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Saiyuki universe #14
Saiyuki Reload Volume 5
Sanzo, Goku, Gojyo, and Hakkai, a band of four handsome young adventurers, travel the land to fight the demonic youkai, almost human-looking beings with pointy ears and bat wings.
200 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
116 people want to read
About the author
Kazuya Minekura
211 books188 followersKazuya Minekura (峰倉かずや Minekura Kazuya, born March 23, 1975) is a Japanese manga artist most known for the Saiyuki series. Her other manga series include Wild Adapter, Shiritsu Araiso Koto Gakko Seitokai Shikkobu (Araiso Private School Student Council Executive Committee), and Stigma. Stigma is notable for being a full-color work, unusual as manga is generally drawn in black and white.
She had an illness that affected her writing from 2004–2007, which caused her to have a hysterectomy. On 28 September 2010, she went on Hiatus to undergo surgery for ameloblastoma on the right half of her upper jawbone. On 31 December 2010, she reported her surgery was successful after removing the tumor on her right upper jawbone and is currently resting and being fitted with artificial prosthetics to reconstruct the area where her bones were removed.
She had an illness that affected her writing from 2004–2007, which caused her to have a hysterectomy. On 28 September 2010, she went on Hiatus to undergo surgery for ameloblastoma on the right half of her upper jawbone. On 31 December 2010, she reported her surgery was successful after removing the tumor on her right upper jawbone and is currently resting and being fitted with artificial prosthetics to reconstruct the area where her bones were removed.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 26, 2018
A warning: I am biased. This has been my favourite manga series for over a decade and I'm on my sixth (or so) reread. This is as good as I remember. Minekura has given us distinct characters, and even when the speech balloons aren't tied directly to anyone in the panel, you know exactly who is expressing which thought. The art is amazing, and sometimes I'll just stare at scenes trying to soak more in. And the drama/angst jumps in to contrast the humour so suddenly that I will need to stop reading just to process how much I love the moments/characters/everything. Or the humour bumps aside the drama, which is a delightful way to break the tension. In all, that's basically the theme of the whole story. Nothing matters so much you can't joke about it. Though at the same time, everything absolutely matters. Sweet and sour, baby.
My copies of this manga are all beat up, but I know I'll read them again. Everytime, it's a treat.
My copies of this manga are all beat up, but I know I'll read them again. Everytime, it's a treat.
July 28, 2019
Oof! That cliffhanger. Honestly, this gets a five star simply for that. I love this series so much.
November 19, 2023
This one toned down the chaos and fighting a bit but it was still good! I’ve said this in one of my previous Reload reviews - I’m not as much of a fan of the Hazel arc. He’s just not as interesting as some of the other antagonists, especially Kougaiji and his party.
Also, between the manga and anime portrayal of Hazel, I’ve noticed the accent is different. In the anime, he has almost a light British accent or somewhere in Europe. The manga makes it seem more Southern (like from the US). He comes across as more sadistic and dark in the manga too. I can’t decide which version I like better. The relationship Hazel has with Gat feels like master and seevant in the manga while the anime gives off companion or borderline-friends vibes.
We are coming up on some of my favorite scenes of Reload though! I just have to acquire the volumes somehow!
Also, between the manga and anime portrayal of Hazel, I’ve noticed the accent is different. In the anime, he has almost a light British accent or somewhere in Europe. The manga makes it seem more Southern (like from the US). He comes across as more sadistic and dark in the manga too. I can’t decide which version I like better. The relationship Hazel has with Gat feels like master and seevant in the manga while the anime gives off companion or borderline-friends vibes.
We are coming up on some of my favorite scenes of Reload though! I just have to acquire the volumes somehow!
September 19, 2024
Idk man, sad that this one was so slow. Super interesting characters being introduced but really dragged on their plot. Even the final fight that was building the past 2 volumes felt like it was cut short and none of it mattered bc they all became besties before departing. I enjoy a slice of life saiyuki here and there but this one out of all the volumes so far def had the least soul to it :(. Still nonetheless a pleasant read
May 3, 2021
The manga version of Even a Worm is superior to the anime. The dynamics between Hazel and Sanzo are so tense. You can feel the disapproval oozing out of Sanzo but he feigns interest. Sanzo defending Goku was surprising but not shocking. He does have a side. The Youkai child was precious. I love how the child proved that life is a gift.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 8, 2021
This volume was extremely action packed. Also after that ending all I can say is "Challenge Accepted!"
October 24, 2023
I watched the anime before reading the manga, but I've always preferred the manga.
