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Saiyuki: Complete Seasons 1 & 2
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Saiyuki is back . . . again. No, it’s not a new season, and
the final season of the series (at least for now) is still well
under way from another company. It was ADV however how first
introduced many to a very interesting retelling of the popular
Chinese novel that the Japanese seem to have taken quite well to. If
you’ve been picking up the Reload or Gunlock anime
that have been released recently, maybe you’re not quite sure just
what happened in the series originally, and while that shouldn’t be
the case, you can get caught up. ADV has put the entire first two
seasons together in a handy ThinPak collection.
The journey west officially starts here and there once was a time in
the history of the world when humans and demons lived peacefully
together, but that time is no longer upon civilization. Demons have
started slaughtering humans and the Merciful Goddess has assembled a
unique, if not reluctant, group of four to journey west as demonkind
is trying to resurrect one of its own; Gyumaou.
So, who are these four heroes that may, or may not, save humanity?
They are Genjo Sanzo, a priest with a bad attitude and fully loaded
gun that certainly doesn’t fit the image of a holy man, but he’s the
only true human among them. The other three are demons themselves,
half-breeds that have their powers in check thanks to special power
limiters. Son Goku who has a past with Sanzo (more than what he
remembers), the womanizing Sha Gojyo and the calm and collected Cho
Hakkai are among the ones selected to stop the reincarnation of
evil, but they have adversaries standing against them each and every
step of the way.
The first season of Saiyuki pits the boys against Gyumaou
camp including his son, Kougaiji, Goyjo’s half brother Dokugakuji as
well as Yaone and little Lirin. What you can expect to find is
plenty of action in each and every episode no matter if it’s Sanzo
and friends taking on the major league players of some minor
underlings, but fighting these demons is going to be quite easy when
compared to what is in store when the second season begins. A major
threat descends from the heavens as a trio of rogue gods threatens
all life, and Homura, the god of war, certainly is no push over.
The original ADV release of Saiyuki was twelve volumes that
covered the 50 episodes of the two seasons, but the ThinPak edition
decreases that drastically. Now, they are all found on ten DVD’s,
and ADV has opted to use double-sided cases which takes the whole
collection down to a shelf saving space of a little over two DVD’s.
The artwork isn’t necessarily anything special for the collection,
mostly reproductions of many of the cover images found with the
original DVD release, but Saiyuki isn’t about being flashy in
this regard. It’s about entertainment, and the episodes deliver that
and then some.
However, there are some things that you won’t find in the
collection. The original volumes included inserts, many of them just
posters, but a few with some very vital information concerning the
characters as well as their relationship with one another. Also, the
DVD’s themselves included cultural notes, something that ADV was
more than happy to include as opposed to the new seasons that have
come with precious little. It’s one of the prices to pay for ThinPak
collections however, and for some, condensing their collection down
to a more manageable is the most important thing.
Even with a few changes though, Saiyuki: Complete Season 1 & 2
really is a must have for fans that may have found their collection
lacking a few volumes or those that simply have been wanting to
finally grab the series for the first time. This isn’t your typical
fantasy series, it certainly isn’t a faithful retelling of the
actual Saiyuki story, but when it comes to good times, this
series delivers it over and over again.
- mike -
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