Saiyuki
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Wikipedia-Article "Saiyuki"
- This article is about the animated television series. See Monkey (TV series) for the live action.
Saiyuki, known as Gensōmaden Saiyūki (幻想魔伝最遊記, "Romanticized Tale of a Journey to the Extreme") in Japan, is a popular manga series created by Kazuya Minekura and loosely based on the famous Chinese novel Xī Yóu Jì (Journey to the West). It has been turned into an anime series by Studio Pierrot as well, although the storyline is not yet complete.
Gensomaden Saiyuki deals with the fortunes of four fighters - the monk Genjyo Sanzo (transliterated Genjo in the anime and Singapore English manga), the monkey deity Son Goku, the half-demon Sha Gojyo, and the demon Cho Hakkai, who have been dispatched by the Sanbutsushin (The Three Aspects of the Buddha) to India to investigate the reasons behind the recent insanity among the demons. Demons, who have formerly coexisted peacefully with humans in Shangri-La, are going berserk and turning against them.
The manga is published in English in North America by TOKYOPOP, and in Singapore it is published in English by Chuang Yi. The original anime series is produced in North America by ADV Films. The sequels Saiyuki Reload and Saiyuki Reload Gunlock are licensed by Geneon in North America. Enoki Films holds the U.S. license to Saiyuki under the title Saiyuki: Paradise Raiders, yet ADV chose not to use the subtitle. The prequel, Saiyuki Gaiden - which takes place 500 years before the first series - is currently published in the quarterly Japanese manga magazine Zero Sum WARD. There has also been a movie (Saiyuki: Requiem) made that is licensed by ADV. In Singapore the anime is produced by Odex.
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Saiyūki: The Journey to the West Novel
Saiyūki is the Japanese name for Journey to the West, or Xī Yóu Jì (西遊記) in Chinese. While Saiyūki is normally written "西遊記" ("Journey to the West"), Kazuya Minekura writes the title as "最遊記" ("Journey to the Extreme"). This is a pun, as both are pronounced "saiyūki." It is a popular Chinese novel that has inspired several Japanese works, including
- Nobita no Parallel Saiyūki, a Doraemon anime movie
- Gensōmaden Saiyūki
- Saiyūki Series, or Monkey in English
- Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z
Names of characters in the Chinese novel are pronounced differently in Japanese:
- Genjyo Sanzo(玄奘三蔵) — Xuan Zang (玄奘), Buddhist monk who uses a gun which can exterminate demons and a fan to silence Goku and Gojyo when they start to quarrel.
- Son Gokū — Sūn Wùkōng (孫悟空), the monkey king, who is equipped with:
- kinkoji (緊箍児), a magical head band placed by Sanzō Hōshi / Xuan Zang
- nyoibō (如意棒), an extendable fighting stick
- kintoun (觔斗雲), cloud mobile
Sanzo is like a father to Goku as he was the one to free Goku
- Cho Hakkai — Zhu Bajie (豬八戒), a pig monster
- Sha Gojyo — Sha Wujing (沙悟淨), a sand demon erroneously classified as a kappa in some translations
- Gyū Maō — Niu Mowang (牛魔王) Ox King
Continuity of the Anime With the Manga
The first part of the anime remains fairly faithful to the manga it is based upon. Up through volume six of the manga and through episode 22 of the anime the plot remain consistant with a few filler episodes. After that point, the manga goes on the Kami-sama arc, which is in the latter half of the Saiyuki RELOAD anime. The anime embarks on an entirely different storyline involving the War Prince Homura and his companions Zenon and Shien, which Kazuya Minekura helped to write and do the character designs for. Latest series; Saiyuki Reload Gunlock.
Inconsistancies
In a late episode both Gojyo and his brother Jien have their weapons broken by Jien but in the next episode with the battle against Zenon the weapons are miraculously fixed and are stronger.