9/22 NOTE: Going to be a while longer--the hard drive crashed in the home computer, so we're currently only able to get online during lunch at work. Thanks for your patience...
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This isn't the first time an anime or manga has snatched my fancy. Ever since I started down the fandom route--with my first stay in Japan, back in 1980--there have been junctures like this along the way. Some were for anime or manga long over and done; others were for things then current in Japan but half a world away from me.
Annual visits to Japan from 1997 to 1999 never managed to coincide with those junctures, but gave me vivid glimpses of the Japanese fan scene and how mercurial it can be. Life can be just as changeable, though, and in 2000 the unfolding road of mine brought an ongoing stay in Japan.
It's been great to be able to indulge old vices from all along my fandom trail. But from all the nights spent exploring manga shop shelves and flipping channels at my apartment, a new favorite has eclipsed them all: Kazuya Minekura's Saiyuki.
Its characters, story and style were more than enough to grab me, but Saiyuki turned out to pack an extra thrill: a fandom at its height. For glorious once, I'm in the right place at the right time!
There's so much to read, and see, and hear, and just plain revel in, about Saiyuki right now. It's the crest of a wave that's been building since 1994, when then-18-year-old Minekura introduced her razor-edged retelling of China's Monkey King legend in a series of doujinshi (amateur fan publications) self-published by her Studio Backgammon.
That open road ahead, with plenty going on all around right now, and a lot to enjoy in looking back too, makes for a wonderful feeling...but one with a bittersweet tinge for me, after 20-some years on the trail. Everything changes--the Japanese fan scene especially so--and as the road rolls on, Saiyuki will someday slip from beyond the windshield to the rear-view mirror. Someday this mania will be a memory, nostalgia stirred by the words of Walt Kelly: "Today you can sing for the will-be that was"...but for now, onward we barrel with Sanzo and company!
Like a string of tin cans trailing our heroes' jeep, Saiyuki's fandom is a happy clatter in its wake--and that's what this site is about: the fun to be had as a Saiyuki fan, whether you're a creator, a consumer, or are just plain enjoying the ride in Minekura-sensei's matchless manga.
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"Saiyuki RELOAD -Burial-" was voted the second-best OVA of 2007 by the readership of anime monthly ANIMAGE in its annual Animage Grand Prix! The results were announced in the June issue of ANIMAGE. In the voting for the year's best animated work, a "Prince of Tennis" OVA was the only other direct-to-video anime ahead of "Burial." (Among all animated works, "Burial" was tied for 70th.) Sanzo was the only character to receive more than 12 votes to make the list of top anime male characters of the year.
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The March issue of ZERO-SUM, coming out on January 28, is slated to have a Saiyuki RELOAD chapter and Valentine's Day card featuring Gojyo and Goku. After that, next month will see the release of the concluding third part of the "Saiyuki RELOAD - Burial-" OVA, on February 22. The year is off to a strong Saiyuki start!
JUNE SAIYUKI BIRTHDAYS: 6/01-Dai Matsumoto (1959; voice of Dokugakuji [Gensomaden]); 6/04-Kazuhiro Yamaji (1954; voice of Goujun); 6/11-Toshihiko Seki (1962; voice of Genjo Sanzo [Gensomaden/Reload/Gunlock] and Konzen); 6/17-Kouichi Yamadera (1961; voice of Sa Gojyo [OVA]); 6/22-Shinobu Satou (1964; voice of Gyokumen [Gensomaden/Reload/Gunlock] ); 6/26-Yuuko Minaguchi (1966; voice of Yaone [Gensomaden/Reload/Gunlock]); 6/29-Junko Noda (1971; voice of Taiga); 6/30-Takao Ishii (1954; voice of Jiroushin).
JULY SAIYUKI BIRTHDAYS: 7/05-Takashi Taniguchi (1947; voice of Gounai [Burial]); 7/08-Kaho Kouda (1967; voice of Nataku); 7/11-Shigenori Souya (voice of Youshou [Gensomaden: Requiem]); 7/25-Wataru Takagi (1966; voice of Genjo Sanzo [OVA]) and Shouto Kashii (voice of Mushi-tsukai) ; 7/30-Ken'yuu Horiuchi (1957; voice of Zakuro).
AUGUST SAIYUKI BIRTHDAYS: 8/05-Lirin and Motoi Sakuraba (1965; music composer for Gensomaden TV); 8/07-Hiroaki Hirata (1963; voice of Sa Gojyo [Gensomaden/Reload/Gunlock] and Kenren); 8/08-Emi Shinohara (1963; voice of Suika); 8/18-Ikue Ootani (1965; voice of Seika); 8/24-Nii Jen'ii.
