AMINE AND MANGA

Saiyūki is the Japanese name for Journey to the West, or Xīyóujì (西遊記 "Record of the Journey to the West") in Chinese. While Saiyūki is normally written "西遊記",
or "Journey to the West", Kazuya Minekura writes the title as "最遊記", or "Journey to the Extreme". This is her pun, as both are pronounced saiyūki. Saiyūki is not the first anime to adapt the story of Journey to the West, with the more famous Dragonball series being a primary example.

Minekura's Sanzō-Ikkō bears only a superficial similarity to the original four in the Chinese novel. Their names are the same as the names of the characters in the Chinese novel, but given Japanese pronunciations:

• Genjyo Sanzo (玄奘三蔵) is Xuánzàng (玄奘) or Táng-Sānzàng (唐三藏, Tang's three scriptures).
• Son Gokū is Sūn Wùkōng (孫悟空), or the Monkey King.
• Cho Hakkai is Zhū Bājiè (豬八戒), a pig monster. His original name, Cho Gonou is actually Zhū Wùnéng (豬悟能), the Buddhist name given to Zhu Bajie by Guan Yin when they first met in the original novel.
• Sha Gojyō is Shā Wùjìng (沙悟淨), a water demon, classified as a kappa in some translations.
• Gyūmaōh is Niumowáng (牛魔王) Ox King

Gensoumaden Saiyuki is distributed in North America by ADV Films and comprises 50 episodes, which has a large amount of material added for the anime. The sequels Saiyuki Reload and Saiyuki Reload Gunlock are licensed by Geneon in North America, and consist of 25 and 26 episodes respectively. Saiyuki Reload is faithful to the manga from the fourteenth episode and onward, having deviated from it for the first 13 episodes. Saiyuki Reload Gunlock also starts off deviated from the manga, until midway into the series, but strays from it during its finale. Due to the change in licensing, the English voice cast is not consistent throughout all three series, and the characterization and general feel of the series may change noticeably in the second and third installments.

Enoki Films holds the US license to Saiyuki under the title Saiyuki: Paradise Raiders, yet ADV chose not to use this subtitle. There has also been a movie (Saiyuki: Requiem) adapted into English that is also licensed by ADV. A new OVA has been released by Studio Pierrot, which covers the "Burial" arc of the Saiyuki Reload manga; it is called Saiyuki Burial. The studio is currently working on producing an OVA based on of Saiyuki Gaiden

On March 18, 2004, in Japan, a Saiyuki Reload roleplaying video game was released by Bandai. The player is an original character who journeys with Genjyo Sanzo, Son Goku, Sha Gojyo and Cho Hakkai. The player commands the four in menu-based battles that allow for attacks, special attacks, and combination attacks. The game tells an original story, and Bandai included a bonus Saiyuki Reloaded voice CD for those who pre-ordered.

Saiyuki Reload Gunlock was released in Japan on August 5, 2004, by Bandai, this fighting game features a total of eight playable characters including Sanzo, Goku, Gojyo and Hakkai as well as Kougaiji, Chin Yisou, Kamisama, and Hazel. Playable game modes include traditional single and multi-player modes, as well as Practice Mode, Watch Mode, and a story-akin Dramatic Mode.