Saiyuki Burial OVA 1

[louiselux]

I got to watch part one of the Saiyuki Burial OVA the other day, and I have many tiny pink hearts for Koumyou Sanzo. Note the lovely icon by moshesque.

Also, the animation is pretty! Far more pretty than any other Saiyuki animation I've seen. Well, apart from that bit with Gojyo in the shower in Requiem. Where was I? Oh yeah ...

One of the things I love most about Ukoku's Burial arc is the feeling of destiny when Koumyou and Kenyuu meet, and that Koumyou twigs almost straight away why Goudai asked him to visit.

Koumyou is a special sanzo, even among sanzos. He seems very of the moment, reacting to things as they happen, moving from amusement to confusion to calculation as the world around him changes, while he seems to stay still. Except when he has to step in and display his awesome arse-kicking strength. I do love that contrast very much.

He doesn't step in to stop Kenyuu attacking Goudai until it's obvious that Goudai can't do it himself and he treats Kenyuu like the novice he is, challenging his basic assumptions about himself. Kenyuu genuinely doesn't see why a devious, lonely, angry and secretive person like himself shouldn't inherit one of the most powerful scriptures in the world. ♥

Koumyou doesn't have enough time to change Kenyuu's mind, even though he tries. He doesn't try to stop Kenyuu attacking Goudai for the final time though, and I've always found that interesting. Maybe he sees it as necessary, or it's pointless to stop Kenyuu trying.

Also, the fact that Genjyo Sanzo's beloved master was such a fruitcake just makes me happy.

Comments

[giving-ground.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed this one a great deal! It surprised me because I've really not liked much of what I've seen of the Saiyuki anime. (Which is to say that bits have been good but the animation has been bad enough for me to just find it... distracting, and it's made it a lot harder for me to actually enjoy the story.)

I would probably have more thoughts but I'm tragically tired given that it really isn't very late... huh. *goes to sleep*

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Aww, I hope you have a nice sleep. :D

There are points where the story is just too gripping for the animation quality to matter, mostly the stuff that's based directly on the manga plot, but generally the anime is just depressing. Because it could've been so pretty.

[giving-ground.livejournal.com]

For once, I did! *grin*

Just reading through the other comments, and everyone has interesting things to say for themselves. Mm. I think I should just sit back and observe after all.

But... yes. I couldn't get very far with it to see how it handled the really dramatic bits. I've really mostly just stuck to the manga. Definitely waiting eagerly for the rest of Burial though. :)

[kispexi2.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed this one a great deal! It surprised me because I've really not liked much of what I've seen of the Saiyuki anime.

ITA. It's *beautiful* to behold! (And so much of the anime is ugly-fugly). I really like the way it sticks closely to the anime - and the way it highlights things that have been nagging the back of my brain.

[giving-ground.livejournal.com]

Yes, definitely. It made me very, very happy. (And from the few seconds in the intro sequence Gojyo didn't seem to have fuchsia hair, either. Phew. *amused*)

[yukie1013.livejournal.com]

Kenyuu has no idea about what zen is; I think he gets ticked off when he cannot understand something. Goudai keeps going 'figure it out yourself', and when ken'yuu says, 'i can't, you fuckmoot, give me a hint', Goudai just goes, 'no, because you're not worthy' and yeah. Ba-BOOM. Bitter geek meets very staunch, oldschool spartan. Fighto-blam.

And Kouymou is all *sigh*

Hes the only Sanzo we've seen so far without issues.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

That's it! He has no idea what zen is at all, and you have to wonder if he'd have been better off with Koumyou all along. That might make an interesting au, actually. He might not have been quite so bitter or, you know, out for world domination.

[yukie1013.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I think he's jealous of Kouryuu, for being near Koumyou all the time. Look how he razzes him. "Aww, so cute, like a little girl~~" Big brother from hell, much XD; And he takes on Kami, methinks, to impress Koumyou. Also, the kid's looks - yeah, Louise hit the nail on the head.

"Tiny Koumyou. M-must...must squish it..."

