SAIYUKI RELOAD (VOLUME 1)
August 6th 2011 22:49
Category: Manga
Publisher: TOKYOPOP
Story & Art by: Kazuya Minekura
Translation: Alethena & Athena Nibley
English Adaptation: Lianne Sentar
Retouch & Lettering: Haruko Furukawa
Production Artist: Jason Milligan
Cover Design: Kyle Plummer
Cost: US$9.99
Anyone out there in internet land ever read the classic Journey into the West, a classic piece of Chinese literature? Or perhaps you have been more familiar with a Japanese television show which was based on that particular work known as Monkey? You know the one where the title character flew around on this cloud and had a really kick ass magic staff? Perhaps you are wondering why I’m bringing up this old show and the Chinese book it was based on and just what the heck it all has to do with the subject I’m reviewing, well it’s because Saiyuki Reload has a lot in common with those two works. In fact one could almost say that Saiyuki Reload is a homage to those two.
Apparently the whole Saiyuki franchise, which is the Japanese term for Journey into the West by the way, is a major series in Japan and the US, its spawned several prequels and sequels as well as becoming a major anime series as would be expected that ran for at least a hundred episodes. So Saiyuki isn’t just some Johnny come lately as far as manga goes. And I have to admit it’s been a work that has been on the periphery of the Lantern’s vigilant viridian visage for a while know but I just haven’t had the chance to get my hands on the manga…until a recent manga sale at Madman Entertainment gave me the opportunity to snatch up some volumes at a bargain basement price. I do love a bargain as much as I like a rollicking tale and this was both in one package.
Strangely though I could only pick up one of the two sequels to the original Saiyuki series, hence the phrase Saiyuki Reload. Fortunately for me though I was able to get the first four volumes of the sequel and the first in this series starts out giving the audience something of a quick rundown/intro on just what the heck is going on in terms of story and eventual plot development. Well the original work on which this was based originally had a group of four individuals journeying from China towards India in order to pick up the Greater Vehicle scriptures of Buddhism in order to bring peace, stability and redemption to the people of China who were undergoing a great deal of suffering and travail.
Saiyuki Reload has a similar purpose behind its story although the concept isn’t so much about finding a better source of Buddhism although the principle of salvation and redemption is a prominent aspect within the overall narrative of the story. Events revolve around the Sanzo party, the four key protagonists of this tale, who are a party in the traditional D&
/RPG sense than being a group of guys out on a bender on a Friday night. Leading this little group is Genjyo Sanzo; priest, chain smoker, gambler and something of a curmudgeon joining him in this quest are Son Goku, the legendary Monkey King, Sha Gojyo, the child of a human and yokai and finally rounding out the party is Cho Hakkai, a man who has become a yokai and the owner of the jeep that serves as the party’s mode of transport.
Just what kind of quest is that these four are involved in then? And surely with a jeep it shouldn’t take them too long to get too where they’re meant to be going surely? It all has to do with the fact that in the country of Togenkyo, aka Shangri-la, a place where magic and science, human and yokai coexist in relative harmony but even in ‘paradise’ there seems to be a problem. Seems that someone is trying to engage in something decidedly nefarious and this has had some serious repercussions, someone is trying to revive the yokai lord; Gyumaoh and their efforts have caused an effect known as the Minus Wave. It’s a case of man delving not into things best left unknown but then going ahead and doing them regardless of the potential cost. This Minus Wave has had a drastic effect on the yokai of Togenkyo, driving them berserk and causing them to attack people – the harmony of the land is seriously disrupted as a result.
So the Three Aspects of the Buddha decide that in order for things to be resolved someone needs to put an end to this particular little enterprise of mad science and that someone is the Sanzo party. Saiyuki Reload reads something like Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammet would write, its characters are very worldly and although their not exactly paragons of purity and virtue you couldn’t really call them anti-heroes. Rather the Sanzo party is in essence made up of real bad assess who are intent on doing what needs to be done than worry about how it gets done. In all reality they’re the only people who can bring about an end to the Minus Wave and the dreadful experiment that is causing it, although their chances of success are thin indeed.
