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Saiyuki: The Original Series Resurrected Edition 1
One Man, Three Yokai, and a Dragon on a Road Trip to Hell! The boys are back, in 400-page hardcovers that are as pretty and badass as they are. This hit adventure, which blends mythology from around the world into a classic adventure story, has been out of print for years, and this collector's edition is a fitting celebration of its return!
Genjyo is a Buddhist priest in the city of Shangri-La, which is being ravaged by yokai spirits that have fallen out of balance with the natural order. His superiors send him on a journey far to the west to discover why this is happening and how to stop it. His companions are three yokai with human souls. But this is no day trip -- the four will encounter many discoveries and horrors on the way, and on the road, Genjyo will wonder... can he really trust his supernatural companions?
Genjyo is a Buddhist priest in the city of Shangri-La, which is being ravaged by yokai spirits that have fallen out of balance with the natural order. His superiors send him on a journey far to the west to discover why this is happening and how to stop it. His companions are three yokai with human souls. But this is no day trip -- the four will encounter many discoveries and horrors on the way, and on the road, Genjyo will wonder... can he really trust his supernatural companions?
400 pages, Hardcover
Published February 18, 2020
11 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
Kazuya Minekura
213 books190 followersKazuya Minekura (峰倉かずや Minekura Kazuya, born March 23, 1975) is a Japanese manga artist most known for the Saiyuki series. Her other manga series include Wild Adapter, Shiritsu Araiso Koto Gakko Seitokai Shikkobu (Araiso Private School Student Council Executive Committee), and Stigma. Stigma is notable for being a full-color work, unusual as manga is generally drawn in black and white.
She had an illness that affected her writing from 2004–2007, which caused her to have a hysterectomy. On 28 September 2010, she went on Hiatus to undergo surgery for ameloblastoma on the right half of her upper jawbone. On 31 December 2010, she reported her surgery was successful after removing the tumor on her right upper jawbone and is currently resting and being fitted with artificial prosthetics to reconstruct the area where her bones were removed.
She had an illness that affected her writing from 2004–2007, which caused her to have a hysterectomy. On 28 September 2010, she went on Hiatus to undergo surgery for ameloblastoma on the right half of her upper jawbone. On 31 December 2010, she reported her surgery was successful after removing the tumor on her right upper jawbone and is currently resting and being fitted with artificial prosthetics to reconstruct the area where her bones were removed.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
December 9, 2020
I was delighted to discover this series is finally being reprinted, and furthermore is finally available as an e-edition. Yay! Double volumes, so the e-price is a real bargain. I hear the hardcover is very handsome, but I went for the convenience of downloading it to my tablet from the Kindle store. This edition has very good and useful translator's notes in the back.
My original review here -- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I hope it sells well enough for them to carry through to the 10th and last volume of Saiyuki Reload, which had been lost when its US publisher went under just before the last volume was due to come out, argh.
Ta, L.
My original review here -- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I hope it sells well enough for them to carry through to the 10th and last volume of Saiyuki Reload, which had been lost when its US publisher went under just before the last volume was due to come out, argh.
Ta, L.
February 11, 2021
I didn't get very far with this series back in the 'aughts when it was under Tokyopop. Maybe the first volume. Now was a great time to revisit Saiyuki with a new hardcover edition and a new translation. This volume contains the first two books of the original series.
This is a retelling of the Journey to the West story with a contemporary attitude. Contemporary to the '90s, anyhow. You can tell just by looking what time period it first came out in, from the hairstyles to the art. (And probably the page layouts, coloring and so forth, but I'm no expert when it comes to those things.)
This is a mostly episodic story, with Sanzo, Goku, Gojyo, and Hakkai traveling on their journey west in a Jeep (named Jeep), whose other form is an adorable, tiny dragon. There are a number of missions they must fulfill: stop the resurrection of Gyumaoh, investigate how and why the yokai are breaking the peace between themselves and humans, and retrieve one of Sanzo's mentor's holy scrolls. Our four leads bicker like a pack of siblings along the way, but they're close like a pack of siblings, too. Sanzo acts as a sort of leader for the group, though he is hardly the sober paragon one might expect from such a figure.
