9/19/2003: DIGITAL BROADCAST BONANZA! Today saw the premiere of Anime Channel.com, a new venture of TV Tokyo Broadband Entertainment Inc. that will digitally broadcast some previously-aired anime series including Gensomaden Saiyuki!
Starting today, through the end of September, registered users can watch the first two episodes of Gensomaden Saiyuki free of charge, using Windows Media Player. In October, more episodes will be broadcast on an approximately weekly basis, for a subscription fee of 700 yen a month. Subscribers will also have the opportunity to get special premiums, such as character goods.
Anime Channel.com also plans to offer special programming, led by a digest version of last Sunday's "Saiyuki RELOAD Revolver Revolution 2003" event. This event digest will be available for online viewing September 26 through November 30 for 1200 yen.
There are currently no plans for Anime Channel.com to digitally broadcast first-run series such as the upcoming Saiyuki RELOAD. But with Anime Channel.com owned by TV Tokyo, whose network of TV stations and affiliates will broadcast Saiyuki RELOAD, it wouldn't be surprising to find Saiyuki RELOAD on Anime Channel.com after completing its initial TV run next year. (If it's any indication of expectations for the new show's length, Pierrot plans to operate its Saiyuki Reload Official Fan Club until August 2004.)
9/17/2003: MORE LOW-DOWN ON "RELOAD"! With the debut of the Saiyuki RELOAD anime series less than three weeks away, fans' anticipation is red-hot--and was stoked even further by last Sunday's "Saiyuki RELOAD Revolver Revolution 2003" event!
Nearly 5,000 fans filled the Makuhari Event Hall in Chiba, Japan, for each of the two shows, which were highlighted by a screening of footage from the first episode (adapted from the manga chapter "Run"), a live performance of series opening theme "Wild Rock" by rock/hip-hop trio Buzzlip, a live episode of largely ad-libbed "Radio Saiyuki RELOAD: SaruKappa! Oretachi Wa Zettai Muri!," and the voice actors' live dramatic readings of manga chapters (and soon-to-be anime episodes) "Three Years Ago," "Lovely Baby," and--with the audience reading the part of the children in a truly neat experience--the first seven pages of "Snow Drop 1."
Other upcoming Saiyuki RELOAD projects were announced, including a "communication RPG" game by Bandai for PlayStation 2 and computer software from Spinnaker. The event itself is also one; a two-DVD set is planned for December release by Pierrot.
This month's crop of major anime monthlies again published new Saiyuki RELOAD promotional art, with the offerings in Animage and Animedia both drawn by Yuko Kusumoto. Animage's four-page color coverage (the first two pages are shown at right above; click on each half to see a larger image) featured comments from director Tetsuya Endou, who explained that while the story basis hasn't changed from that of Gensomaden Saiyuki, this new series will focus more on Sanzo and company's personalities, psychology and bonds than on battles with youkai.
Meanwhile, in Animedia, two pages of color coverage (above left; click on each half to see a larger image) bring readers back up-to-date on the Sanzo-ikkou. The big news awaits in the center section, where a select assortment from animators' character sheets includes a page apiece for Noriko Ootake's sharp designs of Sanzo, Goku, Gojyo and Hakkai!
Continuing their roles from Pierrot's earlier Saiyuki projects are Yuuko Minaguchi as Yaone, Houchuu Ootsuka as Nii Jen'ii, and Shinobu Satou as Gyokumen Koushu. As was announced earlier, also returning are Toshihiko Seki as Sanzo, Souichirou Hoshi as Goku, Hiroaki Hirata as Gojyo, Akira Ishida as Hakkai, and Takeshi Kusao as Kougaiji.
However, in this new series, Rei Igarashi (Miho Iwakura of Serial Experiments Lain, Mira Kagami of Tokimeki Memorial, and also the spider-woman of Gensomaden Saiyuki episode 2) will succeed Misa Watanabe as the voice of Kanzeon Bosatsu. Dokugakuji will also have a new voice, with Juurouta Kosugi (Joutarou Kuujou of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Dryden of Escaflowne, Eizman of Bavi Stock) replacing Hiroshi Matsumoto. And Tomoko Kawakami (Utena Tenjou of Utena, Hikaru Shindou of Hikaru No Go, Nyan Nyan and Chiriko of Fushigi Yuugi) will be the new voice of Lirin--raising the question of who will voice Jeep/Hakuryuu, since it was Lirin's previous voice actress, Kaoru Morota, who brought us Hakuryuu's adorable "Kyuuu!"s.
