Fushigi Yûgi Genbu Kaiden

Fushigi Yûgi Genbu Kaiden (ふしぎ遊戯 玄武開伝) is a manga written by Yuu Watase. It premiered in Japan in 2003 in Sho-Comi, moved to an off-shoot magazine, Fushigi Yûgi Perfect World, in 2004. It was serialized sporadically in Monthly Flowers until 2008 when the series went on hiatus until spring 2010, when it began serialization in Rinka magazine. Individual chapters are collected and published in tankōbon volumes by Shogakukan with the first volume was in October 2003; as of September 2008 nine volumes have been released. A prequel to Watase's Fushigi Yûgi, the series details the creation of "The Universe of the Four Gods" and tells the full story of the Priestess of Genbu.

The series is licensed for English language releases in North America by Viz Media, in Singapore by Chuang Yi and Australia by Madman Entertainment, which distribute Australian English Chuang Yi manga.

Plot
In Japan of 1923, a seventeen year-old girl named Takiko Okuda is living with her ill mother after recently moving to a small town. Her father comes home one day (he's never home, being a busy novelist), much to Takiko's chagrin. He apparently has been working on something called "The Universe of the Four Gods" and even after returning home, is obsessed with the book. Her mother soon dies and Takiko becomes angry at her father for ignoring the two of them. These feelings, paired with her feelings of loneliness and uselessness at being rejected both in love and by her father, lead her to attempt to tear the book apart. However, it instead whisks her away to the country of Hokkan (Beî Jîa) where all of her adventures begin.

Characters

 * Takiko Okuda (奧田 多喜子)
 * A seventeen-year-old schoolgirl whose mother has recently died of tuberculosis and whose father seems to care more about his research than his own family. She is revealed to be the Priestess of Genbu, whose destiny will be to summon the god Genbu with her own will after she has gathered the Celestial Warriors and have it grant three wishes of her choosing. Takiko is impulsive and strong willed, though she can be insecure at times. She can fight well with a naginata, a spear-like weapon, and does well in her studies. Takiko was in love with Takao Ohsugi, a friend of her father's, but her love was unrequited.  Uruki falls in love with her and she eventually comes to reciprocate, though they must keep their relationship a secret. In the drama CDs, she is voiced by Satsuki Yukino.


 * Uruki/Limdo Roun (女宿 ロウン·リムド)
 * Uruki is the sixteen-year-old crown prince of Hokkan and the only son of the emperor's brother. At the time of his birth, a priest prophesized for his father "When the Priestess opens the Book of the Four Gods of Heaven and Earth and appears, your son will definitely kill you." At this time, the Prince, fearing for his own life, tried to have his son killed. Limdo's mark means 'women' and only appears when he is in female form. Limdo must be in female form in order to utilize his celestial powers of controlling the wind, which seems to be a sore spot with him. He is in love with Takiko and they confess their love for one another later, but their relationship is kept a secret. In the drama CDs, he is voiced by Takahiro Sakurai. His female form is voiced by Miki Nagasawa.


 * Tomite/Chamka Tan (虚宿 ターン·チャムカ)
 * Sixteen year old Tomite is a bounty hunter from the Ha tribe and Hikitsu's childhood friend. He's a bit of a pervert, but sensitive about his mother Boraate (Borate). His mark means 'emptiness' or 'void' and he is a master archer. Combined with his ability to create ice, Tomite is able to shoot arrows of ice. He is the first Celestial warrior that Takiko gathers, as Uruki, the first found, refuses to acknowledge his destiny until later on, and is in a delicate position with the Qu-dong army. Tomite appears to be jealous of Uruki concerning his relationship with Takiko, possibly because he has some feelings for Takiko. However the author has stated they have a kind of brotherly/sisterly relationship. He later gains a love interest in the form of Hikitsu's sister, Aira. Known to fans of the original Fushigi Yugi, Tomite and his friend Hikitsu became the guardians of the Shinzaho of the Genbu priestess after their deaths. In the drama CDs, is voiced by Tetsuya Iwanaga.


 * Hatsui (室宿 エルタイ·ザラ-)
 * Twelve year old Hatsui is the son of healers who finds it difficult to trust in others. He cries a lot and also stutters when he speaks (at least in the Japanese version of the manga). When his parents died, they left him a large debt to pay off. The villagers picked on him until one day he accidentally killed them with his ability to fire needles from his body. When Takiko found him, he was being 'looked after'(or rather, being used to kill off enemies, particularly Takiko & Co.) by Fen (a female assassin who was hired by Uruki's father to kill the Celestial Warriors and priestess). In the drama CDs, he is voiced by Megumi Ogata.


