Saiyuki: Saiyubito Comparative Analysis 6/10?
Earlier: Gyuumaoh, Gyokumen, Kou and Doku
So I lied last time, but only by omission. Here's Lirin, Yaone, Koumyou, Ukoku, AND the rest of the present time-line cast. I like summer break (^_^)
Lirin
☆ To be honest she is a completely original character, and doesn’t have a model in “Hsi Yu Ki”. In the beginning stages of “Saiyuki”, Lirin was the only one not in the Kougaiji family. I made her Kougaiji’s little sister because I wanted to make the Sanzo Ikkou and the Kougaiji Ikkou be four vs. four, and I wanted at least one Lolita character to appear and lighten the mood, and I thought I needed a character to show off Kougaiji’s character. Thanks to this girl, Kougaiji’s labeled with a sister complex, on top of his mother complex…… (laughs).
Yaone
☆ Here, too, is a completely original character. I thought “There’s way too little femininity, what should I do?”, and added her to Kougaiji’s side. I planned on making her the white rabbit female youkai who appears in the original “Hsi Yu Ki” (she manipulates immortal medicines), but she ended up being someone different.
Koumyou Sanzo
☆ He is “Priest Houmyou” [法明 sic.] in the original “Hsi Yu Ki”. He’s the Kinzan temple priest who raised Sanzo (Kouryuu). In the original he isn’t a Sanzo Priest, and sinc he isn’t a particularly important character, there aren’t many episodes with him in them. Another name for him is “Elder Houmyou”. He is the one who gave Kouryuu the religious name “Genjo” when Kouryuu was 18, and bid him become a traveling monk and search for his parents.
☆ Just by being the one who raised that Genjo Sanzo in “Saiyuki”, he necessarily became a sneaky, sly, important character (laughs). Incidentally, as for why I changed his name from Houmyou to Koumyou, in “Saiyuki” he is a Sanzo priest, and if I left is at Houmyou he would end up with the name Houmyou Sanzo Houshi” [Priest Houmyou Sanzo 法明三蔵法師], which has “Hou” [法] too many times; and one of “Saiyuki”’s keywords is “light” [光 hikari/kou], so I thought to make him the illustrative character of that word and made hi “Koumyou” [光明 Light Clear].
Ukoku Sanzo
☆ He is one of “Saiyuki”’s completely original characters (that’s obvious). However, his name comes from the quickly glimpsed image of “Usou Zenji” [烏巣禅師 Crow’s Nest Zen Priest], who appears in “Hsi Yu Ki”.
☆ As for the original’s Usou Zenji, he’s an immortal (?) who gives the Heart Sutra to Genjo Sanzo during his journey. He’s a strange man who lives in a nest at the top of a tree. At that time, Usou Zenji was asked by Sanzo and the rest the distance to the West and, laughing, he made the statement, “Going by road isn’t difficult……” that could have been taken as a lesson or a prophesy (he even hinted that they would later meet Gojyo). But he angered Goku with his teasing expression, and quickly disappeared. Because he is the god who conveyed the “Heart Sutra” synonymous with Priest Sanzo, naturally he should be an important character (in the end “Hsi Yu Ki” is a tale that strongly promotes the belief from the Heart Sutra that “All is vanity”. Goku’s religious name does as well), but in the original this is his one and only appearance.
Hyakugan Maoh
☆ He appears as a great centipede youkai in “Hsi Yu Ki” as well. However, he is described as having “one thousand eyes in his armpit”, something I too read and whispered, “That’s so unbelievable”. He lets out as strong light from those eyes and does damage to his enemies.
☆ “Saiyuki”’s Chin Yisou is a complete original character, and I borrowed only the name “Hyakugan Maoh” from the original just because he was a centipede youkai. Of course in the original he has absolutely no causal relationship with Hakkai, but I decided to draw his appearance like that because there was a description of him as “a youkai looking like a Dao Master”.
Kinkaku / Ginkaku
☆ “Great King Kinkaku” and “Great King Ginkaku” are probably the second most famous enemy youkai in “Hsi Yu Ki” after Gyuumaoh. In the original, they used to be children who guarded a gold furnace and a silver furnace in Heaven, but they stole Heaven’s five treasures, descended to the lower world, and became youkai. Among the treasures, a gourd that sucks in those who reply is famous. Kinkaku and Ginkaku, who sucked Goku and the others into the gourd and captured Sanzo, attempt to feed Sanzo’s flesh to the youkai woman who raised them (her real form is a nine tailed fox).
☆ I drew them as children in “Saiyuki” because of the image of them as children guarding furnaces in Heaven. I used the gourd, after a fashion, but I didn’t utilize the others. If you go by the original, the nine tailed fox would be Kami-sama?
Rasetsunyo
☆ She is the female youkai who is Gyuumaoh’s wife and Kougaiji’s mother, and is also called Tessen Koushu [鉄扇公主 Princess Iron Fan]. She is famous for having a “Bashou Fan” [芭蕉扇 plantain fan] that can put out flames with one sweep, and cause fain to fall.
☆ In “Saiyuki” she has been turned to stone and at this point her previous form has not appeared even once, but looking at Kougaiji’s attitude she is most likely a kind, refined mother.
~~~
Aside from these, youkai like the female spider youkai who appeared in “Saiyuki” also appear in the original, but basically their stories and lines are Saiyuki originals.