The whole book is chock full of bloody violence as various yokai try to stop them on their quest. The story exists to make our heroes look attractive, strong, and cool, and each is also bearing their own terrible past with accompanying manpain. It's ridiculous and over-the-top, and a lot of fun to read. The attitude toward women isn't perfect, to say the least: damseling, check! Fridging, check! Pointless nudity, check!... but perhaps I am asking too much from manga aimed at a particular demographic, almost 25 years ago.
This edition has some nice glossy color illustrations, and extensive notes mostly having to do with the Buddhist lore and mythology that forms the background of the story. They give the reader a good idea of just how much knowledge went into this very casual-feeling tale, but they aren't required for even the most ignorant of readers (such as myself) to enjoy Sanzo's journey.
This is a retelling of the Journey to the West story with a contemporary attitude. Contemporary to the '90s, anyhow. You can tell just by looking what time period it first came out in, from the hairstyles to the art. (And probably the page layouts, coloring and so forth, but I'm no expert when it comes to those things.)
This is a mostly episodic story, with Sanzo, Goku, Gojyo, and Hakkai traveling on their journey west in a Jeep (named Jeep), whose other form is an adorable, tiny dragon. There are a number of missions they must fulfill: stop the resurrection of Gyumaoh, investigate how and why the yokai are breaking the peace between themselves and humans, and retrieve one of Sanzo's mentor's holy scrolls. Our four leads bicker like a pack of siblings along the way, but they're close like a pack of siblings, too. Sanzo acts as a sort of leader for the group, though he is hardly the sober paragon one might expect from such a figure.
The whole book is chock full of bloody violence as various yokai try to stop them on their quest. The story exists to make our heroes look attractive, strong, and cool, and each is also bearing their own terrible past with accompanying manpain. It's ridiculous and over-the-top, and a lot of fun to read. The attitude toward women isn't perfect, to say the least: damseling, check! Fridging, check! Pointless nudity, check!... but perhaps I am asking too much from manga aimed at a particular demographic, almost 25 years ago.
This edition has some nice glossy color illustrations, and extensive notes mostly having to do with the Buddhist lore and mythology that forms the background of the story. They give the reader a good idea of just how much knowledge went into this very casual-feeling tale, but they aren't required for even the most ignorant of readers (such as myself) to enjoy Sanzo's journey.
January 18, 2021
A little confusing at first, but an overall fun start to the series. I like that the first couple of chapters were pretty action packed while bringing in a bit of backstory for each character. I also liked how nuanced the main villain is so far. Finally, it ended on a strong cliffhanger note, so I'm excited to pick up the next volume.
February 24, 2020
Man, this series is weird and 90s.
November 23, 2020
I first found this series back in 2007 when I bought the first volume for a friend's birthday, and it turned out that I ended up enjoying it more than he did! Since then I've been a huge Kazuya fan and the Saiyuki series holds a very special place in my heart.
The story is loosely based off of 'The Journey to the West', a chinese novel about a Sanzo priest's pilgrimage to the West to collect Sutras alongside his three companions. In Kazuya's rendition, the 4 men are on a journey to the West to stop the resurrection of a very powerful demon that threatens to destroy the world as they know it. You follow them on their journey, watch them get into trouble with their rowdy hijinx, and learn about their awful pasts. This collection is also the first section of a 5 part series, and this is probably the most light hearted of the entire series. The first couple volumes are more episodic and linear in nature so the pacing feels slower, but the series gradually picks up in its storytelling and character exploration, and will suck you in.
