This is a list of characters of the manga and anime series Saiyuki.
Main characters The Sanzo Party Sanzo
One of the main characters and a priest, He is the 31st of China. He is one of the only five supreme monks in Taoyuan Township, and is the owner of the Tenchi Kaigen Kyobun "Maten". He has no intention of devoting himself to Buddhism, and he is a priest who enjoys drinking, smoking and gambling. While he has a keen eye and charisma to discern things, his attitude is always arrogant and violent. His habit is "die" and "kill". 24歳。 第三十一代唐亜玄奘三蔵法師。 桃源郷に5人しかいない最高僧の一人で、天地開元経文「魔天」の所持者だが, Retrieved June 19, 2022. He is the one who brought the group together to travel to the west under the command from the Sanbutsushin and from Kanzeon Botatsu, the Goddess of Mercy. He is also the one who released Goku from his 500-year prison and now looks after him like a father. He carries the Maten scripture that some are after but uses his gun (a silver banishing gun in the anime and an ordinary snub-nosed revolver in the manga) as his main weapon. Some demons come after him because they believe that eating a priest would make them immortal, but that was soon proved wrong. Ill-tempered and cynical, Sanzo is frequently smacking Goku on the head with his fan whenever he does or says something annoying and constantly shoots at both him and Gojyo whenever they start arguing. Despite the fact that he refuses to openly acknowledge the other members of his group as friends, Sanzo deeply cares for his teammates and will do whatever it takes to protect them. Sanzo's real name is Koryu, which he was named by the senior monks of the temple he was raised at as a way to make fun of him. The only people who Sanzo openly recognized and respected were his predecessor and mentor: Koumyou Sanzo, who was killed by demons one night after bestowing the young Koryu the title of Sanzo, and Rikudo, formerly named Shuei, the clerk abbot who was the only other survivor of the attack, and whom Sanzo was later forced to kill out of mercy after using a curse known as "Araya". Sanzo is voiced by Toshihiko Seki in Japanese, with the exception in the original OVA in which he is voiced by Wataru Takagi. In the English dub, he is voiced by David Matranga in the original series, Saiyuki: Requiem, Saiyuki Reload Blast and ZEROIN, while in Reload Gunlock he is voiced by Lex Lang. As a child, Sanzo is voiced by Yuko Kobayashi in Japanese of the original series and by Kahoru Sasajima in Reload. In the English dub he is voiced by Kevin Corn in the first two seasons, by Mona Marshall at the start of Reload Gunlock and by Mela Lee in the later episodes of Reload.
Goku
A heretical existence that is neither a human being nor a youkai nor a god, born from a rock on the summit of Mt. He had committed some mortal sin in the past and was trapped in a rock prison for 500 years, but was rescued by Sanzo. The official name is "Saitendai Holy Son Goku". He controls the magical power with the gold of his forehead. He has a bright, pure and straightforward personality. He has a bottomless stomach and his habit is "hungry" 大地のエネルギーが集結した花果山の山頂にある岩より生まれた、人間でも妖怪でも神でも無い、異端の存在。, Retrieved June 19, 2022. He is the cheerful "Monkey King" who uses a staff, known as the Nyoi-Bo, as his primary weapon. There is no explanation given in the anime as to the origin of Goku's weapon; in the manga, it is revealed that the Nyoi-bo was sealed in a canister in the temple, which he and Gojyo shattered whilst goofing off. He is the Seiten Taisei, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, and whose true self and powers are released when his diadem is removed. As the Seiten Taisei he is very destructive and cruel, and nearly invincible. He's even able to take in the Earth's energy and regenerate because he was spawned from the sheer energy of the earth itself. During Saiyuki Gaiden, Goku was made a ward of Konzen and befriends both Tenpou and Kenren. When his diadem was removed, Goku killed many celestial beings in his craze. Konzen, Tenpou, and Kenren work to protect Goku, but all four became banished from Heaven. Goku was locked in cage high in the mountains and lost his memories. Goku is found by Sanzo and freed from his imprisonment, and Sanzo becomes something like a foster father to Goku. Goku accompanies Sanzo on his mission to track down Hakkai, and helps to prevent Hakkai from killing himself, and Hakkai later becomes his teacher. Goku joins Sanzo, Hakkai, and Gojyo to stop the resurrection of Gyumaoh, during which he discovered that he was Seiten Taisei, having previously been aware of it. Goku is voiced by Sōichirō Hoshi in Japanese, with the exception of when he was voiced by Kōsuke Okano in the first OVA series. He is voiced in English by Greg Ayres in the original series, Requiem, Blast, and ZEROIN, while Yuri Lowenthal voiced him in Reload and Gunlock.