There is more to come! Next up is the start of the Gaiden cast
So I lied last time, but only by omission. Here's Lirin, Yaone, Koumyou, Ukoku, AND the rest of the present time-line cast. I like summer break (^_^)
Lirin
☆ To be honest she is a completely original character, and doesn’t have a model in “Hsi Yu Ki”. In the beginning stages of “Saiyuki”, Lirin was the only one not in the Kougaiji family. I made her Kougaiji’s little sister because I wanted to make the Sanzo Ikkou and the Kougaiji Ikkou be four vs. four, and I wanted at least one Lolita character to appear and lighten the mood, and I thought I needed a character to show off Kougaiji’s character. Thanks to this girl, Kougaiji’s labeled with a sister complex, on top of his mother complex…… (laughs).
Yaone
☆ Here, too, is a completely original character. I thought “There’s way too little femininity, what should I do?”, and added her to Kougaiji’s side. I planned on making her the white rabbit female youkai who appears in the original “Hsi Yu Ki” (she manipulates immortal medicines), but she ended up being someone different.
Koumyou Sanzo
☆ He is “Priest Houmyou” [法明 sic.] in the original “Hsi Yu Ki”. He’s the Kinzan temple priest who raised Sanzo (Kouryuu). In the original he isn’t a Sanzo Priest, and sinc he isn’t a particularly important character, there aren’t many episodes with him in them. Another name for him is “Elder Houmyou”. He is the one who gave Kouryuu the religious name “Genjo” when Kouryuu was 18, and bid him become a traveling monk and search for his parents.
☆ Just by being the one who raised that Genjo Sanzo in “Saiyuki”, he necessarily became a sneaky, sly, important character (laughs). Incidentally, as for why I changed his name from Houmyou to Koumyou, in “Saiyuki” he is a Sanzo priest, and if I left is at Houmyou he would end up with the name Houmyou Sanzo Houshi” [Priest Houmyou Sanzo 法明三蔵法師], which has “Hou” [法] too many times; and one of “Saiyuki”’s keywords is “light” [光 hikari/kou], so I thought to make him the illustrative character of that word and made hi “Koumyou” [光明 Light Clear].
Ukoku Sanzo
☆ He is one of “Saiyuki”’s completely original characters (that’s obvious). However, his name comes from the quickly glimpsed image of “Usou Zenji” [烏巣禅師 Crow’s Nest Zen Priest], who appears in “Hsi Yu Ki”.
☆ As for the original’s Usou Zenji, he’s an immortal (?) who gives the Heart Sutra to Genjo Sanzo during his journey. He’s a strange man who lives in a nest at the top of a tree. At that time, Usou Zenji was asked by Sanzo and the rest the distance to the West and, laughing, he made the statement, “Going by road isn’t difficult……” that could have been taken as a lesson or a prophesy (he even hinted that they would later meet Gojyo). But he angered Goku with his teasing expression, and quickly disappeared. Because he is the god who conveyed the “Heart Sutra” synonymous with Priest Sanzo, naturally he should be an important character (in the end “Hsi Yu Ki” is a tale that strongly promotes the belief from the Heart Sutra that “All is vanity”. Goku’s religious name does as well), but in the original this is his one and only appearance.
Hyakugan Maoh
☆ He appears as a great centipede youkai in “Hsi Yu Ki” as well. However, he is described as having “one thousand eyes in his armpit”, something I too read and whispered, “That’s so unbelievable”. He lets out as strong light from those eyes and does damage to his enemies.
☆ “Saiyuki”’s Chin Yisou is a complete original character, and I borrowed only the name “Hyakugan Maoh” from the original just because he was a centipede youkai. Of course in the original he has absolutely no causal relationship with Hakkai, but I decided to draw his appearance like that because there was a description of him as “a youkai looking like a Dao Master”.
Kinkaku / Ginkaku
☆ “Great King Kinkaku” and “Great King Ginkaku” are probably the second most famous enemy youkai in “Hsi Yu Ki” after Gyuumaoh. In the original, they used to be children who guarded a gold furnace and a silver furnace in Heaven, but they stole Heaven’s five treasures, descended to the lower world, and became youkai. Among the treasures, a gourd that sucks in those who reply is famous. Kinkaku and Ginkaku, who sucked Goku and the others into the gourd and captured Sanzo, attempt to feed Sanzo’s flesh to the youkai woman who raised them (her real form is a nine tailed fox).
☆ I drew them as children in “Saiyuki” because of the image of them as children guarding furnaces in Heaven. I used the gourd, after a fashion, but I didn’t utilize the others. If you go by the original, the nine tailed fox would be Kami-sama?
Rasetsunyo
☆ She is the female youkai who is Gyuumaoh’s wife and Kougaiji’s mother, and is also called Tessen Koushu [鉄扇公主 Princess Iron Fan]. She is famous for having a “Bashou Fan” [芭蕉扇 plantain fan] that can put out flames with one sweep, and cause fain to fall.
☆ In “Saiyuki” she has been turned to stone and at this point her previous form has not appeared even once, but looking at Kougaiji’s attitude she is most likely a kind, refined mother.
~~~
Aside from these, youkai like the female spider youkai who appeared in “Saiyuki” also appear in the original, but basically their stories and lines are Saiyuki originals.
There is more to come! Next up is the start of the Gaiden cast