Cheap Saiyuki Reload - Volume 1 + Series Box (DVD) Price

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Customer Reviews of Saiyuki Reload - Volume 1 + Series Box

Shock!
Being a fan of the original series of Saiyuki, I definitely was eager to try out "Saiyuki: Reload" when I heard it was going to be released. I, being a fan of the ADV dubbed version, was a little wary about the new voice actors, and, as I think most everyone else who has reviewed has already established, the new voices are far below satisfactory. <
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>As for the DVD itself, it doesn't have nearly the features the ADV DVDs had, meaning no Cultural Reference notes, Production Sketches, or cute little poster to hang up. <
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>Turning to the episodes, the animation has changed greatly, although I wasn't very happy with the change. (A lot of people like the newer animation better, though, so it's up to you to decide.) To me it seemed like the backgrounds were much less detailed, and the characters' movements seemed to be someone choppy and short. The character's personalities seemed to have been altered slightly, as well. (Although this, too, is a matter of opinion.) <
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>The episodes themselves weren't all that bad; the first two basically recapped what we already know, reintroducing us to the Sanzo party and the Kou-tachi, and stating their goals. The third episode involved a bunch of shikigami impersonators, and the last episode followed the story of a loner demon who was slowly being taken over by the negative aura. <
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>All-in-all, I was definitely disappointed. If you really love the series, though, I'd keep buying the releases just to see what happens. I'm even going to watch the dubbed version, to see if any improvement is made. (And I can't concentrate as much when I'm scanning subtitles the whole episode.) Just keep in mind that it's nowhere near as good as the original Saiyuki series.

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The Hell...?
I love Saiyuki, which is the only reason I didn't give this DVD the minimal one star. <
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>Where are my Cultural Notes? This is set in ancient China; we're Americans, and we need help. And the Cultural Notes always explained those jokes based entirely on the differences between Chinese and Japanese that went way over my still-learning-French head. <
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>And where's my fold-out poster? I paid twenty dollars for this DVD, and I don't even get some paper to add to my wall of obsession...? <
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>Now, let's get to the voices. I love the Japanese seiyuu. I turn into a puddle when I hear Akira Ishida's voice. But I always loved to go back to the English ADV fellows because they fit the characters SO well. Especially David Matranga who is, so far as I am concerned, the ONLY Sanzo that will ever exist in the English-speaking world. Lex Lang doesn't hold a candle to him. Hakkai's voice is, at times, tolerable, but for the most part it comes off as a man who is trying too hard to be Braden Hunt. Unfortunately, Braden Hunt's voice was CREATED with a delicate, pretty tone to it. That can't be duplicated artificially. Hakkai's voice must come off as natural and not forced, and the same with Sanzo and Gojyo's voices. <
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>I'm glad there are others out there that caught the mispronunciation of Gojyo and Hakkai's names. "Go-Joe"? "Hawk-Eye"? Arg... <
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>I don't know why Geneon did this to themselves. Mostly, I don't know why they would do this to US, the loyal, adoring fanbase. We worship the ground the Sanzo-ikkou walks on, and even WE'RE pissed off. <
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>So, if you want to watch the Japanese version, go ahead. The subtitles are fine and everyone is still there. As for the dubb? Don't expect anything less that painful.

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Good Anime, Lousy DVD
I wish that I could give different ratings for this DVD. The episodes themselves were great and if you're a Saiyuki fan like me, it was good to see this refreshed view of the characters. Those of us who watched the original series would be the first to admit that the animation was nothing to write home about. Thankfully the animation seemed better this time around, with more attention paid to detail (like Goyjo's haircolor - finally it's proper blood-red). The action was tight and the re-introduction of all the characters went smoothly. <
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>The storylines at first were mostly rehashing of what we'd seen in previous eposides, but they quickly improved for Episodes 3 & 4. There were quite a few humorous moments (like when Goku, Hakkai and Goyjo broke off from battle just for the chance to beat on Sanzo's dopleganger), and hopefully the plotline with continue to tighten up. <
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>I can't critique the American voice actors since I never watch the dubbed verious, but the Japanese voice actors seemed to be the same from the original serious and the subtitles were accurate. <
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>As for the DVD itself, it was more than dissapointing. I never heard of Geneon Entertainment before, but there were none of the extras that we were accustomed to seeing on the original series DVDs. I really missed the cultural notes and fold-outs that came with each DVD. For those who don't have a strong background in Asian mythology and the original text of the Journey West, the notes were very helpful in explaining some of the stuff going on and why certain things were important. The Urasai bits at the end of each episode were serious giggles, but not enough to make up for the loss of the other extras. <
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