Customer Reviews

Saiyuki - Journey Begins (Vol 1)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I suspect that the Amazon review only watched the first episode, which does, in fact, feature still shot fight scenes. The rest of the series is not like that at all. The lack of coherent storyline comment is also erroneous. Saiyuki is made up of several short story arcs and stand-alone episodes, but the basic story is quite clear and easy to pick up on.

I found both the subbed and dubbed versions entertaining; despite violence and the dark tone, this is a funny series. All four main characters have interesting pasts and sharply defined characters, and they soon feel like old friends.

Son Goku shares the same basic characteristics here that he does in the original "Journey to the West", Dragonball, and all the other stories he's appeared in: he's eternally hungry, an excellent fighter, and he has a feral, almost uncontrollable side which could be dangerous to his friends. He's also adorable. Don't be misled into thinking this has anything to do with Dragonball (a series I'm also fond of).

Anyway, there's 5 eps per disc and 50 eps total, plus a gorgeous movie and 2 OVAs, so go ahead and take the plunge! Saiyuki is great fun.

The Journey to the West has been done in hundreds of differant ways with this being one of the latest versions. Is's nice to see Sanzo being this sexy dude with an attitude, instead of a wimp who breaks down into tears when things go wrong. Actually I like the English dubbing, the voices are just fine to me and by watching both the english and japanese versions of the story, gives one a better appriciation for the differances in culture and how the story is perseved.

I have had a copy of this anime for the longest time and didn't get around to watching it until recently, and it is one of the BEST animes I have EVER seen in a LONG time! The characters are fun and interesting, they make you want to keep watching, just to see what will happen to them, and to learn more about them. There is a nice balance of comedy and drama, and there is an interesting plot along with many other fascinating subplots.

It's based on a Chinese myth, but don't think you need to know chinese folklore just to understand it. It's great and I recommend it to ANY anime fan!

There is no lack of anime series that feature a group of people going an epic journey to fight evil. Whether they involve card decks or swords the offer enjoyable, but fairly predictable fare. So my first reaction when reading the announcements for Saiyuki was to put it on my 'someday' list. Well, 'someday' has arrived, and with it the surprising discovery that Saiyuki is much more than another adventure story.

It starts out unassumingly enough. In an alternate world of Chinese mythology, demons and humans have coexisted peacefully until recently. Now, many have dropped all restraint and are actively at war with humans. Sanzo Genjo, a priest, has been assigned by his gods to seek out the source of this crisis and bring it to an end. Accompanying him are three 'peaceable' demons. Son Goku, a monkey king, Sha Gojyo, a semi-human water sprite, and Cho Hakkai, a full blooded demon with a pet dragon who does double duty as a jeep.

Behaving more like a rock band on tour than a group of do-gooders, this team sets out through Asia headed for the source of the mystery in India. They fight, drink, wench, and eat their way across the countryside. For the most part, the plot itself is straightforward, bash demons, save young maidens, and indulge in other heroics with a good jolt of comedy.

There is a serious side to their antics, and, layer-by-layer, we discover parts of the true stories behind each of out heroes. We also get to meet the villains, and discover that there is more to them than meets the eye. There are no classic 'pretty boys' in this series. Certainly, Saiyuki is a much more complex story than its surface would imply.

What makes the tales unique is the dialog and byplay between the companions. They play as a group of guys who share a bond, not as archetypical bold heroes. And they are very much adults (all in their 20's or 500's). Anime (or films) that depict this kind of male interrelationship are almost non-existent, but the writers have done a successful job of creating characters and dialog which is entertaining (if a bit blunt), but lacks any 'cute' overtones.

The result is an interesting story, much fresher than the norm for it's genre. It has a somewhat rough artistic style, but the animation is solid. The dubbing is a bit milder than the subtitles but is close in spirit. I feel that from the onset, Saiyuki is worth viewing.

Yes, three hot biseinen and one ever-hungry bakazaru (stupid monkey)! The official review above mentions how 'loosely' this is based on the classic "Journey to the West" but frankly Saiyuki is far closer to the classic legend than the much-touted Dragonball. Which *still* isn't saying much, unfortunately... ... If you want the original legend, Amazon sells some very nice translations, but if you want broody fun, handsome main characters and plenty of off-beat adventure, give Saiyuki a try.

There are dozens of anime series out there that feature girl-heavy casts all panting after one or two main male characters - the stuff of most 15-17 year old boys fantasies, it seems - and a powerful marketing force, at least in most producer's eyes. But half the world's population is female after all... this is an action-adventure series that still appeals to the boys for it's frequent use of rather slapstick humor as well as violence, but it's slanted to the girls too with a whole pack of angst-ridden characters just trying to survive in a strange and ever-changing fantasy world. That's another point to mention; this is an odd amalgam of fantasy/modern times. Just go with it! There are guns and jeeps and cigarettes but also horse-and-wagon transport, rural life, magic and apparently fuedal political structures. There is no real attempt made to explain the rational behind the world's setting, but then a great deal of anime asks you to accept even wilder premises, so Saiyuki doesn't break the mold that much. Except for the fact that the some of the 'villians' are more sympathetic at times than our heroes!

You'll hear the term 'bishounen' tossed around a bit on anime reviews, but that just means 'pretty boy' and is more commonly used because so many anime series tend to be about high school aged protaganists - however, 'biseinen', as I used it above, means 'pretty men' and that's a huge distinction. Because the Saiyuki men certainly ain't boys... except for Son Gokuu. Expect a bit more 'adult' humor and situations because of that.

