Fushigi Yugi gets new manga chapter and pop-up store with new art to celebrate 30th anniversary

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It’s like Suzaku just made fans’ wishes come true.

Back in the ‘90s, manga fans spent several years being drawn into the chapters of Fushigi Yugi, itself a story about a high school girl who gets drawn into a magical book that serves as the gateway to an alternate world with a mythical China motif. The 52-episode anime TV series adaptation was no less compelling, with passionate confessions of love, reveals of shocking secrets, and life-threatening danger happening on an almost weekly basis, creating a series of cliffhangers and cries of anguish from audiences every time they heard the crashing opening notes of one of the most memorable ending theme songs in anime history.

The series is completely unabashed about being an emotional roller coaster, and now it’s carrying fans up to a brand-new emotional high, with the publishing of an all-new Fushigi Yugi manga chapter in monthly comic anthology Flowers.

Gracing the cover of Flowers’ November issue (which went on sale September 28, because print magazine dates are weird) are protagonist Miaka and her on-again-off-again-again-and-again romantic interest Tamahome, who’s also one of the Seven Celestial Warriors of Suzaku, sworn to protect her from danger while she’s in his world. In keeping with shojo manga traditions, the six other Celestial Warriors are all handsome men as well, covering a broad spectrum of oshi archetypes, and they also show up on the clear file that’s included with the November issue, collectively holding a red string of fate.

Original creator Yuu Watase is once again returning to write and draw the new chapter, but with a modern freshening-up to the character designs that brings to mind the sketches Watase drew for a hypothetical Fushigi Yugi remake a while back. The new chapter is in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the franchise, which debuted in December of 1991 in Shojo Comic, which, like Flowers, is published by Shogakukan.

As the new chapter is a yomikiri (one-shot), odds are it won’t do anything to significantly alter the established events of the series, but Shogakukan is promising “a story about Miaka and Tamahome that has never been told before.” And for fans who’ve really had their passion for the series rekindled, there’s also a Fushigi Yugi pop-up store that opened in Tokyo on Wednesday.

▼ Yuu Watase even stopped by to autograph the Miaka character panel.

The store is located on the sixth floor of the Shinjuku Marui Annex department store and offers an array of merch featuring both the updated and original character designs

▼ 18-centimeter (7.1-inch) acrylic art stands

▼ Coffee tumbler

▼ Canvas board artwork

▼ Pins

▼ Clear files

▼ Drawstring pouches

The Tokyo pop-up store will be in operation through October 10, after which it heads to the Abeno Harukas Kintetsu Department Store Wing Building in Osaka from November 19 to 27.

Source: PR Times, Fushigi Yugi pop-up store official website
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: PR Times, Fushigi Yugi pop-up store official website
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