Meanwhile, in this issue's 18-page continuation of the Genjyo Sanzo-centric portion of Saiyuki RELOAD's "Burial" arc, Sanzo picks up his Marlboro habit and more from Keiun'in's head holyman Jikaku. (Don't miss Sanzo's bathing scene...!)
A full-page color ad introduced a sharp new item: the "Gensomaden Saiyuki Art Collection Premium." This Region 2 DVD gathers more than 200 illustrations, including those done for anime magazines, calendars, and goods. Priced at 4800 yen, it will be released in Japan on September 18, with some coming out a few days early to sell at the Saiyuki Reload Revolver Revolution live event.
Promised for the next issue of ZERO-SUM: more Saiyuki RELOAD and the return of Saiyuki Gaiden!
A bit pricier than its parent at 600 yen, this 616-page premiere issue had to go to press without Hachi No Su due to a health setback of Minekura-sensei's (the manga has been rescheduled for WARD's Autumn issue). But there were still eight full-color pages of plenty for Saiyuki RELOAD fans: a full-page illustration by character designer Noriko Ootake, a look at her animation design sheets for the Sanzo-ikkou, and interviews with series director Tetsuya Endou, the returning voice actors, and of course Minekura.
The following Friday, Gensomaden Saiyuki Vocal Album Vol. 3 did what no Saiyuki vocal album has done before: come out on time! At a special Gensomaden Saiyuki animation douga sale in Tokyo the next day, most chatting fans favored Sanzo solo "Shangri-la" and Kougaiji's song "Stiff Breeze," and some said they liked the CD's new version of "The Way To Paradise" (Sanzo, Goku and Gojyo) even better than the original on the first Image Album.
The CD also has Goku solo "I Can Fly" and Homura solo "Touch," along with a pair of fun mini-dramas. In the first, Gojyo and Goku try to convince Sanzo that they need mobile phones (Gojyo loses a rapid-fire rock-paper-scissors match with the monkey, so gets the terrible task of broaching the subject with Sanzo); Hakkai, it turns out, doesn't need convincing. The second finds Sanzo even more alcohol-impaired than he'd been at the karaoke box, after the quartet stops for some much-needed relaxation at an onsen.
That completes Movic's planned trio of Gensomaden Saiyuki Vocal Albums, but the focus will soon shift to the spoken side with new plans for Volumes 11 through 14 in the Saiyuki Drama CD series. First up, in October and November, will be a two-part dramatization of "Be There."
Immediately inside Animage's front cover is a sturdy fold-out pin-up of the Sanzo-ikkou, shown at right (click on each half to see a larger image). The news itself gets about a quarter-page of coverage further inside.
A sidebar reports that because there are only two volumes to date of the Saiyuki RELOAD manga, plans are for the new TV series to also include an "episode" from the preceding Saiyuki manga (could it be Kami-sama?!), stories that "couldn't" be used in the original Gensomaden Saiyuki TV series, and original material.
Endou made similar comments in the two-page coverage in Animedia (below right; click each half to see a larger image).
Too late for those issues' press time, the starting date for Saiyuki RELOAD has now been set: According to TV Tokyo's new Saiyuki RELOAD web site, the first half-hour episode will air on Thursday, October 2, from 6:30-7:00pm (the timeslot currently occupied by D.N.Angel).
Arena seats turned out to be part of the benefits for those who signed up for advance memberships in the Saiyuki RELOAD Fan Club. Some members unable to travel to Chiba for the event have offered their tickets on the Yahoo Japan Auction site, and in the first three days that auctions have ended, tickets have changed hands for an average of 10,200 yen each.
