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Title: Saiyuki vol 3 (of 9)
UK Distributor:
Tokyopop
Author: Kazuya Minekura
Suggested Retail Price (SRP): £6.99
Number of Pages: 198
ISBN: 1-5918-2653-5
Reviewed: 1st July 2006
Reviewer: Rich (Webmaster)
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After the good but unspectacular first volume, the second
volume of Saiyuki was a revelation for me. The storyline was great,
the characters became a lot more interesting – particularly Genjo Sanzo and Sha
Gojyo – and the tension and drama was ramped up by an awesome cliffhanger
ending.
Continuing on where it left off, volume 3 sees the Sanzo team still facing off
against the cursed monk Rikudo. However, the shocking events at the end of
the last volume causes Son Goku to lose control and revert to his true form,
losing his sanity and unleashing his latent powers at the same time. Is
Goku’s power enough to defeat the deadly exorcist they’re facing?
Meanwhile more trouble is brewing for our heroes, Kougaiji’s sister Lirin is
seeking them out and that means that Kougaiji and his companions won’t be far
behind. With another deadly showdown on the cards the last thing they want
is for a mysterious new opponent with a serious grudge against Cho Hakkai to
interfere, so you can guarantee that this is what happens! With enemies on
two fronts and uncomfortable memories being dredged up for all four of our
intrepid band, can even the divine aid of the goddess Kanzeon Bosatsu get them
through?
Saiyuki has surprised me with how good it became in the last volume and
this one shows no signs of losing that quality. From the first pages to
the last, the story is utterly gripping, packed with real intrigue and serious
action, but also balancing it perfectly with a great vein of humour. As
you may or may not know the story is based on the ancient Chinese legend
‘Journey to the West’, a legend that formed the basis for the old live action TV
show Monkey!. The setting of this excellent take on the ancient
legend is similar to that of Final Fantasy, combining technology with
dragons, demons and magic. It’s perfectly realised too, with impressive
monsters, awesome spells and sinister villains fitting in perfectly with the
machinery crammed into Gyumaoh’s tomb. The art is superb throughout,
particularly the character artwork, although some of the splash pages between
chapters are more than a bit pervy. A picture of a shirtless Hakkai
surrounded by flowers with ‘god please violate me’ written next to it will draw
odd looks from the little old lady sat next to you on the bus…
The characterisation is the series’ strongest aspect, in just three volumes the
amount of growth and depth they have been given is amazing, but there is still
so much to learn about all of them. The short-tempered Sanzo is still the
star of the show, but – with the possible exception of the overenthusiastic
Lirin – none of the characters introduced so far are peripheral. There is
no weak link amongst them, all of them have backgrounds and all of them are
interesting. I particularly like it whenever the Sanzo team and Kougaiji’s
group meet up, Kougaiji, although supposedly the villain is not evil or
villainous – in fact he seems to be more honourable than Sanzo and co!
Enemies who don’t really want to be enemies but are fighting for their beliefs
or goal always make for intriguing reading, and it will be interesting to see
how their stories will pan out over future volumes.
The glimpse into Son Goku’s past during the fight with Rikudo hints at some
really interesting things to come, but it’s the psychological war being fought
against Cho Hakkai by a mysterious and very powerful sorcerer is the peak of
this volume. Hakkai’s normally calm demeanour takes some battering and the
terrible secrets of the past look set to be brought into the present in future
volumes – and I for one can’t wait! Saiyuki vol 3 is every bit as good as
volume 2 and then some, packing in tonnes of action, drama, intrigue and comedy
which makes it one of the best manga books I have read for a fair while.
Take the advice I was given at a recent Tokyopop Manga Night and give it
a chance, you will not be disappointed.
Extras
I really love it when there are colour pages in manga. Often pages that
are in full colour in the Japanese release are reproduced in black and white
simply to save on printing costs in the western version, so the opening color
splash pages in this book are much appreciated! There are also plenty of
pics of the male leads scattered throughout the book as well as characters
profiles, story recap, next volume preview, manga previews and a pretty hefty
sound effects index. Once again a bonus chapter is nestled at the end of
the book, this time a flashback into Sanzo's past which gives some explanation
for his rescue of Son Goku. Brilliant! Ratings
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Extras:
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