Saiyuki Reload

Manga

Saiyuki Reload, written and illustrated by Kazuya Minekura, was serialized in Ichijinsha's manga magazine Monthly Comic Zero Sum. Its first installment was published in the magazine's May 2002 issue on March 28, 2002. The series finished its final installment in the August 2009 issue of Monthly Comic Zero Sum, published on June 27, 2009. Ichijinsha collected its chapters in ten volumes, released from July 25, 2002,[15] to October 29, 2009,[16] and from September 2015 to January 2016 published a new paperback edition consisting of five volumes.[17][18]

In North America, Tokyopop has licensed the series,[19][20] and published it in nine volumes from August 2005 to January 2009, leaving one volume unpublished.[1][21][22] In Australasia, Madman Entertainment published the series in nine volumes from October 2009 to October 2010.[23][24]

In France, Panini Comics licensed Saiyuki Reload;[25] in Spain by Mangaline Ediciones;[26] in Italy by Dynit;[27] and Ever Glory Publishing licensed the Chinese translation in Taiwan and published it from September to August 2022;[28][29] and Jonesky published the manga in Hong Kong.[30] In August 2022, at Taipei International Book Exhibition, Ever Glory Publishing released a book called Saiyuki Reload Collector's Edition containing all 10 volumes .[31][29]

Anime

Saiyuki Reload adapted the manga series of the same name. It aired from October 2003, to March 2004 and consisted of 25 episodes.[32] A 26-episode sequel titled Saiyuki Reload Gunlock aired from April to September 2004. The other two series are licensed by Geneon in North America.[33][34] In February 2006, Geneon and Tokyopop agreed to cross promote several properties. Tokyopop's translation of Saiyuki GunLock was advertised on Geneon's DVD releases for the same series, and vice versa.[35]

In April 2007, a new original video animation (OVA) series was released by Studio Pierrot, which covers the "Burial" arc of the Saiyuki Reload manga titled Saiyuki Reload: Burial.[36] In January 2021, Liden Films announced a new anime series titled Saiyuki Reload: Zeroin, which covers the "Even a Worm" arc of the Saiyuki Reload manga. The main cast members reprised their roles.[37] It aired from January 6 to March 31, 2022, on AT-X and other networks.[38][39]

Critical response

Ash Brown of Manga Bookshelf reviewed the manga's first three volume. He praised the artwork and called it more polished but criticized the story for being simple and lacking character development.[47] Jarred Pine of Anime on DVD praised the first volume's packaging but criticized the story, stating: "Saiyuki Reload so far seems to have lost a lot of its charm and magic, relying much more on posing bishies and their oozing cool guy attitudes rather than crafting interesting stories to tell".[48] Michael Deeley of Manga Life liked the premise and Art styles, liked how the art "switches from a realistic to cartoony style in the moment of action" and described the manga as "a good balance of action and drama" that is "bipolar, an action-comedy, one part and the other part is dark and dour".[2]

Publishers Weekly praised the protagonists, calling them likeable and enjoyable for new readers, stating: "with a winning combination of charming heroes, clever dialogue, great fight scenes and engaging stories, Reload is solid entertainment all the way".[49] Manga News gave an Average score to the first three volumes of the series, stating Sayuki Reload had moved away from the original plan and could not function as smoothly as the first series.[50][51][52] Later volumes were awarded High score and praised.[53][54][55][56][57][58][59]

M. Natali of Bd Gest gave a three-out-of-five score to the third volume, describing the story as more-or-less skillful in setting up and delving into the past of Sanzo's character, and the unusual aspect of the main characters, who have become "bad boys with attitude", which he found to be one of the series' strengths.[60] Nicolas Demay of Planete BD described the series as having "very interesting cuts and selected shots are cinematic" but he criticized volume 6, calling it "a transition volume that isn't really gripping".[61][62]