Saiyuki fans, you’re being put on blast today… but not really.
Earlier today, the official Saiyuki Reload Blast anime website updated with a new visual and promo video.
Promo Video
The 100-second teaser trailer offers a look at the show in action. Opening theme song Move On! Ibaramichi by Granrodeo serves as a background track.
Key Visual
The new visual features the four leads against a black background. The top half of the image features the characters as we know them today. The bottom half is a mirrored pose, which shows much younger versions of the cast.
Saiyuki Reload Blast will hit Japanese TV this July. The series will air on AT-X, Tokyo MX, Sun TV, TV Aichi, and BS11. Two advanced screening events will be held at the Toho Cinemas Roppongi Hills’ Screen 7 on June 17. Major cast members Toshihiko Seki, Soichiro Hoshi, Hiroaki Hirata, and Akira Ishida are slated to attend both showings.
This will be the first Saiyuki anime that isn’t animated by Studio Pierrot. Hideaki Nakano (Aoharu x Machinegun, SerVamp) will direct the project at Platinum Vision, with Youko Satou (Dog & Scissors, Pipopapo Patrol-kun) providing character designs. Kenji Konuta (Blood Lad, Library War) will oversee the show’s scripts.
Previously, Nakano and Konuta worked together on Aoharu x Machinegun and SerVamp.
The confirmed voice cast includes:
- Genjo Sanzo: Toshihiko Seki
- Son Goku: Souichiro Hoshi
- Sha Gojyo: Hiroaki Hirata
- Cho Hakkai: Akira Ishida
- Merciful Goddess: Rei Igarashi
- Kōgaiji: Takeshi Kusao
- Taruchie: Chiwa Saito
- Saitaisai: Junichi Suwabe
Kazuya Minekura’s Saiyuki Reload Blast began publication in Ichijinsha’s Comic Zero-Sum magazine in 2009. The series has been serialized irregularly since 2013 due to Minekura’s declining health.
The original Saiyuki manga spawned a 1999 OVA and 2000 TV series, along with a sequel film, Saiyuki Requiem: A Requiem for The One Not Chosen, and OVA series Saiyuki: A Sin of Hope. TV series Saiyuki Reload aired in Fall 2003, while Saiyuki ReLoad GunLock hit Japanese TV in Spring 2004.
Most recently, OVA series Saiyuki Gaiden hit Japanese stores in 2011.
A promo video for Saiyuki Reload Blast was unveiled in January at a fan event. you can check it out below:
