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"This is the story of a girl who gathered the Seven Guardians of Suzaku. She obtained omnipotent power and made every wish come true. The story itself is an incantation. Whoever finishes reading it shall receive this power. As soon as the page is turned, the story will become the truth and begin."

When gluttonous, underachieving schoolgirl Miaka Yuki and her best friend Yui Hongo find a strange book in the library, it changes their lives forever. Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho (literally, The Book of the Four Gods of Heaven and Earth, but rendered as The Universe of the Four Gods in the North American release) is an ancient book that is a gateway into another world that resembles medieval China — a gateway through which Miaka and Yui fall. Although Yui is sent back to Japan almost immediately, Miaka is trapped in the story. There she finds that she is the Suzaku no Miko — the prophesied priestess of the god Suzaku, who must gather together seven holy warriors in order to summon the god and save the country of Konan from its enemy, the country of Kutou.

Meanwhile, in the "real" world, Yui is reading about Miaka's adventures in the book, trapped by a sort of horrified fascination. Worse, she suffers many of the harms and indignities that Miaka undergoes, from soakings with water to bloody wounds.

Although she is sympathetic to Konan's cause, Miaka is worried about Yui and wants to go home. When she gets a chance to do so, she takes it, but upon returning to the library she cannot find Yui — who has been drawn back into the book and installed as the Seiryuu no Miko — the Priestess of Seiryuu, the god who favors Kutou, and similarly charged to summon the deity. When Miaka finally returns to the world inside the book, she finds that she and her once-best friend are now on opposite sides of what promises to be a bloody and devastating war. The only way for Miaka to prevent utter genocide is to win the race to be the first to summon a god...

Easily the most famous of Yuu Watase's works, Fushigi Yuugi (ふしぎ遊戯, Mysterious Play) was serialized from 1991 to 1996 in the manga magazine Shojo Comic, with a 52-episode anime adaptation by Studio Pierrot which aired from 1995 to 1996. The series was many anime fans' introduction to the fantasy shoujo genre after Sailor Moon. This work is considered a leader of the Trapped in Another World, "Reverse Supporting Harem" subgenres, and also one of the major forerunners of the "Reverse Harem"note  subgenre in Japan; inspiring followers in form of the Harukanaru Toki no Naka de series, and the Angelique series, triggering the dawn of romance gaming, and Dating Sim gaming genres for girls in Japan, and the overall East Asian regions. The Fushigi Yuugi series also served as a Gateway Series for all non-Chinese demographics for its strong, and supportive usage of Chinese regional culture studies by incorporating the Wuxia genre, Chinese Mythology, The Four Gods, and its successful introduction of The Twenty-Eight Mansions of the Chinese constellation system.

Fushigi Yuugi was popular enough to spawn a full franchise, in release order:

  • Fushigi Yuugi: Genbu Kaiden (Manga, Drama CD, and Visual Novel on PS2/NDS)
    • The first prequel in telling the story of the Genbu Saga. The manga was serialized from 2003 to 2013 and was released in the US by Viz Media. The series also brought out Fushigi Yuugi's first-ever Visual Novel, titled Fushigi Yuugi Genbu Kaiden Gaiden ~Kagami no Miko~.
  • Fushigi Yuugi Suzaku Ibun (Visual Novel on PS2/NDS)
    • An Alternate Timeline of the Suzaku / Seiryu Saga replacing Miaka and Yui with two different girls as the Suzaku and Seiryu Priestesses.
  • Fushigi Yuugi: Byakko Ibun
    • The prologue of the second prequel in preparation for the later-released Byakko Saga. It was published in February 2015.
  • Fushigi Yuugi: Byakko Senki
    • The last of the franchise, and officially the second prequel focusing the story on the Byakko Saga; which began its run in late 2017. Watase placed this project on hiatus from June 2018 to December 2023 to focus on finishing both the magazine run and remaster of Arata: The Legend while dealing with health problems. Serialization of Byakko Senki is scheduled to return in May 2024.

Has a wiki. Compare with The Twelve Kingdoms.


This series presents examples of:

