Change Your Image
Nallohki
Reviews
The Ring (2002)
Scariest movie I have ever seen
If you're looking for a gore-fest, you haven't found it. If you're looking for a really, really deep psychological horror movie, then you've come to the right place.
This movie is scary, will make you jump more than once, and keeps you in suspense almost all the way through.
A lot of people I went with complained that there were many loose ends and unexplained elements at the end. To these criticisms I say only this: use your head. The movie gives you a multitude of clues, but it does not lead you by the hand. As is typical of Japanese Ghost Stories (of which this movie is one - look for the original), not everything is explained, but many of the little things can be explained if you think them through enough.
I would like to say for the record that I have never found a movie scary before in my life. This movie is the first.
Fushigi Yûgi: The Mysterious Play - Reflections OAV 2 (1997)
Better, but still not Fushigi Yuugi worthy
The second OAV series was a definite improvement over the first, but there were still several problems associated with it.
1) Probably the most prominent reason for this OAV series not living up to the original was, again, LENGTH OF SHOW. The amount of material gone over in these 6 30-minute episodes needed another TV series at least. Apparently they thought that they could cover the second half of the manga in a space less than a 1/5th of the space (First + Second OAV series). Sorry, it didn't work.
2) Because of the speed, the story told the emotional parts with much detail, but with the action between the scenes reduced to such a degree, the scenes were meaningless.
3) The music was just not as fitting. While there was a few of the original TV tunes mixed here and there, and the new music was not at all BAD, it simply did not fit the series correctly, and did not compliment the actions or emotions of the characters (I greatly missed the TV ending theme).
There was one very good thing that the 2nd OAV series took from the first was what was called 'Bad Play' (A takeoff of 'Fushigi Yuugi', which means 'Mysterious Play'). After each episode, they would have a small section with scenes of the show redone in various funny ways. I laughed very hard at a few of these.
All in all, the bad outweighs the good, and the show is nowhere near what it could have been. Alas, the end of Fushigi Yuugi.
Fushigi Yûgi: Memories First OAV (1996)
Incoherent as h*ll
This OAV series was a complete letdown for anyone who saw the TV series. Anyone who didn't see the TV series wouldn't be able to begin to comprehend if this was all they saw.
The story was extremely rushed here, as it covered a large portion of the manga in a very short time (a mere 3 episodes). This was in no way acceptable to do this with. In my humble opinion, another TV series was needed.
To the TV writers defence, however, there were some things deleted from the TV series that were existent to the manga that did not make the premise so absurd. However, it was still really bad.
Fushigi Yuugi deserves better.
A lot better.
Fushigi Yûgi (1995)
Best Anime Series. Ever.
This show, far and away was the best anime, and perhaps story I have ever seen. The plot is incredibly intricate, the characters (with minor exceptions) are all intricately written (There is not a single un-sympathetic character in the show), and has a soundtrack that does nothing but push the emotions shown in the show to their limits.
However, it does deal with some adult subject matter, and does some things that will make you think long and hard about it for days, weeks, even years afterwards. The plot twists usually cannot be seen in advance, save for a minute or less before they happen. Even so, there are a few that will throw even the most critical show watcher (they did me!). By far, though, the show is best experienced if you go in with an innocent mind, and let Yuu Watase do her magic... you won't regret it.
Sureiyâzu gurêto (1997)
Has its points, but...
This one was mediocre as far as Slayers goes. It made the usual Naga jokes, which, while somewhat funny, are repetitive. Very liberal subtitling had a negative effect for some of the more, colorful lines of the show (Lina does not actually say 'Naga you f*cking bitch' in Japanese). There was saving grace in the feature battle, though... but only if you like Piko-piko Lina-chan. ^^