It is a source of some frustration to me that in these days where everything seems to be available online and video formats are more or less a thing of the past, that the 1978 Japanese TV show ‘Saiyuki’ (known as ‘Monkey’ to Australians) has never been made available in the USA.
Monkey was based on the classic chinese tale Journey To The West, published more than 400 years ago in China. It told the story of a Buddhist monk who sets off for India to receive some sacred Buddhist scripture. Accompanying him on his journey is the powerful and brave Monkey King and Pigsy, a once-heavenly general reborn as a pig-man. Hijinks and adventures follow, and you can take my word that the novel is a good read even today.
Back in 1978 the Japanese made a TV show about the legend called Saiyuki, and it went on to become a big hit not only in Japan but also in Australia, the UK and other European countries as well due to a wonderful BBC translation. Here is a compilation of scenes from the show:
It was played non-stop during my youth and in fact up until me leaving Australia. I saw every episode countless times and loved them all. Sadly no NTSC version has ever been made available, and although someone (the BBC?) still holds the rights to the English language version, they’ve never put it on iTunes or any other download service available to Americans.
I’ve been thinking about the series a lot recently because I recently finished the excellent PS3 game Enslaved, which is also based on the same tale (a futuristic take this time). In fact Journey To The West has been inspiration for quite a few movies, manga, anime, TV shows and video games over the years, not the least of which is the famous manga series Dragonball.
Here’s Monkey himself in various guises, including the well-known Goku:
Here’s the good monk Tripitaka, who was so famously played by a woman in the original series that all later incarnations seemed to become female!
And here’s Pigsy (known as Oolong in Dragonball):
Those Enslaved graphics look almost too good to be true don’t they? Well they are not, and it’s easily one of the most beautiful and well-animated games I have ever played.
Monkey, Dragonball and Enslaved: 33 years separate these three very different – but all great – versions of a 400+ year old story. I’m sure there will be many more versions told in the future.
