Journey to the West is a classic of Chinese Literature and anime has been known to adapt it into many forms, today's review is one of these forms as I review Saiyuki as written by Kazuya Minekura.

The story is about a monk named Genjo Sanzo who through fate is joined alongside three demons consisting of the Monkey King Son Goku, the half demon Sha Gojyo and the man turned demon Cho Hakkai; their mission as ordained by the heavens is to travel to India to stop the resurrection of the Demon Ox King Gyumaoh, along the way they must fight numerous malevolent demons along with dealing with their tragic pasts and in some of the slower episodes just general goofing off; the journey would normally be on foot but for some reason Cho Hakkai's Dragon, Jeep can become an actual road worthy Jeep, so the entire series is one big road trip and that's where it loses it's value.
Don't get me wrong, this depiction of the Saiyuki four is by far the most Badass to ever be conceived but after so many episodes they still haven't sorted out Gyumaoh, not Minekura's fault as health has been an issue but the franchise has faded somewhat in popularity in recent years, in fact I became too exhausted watching the series to warrant continuing beyond the Gensoumaden and Reload series.
For what it's worth, the fact that the cast in this Saiyuki is led by a chain smoking monk, a womanizing kappa demon, a pig demon with a drivers license and a Monkey King with a serious meat bun addiction, does make a change from the alternatives we've had over the years which also includes Dragonball, and that's what makes this series special, it had the balls to take a classic story and give it the anime makeover it really deserved in an era (Late 90s, Early 00s) desperately needing some originality beyond taking a well known warrior class like Pirate or Ninja and making it awesome.
Yeah it's too long, the drama gets too heavy, the so called final boss is never actually fought and having two different dubs is relatively off putting, but you still enjoy what's on offer regardless.
Final Verdict: Saiyuki is lots of fun and by far it's best depiction in anime but it's length is intimidating and can be tiring to watch after a while, so only watch/read to it's current chapter if you're committed to finishing the story.