 * Namame (壁宿)
 * Namame was born from the Seimei stone (Star-Life Stone) near Iferui. He usually takes the appearance of a little stone doll, although when Takiko first found him, he was a stone giant, protecting the oracle Anlu, who was in his mouth. After being traumatized by human cruelty when he attempted to fit in, Namame found it very hard to trust others; it took Anlu a whole day of sitting right next to him to earn his trust. He was "protecting" Anlu when Takiko & Co. found him. Namame was the fourth Celestial Warrior found by the Genbu priestess. His character, "Bi", is typically found on the back of his head. Namame has the power to control the earth, which allows him to manipulate the ground itself, create earthquakes, and shape stones into whatever he desires.


 * Hikitsu (斗宿 チェン·エムタト)
 * Twenty-one year old Hikitsu is a member of the Han tribe. He has a little sister named Ayla and once saved Tomite from being killed by monsters (which also killed Tomite's father) when the two of them were children. He controls water in the form of snakes, but also has another power he called 'Shikyokan', where anyone who looks upon the eye with his Seishi mark is forced to remember their worst memories. The latter power doesn't seem to be under control, the eye is usually covered and it has accidentally been used on Takiko . Known to fans of the original Fushigi Yugi, Hikitsu and his friend Tomite became the guardians of the Shinzaho of the Genbu priestess after their deaths. In the drama CDs, he is voiced by Nobuyuki Hiyama.


 * Inami (牛宿 タルマ)
 * Inami is a senior prostitute. She is not the owner of the brothel as previously thought, she is just the temporary owner. The original owner of the brothel had discovered that Taruma was a Celestial Warrior and knew of the persecution Inami would faced if found out, so they moved the brothel from Hokkan to Konan for her safety. Inami's power is being able to control her hair to great lengths and is able to use a pipe as her weapon. She joins Takiko and the other Seishi after great encouragement from the other prostitutes. In the drama CDs, she is voiced by Masako Katsuki.


 * Urumiya (危宿 ハーガス & テグ)
 * It is revealed that Hagus is only half of Urumiya (only half of the character is shown), therefore, he is not complete. His elder twin brother, Teg, carried the other half of the character. Though Hagus fights against the celestial warriors of Genbu and has the ability to absorb their powers, he is not necessarily evil as he is seen saving children during some of the battles. He has a goal to destroy Uruki, in order to rescue his brother. He is under the command of Uruki's father, King Temudan. Teg is kept prisoner by Temudan's brother, the Emperor of Hokkan, who bribes him with the possibility of being reunited with Hagus to get him to block the other seishis powers, thereby protecting his rule and the Hokkan army. In the drama CDs, he is voiced by Takehito Koyasu.

Manga
Written and illustrated by Yuu Watase, the first chapter of Fushigi Yûgi Genbu Kaiden was published in 2003 in an issue of Sho-Comi. The series moved to the magazine's off-shoot, Fushigi Yûgi Perfect World, in 2004, where it was serialized quarterly until the magazines' cancellation in June 2008. The series then moved to Monthly Flowers where it was serialized sporadically until 2008 when it went on hiatus, due to Watase's health and other work commitments. She anticipates restarting the series in spring of 2010. On January 17, Watase revealed that she would begin working on the series again and that it would now be published in Rinka magazine. The individual chapters are collected and published in tankōbon volumes by Shogakukan with the first volume published in October 2003; as of September 2008 nine volumes have been released.

The series is licensed for English language releases in North America by Viz Media,, in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment, in the United Kingdom by Gollancz Manga, and in Singapore by Chuang Yi. Viz released its first volume of the series in July 2005, with nine volumes released as of November 2009. The series is also licensed for regional language releases in France by Editions Tonkam, Spain by Glènat España, and Germany by EMA.

Drama CDs
A series of five Drama CDs based on the series have been recorded.

Video game
Idea Factory released the Sony Playstation 2 video game Fushigi Yuugi — Genbu Kaiden Gaiden: Kagami no Miko in Japan on June 22, 2005. The adventure game puts players in the shoes of Mariko Kobayashi, an original character created for the game, who is taken into the Universe of the Four Gods through a mirror. While searching for her friend, who was also taken into the mirror, Mariko is aided in her quest by Genbu no Miko and the Genbu Seven. A limited edition version of the game was released on the same date, containing an art book and a CD of interviews with the game voice actors. A PSP version of the game was released in Japan on September 28, 2006.

Reception
When it was released, the eighth volume of Fushigi Yûgi Genbu Kaiden ranked ninth in the Japanese Comic Ranking, listing the top ten selling manga volumes, for March 25–31, 2008. The ninth volume premiered in sixth place in the September 30–October 6 rankings.