Saiyuki is one of the few anime that I made a serious effort to collect in its entirety. Anime DVDs have never been cheap, and I definitely didn’t have the budget to drop $30 every five minutes for new volumes when I discovered the series in high school. However, I still managed to collect all 12 volumes of Gensoumaden Saiyuki, five volumes of Saiyuki Reload, and the movie Saiyuki: Requiem (aka Requiem For the One Not Chosen), which I’m going to discuss here.
Saiyuki has everything I look for in an anime. The main cast is composed of attractive guys with attitudes (which I’ve discussed before). The dialogue is hilarious (especially the English dub by ADV), and there are tons of running jokes. Most of all, there’s genuine emotion lying under the humor. Saiyuki: Requiem is more of the same.
Here’s the summary from the DVD case:
The rebel priest. The hyperactive monkey king. The carousing, womanizing half-breed. The cool, calm collected demon and his pet dragon. They’re all back for their most exciting adventure yet!
The Sanzo party has always been haunted by the past. And they’ve always been able to deal with their ghosts. But when they enter the House of Dougan, they may have met their match. Lured to the mysterious shrine by a beautiful girl, Sanzo, Goku, Gojyo, and Hakkai become ensnared in a trap of dangerous shikigami, murderous doppelgangers, and a malevolent monster who has destroyed his own soul for a demented purpose. Don’t miss this stunningly animated full-length motion picture, starring the coolest cast of demon hunters in the history of anime!
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
Genjyo Sanzo
Sanzo is the blonde-haired leader of the Sanzo Party (as the group is called by others). He’s a Buddhist priest who wields the holy Maten Scripture and a Demon Banishing gun. He’s also known for being grumpy and smoking lots of cigarettes.
As the movie begins, the Sanzo Party is traveling along to their next destination on their way to Shangri-La when they come across a woman named Houran, who is being chased by a huge demon bird through the woods. Houran tells them to run. Sanzo refuses to get involved in the situation. When no one else’s attacks work against the demon bird, he ends up having to use the Maten Scripture to help them escape anyway.
To thank them for saving her, Houran invites the guys back to her master’s mansion for dinner and lodgings for the night. Sanzo is suspicious. Why was Houran out by herself in the middle of the night? Where is this frequently-mentioned-but-yet-to-be-seen “master” of hers? Why is she the only servant in this gigantic house? Houran has reasonable answers for every question. Still, it’s way too convenient.
When Sanzo gets to his room, he notices something even weirder: there’s no moon in the sky to match the reflection in the nearby pond. He immediately goes on the defensive, snoozing upright in the bed with his gun at the ready. He even points the gun at Hakkai when the other man comes into his room.
Hakkai wants to discuss his own suspicions about the mansion. He, too, has noticed the moon illusion. He thinks they should leave or at least bunk together in one room. Sanzo disagrees. He says he wants a quiet night by himself.
While I’m sure that Sanzo does want a break from the others, I think he’s being more practical than anything. If they try to leave or suddenly circle the wagons, they’ll give away the fact that they know something’s up. They’ll lose their tactical advantage. It’s possible that things are weird but in a non-dangerous way, in which case they would miss out on a rare comfortable night. It’s better to let the situation play out and deal with whatever comes, if and when it comes.
Before Hakkai leaves, Sanzo warns him that he will kill anybody who comes into his room before morning. He is absolutely not joking. The next time we see Sanzo, he’s shooting at an injured Gojyo, who has appeared outside his window. And with good reason—this isn’t the real Gojyo. It’s a doppelganger sent courtesy of Houran’s master…Dougan!
We learn that Dougan was a monk-in-training who once worked as Sanzo’s personal servant. Dougan began to idolize Sanzo after Sanzo made several kind gestures towards him, such as commenting on their similar backgrounds and giving him one of his orange paper airplanes.
Things soured between them when Sanzo rejected Dougan’s request to go on missions with him. Sanzo’s reasoning? He has refused to be responsible for another person since his master, Koumyou Sanzo, was murdered protecting him from demon thieves. Sanzo probably feared a repeat of that scenario. If something went wrong, Dougan’s blood would be on his hands (and conscience).
Sanzo didn’t explain any of that. He simply said no. When Dougan asked why Goku was allowed to go, Sanzo said, “I don’t have to protect him.” Because Goku is immortal. Dougan assumed that Sanzo meant that he wasn’t skilled enough to be his sidekick, so he trained in the woods for three years to learn anything that could be useful to his boss. By the time he came back, Sanzo had already gone off with Goku, Gojyo, and Hakkai.
