Yuu Watase

The final Fushigi Yugi story in the Universe of the Four Gods begins! The year is 1923. Suzuno Osugi’s father Takao warns her to stay away from The Universe of the Four Gods, telling her it’s a book that only men can touch. Takao worked with late Einosuke Okuda, who translated its text. He knows that in order to enact its story, the book needs one last heroine: the priestess of Byakko! Ten years after being sucked into The Universe of the Four Gods, Suzuno leads a quiet life as a high school student in 1930s Tokyo. Just when she decides to get serious about her future and think about marriage, the book mysteriously reappears and throws all her plans into question. She resolves to return the book to the library, but a harrowing encounter on the street leaves her with no other choice but to return to The Universe of the Four Gods!

Fushigi Yugi is the story of carefree high school called Miaka who, together with her more serious best friend Yui, finds a book entitled "The Universe of the Four Gods." The book is magic, and it transports them both into its story and the world described there, where Miaka becomes embroiled in a fantastic adventure. An epic romance with a handsome warrior also awaits Miaka as they set out to find and befriend seven Celestial Warriors, including dashing mercenary Tamahome and wannabe empress Nuriko. Only then can Miaka summon the power of the god Suzaku, find her true love, and get home safely. The series creator, Yu Watase, is an incredibly prolific manga artist who has produced more than thirty compiled volumes in the past ten years. She also picked up the 43rd Shogakukan Manga Prize for her most recent series, Ayashi no Ceres (Ceres, Celestial Legend). Fushigi Yugi was an unexpected hit in Japan, breaking a long-standing anime industry theory that no anime based on a shojo (aimed-at-girls) manga could do well on TV.