>The Legend of the Monkey King | Those Inspired By The Legend

Wu Ch'eng-en's Journey To The West was just one adaptation of the story of the monkey king Son Goku. However, in the twentieth century, many more variations and adaptations of the myth were made. Some were straight-forward adaptations while others were loose interpretations. Whatever the case, each one embodies the spirit of adventure and tradition the original tale embodied. American audiences were introduced to elements of the story with Alakazam the Great in 1960 and in the late 70s Jessie Dart, the lead hero of the Force Five's (a very genius way of presenting five different 26-episode anime series, one of the first real anime blocks [another topic for another time]) Spaceketeers/Starzinger. Here's a sample of the stories that were inspired by the Monkey King:

Son Goku
The Adventures of The Monkey King

Osamu Tezuka is Japan's answer to Max Fleischer (other people claim Dr. Tezuka is Japan's Walt Disney, but after researching the history of that kingdom-making creator, I kind of have mixed emotions comparing Tezuka to him), creating original tales in both animation and comic forms and adapting classic stories in animated form, and helping create first steps in the anime industry in the process. He created Kimba the White Lion and Astro Boy and adapted Metropolis and The Journey West for Japanese audiences. He created Hsi Yu Chi, a very faithful version of the myth, which was adapted in two very different mediums.

One was released in the United States as a musical feature Alakazam The Great. Alakazam The Great, one of Toei Animation's first major projects, adapted Dr. Tezuka's 50's manga with drastic design differences. People in this country have often panned anime pioneer Fred Ladd's translation of this movie, considering it one of the worst movies of all time, although truthfully, the dubbing was pretty bad. Tezuka brought new adventures of Son Goku courtesy of his own animation studio, Mushi Productions, in 1967, totaling 39 episodes. Wonder if anybody ever snagged North American rights to those episodes . . .

Son Goku, Dragon Ball/Z/GT

Probably the world's most famous character with the name Goku, he is the main character of Akira Toriyama's second (and most popular) manga series, Dragon Ball, which has been around for almost 20 years. He is introduced as a fun-loving, sweet, innocent 14-year old kid who lived a life of solitude in a forest. Life was simple for Goku until he met a rude, obnoxious, and gifted girl name Bulma (not as pious as a monk, mind you), who was looking for magical items known as dragon balls, which had the ability to grant wishes if they collected all seven of them. Goku had one of them in his possession, who he thought was his grandfather.

The two went on a journey in search of dragon balls and finding adventures, and making friends out of enemies like the shape-shifting pig Oolong, the desert bandit Yamcha, and a small, slightly vain Shaolin monk named Krillan (yeah, I use the North American animation spelling, go figure). Years went on, and friends and enemies were made in Goku's journey of life. He also became a family man of sorts with a son of his own, Gohan.

In Dragon Ball Z, the series strays from its "Journey to the West" roots a bit and became more of a sci-fi martial arts tale, although the expansion of Goku's origins kind of cemented the connection of that story to the Dragonball universe. Goku was sent to the earth from a planet called Vegeta many years ago (now, the thing is we don't know where exactly Vegeta is [was], so we really don't know how long it took Goku to reach the planet. For all we know, Goku could have been incubating in his craft for about hundreds of years before reaching the earth). When Goku crashed, a kindly old man named Gohan found him, thinking he was just a baby. Goku was an pain in the butt, wrecking everything in site, until one day when he fell off a bridge landing on his head. For some reason, the impact turned Goku into a happy, normal boy . . . with a tail.

Goku Furinji, Midnight Eye Goku

Imagine waking up one day to find one of your eyes missing and replaced with a cybernetic eye that could hack into every computer system in the world as well as given a powerful pole that can extend with a thought. Thus is the life of Goku Furiniji, a detective who is on a mission to find out who's killing folks left and right in the distant future of 2014 (what is that, 13 years away?). This is a very dark adult tale from Madhouse (distributed domestically by Urban Vision), very 80s inspired, and to be honest, not that good. While the "Journey" elements are present a little in Goku, the OVA itself is techno noir with a lot of nudity, so it's not for the kiddies.

Kongo The Conqueror, Monkey Magic

Like The Adventures of the Monkey King, Monkey Magic is closer to the original Journey tale in the classical sense, although the spiritual elements have changed a bit. From Enoki Films, this series was about Kongo, a monkey born from stone who has a need to be great. After leaving Flower Fruit Mountain in search of knowledge and power, Kongo gets a magical Jet Cloud which give him control of the airs. After humans take over the land of the monkeys, Kongo uses his new abilities to not only defeat the humans, but also declared himself king of the mountain.

Of course, this act of defiance displeases the gods, who figured Kongo needed to learn a lesson about humility and to not piss off the gods. The gods launched an attack on both Kongo and the monkeys. However, the gods were defeated soundly. They decided to invite the Monkey King to the Celestial Heavens where the gods figured they could just humiliate Kongo on their own turf rather than face him at his homeland.

Didn't work.

Kongo just defeated the gods again and gained a pair of treats . . . immortality and the Power Rod, the most powerful weapon in the universe. Not bad for a little monkey.

Son Goku:
Saiyuki

One of the latest additions in the annals of the Monkey King is Son Goku of Saiyuki, distributed domestically by ADV Films and later Geneon. On the outside, he appears to be a kid, the youngest member of the quartet who are on a journey to restore peace in Paradise and to travel to Indara where they have defeat the Gyumao before he's awakened. However, Goku is a true demon who was imprisoned in stone and wears a crown to keep his demonic tendencies under control. In the meantime, Goku has fun and tries to keep out of trouble.

Xin
Xin: The Legend of the Monkey King

From Harris Comics' Anarchy Studios comes a cool comic book retelling of The Journey West from Vampi creator Kevin Lau and UDON. Xin is, essentially, the Goku of this story. He's a young, arrogant punk who was a member of a group who protects the Torch of Light, which held the forces of evile at bay. He got bored with that task, so he left wanting to find something that would satisfy his tastes for adventure. When he came back years later, Xin fought an old rival, but accidently shatters the Torch, unleashing hell on this planet, literally!

Only one person could repair the Torch of Light, and it isn't Xin. It's an angelic young lady named Sanzen. She's physically frail, but could possibly be the most powerful being on the planet. Sanzen knows that the journey west would kill her, but she chose to go anyway, and Xin is in charge of protecting her. Together, they travel to strange lands and meet interesting characters, many of whom join them.

Monkey D. Luffy
One Piece

Now, I'm kind of questioning whether or not One Piece should be placed in the same discussion about the Monkey King, but then again, think about what the story is all about. An energetic boy named Monkey D. Luffy goes on a journey westward towards Grand Line, a place where his dream of becoming the king of pirates can come true, making friends and foes along the way. Roofy has the ability to stretch his limbs and body. Now, at the time of this writing, Luffy didn't have a dark side, like the Gokus mentioned earlier, but he does share their passion for fun, food, and adventure.

In conclusion, the characters may change, but the essential elements of The Journey West remains strong in any interpretation.