Dougan completely lost it. I think he had experienced one too many rejections. He had no parents. Depending on how he lost them, he could see their absence as abandonment, and thus, a rejection. He had no friends. The kids bullied him at his first temple, making him an outcast—another rejection. Then he had no Sanzo. Sanzo “chose” Goku, Hakkai, and Gojyo over him. That was the final rejection, the last nail in his sanity coffin.
Dougan is deranged but not dumb. In fact, one of the temple elders called him an “excellent learned priest.” So, he devised a plan to show Sanzo that he could perfectly fill Goku, Gojyo, and Hakkai’s shoes. First, he dyed his hair red with half-demon blood to mimic Gojyo’s appearance. Next, he killed Houmaoh, the clan leader, and the 1,000 demons that lived in a village along the Sanzo Party’s travel route to become a demon the same way that Hakkai did. Then he implanted a talisman in the form of Sanzo’s orange paper airplane in his chest for a power boost to rival Goku’s strength.
All that was left was to bring the Sanzo Party inside the village. He knew they would never ignore a person in need, especially a damsel in distress, so he sent Houran, Houmaoh’s half-demon daughter whom he had enslaved with another talisman, and his demon bird shikigami into the woods. Once they arrived, Dougan would torture each guy (except Sanzo) with the worst event of their past before killing them.
Now, back to the Gojyo doppelganger. I think Dougan makes it to impress Sanzo with his new skills. Not just anybody can make such a lifelike replica of another person. Certainly none of the guys in the Sanzo Party can do it.
Dougan specifically sends “Gojyo” to Sanzo for two reasons. First, Gojyo is objectively the least dangerous member of the Sanzo Party. Gojyo is only half demon. He doesn’t have any fancy powers or advanced martial arts skills like Hakkai. His enhanced strength and speed are nothing compared to Goku’s. And if it came down to it, Sanzo could easily take Gojyo out because all of his weapons are tailored to killing demons. Dougan doesn’t want Sanzo dead, after all.
Second, only a fake Gojyo could possibly bypass Sanzo’s BS radar. Sanzo’s relationship with Gojyo is…strained…compared to what he has with Hakkai and Goku. They trust each other, but they don’t like each other. Sanzo resents Gojyo for not bowing to his authority as readily as the others do; Gojyo thinks Sanzo is an arrogant jerk who doesn’t deserve his title or the deference paid to him because of it. Therefore, Sanzo might miss small clues that would expose “Gojyo.”
What Dougan doesn’t account for is Sanzo’s excellent observational skills. Sanzo has still spent enough time around Gojyo to know him well. “Gojyo” gives himself away when he accepts a hand up from Sanzo. In Sanzo’s mind, the move doesn’t make sense. Why doesn’t “Gojyo” verify that he’s actually Sanzo the same way that Sanzo has been evaluating him, especially if he was just supposedly stabbed by a fake Hakkai? Moreover, I doubt the real Gojyo would ever willingly accept Sanzo’s help. Armed with that knowledge, Sanzo shoots the doppelganger without hesitation.
It’s about this time that Sanzo hears Goku calling out in the distance. In a cute callback to his and Goku’s first meeting, Sanzo later explains, “I don’t know why, but I can really hear that idiot’s voice.” He follows the voice to a cave where Goku is chained to a wall and a Dougan doppelganger is in the middle of taunting him with a Sanzo doppelganger. Sanzo shoots “Sanzo” and “Dougan,” then frees Goku (after walking away like he briefly considered leaving him, mind you!).
Sanzo and Goku find the room where the real Dougan is stationed. Sanzo already somewhat remembers Dougan now because he recognized the face under the mask and the orange paper airplane the Dougan doppelganger’s body left behind when it dissolved. Dougan confirms his guess. Then he sets off bombs that are hidden beneath the orange paper airplanes that fill the room while laughing maniacally. Sanzo and Goku barely get out ahead of the explosion, only to run into an army of shikigami demons.
