The appeal and reviews of "Journey to the West": Recommendations for modern anime fans

The appeal and evaluation of "Journey to the West"

■ Public Media

theater

■ Original Media

novel

■ Release date

August 14, 1960 - January 1, 0000

■Distribution company

Toei

■ Eirin Number

11925

■Frequencies

88th minute

■ Number of Episodes

Episode 1

■Original Story

Osamu Tezuka

■ Production

Toei Animation

■Works

©Toei

■ Story

Born from a stone on Mount Huaguo in China, the stone monkey becomes the king of the monkeys, but is not satisfied with being a mere king. In order to become greater than humans, he becomes a disciple of a hermit, learns the art of the hermit, and is given the name "Son Goku". However, Goku, wanting to show his skills to his childhood friend Linlin who has come all the way to visit, causes a commotion in heaven, is chased by Jiroshinkun, and is finally sealed away in Mount Gogyo by Buddha. Goku's life is saved by the kindness of the Kannon, and he ends up accompanying Tripitaka Monk who goes to India to retrieve Buddhist scriptures.

■Explanation

Based on classical Chinese literature, this animated film is directly based on Tezuka Osamu's popular manga "My Son Goku." Tezuka Osamu himself was at the forefront of the production as a staff member in charge of composition and storyboards, and it is a monumental masterpiece that remade Journey to the West into a modern classic full of songs, laughter, and action.

■Cast

・Son Goku/Kiyoshi Komiyama
・Rinrin/Norihiko Shindo
・Ibaraki / Hideo Kinoshita
・Sa Gojyo/Setsuo Shinoda・Tri-Priest Tripitaka/Nobuaki Sekine・Shaka Nyorai/Kunihisa Takeda・Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva/Katsuko Ozaki・Shoryu/Michiko Shirasaka・Gyumaoh/Kinshiro Iwao・Rakshasa woman/Tamae Kato・Kinkaku Daioh/Kiyoshi Kawakubo・Ginkaku Daioh/Shuichi Kazamatsuri

■ Main staff

・Produced by: Hiroshi Okawa・Planning by: Hideyuki Takahashi, Goro Kondaibo・Concept and composition by: Osamu Tezuka・Screenplay by: Keinosuke Uekusa・Art by: Osamu Tezuka, Koji Mori, Masao Kumakawa, Yasuo Otsuka, Akira Daikuhara, Hideo Furusawa・Art direction by: Masaaki Yano, Hajime Numai・Cinematography by: Harusato Otsuka, Mitsuaki Ishikawa, Kenji Sugiyama・Music by: Ryoichi Hattori・Sound by: Masatoshi Kugan, Takeshi Mori・Produced by: Toei Animation

■ Main Characters

Son Goku is a mysterious monkey born from a stone. He travels to India with Tripitaka Monk to become a great king. He uses the magic he learned from the hermit to fight demons with his extendable staff.

Rinrin is a caring, strong-willed, and cute monkey girl. She fell in love with her friend Goku, and after the two began their journey to Tenjiku, she sent him encouragement in her dreams while waiting for him to return.

A monster in the form of a pig, he was originally a subordinate of Kinkaku and Ginkaku. After being punished by Goku, he changed his ways and became a companion of Tripitaka. He is an unrivaled womanizer and a big eater, but when the time comes, he uses his superhuman strength to face off against demons.

・Sagojo A demon of great monk status who lived in a castle in the desert. He tried to trap and eat Tripitaka and his companions, but was defeated by Goku and became Tripitaka's companion. He is good at digging underground.

A virtuous monk who received a revelation from the Buddha and rescued Goku from Mount Gogyo. He travels with Goku and his friends to Tenjiku to retrieve Buddhist scriptures in order to save the people of the world.

・Gyumaoh The king of demons who reigns over the palace of Flaming Mountain and has great supernatural powers. In order to gain 3,000 years of longevity, he plots to capture Tripitaka Monk and eat his flesh.

■ Theme songs and music

・Theme song: Detarame no Uta ・Lyrics: Nishizawa Sō ・Music: Hattori Ryoichi ・Singer: Moriya Hiroshi ・Insert song: Lyrics: Nishizawa Sō ・Music: Hattori Ryoichi ・Singer: Shimakura Chiyoko

■ Detailed evaluation and analysis

Journey to the West is a 1960 animated feature film produced by Toei Animation and based on the popular manga My Son Goku by Tezuka Osamu. While the film is based on the classic Chinese literary work Journey to the West, it has been given a new interpretation through Tezuka Osamu's unique perspective and creativity, making it accessible to modern audiences.

The story begins with Son Goku, born from a stone on Mount Huaguo, learning the art of taimin from a hermit and causing a stir in the heavens before being sealed away in Mount Gogyo. With the help of Kannon, Goku's life is saved, and he accompanies Tripitaka Hoshi on his journey to Tenjiku. This story firmly incorporates the essence of the original work, while adding the humor and action of Tezuka Osamu, making it enjoyable for both children and adults.

As for the cast, the performances of the voice actors, including Kiyoshi Komiyama as Son Goku, are very impressive. In particular, the free-spiritedness of Son Goku, Rinrin's purity, and the humorous character of Zhu Bajie are all brought out by the performances of the voice actors. In addition, the music, the theme song "Detarame no Uta" composed by Ryoichi Hattori and the inserted songs liven up the atmosphere of the work, making a lasting impression on the viewers.

The main staff also included an impressive lineup, with Tezuka Osamu in charge of the original concept and illustrations, Uekusa Keinosuke writing the script, and Hattori Ryoichi in charge of music. The combined efforts of these staff members allowed the entire work to maintain a consistent high quality. Tezuka Osamu's storyboards in particular were successful in smoothing the flow of the story and creating a strong visual impact.

