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西遊記
Saiyūki

Top: The Japanese title card for Monkey, reading Journey to the West
Bottom: The title card used in the English-language dub
Also known asMonkey (UK)
GenreAction
Adventure
Comedy
Fantasy
Shenmo
Created byWu Cheng'en
Written byMotomu Furuta
Hiroichi Fuse
Hirokazu Fuse
James Miki
Moto Nagai
Yooichi Onaka
Mamoru Sasaki
Eizaburo Shiba
Yu Tagami
Kei Tasaka
Mutsuo Yamashita
Directed byToshi Aoki
Jun Fukuda
Kazuo Ikehiro
Yusuke Watanabe
Daisuke Yamazaki
StarringMasaaki Sakai
Masako Natsume
Shiro Kishibe
Toshiyuki Nishida
Tonpei Hidari
Shunji Fujimura
Voices ofUK dub:
Burt Kwouk
David Collings
Maria Warburg
Peter Woodthorpe
Gareth Armstrong
Miriam Margolyes
Andrew Sachs
Theme music composerMickie Yoshino
Opening theme'Monkey Magic' by Godiego
Ending theme'Gandhara' by Godiego (s1)
'Holy and Bright' by Godiego (s2)
Country of originJapan
Original languageJapanese
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes52 (list of episodes)
Production
ProducersTeisho Arikawa
Tsuneo Hayakawa
Yoji Katori
Ken Kumagaya
Kazuo Morikawa
Tadahiro Nagatomi
Muneo Yamada
Release
Original networkNippon TV
Picture format4:3
Original release2 October 1978 –
4 May 1980

Saiyūki (西遊記, lit. 'Account of the Journey to the West'), also known by its English title Monkey, also commonly referred to as Monkey Magic (the show's title song), is a Japanese television drama based on the 16th century Chinese novel, Journey to the West, by Wu Cheng'en. Filmed in Northwest China and Inner Mongolia, the show was produced by Nippon TV and International Television Films in association with NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), and broadcast from 1978 to 1980 on Nippon TV.

Release[edit]

Two 26-episode seasons ran in Japan: the first season ran from October 1978 to April 1979, and the second one from November 1979 to May 1980, with screenwriters including Mamoru Sasaki, Isao Okishima, Tetsurō Abe, Kei Tasaka, James Miki, Motomu Furuta, Hiroichi Fuse, Yū Tagami, and Fumio Ishimori.

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Saiyūki was dubbed into English from 1979, with dialogue written by David Weir. The dubbed version was broadcast under the name Monkey and broadcast in the United Kingdom by the British Broadcasting Corporation, in New Zealand by Television New Zealand and in Australia by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Only 39 of the original 52 episodes were originally dubbed and broadcast by the BBC: all 26 of series 1 and 13 of series 2. In 2004, the remaining 13 episodes were dubbed by Fabulous Films Ltd using the original voice acting cast, following a successful release of the English-dubbed series on VHS and DVD; later, these newly dubbed episodes were broadcast by Channel 4 in the UK.

A Spanish-dubbed version of Monkey aired in Mexico, Costa Rica, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay and the Dominican Republic in the early 1980s. While the BBC-dubbed Monkey never received a broadcast in the United States, the original Japanese-language version, Saiyūki, was shown on local Japanese-language television stations in California and Hawaii in the early 1980s.

Plot summary[edit]

Monkey (孫悟空, Son Gokū), the title character, is described in the theme song as being 'born from an egg on a mountain top'; a stone egg and thus he is a stone monkey, a skilled fighter who becomes a brash king of a monkey tribe, who, the song goes on to claim, was 'the punkiest monkey that ever popped'.[1] He achieved a little enlightenment, and proclaimed himself 'Great Sage, Equal of Heaven'.[2] After demanding the 'gift' of a magical staff from a powerful dragon king, and to quiet the din of his rough antics on Earth, Monkey is approached by Heaven to join their host, first in the lowly position of Master of the Stable (manure disposal), and then—after his riotous complaints—as 'Keeper of the Peach Garden of Immortality'.

Monkey eats many of the peaches, which have taken millennia to ripen, becomes immortal and runs amok. Having earned the ire of Heaven and being beaten in a challenge by an omniscient, mighty, but benevolent, cloud-dwelling Buddha (釈迦如来, Shakanyorai), Monkey is imprisoned for 500 years under a mountain in order to learn patience.