I bought the NewType USA with the preview CD with the initial episode for this release on it. And the dub, frankly, stinks. The voices aren't distinct enough to make the characters unique and the 'Americanizing' done to the script drastically alters at least one of the main character's personality. Nope, sorry, Hakkai is NOT a foul-mouthed surfer-boy as he seems in the preview. He's supposed to be a soft-spoken, polite and rather reserved man. I shudder to think of what else ADV has changed about the dub story as well, given just the inital preview. So I suggest you watch the subtitled version instead to get the real Saiyuki experience. And no, this isn't a profound anime experience like "Spirited Away", but then, it's not touted as such. This is character-focused action-adventure that occasionally asks some interesting questions about loyalty, friendship and determination. But it's not deep and it leaves a great deal of it up to the viewer - or at least it did in the original.

I only gave this DVD 3 stars for ADV's version of Saiyuki based on the horrible dub preview disk. But if the subtitled version available on this DVD sticks to the actual story (and rumor has it that it does *whew*) then it's still worth the price. Frankly, I'm an otaku-anime-geek who only ever watches subtitled versions anyway but I understand the economic necessity of dubs for the general viewing audience - I just wish the material was treated with more respect by the importing companies. And while this means anime is coming over to the US faster and faster all the time, it's disturbing that companies like ADV feel it's their right to change the original stories so much. Leave it be. The cultural differences aren't *that* hard to explain - and the changes in the dub that I saw weren't improvements at all, in my humble opinion. They were just annoying.

But join Genjo Sanzo, Cho Hakkai, Sha Gojyo, Hakuryuu and Son Gokuu on their journey West! It's a heck of a ride...

Like most anime, it has its good episodes and weak ones. I saw this whole series first and really enjoyed it, then went looking for the manga it is based on. Others reviews and write ups will give you the whole historical journey to the west legend, so I'll just say that the anime is nicely faithful to the manga, both in artwork and plot. In some cases it's almost scene for scene. The real "easter eggs" of the manga are what the anime sugar-coated or left out. I'm only up to vol. 5 of the manga so far, but here are some of the highlights:

***Spoiler space if you don't want to know****




Kanan was Gonou/Hakkai's blood relative older sister, but they were raised in different orphanages. They kept this a secret when they became lovers. The town where they settled gave Kannan over to the demon king, since she was just a stranger and and orphan, as a sacrifice to protect their own daughters. Gonou started off his massacre with the human townspeople, then moved on to the demons.

Hakkai wears a monocle to hide the fact that he tore out his own right eye when confronted by one of the demon survivors right before he tried to go bury Kanan's remains. (I haven't finished the manga, so I don't know if he somehow gets a new one or not, but he tore it right out by the roots and was going for the other one when Goku stops him. Under that calm mask, he really is a crazy baka.

In one episode a youkai punk taunts Gojyo about his hair color, asking if the "hair down there" matches his famous red mane. ie, if the "carpet matchs the drapes." In both the anime and manga Gojyo coyly says only the prettiest ladies get to find out , but in the manga Goku lets slip that he's seen the truth in the baths.

*
*extra spoiler space*

The carpet does NOT match the drapes (it's black according to Goku), although Gojyo's red hair is natural anyway.

This is not the first time I saw the Saiyuki Anime. (I watched it in Japanese version, Korean version and this English version.) Well, I think Saiyuki is quite hiliarious even in Anime version and not that bad. (The pictures of OVA and a movie version are more pretty though.) However, I prefer the comic book version to animation for some reasons. Hm..whatever...Saiyuki rocks..^0^;;

Oh my! I am completely stunned by this new series. The artwork is beautiful and the characters are the best! This is a series that is a great addition to anyone's collection.

I've only been watching anime for a little over 6 months now, but I've managed to see a LOT of it, and Saiyuki has to be one of my favorites. The interaction between the characters, the bishounen, the interesting stories... the bishounen...(oh wait, I already said that.) Seriously, though. Saiyuki has a truly individual feel to it - part Western, part fantasy, part comedy buddy movie. I, personally, love the crazy little anacrhonisms like the dragon that turns into a jeep and Sanzo's credit card of the gods.

Another thing I enjoy about this series is that it tends to be very episodic. While there are overarching plot arcs, (Hakkai's past, how the group got together, etc) once you've met the main characters, you can skip around in the series and not get too lost.

As for packaging and how the DVD was presented, I'm fairly happy with my pretty colector's box. The X-large t-shirt it came with is way too big for me, but it's very nice. The menus on the DVD are a little difficult to navigate sometimes, too.

I would have to agree with another reviewer about the English dub. I'm usually one of those purists who won't watch in anything but subtitles, but the curiosity got the better of me the other night and I watched the last episode in English instead of Japanese. I was pleasantly surprised. The voices were pretty on, except I think that Hakkai sounded a little young and Yaone (I can never remember how to spell her name) sounded a little old. Also, there is quite a bit more swearing in the English version for some reason. I just can't seem to get my mind around Hakkai saying... some of the things he says in the dub... it's just not right. Other than that, it's very watchable. The Japanese is still my preferred language, though.

In a nutshell, Saiyuki is the tale of four reluctant heroes who are sent on a mission to India to stop an evil's resurrection. It is hilarious to watch the characters bicker, but balances it out with a dark plot. Don't miss this.