Top Notch Manga; Mediocre Adaptation

Written by Ysabel on March 22, 2011 at 1:57 AM

The Saiyuki manga and all its associates, Reload, Gaiden and now Reload: Blast are in a class of their own where it comes to story and distinctive artwork, and where this series (Saiyuki Reload) sticks to the manga, it's very good. Unlike Saiyuki (the first 50 by a different company) the artwork is common, catching none of Minekura's distinctive style. But where it really begins to go south is where it passes the manga's story line and starts trying to extrapolate. The writers obviously had no idea where Minekura was taking it, and the story becomes trite and the pacing positively glacial. I recommend about the first half of the season, but after Hazel shows up, just forget and and go on to something else. I've watched the rest of this series numerous times, especially the Saiyuki seasons, but I've only watch the Hazel story line once, and likely won't ever again.

Overall, I'd rate it for older teens and adults, but mostly because I believe the story line and characters will appeal to a more mature audience.