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the-monkey-ruler · 3 months

Note

I'm a fan of the Saiyuki/Monkey 1978 show and I thought I'd throw in some extra info after seeing that last anon ask about "why is sanzang often a woman in japanese media"

First off, I hope I don't come across as nitpicky, but the show in English is called "Monkey", not "Monkey Magic", and the only reason I point that out because there IS another JttW adaptation (animated series, but also from Japan) called "Monkey Magic" and I don't want anyone to get the two confused. (But the theme song to Monkey 1978 IS called "Monkey Magic" so confusion abounds lol) You said "many Japanese media followed its example and had Sanzang be a woman." While Sanzang is often played by a female actress in Japanese media, the character is almost always still male, at least in the more mainstream direct adaptations of the JttW story. DBZ is hardly an accurate adaption, and Bulma being made a woman was probably just inspired by Sanzang being played by actresses, like you said. I could be wrong but at least from the ones that I've seen, the adaptations that do change Sanzang the character to be a women are usually ones that don't take themselves as seriously when it comes to "accurately" adapting the original story (not that there's anything wrong with that).

"I can’t say for certain why they made Sanzang a girl in the 1970s" Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a definitive reason either, but I did read once that the actor who played Wukong for the show gave an interview and said that the reason they hired an actress was "to generate buzz about the show" (but I can't confirm a source for that quote). I've also seen multiple theories that another possible reason is due to the fact that Sanzang is supposed to be a beautiful man, so why not have a woman play him to amp up the attractiveness factor?

Also, in the English dub Tripitaka is often referred to as "the boy priest" which to me seems a weird specification to point out, unless they're implying that he's very young or not even an adult yet in this show. Wukong calls him "the lad" a lot too, which maybe lends a little credence to this Sanzang being young. I don't know if that's also true in the original Japanese, but if it is, then that might also explain why they chose an actress to play him, to make him look properly youthful.

(Or maybe the English dub kept emphasizing Sanzang being a boy/a lad simply to help audiences know that despite being played by a lovely actress, the character is still a man lol)

OR who knows, maybe the casting director for the show felt like being progressive for the 70s, because Sanzang isn't the only cross-cast character; Buddha is played by a female actress and Guanyin is played by a male actor.

Sorry for such a long ask, I tried to keep things concise while still hitting the main points. I really really enjoy this show and I'm sad there isn't a whole lot of information available for it!

I'm a fan of the Saiyuki/Monkey 1978 show and I thought I'd throw in some extra info after seeing that last anon ask about "why is sanzang often a woman in japanese media" First off, I hope I don't come across as nitpicky, but the show in English is called "Monkey", not "Monkey Magic", and the only reason I point that out because there IS another JttW adaptation (animated series, but also from Japan) called "Monkey Magic" and I don't want anyone to get the two confused. (But the theme song to Monkey 1978 IS called "Monkey Magic" so confusion abounds lol)

I like that Monkey Magic anime that you brought up. It's good stuff!

You said "many Japanese media followed its example and had Sanzang be a woman." While Sanzang is often played by a female actress in Japanese media, the character is almost always still male, at least in the more mainstream direct adaptations of the JttW story. DBZ is hardly an accurate adaption, and Bulma being made a woman was probably just inspired by Sanzang being played by actresses, like you said.

I'm not saying that most Japanese media have Sanzang as a girl, just a lot of them, and yes most faithful adaptions of course have Sanzang as a boy but that doesn't discount how many girl Sanzang media has come out of this and could have been influenced by Monkey (1978). This is more just observing the combination of Japanese media that has femme Sanzang more than other countries' media.

The Saiyuki franchises do keep it that Sanzang is a male played by a woman there is other Saiyuki media that has him as a female on purpose. Saiyuki TV series (1993), Saiyuki (1994), and the Sayuki movie (2007) are clearly 1978-inspired but as such just have Sanzang is supposed to be a man. Maybe even Doraemon: The Record of Nobita’s Parallel Visit to the West (1988) since while the character is a girl she is still playing Sanzang as a man.

