The curious tale of the Byakko
Suzaku's Miko, Miaka
Seiryuu's Miko, Yui
Genbu's Miko, Takiko...
And now, a new "Mysterious Play" will begin on this page!
—Yuu Watase, about the series. note
Fushigi Yuugi: Byakko Senki (ふしぎ遊戯 白虎仙記, Mysterious Play: Byakko's Fairy Chronicle) is a Japanese manga series written by Yuu Watase. It's being serialized by Shougakukan's Monthly Flowers magazine, starting from August 28, 2017. The series began with a one-shot story titled Fushigi Yuugi: Byakko Ibun (ふしぎ遊戯 白虎異聞) that was released on February 28, 2015, with the Byakko Senki manga being officially announced in April 2017
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A prequel to Fushigi Yuugi and a sequel to Fushigi Yuugi: Genbu Kaiden, it tells the story of the Priestess of Byakko, Suzuno Osugi. A girl from the pre-World War II Japan and the daughter of Takao Osugi, who once worked and studied under the tutelage of Einosuke Okuda (Takiko "Genbu no Miko" Okuda's father), Suzuno finds herself in the land of Sairou after she's thrown into The Universe of the Four Gods. From then on she will have to play a similar role to the one Takiko played before her, and later Miaka and Yui will fulfill—become the Miko, reuniting her Seishi, summon the God that protects the country she serves, and make the wishes that the land needs. . .
NOTE: Byakko Senki started its run in August 2017. It's best to bring all the tropes related to it here. There will be SPOILERS, logically.
This story presents the examples of:
- Adaptation Dye-Job: The Suzuno from the original Fushigi Yuugi had light brown hair, whereas the one from posterior illustrations is more of a blonde.
- Bait-and-Switch: FY-savvy readers already know that Suzuno's tragic True Love is one of her Seishi, Tatara. Cue the first two Byakko Senki chapters and... there are two men who could be Tatara! The two guys, the brothers Kasaru and Karumu, closely resemble one another physically speaking, all the while each had different attributes of the “Tatara” seen in the original series. So until the time Watase decides to spill the beans, nobody can say which one is the “Tatara” that Suzuno will fall in love with.
- Big Damn Heroes: Neiran reappears like this. She had been caught in her tigress form, then the caravan where she was imprisoned was slain, and when the bandits to blame were approaching her, she killed them all. Which is a good thing for Suzuno, as she was right about to be taken prisoner by the same bandits.
- Break the Cutie: The second part of the first chapter of Byakko Senki takes a little girl from Tokyo and shatters her via destroying her home, either gravely wounding or killing off her parents, and sending her to the very hostile world of the Universe.
- Clingy MacGuffin: Not only is the Universe impossible to destroy, but no matter how many times Takao stores it away to keep it from swallowing Suzuno or any other girl inside, the book alway finds it way out and back to Suzuno's surroundings. It even happens after the Kanto Earthquake, where Suzuno finds herself with the Book in her hands... and then the wounded Takao sends her inside the Book, counting on it being Made of Indestructium enough to keep her safe in the chaos and destruction.
- Chapter 3 of the series, however, offers a subversion: when Suzuno is sent back to Tokyo and then is almost Made a Slave by child traffickers, one of them grabs the Universe... easily from her hands, and after she's rescued by Seiji and Oikawa the book goes completely missing. Considering how the Universe would later be stored for decades in the Tokyo Central Library and would only start "reacting" when Miaka and Yui went into the building together, it looks like the book will only fit into this trope when it's time for any of the Priestesses to raise into action.
- Dead-Hand Shot: Seeing poor Tamayo's hand sticking out of the rubble that once was the Osugi house is all the reader needs to know about her fate....
- Downer Beginning: The setting of Byakko Senki starts off during the summer season of year 1923, just 1 to 2 months after Genbu Kaiden... then came September 1st, 1923 with 8-year-old Suzuno losing her home and her mother Tamayo to the Great Kanto Earthquake, and with her severely (and almost surely mortally) wounded father Takao sending her into the Universe of the Four Gods.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: The country of Sairou is based on the mix cultures of Western China; mainly focusing on the Xinjiang-Uygur Region, Tibet, Qinghai, and The Silk Road economy. Time period-wise, the culture is on par with The Tang Dynasty.
