characters who travel: October 2006 Archives

According to Anime News Network, cable channel Encore Action will be showing "Saiyuki Reload" starting Nov. 8 at midnight. The show is worth a peek.

"Saiyuki Reload" is the second installment of the popular "Saiyuki" series and both seasons are out on DVD. The third season, "Saiyuki Reload Gunlock" is sloowly coming out on DVD. I saw the third "Gunlock" DVD not too long ago.

The series is a very loose re-telling of the Chinese story, "Journey to the West". In this anime version, a monk and his three demon companions are heading west to find out why demons who used to live in harmony with humans in Shangri-La are now attacking and killing people. They're not going of their own accord but were ordered to do so by the Three Aspects of the Buddha.

Genjyo Sanzo is a blond high-ranking Buddhist monk who wields a revolver, smokes like a chimney, gambles and drinks. His traveling companions include Cho Hakkai who became a demon after killing 1,000 demons, Sha Gojyo a half-demon whose stepmother tried to kill him and Son Goku a monkey demon with enormous strength.

They haven't reached the West yet. And many of their adventures are one-off episodes.

The show's episodes can be pedestrian and the quality of the animation suffers in "Saiyuki Reload" but thankfully improves in "Gunlock."

"Saiyuki" and its two sequels remain a guilty pleasure for me. I watch it mostly for the interaction between the four main characters. The moody Sanzo usually smacks the bickering Goku and Gojyo with a big fan or shoots at them to make them shut up. He is not above threatening his companions with death either. Hakkai puts up with their slovenly habits and acts as a referee most of the time. He has his limits. But you know they care about each other. Well, maybe not.

It's not a show that makes you think about the nature of man or his place in the universe. So park your brain, take out that bowl of snacks and settle in for a fun ride with Master Sanzo and the gang. And try not to annoy him too much. He has a hair trigger temper and a faster trigger finger.

You are a brilliant surgeon in a big German hospital with a great career ahead of you. Your fiancee is the hospital director's daughter. There's talk of you becoming the department head. Your patients love you and most of your colleagues envy you. But fate has something terrible in store for you.

In "Monster", Dr. Kenzo Tenma's decision to operate on a wounded boy rather than the mayor has consequences he never imagined. He loses his job, his fiancee and gets accused of murder.


SPOILER ALERT. The boy, Johan, is actually a serial killer. He survives the operation and continues killing. His victims include the hospital director and the new department head. Years later, Dr. Tenma gets blamed for their deaths along with several others. He goes on the run. Tenma searches for Johan to kill him while trying to elude authorities especially one persistent detective. Along the way, he meets the young man's twin sister who has lost her memory and the people who "helped" in Johan's upbringing. I won't reveal anything more but let's just say the Cold War created twisted men with twisted ideas.

Hands down, "Monster" is the best anime I've seen recently. The writing is wonderful, the characters are complex and the animation fits the tone and mood of the show. It is a psychological thriller and the mystery of Johan's origin slowly unravels throughout the 74-episode series. Tenma the fugitive encounters decent folks, crooks with some good in them still and the truly depraved. The world in "Monster" isn't black and white but shades of gray.

The only complaint I have is that the show keeps Tenma heroic and pure despite of what he goes through. One can almost predict his actions.

Some folks might think the show slow, boring and will say that it's just mostly people talking. To each his own I say.

The manga is available now in the U.S but I don't think the anime has been licensed yet.