Thankfully, Gojyo and Hakkai, who have just escaped their own ordeals, arrive to help out. None of them can beat Dougan physically. Even Sanzo’s bullets don’t work. So, they fight him with taunts. Sanzo scores the biggest hit when he harshly points out the huge “Gotcha!” to the entire situation: “I’ve never said a word asking these guys to come with me.” Sanzo reminds everyone that his bosses, the Sanbutsushin, forced him to take Goku, Gojyo, and Hakkai with him. Oops!
This revelation sends Dougan even farther off the deep end. He did all of that work based on a false assumption. Even worse, Sanzo doesn’t care about any of it. He tells Dougan, “That’s three years you wasted” when Dougan recites the tasks that he completed. As they hurl more insults at Dougan, he begins to take on a monstrous form due to the talisman taking him over.
With Houran’s help, Sanzo is eventually able to shoot Dougan right through the paper airplane. Sanzo has no qualms about pulling the trigger. He’s irritated. Dougan twisted his words and committed numerous crimes in his name. Now Sanzo has to clean up the mess. Whatever sliver of remorse Sanzo feels for his former assistant is long gone.
Sha Gojyo
Gojyo is a red-haired, half-kappa (“water sprite”) demon who uses a shakujo staff to fight. He enjoys women, beer, cigarettes, and bickering with Goku.
When the Sanzo Party runs into Houran in the woods, Gojyo is naturally the main one who pushes for them to help her. He literally scoops her up into his arms and into the jeep as she’s running away from the demon bird. Houran can’t help but be flustered by the gentlemanly gesture. Gojyo continues to flirt with her through the evening, going as far as to unsuccessfully proposition her when it’s time to go to their rooms.
If Gojyo is suspicious about Houran or the situation in general, he doesn’t show it. He does interject a few times while Sanzo and Hakkai are questioning Houran during dinner even though he’s fighting with Goku over food at the time, which suggests that he’s somewhat listening to and aware of their concerns. Does he share those concerns? Who knows? Gojyo tends to be pretty laid back. Maybe he, like Sanzo, chooses to ignore the problem until/unless it becomes a problem.
After dinner, Gojyo retires to his room to shower. We’re treated to some nice fan service as he strips off his clothes, lets the water pour down his ripped body, and soaps himself up with his hands. Mmm! All the while he’s doing that, someone is sneaking up on him. He assumes that it’s Goku screwing around and prepares to launch a counterattack. Suddenly, the shower curtain is yanked back. All we see is Gojyo’s surprised face and a splash of blood as a knife descends. It’s very Psycho-esque.
The culprit is none other than Houran. The two wrestle on the shower floor as Houran tries her best to stab Gojyo again (she’s already sliced his hand). Gojyo gets his foot between them and pushes her away with a light kick to the stomach. At this point, Gojyo notices that Houran’s wet hair is no longer green. It’s red. Paired with her red eyes, he realizes that she’s a half-demon like him.
Houran begins to cry. She tells Gojyo her story. Before Dougan killed her entire clan, Houran had a good life. Everyone, including Houmaoh, accepted her despite her mixed blood. Gojyo has never experienced that kind of love. His stepmother tried to kill him when he was a kid, and people continue to look down on him because of his background. I bet it pisses Gojyo off that Dougan stole that elusive happiness from Houran. They share a perfect moment of understanding that almost leads to a kiss.
Just as the two lean in, Hakkai comes into the room. Or so it seems. Houran’s face gives away the fact that it’s actually Dougan via a Hakkai doppelganger. Apparently, he had ordered Houran to kill Gojyo. In his words, “A taboo child dispatching a taboo child. I had thought it was such a good idea too.”
And there it is. Whereas Dougan could easily gather information on Hakkai and Goku’s pasts to use against them, the only things he knows about Gojyo are his heritage and whatever tidbits he could gleam about Gojyo’s personality. Luckily, Dougan already had the perfect weapon in Houran. He figured it would hurt Gojyo to be killed by a fellow half-demon. That Gojyo has feelings for Houran only makes the betrayal sweeter. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why Dougan spared her life.
This isn’t the first time Dougan shows prejudice towards half-demons either. When he massacred Houran’s clan, Dougan questioned whether Houran’s death would count as his 1000th demon. He wonders out loud, “Even a taboo child is still a demon, right?” However, he was relieved when another full-blooded demon popped up for him to kill instead. That’s the other reason why Houran survived that night. It’s hypocritical, really. What makes Dougan, a guy who has killed so many people, better than a half-demon whose only “sin” was being born?
