Saiyuki RELOAD, the anime incarnation of Kazuya Minekura's manga of the same name, is now airing weekly in Japan. But TV Tokyo and its affiliate stations aren't the only place episodes can be seen, what with pirates making them available for download worldwide on the Internet scant hours after broadcast. With episodes so accessible so soon, there doesn't seem much point in writing about them in detail, as I had planned to do before the series started. But it's hard not to comment after watching...so, here's some random yammering after each week's broadcast! (Grateful thanks go to Lux for maintaining her tremendous Saiyuki RELOAD screencap gallery, Are We There Yet?--please don't abuse it, folks!)
10/23: "GENJITSU DA." Oh. My. I'm not sure what stunned me more--that Sanzo did what he did (twice, if the UraSai paper doll counts), or that he did what he did in an early-evening timeslot sandwiched between kiddie faves Rockman and Pokemon...!
Earlier this week, wading through animation drawings from the Gensomaden Saiyuki series to put together the new "Saiyuki Douga Party" section, I was musing that after three episodes, RELOAD hasn't really shown yet that it's a better show than its predecessor. It's a different animal, for sure, and still has enormous potential--but when would we see the more adult elements that staff promised would set this series apart?
After this episode, I'm a believer again! It's not high art, not by any means--but it's taking a serious direction that might do the manga justice yet.
Some dark things go down in this story of Rampa, a youkai trying to fight off the apparently inexorable effects of the minus wave. Until a year ago, youkai and humans lived together peacefully in his town, a way of life artist Rampa celebrated in his paintings. His friendship with human doctor Rinran provided plenty of extra incentive for him to want that to continue...but then the fateful change swept the youkai population.
Rampa isolates himself, trying to resist the effects, and focuses on finishing a painting of Rinran he had promised her; it's a present she asked for for her next birthday ("It'll be a treasure for both of us," says Rinran). And wonder of wonders, a different doctor finds his way to Rampa's isolated cabin to offer help: none other than the odious Dr. Nii. Bunny-toting Nii provides Rampa with plenty of medicine, along with a diary in which to record his thoughts during the treatment. Nii later returns to observe the agonized artist, whose future looks bleak in this battle against himself.
The Sanzo-ikkou is in town and aware of Rampa, thanks to some chance encounters (the group also meets Rinran, because Sanzo has a cold--which he later passes to Gojyo, who sacks out in a sweet shot with Goku) and Sanzo and Hakkai making a late-night follow-up, as Rampa's race between finishing the painting and completely losing his mind comes down to the wire. They don't interfere--(SPOILER! Highlight to read)until Rampa comes back to town with the finished painting in tow, and Sanzo honors the youkai's earlier request. (I don't dare spoil it any more than that...)
(ANOTHER SPOILER! Highlight to read)And Nii? His "medicine" turns out to be water--and Rampa's diary, once read, goes into Nii's wastebasket.
The UraSai installment, written and storyboarded by series director Tetsuya Endou, is titled "Kamizumou, Episode I" ("Paper Sumo, Episode I"). It features a battle between paper sumo-style dolls of Sanzo and Gojyo--the last one standing will win--that gets decided by, heh, unconventional means (a little incongruous given the episode that had just ended, but Gojyo's response had me laughing all the same--my favorite Gojyo moment in the series so far!).
While not up to the level of the first episode, the animation quality was a real improvement over that of last week's episode. This week the animation supervisor was Satoru Inoue, the first major RELOAD production staffer that's also a veteran of Gensomaden Saiyuki (he served as animation supervisor for episode 38 "Fleeting Vision" and episode 45 "Glorious Days").
I was tickled to see the new commercials for the upcoming release of the show's theme CD singles by Buzzlip and Flow-War. The new Buzzlip spot shows the group performing at the Saiyuuki Reload Revolver Revolution event! Eagerly awaiting the event's DVD release in December...(I just pray there wasn't a camera recording the scene when Akira Ishida entered just behind our seats in the second show--gotta be mighty damn horrific, seeing a row of adult women suddenly transformed to screaming squeebly fangirls all waving and reaching for him...am so ashamed...but it was the group mind, I tell ya! *sigh*)
Next week's episode looks nicely done from the previews. (There's a beautifully drawn shot of Hakkai that I'm really looking forward to seeing more of!) Watch out for those youkai lullabyes, they'll give you flashbacks...
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Coming in early January!
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10/10: PUMP IT UP! This week's episode of Saiyuki RELOAD, "Ugomeku Wana ~Wanted Dead or Alive~" ("Squirming Trap ~Wanted Dead or Alive~"), was the new series' first episode with an original story. The material wasn't all that was new; some cast members had a new look, too--occasionally drawn bulked up like either a superhero or new California governor!
