Saiyuki Reload, Volume 3

I've read the 1st 3 volumes of Saiyuki reload and I absolutely love it! I just can;t wait for the 4th, 5th and 6th volume! While I must say the anime is really good too, the mangas always seem to shine more. The artwork is splendid as usual. (see Sanzo!) And the storyline stays in tact. Loads of reminiscing their past and defeating youkai, as usual, but it always adds a touch of humour to it. Buy this!

The anime never did the Manga justice. Certain episodes in Gensomaden Saiyuki came close. In Reload 3, the story arc, "against the stream" ends and the new story arc, the astounding "burial" begins. In "burial" we have all the elements of Saiyuki we love - great characterization, deeply emotional story lines and of course the poignant humour and wit. It is also from here the anime and manga deviates and of course nothing can ever beat Minekura's manga version. Just found out that the "burial" story arc will be made into OVA this year and this is definitely something to look forward to.

This is the volume of Saiyuki Reload where things finally get back on track. In the last two books it was mainly the guys playing around or getting sidetracked- something even they comment on in the book. It might not be super accurate to say things got going again in volume 3, because a good half of it is all about the past. But everything's back to being lyrical philosophy with a sting in the tail, and the characters with thier hybrid dark/funny personalities are doing stuff relevant to the overall scheme of things. The first section is a wrap-up of the last episode-kou and his party struggling with how to handle his brainwashing and thier feelings of loyalty. Next up- a look into the FAR past, long before the Sanzo group ever came face to face. These solemn vignettes come to the surface after being buried in memories of the dead or unreachable- a hauntingly beautiful example of dramatic irony, as the Sanzo group is unlikely to discover such truths. Highly significant events involving Sanzo's master and a certain villain are revealed to the reader. Following that is a story about Sanzo, likely containing the key moment when he became the shamelessly callous and brutal person he is now. After that is a short and sweet shot of Sanzo and Goku's first meeting. And lastly, a small gag section about the journey reaching its one year anniversary. Saiyuki Reload has hit its stride. The characters are being thier manic selves, simultaneously hilarious, poetic, murderous, and saintly. The art is as clean as it has been for the past few books, and the script has Minekura's usual wit. With everything in place, the only thing left to say is that the wait for #4 is on.