English Dub Review: Saiyuki Reload Blast “Haiten”

The only way out is through.

Overview (Spoilers)

The battle against the war god Nataku is going at full tilt, and things don’t look so awesome for our heroes. Whatever they throw at him, he turns away, then throws back twice as good. He even shrugs off the Maten Scriptures! With one final assault from the entire team (including Sharak), they manage to temporarily slow him down enough for Goku to get in a knock-down hit. Exhausted, the boys plop to the ground, ready to take a well-deserved nap. WELL TOO BAD, Nataku is back up for more, and he’s taking Goku out of the equation! Just before he fires his finishing blow, Sanzo calls out to Goku. This triggers a rush of memories in Nataku, and the doll prince’s mind shatters. He’s recalled to heaven, and the team is saved. After a few days of convalescence, Hakuryuu is loaded up with provisions, and the boys head out on the road again, continuing west… with a brief pit stop. They barge into the temple of the Sanbutsushin, and tell the tripartite deity that they are finishing the mission, Nataku or no. Since they’ve been fired, heaven has no say on their actions. Oh, and they’d better not cancel the credit card. The team head out again, briefly stopping to stretch their legs by killing a hundred or so demons. Nothing major. Really, they’d be beset with demons whichever way, and the shifting landscape would always get them lost. Going back would be the same trouble as going forward, so the only way out of this mess is to cut right through it to Gyumaoh.

Quick translation note, “Haiten” is not another one of the founding scriptures. Without the actual kanji, I can’t be sure, but the most likely meaning is “Shift Change”. It speaks of a reshuffling or a reorganization of a company. This is exactly what is happening for the boys in the jeep. They have been downsized, but the quest still continues. It’s like they became freelancers.

Our Take

Thus ends another season of Saiyuki. One step further, with no clue how many left to go. As epic as the battle with Nataku was, the ending of the series was a bit anticlimactic. Yup, gonna keep going. The way this season was touted, the struggle against Gyumaoh was going to wrap up here. Instead, we just have more complications to the quest and an ending that says “To Be Continued”. Seriously? I’ve been watching this show since I was a teenager, it’s time to let these boys rest! That being said, for the end of one chapter and the beginning of another, the episode worked. It built up the tension for the coming conflict and tugged a bit on the leftover plot strings. We finish off the story with Sharak quite tidily and seemingly introduce a new issue. The man that has been accompanying Taruchie seems to be of an ancient group of demons, and they may just have their sights set on Sanzo’s party and their conflict. His goals are as irresolute as this ending, though.

The action with Nataku is some of the best I’ve seen in this series yet. They quickly tear through his shikigami using teamwork, forcing him to fight personally. Too bad for them, he’s an excellent fighter. To each of the four boys, he has an answer to their attacks, and he launches them so quickly that it gives the feeling of an intense fight. Despite the speed, each blow being delivered has gravitas, and you know it has power. It’s devastating seeing the team get ripped apart by Nataku’s short blasts, but gratifying when they score a victory. It’s actually more exciting than many of the fights I’m seeing in Dragon Ball Super.

The animation uses the typical style of the series but adds in a little bit. Normally, the show would have still frames sliding across the shot, followed by blood spray or some attack, which gives the illusion of parallax motion. This episode adds to the effect by showing a bit of motion in the last few frames of the shot. This gives the animation a bit more continuity between one action and another and shows more effort than we normally get. Visually, this was a solid episode.

I loved the voices this time around. Everyone (except Sharak) dug deeper and pulled out a nugget of their character’s feelings. Nataku, portrayed by Clint Bickham, finally got to break away from the character’s flat monotone to have a freak out moment, and it totally worked. Micah Solusod managed to capture the desperation that Hakkai was feeling. As per usual, Gojyo is a sarcastic wiseguy, on the battlefield and off. He was ultimately at his best during the scene with the Sanbutsushin. Ian Sinclair outshined Greg Ayres as Goku, and really made the sassy lines sassy.

So, depite being a bit anticlimactic, this episode has good action, great animation, and some excellent voice acting. Honestly, the only downside is the dip in the action around the end-middle. I would love to review another series of this, and soon. Start at it, Studio Pierott!