Written by series director Tetsuya Endou, who co-storyboarded the episode with episode director Naomichi Yamato (animation supervisor Osamu Ookubo completed the lead production staff), this installment brought the Kougaiji-ikkou back into action. Previous anime series Gensomaden Saiyuki avoided certain events from the Saiyuki manga that promise to be pivotal in the animated RELOAD--so in this first step in piecing together the parts, we rejoin Kougaiji pretty much as we left him in Gensomaden. Well, except he's been getting into the creatine. A lot. Not only is he suddenly a much-more-muscled Adonis, he's now wearing the white outfit that's been standard in the manga since he came out of the tank in Vol. 8--except none of that has happened at all in the anime version; Nii hasn't snagged the youkai prince yet. That mind-frying is most assuredly in Kou's future, but for now, he's chasing the same carrot on a stick as before: if he can get Sanzo's kyoumon for Gyokumen so she can revive Gyuumaou, his mother will finally be restored.
An almost chibi-esque Lirin is determined to help her big brother, and confronts Sanzo and company in a place with something strange going down: tiny bugs are buzzing into the townfolks' ears and transforming them into sorta-kinda electric zombies. The rest of the Kougaiji-ikkou aren't far behind Lirin, and the usual four-quarter battle is soon underway, Goku versus Kougaiji and Gojyo versus Dokugakuji and Hakkai versus Yaone and Sanzo keeping Lirin occupied. It's just like old times--but the party doesn't last long with all those darn possessed townpeople around. They may be barely animated, but they're still armed with nasty knives and the urge to carve up the Sanzo-ikkou...!
The bugs are under the control of youkai Mushitsukai (which means "bug-user." Watch for the future appearance of his twin brother Mushikui ["bug-eater"], and second cousin Hanakusotsukai ["booger-user"], and...;^) )--who, unknown to Kougaiji, turns out to have been sent on the same mission as Kougaiji by a certain person we love to loathe. Mushitsukai has some pretty nice digital effects on his side in springing his trap, and Lirin becomes his scariest weapon of all...but in the end Sanzo and Kougaiji prove to have some mighty digital chops of their own.
An aside: In the "Saiyuuki Reload Revolver Revolution" program book and at the event itself, Kougaiji's voice actor, Takeshi Kusao, mentioned that when he was asked to return for the new series, he was shown the new designs of the starring Sanzo-ikkou but there was nothing to see for his own character. He signed on anyway--he said he hopes this role continues for the next 10 years!--but the lack of planning for the Kougaiji-ikkou occasionally showed in this episode. (C'mon, guys, Dokugakuji isn't supposed to have claws; he keeps them short to handle that sword...Although in this episode of pumped-up characters [don't miss the shot of Sanzo with his chest like a wine keg!], Doku actually got away with being drawn somewhat rangy--more as in the manga, which was nice. Kou and Doku look weird with all-normal teeth, though; where are the pointy canines? It's nice to see that the fire-dragons that transport them have such big dewy eyes, though...;^) )
The episode ended with a 40-second installment of UraSai called "Aru Hi No Gogo" ("One Afternoon"), scripted and storyboarded by Minekura-sensei herself! The Sanzo-ikkou play a game in which the participants stand in a circle, put both fists into the ring, and take turns trying to predict the number of thumbs the players choose to lift on each go. If you guess correctly, you can take one hand out of the ring; the first player with both hands out wins. As the winner, Goku wants something to eat--but time has run out (announced by a voice from heaven; it's Tae Okazaki, the new voice of Hakuryuu) and the plug is pulled on the broadcast!
Next week, the series returns to its manga source with "Shijou Saikyou No Teki ~Lethal Weapon~" ("The Most Powerful Foes in History ~Lethal Weapon~"), an adaptation of Chapter 4 and probably also Chapter 5, with the Sanzo-ikkou having to take on...themselves!
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10/02: JUMBI WA II KA, YAROU-DOMO! It may be called "Reload," but Saiyuki's newest anime incarnation is a different caliber than before--and just might have the most firepower yet!
