Monkey Magic (TV series)

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See also: Monkey (TV series)

Monkey Magic was a television cartoon series that aired in the 1990s based on the epic legend Journey to the West. To avoid religious implications, the Buddha was named "The Guardian". The show did not perform well and only one season of 13 episodes was made; the pilgrimage had only begun, with the dragon-horse joining the small group and the priest's two other disciples not appearing. Sunsoft produced a Playstation videogame based on the cartoon. Monkey Magic is an incarnation of the famous ancient Chinese novel, Journey to the West, in which it follows the novel's story to a high extent.

Contents 1 MONKEY MAGIC A Journey Through The Forbidden Lands (Story) 2 Character Biographies 3 Objects/items in Monkey Magic 4 Areas 5 External links

[edit] MONKEY MAGIC A Journey Through The Forbidden Lands (Story)

Long, long ago, in a country far, far away...

From out of the fires of space he was born... Kongo, a monkey made of stone, magically brought to life.

Obsessed with a desire to learn and a need to be great, Kongo leaves his "family" on Flower Fruit Mountain in search of ancient knowledge and arcane wisdom. Not content to merely study and learn the mystical arts, Kongo masters the magic Jet Cloud, the first of his great weapons.

With the power of the Jet Cloud, Kongo gains mastery of the air and returns to his adopted home just in time. Humans are laying claim to the monkeys' ancestral home. With his Jet Cloud and his newly-learned magical wisdom, Kongo defeats the humans and proclaims himself King of Flower Fruit Mountain.

But in the Celestial Heavens, the gods are uneasy. A monkey defeating humans and declaring himself king? That cannot be allowed! They decide the monkeys must be taught a lesson and so they launch an attack on Kongo and all the monkeys of Flower Fruit Mountain.

But--unbelievably--it is the gods who learn the lesson-the lesson of defeat!

Seemingly unstoppable, Kongo the Conqueror is invited to the Celstial Heavens where the gods make the mistake of humiliating the monkey and unleashing his full wrath! Before the battle is over, the Celestial Heavens lay in ruin and Kongo has not only gained immortality but a new, unbeatable weapon as well--the Power Rod, stolen from the very heart of the Celestial Heavens!

With the Power Rod at his command, can anyone -- or anything -- stop Kongo in his quest for ultimate domination? The universe's only hope lies in The Guardian, the supreme power of the universe. But is it too late for even The Guardian to stop Kongo?

Can one little monkey rule the entire universe?

The answer to that question can only be revealed through MONKEY MAGIC!

[edit] Character Biographies

Kongo (Sun Wukong): The main character within the Japanese anime series Monkey Magic. Kongo seems to have a generally confident attitude, in which he seems to be a bit arrogant and quick to a bad temper - such as in Journey to the West. During the very beginning of Monkey Magic, a rather large meteor had fallen down from the heavens and had crashed on Flower Fruit Mountain (just like the novel). This meteor soon had cracked open, and Kongo was released as a young little monkey. The other monkey's were astounded by this, and the current king of the monkey's went up to Kongo and was annoyed by him for some unknown reason. The king then began to kick monkey and hit him atop the head; little did the king know however that Kongo had a head as hard as a rock and coud not be easily hurt. As like in the novel, Kongo later becomes the King of Flower Fruit Mountain after he reveals to the others of a hidden cave behind a waterfall, where he showed his braveness. Kongo, along with the other monkey's continue to harass the villagers beneath the mountain continuously by trying to take their land, or defend their own land.

This leads for the Jade Emperor to send down a young boy by the name of Nata (Nehza), who then personally duels against Kongo. Kongo soon realizes that he is absolutely no match whatsoever against Nata, in which he lays in the dust ashamed, and defeated. Following this, Kongo vows to become stronger and attain a majestical power such as like Nata. Kongo then quickly sets out on sea atop a raft. After a long time, Kongo happens to arrive at a mountainous area where he goes into a certain inn to ask where a celestial master coud be found. While in this inn, Kongo meets with two old men that are playing Go, in which the elder one tells Kongo that a certain celestial master lives atop a large mountain very hard to get two, in which he points his finger at the mountain. After a long effort, Kongo finally manages to make it to the top of this mountain, where lies the celestial master's monastery. Kongo then later attains special powers from the same celestial master that had been playing go within the inn. These powers varied from being able to summon a jet cloud - which corresponds to your will of movement, and the ability of being able to say make multiplications of yourself by blowing a few head hairs and yelling "Change!". Following this, Kongo quickly returns to Flower Fruit Mountain and builds many fortresses as to defend against the villagers. Due to Kongo's exceedingly evil actions towards the villagers, the Jade Emperor then ordered for Dupac to send his elite heavenly ships to subdue Kongo. Kongo valiantly elaborates on his abilities against Dupac.