And then Kami gets brain broken MORE than he already was (he was a child prostitute dfkgjhkljdds you poor thing, Kami). What Kami says about Nii's attitude is terribly telling. "We;re all the gods' playthings." Nii may act like he thinks he's not a pawn on the board...but he knows he is, regardless of how he tries to convnce everyone, and himself, that he doesn't.

His choosing to play black all the time's another big 'i see what u did thar'. White moves first; Nii has to know what people will do. He doesn't act so much as react (jump on goudai! brainwash Kou!), and he makes a million contingency plans, and Koumyou, to him, is - utterly removed fromt he norm, because he can't figure the guy out. The 'it's been a while :D' is the clincher for that. He names Niikoku(!? XD;) snorf his sake.

And around Koumyou, Nii doesn't NEED contingency plans. Koumyou can read him, so there's no point in HIM hiding. It's - I guess the only time Nii felt safe or needed or figured-out.

Now I wanna write this AU. XD

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

In fact, if that was to be an AU, Kenyuu and Kouryuu would probably have a quite horrific sibling power struggle. I think you should write it. :D

And around Koumyou, Nii doesn't NEED contingency plans. Koumyou can read him, so there's no point in HIM hiding. It's - I guess the only time Nii felt safe or needed or figured-out.

Oh, yes! That actually casts such a lot of light on their relationship.

So, Nii is a terrible Buddhist: he's attached desperately to people and to ideas, and in such a way that it always leads to him destroying what is around him. There's another of Kami's saying that is revealing; when he describes the game Nii is making him play. Keep on winning any way you can until you lose. I get the feeling that Nii is waiting to lose to someone, probably Sanzo.

[kispexi2.livejournal.com]

I agree with you (and I love the way you put it). I see Kenyuu/Ukoku/Ni as raging against meaninglessness whereas Koumyou embraces it. To K/U/N it's pointless; to Koumyou it's freedom.

Hes the only Sanzo we've seen so far without issues.

Maybe. And I'm thinking 'issue' rather than 'issues', but if you have the latter, you'll probably have the former too. It was the physical resemblance between Koumyou/Goudai to Hazel/Gat that got me thinking. How much of those rememblances are intentional on KM's part? Does the fact that Sanzo looks like Koumyou *mean* anything? Or does it merely symbolize their emotional/spiritual connection? (And if not, whereTF does Kami-Sama - who also looks like them - fit in?) (Because he certainly fits in on the emotional/spiritual level).

And then I start thinking how Tenpou, Hakkai and Ni all look so similiar and my head explodes.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

It's very head explody. I specially like the fact that at least twice (I think) Sanzo has been told he is like a young Koumyou, not only in looks but also in temperament, which makes you wonder what happened to Koumyou to make him calm down so much in later life.

I did think Kami Sama was some sort of reincarnated Koumyou when I first saw him. Maybe Ukoku picked him for his resemblance to Koumyou? I wouldn't put it past him.

[cicer.livejournal.com]

I specially like the fact that at least twice (I think) Sanzo has been told he is like a young Koumyou, not only in looks but also in temperament

Really? I don't remember that. Where does it say that? That's...very interesting.

And ahaha, yes. When Kami-sama first appeared, I immediately thought that he looked an awful lot like both Sanzo and Koumyou. Interesting that Ukoku picked him, huh? Wonder what that implies.

[kispexi2.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that would be just like Ukoku. I wonder what the chronology was? Because I get the feeling Ukoku was copying Koumyou - albeit in a perverted kind of way. "You've got a little blond boy and now so have I!"

I hadn't so much seen Kami-Sama as Koumyou but as a manifestation of Sanzo's fears about his own unsuitability for being a sanzo priest.

you wonder what happened to Koumyou to make him calm down so much in later life.

Kouryuu? The responsibilities of fatherhood? Perhaps that's why Koumyou seemed to want Kouryuu to one day hear a voice calling him too?