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Toshihiko Seki (Sanzo), Souichirou Hoshi (Goku), Hiroaki Hirata (Gojyo), Akira Ishida (Hakkai) and Takeshi Kusao (Kougaiji) will return to their voice roles. Pierrot, the studio that brought us the Gensomaden Saiyuki TV series, movie and interactive DVD, will again create the animation--but Hayato Date and Yuuji Moriyama, who shaped all of the studio's previous Saiyuki work as director and character designer, are absent from the announced staff. Tetsuya Endou, co-director of Pierrot's Hikaru No Go TV series, is at the helm of Saiyuki RELOAD, with character designs by Noriko Ootake. The primary scripters are Miya Asakawa, Touko Machida and Nobuaki Yamaguchi.
In addition to the spread at upper right (drawn by Ootake), the issue devotes a color page to another peek at the new character designs. More art from the upcoming series and interviews with Minekura-sensei and the anime staff are promised in ZERO-SUM's special extra issue, WARD, that will go on sale August 16. (WARD's contents will include the Minekura manga "Hachi No Su.")
The issue also announced August release dates for some Saiyuki goodies. The Game Boy Advance adventure RPG game "Gensomaden Saiyuki: Hangyaku No Toushin Taishi," with the Sanzo-ikkou taking on Homura-tachi, goes on sale August 1. August 22 will see the release of Vocal Album Vol. 3, with the Sanzo solo "Shangri-la," Goku solo "I Can Fly," Kougaiji solo "Stiff Breeze," Homura solo "Touch," a version of the first Image Album's "The Way To Paradise" by Sanzo, Goku and Gojyo, and a mini-drama starring Hakkai.
The Gensomaden Saiyuki TV series will be gradually re-released in a new DVD edition starting September 26. Interestingly, the copyright is listed as "Kazuya Minekura/Issaisha, Saiyuki Project, TV Tokyo 2000"; Issaisha has replaced Enix! (The Saiyuki RELOAD anime's copyright is "Kazuya Minekura/Issaisha, TV Tokyo, Dentsu, Pierrot 2003.")
Finally, what's sure to be the biggest Saiyuki event of the year, "Saiyuki Reload Revolver Revolution 2003," was announced. Slated for September 14 at the Makuhari Event Hall in Chiba, it will feature the voice actors behind the Sanzo-ikkou and Kougaiji in two live shows, with a dramatic reading, a game show, candid talk and attendant silliness in store.
7/20/2003: Pierrot Publicly RELOADing! The two-day Tokyo Character Show opened today at the Makuhari Messe complex in Chiba. Studio Pierrot was present, and among the activities at their booth was the sale of advance memberships to the "Saiuuki RELOAD Fan Club"!
Starting in May, fan support has been measured through the sale of subscriptions to the "Radio Saiyuki RELOAD" digital broadcast series. Then came the mention of a fall Saiyuki project made by a Studio Pierrot rep at Anime Expo (see SAIYUKI NEWEST NEWS for 7/13). Today saw Pierrot promoting Saiyuki RELOAD. Something is clearly going to happen--but will it be an OVA? A movie? A new TV series?
We'll likely find out August 17 at Pierrot Anime World 2003 25th Anniversary Festival, a two-show live event to be held at Tokyo's Kudan Kaikan hall. The first show--devoted to top-billed Gensomaden Saiyuki, currently-airing 12 Kokuki and Hikaru No Go, and past favorites Fushigi Yuugi and Yuuyuu Hakusho--will feature all five main Saiyuki voice actors (Seki, Hoshi, Hirata, Ishida and Kusao), along with a lesser number from each of the other series. (The day's second show covers Urusei Yatsura, Tantei Gakuen Q, ChoGALS!, Naruto, and various "Magical Girl" productions.)
In the meantime, Minekura-sensei has not posted to her web journal since April 24.
7/13/2003: HUGE NEWS! Saiyuki Anime Firing Up For Fall! Attendees report that at Studio Pierrot's July 5 panel at Anime Expo, a studio representative mentioned that Pierrot has a new Saiyuki project in the works for this fall! The rep gave no further details. The good folks at Studio Pierrot have previously brought us the Gensomaden Saiyuki TV series, movie, and interactive DVD (Saiyuki's initial appearance in anime, the two-part OVA, was produced by a different company).
