Recommended Movies to Enjoy the Season No. 9] 9 Anime Works to Watch During the Year-end and New Year's Holidays!　9 animations related to the Chinese zodiac sign of the year, "Shin

Each season has its own anime that can be enjoyed only at this time of year!　Our anime writers will introduce you to good new and old works on seasonal topics.

The Chinese zodiac sign for 2016 is "saru" (monkey). Since ancient times, monkeys have been respected as messengers of the mountain gods and patron gods of agriculture, and have been used as a motif for lucky charms. On the other hand, it is also used as a metaphor to ridicule people for their lack of thinking compared to humans, such as "monkey wisdom" and "monkey imitation. So, what kind of images do monkeys have in animated cartoons with characters named after monkeys?　We have collected a variety of them!

Let's start with the real monkeys.

Three Thousand Miles to See My Mother (aired in 1976)

In 1882, Marco Rossi, a 9-year-old boy living in Genoa, Italy, sets out on a journey alone to meet his mother, who has gone across the sea to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to work as a migrant worker and has lost touch with her.

During his journey, he encounters many difficulties, but with the help of many people and their kindness, Marco overcomes the hardships of his journey.

Marco's companion on his journey is a small monkey named Amedeo, who has white fur, a black face, and hands and feet. He has white fur, a black face and limbs, and a long tail. Amedeo is an original cartoon character that does not appear in the original work, and is now as popular as Rascal in the Japanese Animation Masterpiece Theatre.

The little boy is very cute as he runs around, and is very popular among small children on his travels in the play. Although she is not the type to show emotional expressions such as being cuddly or sweet, she is a cool cutie that looks good in animated cartoons that show affection through her gestures.

The original TV series directed by Isao Takahata is a documentary-style classic with a silver-tongued taste, but the new movie version "Marco: Mama wo tazunete sanzensenri" (released in 1999), produced by a different staff, is also recommended as it is easy to watch in time.

Aladdin (released in 1992)

In the desert city of Agrabah, a poor young man named Aladdin meets and falls in love with the princess Jasmine. However, their love is not in accordance with their status. Distressed, Aladdin obtains a magic lamp, becomes a prince with the help of Genie, a magician, and proposes marriage to Jasmine.

Jasmine, who wants a loving marriage, and Aladdin, who is single-minded and pure, are in a very good mood. However, Aladdin's life is threatened by Jafar, a wizard and minister who is after the throne.

The monkey in Disney's animated feature film is here!　Aboo, the sidekick of the main character, Aladdin, is the most famous. He is a brown monkey with a long tail wearing a hat and a very expressive face. He is a prankster and a genius at stealing.

Although he does not speak human language, he is a communicative friend who gives Aladdin advice and meddles in his affairs. Be warned, however, that he often causes trouble when he moves around a bit too much!

Tarzan (released in 1999)

Kara, a female gorilla, finds a baby human left behind in an African jungle, names him "Tarzan," and raises him with great care. When Tarzan grows up, he is troubled by the fact that he is the only one among the gorillas with different looks and abilities, but Kara encourages him and he grows up to be stronger and bigger.

When Tarzan becomes a young man, he meets Jane, a "human" woman who visits the jungle. He struggles between the family that raised him and the unknown human society, and searches for a place where he can truly live.

In this Disney film based on the novel "Tarzan" by Edgar Rice Burroughs, gorillas are depicted as Tarzan's family, creatures with the same wisdom, emotions, and social skills as humans. The film is deeply moving in its depiction of Kara's motherly love for Tarzan, who has lost her own child and is determined to protect and nurture him.

A major highlight of the film is the powerful point of view of Tarzan, who freely moves between the trees in the jungle as if in flight!　The world of animals living in nature can be experienced through beautiful artwork. This is a must-see for those who love nature and animals.

Osaru no George (aired in 2008)

George is a curious and mischievous little monkey. He can't wait to touch and investigate everything. He goes to many places with his favorite uncle with the yellow hat. For George, every day is an adventure.

When it comes to "monkey characters" popular among children, you can't go wrong with "Osaru no George. He is a brown-furred little monkey with a round head and round eyes, who came to New York from Africa with his uncle in a yellow hat.

George's owner, the man with the yellow hat, is a curator at a botanical museum. He is an ideal guardian who warmly watches over George's mischief and mistakes. Thanks to him, George is always relaxed.

This is an animated adaptation of the picture book "Hitomanekomaru" by Hans August Rey and Margret Rey, and the "Osaru no George" series based on the book. The original work was first published in Japan in 1954 and has been a long seller for more than half a century. It is a work that should be touched at least once with children.

Bloodline (broadcast in 2015)

The city of HERUSALEM'S LOT is a city of chaos where humans, otherworldly beings, and monsters mingle and roam about. The "secret society Libra" works to maintain the balance of the world in this city, mainly against the monsters once known as vampires.

One of them is Leonardo Watch, a young man with the "artificial eye of the gods. Together with his friends with different abilities, he spends his days solving various cases, or being involved in them and being tossed around.