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

I get the feeling that Kami-Sama was very much in imitation of Koumyou, and of course Ukoku managed to pervert the whole thing by creating a monster from his disciple. Either purposely or, more likely, just through providing Kami-sama with the tools for destruction and then standing back and watching his experiment unfold, as it were.

I do think it must be Kouryuu that calmed him down, which is ironic really.

[kispexi2.livejournal.com]

Whilst I think that on the psychological/metaphorical level, the monsters/villains the ikkou encounter symbolize their own fears and inadequacies, I think you're right about Kami-Sama also being an imitation of Koumyou. It's all part of that game Koumyou and Ukoku seem to have been playing since they first met. Ukoku couldn't pervert Koumyou, so he takes what satisfaction there is to be had in perverting look-alikes - and Sanzo is obviously the one he'd most like to turn to the dark side. I get the feeling we're heading for a climatic confrontation between the two of them, probably for Goku's soul. The question is, will history repeat itself? Will Sanzo die protecting his monkey or will he find another way? Eee, sorry. Getting carried away here!

[cicer.livejournal.com]

Ahaha! That's an absolutely perfect description. Goudai was exactly the wrong person to try and teach Kenyuu. His problem, I think, was that he taught his students by challenging them, working on the presumption that they wouldn't step up and accept the challenge. And, uh, Kenyuu definitely did. Whoops. XD

[yukie1013.livejournal.com]

Yes yes yesyes. He says 'this is a duel to the death', and every one of the monklets goes O_O 'we can't do that, sir--'

And Ken'yuu DOES.

Goudai - may even have been labouring under some old samurai code, like, he wants to go down in battle not as some invalid. if a student downs him and inherits his title he's happy.

Unfortunately Ken'yuu got it. Uh. oops indeed. XDDD

I betcha Goudai was a damn fine Sanzo in his time. And then he got old and insaaaaane.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Heeee. Goudai is enormous and very manly - all about the shouting and the physical strength.

And I love the way that Koumyou sits by, watching it with that particular weary expression on his face, like 'well, if you feel you must have a battle to the death at this point, I can't stop you.'

[mistressrenet.livejournal.com]

Yes, exactly. Koumyou's got it, and I think part of Kenyuu's frustration and fascination with him is that he can't figure out how it just comes so easily to him, or seems to.

[scribblemoose]

This arc is one of my favourite of all. Are there fansubs out yet, or is it just the raws?

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Me too. There are just so many things to love about Ukoku and Koumyou.

It's just the raws at the moment. I read along with the manga and found that the dialogue seems pretty much unchanged, as far as I can tell

[kispexi2.livejournal.com]

Also, the fact that Genjyo Sanzo's beloved master was such a fruitcake just makes me happy.

It has taken me the longest time to warm to Koumyou. Mostly I've wanted to slap him for being so irritatingly gnomic and inscrutable. But I feel I've got a hook on him at last - and yes, he is a fruit cake, but a fruit cake with a deep understanding of the meaning of life. Gotta admire a man who (to semi-quote Malcolm Reynolds) can look into the darkness and not become it.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

I think you make a good point there and I love the wisdom of the Mal.

I do wonder what it was he taught Kouryuu that made him love Koumyou so much. Perhaps it was simply that he was a good father.

[kispexi2.livejournal.com]

I wonder a lot about that too. The best I can come up with was that Koumyou always treated Kouryuu as an individual, rather than a child. He never patronized him. I should think he was always gentle in his guidance too. I suppose there was some hero worship and gratitude in the mix too - and the fact that Koumyou died protecting Kouryuu (apparently) magnified Kouryuu's attachment.

[cicer.livejournal.com]

I absolutely adore Koumyou. He's so funny, and comes off as such a scatterbrained fruitcake, but I always felt like a lot of that was an act. Or not necessarily an 'act', since I do think Koumyou enjoys being silly! But I think he consciously puts forth some of that silliness because it puts people off their guard. If he constantly came across as the brilliant, strong, utterly incisive person that is below the surface, I think it would freak people out. And he knows that. So he just lets them think he's kind of a whacko.

