened when she was in the book, Was it a dream, or was it real After losing The Universe of the Four Gods, all Suzuno wants is to find the book and put her waking nightmares to rest.


Side note: I was disappointed that this volume did not include the short story “Byakko Ibun,” which highlights both the past of Seiryu warrior Miboshi, and a leading character in Byakko Senki who transforms into a tiger.
This short story was quite intriguing and really added to my appreciation of this tiger girl who isnt exactly very nice when we meet her in Byakko Senki.
VIZ, please add this to a later volume or release it as a comic or something!!!!!

This book is such a fantastic read.
Whether you are a longtime fan or new to Fushigi Yugi, you will not be disappointed by this book! Nowwhen will Watase come out with the next one and how long will we have to wait for a translation Considering most of the Fushigi Yugi series start a particular way a high school aged girl finds the Universe of the Four Gods book, gets pulled into the book, and becomes a priestess of one of the four gods, I found it pleasantly surprising that this one starts when the main character is a child and uses the book to escape a crisis.
Even though I already know some characters and facts about this series thanks to the original that takes place in the future, I'm still looking forward to reading this final arc of the Fushigi Yugi story.
It has been a hot minute since I have read a shojo manga, let alone a Yuu Watase series, and I was happy to see that her style of storytelling amp characterization has not really changed.
I know some have criticized this, but I am glad to sink back into the familiar vibes I expect with Fushigi Yugi, I'm so happy to finally be getting more of Suzuno's story! I know some of it was addressed in the original Mysterious Play, but here I will reveal one of my darkest secrets.
I never finished the original series, I was young and my attention span was way worse than it is now, okay I plan to finish it this year! Back to the original topic of Byakko Senki, I was very pleased to see such a variety of characters represented in the Genbu constellations, that I can't help but hope for more of the same with Byakko.
A group of pretty men amp the token child and/or woman is great, but I was spoiled with Genbu Kaiden,

Our heroine is the usual young girl who struggles with what is expected of her, Let me just say that after the tragedy that befell Takiko, I can't help but worry for Suzano and hope for a better end, Suzano is very young when we meet her, younger than the other priestesses, We are given more info about her connection to Takiko and the events that took place at the end of Genbu Kaiden, We can understand why Susano's father is fiercely protective of his little daughter, wanting her to avoid a similar fate, and why it pains him to be ultimately forced to use the Universe of the Four Gods to save her.
Of course, in true FY style, we must traumatize the future priestess in order to help her character develop, Watasesensei please. At least Suzano has people around her to help with all that newly orphaned trauma, Upon returning to her world from her brief stint in the book and then losing said book, Susano is fortunate enough to gain a new family, different from the one she lost, but just as caring.
After a small time skip, we are shown a young woman who has grown up and is trying to find her place in life while coping with her time in the UotFG.
It seems Susano has forgotten most of the events that happened in the book and only remembers vague images and faces that she believes came to her in dreams.
We also get to meet our first romantic hopeful, but those of us who are familiar with FY know that Susano will more than likely fall for a constellation.


As for the first people Susano meets within the UotFG, I am very intrigued, The tiger shifter Ning Lan is a little feral, but very independent and has obviously looked out for herself for a long time, She strikes me as the type who has spent so much of her life hunted and isolated, that she's going to need a lot of time and character development to be okay working with others.
I'm assuming she's a constellation, but she could just be an early introduced antagonist, The brothers Kasal amp Karm are a nice dynamic and I am a sucker for familial bonds, I have a feeling the younger brother will either fall in love with Susano or be a good friend to her, Kasal on the other hand, given that Susano specifically remembers his face and has obviously drawn him often, may just be that constellation I predicted she would fall for.


While I'm overall very happy with Byakko Senki so far, I do feel like the reentry of the UotFG/the discovery of the truth of Takiko's fate/the marriage proposal/Susano's return to the world inside the book was rushed.
I understand wanting to get to the Good StuffTM sooner than later, but that was a lot to shove into the last couple pages of the first volume.


Here's wishing Watasesensei good health and I cannot wait for volume two!,