The Monkey King

With the recent release of "The Forbidden Kingdom," I thought today's review should reflect the love for the old Chinese legend the movie is based around. Now being Chinese myself, I've grown up with the stories of Sun Wukong or Son Goku as he is sometimes called...but I've never heard or seen them quite like this. Not the movie. I'm talking about today's manga. Yes my friends, put the kiddies to bed. Here's Katsuya Terada's take on the old stories...a dark and very bloody take...on "The Monkey King."

 You've never seen Sun Wukong quite like this. I know I haven't. Instead of a slender impish trickster as he's mostly portrayed as, Terasa decided to take a much more masculine and daresay, monstrous approach to the old ape. The Monkey King's good natured fun has been replaced with a near psychotic appetite for destruction and lust for women. This Su Wukong is manly. I mean...manly. As in having the power of two of Chuck Norris' beards. I'm talking man sauce my friends. The manga emphasizes the raw power Sun Wukong commands. Many people forget due to his usual good humored demeanor that the mountain born monkey has powers far greater than most Gods.
The companions that travel along with Wukong are also given a stark makeover. From a pig monster to the head of a cannibalistic monk, Terada reshapes the images from my childhood in a horrifying, but oh so satisfying way. Never has the monkey king legend been so...well...bad ass! Wukong tears a bloody swath through the armies of earth and heaven alike. You really get the sense that, yes, he is the equal of heaven. It takes the might of Buddha himself to imprison him in a mountain.

This one isn't for the kids as made obvious by the start "PARENTAL ADVISORY" sticker. It's got everything from gore, nudity to straight up sex. However it is all done with a stunning and hyper visual art style that borders on masterful. This is from the same character designer who did Blood: The Last Vampire for God's sake. It looks Amazing. Each panel can be its own little painting. You're going to read it over and over and over again. However there is glum news. This thing was published back in 2005 and no news of a second volume has been announced by Dark Horse. So it seems the new and bloody soaked adventures of my childhood hero might be a bit short lived. And that my friends, is a real shame. This book is good...so, so good.

So go out, my fellow manga lovers. Go out and find this thing on the shelves while it's still there! ( As long as you're over the age of 18. You are aren't you? Good. ) Show the people at the top that under the radar manga has just as much of a fan base as the Berserks and the Full Metal Alchemists and the Yu-Gi-Oh's out there. Once you own this hidden gem, you'll keep it forever. I know I will. So until next time, may you decimate your enemies under the awesome might of your magic staff and become the equal of heaven. See ya.