- Foregone Conclusion: Fushigi Yuugi-savvy readers who have read all of the prequels will come in understanding The Priestess of Genbu, Takiko, has died, and there will at least be 3 Byakko Celestial Warriors to survive the story (Tatara, Tokaki and Subaru).
- No matter when Suzuno and Tatara's romance will begin to blossom, anyone who has read Fushigi Yuugi knows that they will not have a happy end together and will be forcefully separated after she calls Byakko. Though in the Fushigi Yuugi anime, they do have a heartwarming Together in Death moment.
- Full-Frontal Assault: Neiran from Byhakko Ibun reappears when she pulls this on a bunch of bandits.
- Hero of Another Story: This is the story of Suzuno, who chronologically was the second of the four Mikos (with Takiko from Genbu Kaiden as the first). It seemingly takes place some decades before the story of Miaka and Yui, since Suzuno lived in Imperial Japan and the prequel Byakko Ibun has the appearance of Miboshi of the Seiryuu Senshi, of all people.
- Keeping Secrets Sucks: Takao and Tamayo are the only ones who know the truth behind Einosuke and Takiko's deaths. Everyone else thinks it was just an "ordinary" Murder-Suicide. Such knowledge saddens the two of them deeply.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Suzuno doesn't know that Takiko, whom she wanted as her Cool Big Sis, is dead. She doesn't find out until she's already inside the Universe and Takao, with his last breath, tells her that Takiko also had her own journey there.
- Made a Slave: At some point after her return to the destroyed Tokyo, Suzuno almost goes through this at the hand of some crooks. Seiji and Oikawa rescue her, and they mention that child trafficking is rampant after the Earthquake; it's implied that a bunch of little kids seen in a nearby cart also barely escaped such a fate.
- Made of Indestructium: To follow the last wish of Einosuke Okuda, Takao Osugi did what he could to get rid of the Universe. Nothing, absolutely NOTHING worked: he tried throwing it into a fire, using an industrial kiln, sealing it in a Shinto shrine, etc.. He was about to either throw it into the nearest harbour or bury it in the mountains when Tokyo was destroyed in the Big Kanto Earthquake.
- Papa Wolf: Takao is this for Suzuno, in a more down-to-Earth but no less heroic manner than usual. When the Osugi house collapses, Takao is pinned under the debris and severely wounded. He keeps his Nerves of Steel and, since Suzuno has the Universe... in her hands, instructs her to open it and get inside to stay safe since Tokyo is pretty much falling apart after the Great Earthquake. He spends what's all but stated to be his last moments comforting Suzuno and telling her that he loves her.
- Posthumous Character: Einosuke and Takiko are mentioned all over the first chapter.
- Sailor Fuku: Suzuno is seen wearing a blue one in both the original Fushigi Yuugi, her cameo in Byakko Ibun, almost all the illustrations featuring her, etc. Justified, she's from the years when the seifuku was officially implemented as a school uniform.
- Shout-Out:
- One bandit mentioned a type of woven fabric named "The Makan Weave." According to him it's quite pricey, and luxurious enough to be imported for the use of the Sairou Royal Empire. The fabric comes from the Sairou village where Seiryuu Celestial Warrior Amiboshi, as the amnesiac Kaika, lived in Fushigi Yuugi.
- The headquarters for the Great Priest and his followers are located in a temple clearly inspired by Tibetan sacred buildings like the Potala Palace or the Jokhang Temple. It's heavily implied to be the Fushigi Yuugi shrine where the Suzaku Seishi met Tatara and fought Miboshi.
- Strong Family Resemblance:
- Suzuno looks a lot like her mother Tamayo, but has her father Takao's hair/color scheme.
- One of the reasons why nobody knows which of the Raotsue brothers is the true Tatara at the moment is this: Kasaru and Karumu look terrifyingly alike, down to pretty much every single physical trait (including the same differently colored eyes), save for Kasaru being a young adult and Karumu being a 12-year-old boy.
- The Silk Road: The few glimpses of the Sairou lands shown in Byakko Senki resemble this important route between Asia and Europe.
- Yamato Nadeshiko: After meeeting Tamayo Oosugi, once can see where her daughter Suzuno got her YN traits from since she's quite the example of the trope. She has the dark hair, cute face, kimonos, gentle but assertive personality, cooking skills, etc.