    open/close all folders 

    A - G 

  • Actor Allusion: In the first episode, Miaka pulls the "In the Name of the Moon" speech when she confronts a group of bullies near the end. In the original version, Miaka's voice actress Kae Araki covered for Kotono Mitsuishi's role of Sailor Moon when the latter was sick. Araki would come back as Chibiusa.
  • Adaptation Dye-Job: In the manga, every human character has a natural hair color. However, in the anime, Nuriko is given purple hair, Chichiri blue, and Mitsukake's is given a green tint while Tamahome's is undeniably blue (or sometimes green).
  • Adaptation Expansion: In the original manga when Suzuno and Tatara die, they simply die. The anime expands on this scene to have Tatara come to her after he dies and as she dies so they're reunited in death. The added scene went over so well That Word of God has said she regrets not doing that scene herself in the manga.
  • Adaptational Jerkass: Yui.
  • Advice Backfire: Chichiri sternly admonishes Miaka that she needs to be more responsible in her actions. Unfortunately, Miaka is Too Dumb to Live and interprets that as a suggestion she should walk into the enemy kingdom by herself carrying a one-of-a-kind artifact, which kicks off a very bad chain of events for the Suzaku warriors.
  • All of the Other Reindeer: Tamahome's childhood.
  • Angsty Surviving Twin: Subverted with Suboshi and Amiboshi in different ways. In the first instance when Amiboshi "died", Amiboshi wasn't actually dead. In the second when Suboshi died, Amiboshi didn't remember he had a twin to angst over.
  • Animal Motifs:
    • Chichiri's mask earns him many comparisons to a kitsune, and he often uses his magic in trickster ways against Suzaku's opponents, although always in a heroic fashion.
    • Tasuki sports fangs and his bandit nickname was "Phantom Wolf", highlighting his Lightning Bruiser style of combat as well as his loyalty to his pack.
    • Ashitare is Tasuki's Evil Counterpart on Seiryuu in this regard, as he is a violent, animalistic werewolf.
  • Anyone Can Die: Poor Nuriko. And literally half the main cast are dead by the end of the series.
  • Arc Villain: Ashitare, Tomo and Miboshi
  • Attempted Rape: Several times.
  • Attractive Bent-Gender: Nuriko, and in the manga, Chichiri of all people. But since the latter practices sorcery, it's justified.
  • Ax-Crazy; Suboshi. He's fierce, impulsive and can go to the extreme.
  • Beyond the Impossible: There's a place in Kutou called the "Shrine of Seiyruu"; a Physical God that stands opposed to the god Suzaku. In this place, the warriors of Suzaku are forbidden entry by a magic barrier that specifically targets them and the priestess of Suzaku is paralyzed. Chichiri can get in nonetheless because "I'm trickery, you know?" while Tamahome is powered by love. To a native of the Universe of the Four Gods this is as impossible as someone ignoring the laws of Thermodynamics in real life.
  • Big Bad: Nakago. In the second OAV series and the second part of the manga, Tenkou takes this role.
  • Big Brother Instinct: Suboshi.
  • Big Damn Heroes: Part of what makes this series great is that nearly every character gets one of these moments. Hell, even Suboshi gets one when he saves Amiboshi from Tomo at the last second. "GET AWAY FROM MY BROTHER!"
  • Big Eater: Miaka.
  • The Big Guy: Both Nuriko and Tasuki share this role on the Suzaku team. Nuriko possesses Super-Strength, while Tasuki is a Lightning Bruiser who wields a powerful fire attack.
  • Blackand White Insanity: Suboshi sees the Suzaku Seven as scum of earth simply because they were enemies.
  • Blue Oni, Red Oni: Yui and Miaka; Tamahome and Tasuki; Chichiri and Tasuki.
  • Bodyguard Crush: Any Seishi who falls for his Miko. For Miaka we have Tamahome, Hotohori, and Tasuki in the OAV ( Nuriko is more debatable); for Yui, Suboshi; for Suzuno, Tatara; for Takiko, Prince Uruki.
  • Brainwashed and Crazy: Tamahome during the Kodoku arc.
  • Breaking the Fourth Wall: Chichiri does this in part two of the manga when he first appears: He faces towards where the fourth wall would be, waves and says "Long time, no see, everyone!" Although he could be saying it to the other characters, it comes off as more of a fourth-wall joke.
  • Brother–Sister Incest: Ren and Miisu.
  • Brought Down to Badass: Tasuki and Chichiri lose their powers after Yui seals away the god Suzaku. This does not stop them from showing up in Miaka's world to Hold the Line against Nakago (who still does have all of his celestial abilities).