Tonight's premiere episode (script by Miya Asakawa, and animation staff headed by series director Tetsuya Endou [episode director and storyboard] and character designer Noriko Ootake [animation supervisor]) brought the "Saiyuki RELOAD" manga's first chapter, "Run," to animated life. That was no surprise, but the way the job was done made for a strong start. The episode mirrored the manga in a gratifyingly faithful adaptation. Some money and effort went into the animation. Digital technology has grown up since Gensomaden and made for some stylish effects overall. The score by jazz-fusion group Dimension and Daisuke Ikeda--think of some of the instrumentals in the Saiyuuki Image Albums, not beatnik bebop--seemed a smooth fit. The voice cast was fine, as always. (Some trivia, added 10/04: Jeep is called Hakuryuu as before, and is now performed by someone whose last name appears to be Okazaki; am not able to make out the first name yet.) Minekura-sensei's original art is prominent in both the opening and ending titles (and ohh yes, "barcoded" Kougaiji is there!), and I was surprised that the new theme songs--which frankly hadn't grabbed me when they were played at the Saiyuki Reload Revolver Revolution 2003 event--actually made for an engaging whole when coupled with the visuals! (The lyrics don't appear on the screen, but we were given lyric sheets for both songs at the event, so I may post them here later if there's any interest.)
The episode also closed with a surprise. In the recent November issue of ZERO-SUM (which, by the way, had two "Saiyuki RELOAD" chapters but no "Saiyuki Gaiden"...*sigh*), Minekura-sensei mentioned she was working on storyboarding something called UraSai. UraSai, it turns out, is a funny mini-feature, less than a minute long, that runs after the previews for the next episode! UraSai's first installment, "Go West," showed the animated answer to a question submitted on a postcard from a fan: "Why doesn't the Sanzo-ikkou go to India by plane?" This installment was storyboarded by director Endou, so Minekura-sensei's is still to come!
So Saiyuki Reload has come out swinging--but that said, there are some areas for concern. The episode's closing minutes had some poorly animated cuts, and I don't know what was going on with that computer-effect shot near the end bouncing our guys in the jeep around (you'll know it when you see it, believe me...), but I felt carsick just watching it! (Then again, I ignored the warning at the beginning of the episode to make sure the room you're watching in is well-lit, and happily watched in the dark...uh-oh... ;^) ) I also get a little worried when I see a series' opening title that has to rely on reusing so much of its first episode's footage.
Most of all, though, there was the preview for next week's episode, in which Kougaiji's group makes its entrance. As sharp as the new character designs looked in the first episode, as well-animated as the first episode was...it looks like that first episode might have enjoyed some production talent that was missing from the second. Here's hoping I'm wrong...
For more on Saiyuki RELOAD, be sure to visit TV Tokyo's SAIYUKI RELOAD page--you can download some of the actual commercial spots, and there's lots more to see there too!
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GO TO RELOAD RICOCHET: Saiyuki RELOAD Episodes #5-8
GO TO RELOAD RICOCHET: Saiyuki RELOAD Episodes #9-12
GO TO RELOAD RICOCHET: Saiyuki RELOAD Episodes #13-16
GO TO RELOAD RICOCHET: Saiyuki RELOAD Episodes #17-19
GO TO RELOAD RICOCHET: Saiyuki RELOAD Episodes #20-22
GO TO RELOAD RICOCHET: Saiyuki RELOAD Episodes #23-25
GO TO RELOAD RICOCHET: Saiyuki RELOAD GUNLOCK Episodes #1-4
GO TO RELOAD RICOCHET: Saiyuki RELOAD GUNLOCK Episodes #5-10
GO TO RELOAD RICOCHET: Saiyuki RELOAD GUNLOCK Episodes #11-13
GO TO RELOAD RICOCHET: Saiyuki RELOAD GUNLOCK Episodes #14-17
GO TO RELOAD RICOCHET: Saiyuki RELOAD GUNLOCK Episodes #18-20
GO TO RELOAD RICOCHET: Saiyuki RELOAD GUNLOCK Episodes #21-23
GO TO RELOAD RICOCHET: Saiyuki RELOAD GUNLOCK Episodes #24-present
GO TO RELOAD RICOCHET: "Saiyuki RELOAD GUNLOCK Episode #1" April Fool's Edition!
BACK TO JOURNEY TO THE REST: A Roadside Revelry in Saiyuki and Its Doujinshi.
This page was created October 23, 2003. Last updated September 9, 2004.
The Nama-Yammer, Yammer, and Yammer-hammering inbetween are copyrighted features of JOURNEY TO THE REST. This page's text and source code are copyright Kagenami Q. DO NOT USE WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION. Saiyuki, Saiyuki Gaiden and Saiyuki RELOAD are copyright Kazuya Minekura/Issaisha; Gensomaden Saiyuki is copyright Kazuya Minekura/Issaisha, Saiyuki Project and TV Tokyo 2000; the Saiyuki RELOAD anime is copyright Kazuya Minekura/Issaisha, TV Tokyo, Dentsu and Pierrot 2003; Saiyuki RELOAD GUNLOCK is copyright Kazuya Minekura/Issaisha, TV Tokyo, Dentsu and Pierrot 2004. All images are copyright their respective artists and creators. No copyright infringement is intended or implied.