I didn't even consider Dragon Ball as an example of Sanzang being portrayed as a woman. I was thinking Saiyuki Starzinger (1978), SF Saiyuki Starzinger Movie Edition SF (1979), and Saiyuiki Journey West (1999) where you play as Sanzo and choose your gender as either a girl or a boy. There is also the Japanese anime Nanbaka (2016) where Sanzang is played by two different characters also a man and a woman. There is also just anime-games like Monster Super League (2016), Dragalia Lost (2018), Granblue Fantasy (2014), and Monster Strike (2014) モンスターストライク.

There are other non-Japanese productions that also follow the idea of having Sanzang as a woman and while these can be separated from Monkey (1978) I think they should also be considered to be have some influence. The Australian tv show Legends of the Monkey King (2018) is stated to be inspired by Monkey (1978) more so than Xiyouji itself. Korean Odessey (2017) and God of High School (2020) are Korean productions but I'm not sure if this is inspired by Monkey (1978) as it is a different modern take of the story and thus could be different. There has only been one Chinese media that I have seen with a female Sanzang Ultimate Westward Journey (2019).

I could be wrong but at least from the ones that I've seen, the adaptations that do change Sanzang the character to be a women are usually ones that don't take themselves as seriously when it comes to "accurately" adapting the original story (not that there's anything wrong with that).

I guess they don't have to be taken seriously but they should still be noted all the same because this is still Japanese media that is portraying Xiyouji characters. It doesn't have to be taken seriously to still note when and to whom gender bent happen (should also be noted that Bailong and Wujing are also common characters to have their genders differ). Just cause they are games or cartoons doesn't make them any less media that should be considered how easily it is to change Sanzang's gender even for casual and common everyday games and shows.

It's not so much about accuracy as that isn't needed but how to widespread the idea of changing Sanzang's gender. It's not a bad thing but something that should be recognized. Personally, in terms of Dragon Ball, I always like the idea of Krillin being as Sanzang as well since I think that being an ex-monk would be clever. But since there is a lot of Japanese media that has Sanzang has multiple characters that could be Sanzang it could just be up to interpretation as Bulma was the original idea for Sanzang representation.

"I can’t say for certain why they made Sanzang a girl in the 1970s" Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a definitive reason either, but I did read once that the actor who played Wukong for the show gave an interview and said that the reason they hired an actress was "to generate buzz about the show" (but I can't confirm a source for that quote). I've also seen multiple theories that another possible reason is due to the fact that Sanzang is supposed to be a beautiful man, so why not have a woman play him to amp up the attractiveness factor?

I was quoting from the Monkey 1978 Baidu page when I was talking in my last post and it did seem like they were going to hire Tamasaburo Bando until the change was made. @journeytothewestresearch suggested that it could have been to highlight Sanzang's natural beauty so perhaps that could be the case. But in any case it def left an impressive on lots of media later down the line.

Also, in the English dub Tripitaka is often referred to as "the boy priest" which to me seems a weird specification to point out, unless they're implying that he's very young or not even an adult yet in this show. Wukong calls him "the lad" a lot too, which maybe lends a little credence to this Sanzang being young. I don't know if that's also true in the original Japanese, but if it is, then that might also explain why they chose an actress to play him, to make him look properly youthful. (Or maybe the English dub kept emphasizing Sanzang being a boy/a lad simply to help audiences know that despite being played by a lovely actress, the character is still a man lol)

I think they could have been implying that he was younger in the show since there was some media in the early 1960-70s where young boys were played by women. I have only seen this in like musical movies though, so that the 'young boy' would have a higher-pitched voice.

OR who knows, maybe the casting director for the show felt like being progressive for the 70s, because Sanzang isn't the only cross-cast character; Buddha is played by a female actress and Guanyin is played by a male actor.

I do think that showing Buddha and Guanyin as genders differing from how they are usually portrayed was very innovative! Perhaps even touching on Guanyin's original legend where she was an Indian Prince, gives her an ambiguous gender role. It could be that the director seeing that both form and beauty are not limited to gender could be played by anyone as long as the acting is top quality.

Sorry for such a long ask, I tried to keep things concise while still hitting the main points. I really really enjoy this show and I'm sad there isn't a whole lot of information available for it!

I do wish that I could find more information and I'm surprised that there is very little despite how globally popular it was. I know that the sub was many people's intro to Xiyouji and further created a stronger legacy. But it could be that the show's run was to be short