  • The Cake Is a Lie: In Eikoden, Mayo is promised by a fake Suzaku that she and the child inside her will be kept safe, and so will Tamahome, if she prays for the destruction of Konan. None of that was true, of course.
  • Calling Your Attacks: "Rekka Shin'en!"
    • Mitsukake gets a taste of this twice. Hey, this is the doctor we're talking about.
    • It does pay off in a great gag when Miaka asks Tasuki to burn something very small, and he starts out with a massive, "REKKA SHIN-", then almost whispers "ehhhhhn" has he just lightly riffles the fan's folds at the target.
  • Cast Full of Pretty Boys
  • The Chessmaster: Nakago. As it turns out, numerous events such as Suboshi murdering Tamahome's family were arranged to manipulate members of the Suzaku and the Seiryuu Seven into following his plans.
  • Cleaning Up Romantic Loose Ends: Half the male cast falls for Miaka in one way or another, then gets killed off, as was the case with Nuriko. The fandom still can't decide if he loved her romantically or as a sister. Watase's intentionally ambiguous on the issue. Hotohori at least gets his own wife, Lady Houki before this happens. Nuriko "I've always loved Miaka as a man" indicates that four of them are in love with her, possibly all in different ways though.
    • And later in the series, it's heavily implied that Amiboshi has fallen in love with Miaka after his Heel–Face Turn, in particular with his line "Why can't you and I live here together forever?", delivered while he's lying on top of her shirtless. This romantic loose end is cleaned up when a drug delivered by his twin brother makes him lose all memory.
  • The Chosen One: Miaka, Yui... heck, all the Mikos.
  • Chronic Hero Syndrome: Miaka.
  • Clothing Damage: When Yui summons Seiryuu, her ceremonial clothes are ripped off. Miaka also gets this during a few battles, at least in the manga.
  • Code Name: See Stock Foreign Name mentioned below.
  • Cosmic Keystone: The Shinzahou.
  • Costume Porn: Say what you will about the story and the characters, if there's one thing that fans of Fushigi Yuugi agree on it's that the outfits worn by the holy warriors of each country in the The Universe of the Four Gods are very nicely drawn.
  • Crossdresser: Nuriko.
  • Cute Bruiser: Nuriko.
  • Cute Little Fangs: Tasuki.
  • Damsel Fight-and-Flight Response: When it dawns on Miaka that she's in another world —away from any legal consequences for hooliganism—, she proceeds to singlehandedly mop the floor with an entire street gang and nearly run away. Unfortunately, reality catches up with her when she's nabbed and needs an assist from Tamahome.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: Many characters, but Chichiri, Nakago, and Suboshi/Amiboshi particularly qualify.
  • Dead Guy Junior: Chiriko's nephew is named after him in part 2 of the manga.
  • Death of a Child: This series does not pull any punches on this, with Tamahome's young siblings as well as Chiriko suffering horrifying deaths onscreen.
  • Defiled Forever:
    • Averted since it is revealed that Yui was never really raped in the first place, and every attempt to rape Miaka ends up failing miserably.
    • Inverted with Nakago, whose repeated homosexual rape as a child (he was a male concubine) by the emperor he later served was his very own Start of Darkness.
    • Played for tragedy in Chichiri's backstory. His best friend forced a kiss on his fiancee. The fiancee treasured fidelity so highly that she considered herself this trope, and she broke the engagement with Chichiri immediately, leading to the fatal confrontation between Chichiri and his best friend.
  • Depraved Bisexual: Nakago. He had sex with Soi and kissed Tamahome on the lips to weaken his defenses and tease him. Afterwards, he says 'You're so fun to tease, but you'll never kill me letting your guard down like that.' He also tells Tamahome in the last episode that he excites him much the same way a woman does, licking him on the face.
  • Depraved Homosexual: Tomo.
  • Derailing Love Interests: Despite the numerous love triangles centering on Miaka, the series tends to avert this.
    • Hotohori remains respectful of Miaka's choice and is gracious with Tamahome himself, offering to move Tamahome's family from the countryside to the royal palace to ensure their well-being. Eventually, Hotohori moves on and marries Houki.
    • Nuriko is implied to have feelings for Miaka, but takes on a Cool Big Sis role and tries to help Tamahome and Miaka with their relationship. This is actually quite a bit of Character Development as Nuriko was initially a major Jerkass towards Miaka in her jealousy over Hotohori.