Koumyou is a special sanzo though. I always felt like of all the people in Saiyuki who regularly commune with the gods, talk about Buddhist philosophy, etc., he was the only one who really reached enlightenment. Because he is enlightened. He doesn't hold onto things. He cares about people, but he's prepared to let them go. He doesn't try to force his will on others, though he's certainly strong enough to. That was what I found so fascinating about his relationship with Ukoku. It seemed like Koumyou was trying to show him the light, but wasn't trying to manipulate him. He was just offering something else, if Ukoku wanted to accept it. He didn't, of course, and I think Koumyou knew he wouldn't, but he offered anyway. And I think the fact that he even tried when he probably knew how it would turn out is most touching.

And yes, I agree with kispexi2 that Koumyou is amazing because he looks into the darkness without becoming it. Nobody else in Saiyuki has managed that, I think. They all became a bit tainted by the darkness they saw. I always found it terribly fitting that one of Koumyou's sutras was the 'light' one.

[yukie1013.livejournal.com]

Koumyou is - he's like a wlaking talking ^___^ing zen koan. Some of those are absurd, and it's their daftness that enables us to get out of spiritual snobbery or trying too hard.

Ukoku's afraid of the light, because I think if he comes out into it, he might have to look closely at what he is and what he does, and why, and blaaahhh. He's okay with KOUMYOU seeing that; Koumyou won't judge him. But what about the people who do? And what about him judging himself?

Nii is the antithesis of Muichimotsu. You can see it in how Kami acts ("MY STUFF >:O"), in his own attaching to Kou so damn insanely that he baleets Kou's compassion, and in his close-talking, and most of all, BUNNY. (Rabbit in the moon myth. I bet Nii likes Mochi.) Koumyou's gone on to be a bodhisattva, and Nii still clings to his plushie and the sutra and speaks as if Koumyou were in the room.

I feel bad for him at the same time as I wanna beat him into cluehaving XD What is the sound of one ass-kicking!? XD

Yeah Xd; Nii gets my babble on!

[mistressrenet.livejournal.com]

If he constantly came across as the brilliant, strong, utterly incisive person that is below the surface, I think it would freak people out. And he knows that. So he just lets them think he's kind of a whacko.

Yes! Totally!

The light and the dark-- both sutras, together. It's implied that it's unusual for a sanzo to hold both, and interesting that Genjo Sanzo's apparently the heir to them both as well.

[moshesque.livejournal.com]

Also, the fact that Genjyo Sanzo's beloved master was such a fruitcake just makes me happy.

*is so amused by this* :D :D The thing that struck me and continued to do so pretty much all the way through was the amazing quality. Now if only they hadn't scrimped on the main series. :/

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

The quality is lovely, and does the manga justice for once. *hearts it*

[stalkerbunny.livejournal.com]

Hello, just wandered on your journal like I tend to do once in a while.

Must say there are some interesting things said here...
Some time ago I decided to try roleplaying Koumyou. (<--like jumping into the deep end of the pool to learn to swim, very intelligent :P)
That of course meant I had to try to form some kind of understanding of the character, which was very challenging but fun (whether I actually succeeded or not *shrug*).

One thing I wondered about was how much can we actually trust what we know...since if I understand correctly, it's mostly through the memories of either Sanzo or Nii. Not perhaps the most objective witnesses?
Koumyou was certainly a very exceptional person, but did those two see him as someone almost inhuman?
Actually, probably not, but memories can change, and especially in Nii's case I could see that (him being such a mentally stable person). There is something in how he seems to associate Koumyou with the moon (and that "you're still there" comment)...
Then again I could never really figure out if Ukoku feared him or liked him or both. Complicated people, aren't they?

Another thing...Koumyou said that Ken'yuu reminded him of Kouryuu (which might have been just a conversation starter, if he didn't say it again later). At first I was rather surprised, since I couldn't see the reseblance in character at all but reading the following chapter again...oh my. The Genjyo Sanzo there does seem to have some things in common with Ken'yuu. Quite scary to think how easily he might have gone in another direction at that point.

I am quite shamed at how long this monster of a comment is now. <//<