May 30, 2024
Parallel universes
January 24, 2009
Volume 5 is excellent, its whole length taken up by "Even a Worm," as Kazuya Minekura continues painting in details and complications on youkai/human relations and the mixed makeup of the famous Bishop Hazel Sanzo party. There's horror and humor, just as I like, and a good mix of characterication, action, and characterization through action.
Everybody is so distinct. Hakkai gets to air a lot of sides of his personality here, including the forceful and scary parts. On a more shallow note, I love getting to see that long-sleeved undershirt in full a few times here. Goku gets to be young and enthusiastic and maturing. And slashtastic in the scene where he just about drools over Gat's muscles. "Even your muscles've got muscles!" He's of course very sweet as he decides to adopt and feed the undead bodyguard.
Gojyo gets the short end of the jeep--*snicker*--and some of the best snarktastic lines. Notice that he talks things out with Hakkai to make sure Hakkai's okay. Though I miss his pretty. He looks a lot less pretty in Reload in general and volume 5 in particular. Then again, how many artists bother to visually age their characters over time?
Sanzo continues on with his own kind of muichimotsu. The look on his face as he surveys his team's life--on the run from killer townspeople who see them as menaces, living rough in the outdoors, eating out of cans--shows him feeling a sense of responsibility he'll never outright admit. (Hakkai gets a pointed rib nudge in on him right after that.) Their lives on the road are wearing on them.... Every conversation he has with Hazel, especially when Hazel is trying toseduce convince him, zings. The mirroring between them can be a little too obvious at times but often works well. That bit he does with the youkai kid at the end that defuses the confrontation by making Hazel look bad if he tries to kill the kid is great, even as Sanzo pulls it off in his usual brusque, unsentimental way. Sanzo is so the master in those old kung fu movies who abuses the shit out of apprentices to make them learn.
Hazel is weird and creepy and hilarious with the southern drawl Tokyopop's translation gives him. The way he keeps verbally pwning the Sanzo party is amusing as well, especially when he goads Sanzo into using the sutra. (This Westerner and former bandmember can't help seeing Sanzo's hand gesturing as he starts his run up to "Makai Tenjyo!" as akin to "A-one-and-a-two-and-a-one-two-three-four!") I do love Gojyo's comment that it's not like you can run out of sutra, so just use it. Given the revelation at the end, is Hazel after Sanzo on his own or because Nii pointed him in that direction? Gat's very quiet and growing feeling of rebellion works well.
Nii! Ripping apart his bunny to reveal the sutra! (Glad he used a condom to smex his bunny in that one picture I've seen online, given what he had hiding in it.) He's like Darth Sanzo at the end. I'm so excited! Given that Hazel knows Nii, it must have given him warped views of what Sanzos do. *g*
We have some very serious issues being aired in the story here, but we also have the funny, particularly in the assault on the youkai hideout--trying to fit through the door, "Ah reckon y'all oughta shut the fuck up"--and the Bishop Hazel/Sanzo party squeezing into Jeep. Who wouldn't laugh at:
Hakkai: "A bump is coming up."
*thud*
Gojyo: "Gah!"
Hakkai: "There goes Gojyo."
Sanzo's low blood pressure in the morning is amusing as well. "Good morning!" A few panels later....
I'm not so happy with the large number of really exaggerated facial expressions in this volume, but Gojyo's frizzled antennae are comedy gold. Tokyopop does its best translating the original language's play on words with Hazel and for the most part does okay. I hope the bits with Zakuro are leading somewhere good, because so far they seem superfluous.
Everybody is so distinct. Hakkai gets to air a lot of sides of his personality here, including the forceful and scary parts. On a more shallow note, I love getting to see that long-sleeved undershirt in full a few times here. Goku gets to be young and enthusiastic and maturing. And slashtastic in the scene where he just about drools over Gat's muscles. "Even your muscles've got muscles!" He's of course very sweet as he decides to adopt and feed the undead bodyguard.
Gojyo gets the short end of the jeep--*snicker*--and some of the best snarktastic lines. Notice that he talks things out with Hakkai to make sure Hakkai's okay. Though I miss his pretty. He looks a lot less pretty in Reload in general and volume 5 in particular. Then again, how many artists bother to visually age their characters over time?
Sanzo continues on with his own kind of muichimotsu. The look on his face as he surveys his team's life--on the run from killer townspeople who see them as menaces, living rough in the outdoors, eating out of cans--shows him feeling a sense of responsibility he'll never outright admit. (Hakkai gets a pointed rib nudge in on him right after that.) Their lives on the road are wearing on them.... Every conversation he has with Hazel, especially when Hazel is trying to
Hazel is weird and creepy and hilarious with the southern drawl Tokyopop's translation gives him. The way he keeps verbally pwning the Sanzo party is amusing as well, especially when he goads Sanzo into using the sutra. (This Westerner and former bandmember can't help seeing Sanzo's hand gesturing as he starts his run up to "Makai Tenjyo!" as akin to "A-one-and-a-two-and-a-one-two-three-four!") I do love Gojyo's comment that it's not like you can run out of sutra, so just use it. Given the revelation at the end, is Hazel after Sanzo on his own or because Nii pointed him in that direction? Gat's very quiet and growing feeling of rebellion works well.