Speaking of monkeys, don't forget this one. Sonic, the speed monkey, is everyone's mascot. He is a palm-sized monkey with a white body, round eyes, black face, and arms and legs. He does not have a tail and does not speak human language, but he is quite smart and works hard to fulfill Leonardo's commands.

Although they look like monkeys at first glance, the speed monkeys are "cross-breeds," meaning that they are not natural creatures. Its ability is to move around at invisible speeds!　They are great for pickpocketing and stealing, and it was Sonic's theft of a camera that led to his encounter with Leonardo in the first place. They are cute even if they don't do anything, and they can be useful in unexpected operations. He is a mascot that soothes the heart.

The most famous monkey character in the world that comes to mind is Sun Wukong, the Super Monkey, the hero of the Chinese novel "Journey to the West. There are many works in animation that borrow this name and worldview.

Dragon Ball (broadcast in 1986)

The legendary "Dragon Ball" is a mysterious ball that grants you one wish for anything if you collect seven of them scattered around the world. Son Goku, a wild boy with a tail and strong kung-fu skills, meets Bulma, a girl who collects Dragon Balls, and eventually trains under Kame-Sen'nin in kung-fu and competes in the Tenkaichi Budokai.

Nowadays in Japan, "Son Goku" is the main character of "Dragon Ball!　Although it has become a different science fiction fighting manga that borrows only the name "Dragon Ball," the original storyline was a parody of "Journey to the West.

The story includes "traveling in search of treasure," "flying on a muscular cloud," "his weapon is a Ruyi bar," "Oolong the pig is his partner," and episodes of "Burning Mountain," "The Cow Demon King," and "The Basho Fan. It may be fun to look at episodes from his early adventures while looking for "Saiyuki" stories.

Genshi Maden Saiyuki (broadcast in 2001)

Genjo Sanzo, a blonde-haired monk with a broken heart, is on his way to the Land of Tenjiku under the order of the three Buddhist deities to prevent the revival experiment of the once-sealed Gyuruma King.

Traveling with him are three companions, Sun Wukong, Inoha Kai, and Saigo, and a white dragon that can transform into a jeep. They hate each other and seem to be on bad terms, but they are uniquely connected by a bond that is deeper than anyone else's, and it is shown that their relationship seems to have originated 500 years ago.

This is the story of a journey westward by four cool, good-looking guys. All the characters are beautiful, and the world is filled with cigarettes, lighters, guns, and jeeps, but the setting of "Journey to the West" is kept alive in considerable detail, from the characters to the items and episodes.

Following the first anime series "Genshi Maden Saiyuki," the sequel "Saiyuki RELOAD" (broadcast in 2003) and "Saiyuki RELOAD GUNLOCK" (broadcast in 2004), as well as the theater version and OAV, have been developed in various forms, making it a popular series.

SF Saiyuki Stirzinger (broadcast in 1979)

Due to the decrease in space energy radiated from the planet Daioh at the center of the galactic universe, natural disasters have occurred in various parts of the universe, and good creatures have gone berserk and turned into space monsters.

The key to reviving space energy is Princess Aurora, a moon princess living on Earth, who, with three cyborgs - the rambunctious Jean Coogo, the good-natured Don Hacker, and the cool, brainy Sir Jorgo - as her escorts, travels across the dangerous universe to far-off Daioh.

This animation, produced after "Planet Robot Danguard A," is based on an original story by Leiji Matsumoto and produced by Toei Doga. The promise was that the good-hearted Princess Aurora, who never suspects anyone, and the rowdy and wary Cougo would clash over what to do in the future, whether to believe or not to believe their adversaries.

But in the end, the three of them find salvation and platonic love in Princess Aurora, who is sweet but willing to sacrifice herself, and who has a strong will and great love for humanity. Three knights protect the mini-skirted princess who is in charge of purifying the universe. This is an anime for boys, but it is also a sci-fi action anime of good and evil, with romance that tickles girls' hearts.

Journey to the West: The Monkey King vs.

A specter appears disguised as a human girl in front of Sanzo, Sun Wukong, Pigsy, and Sandy, who are traveling to the West to reach the Tianzhu (the Eight Heavenly Kings). Goku immediately discovers her true identity and strikes her, but the specter escapes. Sanzang-houshi mistakenly believes that Goku killed the human and becomes angry.

This happens three times, and finally Goku is excommunicated and returns to his birthplace, Mount Huaguo. However, without Goku, Sanzo's group faces a new crisis.

This is an animation based on one of the famous episodes of the original "Journey to the West," produced by Shanghai Art Film Productions in China. It was broadcast in Japan by NHK in 1991. It also made a splash when it appeared in a Suntory Oolong tea commercial.

If you have a chance to see the original "Journey to the West" animation produced by Shanghai Art Film Productions, which wowed the world with its ink painting animation in the 1970s, please do not miss it.

These are the 9 animated films related to monkeys and "Journey to the West.

There are many more "Journey to the West" related animations. Also, the monkey characters range from cute to goofy. It might be fun to spend your year-end and New Year's holidays watching anime while thinking about the variety of images projected on monkeys.

(Text by YAMAYU)