After “Hakkai” berates Houran for not killing Gojyo, he stabs Gojyo in the gut himself and tells her to get rid of the body. Since he doesn’t check to make sure that Gojyo is actually dead, Houran uses the opportunity to sneak Gojyo into the woods where she bandages his wounds. When the real Hakkai shows up, he and Gojyo drive off to find the others for the final battle.
Ultimately, Houran sacrifices herself to help the guys defeat Dougan. She uses the power that she inherited from Houmaoh to weaken the vortex that Dougan opens up in his chest (that he intends to suck Sanzo into). Then she seals the vortex by jumping into it. The vulnerability that she creates allows Sanzo’s magic bullets to finally do their job.
Although Houran primarily does this to avenge her people, there’s a lot more to it. She tells Gojyo earlier in the movie, “I was afraid of dying. But in reality, on that day a month ago, I died.” She followed Dougan’s orders because he would have killed her otherwise. Plus, she was content with his promise that he would free her later. However, she realized that thanks to the talisman that Dougan put inside her, she isn’t really free or alive anymore. Therefore, she has nothing left to lose.
Gojyo takes Houran’s death hard. I think he loved the idea of her, of being with someone who fully understood what it’s like to have mixed blood. Imagine what their lives could have been like if they’d met under different circumstances. Gojyo might have found the perfect place in which to settle down and start a family. We’ll never know.
Cho Hakkai
Hakkai is a monocle-wearing human-turned-demon who uses various chi abilities. He’s the overall brains of the Sanzo Party, as well as the “mother” of the Sanzo Party.
Hakkai is just as suspicious about Houran and the mansion as Sanzo. In fact, he’s the first one to notice that there’s no moon in the sky. The realization freaks him out so much that he heads straight to Sanzo’s room to discuss a battle plan. When Sanzo says they’ll ride it out until morning, Hakkai has no choice but to go along with his decision.
On the way back to his room, Hakkai runs into a sleepy Goku. Goku says that he can’t sleep because he hears running water somewhere. The two listen for a minute before pinpointing the sound’s point of origin: Gojyo’s shower. Based on their expressions and the way that they rush to the room, they probably smell the blood from Gojyo’s struggle and subsequent stabbing too.
Needless to say, “Goku” turns out to be another doppelganger. Dougan sends a fake Goku to Hakkai because Goku’s the baby. He would definitely come to Hakkai with his weird suspicions, if only because Sanzo and Gojyo would probably tell him to get lost if he went to them. Hakkai would wander off with Goku on such a vague clue without a second thought. A Gojyo doppelganger would have worked too because he and Hakkai are pretty close, but Dougan was already using that one on Sanzo.
The first clue that Hakkai is being set up is the state of the shower. In the previous scene in Gojyo’s POV, we clearly see Gojyo turn off the water. When Hakkai and “Goku” get to the room, the water is on again. How? The second clue comes after “Goku” turns off the shower. Hakkai still hears running water, only this time, it’s raining outside. Hakkai has issues with rain because it reminds him of the night he became a demon. By the time the door to a hut across from Gojyo’s room opens by itself, Hakkai knows that something bad is coming.
Hakkai and “Goku” go into the hut and end up in a creepy dungeon. Hakkai immediately recognizes it as a replica of the prison where his late girlfriend, Kanan, died by suicide after she was kidnapped, raped, and impregnated by the demon Hyakugan Maoh. He killed his 1000 demons during his attempt to rescue her on that rainy night. To make matters worse, Dougan via a Kanan doppelganger has locked himself in one of the cells. When “Goku” lets her out, she starts hugging Hakkai and saying lovey-dovey stuff to him.
Hakkai goes from shocked to pissed in no time flat. He says, “I don’t know who the hell you are. But I never imagined such a vulgar situation had been prepared for me.” He pushes Dougan off and slaps him across the face. When Dougan refuses to drop the act, Hakkai blasts him with his power, burning away the Kanan exterior and revealing Dougan’s masked face.
The next thing Hakkai knows, “Goku” is choking him. Dougan proposes a game. Hakkai has three chances to identify him. If Hakkai answers correctly, “Goku” will loosen his chokehold, but if Hakkai answers incorrectly, “Goku” will tighten his grip. Hakkai refuses to play. He calls Dougan everything but a child of God every time Dougan asks for a name, so “Goku” chokes him into unconsciousness and drags his body outside. Dude has already dug a grave and everything! Just as Hakkai’s about to be stabbed to death, his dragon/jeep Hakuryu attacks “Goku,” giving Hakkai the chance to kill the doppelganger and escape.