Eventually, Monkey is released by the monk Tripitaka (三蔵法師, Sanzōhōshi), who has been tasked by the (観世音菩薩, Kanzeon Bosatsu) to undertake a pilgrimage from China to India to fetch holy scriptures. The pair soon recruit two former members of the Heavenly Host who were cast out and turned from angels to 'monsters' as a result of Monkey's transgressions: Sandy (沙悟浄, Sa Gojō), the water monster and ex-cannibal, expelled from Heaven after his interference caused Heaven's Jade Emperor's (天帝, Tentei, Shangdi) precious jade cup to be broken (his birthname is also later revealed to be Shao Chin, having been abducted as a child, but meets his long-lost father, in 'The Beginning of Wisdom'), and Pigsy (猪八戒, Cho Hakkai), a pig monster consumed with lust and gluttony, who was expelled from Heaven after harassing the Star Princess Vega—the Jade Emperor's mistress—for a kiss.

A dragon, Yu Lung (玉龍, Gyokuryū), who was set free by Guanyin after being sentenced to death, eats Tripitaka's horse. On discovering that the horse was tasked with carrying Tripitaka, it assumes the horse's shape to carry the monk on his journey. Later in the story he occasionally assumes human form to assist his new master, although he is still always referred to as 'Horse'.

Monkey can also change form, for instance into a hornet. In Episode 3, The Great Journey Begins, Monkey transforms into a girl to trick Pigsy. Monkey's other magic powers include: summoning a cloud upon which he can fly; his use of the magic wishing staff which he can shrink and grow at will and from time to time, when shrunk, store in his ear, and which he uses as a weapon; and the ability to conjure monkey warriors by blowing on hairs plucked from his chest.

The pilgrims face many perils and antagonists both human, such as Emperor Taizong of Tang (太宗皇帝, Taisōkōtei) and supernatural. Monkey, Sandy, and Pigsy are often called upon to battle demons, monsters, and bandits, despite Tripitaka's constant call for peace. Many episodes also feature some moral lesson, usually based upon Buddhist and/or Taoist philosophies, which are elucidated by the narrator at the end of various scenes.

Soundtrack[edit]

The songs in the series were performed by the five-piece Japanese band Godiego. In Japan, the first series' ending theme 'Gandhara' (ガンダーラ, Gandāra), which was named after the ancient kingdom of Gandhara, was released by Columbia Music Entertainment on 1 October 1978, backed with 'Celebration'. This was followed by the release of the opening theme 'Monkey Magic' on 25 December 1978, with 'A Fool' on the B-side. Godiego also released the soundtrack album Magic Monkey on 25 October 1978, comprising all of the songs that the band had composed for the first series.

The album became one of the group's highest charting releases, staying at #1 on the Oricon chart for a total of eight weeks from January through March 1979 (it was unseated for most of January by the Japanese release of Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture), and it was ultimately the #1 LP for 1979. For the second series, the ending theme of 'Gandhara' was replaced with 'Holy and Bright', which was released on 1 October 1979 (the two sides of the single featured a Japanese-language version on one side and an English-language version on the other).

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In the UK, BBC Records released 'Gandhara' as a single in 1979 (RESL 66), with 'The Birth of the Odyssey' and 'Monkey Magic' on the B-side.[3] The single reached #56 on the UK Singles Chart, eventually spending a total of seven weeks on the chart.[4] A second BBC single was released in 1980 (RESL 81), this time featuring an edited version of 'Monkey Magic', along with 'Gandhara' and 'Thank You Baby', but this single failed to chart.[5] The BBC releases of 'Gandhara' have one verse sung in Japanese and the other in English. BBC Records also released the Magic Monkey album under the simplified title of Monkey (REB 384) in 1980 but it failed to chart.

Masaaki Sakai, who plays Monkey in the series, also performed several of the songs for the series: 'SONGOKU', 'Ima de wa Oso Sugiru' (今では遅すぎる, 'It's Too Late'), 'Kono Michi no Hatemademo' (この道の果てまでも, 'To the End of the Road'), a Japanese version of Godiego's 'Thank You Baby', and '20 Oku Nen no Kurayami' (20億年の暗闇, 'Two Billion Years of Darkness').