That being said, this series was originally published in 1997 (1995 if you consider her Doujinshii) and is very much a product of it's time. The humor is rather slapstick and loud, the story is very action oriented and simplistic (at least on the surface), and the characters are "bad boys" with rude attitudes. The art is also a little inconsistent and some might say "ugly", but there are glimpses of what will become her unique and beautiful style and it's fun to see how far she has come. Overall, It's like taking a trip down memory lane, and I think even new readers of the series will find something to be charmed by.
The first volume of the resurrected series contains the first 2 original volumes, and has been enhanced with additional colored pages, translation explanations, and a hardcover binding. To have this series come back with these additional details is a true delight to me.
My only criticism of the resurrected series is the translation. The series was originally translated under Tokyopop (which has been known to have bad translations admittedly) and the resurrected series was translated with Kodansha Comics. And while translating Japanese is more of an art than a science, with no two translations being the same, there are mistakes that are very frustrating and dare I say, inexcusable. There are typos, there are translations that don't completely cover over the original texts so you can see the japanese characters intermingled with english, some of the conversations are disjointed and feels like the characters switched subjects for no reason, and the back of the book even has the wrong age rating on it (I bought the 2nd volume and can see the comparison). Overall this feels very sloppy and rushed, and for what reason? There has been no big news breaks on this series and I can't imagine that the demand was was so high for a 23 year old series that they needed to release this with these mistakes. Granted, I may be misremembering the quality of the Tokyopop translations, but I also don't remember this level of mistakes. Its only saving grace is that the translation maintains the character's personalities, which is one of the main driving forces of this series. I'm hoping that volume 2 will have these issues fixed, but I won't hold my breath.
All in all, I'm extremely happy to see this back on the market. I truly hope that it generates enough sales to bring the rest of the series into the US market.
The story is loosely based off of 'The Journey to the West', a chinese novel about a Sanzo priest's pilgrimage to the West to collect Sutras alongside his three companions. In Kazuya's rendition, the 4 men are on a journey to the West to stop the resurrection of a very powerful demon that threatens to destroy the world as they know it. You follow them on their journey, watch them get into trouble with their rowdy hijinx, and learn about their awful pasts. This collection is also the first section of a 5 part series, and this is probably the most light hearted of the entire series. The first couple volumes are more episodic and linear in nature so the pacing feels slower, but the series gradually picks up in its storytelling and character exploration, and will suck you in.
That being said, this series was originally published in 1997 (1995 if you consider her Doujinshii) and is very much a product of it's time. The humor is rather slapstick and loud, the story is very action oriented and simplistic (at least on the surface), and the characters are "bad boys" with rude attitudes. The art is also a little inconsistent and some might say "ugly", but there are glimpses of what will become her unique and beautiful style and it's fun to see how far she has come. Overall, It's like taking a trip down memory lane, and I think even new readers of the series will find something to be charmed by.
The first volume of the resurrected series contains the first 2 original volumes, and has been enhanced with additional colored pages, translation explanations, and a hardcover binding. To have this series come back with these additional details is a true delight to me.
My only criticism of the resurrected series is the translation. The series was originally translated under Tokyopop (which has been known to have bad translations admittedly) and the resurrected series was translated with Kodansha Comics. And while translating Japanese is more of an art than a science, with no two translations being the same, there are mistakes that are very frustrating and dare I say, inexcusable. There are typos, there are translations that don't completely cover over the original texts so you can see the japanese characters intermingled with english, some of the conversations are disjointed and feels like the characters switched subjects for no reason, and the back of the book even has the wrong age rating on it (I bought the 2nd volume and can see the comparison). Overall this feels very sloppy and rushed, and for what reason? There has been no big news breaks on this series and I can't imagine that the demand was was so high for a 23 year old series that they needed to release this with these mistakes. Granted, I may be misremembering the quality of the Tokyopop translations, but I also don't remember this level of mistakes. Its only saving grace is that the translation maintains the character's personalities, which is one of the main driving forces of this series. I'm hoping that volume 2 will have these issues fixed, but I won't hold my breath.