    • Tasuki arguably comes off the worst, but also has the excuse of being Brainwashed and Crazy. And turns his own fire attack on himself in an attempt to stop himself from harming Miaka.
  • Disguised in Drag: A manga-only storyline.
  • Disproportionate Retribution: Nakago used and punished innocent people who has nothing to do with his suffering.
  • Distress Ball: Despite having been shown to be capable of at least knowing basic self-defense quite a few times, poor Miaka often had this shoved into her hands in order to move the plot along.
  • Double Entendre: In the dub, when Miaka finds out that Nuriko's a man by seeing his exposed bare chest, Nuriko responds by saying "Oh, I guess it's about time I'm exposed."
  • The Dragon: Tomo, Soi.
  • Dragons Are Demonic: The deity on the side of the Kutou Empire, Seiryuu, is a dragon. Unlike most examples of this trope, Seiryuu is an Asian-style dragon, and associated with water more than fire. However, it is shown that Seiryuu himself isn't actually evil; it's just that his purpose is to grant wishes...and that he's the patron god of a very warlike empire, so he's being manipulated by corrupt humans.
  • Driven to Suicide: Yui and Miaka both make failed attempts for different reasons. Chiriko, though, does kill himself in order to kill Miboshi, who has taken possession of his body at this point.
  • Dude Looks Like a Lady: Nuriko.
  • Education Mama: Miaka's mother, especially in the manga.
  • Epileptic Flashing Lights: In episode 11, when Tamahome forces his way through the barrier that's supposed to keep out the Suzaku warriors, there is a very intense strobe light effect that could make it difficult for some people to watch.
  • Evil Costume Switch: Not only does Tamahome change his clothes during the Kodoku arc, he also gets rid of his red belt [Suzaku] and dons a blue one [Seiryuu].
  • Face–Heel Turn: Yui. She comes back around by the end though.
  • Fansub: No license group had any real intentions to license or dub this series, but during the time of its release, the anime had many, many fansubs floating around. Pioneer Entertainment had mentioned at least once that it was because of the sheer number of fansubs that they decided to officially license the anime series.
  • Fantasy Counterpart Culture: The country of Konan and Kutou are spinoffs of southern and eastern China respectively, while Hokkan spins from Mongolia (includes both inner and outer Mongolia), and Sairou is Tibet.
  • Fiery Redhead: Tasuki, literally and figuratively.
  • First Girl Wins: Genderflipped: The first boy, Tamahome, wins Miaka's love here.
    • Yui seems to invoke this trope or a variation of it when she claims that there's no particular reason Tamahome shouldn't fall for her, since she and Miaka met him at the same time.
  • Flash Step: Chichiri's teleportation ability.
  • Flowers of Romance: Soi and Nakago are having sex, and flowers are shown in front of them. Ironically, although Soi loves Nakago, it's debatable how he feels about her, and they're sleeping together because Soi has sexual healing powers.
  • Forbidden Fruit: The Miko is not supposed to have any sexual contact or even romantic feelings for any men until she summons the Beast God. Nakago and the other bad guys try to take advantage of this to cause Miaka to lose her virginity and thus her right to summon Suzaku... or at least believe she did.
  • Foregone Conclusion: The ending of Genbu Kaiden, and at least 2 of their warriors' fate.
  • The Four Gods: Given that the book Miaka and Yui are drawn into is called The Universe of the Four Gods, unsurprisingly, this features prominently.
  • Four Is Death: Yui is the fourth priestess and almost dies as a direct result of it.
  • From Bad to Worse: The series takes a darker turn about halfway through, starting with the brutal murder of Tamahome's family.
  • Gentle Giant: Mitsukake, a huge and quiet man who has Healing Hands and loves kittens.
  • Gilligan Cut: In the extremely cold land of Hokkan, Nuriko orders Tasuki to use his fan to warm her up. He responds in annoyance that it isn't to be used for such stupid and trivial things. Cut to a scene of Tamahome talking while behind him Tasuki fans an extremely pleased-looking Nuriko.
  • Godhood Seeker: Nakago's aspiration. More specifically, he wants to become a god so he can kill a god. It's also Tenkou's goal in the latter part of the manga and the OVA.
  • Gotta Catch Them All: Miaka, being the Priestess of Suzaku, has to gather all seven Celestial Warriors in order to summon Suzaku. Cue Unwanted Harem of Bishōnen.
  • Great Big Book of Everything: The Universe of the Four Gods.

