TV Tokyo
|network_other= Anime Network
Anione TV
GMA 7 (March 6,2006)
GONG
|first_aired=4 April 2000
|last_aired=27 March 2001
|num_episodes=50
}}, commonly known as
Saiyuki, is a popular manga series created by Kazuya Minekura. The story is loosely based on the famous Chinese novel
Journey to the West (
X?yóu Jì). In 1999 the Saiyuki OVA by Tokyo Kids was released. A year later it was adapted into an anime series by Studio Pierrot, which won the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize in 2000. The
Gensomaden Saiyuki: Requiem movie appeared in theaters in Japan in 2001. A sequel to this movie is the
Gensomaden Saiyuki: Kibou no zaika OVA, which is actually animation taken from an interactive game
.
There are two sequels to
Saiyuki, and .
The descriptions and summaries in this article are based on the English-adapted
Saiyuki anime as distributed by ADV Films.
Plot
Saiyuki is the story of four anti-heroes: the monk
Genjyo Sanzo (or just "Sanzo"), the monkey demon
Son Goku, the half-demon
Sha Gojyo, and the man turned demon
Cho Hakkai (formerly known as Cho Gonou). They have been dispatched by the
Sanbutsushin (the Three Aspects of Buddha, who relay the orders of heaven) to travel to India to stop the possible resurrection of the Bull-Demon-King,
Gyumaoh. Along the way they are beset by inept assassins, bad weather, and their own tragic, personal pasts. Meanwhile, the villains, two unlikely confidants,
Gyokumen Koushou (Gyumaoh's concubine, a demon) and a mad scientist,
Dr. Ni Jianyi (a human), continue their attempts to restore the long-dead king. These experiements, a forbidden mixture of science and magic, spawn the "Minus Wave", infecting all of the demons in Shangri-La with madness, shattering the fragile peace that once existed between humans and demons.
Characters
Main characters: The Sanzo-Ikkou ("Sanzo party")
Height: 162 cm
Weight: 51 kg
Age: 18
Birthdate: April 5
Zodiac: Aries
Blood type: O
- Sha Gojyo (the water sprite or kappa)
Past Life: Kenren Taisho
Height: 184 cm
Weight: 75 kg
Age: 22
Birthdate: November 9
Zodiac: Scorpio
Blood type: B
- Cho Hakkai (the man who killed 1000 demons and became one himself)
Past Life: Tenpou Gensui
Former name: Cho Gonou
Height: 181 cm
Weight: 69 kg
Age: 22
Birthdate: September 21
Zodiac: Virgo
Blood type: AB
- Genjyo Sanzo (the priest)
Past Life: Konzen Douji
Former name: Kouryu ( the river drifter )
Height: 177 cm
Weight: 64 kg
Age: 23
Birthdate: November 29
Zodiac: Sagittarius
Blood type: A
Secondary Characters
- Hakuryuu: Hakkai's pet-dragon that can transform into the jeep the Sanzo-party travel in. Occasionally, Hakuryuu is referred to as "Jeep".
- Kougaiji: Based on Gyumaoh's Son, Kåf?ise Dalu Hai Er, (meaning "brown moose child") the Bull Moose Prince, Kougaji is Gyumaoh's son, who reluctantly works with Ni Jianyi and Koushou in order to restore his mother (Rasetsunyo), who was turned to stone by a curse. He has no deep animosity towards the Sanzo party, but makes no effort to hide that he loathes Ni Jiany and Koushou. He wields power over fire and the ability to summon powerful fiends.
- Lirin: Kougaiji's half-sister and Gyokumen Koushou's daughter. She deeply admires Kougaiji, and overall is like a female Son Goku in personality. Lirin fights using brute strength but isn't very smart.
- Dokugakuji: Gojyo's full-y?kai half-brother, formerly known as Sha Jien. He fights with a sword.
- Yaone: An apothecary, alchemist, and Lirin's "babysitter".
