Saiyuki Gaiden OVA

Sypnosis
In their former lives, 500 years before Genjyo Sanzo and his crew of misfits began their journey west, they were gods, but being godly didn't make them act any more divine. And when Goku flies into a murderous rage after seeing his best friend die, Heaven's had enough and wants him dead! But Konzen Douji, Field Marshal Tenpou and General Kenren are willing to do anything to protect Goku, even if it means turning all of Heaven against them. Will the three of them be enough to break through the Heavenly Western Army and escape to the Lower World? Or will the Journey to the West be over before it's even begun?

Sountracks
Opening
 * 1) Sakura no Kinoshita by KOKIA

Ending

 * 1) Hikari no Hou he by KOKIA

Minekura Sensei’s Comments
Thoughts when you first heard about the OVA】 My first thought was actually, “...Eh? Is it really okay to turn that into an anime? (especially about Tenpou)”, but I decided to keep quiet about that (laughs). Ah, but really, I was just so thankful... Right after the manga finished, a lot of my readers said, “Please turn this into an anime...!!” but I thought it would be difficult to turn something called ‘Gaiden’ (extra tales) into a stand-alone anime... I really hope those people who love Saiyuki Gaiden enjoy this OVA, even now that the story’s finished... I sound all calm and collected, but I’m totally excited too.

【What you look forward to about the OVA】 Only the original’s climactic parts were chosen to be made into an anime, so it’s like they’re only taking the tasty bits!! (laughs) So right now, I’m looking forward to carefully making this thing. Currently I’m overseeing character design and listening to the music, but since that’s not really something to anticipate, maybe I’ll try to raise the bar... (laughs). More than anything, simply continuing work on this creation called Gaiden make me, personally, incredibly happy.

【Message to Saiyuki fans】

The Gaiden characters are able to continue ‘living’ thanks to everyone’s support. Although the original story itself is finished, Gaiden breathes on in Saiyuki. I would be so happy if everyone would warmly watch over the OVA and the original story, and Saiyuki continued to live on.