All in all, I'm extremely happy to see this back on the market. I truly hope that it generates enough sales to bring the rest of the series into the US market.
December 16, 2022
This is one of my favorite manga series I loved rediscovering it again. The characters are great as always a group of devil may care young men who do what they want and only help people mostly by accident Sanzo the priest that is very trigger happy and is not very priest like Goku the happy go lucky guy who likes to eat and fight Gojyo the chain smoking ladies man and finally Hakkai the kind and gentle one with more to him then meets the eye actually all of them could be described that way. The plot is very action packed the Sanzo party on there way west come across many things like yokai to fight people to save by chance and to find out a little more about each character I really love this series will read more of it soon.
read-seq-art
March 8, 2020Reread/first read of new edition (same translation).
July 26, 2020
Love this series so much idk there's something about it. One of my favorite tropes is a band of misfits who are so different and fight alot but would ride and die for each other and that is literally this series *chefs kiss*. I've read it before and watched the entire Anime series but when they announced these new editions I LEAPED to preorder lmao. Can't wait to get up to the volume with the flashback to their past lives so I can scream and cry again 👁️👄👁️
April 12, 2020
Saiyuki is a classic adventure story that takes the fabled Journey into the West - it's been done a lot over in Japan, Dragonball Z is another big hit - but tweaks it, changes it into something a bit different and new. Of course given that it came out in the late 90's, it does have that feel to it, there are certain words that are thrown around that wouldn't be said today, but regardless of certain words being used, the story itself still works and it's an enjoyable read. The main four are interesting, even though you don't know too much about them, in fact in this edition the only characters that we learn about - regarding their backgrounds - are Sha Gojyo and Genjo Sanzo, although Son Goku and Cho Hakkai do have little moments within the book (grant Goku's is right at the start of the book), and even then it's not really that much to give the reader too much information about why they are as they are. Yet the characters are they stand in this moment are interesting, funny, questionable and just work.
The art work is also stunning, the translations are pretty well done too. Of course there are moments within the book when the translation can't be done, due to a game that they play that isn't played over in the West, for example, but they let people know what the characters are saying and what it means at the back of the book, though given that they put down page numbers... and the manga doesn't have page numbers, so it will possibly involve either flipping through the book or just waiting until the end to get the full translations. I flipped through the book, so I didn't forget what was going on. There is also a moment in the book when the speech bubble doesn't cover up the original text of Japanese, although I do think that happens a lot and I do remember that was in the original version of the manga too - why did I get this version when I had the original? I can't find the original manga and I have heard word that many people are hoping that if this gets a good number of sales, the company will release the rest of the manga into English.
If you are interested in a manga that stars 4 pretty handsome men, an interesting plot along with a lot of humour, this could be something to look into.
The art work is also stunning, the translations are pretty well done too. Of course there are moments within the book when the translation can't be done, due to a game that they play that isn't played over in the West, for example, but they let people know what the characters are saying and what it means at the back of the book, though given that they put down page numbers... and the manga doesn't have page numbers, so it will possibly involve either flipping through the book or just waiting until the end to get the full translations. I flipped through the book, so I didn't forget what was going on. There is also a moment in the book when the speech bubble doesn't cover up the original text of Japanese, although I do think that happens a lot and I do remember that was in the original version of the manga too - why did I get this version when I had the original? I can't find the original manga and I have heard word that many people are hoping that if this gets a good number of sales, the company will release the rest of the manga into English.
If you are interested in a manga that stars 4 pretty handsome men, an interesting plot along with a lot of humour, this could be something to look into.
April 13, 2020
My actual rating is a 2.5/5 (average)
Being loosely based on the Chinese novel "Journey to the West", Sayuki is a story about a gang of 4 people, who have to travel west and take care of the yokai going out of control in their world.
