I live in upstate New York, a nice enough area, but remote enough that no one has even heard the term "anime." So, when I saw my brothers watching Sailor Moon on the Cartoon Network, I thought it was the worst cartoon imaginable. However, it was a hot spring, and the basement was cool, and my brothers always had the t.v. on. So, reluctantly, I began to watch, and began to like what I saw. I can hear you groaning, just give me another minute to explain the connection.

I jumped online and began browsing through Sailor Moon sites. As usual, I surfed around, following links in no particular order, eventually discovering picture galleries. I thought a couple of pictures in particular looked interesting, and saved them. It was only later, when I saw their labels, that I realized they were all from the same show. Unable to remember the spelling of the strange words, I wrote them down: "Fushigi Yuugi." The next day I did a search, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Now began the really frustrating part. As soon as I realized what "fansubs" where, and how to get them, the news hit. Pioneer had acquired the rights to Fushigi Yuugi. Argh! Luckily, by that time I had ordered a few tapes. Enough to tide me over until the Pioneer version came out. I soon discovered other options too, like the OAVs and the manga. Ah, the manga! But discovering the beautiful manga is a whole other story in itself...

Alright, so now I had a really interesting show, something I could jabber on about all day. But who could I share it with? My best friend, of course (she is as insane as I), but who else? Friends just rolled their eyes: "Aw, jeez, not that Japanese crap again;" and my family found it a great torture weapon: "Watching Fishy Wiggy again?" But an addiction is a powerful weapon. One by one, I dragged my friends in front of the t.v. and asked them for thirty minutes of their precious time. Which, in turn, became two hours, and then four... six... and so on. "Hey, this is kinda cool." Although the ever-annoying boyfriend persisted in his snide, sexist remarks, we (my best friend and I) did manage to hook a few male friends into watching. Can you guess their favorite character? ... Tamahome!

There's nothing more fun than watching Fushigi Yuugi with a newbie, or a crowd of friends. There's something about this show which demands to be shared. Of course, the 75 percent of our friends who have no clue what's going on are fun to annoy with persistent Miaka-like shrieks of "waiii~!!" or Chichiri-like "daa~"s!

But the struggles of this poor FY fan don't end here! After persistent searching, I managed to find a video store which carried anime, and even Fushigi Yuugi! The snag... they only carry dubbed. I explained very nicely that it was also available subtitled, but no luck. It's a good thing I know how to use the internet, because that is the only way I can find any kind of anime or manga. The good news? This fall I'm moving to Boston! Huzzah!

The better news? Even after I do manage to collect all the anime and manga, there will still be innumerable FY do-dads and gizmos to clutter my dorm room. I pity my room-mate this fall...

Lastly, I have to address fanart and fanfics, without which, Fushigi Yuugi would inevitably loose so much. I know I don't have to worry about losing interest in my first anime obsession, because of the many FY fans out there. This is my not-so-subtle hint to all those fans...


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