English Dub Review: Saiyuki Reload Blast “Imperial Order”

When heroes get the pink slip, they don’t take it lightly.

Overview (Spoilers)

Sanzo and the gang are summoned to a nearby temple to talk to the Sanbutsushin, and take Sharak with them. Once there, they meet with the priestess, a “Living Goddess” who defies all rules. She has a demon mark, but normal ears. She’s been in this position over eighty years but is a tiny little girl. She has grave portents for the Sanzo party, that their journey will meet with disaster, all while she keeps playing with a Tibetan Prayer Wheel. Their meeting with the Sanbutsushin doesn’t go much better either. They learn of Prince Nataku, and are then told that their journey is over. They are to return to China and go back to what they were doing. Sanzo is not pleased about this. Though he shows off his bravado by shooting the projections of the tripartite god(desses), he quickly succumbs to his wounds from the battle in the last episode. The gang is left to think about what they are going to do. Finally, Hakkai lets the bomb drop. Gojyo’s demon mark has appeared, and should probably not continue on their quest. In the meantime, even the Sanbutsushin aren’t fans of what their higher-ups are doing to the Sanzo Party, and Kanzeon appeals on their behalf.

And now we know who that little girl is that we’ve been seeing all season long! There’s only so long you can go with just being cryptic, ya know? This latest development is not unexpected. I mean, they’ve been traveling across China for seventeen years. A jeep doesn’t take that long. They’ve also been fast and loose with their debit card. I wouldn’t be surprised, however, if the upper echelon of heaven wasn’t doing this for Sanzo’s own good. While Nataku can easily put down all of the bad guys by himself, he isn’t likely to care if he discovers any secrets. Our heroes will. The gods also don’t seem like the types to be happy about a human getting access to four of the five founding scriptures. Just sayin’, these gods are awfully bureaucratic.

Our Take

Everything in this episode’s writing was amazing. It was loaded through and through with humor, but somehow never let the funny dull the tension. After almost every serious thing that was said, Gojyo or Goku would crack a joke. But everyone in the room behaved as if it never happened, so it didn’t slow down what was going on. Even when the guys are fantasizing in the jeep about what it would be like to take it easy, they do so completely in character, but perhaps even deeper so. Goku actually asks what it feels like to relax. These guys are tired, beat to crap, and tense from firing on all cylinders for so long. The way they talk about this, it sounds like they are about to cry from frustration. Wouldn’t you? You’ve been fighting so long, only to get fired before you finish the job. I might feel a bit violent myself. Even in these desperate situations, the writers aren’t letting these jokesters fall into a pessimistic pit, though. They just keep joking. In a way, this situation perfectly mirrors the closing credits song “Refrain” by Luck Life. Look up the lyrics, because it’s everything these boys are feeling, given words.

Now, what good is excellent writing if it doesn’t have good voice acting to match? Ian Sinclair (Gojyo) and Greg Ayres (Goku) really jumped into these characters today. Each of their jokes felt less like actual lines, and more like the laugh tracks when you watch the DVD. They’re being funny, it isn’t helpful for what is going on, but they just can’t help themselves. They walk into the Sanbutsushin’s chamber, introduce the Sanzos, and Gojyo blurts out “Aaaand his merry band of misfits!” It was showy, like an MC for a variety act. And, when you’ve got two actors who are doing such amazing comedy, it’s bound to start rubbing off on the other actors. Monica Rial is the little priestess Taruchie, who has always been so dour. As soon as Gojyo enters the scene, she plays off Ian so well that it almost feels like she’s been a part of the gang the whole time.

Animation… meh. It was a talking episode, so it really didn’t have much to animate. Instead, they focused on the art and made some dynamic shots throughout. None of the directorial choices were plain or straightforward. It was all drama, which may have been part of why the tension never fell from the jokes. We also spend a good amount of the episode bouncing from the dim, blue-tinted Sanbutsushin chamber to brighter, more yellow-tinged shots of what they are talking about. It serves to delineate between the two while suggesting the feelings of what is going on. In the chamber, it is supposed to be all about being logical and rational but is really just sad and dark. In the meantime, the clips explaining what is going on and the scene in the jeep outside are shown in yellow, a color of tension and fear, but also exuberance. The general lightness of the scenes suggests that this is actually where our heroes are happiest: on their road trip with each other.

Great writing, phenomenal voice acting, and insightful directorial choices make this episode strong, despite being all about the flapping lips. Its main plot point is a major twist in the story and one that is bound to alter the course of the franchise. It’s hard to think there are only two episodes left.