Sayuki's main selling point is the cast. The 4 characters carry the simple formula of - 1 'badass', 1 teenager, 1 calm-and-collected guy and 1 good looking perv. Maybe in the late 90s when the series was first released this was considered an original and 'different' line-up, however, since then we have seen this formula done so many times, that reading this, it's hard to really get into the characters themselves.
While the series has a very linear story and goal, each respective chapter feels very episodic - besides some minor flashbacks that slowly help us learn more about the characters, each chapter is essentially another episode with a new small-scale adventure, that only contributes the required minimum to the story, while somewhat feeling like the infamous filler episode.
Also, the art is very dated. 90s manga had this trend of being weird when it came to human physique - the characters faces don't have normal proportions, even for a manga. But, it's also fun to look at - it evokes nostalgia.
However, with most of my points being negative, Sayuki isn't necessarily a bad series. It seems that this volume is just filled with build-up, and slowly it will pick up the pace. There are some things that need getting used to, and I really hope the next volumes don't contain broken English in the translation.
All in all, the 1st volume is simply too formulaic and linear for me - I want a story to offer more than the absolute least it can.
Being loosely based on the Chinese novel "Journey to the West", Sayuki is a story about a gang of 4 people, who have to travel west and take care of the yokai going out of control in their world.
Sayuki's main selling point is the cast. The 4 characters carry the simple formula of - 1 'badass', 1 teenager, 1 calm-and-collected guy and 1 good looking perv. Maybe in the late 90s when the series was first released this was considered an original and 'different' line-up, however, since then we have seen this formula done so many times, that reading this, it's hard to really get into the characters themselves.
While the series has a very linear story and goal, each respective chapter feels very episodic - besides some minor flashbacks that slowly help us learn more about the characters, each chapter is essentially another episode with a new small-scale adventure, that only contributes the required minimum to the story, while somewhat feeling like the infamous filler episode.
Also, the art is very dated. 90s manga had this trend of being weird when it came to human physique - the characters faces don't have normal proportions, even for a manga. But, it's also fun to look at - it evokes nostalgia.
However, with most of my points being negative, Sayuki isn't necessarily a bad series. It seems that this volume is just filled with build-up, and slowly it will pick up the pace. There are some things that need getting used to, and I really hope the next volumes don't contain broken English in the translation.
All in all, the 1st volume is simply too formulaic and linear for me - I want a story to offer more than the absolute least it can.
March 8, 2025
Почти убедена съм, че съм си добавяла тази манга и преди, но може би разликата е, че това е обновено и преиздадено томче, кой да знае...
Много фенове си имат поне по една олдскуул 90-ска манга, която да им е на сърце, въпреки остарелия модел на предаване на историята, кривите персонажи, стандартното безкрайно пътуване и разпределение на действието... и, да, всякакви такива дребни детайли, които правят някои заглавия вече не толкова модерни.
Е, това е моята 90-ска манга на сърцето, както се казва :D Имаше период, в който тази история ме владееше така плътно, че без проблем можех да "дишам" като някой от тези четирима откачалки. Дори и като Гоку :D Всъщност се убедих, че още го мога. Все още, години по-късно, нямам никакъв проблем да чувам в главата си интонацията, с която изговарят репликите си в анимето (никаква хвалба, предвид че по принцип разпознавам една планина сейюта, които обожавам, а чичо Секи е от тези, които "са ме отгледали"). Нямам проблем и да знам абсолютно точно как ще постъпят. И въпреки че знам абсолютно всичко като цяло (с изключение на изненадата ми, че не мога да подредя така наречения от младото ми аз Ни Джени в историята), това вероятно е една от малкото истории, които не ми досаждат, задето ги знам. Комфортно заглавие и вероятно доста повече, предвид всичко, което е направило за младата ми анимефенска душа. И така, не можете да чуете и една лоша дума от мен по случая "Пътешествие на Запад".
Изданието всъщност е много хубаво. Солидно томче с твърди корици, наистина изчистено и поднесено може би с обич - може би, защото нямам представа дали е правено от фен, но докарва усмивки на феновете като мен.
