Gensou Maden Saiyuki

*Reviewed by Lily N.

(50 episodes, April 4, 2000 to March 27 2001)

Production Company: Studio Pierrot
Broadcaster: TV Tokyo

Creator: Minekura Kazuya

Voices:
Sanzou – Seki Toshihiko
Goku – Hoshi Souichiro
Gojyo – ?
Hakkai – Ishida Akira

SOME SPOILERS!!!

First off, this anime series is based on the classic Chinese story "Xi You Ji", which has been translated into English as "The Journey to the West". Anyone worth their salt would probably know the basic story of "Journey to the West". I’ve read the original book when I was little, saw the Chinese version on TV, and rented all TVB remakes of this, so, this story is nothing new, but let me just say, a lot of ‘creative freedom’ was taken in the creation of this anime.

Characters:
The biggest difference between this series and anything else that calls itself "Journey to the West" would have to be the characters. Gone are our traditional meek monk, obnoxious monkey (okay, he’s still obnoxious here), lusty pig, or quiet Sand monk. They have all gone under dramatic makeover, and for better or worse, the characters are all new and interesting.


Sanzou – He’s the Tang monk but there is nothing here to remind you of the pious and soft-spoken monk in the TVB series. He’s blonde, purple-eyed, carrying a gun designed to destroy youkai (demons), and yes, he does use it.


He also smokes, drinks, curses, and have no problem with killing. One of his mantras in life is, “If I see my enemy, I kill them. If I see my parents, I kill them. If I see Buddha, I kill him.” Basically, do not stand in his way, or else he’ll get rid of you. Also, Sanzou’s traditional clothing is a white robe with wicker breastplate and a highnecked bodysuit covering his torso, made of either leather or rubber, and long gloves of the same material from the upper biceps to bands at his middle fingers. So in
another word, he’s hot.

Goku – Yes, Goku from "Dragon Ball Z" is related to "Journey in the West". Goku here is depicted as a young eighteen-year-old monkey youkai, and like most eighteen-year-old in anime, he’s rash, always hungry and intolerable. But he’s the best fighter in the group, and when the diadem on his head is removed, he’s an unstoppable killing machine.

Gojyo – Remember the Sand Monk? The guy that follows the group and always carrying the luggage? This is him, except he now has red hair, red-eyed, gambles, and has great luck with women. A drifter, he is the son of a youkai and human and so carries the mark of such ‘tabooed children.’



Hakkai – Maybe the Pig is the one that changes the most. He’s not lusting after women anymore or picking fun at the monkey. He’s now the peacemaker, and carries an impossible past. Of the four, he’s the gentlest but also the most deadly.

Review:
The series opened up with Sanzou taking an order from three talking-heads to go to the West to investigate a disruption. Evidently, all the youkais of the land have suddenly lost control of themselves and turned against their human fellows. So Sanzou head out with Goku toting behind him, and they later meet up with Hakkai and Gojyo and began this long journey.

Like most good animes, what drives this series is the characters and their interactions. Sanzou is at best a cold loner who hangs around the other guys because deep in his heart, he believes they will never rely on him for help, and so being with them keeps him safe emotionally. He’s a natural leader and the others look to him for directions, but it is easy to think Sanzou is just a gun-toting punk pretending to be a monk. Gojyo on the other hand is a total opposite from Sanzou. He’s charming, emotional, and a womanizer. But being a ‘tabooed’ child, he grew up in fear of his life.

The woman who was supposed to protect and love him, tried to kill him instead, and he only escaped with his life when his half-brother killed her to save him. So no matter what, Gojyo is incapable of loving a woman honestly. Hakkai originally was a human, note the 'was'. He turned into a youkai when during a rage to save his lover, he killed 1000 youkais. All of this was when he was still a human, so understand why I said he is the deadliest of the group. He’s very capable to horrible things, but he hid them behind a friendly smile and gentle dispositions. Son Goku is the most innocent of the group, with no knowledge of his past and he only worries about his next meal and keeping Sanzou safe.

So even though this series is based on "Journey on the West", there is very little Buddhist teaching here or any moral teachings for young children either, but almost like a satiric twist on the ‘modern’ "Journey of the West". The group travels in a Jeep that changes into a dragon, and the characters are nothing like their original counterparts. They are dark and damaged, but they are amazing survivors. Their attitudes are just amazingly bad-ass, I mean if TVB ever tried to reinterpret "Journey to the West" like this, Sanzou would have to be played by Simon Yam.

Along with these characters, the story is interesting, with the main evil powers seeking ways to combine youkai magic and technology, a definitely no-no, to bring an end to the delicate balance in the world. The evil guys are not always evil, but are real beings with dimensions and reasons for the things they are doing.

The artwork is beautiful, especially because the four main characters are all males *drool, drool*, with a lot of stark contrast and well-done overlays, but the animation is not as fluid as other shows. The fighting scenes are a bit static when there is nothing moving in the whole scene but the camera, but impressive enough to carry the storyline. I heard somewhere that this show had a low budget, which is interesting because it was very popular and highly successful during its run.

The music is adequate, not as impressive as "Rurouni Kenshin" but had some beautiful guitar solos that worked very well. There are also hard rock pieces and orchestral background music that is worthwhile to check out.

In conclusion, Saiyuki is amazing due to the fact that it is interesting even if it was based on something that most Asian viewers already know. It puts a nice kick to something old, along with the humour and entertaining battles, the characters and their interactions is just very well done, so check it out if you have the chance to.

There is also the manga of Saiyuki, and the Saiyuki Gaiden, which chronicled the party’s story when they were celestial beings in heaven. There was an OVA, which I haven’t seen yet, and a movie that told the story of one of Sanzou’s followers that turned evil. Saiyuki has been released into DVD, but not yet in America?, and its merchandises are everywhere on the Net. Oh, Saiyuki’s creator is a woman.
source:www.spcnet.tv