Review of Saiyūki (1960)

Moving picture, 84 minutes

Seen in 2019.

Children’s supernatural adventure. Marginally interesting as world cinema and a stepping stone toward a later Japanese animation industry less influenced by Chinese classics and UPA’s style, but the episodic plot and flat visuals are boring. The occasional background paintings of natural environments get more screentime than they would in Disney and hold more interest than the characters.

References here: Urusei Yatsura (1981).

moving picture animation Japanese production fiction