Много фенове си имат поне по една олдскуул 90-ска манга, която да им е на сърце, въпреки остарелия модел на предаване на историята, кривите персонажи, стандартното безкрайно пътуване и разпределение на действието... и, да, всякакви такива дребни детайли, които правят някои заглавия вече не толкова модерни.
Е, това е моята 90-ска манга на сърцето, както се казва :D Имаше период, в който тази история ме владееше така плътно, че без проблем можех да "дишам" като някой от тези четирима откачалки. Дори и като Гоку :D Всъщност се убедих, че още го мога. Все още, години по-късно, нямам никакъв проблем да чувам в главата си интонацията, с която изговарят репликите си в анимето (никаква хвалба, предвид че по принцип разпознавам една планина сейюта, които обожавам, а чичо Секи е от тези, които "са ме отгледали"). Нямам проблем и да знам абсолютно точно как ще постъпят. И въпреки че знам абсолютно всичко като цяло (с изключение на изненадата ми, че не мога да подредя така наречения от младото ми аз Ни Джени в историята), това вероятно е една от малкото истории, които не ми досаждат, задето ги знам. Комфортно заглавие и вероятно доста повече, предвид всичко, което е направило за младата ми анимефенска душа. И така, не можете да чуете и една лоша дума от мен по случая "Пътешествие на Запад".
Изданието всъщност е много хубаво. Солидно томче с твърди корици, наистина изчистено и поднесено може би с обич - може би, защото нямам представа дали е правено от фен, но докарва усмивки на феновете като мен.
July 20, 2021
Somewhere in the world, someone is trying to raise the terrible demon lord, Gyumaoh, which made all the Yokai (demons) on Earth even more violent than before. A Buddhist monk, Genjyo Sanzo, and three warriors, Son Goku, Sha Gojyo, Cho Hakkai (all of whom have some Yokai blood in them), are tasked with stopping the revival and putting things back to normal. They travel through the world in a tiny dragon that can transform into a Jeep, and fight many battles along the way. The son of Gyumaoh tries to thwart the warriors, and he sends several of his henchmen to stop them or slow them down long enough for the revival to go off as planned.
This series was originally published in the late 1990s, and is now getting a revised reprinted edition collecting two of the original volumes. This might be one of those stories that benefits from nostalgia goggles, (is this what I sound like constantly recommending Fullmetal Alchemist?) The four main warriors all have that Rico Suave air to them - at least one is extremely flirtatious, and all four have this haughtiness that conveys that they're just too cool for everything going on around them. So far, none of the female characters are particularly strong, and most of them are contained to one chapter or less. There are also some strange things about the setting - I'm not sure if we're on Earth at some point in time, but there are some items that place it on Earth; Genjyo has a revolver, then there's the dragon that turns into a literal Jeep, and Goku says “Gracias” to thank someone for a meal.
The art is a little rough, especially around the eyes. One of them is always pretty droopy. This gets a little better after the first "volume" (so 1st half of this book), but it does get aggravating after a while. The settings and character clothing are really detailed, so the droopy eye is really out of place amongst the fine details.
This might be one to skip for the School Library unless you have a lot of requests for it.
Sara's Rating: 6/10
Suitability Level: Grades 10-12
This series was originally published in the late 1990s, and is now getting a revised reprinted edition collecting two of the original volumes. This might be one of those stories that benefits from nostalgia goggles, (is this what I sound like constantly recommending Fullmetal Alchemist?) The four main warriors all have that Rico Suave air to them - at least one is extremely flirtatious, and all four have this haughtiness that conveys that they're just too cool for everything going on around them. So far, none of the female characters are particularly strong, and most of them are contained to one chapter or less. There are also some strange things about the setting - I'm not sure if we're on Earth at some point in time, but there are some items that place it on Earth; Genjyo has a revolver, then there's the dragon that turns into a literal Jeep, and Goku says “Gracias” to thank someone for a meal.