    H - P 

  • Hate Sink: The Emperor of Kutou is a vile, sleazy, Smug Snake who commits genocide on peaceful tribes. Also a rapist and pedophile, he violates the youthful Nakago, causing his Start of Darkness. While most other villains are given levels of tragedy and catharsis, there is no individual who stands more loathed by everyone who knows him than the emperor, with Nakago plotting his death for years.
  • Hot for Student: In Eikoden, Mayo Sakaki falls for her basketball coach and PE teacher, Taka Sukinami aka Tamahome. Since he's already married to Miaka, this is pretty much doomed.
  • How the Mighty Have Fallen: Nakago and Tenkou used to be the most powerful enemies who could almost conquer the world. But, the Suzaku warriors successfully botch their Evil Plan and make them lose their mega-power.
  • Idealized Sex: Averted in the first time Tamahome and Miaka attempt to have sex. In a relatively realistic moment, they've spent so long restraining themselves that although they're both very eager for each other, they're also hilariously awkward about it.
  • I Just Want to Be Special: Mayo Sakaki, from the Fushigi Yuugi Eikoden OVA deliberate goes to the World of the Four Gods to be a special miko with a harem of bishonen.
  • I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Hotohori, Amiboshi, Nuriko.
  • I'm Having Soul Pains: Happens to all the priestesses, as the Beast Gods devour them from the inside out.
  • Identical Stranger: Hotohori's wife Houki is the spitting image of Nuriko, to the point that the heroes scream and freak out when they see her. Sort of ironic considering Hotohori had spent most of the series apparently madly in love with Miaka.
  • Idiot Ball: This goes around a lot in the series, but a blatant example occurs in the anime after Ashitaare steals the Shinzaho. Miaka is inexplicably the only person who pursues him, despite the fact that at least two of the Suzaku warriors present should be able to catch him with their eyes closed (Chichiri, who can teleport, and Tasuki, whose celestial power is speed).
  • Important Haircut: Mitsukake, just before he Took a Level in Badass
    • Nuriko eventually cuts his long hair, partly because he gets flirted at by drunken strangers and as a symbolic way to finally bury his dead little sister
  • Incredibly Inconvenient Deity: The Four Gods. They will grant their Priestess Three Wishes, but it's a Secret Test of Character. She has to use the wishes for the greater good, not for herself (even though she technically can.) The Beast God she summons begins to devour her soul, and will consume her completely, leaving her an Empty Shell if she is determined to not be strong enough. Also, many of her Seishi are Bishounen, but the Beast Gods really want her to be a virgin, because even though she has Virgin Power, she is in fact technically a Virgin Sacrifice.
  • Inferiority Superiority Complex: Yui. On the outside she's supremely over-confident but underneath she longs for someone to take care of her.
  • In the Name of the Moon: Spoofed in the first episode, when Miaka gives a Sailor Moon-esque speech to a group of street thugs harassing her:
    Miaka: Heaven may forgive you, but Miaka Yuki does not! In the name of the heavens, I'll punish you!
  • Irony: Later in the story, Miaka (despite being Book Dumb and normally having to bust her ass at schoolwork just to get a mediocre grade) has passed the Jonan entrance exam almost effortlessly. Meanwhile Yui, who normally gets very high grades even when she doesn't study, failed the test. Miaka turns down the chance to go to Jonan, so she can attend school with Yui.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Tasuki
  • Jerkwith A Heart Of Jerk: Nakago
  • Jerkass Gods: In the worst way.
  • Karma Houdini:
    • This happened with Mayo in Eikoden, which ended with everybody thanking her for deciding to resuscitate the dog she'd shot.
    • Yui deserves an honorable mention at least. Granted she was manipulated by Nakago, but considering she'd known Miaka since they were in kindergarten she should've known her best friend better than that. Her resentment and selfishness led to the deaths of numerous beloved characters, and she continually turned a blind eye to her Senshi trying to both kill Miaka and rape her. Yet in the end all she has to do is apologize for her selfishness—and the viewer doesn't even get to see said apology, or the promised confrontation Miaka told her they were going to have!
  • Karmic Death: Suboshi.
  • Ki Manipulation: Nakago, and later Tamahome.
  • Kidnapped by an Ally: Both Chichiri and Tasuki make their introductions by abducting Miaka, albeit for different reasons. Chichiri abducts Miaka to protect her from Kutou assassins, whilst Tasuki kidnaps her as part of a scheme to take back leadership of his bandit gang.
  • Killer Yoyo: Suboshi's weapon, the Ryuuseisui.
  • Kill the Cutie: Chiriko.
  • Kubrick Stare: In episode 12, Tamahome glares jealously at Hotohori when the latter hugs Miaka. And Hotohori immediately senses it.
  • Laser-Guided Amnesia: Tamahome, Amiboshi, and Tamahome again in the OVA. Protagonism hurts.
  • Let's Get Dangerous!: Chichiri most frequently pulls this off, but Nuriko also deserves a mention.
  • Let's You and Him Fight: The battle between Tasuki and Brainwashed and Crazy Tamahome. Exploited by Nakago, who releases the seal he'd temporarily placed on Tasuki's fire magic in order to make the fight more even — as Seiryuu benefits either way regardless of which Suzaku warrior kills the other.
  • Loveable Rogue: Tasuki. Tamahome also has shades of this when he's first introduced.
  • Love Makes You Evil: Soi, mixed with I Owe You My Life.
  • MacGuffin: The Shinzaho. With the exception of Miaka's unborn child in the 3rd OVA; that one turned out to be more of a Chekhov's Gun.
  • MacGuffin Delivery Service: Miaka and her Suzaku Warriors fell prey to the hands of the Seiryu Warriors not once, but their only two chances on the quest to obtain the previously mentioned Shinzahos of Genbu and Byakko; leading to the result of Seiryu being awakened.