Fanya: Fanya had never appeared within the novel, in which is due to the fact that she is meant to be the supposed lover of Kongo. Fanya has a rather motherly type attitude, in which she seems very king and regularly acts as the caring parent for all other monkeys in the series. Fanya had been together with Kongo since they had been children monkey's and she vows to stand by his side even until this day. When Kongo is later defeated by Prince Nata, Fanya attempts to stop Kongo from leaving Flower Fruit Mountain, in which Kongo tells her he will be gone for about 100 days, which makes Fanya full of sadness. After the monkey's of Flower Fruit Mountain later are forced to battle it out against Dupac's heavenly ships, Fanya plays the central role in putting all the children in a safe area from harm. After Dupac is defeated and Fujin comes to invite Kongo to heaven later on, Fanya is very persistent to come with him as to stay by Kongo's side. During the Heaven Arc when Kongo is appointed as the Protector of the Horses - such as in the novel, Fanya overhears two heavenly officials riding on a boat laugh about how Kongo actually believes his position is at a high level, in which it is actually the lowest. Fanya is rather reluctant to tell Kongo of this, and never personally tells Kongo. While in heaven, Fanya is also the first one to eat a Heavenly Peach from a sacred peach tree courtyard. Kongo then tells Fanya that she will live for over 300 years now that she has eaten it, which leads for Fanya to get rather angry at Kongo for stealing, and the fact that she does not want to live that long. Following the heaven arc, Fanya will still attempt to be by Kongo's side until the end.

Wowser: A supposedly minor character within Monkey Magic. Wowser had been the original king of Flower Fruit Mountain, in which he is overthrown later on - or more or less gave away his position to the new king, Kongo. Wowser makes another appearance within the anime when he continuously fought off against the villagers beneath Flower Fruit Mountain and against Dupac's heavenly fleet. Wowser, along with another random monkey, an older monkey, Fanya, and Wukong all head to heaven through Fujin's invitation. While at heaven, Wowser seems to enjoy heaven's fashion, in which he buys a hawaiian shirt and sun glasses (why would that be in heaven?). Wowser had also been regularly seen riding a heavenly horse after Kongo had become the Protector of the Stables. Thus, it seems that Wowser literally follows the others around everywhere within heaven, and shares in their joys. After the Peach Pandemonium later on, Wowser plays a central role in continuously throwing various weapons to the weaponless Kongo when he had been battling against the enraged Refang.

Fujin (Great White Planet): A high ranking official of the Celestial Heavens. Fujin acts as the primary messenger of the Jade Emperor - such as in the novel. Fujin is first shown within the anime when he had suggested to the Jade Emperor that he should invite Kongo to heaven after making havic on earth, in which he will be appointed a low ranking post in hopes that his alternated nature will be at rest. The Jade Emperor consensts, in which Fujin heads out to the Flower Fruit Mountain via a large heavenly ship, and calls out to invite Kongo to heaven. Kongo eventually agrees, in which Fujin gladly takes Kongo back to heaven. Fujin is later physically attacked by Kongo during the Peach Party after he finally hears that his position of Proector of the Stables was the lowest of ranks. However, Fujin quickly cowers before the powerful Refang, who then battles it out against Kongo. Refang scolds Fujin afterwards for his continued deception.

Prince Nata (Nehza): A high ranking official within the Celestial Heavens. Nata is a rather young child and rides atop a carpet like jet cloud. When Nata had been at a very young age, it is said that he dueled against a great Dragon King. In their duel, Nata had defeated the dragon and ripped out it's long spine as his treasure and his new weapon. Due to this fact, Nata - even as a young and small boy, is feared for his exceeding prowess. As seen within the anime, it is also known that Nata always trains together with the powerful warrior Refang, which may be a reason for Nata's exceeding strength. Nata first makes his appearance within the anime when he had suggested to go down to earth to punish Kongo after he had been regularly terrorizing innocent villagers. The Jade Emperor consensts, in which Nata then appears before every monkey and Kongo. Nata quickly puts Kongo to shame by easily defeating him without effectively transforming his standard weapon - (a skill used by the high ranking warriors in heaven, such as Refang). Later on during episode 5 however, Nata duels once again against the far stronger Kongo in a mountainous area. By effectively tricking Nata with his hair clone technique, Kongo is able to deliver a fatal blow on Nata that sends him soaring away in defeat. Following this, Nata is occasionally seen glaring at Kongo during the trip to Haven arc.

