Hullo people. Here is an interview with RyuuenNoAisai (of Club Ryuuen ) about Fushigi Yuugi and its numerous fanclubs on the 'net. My questions to her were asked by e-mail (in bold print) to which she replied with her answers.

Since one of your titles is Tamahome no Koibito, what made you decide to make a Nuriko Fanclub? What were your reasons for doing so?

Ok, long story! ^_^. Before I even saw Fushigi Yuugi for the first time, a friend showed me some pictures of it. I fell for Nuriko first, just from the pictures. Then, when I saw the anime, I fell for Tamahome too. I started a FY page (which had mainly pics of Tama and Nuriko) and then I had a Tamahome and Nuriko shrine. Then I did Tamahome.com planning on a section for Nuriko. I realized then that Nuriko deserved his own domain so I opened one to him. When I went to buy Nuriko.com I found it sold and cried, but then registered Nuriko.net instead. When I opened it, I already had a little club at Yahoo for Nuriko. I wanted to have a "real" club so to speak. I was pondering this, considering that there were many Nuriko clubs out there already. Finally I hit upon a name. "Club Ryuuen." And I began to plan the club. I now have 26 members and get an average of 1 or 2 new ones a week.

What is the purpose of your fanclub? How do the fans contribute to your fanclub?

The purpose is to show my love for Nuriko and to bring Nuriko fans together. So far we haven’t done any activities, but I am going to begin issuing newsletters. I plan to start this with my next update. I want the club to be an active one. Not just a "join the club, paste the banner" and so forth. I have had clubs for other genres before and sent out newsletters each month, so I hope to do this with Club Ryuuen also.

Two of the more popular Fushigi Yuugi website themes appear to be shrines and fanclubs. In your opinion, what are the differences between them?

I have noticed this too! Just look at Anipike. ^_~. The difference. Ok, a lot of people who have shrines to their favorite character have lots of pictures and "fan service" things. Clubs, on the other hand, allow other people who love the character to say, "I love that character!" I like FY fanclubs. I remember when I first spotted FY clubs, I thought they were a great idea and immediately joined a bunch of them.

What do fanclubs contribute to the online FY community?

I think they are a great way for people to get together and meet new people that share a same interest. If you go to someone’s page, and see those little fan club banners, you can see if that person has the same taste in characters as you. It is a fun way to show your devotion to the character.

It seems that many online fans are rather apathetic when they visit pages. Did you (or do you) have problems in getting started or getting people to contribute?

Actually, when I opened Nuriko.net, I had several contributions of fanart. I have had a few contributions of fan fic. I want to add something new that the fans can contribute too, but I want it to be something original. Something that hasn’t been done on a Nuriko page yet. I am not sure what it is, but I’ll figure it out.

What is your opinion on the growth of FY related fanclubs and their effect on the online community?

I think it is great. As long as the person opening the new club doesn’t copy an already established club. I have noticed lately that there are more clubs starting up everyday. This is great. It is fun for the owner of the club and fun for the fan of the Seishi or character to join.

And finally, what are your thoughts on the numerous Nuriko fanclubs?

Wow, there are so many! It is unbelievable at times. I think I belong to most everyone of them. I might have skipped a few along the way. Of course, the biggest and best it the original. The Nuriko Fan Club. I like the fact that there are so many clubs because it shows who the most popular seishi is online! ^_~. Actually, it just shows that Nuriko fans are so devoted that everyone wants to start a club for him.

This concludes the interview with RyuuenNoAisai. It was disappointing not to be able to elaborate on some of her answers but due to the manner in which the interview was conducted, that was not possible.