- Gyokumen Koushou: Gyumaoh's concubine that works to revive. She's extremely cruel and cares nothing the masses that have died because of her plans.
- Dr. Ni Jianyi: A wild card, mystery man, mad scientist, and Koushou's human lover. He owns a plushie bunny that he carries with him as his pet. He was also once a Sanzo priest (known as Ukoku Sanzo) and was considered a heretic due to the fact that he fought and killed his master (Goudai Sanzo) to attain his title instead of inheriting his chakra from the gods. His pupil, a man known simply as "God" (Kami-sama), appears in Reload.
- Kanzeon Bosatsu aka the Merciful Goddess: The Buddhist bodhisattva Guan Yin herself. She is portrayed as a hermaphrodite in the manga, while in the anime it gives no indication of her being anything other than a female. She rarely helps the Sanzo party, usually watching their travels on the way to India from Heaven for her amusement.
- Nataku only appears in Saiyuki Gaiden and in the anime *War Prince Nataku: Nataku is based on the Taoist deity Nezha. He is a half-mortal war god who won the then-divine Son Goku (Sun Wukong)'s friendship. Unfortunately, Nataku falls into a catactonic state (the reasons for this are not disclosed in the anime) and sits in the divine garden of heaven with only the Goddess of Mercy to keep him company staring blankly ahead for all time. In the series, Nataku is decidedly more somber than Goku and is resigned to being a puppet (he was 'given the honor' of being the War prince, a role which is later passed onto Homura) to the Gods. Furthermore, Nataku goes by a different title, but his background is still very much the same - right down to a Commander father and spear weapon. (However, it is glaringly obvious as the series goes on that the Commander is exploiting his son for fame and recognition from the Gods, reversing the roles that Nataku is to blame for misfortune) Nataku's father however, is then lectured by the past reincarnation of Cho Hakkai (Field Marshal Tenpou) and further mistreatment of his son is then yet to be seen in the series.
- Homura Toushin Taishi was born between the humans and the warriors of the Upper heavens. Although he succeeded Nataku Taishi who destroyed Gyumao-Bull Satan 500 years ago, he is fed up with utter tranquility and lazy life in the Upper Heavens. He had some relationship with Sanzo and his comrades. He calls them in the names of a previous existence. He is eager to get Sanzo's Sutra of Dark Power. However, his true ambition is not yet revealed. His weapon is a long sword possessing tremendous power. He can wipe out a troop of monsters at one swing. He uses the Power of Spirit like Cho Hakkai.
- Zenon comes down with Prince Homura only because he dislikes the evil monsters and spirits. His revolving 'Demon Blaster' destroys dozen of monsters. His right eye is covered by the patch. Zenon agrees to follow Homura for multiple reasons. One being he is sick of his life in the heavens, and is sick of living in general, another is that he wants to find the demon who killed the mother of his son. Years ago, Zenon went freely between earth and heaven (the year was no specified in the anime). He had realations with a woman who became pregnant with his son. The gods found out about this, and Zenon agreed to give up his immortality and live as a human. However, one of his subordinates (who was a demon), was told to bring her to the heavens, he killed her instead.
- Shien comes down with Prince Homura for exciting adventures. He never harms anyone unless he has to defend himself. However, once getting in a battle, he is fierce, slaying the opponent with his twin 'Light Whips.'
From Classic Novel to Anime
Saiy?ki is the Japanese name for Journey to the West, or
X?yóu Jì (??? "Record of the Journey to the West") in Chinese. While
Saiy?ki is normally written "???",
or "Journey to the West", Kazuya Minekura writes the title as "???", or "Journey to the Extreme". This is her pun, as both are pronounced
saiy?ki. This popular Chinese novel has inspired several Japanese works, including:
- Nobita no Parallel Saiy?ki, a Doraemon anime movie
- Gens?maden Saiy?ki
- Saiy?ki Series, or Monkey in English
- Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT
- Saiyuki: Journey West, a tactical-RPG game by Koei for the Playstation.