Lao Tzu: a rather minor character within the Monkey Magic anime series. Lao Tzu is first shown around episode 8, in which he is within his large immortal pill producing furnace. After Kongo and the other monkeys had arrived at Lao Tzu's furnace and spyed at him through the window, Kongo waited until Lao Tzu had left - in which he wished to go back to his room. Kongo then used his transformation technique to look exactly like Lao Tzu, in which he went up to the immortal pill producing machine and made it spout out a handful of them, in which Kongo kept continuously eating. However, everyone around the fake Lao Tzu soon realized that he had been a fake, in which Kongo ran away as fast as possible. Following this, Lao Tzu cannot forgive Kongo's action, in which he now desires to burn Kongo up in his immortal furnace - just like in the novel. Lao Tzu does this by ordering the powerful Refang to lure Kongo into his factory - who is then eventually trapped in a large area with heat seaping through the bottom area. Lao Tzu is amongst joy when seeing his plan attain succession.

Dupac (Heavenly King Li?): A high ranking official within the Celestial Heavens. Dupac is first shown within Monkey Magic when he had suggested that he should go to earth and punish the now more powerful Kongo. Kongo by this time had prepared for the worst by constructing many fortresses and regularly training his monkey's in the art of combat. After the Jade Emperor consented, Dupac lead a large heavenly fleet of around 100 ships to completely destroy Kongo. On these ships, rather large cannon balls can be shot out from each of it's sides. A large golden dragon head is visible on the front, and continuously revolving paddles on the side of the ship keep these fleets at a stable floating position in the skies. After Dupac destroys many a fort of Kongo's, and it is now at the time of night, Dupac sees many monkey's attempt to escape via a small cramped mountain path, in which each monkey is holding a torch. Dupac personally foolishly comes very close to these monkey's, in which they all suddenly vanish and many large boulders tumble from the top part of the mountain that barrage 1 or 2 of Dupac's ships. Dupac, who at this time is both exhausted and fearful, retreats back to Heaven.

Refang (True Lord Erlang): A high ranking official within the Celestial Heavens. Refang is a man of around 20 years of age, in which he regularly wields his famed heavenly sword which he uses with great prowess. Refang is ranked as one of the very highest enforcers under the Celestial Heavens. Refang is first shown within the anime when he had been bowing before the Jade Emperor, his supposed cousin (such info is only justified through the novel however). Throughout the beginning of the series, Refang is not shown to a high extent which is due to the fact that he seems to occasionally train with Prince Nata. Refang also chooses to stay at heaven throughout many times due to being a heavy enforcer of heaven's politics. However, Refang truly first shows his colors when he had stood before Kongo, who wished to attend the Peach Party. After Fujin explains the situation, Refang has no choice but to allow Kongo to pass. However, after Kongo later destroys many tables in his rage about hearing the true nature of his position, Refang takes physical action to quell the monkey he had already held hatred towards - Kongo. During their bout however, Kongo continuously scurries in fear, while Refang himself almost purposely in perception destroys many of the heavenly pillars holding up the roof of the area they had been within. After much destruction, Refang is forced to chase after the fleeing Kongo. This is so, until Kongo decides to fight back against Refang. After Kongo sees that Refang can manipulate his weapon at will, Kongo himself fights back with many weapons - thanks to Wowser. Refang however seems to favor his axe, in which he strikes down on Kongo's head. After Lao Tzu tells Refang to cease for a moment, Kongo turns into a bird to flee from Refang's sight. Refang this transforms himself into a larger bird, and continues to overpower Kongo in his transformations. Refeng then follows by chasing after the fearful Kongo until Kongo ends up in Lao Tzu's immortal furnacce. Thus Refang rejoices in his triumph.