The art is a little rough, especially around the eyes. One of them is always pretty droopy. This gets a little better after the first "volume" (so 1st half of this book), but it does get aggravating after a while. The settings and character clothing are really detailed, so the droopy eye is really out of place amongst the fine details.
This might be one to skip for the School Library unless you have a lot of requests for it.
Sara's Rating: 6/10
Suitability Level: Grades 10-12
January 19, 2021
I am *so* thrilled that there's a new translation of Saiyuki. Like many others in the fandom (WE STILL EXIST...), I'm hoping beyond hope that the Resurrected editions will do well enough that the entirety of Reload will be published in English (and Reload Blast! and Gaiden, pretty, pretty please).
With that said, I really enjoyed Kodansha's version and in many places throughout the story, prefer it. I read through this omnibus (which includes volumes 1 and 2) slowly, comparing it along the way to the Tokyopop translation. There were a few minor editing errors in the omnibus, but overall nothing that would make me want to detract a star (and there are a few minor editing errors in the first two Tokyopop English translations, as well, fwiw).
Of interest, because the omnibus is physically larger than the Tokyopop editions, much of the art on the outer edges of the pages *doesn't* get cut off, which is nice! And they included a neat glossary section in the back with translation notes. The page numbers are admittedly not too helpful, but the extra info. adds background context (~symbolism~) for anyone new to Saiyuki.
Onward to the second omnibus!
With that said, I really enjoyed Kodansha's version and in many places throughout the story, prefer it. I read through this omnibus (which includes volumes 1 and 2) slowly, comparing it along the way to the Tokyopop translation. There were a few minor editing errors in the omnibus, but overall nothing that would make me want to detract a star (and there are a few minor editing errors in the first two Tokyopop English translations, as well, fwiw).
Of interest, because the omnibus is physically larger than the Tokyopop editions, much of the art on the outer edges of the pages *doesn't* get cut off, which is nice! And they included a neat glossary section in the back with translation notes. The page numbers are admittedly not too helpful, but the extra info. adds background context (~symbolism~) for anyone new to Saiyuki.
Onward to the second omnibus!
April 12, 2021
Everything I want in a manga. A clear mission. Supernatural and religious elements. Heroes who have a sense of humor who do not take themselves seriously. It was so nice that this series was reprinted. I am tired of hunting down out of print books. This is a wonderful series. It is adult and not for children or teens. The author clearly defines the who, what, where, when and how of this manga. The backstory and motivation of each character are introduced as the story picks up. I was very pleased that the mode of travel was addressed as was the heavenly highway. I see that there is a lot of detail in this manga.
March 6, 2020
I would have loved to give this four stars, I love this story and I was super excited to learn that it was going to be reissued as an omnibus. The problem is that there are a few sentences with words missing and at least one page where the original Japanese wasn't completed cleaned from the art and can be seen peaking out behind the English dialogue. I don't know much about this reissue in that I'm unsure if it was re-translated or if any work was put into this edition, but I'm a bit let down with the quality.
June 1, 2022
I am so happy Saiyuki is back on the shelves! I've been a big fan of the series for years and had never had the chance to read anything except bad scans.
The characters are diverse in design and, while they don't always mesh with each others' personalities, they each bring something to the table that benefits the team. This first volume doesn't go too deep into the Sanzo Gang's individual stories, but we get snippets here and there that keep the reader's interest piqued. It makes you want to know how these four individuals came together and bonded enough to establish the level of trust we see.
We also get insight on some of the antagonists. Kougaiji and his group seem to be aligned with the other antagonists only in order to reach their own ends. They are also pretty obvious foils for the Sanzo Gang.
The art of Saiyuki has always stood out to me because of it's almost rough, asymmetrical feeling. Nothing is drawn perfectly and no one has the 'bishonen symmetry'. It's different and I like it!