Cult appeal[edit]

Monkey is considered a cult classic in countries where it has been shown, reaching as far as South America. Among the features that have contributed to its cult appeal are the theme song, the dubbed dialogue spoken in a variety of over-the-top 'oriental' accents, the reasonably good synchronization of dubbing to the actors' original dialogue, the memorable battles which were for many Western youngsters their first exposure to Asian-style fantasy action sequences, and the fact that the young priest Tripitaka was played by a woman, despite being male.

In 1981, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation debuted the BBC-dubbed Monkey at 6pm on week-nights. Since then, the show has been frequently repeated on the ABC, notably during the contemporary youth TV show Recovery which aired episodes of Monkey weekly from 1996-2000. When Recovery was put on hiatus, it was replaced with three hours of Monkey. The radio station Triple J often made references to Monkey and interviewed the original BBC voice actors on several occasions.

The British folk pop band Monkey Swallows the Universe took their name from an episode of Monkey.

In an episode of the cult Channel 4 sitcom Spaced, main character Tim Bisley mentions that as a child he wanted to be Monkey when he grew up.

Characters[edit]

Shunji FujimuraAndrew SachsBai Long MaGyokuryū

Production Crew[edit]

Series 1[edit]

Journey to the West
PlanningTsuneo Hayakawa
WriterDavid Weir
ScreenplayMamoru Sasaki

Isao Okishima

Tetsuro AbeHirokazu FuseMotoo NagaiJames MikiYu TagamiEiichiro ShibaFumio IshinomoriKei TasakaMotomu FurutaYoichi OnakaYuuchiro Yamane
DirectorMichael Bakewell
DirectorsYusuke WatanabeJun FukudaDaisuke YamazakiYasutaka TanakaKazuo IkehiroYoshiyuki Kuroda
Staff
ProducersMuneo Yamada

Tadahiro Nagatomi

Satoshi Katori

Kazuo Morikawa

Ken Kumagai

Film CameramanYukio Yada
Studio LightingNobuo Maehara
Sound byMiyanaga Recording, Worldwide Sound
Production DesignerMasatoshi Kato
Incidental MusicGODAIGO
Songs
Film EditorYasuo Hiraki
Music SelectingShigeru Yamakawa
Sound EffectsMiyata Sound
Sound CoordinatorHiroshi Toyoda
Assistant Director

Director for Episodes 21, 22

Satoshi Aoki
Chief of OperationsTakatsune Nishijima
Costume DesignersKotaro Maki
Period VerificationKarajun
Stunt ArrangerKanzo Uni
Visual Effects
Visual Effects DesignerKoichi TakanoKiyoshi SuzukiKazuo SagawaTeruyoshi NakanoShinichi Kanzawa
Visual Effects CameramanShohei Sekiya
Lighting DirectorTeruo Iida
DesignerAkihiko Iguchi
Wire OperatorsEiji Shirakuma
Special Photographic EffectsMinoru NakanoTakeshi Miyanishi
Assistant DirectorsYoshiyuki YoshimuraShinichi KanzawaKenji Suzuki
Chief of ProductionIchizo Koike
Produced in Association withTsuburaya Productions, Tanabe Agency, KHK Arts, Takatsu Decorating and Art, Toho Costumes, Kawaguchi Wigs
VFXDen Film EffectsToho Visual and Art
Special Thanks toShinjuku Mitsui Building/Mandarin Palace Building, Seiunsha
Film ProcessingIMAGICA
Sponsored byPeople's Republic of China, Central Hirose Business Bureau
Produced byInternational Telefilms, BBC 1


Series 2[edit]

Journey to the West II
Planned byTsuneo Hayakawa
Adr DirectorMichael BakewellGeorge Roubicek
Series Written byDavid Weir
StoryJames Miki, Rokuo YamashitaHirokazu FuseMotomu FurutaYuu TagamiYasuhiro SakuraiTakayuki Kase
Directed byJun FukudaSatoshi AokiShowa OtaMasahiro TakaseYoshiyuki KurodaKazuo IkehiroAkira Inoue
Staff
ProducersMuneo Yamada

