Saiyuki Reload
Licensed By: MVM Entertainment
Genre: Sci-Fi
Episodes: 20-22
Saiyuki Reload is one of many frustrating anime series that offer significant potential, but eventually fail to measure up. This is not to say that it is not worth watching (some aspects are handled rather well) but it ultimately pans out into something that is enjoyable to watch but far from exceptional.
The basic scenario is a formulaic continuation of the original 1999 series: the motley crew of a priest, Genjyo Sanzo, and his companions – Son Goku, Sha Gojyo, and Cho Hakkai – traveling the lands of Shangri-la in a quest to purge the world of malicious demons. On the whole the series is quite episodic, with each episode presenting a new challenge for the troupe; however, in this penultimate volume, the threads of the overarching plot are beginning to come together. Gojyo, the troublesome part-water-sprite, has abandoned the group, so they continue westwards alone. His absence is strongly felt and the remaining three begin to argue amongst themselves, embittered by their companion’s abandonment. Genjyo, Goku and Hakkai are spurred back into collaboration when the lackeys who are after the scrolls Sanzo holds so dear, ambush them. Naturally, this ends in a fight.
Meanwhile, Gojyo finds himself caught up in a world of illusion where he is forced to face up to his traumatic childhood. When he has overcome his own memories, he is confronted with God, the individual responsible for his nightmarish hallucinations. God proves to be more than a challenge for the under-matched Gojyo, but thankfully his estranged companions arrive to fight by his side. Defeating God does not prove easy though, and their ultimate mission appears to be in jeopardy.
Volume six is undoubtedly more fulfilling by way of plot than the earlier discs – it offers significant story progression from here on in, with none of the filler that litters the first few volumes. Character development is also rich, with the four main characters antagonising and supporting one another over the course of three episodes; many criticisms may be levelled at this anime, but accusations of two-dimensional protagonists is should not be one of them. We are shown their moments of strength against foes and their disparate moments of weakness against their histories, dissension in separation and unity before the villainous God. Such a great proportion of the success of Saiyuki Reload rides upon strong characterisation.
However, these good aspects come at the expense of others, particularly the visual elements of the series. The animation betrays the budget, with a tedious proportion of static scenes onto which the characters appear superimposed. Granted, the few action scenes per episode are fluid, but by contrast this causes the other scenes to look even shoddier. Even the colour palette is not quite right; a little too bright in places, often stylistically incoherent. Unfortunately this detracts a great deal from what has been built up by way of plot and character.
Further devaluing the lovingly crafted protagonists are a few of the dubbed voices. Obviously this is more of a matter of personal taste than the poor animation, but I found Goku’s voice too irritating to continue listening to the dub track; the subbed version is significantly less grating, though not stunning either.
Ultimately Saiyuki Reload can be summarised in one word: mediocre. It’s not fantastic, but it’s not without some redeeming features. The majority of the storylines are uninspired, the humour is one-dimensional and clichéd and the animation is average at best and inept at worst. It is the sort of anime to watch if you have low expectations and nothing better to do with your day – but let’s be honest, if this is the case you should be off looking elsewhere for something more engaging.
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