6/29/2003: August ZERO-SUM Action Weighing in at 798 pages--more than 100 pages heftier than any of its previous issues--the August ZERO-SUM delivered a 32-page installment of Saiyuki RELOAD recounting the tale of Sanzo Koumyou, Sanzo Goudai, and how a youth named Ken'yuu became known as Ukoku. Later in the book, a two-page spread of our current-day Sanzo-ikkou promises that next issue, "Deployment of surprise is waiting." Also planned for that issue is the next chapter of Saiyuki Gaiden.
Minekura-sensei will soon have more works in the Issaisha imprint. A fold-out color poster this issue features Bus Gamer, which was originally serialized in Enix's Stencil but will be reprinted July 25 in a B6-size "pilot edition" tankoubon from Issaisha. An extra edition of ZERO-SUM is also in the works, with content to include another Minekura creation, Hachi No Su.
The issue also presents the 28-page epic conclusion (delayed a month by Minekura-sensei's now-healed hand injury) of Sayuki RELOAD's "Against The Stream" arc, with opening color pages featuring Kougaiji and the return of Ririn. It's a heartbreaking farewell to the recipient of Goku's devastating blow at the end of the previous chapter...a portentious revelation to Sanzo about the man who manipulated Kougaiji...and a gratifying finish, prompting a response by Nii to send us into next month's new arc, "Burial"!
Meanwhile, the weekly digital broadcast of "Radio Saiyuki RELOAD" is rolling along. Starring Souichirou Hoshi (Goku) and Hiroaki Hirata (Gojyo), with a parade of guests, the illustrated show became subscription-only on May 22 under the expanded title "Radio Saiyuki RELOAD: SaruKappa! Oretachi Wa Zettai Muri!" A sample can be heard on the show's http://www.animate.tv homepage, while the five free "pre-shows" that preceded it can all be heard at http://shop.frontierworks.jp/digital/web_radio/detail_017.html.
Next, a tidbit on Gensomaden Saiyuki Vocal Album Vol. 3, set for this summer: Vocals by Sanzo, Goku and Gojyo, a mini-drama featuring Hakkai--no surprises there--but it'll also have a solo each by Kougaiji and Homura!
Finally, the issue also announced that a new digital broadcast program, tentatively titled "Radio Saiyuki RELOAD," will start airing weekly in May on http://www.animate.tv! Two "pre-shows" featuring Souichirou Hoshi (Goku) and Hiroaki Hirata (Gojyo) were broadcast on April 17 (Hoshi-san and Hirata-san get together with a special surprise guest) and April 24 (the two recall favorite Saiyuki memories), and can still be heard at http://shop.frontierworks.jp/digital/web_radio/detail_017.html. Another show is scheduled for May 1. Plans are for the program to go weekly sometime in May, and become subscription-only at that point (200 yen for four shows). If it's at all similar to the previous "Saiyuki ~Waratte SO-ICHIRO~" radio program (which yielded 10 drama CDs and three DJ CDs!), each episode should have a chapter of a continuing Saiyuki RELOAD drama, with general horsing around by the voice actors before and after. This may well be where the content for the Saiyuki RELOAD drama CDs announced last winter will be coming from.
And remember, the "Saiyuki ~Waratte SO-ICHIRO~" radio show led to the animated TV series...
GO TO SAIYUKI NEWEST NEWS: JANUARY 2002-MARCH 2003 ARCHIVE.
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This page was created February 16, 2002. Last updated August 2, 2005.
This page's text and source code are copyright Kagenami Q. DO NOT USE WITHOUT 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.
In addition to "Wild Rock," the crowd heard several tracks from the new series' soundtrack by jazz/fusion group Dimension and ending theme "ID," by Flow-war, on the hall's sound system between shows. "Wild Rock" and "ID" will each be released on CD singles by Zain Records on November 12.
