The Monkey

The Monkey, Literally "The Great Adventures of Gokū", is a 39-episode Japanese anime written and produced in 1967 by Osamu Tezuka with his independent production company, Mushi Production. It was distributed in Italy in the 1980s.

The plot takes up the famous Chinese novel The Journey to the West (Saiyuki) in a parody and comic key, a theme already addressed by the author in 1952 with the manga Boku no Son Gokū, And animated then by Tōei Dōga in a film called Saiyuki, in Italy renamed The thirteen labors of Ercolino (1960). The famous Dragon Ball and Starzinger will also be drawn from this same legend, which takes its cue from the Goku saga to re-propose it in a sci-fi key.

In Japan, where the novel is studied in schools as one of the fundamental classical texts, children often complain that the character of Son Gokū (pronounced Gokò in the Italian edition), initially strong and arrogant, later becomes a good and willing student. ; Tezuka was the first to try to overcome the problem, giving the character the traits of a modern, rude and spiteful kid. Although the cartoon was intended for an audience of children, the language was judged too vulgar by the associations of parents and teachers, in fact the name of satan is represented and was consequently withdrawn after a few years by the TV stations; this probably also limited its export, which was already difficult due to the fact that the novel at the time was almost unknown to the general public in the West.

The entire series was distributed in Italy on DVD by Yamato Video from 9 September 2008 to 10 March 2009 in 7 releases, with the title The Monkey - The great adventures of Goku.

## Plot

The anime takes the Chinese novel Xiyouji in a parody and comic key, in Japanese called Saiyuki, published for the first time anonymously in 1590 and known in Italy (where it is published by the Adelphi editions) with the title Lo scimmiotto: therefore it represents a contemporary satire on the content of the story narrated by the written text.

Goku (pronounced Gokò in the Italian edition) is a very strong monkey (the Monkey King of the legend) who behaves like a spiteful, hysterical, selfish and stubborn little boy; initially at the head of a band of monkey-bandits, he will find himself having to accompany a Buddhist monk named Sanso to recover some sacred texts preserved in India. He was born from a stone placed on top of a mountain, and before accompanying the monk he was temporarily imprisoned by the Buddha himself, after his attempt to climb to heaven.

Also part of the group are a pig spirit and a marsh elf; and this is how Goku, the reverend Sanso, the pig Hakkai and the kappa Sagoyo (here transformed into an avid treasure hunter equipped with a shovel and always ready to dig holes), as well as the fairy Tatsuko, set out on their long journey, facing monsters and dangers of all kinds in order to reach the end of their mission. From this moment, Goku will become a lover of justice.

## The main characters

Goku - The monkey protagonist of the story, inspired by the monkey Sun Wukong, strong and spiteful, but also loyal and just: he dresses in a red kimono, he always goes around with his beloved magic spear (which can be lengthened or shortened at will according to the will of its owner) given to him by Tatsuko's father, and travels on a golden cloud that allows him to fly at supersonic speed. He acts like a tomboy and is a bit childish; when he takes it into his head to do something, he hardly gives up.

Tansuko / Tatsuko - This is a fairy with the appearance of a little girl with pink hair: she is capable of transforming herself into anything she desires and seems to feel a certain attraction towards Goku. He is the only character created and added specifically for the Anime, therefore absent from the novel to which the plot is inspired. Due to her being in love with the protagonist, many believe her to be a pink monkey (with the power to transform herself into a butterfly), which she is not.

Reverend Sanzo / Sanso - The bonze who leads the group, inspired by the Buddhist monk Sanzang. Tall and very thin, he travels on the back of a skinny nag like him. He dresses in gold robes and despite being nothing more than a novice he is already capable of translating and interpreting ancient manuscripts and magic formulas. Since he is very puny and clumsy, he is considered by everyone as a "sissy".

Hakkai - Talking pig-looking, inspired by Zhu Bajie piglet, he is very greedy (especially peaches) and often walks around with a rake.

Sagoyo / Sagojo - Inspired by the water demon Sha Wujing, he is the last to join the group. He looks like a grumpy old man and is obsessed with the desire to find precious objects: for this purpose he digs everywhere with his shovel (given to him by Goku).