The SAIYUKI TRIVIA FACT OF THE WEEK will return after "Saiyuki Reload GUNSTOCK" concludes!
No analyzing, no apologizing. It's just a fact: I'm addicted to Saiyuki. Reading it. Watching it. Listening to it. Thinking about it. Wanting more of it.
A trial pro appearance in manga monthly G-FANTASY in late summer 1996 led to Saiyuki's launch as a regular feature the next spring. The manga's burgeoning popularity spurred a two-part OVA anime adaptation in 1999, which led to Saiyuki radio dramas and then to the Gensomaden Saiyuki animated TV series, a 50-episode epic that ended in April 2001. Four months later, movie Gensomaden Saiyuki: Requiem enjoyed a national theatrical release. The animated adventure continued with interactive DVD Gensomaden Saiyuki: Kibou No Zaika, released in September 2002.
The next year saw a six-month return to audio entertainment with Radio Saiyuki RELOAD. A weekly Saiyuki RELOAD animated TV series aired in Japan from October 2003 to March 2004, and sequel series Saiyuki RELOAD GUNLOCK concluded in late September 2004. A live stage adaptation of the manga was performed in Tokyo and Osaka in February-March 2005, returned in those cities in May-June 2006, and had another six Tokyo performances in September 2006. Sanzo and company's next animated outing, three-part OVA series Saiyuki RELOAD -burial-, started in April 2007, with its final chapter scheduled for release in March 2008! And a live-action stage musical, Saiyuki Kagekiden: Go to the West, is now being readied for a week's run September 13-21 at Tokyo's Ten'nouzu Ginga Gekijou (a.k.a. Galaxy Theatre)!
Promotional events and signings are being held. Goods galore are being produced. There are so many Saiyuki CDs, the contracts are spread among three different labels. Amateur fan circles are creating their own Saiyuki doujinshi and holding single-day Saiyuki events--some devoted to certain characters or couplings of characters--complete with cosplay and contests. And Minekura-sensei's manga is still going strong: Now called Saiyuki RELOAD, it's the flagship strip of Monthly Comic ZERO-SUM, providing still more to look forward to. Doubling the fun is sister series Saiyuki Gaiden, set 500 years earlier; it headlines WARD, a formerly quarterly manga periodical that will become bimonthly starting in January 2008!
5/14/2008: NEXT MANGA TANKOUBON ON ITS WAY! Volume 9 of the "Saiyuki RELOAD" manga will come out in Japan on June 25, Minekura-sensei announced this week in her Nitro diary. A signing is planned, too; details will be in the July ZERO-SUM coming out May 28! In the meantime, the next chapter of "Saiyuki Gaiden" will come to light on May 16 in WARD 003, and the Standard version of the "Saiyuki RELOAD -Burial-" #3 will be released May 23 (the Special Edition came out March 28).
3/15/2008: QUICK UPDATE There was no chapter of "Saiyuki RELOAD" in ZERO-SUM last month (although there was a gorgeous color spread and a one-shot Minekura manga that had appeared earlier in a KOZERO-SUM issue) or "Saiyuki Gaiden" this month (WARD 002 comes out Monday, so will see if anything at all related is in the issue); Minekura-sensei's schedule has been too heavy, especially given last night's launch of the animated "Bus Gamer." "Saiyuki RELOAD" is slated to return this month, though.
2/02/2008: WATCHING THE CLOCK...ANOTHER 'BURIAL' OVA DELAY Due to production difficulties in making the clip-on clock intended to be part of the package, the Special Edition DVD release of the concluding third part of the "Saiyuki RELOAD - Burial-" OVA has been delayed from this month to March 28, Minekura-sensei announced today in her Nitro diary. The Standard version's release date, May 23, is unchanged.
1/23/2008: WARD BEGINS ANEW! Although the February 2008 issue of Monthly Comic ZERO-SUM came out December 28 without a Saiyuki RELOAD chapter (but with a bound-in New Year's card featuring Sanzo and Hakkai--scroll up to see it, below this month's birthday list!--and a write-in premium offer for a RELOAD wallet featuring art of our four doing the cowboy thang, pictured just below!), fireworks followed soon after with the January 16 rebirth of sister publication WARD!
