SON GOKU

Height: 162 cm
Weight: 51 kg
Age: 18
Birthdate: April 5
Zodiac: Aries
Blood type: O

Voice actor: HOSHI Souichirou
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Goku is emotionally and physically the youngest of our protagonists -- though he is technically not 18, but 518 years old. He had been sealed inside Mt. Gogyo (Mountain of the Five Elements) for 500 years, stripped of his memories, until a young Genjo Sanzo released him.

Goku is loyal to Sanzo just because he wants to be. But he is also drawn irresistibly to Sanzo -- he thinks at first it's because Sanzo's golden hair looks like the sun, which he had spent 500 years longing desperately for. But as we find out more about our heroes, the ties turn out to be so much deeper than that...

He is always hungry. There is seldom an episode where he does NOT whine either "food" or "i'm starving" and then get shushed for it. His simplistic behavior leads his companions to call him "monkey" or even "stupid monkey" -- with all affection, of course.

There always seems to be a lot more to Goku than a noisy, charged-up kid. The gold headband he wears on his head is apparently a "youryoku" limiter, a device that controls his demonic powers -- without this device, he changes form and goes berserk, and then even his companions have problems getting him back to his normal (hungry) state. Presently it becomes evident that he is the most powerful creature in the group, with or without his limiter.

Though he does have demonic powers, he is not a demon. He was born from the Earth and presented as a gift to the gods early in his life. Subsequently he wreaked havoc in Heaven and he got imprisoned for it. The exact circumstances surrounding this event have yet to be revealed to us.

His weapon is an extending staff he calls "yoibou." Gojyo likes to poke fun at him, and luckily, the feeling is mutual. He seems to be a very mischievous, hyperactive child, but his fundamental wisdom and easygoing air have seen the entire group through some pretty rough times.

Original chara: Sun Wukung

Sun Wukung is the name given to Tripitaka's monkey follower in the Chinese folktale, Hsi Yu Chi.

It seems Minekura managed to preserve the original legend of the Monkey: he was born from a rock, then he went up to Heaven, and he caused chaos there (in one story, he stole some peaches from God's orchard) and was imprisoned in the Mountain of Five Elements, made to go hungry for 500 years.

In the Hsi Yu Chi, it was the pilgrim Kuan-yin who released the monkey from imprisonment. Afterwards, she tasked him to accompany the still-to-be-discovered pilgrim who would be journeying to the West.

The Hsi Yu Chi's Monkey character seems a lot more malicious and self-serving than Saiyuki's Son Goku, in keeping with his traditional image as a trickster. The Monkey persona has been a vital part of trickster tales all over the world, particularly in India and Asia.

It seems the Hsi Yu Chi only gained popular attention when Sun Wukung came into the story. In fact, the focus of the story eventually shifted from Tripitaka to Sun Wukung; that's how well-loved the Monkey was in his day.

The "Son Goku" persona has also made its mark all over anime and manga, one of the more popular titles being the classic Dragon Ball series. Son Goku has consistently appeared to be extremely powerful, and at the same time innocent, armed with an endearing child's sincerity. He has also consistently appeared as having an insatiable appetite. More or less, Saiyuki's Son Goku remains faithful to this concept.

Other main characters:

Genjo Sanzo
Cho Hakkai
Sha Gojyo