  • Mask Power: Chichiri.
  • Manipulative Bastard: Nakago, over and over and over again.
  • Manly Tears: Seen from Tamahome and Tasuki.
  • Martyr Without a Cause: Miaka. Constantly.
  • Master of Illusion: Tomo.
  • Meaningful Echo: "You scared me half to death!"
  • The Mole: Amiboshi.
  • Money Fetish: Tamahome.
  • Mood Whiplash: Done multiple times in the series, though the most memorable one is when the story begins to really get Darker and Edgier. Before leaving for Hokkan, Hotohori offers Tamahome and his family a decent house to live in the city walls, so he can be assured of their safety while abroad, Tamahome happily accepts and thanks him profusely, proceeds to buy gifts for them all and heads home to tell them the good news and they're all dead. Painfully killed, some even maimed, his oldest younger sibling having obviously tried to defend the family and his youngest sibling dying in his arms.
  • Mouth To Mouth Force Feeding: In episode 18, in order to prevent Tamahome from leaving her to go back to Miaka, Yui forces Tamahome to consume the kodoku pill from her mouth while he is restrained by her servants.
  • Mr. Fanservice: About 80% of the male cast—and that's a conservative estimate.
  • Ms. Fanservice: Miaka and Yui get their fair share of moments as well.
  • Mundane Utility: Tasuki's asked to burn some hairs [or a ribbon in the manga] with his fire powers, so he goes into his usual warm-up pose before tossing a tiny flame. Later, as a background gag, he's shown lightly waving it near Nuriko after the latter asked to be warmed up in a cold climate.
  • Musical Assassin: Amiboshi.
  • My Greatest Failure: Chichiri's backstory.
  • My Sibling Will Live Through Me
  • Naïve Everygirl: Miaka.
  • Near-Rape Experience: Tasuki toward Miaka in the second OVA.
    • Word of God states that Yuu Watase stated at a convention that raping Miaka was Tomo's idea and that Nakago had been incredibly uncomfortable with the whole thing because of the trauma he himself had suffered. The fact that she had Nuriko's protection was something that he saw as a cop-out of it entirely.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: There is little conflict in the opening episodes. What triggers the main conflict between Kutou and Konan is Miaka trying to go home early. By forcing herself up, Yui was pulled down. She became the rival priestess and encourages Kutou to invade.
  • No Body Left Behind: Seems to be what happens to every book character that dies in the real world. Happens to both Suboshi and Nakago.
  • No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: This is what Tamahome's battle with Tasuki turns into under the influence of kudoku in episode 19.
  • No Honor Among Thieves: Seiryuu's biggest weakness; almost as many Seiryuu warriors are killed by their own teammates as by the heroes. Ashitare's final form is killed by Nakago, and Tomo by Suboshi. Then there is Yui, who finally turns on Nakago after seeing what he really is, and gives Suzaku their shot at victory.
  • Noticing the Fourth Wall: Numerous instances, but particularly Tamahome and Nakago. The latter took the news way better than the former.
  • Not Now, We're Too Busy Crying Over You: It has an unusual variant in that the person in question Nuriko is dead and the characters are praying for his soul, not realizing that his ghost has joined them.
  • Obliviously Evil: Most of the Seiryu Seishis particularly Suboshi.
  • Official Couple: You know the one. Although originally, Yuu Watase was going to separate them so it'd be realistic. And then her female editor, a hopeless romantic, made her change it.
  • Ordinary High-School Student: The four Priestesses - Yui, Miaka, Takiko and Suzuno - are all normal girls from Earth brought into the World of the Four Gods. Mayo as well.
  • Out-of-Clothes Experience: Yui when she is absorbed into Seiryuu. Also Miaka and Mayo when summoning Suzaku in the 3rd OVA.
  • Paper Cutting: To an absurdly literal degree in Tamahome and Tasuki's fight, when Tasuki manages to cleanly slice off Tamahome's bandana.
  • Paper Fan of Doom: Tasuki.
  • Personality Powers: Several cases among the Suzaku warriors: Nuriko (whose exuberant personality fits her Super-Strength), Tasuki (whose Hot-Blooded personality matches his control of fire), Chichiri (an eccentric monk with the power of illusion and teleportation), and Mitsukake (a Gentle Giant with healing powers).
  • Pervert Revenge Mode: In episode 34, when Miaka survives the test from the Genbu star warriors after being forced to strip down, Tamahome immediately covers her up. However, he accidentally gropes her breasts, thus earning Miaka's slap.
  • Pet the Dog: Nakago, Suboshi and Soi all get their moments.
  • The Phoenix: Suzaku, a deity, is represented by one.
  • The Plan: Might we not as well say that Nakago is a complete Magnificent Bastard?
  • Plot-Triggering Book: The main character and her friends are sucked into the world of a mysterious book found in a national library to begin the plot of the series.
  • Portal Book: The premise of the series is the travel of ordinary, real-world people to the Universe of the Four Gods via a magical book.
  • The Power of Love: What do you expect from a series dominated by a mythological being representing love?
  • Precision F-Strike: Perfectly deployed in the English dub, when Tamahome and Tasuki are stunned by witnessing Chichiri use the full force of his powers.
    Tamahome: That's... wow...
    Tasuki: No shit, man!
  • Psycho Lesbian: Yui. "I couldn't find a place between you and Tamahome."
  • The Psycho Rangers: The Seiryuu warriors are a team of evil counterparts to the Suzaku team, most obviously Nakago (to Tamahome), Soi (to Nuriko), Tomo (to Chichiri) and Miboshi (to Chiriko).
  • Psycho Supporter: Soi, who says she would sell her soul to the devil if Nakago asked her to.