Formerly a quarterly, WARD has become a bimonthly publication now--and relaunched with this issue labelled "Vol. 001," complete with a Saiyuki Gaiden cover (see above)! The issue also came packaged with a beautiful reproduction genga of Goku by Minekura-sensei, printed on a 15cm x 17.5cm (about 6 x 6 7/8 inches) shikishi board...that's it below! Some booksellers also promoted the issue by including an oversize reproduction of the issue's textless cover art, printed on heavy stock, with each purchase. And best of all, the issue had a 12-page chapter of Saiyuki Gaiden! (The table of contents mistakenly listed it as "Saiyuki," swiftly prompting an apology on publisher Ichijinsha's web site.)
11/16/2007: 'BURIAL' OVA DELAY, BUT MUCH MORE 'GAIDEN' ON THE WAY! The release of the concluding third part of the "Saiyuki RELOAD - Burial-" OVA has been delayed from next month to February 22, Minekura-sensei announced yesterday in her Nitro diary. But, it turns out, helping make the wait easier will be a double dose of Saiyuki Gaiden! The Winter 2008 issue of WARD, where Saiyuki Gaiden is serialized, came out today with the announcement that the former quarterly will be published every other month in 2008. WARD's first bimonthly issue will reach Japanese bookstores on January 16.
In the meantime, we can look forward to the Summer WARD (August 16) with its alternate cover for Saiyuki Gaiden tankoubon Vol. 3, and Vol. 3 itself, slated for release July 25.
The absence of Saiyuki Gaiden from the Summer WARD has already been announced, but Minekura-sensei had some good news about that issue: it will come with an alternate cover for Vol. 3 of the Saiyuki Gaiden tankoubon book coming out in Japan on July 25!
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Saiyuki RELOAD will go on hiatus after next month's conclusion of the two-parter. Meanwhile, the Saiyuki Gaiden chapter that came out in the Spring WARD May 16 will be its last for a while, but Vol. 3 of the collected manga will be published July 25 in Japan, so Minekura-sensei hopes fans will enjoy that instead.
She hopes to have RELOAD return in the October ZERO-SUM, which will come out August 28, but cautions that she doesn't know yet if that will be possible. (The Autumn WARD, coming out November 16, is the target for Gaiden's return, according to the May 16 Spring issue).
In the meantime, fans will have a flurry of other releases. Saiyuki RELOAD manga tankoubon Vol. 8 comes out May 31 (delayed from May 25). The "Saiyuki RELOAD GUNLOCK Vocal Album Vol. 2" CD comes out June 22 (with Gojyo/Dokugakuji duet "Respectively," Hazel solo "Angel," Sanzo solo "Rain," Goku solo "Orange," the Sanzo/Goku/Gojyo song "Moon," and two mini-dramas). On June 24, the commercial DVD recording of Axle's "Saiyuki" stage production will be launched with a special live event in Osaka. And on July 25, both Saiyuki Gaiden manga tankoubon Vol. 3 and the Standard Edition of the first chapter of the "Saiyuki RELOAD - Burial-" OVA will come out.
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But in her Nitro diary today, she at last mentioned some details of her ongoing physical problems--and they are truly scary. Her uterus has swollen to become "about the size of a child's head." The swelling prevents her from being able to close her legs, and it is tremendously painful for her to sit. She's now feeling pain at other times, too.
She plans to have surgery sometime this summer, and will share the details when she knows them.
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The OVA's theme-song CDs are also on the way! Minekura-sensei reports in her Nitro diary that a maxi-single of "Burial" opening theme "Late-show" will be released April 25. With lyrics by Minekura herself, the music was written by the group Garden. Two previous "Saiyuki RELOAD" songs by Garden will also be on this maxi-single: "true flower" (from second Image Album) and "ending" (from the first Image Album). A karaoke track of "Late-show" will complete the CD.
The ending theme, "shiny moon," will be performed by none other than Sanzo (Toshihiko Seki), Goku (Souichirou Hoshi) and Gojyo (Hiroaki Hirata)! Its CD maxi-single is planned to come out May 23, with "shiny moon" to be coupled with two previous tunes sung by the trio (who Minekura-sensei laughingly refers to as "-8," pronounced "Minus Eight"...since you won't be hearing Hakkai's voice!): "waymarks," from the first Saiyuki RELOAD Vocal Album, and "destination," from the second Vocal Album. A karaoke track of "shiny moon" will also be on this CD maxi-single.
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According to Animate's Saiyuki reservations page, each of the OVA's three episodes is priced at 9975 yen and will have a "special edition" release that packages its DVD with a soundtrack music and character song CD, a metal postcard of that episode's jacket design, and a special booklet planned to include settei and continuity.