Structurally this introductory volume reads like several little vignettes of the Sanzo party as they journey ever further away from their home and closer towards their eventual destination and goal. Some would say it’s not about the destination but about the journey and there is a little bit of that within this tale. And that can just as much apply to the audience as to the characters within this story, for my way of thinking this is Monkey meets the mean streets of Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade meets HP Lovecraft, a fusion of diverse elements into a rather interesting and coherent whole that gradually unfolds like the old Kung Fu show. Saiyuki Reload is a manga series well worth tracking down and getting your hands on…
Story & Art by: Kazuya Minekura
Translation: Alethena & Athena Nibley
English Adaptation: Lianne Sentar
Retouch & Lettering: Haruko Furukawa
Production Artist: Jason Milligan
Cover Design: Kyle Plummer
Cost: US$9.99
Anyone out there in internet land ever read the classic Journey into the West, a classic piece of Chinese literature? Or perhaps you have been more familiar with a Japanese television show which was based on that particular work known as Monkey? You know the one where the title character flew around on this cloud and had a really kick ass magic staff? Perhaps you are wondering why I’m bringing up this old show and the Chinese book it was based on and just what the heck it all has to do with the subject I’m reviewing, well it’s because Saiyuki Reload has a lot in common with those two works. In fact one could almost say that Saiyuki Reload is a homage to those two.
Apparently the whole Saiyuki franchise, which is the Japanese term for Journey into the West by the way, is a major series in Japan and the US, its spawned several prequels and sequels as well as becoming a major anime series as would be expected that ran for at least a hundred episodes. So Saiyuki isn’t just some Johnny come lately as far as manga goes. And I have to admit it’s been a work that has been on the periphery of the Lantern’s vigilant viridian visage for a while know but I just haven’t had the chance to get my hands on the manga…until a recent manga sale at Madman Entertainment gave me the opportunity to snatch up some volumes at a bargain basement price. I do love a bargain as much as I like a rollicking tale and this was both in one package.
Saiyuki Reload has a similar purpose behind its story although the concept isn’t so much about finding a better source of Buddhism although the principle of salvation and redemption is a prominent aspect within the overall narrative of the story. Events revolve around the Sanzo party, the four key protagonists of this tale, who are a party in the traditional D&
/RPG sense than being a group of guys out on a bender on a Friday night. Leading this little group is Genjyo Sanzo; priest, chain smoker, gambler and something of a curmudgeon joining him in this quest are Son Goku, the legendary Monkey King, Sha Gojyo, the child of a human and yokai and finally rounding out the party is Cho Hakkai, a man who has become a yokai and the owner of the jeep that serves as the party’s mode of transport.Just what kind of quest is that these four are involved in then? And surely with a jeep it shouldn’t take them too long to get too where they’re meant to be going surely? It all has to do with the fact that in the country of Togenkyo, aka Shangri-la, a place where magic and science, human and yokai coexist in relative harmony but even in ‘paradise’ there seems to be a problem. Seems that someone is trying to engage in something decidedly nefarious and this has had some serious repercussions, someone is trying to revive the yokai lord; Gyumaoh and their efforts have caused an effect known as the Minus Wave. It’s a case of man delving not into things best left unknown but then going ahead and doing them regardless of the potential cost. This Minus Wave has had a drastic effect on the yokai of Togenkyo, driving them berserk and causing them to attack people – the harmony of the land is seriously disrupted as a result.
So the Three Aspects of the Buddha decide that in order for things to be resolved someone needs to put an end to this particular little enterprise of mad science and that someone is the Sanzo party. Saiyuki Reload reads something like Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammet would write, its characters are very worldly and although their not exactly paragons of purity and virtue you couldn’t really call them anti-heroes. Rather the Sanzo party is in essence made up of real bad assess who are intent on doing what needs to be done than worry about how it gets done. In all reality they’re the only people who can bring about an end to the Minus Wave and the dreadful experiment that is causing it, although their chances of success are thin indeed.
Structurally this introductory volume reads like several little vignettes of the Sanzo party as they journey ever further away from their home and closer towards their eventual destination and goal. Some would say it’s not about the destination but about the journey and there is a little bit of that within this tale. And that can just as much apply to the audience as to the characters within this story, for my way of thinking this is Monkey meets the mean streets of Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade meets HP Lovecraft, a fusion of diverse elements into a rather interesting and coherent whole that gradually unfolds like the old Kung Fu show. Saiyuki Reload is a manga series well worth tracking down and getting your hands on…
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