is a 2006 Japanese historical TV

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

based on the 16th-century Chinese novel ''

Journey to the West ''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the greatest Classic Chinese Novels, and has been described as arguably the most popul ...

''. It is a successor to the popular 1970s TV show ''Saiyūki'', known outside Japan as ''

Monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...

''. There have been three dramas and one special based on ''Journey to the West'' that have aired previously, making this one the fifth adaptation in Japan.

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network S ...

made an unusual decision to air this on 9pm every Monday, a primetime slot usually reserved for romantic dramas, hoping to capture both the young and the old by making this choice. While the series started off with viewership nearly reaching 30%, its rating gradually sank, barely making it at 20% at one point; the last episode finished off with 24.7%. Rather than producing a second season,

and

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer ...

produced a feature film version of ''Saiyūki'', that was released in Japan on July 14, 2007. The film was a box office success, becoming the 8th highest-grossing film of 2007 in Japan. The whole plot of the film is loosely based on chapters 32-35 of ''Journey to the West'', Son Gokū trying to save a kingdom (with the help of a young princess) usurped by King Gold Horn and Silver Horn. The DVD was released on January 1, 2008, in two formats: a single disc version with audio commentary and trailers, and a 2-Disc limited collector's edition with documentaries and making-of featurettes; it has also been released to both DVD and

Blu-ray Disc The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, under the title ''Monkey Magic: The Movie''.

Cast

* Son Gokū - Shingo Katori * Sanzōhōshi -

Eri Fukatsu is a Japanese actress. She won the award for best actress at the 18th Yokohama Film Festival for '' Haru'' and the best actress award at the 2010 Montreal World Film Festival for her performance in '' Villain''. She also received acclaim for he ...

* Cho Hakkai - Atsushi Itō * Sha Gojō -

Teruyoshi Uchimura , half of the Japanese comedy duo Utchan Nanchan, is one of the most famous and influential comedians in the owarai community. His nickname is ''Utchan'' ("Wutchan"), and his partner, Kiyotaka Nanbara, is known as ''Nanchan''. He was born on July ...

* Princess Rin Rin -

Asami Mizukawa is a Japanese actress. She grew up in Ibaraki, Osaka. She made her debut in 1996 at age 13 in an advertisement for Asahi Kasei's "Hebel Haus". In 2000, she won the ''Grand Prix'' at the “3rd Miss Tokyo Walker” competition (the first winner ...

Notable guests

* Kadono Takuzo * Takuya Kimura *

Rieko Miura is a Japanese actress, voice actress, singer and former member of the band CoCo. She was born in Nakano, Tokyo. Her solo debut was on 14 September 1991. Filmography Film *'' Kyō no Kira-kun'' (2017), Kanon Okamura *'' Love and Lies'' (2017) ...

Keiji Mutoh is a Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling executive currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), where he is a former GHC Heavyweight Champion. He is best known for his work as in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and N ...

* Hitomi Takahashi * Shaku Yumiko * Ayumi Ishida * Masaaki Sakai—Portrayed Son Goku in the original ''

'' TV series, appeared here as Buddha.

List of episodes

Soundtrack

Selected pieces of score from the series, as composed by Satoshi Takebe, were released on 1 March 2006 by Avex Trax The Original Soundtrack to the film, also composed by Satoshi Takebe, was released on 1 August 2007 by Rhythm Zone

References

External links