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TV: Monkey Magic (new series)

SardonicNihilist

SardonicNihilist

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Monkey Magic fans rejoice!! They've made a new series, and I just saw the second episode. A few changes I noticed- Sandy no longer wears the skulls around his neck, and hears a cloth around his head- he appears to be less of a fish god who used to eat humans, and more of a 'kappa' (mythical Japanese creature with plate of water on it's head). Monkey now has blonde hair, but in the same style, but no facial hair, except for huge, over-grown sideburns. Tripitakka is basically the same, though seems less anti-violence, and Pigsy is a bit of a pussy, no longer the crude womaniser, but some kind of sensitive soul.

Sorry I can't give any more details as it was all in Japanese, and whilst the fight scenes were very Monkey magic-style, the plot was largely lost on me. All I could tell was the bad guy wore blue lipstick, apparently had heaps of sexy geisha at his disposal. Costumes are a little different for most characters, except for Tripitakka, and one thing which shocked me was that Monkey no longer summons the flying cloud from the skies by performing that amusing 'blowing on waving two fingers' trick, but it's a feather that he keeps stashed in his belt. The staff is still stored in his ear, and can grow to any size. Man I wish they had subtitles. A little more hi-tech (but not much) as there is a little CG work when he flies around.

Not the best review I concede, but let's just make it a 'reminisce about Monkey' thread:)
 
Sorry to get you hopes up, it's channel 8 on the Fuji-television (aka Kansai) network in Japan, Monday nights at 9pm. If you have some kind of satellite dish or are generally technologically inclined you may be able to get a feed from wherever you are, or realistically wait for an ENglish translation to be made. There have only been two episodes, and it's only older Japanese folk who even know about it, as the actor who played Monkey in the original, Sakai Masaaki, went on to become quite a popular TV personality on variety and comedy programs, primarily targeted at an older audience- as did Toshiyuki Nishida (pigsy) and Shiro Kishibe (Sandy, my favourite:)) albeit to a lesser extent. Few people under the age of thirty know anything about the characters, zany plot lines etc. and very few people know of the almost cult following the program had in some Western countries.
 
(stolen from a post i made elsewhere)

i was a huge fan of monkey - it really was funny, engaging and exciting.

i have a theory about monkey. the characters on monkey mapped perfectly onto the characters in the young ones:
  • sandy was neil, the laid back hippy who just wanted a quiet life
  • pigsy was vyvyan, the punk with a violent streak and an obnoxious attitude
  • monkey was rick, the wise-cracking smart-ass
  • tripitaka was mike, the cool person
alasdair
 
^yes, I'm pretty sure, but the spelling could be 'Saiyuuki' (gokku?), I can never figure out the use of the letter 'u' in Japanese.
1131432021562.jpg

Also, official Fuji television website-
New Monkey Magic

edit- got txt reply on phone, it is in fact just "Saiyuuki".:)
 
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No subtititles as yet, but give it time and i'll stake my grandma's kidneys that there'll be fansubs of this on the net within a few months. Oooh yeah.
 
it just wouldn't bethe same unless they got the same guy to do voice-over monkey into english....
 
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200602/s1573069.htm

'Monkey' magic set for revival
By Tokyo correspondent Shane McLeod

The cult television series Monkey is being remade in its home country Japan.

If you know which TV character was 'born from an egg on a mountain top' and the lead line of "in the world before Monkey, primal chaos reigned", you probably have the ABC to blame.

The Japanese series Monkey was a mainstay of ABC afternoon television programing in the 1980s, generating a cult following for its theme music, its fight scenes and dialogue that sometimes lost a little in translation.

Fast forward 30 years and Japan's top rating TV network is trying to recreate the Monkey magic.

When ABC Radio's AM program visited the set in the Tokyo suburb of Shibuya, the fight scenes of old were in full swing.

But there are a few differences to the show that Australian fans grew to love.

Blonde Monkey

Chief among them, a new look for the main character - Monkey, played in the new series by Shingo Katori and his very blond hair.

"I bleach it every 15 days -- if I don't, it goes black," he said.

Katori says his 2006 version of monkey is a punk rocker, yelling about love.

Known in Japan as Saiyuki, or the "Journey to the West", the series is based on a classic Chinese tale of a priest and three companions, travelling to India in search of Buddhist scriptures.

The original was a hit and its star Masaki Sakai remains a familiar face on Japanese television, appearing in variety and cooking shows.

Producer Yoshihiro Suzuki says those behind the new series are hoping their version will be just as endearing.

"We already have offers from countries in Asia - South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong and Singapore who are broadcasting it," he said.

"Normally shows are broadcast overseas when the series is finished but this time it's only three or four weeks after Japan.

"I've heard there may be some interest from Australia too, so I really hope that will be realised as well."

Australian backdrops

If Australians get to see it they might notice that the scenery of ancient China looks a little familiar.

Parts of the series were shot in New South Wales at Stockton Desert near Port Stephens and the Blue Mountains last year.

Actor Shingo Katori, says the knowledge of the original series was a surprise.

"At night we would go out for a beer after work and I'd become friends with some of the local people," he said.

"They didn't know we were there to film the show and they said, 'you're a surfer from Japan right? So I said, yeah, right'.

"When I asked if they knew about the show, everyone started singing 'monkey magic, monkey magic'."

Diehard fans might not be ready to contemplate a new version of monkey .

They might still have some unresolved issues from the original, like whether the priest character Tripitaka was played by a man or a woman.

But for those whose mis-spent youth involved calling up a flying pink cloud, a magic fighting stick and some good old fashioned battles with demons, it will bring back some memories and confirm once and for all, as the show's old closing line said "the nature of monkey was irrepressible".
Click to expand...
 
monkey was my favorite show when i was a kid. i hate change so i doubt i will watch the new show when its played in england. pigsy was always my favourite.
 
dloaded the first two episodes.

watched about 15 mins. Not happy about the watering down of the characters. The firght scenes seem to try to mimick the original series.

Will post full report when i see them entirely. They're in japanese with chinese subs, so it might be some time.
 
^ yeah I`m hanging for a good ENglish translation- seems to be more comedy, and possibly a little more sexual (did you see that boobie tree and the trippy old dude?:)) with less action than the original- although it could just be that I was young and innocent and oblivious...
 
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