In addition to those goodies, the first episode--which will feature the stories of Ukoku and Sanzo, Minekura-sensei wrote in her Nitro diary--will come with a framed reproduction genga. The second episode, slated for Summer 2007 (probably the end of August or early September), will also have an original mirror. The concluding episode, targeted for Autumn 2007 according to Animate (official web site http://saiyuki-ova.net/ says Winter 2007), will also come with an original clock.
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The OVA will be a three-part series, with the first part to come out in April 2007 in a special edition planned to include new jacket art by Minekura-sensei, a roundtable discussion with the main cast, and four goodies: a framed reproduction genga, a not-for-sale CD soundtrack and character songs, a special booklet, and a metal postcard of the jacket art! Reservations will start soon; ZERO-SUM directs readers to http://saiyuki-ova.net/, which isn't open yet but should be soon.
"Saiyuki RELOAD -burial-" will be directed by Kouichi Oohata, who has also directed Bakuretsu Tenshi, Hakaima Sadamitsu, and OVA versions of his creation M.D. Geist. The versatile Oohata's previous credits include character design (Borgman, Yamato Takeru) and mecha design (Gunbuster, Macross II, Gundam: Char's Counterattack, Galvion, and many more).
Katsuyuki Sumisawa, who scripted Gensomaden Saiyuki: Requiem and much of the Gensomaden Saiyuki TV series, returns to script "Saiyuki RELOAD -burial-". Among his other scripting credits are Inuyasha, Naruto and Yakitate!! Japan.
Character design is by YONZO, who did several pieces of promotional art for Saiyuki RELOAD GUNLOCK (YONZO's work can also be seen on pages 2, 4, 6 and 8 of Ichijinsha's "Saiyuki RELOAD GUNLOCK Official Guide" book).
The December 2006 ZERO-SUM also included an 18-page chapter of "Saiyuki RELOAD"; information on the Saiyuki RELOAD 2007 calendar (all Minekura art, 7 pages, size A2, coming this month from Movic) and Minekura-sensei's new keitai site minekurakazuya.net (a pay-site accessible only by mobile phone); and a New Year's card giveaway for readers. Among the choices of New Year's cards are one of the Sanzo-ikkou and one, shown at above right, of youkai Hakkai (the kanji is the "Cho" of Cho Hakkai, and means "wild boar"--just in time for the Year Of The Boar!).
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7/12/2007: 'RELOAD' ON HIATUS AFTER ALL With her entry to the hospital looming on July 14 for her surgery on July 17, Minekura-sensei tried her best to finish the second half of Saiyuki RELOAD side story "Mezase! Tenkaichi" in time to make the ZERO-SUM issue coming out July 28...but it unfortunately wasn't possible to do after all, she's just announced in her Nitro diary. Saiyuki RELOAD is planned to return to ZERO-SUM in the November 2007 issue that comes out September 28...although some Japanese fans say they aren't expecting to see the next chapter until the New Year.
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6/27/2007: LAST 'RELOAD' FOR A WHILE IS DELAYED FOR A WHILE! In her Nitro diary, Kazuya Minekura announced she wasn't able to finish the second half of "Mezase! Tenkaichi," her "Dragon Ball"-esque Saiyuki RELOAD two-part side story, in time to appear in this month's issue of Monthly Comic ZERO-SUM that comes out tomorrow. She hopes to finish it for next month's ZERO-SUM instead, but can't promise; her time to enter the hospital is coming up fast.
5/28/2007: 'RELOAD' AND 'GAIDEN' TO GO ON HIATUS The July ZERO-SUM came out today in Japan, with the first half of a "Dragon Ball"-esque Saiyuki RELOAD two-part side story, an alternate dust jacket for about-to-be-released manga tankoubon Vol. 8 (its front-cover illustration is at right), and a full-page explanation from Minekura-sensei that she'll be taking a break from RELOAD and Saiyuki Gaiden to be hospitalized to have her health problems taken care of.
2/23/2007: FRIGHTENING MINEKURA NEWS! Fans were alarmed when the double-long chapter of Saiyuki RELOAD in last month's March ZERO-SUM ended with the news that the next chapter would be in the May issue, not April. Minekura-sensei addressed them quickly, explaining in her diary on official site Nitro that this was an extremely busy time for her, between preparations for the "Saiyuki RELOAD - Burial-" OVA starting in April and a treasure trove of contributions to the May ZERO-SUM, its gala 5th anniversary issue coming out March 28.