While Saiyuki RELOAD will have a sense of humor, Endou said, episodes will also have a serious tone intended for adults. Goku is one reflection of the change, having been made a bit more grown-up in his thinking. Much of the planned first half of the series will be original stories, the director mentioned. Sanzo's past will be examined, and Endou looks forward to exploring what's behind Hakkai's smile. He's also intrigued by Gojyo's insecurity. In addition, Endou noted that something that sets this series apart is that much of the staff creating it is female.
9/02/2003: ZERO-SUM UPDATE The October issue of ZERO-SUM (on time, although I'm not!) packaged the latest news on the upcoming Saiyuki RELOAD anime series in snazzy style: a fold-out color poster (shown at right; click on each side to see a larger image). Voice performers for the cast of regular characters have been confirmed now, with a few surprises.
8/30/2003: NITRO RELOCATES Fans were startled this past week by the disappearance of Kazuya Minekura's personal site Nitro from longtime URL http://members5.cool.ne.jp/~nitroxxx/index.html (which is also, at this writing, still listed as its URL on the Issaisha/Zero-Sum web site). However, a search of cool.ne.jp for hiragna "Kazuya" yields Nitro's new URL: http://nitroxxx.cool.ne.jp/. Follow the banner to go there!
8/24/2003: LIGHT AND SOUND Volume 1 of ZERO-SUM/WARD, the aspiring-to-be-quarterly offshoot of Saiyuki RELOAD's home Monthly Comic ZERO-SUM, brightened Japanese newsstands with its classy Sanzo cover on August 16 (click the picture at right for a larger image).
8/13/2003: WHILE WAITING FOR WARD... The September issues of Animage, Newtype and Animedia, Japan's most major anime monthlies, have come out with news that the Saiyuki RELOAD TV series will start in October on TV Tokyo and its affiliates. Each of the three magazines has different promotional art, all drawn by character designer Noriko Ootake.
In Newtype's two-page coverage (at left; click each half for a larger image), series director Tetsuya Endou stresses the importance of style and smartness/coolness/kakko-ii-ness in the new production, and says it will have a more adult feel, extending to jazz elements in its soundtrack.
In the meantime, excitement has been building for September 14's "Saiyuki Reload Revolver Revolution 2003" live event. Arena seats for the two shows went on sale August 10 for 4200 yen each (there was a two-hour line at the Ikebukuro Animate); second-floor tickets will sell starting August 17.
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7/28/2003: IT'S OFFICIAL! The September Zero-Sum came out today with its cover trumpeting the news: Saiyuki RELOAD is coming to TV! The new animated series will air weekly in Japan, starting this fall.
In the meantime, the new chapter of Saiyuki RELOAD fills 16 of this month's 624 Zero-Sum pages (unfortunately, there was no Saiyuki Gaiden episode this issue). It skips through time from the decade-ago fate of Kinzanji (vividly shown in one of the installment's three opening color pages; the other two are the spread of Sanzo at left) to Sanzou's arrival four years ago before the Three Aspects and his ushering in, which in turn prompts a detour further back in time to a pivotal happening in his youth--which brings us abruptly back to what may be the present.
5/31/2003: Can't Get Enough! The four-month Saiyuki Gaiden drought has ended! ZERO-SUM's 588-page July issue brought anxious fans Chapter 18 of the saga--now as recalled by a scarred Goujun--with Seiten Taisei Son Goku under wraps for the moment, our heroes scrambling to learn more about him and shore up their sanctuary, and a huge crowd massing outside, led by Ritouten...but there the 12-page installment ends, with more to come in late July!
4/28/2003: Is History Reloading To Repeat? The 672-page June issue of ZERO-SUM came out today with some news. First, a health problem--revealed in her online diary at NITRO to be an injury to her drawing hand--kept Minekura-sensei from completing the final segment in Saiyuki RELOAD's "Against The Stream" arc (it's slated to appear next month instead, along with the wildly awaited next chapter of Saiyuki Gaiden). But fortunately, she had already finished a seven-page (including the opening color page at right) prelude to the next story, "Burial"! In it, Koumyou and Ukoku hook up for a moonlit meeting of the Sanzos after Kouryuu has gone to bed... (opening color page, page 2, page 3, page 4, page 5, page 6, and page 7)
