I allowed myself to be cajoled into vacating my computer for a few hours this evening, as Ken needed to net-search some info for a client (Butch absolutely
hates it when that happens, which it has frequently over the last few days, and has made his displeasure known by only letting me see the old WordWrights favicon in the address bar, not the new WaveWrights one. At least, that's all I've so far found that he's done...), and decided to watch one of the Yule DVDs...
Opted for
Saiyuki 1, subtitled, of course. (For non-otaku readers, this is
Monkey done in anime. I always rather enjoyed
Monkey, so much so that many moons ago I bought the translation of
Journey to the West. Heh, the TV series was more fun...)
For the first few minutes I really thought I wasn't going to like it - this version of Goku (the Monkey King) is on first meeting even more obnoxious than the DBZ Goku. But I liked Sanzo's voice - not surprising, his
seiyuu also voiced Watari (
YnM) and Legato (
Trigun: at the moment I only have the dubbed videos, but I've heard a tiny snippet of the original on a site that no longer exists) - and I liked the artwork very much, and I like to give all and any anime a fair chance...
And by the end of the first ep I was
hooked!
Fabulous characterisation, wholly adorable characters (yes, even Goku, dammit, once you get past the initial irritation), wonderful interaction... The animation is pretty good, not the very best I've ever seen, but frankly I don't care, the story and characters more than make up for any shortcomings. (Put it this way - Ken was shattered tonight, but still sat and watched a couple of eps with me before eventually having to drag himself away, unwillingly because he was enjoying it. There's something that doesn't happen very often!) And it's so
funny! Gorgeous comic bits balanced by poignant introspection, and a refreshingly non-judgemental overall perspective. And there are such intriguing flashbacks and hints into the histories of the characters... I love it! I want the rest of the series! I want the rest of the series
NOW - I want to know what happens next!
It's impossible to resist comparing
Saiyuki and
Monkey, at least to start with, and the differences are pretty glaring. Where Tripitaka was feeble and meek and a wimp, Sanzo is foul-tempered, violent and about as un-monk-like as you can get. Sandy and Pigsy seem to have swapped characters, with Gojyo (heh, whoever heard of a water-demon who can't swim?!) a lecherous, alcohol-swigging chain-smoker and Hakkai a calm, gentle and really rather sweet
ki-user (who tries new attacks in the middle of battle as they occur to him...) Instead of the Horse there's Hakkai's little white dragon - which can turn into a jeep. Yes, really. They ride in it for parts of the journey. [shakes head bemusedly] It's a cute little thing too. Then again, so was the Horse... Goku's the only character who hasn't changed substantially, and that's pretty much in keeping with what I understand of the legendary Monkey King.
[happy grin] It's terrific. And if nothing else, there's something very appealing about an anime where a demon baddie runs to attack the heroes screaming, "Surprise Attack!" at the top of his voice...
Nabbed from onna's blog:...
[blinkblink] Uh.... maybe not....
[glower] And I will disembowel the first (second, third...) person who calls me 'cute and fluffy'...
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Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor
pontificated this at 2:49 am
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