Nii! Ripping apart his bunny to reveal the sutra! (Glad he used a condom to smex his bunny in that one picture I've seen online, given what he had hiding in it.) He's like Darth Sanzo at the end. I'm so excited! Given that Hazel knows Nii, it must have given him warped views of what Sanzos do. *g*
We have some very serious issues being aired in the story here, but we also have the funny, particularly in the assault on the youkai hideout--trying to fit through the door, "Ah reckon y'all oughta shut the fuck up"--and the Bishop Hazel/Sanzo party squeezing into Jeep. Who wouldn't laugh at:
Hakkai: "A bump is coming up."
*thud*
Gojyo: "Gah!"
Hakkai: "There goes Gojyo."
Sanzo's low blood pressure in the morning is amusing as well. "Good morning!" A few panels later....
I'm not so happy with the large number of really exaggerated facial expressions in this volume, but Gojyo's frizzled antennae are comedy gold. Tokyopop does its best translating the original language's play on words with Hazel and for the most part does okay. I hope the bits with Zakuro are leading somewhere good, because so far they seem superfluous.
October 23, 2012
I actually don't have much to say about this volume :o Gasp right?
And because I don't have many in-volume photos, I'm uploading some of my other Saiyuki picture favorites!
But first, love this picture of Goku!
This picture is so awesome!
Chibi
And one of the boys that I love!
And because I don't have many in-volume photos, I'm uploading some of my other Saiyuki picture favorites!
But first, love this picture of Goku!
This picture is so awesome!
Chibi
And one of the boys that I love!
April 7, 2013
A much more cohesive volume than the previous installment we have 5 chapters all dedicated to the fantastic "Even a Worm" story arc. Resurrectionist Hazel and his stoic side-kick Gat latch onto the Sanzo party. Hazel is keen for Sanzo to ditch his companions and join him in eradicating the youkai population. Sanzo true to character wants to follow his own path.
This is a brilliant arc because Hazel and Gat are such complex and interesting villains. We feel Hazel is evil and yet can't quite put a finger on why. Insane mastermind Ni is ever hovering in the background, a wonderfully insane and menacing presence.
Saiyuki deffinitely back on form. Great artwork, great story.
This is a brilliant arc because Hazel and Gat are such complex and interesting villains. We feel Hazel is evil and yet can't quite put a finger on why. Insane mastermind Ni is ever hovering in the background, a wonderfully insane and menacing presence.
Saiyuki deffinitely back on form. Great artwork, great story.
November 29, 2022
Everyone knows that the book is better than the movie. For some reason I did not extend this to say that the manga is always better than the anime. It holds true though. The manga is definitely better than the anime, even with all the sexy voice acting adding to the value of the anime. Manga is definitely better.
I feel like the characters are becoming much more alive. Not to mention that the subplots are being much more developed. I've watched all the Saiyukis and really the only thing I can say to summarize is, 4 hot guys travel around beating up random youkai....for three seasons. But the books have actual plotline and development. Very exciting.
I feel like the characters are becoming much more alive. Not to mention that the subplots are being much more developed. I've watched all the Saiyukis and really the only thing I can say to summarize is, 4 hot guys travel around beating up random youkai....for three seasons. But the books have actual plotline and development. Very exciting.
August 23, 2014
The Sanzo party travel with the Hazel party for a while. It is amusing that the Sanzo party are jealous of Hazel usurping their fame, LOL!
It becomes obvious though that Hazel's conviction that youkai should be wiped off the face of the earth is very much at odds with what Sanzo is trying to achieve and they part ways. Although I suspect they shall meet again soon...
The scene with Goku and Gat is worth a mention because it did make me smile when Goku exclaims, "Your muscles have muscles!" All starry-eyed, hee!
It becomes obvious though that Hazel's conviction that youkai should be wiped off the face of the earth is very much at odds with what Sanzo is trying to achieve and they part ways. Although I suspect they shall meet again soon...
The scene with Goku and Gat is worth a mention because it did make me smile when Goku exclaims, "Your muscles have muscles!" All starry-eyed, hee!
August 14, 2017
It's becoming harder to follow the side stories, which of a shame, specially because, of course some of them link to the main story. Still, I feel that's a lot to ask to make me go through all of them with the same care.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews