Gensoumaden Saiyuuki

::QUICK REVIEW::
Story: 5 (another "Journey to the West" spinoff)
Art: 6 (Pretty above standard fare for its time)
Sound: 7 (English voice acting was impressive don't miss it)
Character: 8 (first male team that didn't make me feel gay)
Enjoyment: 9 (Main characters made this show great)
Overall: 35/50 = 7.0 (Didn't mean to make the score look like that)


::FULL REVIEW::
Ever since Dragon Ball, there have been a large influx of anime basing themselves on the "Journey to the West" epic piece. It's storyline is perfect for an anime iteration, but then again, any idea can become an anime. Well what I'm getting at is that this is another ... iteration based on that epic. And in my opinion, this is the best iteration of that tale that I have seen so far.

It's not historically accurate at all. If anything, it follows the story extremely loosely. I mean the names are partially the same and their personalities match (i.e. monkey, priest, etc) but thats about it. Their opposition are literally monsters and their goal is to reach the west. They use guns and have a dragon that transforms into a jeep. So you can't take this seriously. But there is one thing that this show has and the other anime does not: attitude. The four travelers, Gojyo, Sanzo, Hakkai, and Goku, are all badass and their chemistry between each other are hilariously cool.

Now I enjoyed the English dub of this show simply because the banter between the four was actually more believable in a realistic friendship sort of way. When they make fun of each other it sounds like something I would say to my friends. No matter how much they sound like they hate each other guts and despise each other but when it comes down to it, they will follow each other to the ends of the earth. That is something that is often attempted in anime but rarely executed very well.

All the adventures they encounter are your typical random shonen encounters that they have to overcome. I would have cared less if their teamwork wasn't so awesome and macho even under stressful conditions. No matter what they faced, they still managed to accomplish it in a virile manner.

Overall this show, like many others like it, can not be fully appreciated unless you're ready to accept the fact that its story is very very vague. Secondly, I highly recommend the English dub since they sound much more badass than the Japanese dub and really made this show from okay to pretty darn good.

I got into this one because I heard it had a similar vibe to Yu Yu Hakusho, another fantasy series revolving around a four man main cast. For the most part, I think Saiyuki does not quite reach the heights of storytelling that series did, but it does distinguish itself in ways both good and bad.

Firstly, the plot is mostly episodic in nature, with copious episodes that succeed at establishing characterization and worldbuilding, but otherwise do not move the plot significantly. It is filler, but pretty good filler in my opinion, since it really gets the viewer immersed in the world. This is an old-school ... adventure story first and foremost, and the length of the journey is painted in the medium via this long-form storytelling. A certain patience is expected from the viewer as Hakkai's jeep slowly plugs along the desert roads. I think those who enjoy episodic series like Pokemon won't mind this at all, while those with no patience for filler will immediately drop the series, it is a defining factor.

One thing I heartily congratulate this series for is the main characters. They are all very fleshed-out, rounded, and compelling in their own ways, almost archetypically so. You have the womanizing water sprite Sha Gojyo, hot-tempered and vain like any seducer. There's Cho Hakkai, who arguably has the most fucked-up backstory of the lot, but nowadays acts as the driver and mediator of the group. There's the spunky kid tagalong, Son Goku, who is entertainingly whiny and always hungry, but seems to be the best fighter of the group. He also has a limiter device on his forehead which holds back a psychotic dark side that can't distinguish friend from foe, like he's on some Kid Buu shit. Fun times! And then there's my personal favorite, and arguably the main character, Genjo Sanzo. I like both his japanese and english voices (David Matranga has always been cool in my book). Furthermore, he's a huge asshole who spouts off action movie one-liners before putting holes in demons with his revolver, he's simultaneously very cool and very lame. Gotta love it! In general, the character designs are quite good.

The antagonists are hit and miss - the creepy doctor and whatever the name of the main female villain was, they were very one-note and forgettable. The Kougaiji group was alright, they were all rather sympathetic and fine enough characters. But the real badasses were the Prince of War and his two sidekicks, those guys were absolutely sick!

Now, we arrive at the flaws, which are sadly rather striking. It is clear from the beginning that these guys are balling on a budget - the fights are mostly a series of still frames, recycled animation loops, and reaction shots. When demons are killed, they break apart as if they are made of glass. It rather reminded me of when monsters are destroyed in Yugioh. I like old school animation, but a lot of this was probably bad for its time, and it obviously doesn't age well. So if animation is a problem for you, turn back now!

As far as the voice acting goes, I can only speak to the English dub. I thought the main characters were mostly fine, David Matranga as Sanzo and Vic Mignogna as Kougaiji in particular doing a good job. Gojyo's actor came across as wooden a lot, as did most of the one-episode-only villagers and short-lived demons. I will give credit to the scriptwriters for including some swearing, Gojyo even calls someone a bundle of sticks at one point. They certainly wouldn't have the balls to do that nowadays, though considering how effective outrage marketing obviously is, it's a tactic that might get dusted off again at some point. But generally, I would advise sticking to the sub. As a sidenote, I really liked the first opening song as well, it had a classic rock vibe that was very unique in my opinion.

Overall, the show is fine. If nothing else, the main characters are strong, the worldbuilding is good, and there are aesthetically pleasing moments. I'm interested in seeing how the 2017 series fares in comparison to this - I hope that it fixes many of the issues while contributing to the strengths. As is, I wouldn't go into this expecting more than some easily digestible entertainment.

Where do I start......I couldn't even finish this crap, only mad it 25 episodes in. The character animation was fine but stills during fight scenes were terrible. There was no character development and even though it has a long complex story they came across to me as stand alone. Their attempts at humor just seemed lackluster and homosexual at best. Wouldn't recommend this for anyone. 3 is probably a high rating for this and I'm ashamed to say that i spent $70.00 on this garbage. To make it worse the place I bought it wouldn't let me trade it in......guess ... they knew it was crap too!!!