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With 15 simulcasts exploding on CR every week, monthly contests and new K-drama releases, there's just a lot of things going on to keep you cool throughout the summer season! Don't forget to check out the exclusive interviews that you can only see on CR with the voice of Bleach's Kurosaki Ichigo and Home Made Kazoku! Enjoy! |
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We've got more movement and shaking than an earthquake, right here at CR. And this past week has been no exception.
Not only have we been launching 15 simulcasts every week and releasing drama series on the regular, there's been more going on than you can possibly handle. Perhaps you can. Here's what's been going down:
 The Voice of Bleach's Kurosaki Ichigo:
CR had the wonderful opportunity to get an exclusive interview at AX with Masakazu Morita, the voice actor of Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach. And you can you watch the whole thing and some great footage of the man behind the voice!
For more information, please click here.
 Moribito Arrives on CR!
Thanks to the good folks at Media Blasters and Anime Works we will launch the first four episodes of MORIBITO: Guardian of the Spirit today!
The first four episodes of MORIBITO, directed by Kenji Kamiyama and produced by Production I.G., will be available to premium anime and all-access members, while only the first episode will be available to free users.
The other three episodes will become available one month later on September 7 for free users. MORIBITO will be available to everyone in the US, Canada and all outlying US territories. For more information, please click here.
 Facebook Integartion:
Check out our new facebook feature! Now you can optionally integrate your facebook account to your crunchyroll profile~! When you update your crunchyroll status, your facebook (and twitter) status will be automatically updated as well. It can even update your facebook status with the latest show you are watching!
To set up your facebook account, go to your Account Settings -> Facebook and Twitter and click 'Link Facebook account'. When your first facebook status update goes out, you'll earn the new Facebook Achievement as well~!
For more information, please click here.
What you missed:
  Giant Killing Contest
From July 28 until August 9th at midnight, we ran a Giant Killing contest in which the lucky grand prize winner received a World Cup Japanese soccer jersey AND a free 3 month anime membership!
The three runners up will receive an exclusive Giant Killing poster from Japan and a free 1 month anime membership!
If you missed out, don't worry as there will more opportunities to win free stuff just by watching your favorite series here on Crunchyroll! Don't forget to stay up to date with everything going on, so you're not the last one to know~!
Author's note: The term ~Houdai, means to be without limitations. For example, Tabe-houdai means like an "all you can eat" and a Nomi-houdai means "all you can drink." So this is a Crunchy-houdai, meaning "all the Crunchyroll you can handle." enjoy!
Written by Masako
 It's a story that most anime aficionados know well or at least are aware of. The tale of a Buddhist monk and his friends on their quest westwards to find precious scrolls to take back to their empire. That story is Saiyuki, known in English as Journey to the West.
To most people, that is pretty much all they know about the story. It's not something that is given much thought to western minds despite the fact it has west in the title. But I jest! The tale of Saiyuki is a common occurrence within anime. These instances could range from the simple acknowledgment of the characters or narrative to full-blown adaptations, most notably (albeit loosely) by Akira Toriyama and the Dragonball franchise. However, what is it that makes this story so appealing to anime directors and manga-ka? To understand that, it's best to get a better understanding of the original story.
 Saiyuki (Xi You Ji in its native Chinese) is one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature penned by the scholar Wu Cheng'en. It plots the pilgrimage of the Buddhist monk Xuanzang to India in order to retreive ancient sutras (ancient texts of the buddhist religion) for the Tang dynasty. Over the course of the adventure, Xuanzang gains disciples who aid him in his journey as a way to wash themselves of their sinful origins and pasttimes.
As the story progresses, they encounter mythical creatures and powerful enemies which help entice the reader as well as the characters. What makes Xi You Ji so prominent in Asian media is that it's more than just a documentation of a trip. It's one of the earliest examples in narratives that the journey is as, if not more, memorable than the destination. Not only that, the very fact that they're heading for India denotes the religious significance of their quest and the treasured end result. Because of this, it's held a place within writers' hearts.
 One of the more memorable and extensive bastions of this ancient tale would be the anime Gensomaden Saiyuki by Kazuya Minekura. True, there may be more accurate and loyal re-tellings of Wu Cheng'en's original story, but Minekura's vision of Xi You Ji is by far the most popular with modern audiences. Why is that? It can't be for its faithfulness to the original text because I don't remember Xuanzang (known as Sanzo in the anime) being a gun-wielding bad ass with a penchant for slaying demons...besides, I thought Buddhist monks were meant to be peaceful individuals!
Minekura's liberties with the characters and their personalities are obvious when compared to the original; but despite this, the story is still basically the same: four guys heading west towards a common goal...except instead of ancient scrolls, it's to stop an all-powerful demon and his cronies from taking over the world. (Where have we heard that before?)
 Minekura could be accused of sensationalizing an important historical text, but it's not like she was intentionally setting out to trash a four hundred year old novel with modern cliches that would do nothing but to sanitize and conform. She has managed to build up well-rounded characters who are neither truly good or evil, who have their own quirks and vices. The villains within Gensomaden Saiyuki are not entirely dedicated to destroying; they too are besotted with tough decisions that mean a lot to them personally – and for that, it's possible to forgive Minekura's '180' attitude to the character of Xuanzang.
Gensomaden Saiyuki is one of various re-imaginings of Xi You Ji that has penetrated the modern audience and established a place within the anime world. Already popular anime such as Doraemon and Love Hina have dedicated entire episodes using their own characters as facsimiles of the original ones. The fact that these shows pay homage to such a classic script show how such a simple story can transcend more elaborate titles and attain the status of 'timeless'. Who needs Harry Potter when you got Journey to the West? There are no unwelcome plot twists in the latter I can tell you that!
 
Did you know that in the summer of 2007, the Waterworld stunt show in Universal Studios Japan was switched out for a One Piece stunt show for its 10 year anniversary. That's right, for their 10 year anniversary the Straw Hat pirates got to duke it out with the Deacon from Waterworld.
チョリ～っす (pronounced: cho-ree-tsu) This word is another yutori term. Essentially it's a casual greeting, just like "what's up," or something to that degree.
Naruto Shippuden ©2002 MASASHI KISHIMOTO / 2007 SHIPPUDEN All Rights Reserved., Heroman ©B, P, W/HEROMAN PRODUCTION COMMITTEE/ TV TOKYO, Ichiban Ushiro no Daimo © Shoutarou Mizuki/Hobby JAPAN DAIMAO PARTNERS, Reborn © Akira Amano/Shueisha, TV Tokyo, REBORN! Production Committee, Saki © Ritz Kobayashi/SQUARE ENIX, SAKI Project, White Album ©PROJECT W.A., Aoihana ©T,O/A
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