Interestingly, Dougan refers to himself and Hakkai as “of a kind.” I think he kind of respects Hakkai. They were both human guys who “earned” their demon status and trained hard to learn their special skills, whereas Gojyo unfairly inherited his demon traits and Goku takes his abilities for granted. If Hakkai weren’t blocking Dougan’s path to Sanzo, they might have been friends.
Son Goku
Goku, who has brown hair and golden eyes, is an abnormally strong demon and the youngest member of the Sanzo Party. He fights with his Nyoibo staff and will eat anything.
Since Goku tends to be slow on the uptake, he doesn’t immediately notice that anything weird is going on. He’s just happy that there’s plenty of good food and a comfy bed awaiting him.
The confusion begins when he goes in search of a toilet. Gojyo is already in the stall when Goku gets there…which doesn’t make sense because he sees Gojyo undressing through the window when he passes Gojyo’s room on the way to the bathroom. Then “Gojyo” comes up behind him and goes into the stall…which is somehow empty now. The math ain’t mathing for Goku, but he gets so caught up in arguing with “Gojyo” for cutting the line that he forgets everything else.
This is the first time that Dougan uses a doppelganger in the movie, as well as the first time he uses his “Gojyo” model. He uses a fake Gojyo because he intends to use it on Sanzo later, so he wants to see if it passes Goku’s inspection. Dougan likely gets a kick out of confusing Goku as well.
The next time we see Goku, he’s asleep in his room. A Sanzo doppelganger wakes him up and tells him to come with him to find Dougan. They walk through the woods until they reach a cave. Goku realizes that it’s a replica of Mount Gogyou, the place where he was imprisoned before Sanzo found him. As Goku questions the scene, “specially commissioned” chains snap around his arms and neck, securing him to a wall. Then the fake Sanzo begins to spew the nastiest things Sanzo could possibly say to Goku, like “You’re a nuisance to me” and “I don’t need you anymore.”
Dougan, speaking through a doppelganger of himself, comes out of the shadows next to “Sanzo.” He damn near breaks his arm patting himself on the back for how awesome his fake Sanzo is. Goku poo-poos the doppelganger, pointing out the ways in which it fails to capture the real Sanzo. Dougan becomes enraged. He punches Goku eight times while telling him to shut up. We know the exact number of licks because Goku counts them and vows to return them with interest later.
Honestly, this plot twist doesn’t fully work for me. Is it really true that Goku isn’t fooled by “Sanzo”? I mean, if there’s anyone on the planet who can detect a fake Sanzo, it would be Goku. No question there. So why does he go with “Sanzo” if he knows he’s not real? To see what will happen? Maybe. I doubt that even Goku could ignore that “Gojyo” business from before. Yet, it feels out of character. Goku’s not a good enough actor to pretend about something like that. He would’ve destroyed “Sanzo” with the same quickness that Sanzo destroys “Gojyo.”
All I can think of is that Goku isn’t initially aware that Sanzo is fake because he’s just waking up. “Gojyo” makes a joke to this effect during the earlier bathroom scene. Maybe Goku doesn’t pick up on the issues with fake Sanzo until they’re already on the move. By then, it’s too late to do anything but play along. I don’t believe that, though.
Once Goku sees how angry it makes Dougan to mock his fake Sanzo, he keeps it up. It’s a good tactic, meant to either stall for a rescue or distract himself from his surroundings. For his part, Dougan doesn’t hide how much he hates Goku. Yes, stabbing and choking are more brutal than a few punches. But Dougan plans to kill Gojyo and Hakkai. Goku, he wants to imprison inside his worst nightmare forever: “You have no choice but to rot here.” Goku deserves the worst punishment because Goku is the main one occupying Dougan’s spot at Sanzo’s side.
Furthermore, Dougan reveals something interesting while he’s yelling at Goku. He says, “Master Sanzo doesn’t belong to you. He belongs to me.” “Belongs to” equals possession, which can, in turn, imply a certain level of dominance. Dougan thinks he owns Sanzo. Moreover, I suspect that Dougan thinks he’s superior to Sanzo now. The servant has become the master. That’s why he later tries to force Sanzo to submit to him, saying, “Why not try apologizing to me and beseeching me to accompany you on your journey?” This isn’t about proving his worth to Sanzo. It’s about showing Sanzo what he passed over.
