Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful interpretation of an ancient Chinese legend
Review: Saiyuki (The book of Western venture - Chinese title) is one of the most well known ancient Chinese fantasy novels. There have been tons of presentation of the story and/or the characters including the inspired Anime show Dragonball Z. This is a very creative version of the story (a small but important section of the novel). The modern clothes and dialog, the smoking and gambling monk carrying a revolver and the sexy goddess (actually the character is a scary looking male showing himself in female form according to Buddhist legend) are all controversial in the religious and traditional world when the manga released a few years ago. Watch beyond the modern presentation you will see a very in-depth story combining personal soul search, friendship and belief.I watched the entire series in Japanese and I am waiting for all the English DVDs out before purchasing the set. So I can't comment on how good is the English translation. The animation is superb and characters have clear and likeable personalities. I highly recommend this show to all Anime fans.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful interpretation of an ancient Chinese legend
Review: Saiyuki (The book of Western venture - Chinese title) is one of the most well known ancient Chinese fantasy novels. There have been tons of presentation of the story and/or the characters including the inspired Anime show Dragonball Z. This is a very creative version of the story (a small but important section of the novel). The modern clothes and dialog, the smoking and gambling monk carrying a revolver and the sexy goddess (actually the character is a scary looking male showing himself in female form according to Buddhist legend) are all controversial in the religious and traditional world when the manga released a few years ago. Watch beyond the modern presentation you will see a very in-depth story combining personal soul search, friendship and belief. I watched the entire series in Japanese and I am waiting for all the English DVDs out before purchasing the set. So I can't comment on how good is the English translation. The animation is superb and characters have clear and likeable personalities. I highly recommend this show to all Anime fans.
Rating:
Summary: You gotta start somewhere
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: You gotta start somewhere
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: this sucks. the manga is a lot better.
Review: the manga of this is a lot better. they twisted lots of stuff in this, and the character voices really dont fit their age and even the characters' personalities are messed up. dont waste your money on this. buy the manga.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully fun series
Review: The reviewer has a point about the numerous camera pans, but the art is great so it doesn't really detract from the show. I didn't even notice it till after reading the review and going back to look for it. The anacronisms like Sanzo's pistol, a dragon that turns into a jeep, and some characters showing up in jeans give the show a unique atmosphere. The humor is riske but a lot of fun. The main characters are quite likable (even, well especially the villians), despite Sanzo's best efforts to be otherwise. The hints of background given in the first volume are what truly hooked me on the series.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully fun series
Review: The reviewer has a point about the numerous camera pans, but the art is great so it doesn't really detract from the show. I didn't even notice it till after reading the review and going back to look for it. The anacronisms like Sanzo's pistol, a dragon that turns into a jeep, and some characters showing up in jeans give the show a unique atmosphere. The humor is riske but a lot of fun. The main characters are quite likable (even, well especially the villians), despite Sanzo's best efforts to be otherwise. The hints of background given in the first volume are what truly hooked me on the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Fighting Evil with a Twist
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Fighting Evil with a Twist
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Great, but a cartoon book is the very best of Saiyuki!
Review: 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^;;
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