Satoshi Katori

Kazuo Morikawa

Sadamasa Arikawa

John Ledford

Incidental MusicMickey Yoshino
Performed & Sung byGODAIGO

Masaaki Sakai

Film CameramenHajime KoizumiShinichi Ooka
Studio LightingKenjiro Konaka
Sound RecordistKazuo Endo
DesignerMasatoshi Kato
Film EditorYasuo Hiraki
Music Selecting byShigeru Yamakawa
Sound EffectsMiyata Sound
Sound CoordinatorHiroshi Toyoda
Assistant DirectorShin Hanada
Chief of OperationsTakatsune Nishijima
Costumes DesignerKotaro Maki
Period VerificationJunki Tou
VFX Unit
Visual Effects DesignerKiyoshi SuzukiKazuo SagawaKoichi KawakitaTeruyoshi Nakano
Miniature PhotographyShohei Sekiya
Lighting DirectorYoshiaki Matsumaru
DesignerAkihiko Iguchi
Wire OperatorsEiji ShirakumaShuichi Kishiura
VFXTakeshi Miyanishi
Assistant DirectorKiyotaka Matsumoto
Casting byTanabe Agency
Produced in Association withToho Image and Design
Apparatus & Set DecorationsKHK Arts

Takatsu Decorating & Art

Costumes & WigsToho Costumes

Kawaguchi Wigs

Film ProcessingIMAGICA
Special Thanks toShinjuku Mitsui Building / Mandarin Palace Building

Seiunsha

Produced byInternational Television Films

Nippon TV

BBC 1

Fabulous Films, Channel 4 (Episodes 3~25)

Episode list[edit]

Magic
  1. Monkey Goes Wild About Heaven
  2. Monkey Turns Nursemaid
  3. The Great Journey Begins
  4. Monkey Swallows the Universe
  5. The Power of Youth
  6. Even Monsters Can Be People
  7. The Beginning of Wisdom
  8. Pigsy Woos A Widow
  9. What Monkey Calls The Dog-Woman
  10. Pigsy's in The Well
  11. The Difference Between Night And Day
  12. Pearls Before Swine
  13. The Minx And The Slug
  14. Catfish, Saint And The Shape-Changer
  15. Monkey Meets The Demon Digger
  16. The Most Monstrous Monster
  17. Truth And The Grey Gloves Devil
  18. Land For The Locusts
  19. Vampire Master
  20. Outrageous Coincidences
  21. Pigsy, King and God
  22. Village Of The Undead
  23. Two Little Blessings
  24. The Fires of Jealousy
  25. The Country of Nightmares
  26. The End of The Way
  27. Pigsy's Ten Thousand Ladies
  28. The Dogs of Death
  29. The Foolish Philosopher
  30. Who Am I?
  31. What is Wisdom?
  32. The Fountain of Youth
  33. A Shadow So Huge
  34. Keep on Dancing
  35. Give and Take
  36. Such A Nice Monster
  37. Pretty As a Picture
  38. Mothers
  39. At the Top of The Mountain

The other half of series 2 was not originally dubbed into English. These were done in 2004 with as much of the original cast as possible [6]

  • 03. You Win Some, You Lose Some
  • 04. Pigsy Learns a Lesson
  • 05. The Land With Two Suns
  • 06. The House of the Evil Spirit
  • 07. Am I Dreaming?
  • 08. The Tormented Emperor
  • 09. Between Heaven And Hell
  • 14. Better The Demon You Know
  • 19. The Fake Pilgrims
  • 22. The Tenacious Tomboy
  • 23. Stoned
  • 24. Hungry Like The Wolf
  • 25. Monkey's Yearning

See also[edit]

  • The New Legends of Monkey (2018 TV series reboot)

References[edit]

  1. ^'Monkey Music - Lyrics of 'Magic Monkey' CD by Godiego'. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  2. ^Episode 1, 'Monkey Gets Wild About Heaven.'
  3. ^'Godiego - Gandhara single'. Discogs. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
  4. ^Brown, Tony. (2000). The Complete Book of the British Charts. Omnibus Press. p. 357. ISBN0-7119-7670-8.
  5. ^'Godiego - Monkey Magic single'. Discogs. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
  6. ^https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Monkey-13-Redubbed-Episodes/8626957

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External links[edit]

  • Monkey - Great Sage equal of Heaven - fansite Includes synopses of 52 episodes, and descriptions of the characters, demons, and gods.
  • Monkey Heaven - fansite Includes short synopses and detailed summaries of 52 episodes, airdates, and more.
  • Monkey at the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

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