The Master: The supposed nameless master of Kongo very early on in the series. "The Master" is first shown within episode 2, where he had been playing go with another of his friends. He had pointed to his monastery atop a mountain for Kongo to go to, in which the master did not tell Kongo that he had been the celestial master that he was looking many months for. After Kongo becomes one of his students of his monastery, Master tells Kongo that he must attend to many tasks such as regularly mopping and cleaning the halls of the monastery along with regularly taking care of laundry and food. The master had also at one time recited a few words that allowed for him to create many clones of himself to the surprise of his disciples, which explained how he had completed so many tasks in such a quick time. Kongo is the only one who managed to remember what Master had said, in which the master awards Kongo with a legendary suit. Following this, when his disciples arn't looking (usually around night), Master will head out of the monastery to a nearby mountain and practice with a sacred scroll consisting of over 1,000 sutras. Master daily trains by memorizing all 1,000 sutras, in which a large puffy jet cloud is formed beneath him when he says all 1,000. Kongo later manages to turn into a fly and steal Master's scroll that had been hidden behind his ear. To Master's surprise when spying on Kongo's training with the scroll, Kongo was able to recite all 1,000 sutras within a single night. The final test that Master gives to Kongo (unplained however) is a duel in the sky. Master mainly is attempting to test Kongo's unity with his jet cloud. After some time however, and Master ended up being deceived by Kongo, in which he hit face first into a mountain crag, he says his farewells to his student. Master would never be seen again throughout the whole of the anime, in which he noted to Kongo before he left.

The Jade Emperor (Jade Emperor): The jaden figure over the Celestial Heavens. The Jade Emperor is a rather old man that always seems to sit atop his throne, which is supported by a large golden dragon statue. Overall, the Jade Emperor is seen as somewhat of a pacifist in his ways, which is a minor supporting reason to why he is never seen physically accomplishing a specific task; He also seems to be quick to forgive others, as seen when Kongo had not bowed to him when they had both met. However, the Jade Emperor is the one who had allowed for many actions such as Dupac's assault on Kongo. The emperor is first truly shown when Kongo had been sent before him. At this moment, the Jade Emperor had bestowed Kongo with the title Protector of the Imperial Stables, in which Kongo takes with pride. After Kongo leaves, the Jade Emperor and the other major officials were all seen laughing together. Overall throughout the series, the Jade Emperor is a man of high respect, even though he does not seem to physically accomplish anything within Monkey Magic.

Batty: A small bat of evil alignment that serves under the cliché-of-name leader, Dearth Voyd. Batty is first shown within episode 1 when Dearth Voyd had told Batty to spy on the newly born Kongo who had just fallen from the heavens. Dearth Voyd quickly sees potential emitting from Kongo, which is the true reason. After Batty sees Kongo being treated poorly by the other superior monkey's Batty tells Kongo that they should not be allowed to push him around like that. When Kongo becomes an adult and is the new King of Flower Fruit Mountain, Batty is occasionally seen harassing Kongo to sign a contract with Dearth Voyd as to join their crew. Kongo continuously chokes Batty and throws him away due to this. When Dupac's troops had attacked Kongo, and Kongo had lost many monkey's, along with forts, Kongo began to truly think about joining Dearth Voyd for support. Fanya quickly knocks the unfortunate Batty away, and changes Kongo's mind. After many efforts however, Batty is determined to attain Kongo's partnership. However, this determination is severed after Kongo sets out on his journey with Sanzang, in which was where Dearth Voyd completely had disposed of their previous plans, but were now determined to destroy him instead.

The 3 Disciples: These three were rather minor characters that had served under the "nameless master" in which Kongo had also served under to learn his majestical ways. However, unlike Kongo, these three distinct disciples never learn the master's skills, which is due to their ineptitude. These three are first shown in episode 2 when Kongo had first set foot in their monastery. All three of these disciples has personally battled it out against Kongo in an attempt to prove he was not worthy. When Kongo is later accepted, these three are primarily seen harassing Kongo over miscellaneous needs such as hall scrubbing, food, water, and other needs. However, this is mainly through the fact that they know the master has been favoring Kongo over the likes of them. After the master performs a body clone manipulational skill, he utters a two words. After Kongo believes to have figured it out, and these three disciples spy on him, they do as they heard. However, they did so wrong, making them monsters in appearance. Before Kongo is to leave however, they seem to attain some level of respect towards him, but seem to still be on the arrogant side.

