Jason never fires blanks
Publisher: Madman
Fri, 25 August 2006
by: Jason
For various reasons, I haven't actually seen the first season of Saiyuki - so I did wonder if, when I watched this one, I would have any idea as to what was going on. As it turns out, this show is very easy to follow, so it doesn't matter if you've seen the previous series or not.
An important point to mention is that this series is based (however loosely) on a famous Chinese novel called "Journey to the West" that details the journey of a group of 4 travelers. There may be some among you that will notice this isn't the first TV series to be based around that novel - Dragon Ball comes to mind, or the perennial after school favorite, Monkey.
 | | He always thought Buddha was a fella |
But before you leap to your feet and loudly proclaim "so its just like monkey then is it?"... well, yes it is, but with a few subtle differences. For example, this time around the priest isn't a poncy, girly boy that prays a lot. Nope, Genjo Sanzo (Tripitaka in Sanskrit for trivia buffs) has some mighty big iron balls; and a revolver. He also smokes like a chimney, drinks like a fish and spends quite a bit of time hanging shit on his traveling companions.
Speaking of Sanzo's traveling companions, they too might sound familiar:
We have Son Goku, the monkey god, imprisoned in a cave for 500 years before he was released by Sanzo. There are three things you will immediately notice about Goku - he wears a power limiting headband, he's very handy with his extendable staff and, given the chance, he would eat the crutch out of a low flying duck.
Then there is Cho Hakkai, the demon who was born human. I'm not going into the back story here, but you can breathe a sigh of relief, as there isn't a cheesy pig demon in sight. Hakkai is the calm, level headed one of the group. He's also the driver of the Sanzo party's main form of transportation; a small dragon that transforms into (wait for it)... a jeep. When a fight starts, Hakkai uses blasts of chi energy (read 'generic fireball') to defeat his foes.
 | | My worst nightmare: A boy band that could kick my arse |
The final member of the group is Sha Gojyo, a half human, half demon hybrid. He's always got his eyes on the ladies and a carefully crafted rib directed at Goku. He fights with a nasty looking twin bladed thing; one of the blades is attached to an almost limitless amount of chain, allowing for some truly evil long range attacks.
Of course, there is a reason for the Sanzo party being on their journey, which is: although demons have existed peacefully with humans for years, recently they have begun going berserk and attacking them. Pretty straightforward really.
So if you like gratuitous violence, constant bickering and a healthy dose of attitude, then you could do a lot worse than Saiyuki Reload.
by: Jason
More articles by Jason
Best not to find yourself in front of Genjo Sanzo's revolver- so give this fun filled series a look. | |
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