Saiyuki is one of those series from when I was just a young pup that has surprisingly endured as an anime into the modern age. Furthermore, perhaps more impressively, it has endured as not a wildly popular series, but beloved enough to continue being adapted it to anime.
Journey to the West and ikemen are a combination that should not be underestimated.
Alternative Titles:
- 最遊記
Year Anime Premiered: 2000
Animation Studio: Pierrot; Platinum Vision; Lindenfilms
Number of Seasons: 5
Source Material Country of Origin: Japan
Source Material Available: Manga
Is It Officially Licensed Past Where The Anime Ends?: Yes (Not Reload Blast, though)
Is It Fan Translated Past Where The Anime Ends?: Yes
Entry Last Updated: May 7th, 2025
Where To Start The Saiyuki Manga After The Anime?
- If you finished the Gensoumaden Saiyuki anime – You can start the original Saiyuki manga at Volume 6, Chapter 35.
- If you finished the Saiyuki Reload anime – You can start the Saiyuki Reload manga at Volume 2, Chapter 6.
- If you finished the Saiyuki Reload Gunlock anime – You can start the Saiyuki Reload manga at Volume 5, Chapter 19.
- If you finished the Saiyuki Zeroin anime – You can start the Saiyuki Reload Blast manga at Volume 1, Chapter 1.
- If you finished the Saiyuki Reload Blast anime – You can start at the Saiyuki Reload Blast manga at Volume 3, Chapter 14.
What to Expect From The Saiyuki Manga?
TL;DR – For best story fidelity, read the manga from the beginning. The Saiyuki anime does actually adapt almost all of the manga it has, but weaves in so much anime-only filler that it is hard to keep the story straight when switching from anime to manga.
To best explain this, let us start by laying out the main Saiyuki manga that you need to know:
- Saiyuki (Complete, 9 Volumes, 55 Chapters)
- Saiyuki Reload (Complete, 10 Volumes, 49 Chapters) – Sequel to Saiyuki.
- Saiyuki Reload Blast (Ongoing, Hiatus) – Sequel to Saiyuki Reload. Frequently on hiatus due to the author’s poor health.
- Saiyuki Gaiden – (4 Volumes, Complete) – Prequel about young Goku. Some of the story is adapted in Gensoumaden Saiyuki and Saiyuki Reload Blast anime. Not fully adapted.
- Saiyuki Ibun (1 Volume, Hiatus) – Prequel about young Sanzo. Not in any anime.
Now, the important thing to keep in mind when transitioning from Saiyuki anime to manga is that the original Saiyuki manga is only fully adapted if you watched Gensoumaden Saiyuki AND the Saiyuki Reload anime.
Gensoumaden Saiyuki becomes riddled with filler in the second half, only taking breaks from filler to adapt a little bit of Saiyuki Gaiden. Similarly, the Saiyuki Reload anime actually starts as mostly filler. It adapts literally six chapters of the Reload manga before spending the second half of the anime adapting the end of the original Saiyuki manga.
The Saiyuki Reload manga is adapted further in the Saiyuki Reload Gunlock anime, but that anime also drifts into filler in the second half.
Saiyuki Zeroin adapts the rest of the Reload manga and has virtually no anime-original filler.
Finally, the Saiyuki Reload Blast anime adapts what little of the Saiyuki Reload Blast manga there was with only a little filler and pieces of Saiyuki Gaiden to fill out the rest.
Long story short – Saiyuki, the anime, has an anime-original filler content problem that makes jumping into the manga a bit difficult.
For the best Saiyuki story fidelity, it is strongly recommended to read the Saiyuki manga from the beginning. There is so much anime-original story in almost all of the anime series that it is very confusing to keep plot lines straight.
Will There Be More Saiyuki Anime?
Interestingly enough, while it does so in a particularly spastic way, the Saiyuki anime has adapted the lion’s share of the Saiyuki manga. It presently cannot continue as an anime because the ongoing manga, Saiyuki Reload Blast, is ongoing and slow going due to the author’s poor health.