Gojyo
He is a half born between a youkai and a human, which is contraindicated in Togenkyo. He likes picking up girls and has a bad habit. However, despite his appearance, he is a caring and friendly person, so it is easy to draw a poor lottery. A childish quarrel with Goku is a daily occurrence, and each time he is called a strange nickname, "Erotic Kappa" or "Cockroach Kappa". 桃源郷では禁忌とされている、妖怪と人間との間に生まれたハーフ。, Retrieved June 19, 2022. As a child, he was perpetually being either ignored or beaten by his stepmother, who had been devastated to learn that her husband had an affair with a human woman. In the manga, Gojyo's father and his human mother commit suicide; there is no explanation of their deaths given in the anime. After the deaths of his father and mother Gojyo was given to his father's youkai wife. He was very close to his older brother, Jien, who constantly pacified his mother whenever she became violent toward Gojyo (in the manga, it is revealed that Mama Sha and Jien begin a sexual relationship at this time, but this is never expressly stated in the anime), especially whenever he tried to cheer her up as she was in a permanent state of depression over her husband's infidelity and death. Eventually, their mother goes insane and attempts to kill Gojyo (using her bare hands in the anime and an ax in the manga). Jien kills his mother to save Gojyo's life, but not before she carves two deep scratches into the side of Gojyo's face. Torn with shame and guilt over the tragedy, Jien abandons Gojyo, and the brothers only meet again years later on opposite sides of their current conflict. Gojyo smokes, gambles, and flirts with nearly every woman he meets (the last trait is implied to be mainly due to the trauma of being unloved by his abusive stepmother, despite his constant efforts at winning her affection). He and Goku are also prone to fighting, like brothers will, and are often scolded by Sanzo as a result. Gojyo is quick to defend others and holds particular sympathy towards threatened children. Gojyo is voiced by Hiroaki Hirata in Japanese, with the exception of the first OVA series, in which he was voiced by Kōichi Yamadera. He is voiced by Illich Guardiola in English for the original series and Requiem, by Tony Oliver for Reload and Gunlock and by Ian Sinclair in Blast and ZEROIN. The child Gojyo in the Japanese version is voiced by Kayu Suzuki in the first series and by Masayo Hosono in Reload and in the English version he is voiced by Sam Foster in the original series and by Julie Ann Taylor in Reload.
Hakkai
He is a former human youkai who killed a thousand youkai for revenge and became a youkai when he was exposed to the blood. He basically hates conflict and has a calm and friendly personality. On the other hand, he is very scary when he gets angry and is feared by the other three as a back-door. 復讐のために千の妖怪を殺し、その血を浴びたことで妖怪となった元・人間の青年。, Retrieved June 19, 2022. he is the mild, polite and level-headed member of the group who always looks out for their day to day well-being. Hakkai rarely displays anger, but when he does even Gojyo and Goku are afraid of him. He also is able to manipulate chi, allowing him to heal others (depending on how wounded they are), and create blasts of chi and make protective barriers. Hakkai also owns a pet dragon, named Hakuryuu (or Jeep). Formerly, Cho Hakkai had been known as Cho Gonou and worked as a school teacher. He was romantically involved with his elder sister, Kanan (not Kanaan), though they hadn't originally known this as they had grown up in separate orphanages (this is revealed in the manga, but is never made clear in the anime). Kanan was later raped by a youkai noble, Hyakugen Maoh, while Gonou was away at work, and despite being rescued, she committed suicide, not wanting to bear the child. Originally human, Hakkai had changed into a youkai after massacring 1000 youkai, consisting of his neighbouring villagers (his killing of the villagers was not depicted or mentioned in the anime), a tribe of crow demons who were blackmailed into sacrificing Kanan in order to save themselves, as well as Hyakugen Maoh himself and the rest of his clan/household. Hakkai is found by Gojyo near-death, and is later tracked down by Sanzo and Goku. He tries to run away, but is confronted by the last surviving member of the crow tribe he massacred who tells Hakkai he ripped out the eyes of his dead brother. To atone, Hakkai proceeds to rip out his own right eye. He is about to tear out his left eye as well but is stopped by Goku. Hakkai then kills the demon, stating that he wants to keep living. In penance for his crime, Cho Gonou was metaphorically killed and reborn as Cho Hakkai. To control his youkai powers, Hakkai wears a set of 3 power limiters, in the form of ear cuffs on his left ear, and he rarely removes them, only doing so when absolutely necessary. As a youkai, although much stronger, he becomes susceptible to the minus waves. Hakkai is voiced by Akira Ishida in Japanese. In English, he is voiced by Braden Hunt for the original series and Requiem, Steve Cannon for Reload and Gunlock, Micah Solusod in Blast, and by Howard Wang in ZEROIN. As a child Hakkai is voiced by Saori Higashi in the Japanese version and by Nyl Stewart in the English dub.
Antagonists Gyumaoh : The great Youkai buried by the war god, Crown Prince Nataku, five hundred years ago at Houtou Castle in India. Gyumaoh remains in stasis, while a plot to revive him develops apace. It's this plot that is responsible for unleashing the Minus Wave that corrupted the Youkai.
Ni Jianyi : The only human being enrolled in Boto Castle. As a scientist named Kenichi Kyo, he is involved in experiments to revive the Ox Demon King, but his true identity is one of the highest priests, Ukoku Sanzo. He possesses the Tenchi Kaigen Sutra, Muten. His words and deeds do not show his true feelings, and there are many unknown parts.