From an artistic and epic story-telling perspective, Saiyuki doesn’t really have any redeeming qualities. It’s a story about a bunch of hot guys riding around in a jeep (which can turn into a dragon when it feels like it) who are going into the west, maybe to save the world, mostly because they have nothing better to do. I absolutely adore it. When someone describes something as being “character driven”, they should use Saiyuki as the primary example. I think the success of the story, and even how it survived past its first wobbly few chapters, is solely due to the dynamic characters.

Recently I have received some comments on the fact that I have a penchant for recommending a lot of older series. I'm not doing it accidently or as a way to backhandedly comment on the quality of newer works. As an “older” fan, I like to inform anime lovers who may have come in later to the hobby of some of the great older gems they may overlook due to the glut of the new shiny things that are coming out. Not that new and shiny instantly equals bad, but just because something came out within the last year doesn’t automatically make it good either.

Whenever anyone asks me what my favorite Miyazaki film is, I reply Spirited Away. I then quickly add that my favorite STUDIO GHIBLI film is Whispers of the Heart. Yup, that’s right. My favorite thing out of all the marvelous things Studio Ghibli has given us wasn’t touched by Miyazaki’s sainted hands (Not that he doesn’t deserve the status of saint-hooded-ness. Put the pitchforks down please). Whispers of the Heart isn’t flashy. There are no forest gods kicking around with young children, no mission for the greater good, and no message about society tucked away in the corners.

I think it’s nearly impossible to not like a show that mixes '30s New York gangsters, train capers and secret societies, then throws in an immortality elixir and a demon for good measure. The story constantly shifts between its huge cast with the result that everyone ends up being the main character at one point or another. It also shifts between a span of three years, telling three stories at once almost. This confused me when I first watched it, but then I am easily confused, please don’t mind me.