On the road again.
What They Say:
Episode #12: “Haiten”
Will the Sanzo party be able to defeat the War God Prince Nataku?
The Review
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
I didn’t know what to expect going into this final episode of Saiyuki Reload Blast. I can tell you what I was dreading, a rushed ending to the entire series. Luckily, we’ve been spared that sad fate. However, the closure we get here is just a tantalizing hint of what could come in the future.
The battle between Nataku and everyone else is as hard-hitting as promised. The animation is solid and while it’s still taking many shortcuts to fake the sense of movement, it’s not bad looking. While the strikes aren’t fatal, at least for the named characters, everyone is tossed around a ton. More than once everyone ends up in a bloody pile on the floor, but we do get to see everyone get a few good hits in. The fighting even ends up forcing Genjyo to use his sutra, to surprisingly little effect. Nataku is just so immensely overpowered compared to everyone else, it feels like an unwinnable boss battle in a JRPG.
While it would have been interesting watching the battle with Nataku result in Goku going all out, the actual resolution reminded me of why that would have been a mistake. Goku doesn’t remember Nataku, and it appeared that memory loss went both ways. Except Nataku does remember, somewhere in that broken doll form, for a moment, when Genjyo calls Goku’s name. The God of War has a mental collapse and is recalled to heaven. It’s not a total victory for team Sanzo, but in a way, it’s the best outcome you could hope for at the moment.
Even though I know this is the best possible outcome, it still feels like a bit of a cop-out. This would have been perfect if we knew this was only a halfway point of a 24 episode run. Instead, it’s just a tease.
Badly beaten but safe, the survivors of the attack gather themselves and recover. The temple is under repairs but the Sanzo party decides that it’s time to hit the road again. However, there’s one last pit stop before they head west once more. Back to the seer’s shrine, to the room where they can converse with the head honchos. Sanzo firmly informs them that despite being fired they’re continuing toward Gyumaoh. Genjyo has a personal quest to complete, after all, gods be damned. The seers can only watch and shake their heads as the boys give the finger to fate and march on. Thus ends the Kouten arc.
Stick around after the credits for a random fanservice ura sai stinger. Yup, Saiyuki still knows who it’s fanbase is.
In Conclusion (for now):
This episode may not exactly end on the most dramatic or climactic moment, but I’m perfectly okay with that. The story is still far from over, and I’m thankful they didn’t attempt to force anything beyond what time allowed. So many anime series over the last few years have rushed things for no reason. I don’t know when we’ll finally see the ending to the Sanzo party’s long journey, but this series reminded me that I don’t think I’m quite ready to see the journey end. It was nice to see the boys again and remember anime of the days of yore.
Saiyuki Reload Blast was a solid addition to an old property. It was finally able to forgo some of the mass market appeal censorship that this shonen turned josei series once warranted. Even though the animation wasn’t movie quality, and took plenty of shortcuts, the boys have never looked this good. Sub or dub, it still sounds like Saiyuki. For fans, it was like coming home, and hey, it might even have netted a few new fans since it was a rather weak summer anime season.
So, exactly when will we be getting the real final chapter of Saiyuki? No, there was no stinger for another season. Probably not for awhile, we’re once again caught up with all that’s been released of the manga. Cross your fingers, I’ll see you back again in five years.
Episode Grade: B +
Streamed by: Crunchyroll & Funimation