- Patalliro! Saiyuki
Minekura's
Sanz?-Ikk? bears only a superficial similarity to the original four in the Chinese novel. Their names are the same as the names of the characters in the Chinese novel, but given Japanese pronunciations:
- Genj?-Sanz? (????) is Xuánzàng (??) or Táng-S?nzàng (Tang's three scriptures).
- Son Gok? is S?n Wùk?ng (? ??), or the Monkey King.
- Cho Hakkai is Zh? B?jiè (? ??), a pig monster.
- Sha Gojy? is Sh? Wùjìng (? ??), a water demon, classified as a kappa in some translations.
- Gy?ma?h is Niumowáng (???) Ox King
Series Information
Anime
The original anime series is distributed in North America by ADV Films and comprises 50 episodes. The sequels
Saiyuki Reload and
Saiyuki Reload Gunlock are licensed by Geneon in North America, and consist of 25 and 26 episodes respectively. Due to the change in licensing, the English voice cast is not consistent throughout all three series, and the characterization and general feel of the series may change noticeably in the second and third installments.
Enoki Films holds the US license to
Saiyuki under the title
Saiyuki: Paradise Raiders, yet ADV chose not to use this subtitle. There has also been a movie (
Saiyuki: Requiem) adapted into English that is also licensed by ADV. It is rumored that a new OVA is planned by Studio Pierrot, which will cover the "Burial" arc of the
Saiyuki Reloadmanga.
Manga
The
Saiyuki manga is comprised of three separate series:
- Saiyuki, 9 volumes, complete.
- Saiyuki Reload, currently at 8 volumes, still running in the monthly Japanese manga magazine Zero Sum.
- Saiyuki Gaiden, currently at 3 volumes, is currently being published in the quarterly Japanese manga magazine Zero Sum WARD. This series takes place in Heaven, 500 years before the first Saiyuki series. The plot is based around the four main characters of Saiyuki in their past lives, and details exactly what it was they did to get thrown out of heaven.
- The names of the characters are:
- *Konzen Douji - Genjo Sanzo's former incarnation.
- *Tenpou Gensui - Cho Hakkai's former incarnation.
- *Kenren Taishou - Sha Gojyo's former incarnation.
- *Goku - Son Goku himself, 500 years ago.
- *Gojun - Dragon King of the Western Seas (believed to be Hakuryuu's former incarnation).
- *Nataku Taishi - the War Prince
- *Li Touten - Nataku's father
- *Kanzeon Bosatsu - Konzen's aunt, and the one responsible for bringing Goku to heaven.
Media Information
Opening themes
- Gensomaden Saiyuki
- For Real sung by Hidenori Tokuyama, lyrics/composition by Kurosawa Ken'ichi
- Still Time sung by Hidenori Tokuyama, lyrics/composition by Kurosawa Ken'ichi and arrangement by Tooyama Yuu
Ending themes
- Gensomaden Saiyuki
- Tightrope by CHARCOAL FILTER
- Alone sung by Shimokawa Mikuni, lyrics by Sumiyo Mutsumi and composition/arrangement by ab:fly
- Gensomaden Saiyuki Requiem
- Tightrope by Tetsu 69 of L'Arc~en~Ciel
See also
- Saiyuki Reload: The sequel to this manga.
- Saiyuki Gunlock: The second sequel to the anime.
- Journey to the West: The original story which this manga is loosely based on.
- Monkey : Japanese TV series based on Journey to the West.
- Monkey Magic : Another anime series based on Journey to the West.
- Journey West: Video game based on Journey to the West.
References
External links
2000s American television seriesAction anime and mangaAdventure anime and mangaAnime of the 2000sChinese mythology in anime and manga?Fantasy anime and mangaManga of the 1990s Tokyopop
SaiyukiSaiyukiGensômaden Saiyuki???Saiyuki???? ????????????