The character designs also make use of Tezuka Osamu's unique touch, visually expressing the characteristics of each character, such as Son Goku's magic stick and Zhu Bajie's superhuman strength. In addition, the direction of each scene, such as the scene where Sha Wujing digs underground and Gyumaoh's powerful supernatural power, is also superb, drawing the viewer in.

■The appeal of the work

The greatest appeal of "Journey to the West" is that it depicts a classic story in a new way, through the unique perspective and creativity of Tezuka Osamu. The original "Journey to the West" is known as a piece of classical Chinese literature, but this work firmly incorporates its essence while adding Tezuka Osamu's humor and action, making it accessible to modern audiences.

The love story between Son Goku and Rinrin also adds depth to the story. Rinrin, a childhood friend, continues to support Goku, warming the hearts of viewers and adding to the emotional impact of the story. Furthermore, Zhu Bajie's humorous character adds laughs to the story and entertains viewers.

The theme song "Detarame no Uta" composed by Ryoichi Hattori and the inserted songs also add to the atmosphere of the work, making a lasting impression on viewers. In particular, the theme song "Detarame no Uta" has memorable lyrics and melody that symbolize the theme of the work, leaving a strong impression on viewers.

■ Recommendation points

The greatest appeal of "Journey to the West" is that it depicts a classic story in a new way, through the unique perspective and creativity of Osamu Tezuka. While firmly incorporating the essence of the original "Journey to the West," the addition of Osamu Tezuka's humor and action makes it accessible to modern audiences.

The love story between Son Goku and Rinrin also adds depth to the story. Rinrin, a childhood friend, continues to support Goku, warming the hearts of viewers and adding to the emotional impact of the story. Furthermore, Zhu Bajie's humorous character adds laughs to the story and entertains viewers.

The theme song "Detarame no Uta" composed by Ryoichi Hattori and the inserted songs also add to the atmosphere of the work, making a lasting impression on viewers. In particular, the theme song "Detarame no Uta" has memorable lyrics and melody that symbolize the theme of the work, leaving a strong impression on viewers.

The greatest appeal of this work is that it depicts a classic story in a new way, through the unique perspective and creativity of Tezuka Osamu. While firmly incorporating the essence of the original "Journey to the West," the addition of Tezuka Osamu's humor and action makes it accessible to modern audiences. The love element between Son Goku and Rinrin also adds depth to the story. The sight of Rinrin, a childhood friend, continuing to support Goku warms the hearts of viewers and enhances the overall emotional impact of the story. Furthermore, Zhu Bajie's humorous character adds laughter to the story and entertains viewers. The music, too, such as the theme song "Detarame no Uta" composed by Hattori Ryoichi and the inserted songs, liven up the atmosphere of the work and are elements that remain deeply in the hearts of viewers. In particular, the theme song "Detarame no Uta" has impressive lyrics and melody that symbolize the theme of the work, leaving a strong impression on viewers.

The greatest appeal of this work is that it depicts a classic story in a new way, through the unique perspective and creativity of Tezuka Osamu. While firmly incorporating the essence of the original "Journey to the West," the addition of Tezuka Osamu's humor and action makes it accessible to modern audiences. The love element between Son Goku and Rinrin also adds depth to the story. The sight of Rinrin, a childhood friend, continuing to support Goku warms the hearts of viewers and enhances the overall emotional impact of the story. Furthermore, Zhu Bajie's humorous character adds laughter to the story and entertains viewers. The music, too, such as the theme song "Detarame no Uta" composed by Hattori Ryoichi and the inserted songs, liven up the atmosphere of the work and are elements that remain deeply in the hearts of viewers. In particular, the theme song "Detarame no Uta" has impressive lyrics and melody that symbolize the theme of the work, leaving a strong impression on viewers.

The greatest appeal of this work is that it depicts a classic story in a new way, through the unique perspective and creativity of Tezuka Osamu. While firmly incorporating the essence of the original "Journey to the West," the addition of Tezuka Osamu's humor and action makes it accessible to modern audiences. The love element between Son Goku and Rinrin also adds depth to the story. The sight of Rinrin, a childhood friend, continuing to support Goku warms the hearts of viewers and enhances the overall emotional impact of the story. Furthermore, Zhu Bajie's humorous character adds laughter to the story and entertains viewers. The music, too, such as the theme song "Detarame no Uta" composed by Hattori Ryoichi and the inserted songs, liven up the atmosphere of the work and are elements that remain deeply in the hearts of viewers. In particular, the theme song "Detarame no Uta" has impressive lyrics and melody that symbolize the theme of the work, leaving a strong impression on viewers.

The greatest appeal of this work is that it depicts a classic story in a new way, through the unique perspective and creativity of Tezuka Osamu. While firmly incorporating the essence of the original "Journey to the West," the addition of Tezuka Osamu's humor and action makes it accessible to modern audiences. The love element between Son Goku and Rinrin also adds depth to the story. The sight of Rinrin, a childhood friend, continuing to support Goku warms the hearts of viewers and enhances the overall emotional impact of the story. Furthermore, Zhu Bajie's humorous character adds laughter to the story and entertains viewers. The music, too, such as the theme song "Detarame no Uta" composed by Hattori Ryoichi and the inserted songs, liven up the atmosphere of the work and are elements that remain deeply in the hearts of viewers. In particular, the theme song "Detarame no Uta" has impressive lyrics and melody that symbolize the theme of the work, leaving a strong impression on viewers.