Saiyūki (TV series)

西遊記
Saiyūki

Title card from the first episode of Saiyūki
Genre Fantasy
Shenmo
Action
Adventure
Created by Yuji Sakamoto
Starring Shingo Katori
Eri Fukatsu
Atsushi Itō
Teruyoshi Uchimura
Asami Mizukawa
Country of origin Japan
No. of episodes 11
Production
Running time 84 minutes (Ep.1,11)
54 minutes (Ep.2-10)
Release
Original network Fuji TV
Original release 9 January – 20 March 2006

Saiyūki (西遊記) is a 2006 Japanese historical TV drama based on the Chinese novel Journey to the West. It is a successor to the popular 1970s TV show Saiyūki, known outside Japan as Monkey. There have been three dramas and one special based on Journey to the West that have aired previously, making this one the fifth adaptation in Japan.

Fuji TV made an unusual decision to air this on 9pm every Monday, a primetime slot usually reserved for romantic dramas, hoping to capture both the young and the old by making this choice. While the series started off with viewership nearly reaching 30%, its rating gradually sank, barely making it at 20% at one point; the last episode finished off with 24.7%.

Rather than producing a second season, Fuji TV and Toho produced a feature film version of Saiyūki,[1] that was released in Japan on July 14, 2007. The film was a box office success, becoming the 8th highest-grossing film of 2007 in Japan.[2] The whole plot of the film is loosely based on chapters 32-35 of Journey to the West, Son Gokū trying to save a kingdom (with the help of a young princess)[3] usurped by King Gold Horn and Silver Horn. The DVD was released on January 1, 2008 in two formats: a single disc version with audio commentary and trailers, and a 2-Disc limited collector's edition with documentaries and making-of featurettes; it has also been released to both DVD and Blu-ray Disc in the United Kingdom, under the title Monkey Magic: The Movie.[4]

Cast

Notable guests

List of Episodes

# Translated title in English Original title in Japanese Directed by Japanese viewership Original air date
1 Land of Fire 火の国 Kamasaku Sawada 29.2% 9 January 2006
2 Land of Hot Springs 温泉の国 Kamasaku Sawada 24.8% 16 January 2006
3 Land of Dreams 夢の国 Kamasaku Sawada 23.8% 23 January 2006
4 Land of Sands 砂の国 Gaku Narita 22.5% 30 January 2006
5 Land of Children 子供の国 Gaku Narita 22.1% 6 February 2006
6 Land of Forest 森の国 Kamasaku Sawada 20.6% 13 February 2006
7 Land of Ghosts 幽霊の国 Hiromasa Kato 21.2% 20 February 2006
8 Land of Time 時の国 Gaku Narita 20.9% 27 February 2006
9 Land of Flowers 花の国 Gaku Narita 20.7% 6 March 2006
10 Land of Separate Existence 滅法国 Kentaro Takagi 20.5% 13 March 2006
11 Tenjiku 天竺 Kamasaku Sawada 24.7% 20 March 2006

Soundtrack

Selected pieces of score from the series, as composed by Satoshi Takebe, were released on 1 March 2006 by Avex Trax

The Original Soundtrack to the film, also composed by Satoshi Takebe, was released on 1 August 2007 by Rhythm Zone

Trivia

See also

References

  1. ↑ "宅建は独学で取得できるか!?". Saiyuki.jp. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ "The 2007 film". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
  4. ↑ "Monkey Magic". Cine-Asia. Showbox Media Group. Retrieved 17 December 2011.

External links

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