     R - Z 

  • Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: The Suzaku warriors, especially compared to their Seiryuu counterparts.
  • Rape as Backstory: Soi, Nakago.
  • Rape as Drama: Oh, boy... Poor Yui spends much of the series believing that she was raped, which Nakago takes advantage of in order to turn her against Miaka, and Miaka herself nearly gets raped at least four times.
  • Real Men Wear Pink: Nuriko, in every sense.
  • Reality-Writing Book: "The Universe of the Four Gods", which is type 2. While Miaka and Yui continue their adventure, people in our world can read, what is happening in this moment in Four God's dimension.
  • Recap Episode: Episode 28. Also, most episodes begin with narration over footage and dialogue from the previous episode.
  • Refugee from TV Land: Tamahome holds on to Miaka just as Yui uses her powers to send her back to the real world. As a result, he too is sent to modern-day Japan. Hilarity Ensues until we find out that with Yui returning as well, Nakago followed.
    Miaka: (about Tamahome aboard the train) He looks just like a kid. He's been like this ever since we left.
    Keisuke: Can't be helped. He comes from a different reality; landing in the late 20th century like this, it's only natural that he has a cultural shock.
  • Religious Bruiser: Chichiri is a peaceful, dedicated monk who can also unload some serious whoop-ass.
  • Revenge Before Reason: Yui.
  • Rival Turned Evil: Yui decides to turn against her childhood best friend, Miaka. She gets better after realizing her mistakes and Nakago's betrayal.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: Hotohori, a legitimately good fighter, accompanies Miaka on her quest to gather the other warriors. He's also on the ball regarding the threat posed by the enemy kingdom Kutou well before most of the other characters.
  • Sacrificial Lion: Nuriko.
  • Say My Name: All together now: "Miaka!" "Tamahome!" "Miaka!" "Tamahome!" "MIAKA!" "TAMAHOME!"
    • Lampshaded in the OVA. ("Tamahome." "Miaka." "Tamahome." "Miaka." "Tamahome.")
  • Scars are Forever: Chichiri.
  • School Uniforms are the New Black: A major plot point at the beginning of the story.
  • Scream Discretion Shot: When Miaka is shown through a magic mirror what happened to Yui, all we see is Miaka, Tamahome and Chichiri's horrified reactions as Yui screams for Miaka.
  • Scrubbing Off the Trauma: Miaka scrubs herself with a twig until she bleeds, trying to make herself "clean" again, after believing that Nakago raped her, and therefore she was no longer worthy of the title of Priestess of Suzaku...or Tamahome's love. He didn't. He just roughed her up a bit and let her come to her own conclusions when she came to, just as with Yui.
  • Secret Test of Character: The role of the Priestess.
  • Self-Made Orphan: Nakago inadverantly killed his own mother when trying to save her from being gang raped by soldiers, because he was unable to control his newly-awakened powers. It's taken further in the character novel, where he kills the previous Shogun, but only realises it's his long-lost father when it's much too late.
  • Selfless Wish: The three wishes a priestess gets from the Beast Gods are pretty much required to be.
  • Senseless Sacrifice: Nuriko. There was absolutely no reason for him to try to lift that boulder; there's clearly plenty of room to just get around it and into the cave entrance it's blocking. The Seishi even find skeletons inside the cave of people who presumably did just that.
  • Sensible Heroes, Skimpy Villains: Compare Miaka's priestess outfit to Yui's.
  • Shirtless Scene: Used liberally.
  • Shock and Awe: Soi.
  • The Sociopath: Nakago.
  • Someone to Remember Him By: Nakago kills Hotohori about a month into Houki's pregnancy with Boushin
  • Spoiler Opening: Shows Yui's Face–Heel Turn turn. And the real Chiriko is a kid.
  • Stalker with a Crush: Yui, Suboshi, and to some degree Soi.
  • Start of Darkness: Nakago's character novel is pretty much all about this.
  • Stellar Name: All of the Seishi.
  • Stock Foreign Name: Everyone from the "Universe of the Four Gods." They have Chinese names but is always be referred to by their Japanese-ish names; this includes the four beast gods themselves.
  • Stupid Sacrifice:
    • Nuriko's death. He expends the last of his strength to move the boulder in front of the entrance to a cave, and with his severe injuries, ends up dying of the strain. The thing is, the boulder wasn't actually blocking the entrance. There's quite visibly enough room to just go around it, and there are the skeletal remains of people who apparently did exactly that. He could have just waited for Mitsukake and the others to catch up and heal him.
    • Hotohori is even worse. He's been depowered and is facing off with a still-powered Nakago, who informs him he's calling off the invasion of Konan to go take his revenge on the Kutou emperor instead. Rather than accepting Nakago's retreat and taking time to plan strategically, Hotohori decides to engage in a doomed charge against Nakago and gets predictably killed as a result. This is at least addressed in an OVA episode where he is forced to deal with the wife and young son he left behind.
  • Super-Deformed: Very frequently used, and even lampshaded at one point when Chichiri disguises himself as Nakago. When the real Nakago catches on, one soldier leads his comrades saying, "After that deformed miniature general!"
  • Symbolically Broken Object: In episode 18, Nuriko gives Miaka a special doll, which according to a legend, when a couple's names are written on the doll which is in turn buried in the ground, supposedly makes a couple's love eternal. After having written hers and Tamahome's names on it, Miaka is unnerved to see it break before her very eyes, thinking of it as a bad sign.
  • Take That, Audience!: The reason why Mayo Sakaki, aka: Mayonnaise was created in the first place. Yuu Watase got many letters from fangirls expressing their desires to be sucked into the Universe of the Four Gods and get a fairy-tale ending with one of the Bishounen. Her response was to portray them in the form of a selfish Yandere who is meant to symbolize human weakness in matters of the heart. Yeah, Mayo being a bitch was INTENTIONAL.
