Goku no Daiboken

Goku no Daiboken, or The Adventures of Sun Wukong is our first television anime adaptation of Journey to the West. A 1960 film from Tezuka had adapted the story already, but this more comedic version unrelated to Tezuka's ran for 39 episodes. A Japanese DVD set was released in 2008.

 

If you are unfamiliar with Journey to the West, you likely still know one of the many adaptations of this 16th century Chinese novel. A Buddhist monk travels west with scriptures, accompanied by a less than holy Monkey, a Pig like being, a monkey sometimes portrayed as a Kappa or other water based creature, and a dragon changed into a horse. Saiyuki adapts this story with pretty boys, Lego Monkey Kid is a loose adaptation/sequel series, something called Dragon Ball was based on this work.

 

Goku no Daiboken leans cartoonish comedy rather than a serious adaptation of the tale, with the first two episodes covering Goku's time before being sealed in the mountain, and him joining Tripitaka on his journey. What I remember from reading the abridged translation Monkey a few years ago, Daiboken seems to be even more abridged, but as a kid-aimed adaptation of classic literature, it is covering the most important story beats. I don't think in the original novel Goku wrote Idiot on Buddha's finger when he reached them, but you know, close enough.

The backgrounds have a nice style, and while I'm not personally crazy about the human designs, this is a fun version of a story everyone should have some familiarity with.