One sidenote: this is my first anime review. Pardon the crap written there.
Saiyuki tv Review
Tougenkyou once where humans and youkai coexisted, this balance is disturbed by the practice of forbidden science and magic that has created a Minus Wave, poisoning the souls of youkai. The Sanbutsushin become aware of the situation and call out the highest of priests, Genjyo Sanzo, to stop the Minus Wave and the resurrection of Gyumaoh. The Sanbutsushin tell Sanzo to travel West with three youkai who weren't affected by the Wave: Son Goku, a heretic who has no recollections of his past or who he was; Sha Gojyo, a hanyou who was abused by his youkai stepmother; Cho Hakkai, a former human whom is said have killed a thousands youkai; and Hakuryuu , Hakkai's Jeep-transforming dragon.
Along the way the four encounters invincible foes and assassins, while being haunted by the remnants of their dark past.
How will they overcome those obstacles?
What fate awaits at the end of their journey?
Synopsis: Hakaru and flamedanceraxel.
Story & Characters
The story is basically adapted from the well-loved chinese myth of all time, Journey to The West (better known as "Xi/Si You Ji" in Mandarin). It talks about a monk named Genjo Sanzo who is summoned by the Three Buddhas to stop an operation that is attempting to revive Gyumao, one of the deadliest demons of all time.
Back then, humans and demons co-existed in harmony, but since the Gyumao revival project began, demons everywhere (oops, almost everywhere) have been behaving badly towards humans - thinking that humans are the main enemy!
The only demons unaffected by the project happen to be the demons that Sanzo is forced to take along with him in order to complete his mission. Son Goku(the monkey in the original story), Sha Gojyo (the water monster) and Cho Hakkai (the pig...he doesn't look like one here!) are sent to help Sanzo out on his quest. They are undeterred by the demonic aura because of their control devices (with the exception of Gojyo - he doesn't have one).
Now the four have to go up against Kougaiji, Dakugokuji (Gojyo's brother!), and a few other demons because stopping the Gyumao revival project would mean preventing Kougaiji from seeing his frozen mother, Rasetsu-Nyo again...although he had to give into the fact that when Gyumao (HIS FATHER!!) had been revived, he would no longer be Rasetsu-Nyo's husband. The mastermind behind this project, Gyoukumen Koushyuu, wanted Gyumao all to herself - recruiting Gyumao's son to do her donkey jobs didn't mean much.
A pretty good thing - I mean, how the creators managed to turn one of the longest Chinese myths alive into an enjoyable anime. ^^ Quite an enjoyable storyline too.
Rating:
Art
The characters looked rather nice at first sight - don't tell me that you can't fall in love with the artwork! Personally, I liked the way that the artists drew all four protagonists.
The demons also looked pretty scary - perfect! Demons are meant to be scary, no? ^^
I just wonder how long the artists took to do these characters, they look very detailed in their drawings. Backgrounds? No comment. I feel that every anime has its own unique bits in the art, so I won't say "it looks exquisite" or "it looks like a dirt rag".
Rating:
Sound
Eh...actually, I like just about any anime soundtracks, so I won't say much about that.
Background music was fine with me, I didn't find anything that hurt my ears. Could be a bit better though. Since it
(this story) was derived from a Chinese myth, why not something a bit more Chinese-related...not to say that the
distinct feature of anime (it's from Japan, after all) should be nonexistent, but then again, how do you enjoy a
Chinese story without its distinct traits?
(Pardon the crap here.)
But overall, nothing that will make your ears cry for help. (I haven't watched the dubbed version, so I can't comment on that! ) Speech from the original was okay for me. Hakkai, however, sounds so gentle and feminine. Woah.
Rating:
Presentation
Lots of humour here. One of the excerpts that I liked...(bear in mind that Goku is a greedy pig who loves food, as he had been imprisoned in a cave for 500 years!)
//Sanzo: Hakkai, don't forget to buy me some cigarettes, I'm running out of them. *whips out a credit card* And although it's the Three Buddhas' Bank card, please don't listen to Goku and buy him food...//
Very modernized - a monk who smokes and monks + demons using credit cards?? Hahaha.
Plus, it is sometimes entertaining to watch Sanzo threaten the two (Goku and Gojyo) when they get into their usual "stupid monkey" and "water monster" insulting sessions. (Sanzo holds a gun - a spirit ascending gun to exterminate demons! - so when the two quarell, he'll say "shut up" while pointing the gun at them - imagine what will happen if the two get shot??)
I may not be a good reviewer because I either ramble too much, or don't know what to say sometimes because my mind blanks out frequently. But this anime has nothing explicit, so it's quite alright for youngsters to watch. I like its originality - apart from the fact that other than the four characters and the demons part, the old myth lost its traits - almost completely distorted!
Overall, good - but adapted and heavily distorted storyline, nice artwork, great music. However, avoid if you want a totally non-violent anime!
*To the creators, no thanks for distorting the Chinese trait of this old story - just kidding...
Rating:
Final Verdict
6.5000 (above average)
Reviewed by ariane-chan, Aug 09, 2005
Comments
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ariane-chan Aug 09, 2005
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Sanisa Feb 24, 2010
Thanks for the review! Nice ^__^
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UberDog Mar 23, 2015
What a structured and detailed review, great job.
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