1/24/2007: 'BURIAL' TAKING SHAPE! The official "Saiyuki RELOAD - Burial-" web site has had a major overhaul, and now offers some tantalizing looks at the OVA's characters and first episode, slated for release April 27! Several more characters have been cast now; among those coming back from the "Reload" and "Gunlock" TV series are Mitsuru Miyamoto as Koumyou and Kahoru Sasajima as Kouryuu...and returning from "Gensomaden" is Shigeru Ushiyama as Shuuei! Meanwhile, first-time performers include Takashi Taniguchi as Gounai Sanzou and Katsuhisa Houki as Jikaku Daisoujou.
12/04/2006: 'SAIYUKI' STAGE PLAY COMING ON DVD! Last May and June, stage company Axle's performance of the "Saiyuki" stage play was met with a fantastic fan response. Now plans are underway for a June 2007 release of a DVD recording of the show! (Interviews with some of the crowd were filmed after the final Osaka performance last June; now we know why...!) The DVD announcement was made at an Axle fan event on Nov. 29, and Minekura-sensei is helping spread the news in her Nitro diary. More details are to come on Axle's official web site.
11/20/2006: 'GAIDEN' VOL. 3 RELEASE COMING... ...but it's going to be a while. In her Nitro diary, Minekura-sensei mentioned that "Saiyuki Gaiden" tankoubon Vol. 3 is planned to come out around Summer 2007.
11/10/2006: 'BURIAL' CONTENTS FINALIZED! Yesterday in her Nitro diary, Minekura-sensei wrote that in the upcoming three-part "Saiyuki RELOAD -burial-" OVA series, the first episode (scheduled for release April 27) will cover the Prologue, Ukoku's Chapter, and Genjo Sanzo's Chapter segments of the Saiyuki RELOAD manga's "Burial" arc. The OVA's second episode, due out in Summer 2007, will present Son Goku's Chapter, and the concluding OVA episode, targeted for Autumn 2007, covers Gojyo & Hakkai's Chapter and the arc's Epilogue.
11/06/2006: 'BURIAL' TO BEGIN APRIL 27! Reservations are underway now for all three episodes of the "Saiyuki RELOAD -burial-" OVA trilogy, with the first episode scheduled to come out in Animate stores across Japan on April 27! Returning as the main voice cast are Toshihiko Seki as Sanzo, Souichirou Hoshi as Goku, Hiroaki Hirata as Gojyo, and Akira Ishida as Hakkai.
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SAIYUKI RELEASES IN JAPAN IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS:
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DOUGA, genga, storyboards, and other odd bits that were used in bringing Saiyuki to animated life. Enjoy the FUKUSEI CEL GALLERY, too!
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Feel free to e-mail me or visit some of my other silliness:
This page was created October 14, 2001. Last updated September 22, 2008.
This page's text and source code are copyright Kagenami Q. Opening art is by the ever-awesome Tracy Ellen! Saiyuki Reload GUNSTOCK logo is by Avalon Jones. DO NOT REPRODUCE. Saiyuki, Saiyuki Gaiden and Saiyuki RELOAD are copyright Kazuya Minekura/Ichijinsha; 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.
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The Saiyuki RELOAD and Saiyuki RELOAD GUNLOCK anime series first aired in Japan from October 2003 to September 2004. During the broadcast of most of the episodes, I bashed out a live "Nama-Yammer" online for anyone interested to follow. Cleaned up and expanded after second viewings, the end-result Yammers are gathered HERE (they're full of spoilers, so be careful)! Check out the page of Japanese TV and Fan Popularity Statistics for both series, too!
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Saiyuki began life in 1994 in a series of original doujinshi self-published by Minekura-sensei's Studio Backgammon. Today hundreds of other fan circles are producing doujinshi based on her characters, in an astonishing variety of couplings. Two Saiyuuki commecially published doujinshi anthologies--books with an ISBN number that can be ordered through mainstream bookstores--have come out, too.
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Love to sing along? Me too! Here are transliterated lyrics for various Saiyuki anime series songs' TV Size and Full Size versions, and sheet music too whenever possible.
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A number of official Saiyuki events have been held in Japan--and were commercially recorded so that the enjoyment can go on! A guide to these events and their recordings is coming soon.
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Some unexpected things have popped up throughout this site's history--including these gracious gifts of art and stories from readers! (A few features that defied classification can be found here, too.)
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