Yes, this loose retelling of the Journey to the West story isn't perfect and can be a product of trying to appeal to a certain demographic (and time period) at times. However, Saiyuki is still a great read and I definitely recommend it.
The characters are diverse in design and, while they don't always mesh with each others' personalities, they each bring something to the table that benefits the team. This first volume doesn't go too deep into the Sanzo Gang's individual stories, but we get snippets here and there that keep the reader's interest piqued. It makes you want to know how these four individuals came together and bonded enough to establish the level of trust we see.
We also get insight on some of the antagonists. Kougaiji and his group seem to be aligned with the other antagonists only in order to reach their own ends. They are also pretty obvious foils for the Sanzo Gang.
The art of Saiyuki has always stood out to me because of it's almost rough, asymmetrical feeling. Nothing is drawn perfectly and no one has the 'bishonen symmetry'. It's different and I like it!
Yes, this loose retelling of the Journey to the West story isn't perfect and can be a product of trying to appeal to a certain demographic (and time period) at times. However, Saiyuki is still a great read and I definitely recommend it.
November 29, 2022
Surprisingly I really enjoyed this, the story is a retelling of classic the journey to the west (with some Japanese manga flair).
The first couple of chapters are a bit slow as we are introduced to the rag tag group of hero’s. But after those first few slower chapters it really begins to pick up the pacing. The manga definitely shows it’s age as it has that classic late 90s early 2000 characters designs but some of the panels do look great, and our main cast has some super cool designs.
Overall it’s more of a 3.8 as the slower start really made this manga a bit of a slog initially.
The first couple of chapters are a bit slow as we are introduced to the rag tag group of hero’s. But after those first few slower chapters it really begins to pick up the pacing. The manga definitely shows it’s age as it has that classic late 90s early 2000 characters designs but some of the panels do look great, and our main cast has some super cool designs.
Overall it’s more of a 3.8 as the slower start really made this manga a bit of a slog initially.
August 22, 2020
So happy Kodansha decided to republish saiyuki! I grew up watching the anime, but was never able to watch it all in chronological order and now I can ❤️. So there is a lot of nostalgia and joy with my review, but I found this to be a very enjoyable read especially if your a fan of journey to the west which this is based off of. I love how the art is unique and the translation notes are amazing to help you understand some of the translations and religious terms.
June 26, 2024
Getting around to re-reading this for the first time in maaaany years because I bought the new hardcovers and every so often I get back on my Saiyuki bullshit and become obsessed all over again <3 Admittedly, the fourth star comes mostly from my pre-existing love of the characters and the story. I was a bit disappointed though that despite these new editions being advertised has having new/updated translations, volume 1 was riddled with typos and missing words :/
January 18, 2021
The story started of really slow. I like the idea of the story, but I don’t like how it’s actually written. The story eventually goes into some of the main characters back stories which makes it a lot more interesting.
March 14, 2023
It has been a very long time since I have read Saiyuki. I remember liking it and have picked up the reprints. I still like it. I think the anatomy could use a little work but all the characters are fun and I like the setting. Still enjoyable for sure.
July 24, 2025
Love Sanzo
Love the dynamic between the various characters
I remember watching bits of the anime when I was young but I don't remember ever finishing it. And one day, recently, I stumbled on these hard-cover copies of the manga. Figured why not read it now.
Having fun with it.
Love the dynamic between the various characters
I remember watching bits of the anime when I was young but I don't remember ever finishing it. And one day, recently, I stumbled on these hard-cover copies of the manga. Figured why not read it now.
Having fun with it.
April 22, 2021
Just as good as when I read this over 13 (maybe more?) years ago. The characters, the art, it’s all really good.
May 24, 2021
Oh how I missed this series! So happy it's been re released, I really hope they bring back all of the books
August 6, 2022
I have a strong love for the Saiyuki series and these new hardback reprints were perfect to add to my collection.
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