  • Taking You with Me: Chiriko stabbing himself to take down Miboshi, who had possessed his body.
  • Theme Naming: All the Celestial Warriors are named for their constellation, in the pattern Mark + "Constellation". In some cases, even their given names are a simple variation of the same, like Tamahome's name of Kishuku.
    • Also, the four lands within the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho each have a cardinal point in their name which corresponds to which of The Four Gods they worship: Hokkan (Genbu) = north; Konan (Suzaku) = south; Kutou (Seiryu) = east; and Sairou (Byakko) = west.
  • Thinly-Veiled Dub Country Change: In the Tagalog dub, the location was changed from Japan to the Philippines with references to the MRT train system and universities such as Ateneo de Manila and the University of the Philippines.
  • Throwing Your Sword Always Works: Tasuki kills the Seiryuu warrior Soi this way, although he was aiming for Nakago.
  • Troubled, but Cute: I dare you to name one badass in this series who hasn't been tripped at the Moral Event Horizon.
  • Twins Are Special: Amiboshi and Suiboshi who exhibit both Twin Telepathy and Synchronization: when Amiboshi "dies," Suiboshi can sense it. They are able to write messages to one another on their skin. For example, Amiboshi writes something on his left hand with his finger, and the message appears on Suboshi's left hand.
  • Twin Telepathy: Suboshi and Amiboshi.
  • Unlucky Childhood Friend: Which leads into...
  • Unstoppable Rage: Tamahome gets to show that he deserves every bit of the "Ogre" character on his forehead when Suboshi offs his family, and he unleashes the mother of all Roaring Rampages of Revenge. The results are scary beyond belief for any onlooker. Even Miaka and Nuriko are understandably freaked out.
  • The Unwanted Harem: Reverse-gender version. It must really suck to be a girl with several bishies at your feet, yet due to Virgin Power you can't do ANYTHING. Poor Suzuno....
  • Verbal Tic: Chichiri, na no da! It's "You know!" in the English version.
    • The English manga keep in the 'no da'
  • Viewers Are Goldfish: The anime will never let you forget what just happened five minutes ago. Ever.
  • Virgin Power: A Miko must be and remain a virgin throughout all of her ordeals, otherwise she can't summon her God.
    • Actually subverted in the second OVA (or latter half of the manga), after Taka and Miaka reunite, they do the deed, yet the Power of Love is enough to summon Suzaku, since the Phoenix is a symbol of love in Asian culture.
    • After the deed, the manga actually has Miaka explain this to Nuriko, and pondering that maybe she lost her qualifications as a Miko, but the concern is brushed aside.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: Tamahome and Tasuki.
  • Water Is Dry: In the anime, Miaka almost drowns in a pond, but walks back into the palace completely dry like nothing happened. When this happens in the manga, her hair and clothes are visibly soaked.
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: Miaka, in the manga.
  • The Wise Prince: Hotohori.
  • World of Technicolor Hair: Tamahome and Chichiri have blue hair of different shades (but the former's hair is often mistaken for green), while Nuriko, his deceased little sister Kourin, and Empress Houki have purple hair. Chiriko's hair is a cross between brown and pink and the Nyan-Nyans have bubblegum blue hair. Tokaki, Subaru, and Tenkou have silver hair (this holds true for the former two even in youth), and Renhou and Miiru have silver-purple hair. Soi's hair is a shade of maroon, while Nakago is the only one who has blonde hair in the book world, and this is actually significant. The human forms of all the Beast Deities have hair in the color by which they are identified.
  • Worst Aid:
    • That scene where Tamahome and Hotohori give Miaka a blood transfusion... by cutting themselves and bleeding directly into Miaka's wound. Yuu Watase actually lampshaded this in a gag panel where Nuriko called out how ridiculous and unsanitary it was.
    • During the voyage to Hokkan, Tasuki, who cannot swim at all, is washed overboard in a storm. Miaka jumps in to help, and promptly demonstrates why it's a bad idea for unskilled swimmers to do this as she starts drowning herself, necessitating Tamahome to jump in to save her. Nuriko again proves to be the Only Sane Man, as the only person with the presence of mind to toss out a rope.
  • Yandere: Yui is yandere for Tamahome and Miaka, whereas Suboshi is yandere for his brother Amiboshi and for her.
  • Yaoi Fangirl: Yuu Watase. She even ships her own characters.
  • Year Inside, Hour Outside: Since Miaka and Yui are pulled into a book, whatever happens to them may feel like real time to them, but in the real world, everything happens in the time it takes someone to read the book about what's going on.
    • During the last third of the manga, Suzaku Seikun resides in Miaka's watch and makes sure that she and Taka only remain in the Universe Of The Four Gods for the length of 1 Hour in her world's time.
      • Subverted when Miaka's watch is destroyed Suzaku Seikun had switched into her PokeBell in case her watch was taken and destroyed and Suzaku Seikun having no proper means of knowing what equates to her world's time anymore, it results in Miaka and Taka being in the scroll for about two days for them and it turns out they were gone for three months.
  • You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Nakago says this word for word to Ashitare.
  • You Shall Not Pass!: One of Tasuki's character-defining moments was pulling one of these against a Brainwashed and Crazy Tamahome, willingly subjecting himself to a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown in order to buy time for Chichiri and Miaka to escape.
  • Your Princess Is in Another Castle!: The first attempt at summoning Suzaku completely fails — sending the Suzaku warriors off on an entirely different quest to try to fix things.

Alternative Title(s): Fushigi Yugi

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