While Goku never gets to respond to Dougan’s pronouncement, Sanzo himself takes issue with it when he joins the scene. His first words are, “Who do I belong to now?” Nobody owns Sanzo, okay? Not Dougan. Not Goku. And although Sanzo has a lot of authority over Goku—for Goku’s own good, as well as for the safety of others—Goku doesn’t belong to him either. Sanzo once said in the first series, “I never wanted a servant.” Goku is his friend, period.
The harder Dougan tries to prove that he’s better than Goku, the more he proves the opposite. He summons a demon shikigami army for Goku to fight to show that Goku can’t adequately protect Sanzo. Goku comments, “What the hell have you been talking about? Sanzo’s as strong as the devil even without anyone protecting him!” All things being equal, Goku is well aware that Sanzo doesn’t need or want anybody’s help. However, Dougan, who claims to understand Sanzo better than anyone, doesn’t get it at all. He goes to his grave still trying to figure out where he went wrong.
The movie ends with the jeep idling on a drawbridge as the guys get ready to leave the village. Goku is moping in the backseat. Gojyo assumes that he is sad about Houran’s death or thinking about Dougan’s decline. Nope—Goku’s just hungry as usual. Gojyo predictably goes off, and the two start screaming insults at each other. Their excessive movements eventually cause the drawbridge’s rails to give way, plunging them into the water below.
The fact that Goku is more upset about food than the night’s events follows the Saiyuki philosophy of keeping it moving. Houmaoh’s clan, Houran, Dougan—there’s nothing Goku can do for any of them anymore. Goku’s hunger, however, is something that he can fix. And more to the point, they still have their mission to complete. Life goes on.
That Gojyo doesn’t believe that Goku’s demeanor is due to hunger is also intriguing. I, too, wonder if Goku uses that as a cover to spare the other guys’ feelings. Both Sanzo and Gojyo appear to be in pensive moods. But then, if he’s not capable of pretending that he knew about the Sanzo doppelganger, then he wouldn’t be capable of pretending here either. Or maybe Goku is slicker than I give him credit for.
Conclusion
Requiem is a great movie overall. However, I’ve seen at least two versions of the plot in Saiyuki before. In episodes 6-7 of the first anime series, the Sanzo Party deals with a monk named Rikudo that Sanzo knew as a kid. Like Dougan, he implanted a talisman inside himself—for far less selfish reasons—and turned into an evil demon hunter.
Then in episodes 11-12, they deal with Chin Yi Sou, a fortune teller who creates shikigami (with puppets), has a talisman inside himself (a mahjong tile), and seeks revenge on Hakkai (for killing his family). The movie is self-aware enough to acknowledge the similarities between the storylines, but that seems like all the more reason to have chosen a different storyline to begin with.
Another issue is some of the problematic language the Sanzo Party uses towards Dougan. Both Hakkai and Sanzo call him variations of “cross-dressing deviant” several times because of his feathery mask and leather attire. In the dub, they call him “pansy,” “mentally deficient,” and “freakshow” as well. While these names are in character for the guys and in line with the vernacular of 20 years ago when the movie came out, the language isn’t acceptable nowadays. I winced every time they said one of these slurs.
On the plus side, there are several scenes with the Sanzo Party’s technical enemies, Kougaiji, Lirin, Dokugakuji, and Yaone. Is it nice to see them? Yes, I love those guys. Are they necessary to the plot? Not really. They’re mostly there because it would be weird not to see them. Plus, Kougaiji and crew help fill in blanks and wrap up loose ends. They kill that stupid demon bird, as well as a huge chunk of Dougan’s shikigami army. They provide extra background info about Houran. They even attempt to rescue the Sanzo Party from Dougan’s clutches. The Sanzo Party works things out for themselves, however, so the two groups never interact.
And because this is an anime movie, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the soundtrack. The end song, “Tightrope,” is performed by Tetsu69, aka Tetsu from the beloved J-Rock band L’Arc-en-Ciel. Saiyuki always comes correct with its rock-driven themes and this is no exception. The tune is the perfect cap to the entire experience.
*Saiyuki: Requiem DVD cover and summary © Kazuya Minekura,/ISSAISHA, Saiyuki The Movie Project, A.D. Vision, Inc. *