Dearth Voyd: The supposed main enemy throughout the Monkey Magic series. Dearth Voyd is present within the underworld area, in which he resides within a large castle like area with a revolving sun like blade behind. However, Dearth Voyd is not seen in his physical body, but instead a hologram like image is present in front of his minions. During the beginning of the series, Dearth Voyd sees Kongo arrive in Flower Fruit Mountain and sees potential emitting from him. Due to this, Dearth Voyd sends Batty to continuously harass Kongo into joining his "dark forces". After Kongo is very reluctant to not join under Dearth Voyd and has begun a new journey with Sanzang, Voyd becomes rather uneasy. At the end of the series, Dearth Voyd noted that he will take out Kongo himself, in which he will finally be physically seen for the first time. Unfortunately however, this would never be seen happen due to the fact that the series stopped airing after episode 13.

Far Sight and Far Hearing: These two characters serve as subordinate officials under the Jade Emperor of the Celestial Heavens. Far sight can of course see rather far, in which he has extra-large glasses over his eyes. Far Hearing as very large ears but slits for eyes, in which he can of course hear within far distances. Overall, these two do not make a tremendously large appearance within the anime, but they had been responsible for telling the Jade Emperer of Kongo's arrival on earth. These two individuals had also been spying on Kongo's second fight against Prince Nata within the mountain areas as well. Overall, these two are seen at times in which the Jade Emperor is in need of further information - this is not a prevalent trait of his however.

The Guardian: Literally translating as Lord Buddha. "The Guardian" is meant to be the legendary most powerful of all Buddha's - the Tathagata Buddha. Tathagata makes his first appearance within this anime during episode 10 where he is called upon as to subdue Kongo. Tathagata however seems to have a rather strange appearance within this anime, which is due to the fact that he is completely the color of rainbow which radiates off from his body. The Tathagata easily crushes poor Kongo in the end and brings peace back to the Celestial Heavens.

Old Man Monkey (lack of original name): A minor supporting monkey within this anime series. This "Old Man Monkey" makes his first appearance within the first episode when it seems that he is the care taker of Fanya, a young monkey who is the later lover of Kongo. Due to this monkey's oldness, he is seen occasionally walking with his cane for support. This old monkey doesn't seem to stand out from the other three main monkey's that follow Kongo and Fanya around, other than the fact that he seems to always favor towards less conflict and can be seen as more wise than any of the others.

[edit] Objects/items in Monkey Magic

Jet Cloud: The primary tool used by many of the higher celestial beings within Monkey Magic. The jet cloud made it's first appearance at the end of episode 2 when Kongo had been spying on his master while training. However, it is extremely difficult to be able to summon the jet cloud. This is due to the fact that you must be able to remember and recite 1,000 prescribed sutras that lay within a sacred scroll. After Kongo attains his own jet cloud, he realizes that it's stability is difficult to control. The jet cloud is meant so as to implement your own will into the cloud, and it will act on your every conscious movement. Kongo's personal jet cloud is rather small and is a yellowish color. After your are able to recite all 1,000 sutras at least once, your have the free will to use your jet cloud as you please. The jet cloud may also reflect well on the Flying Nimbus seen within the manga/anime series Dragonball.

Dragon King's Spine: This is a famed weapon used by Prince Nata, a major official in the Celestial Heavens. As the story goes, when Nata had been a child, he dueled against the Great Dragon King and ripped out his spine when he had defeated him. The Dragon King's Spine is first physically shown within episode 5 when Nata had wielded it against Kongo. Kongo was rather fearful of this weapon and had been easily crushed by it throughout many moments. In the end however, Kongo manages to escape this fearsome weapon by blowing one of his hairs and making one of his clones feel the blow. Nata's general tactic with this weapon is to wrap the spinal cord around his enemies and then squeeze them to an inevitable death.

Nata's Carpet: This is a small carpet like cloud that is occasionally riden by Prince Nata himself. The carpet is red of appearance and has two jets on the back. As seen within the anime, it seems that this carpet is one of the fastest clouds, such as when Nata has easily been able to catch up Kongo during their second encounter. When used however, it seems to emmit a rather jet like sound, which may show that the user is of a higher conscious will. This carpet like object is not seen very much later in the series, which is due to the fact that Nata is not ordered to go anywhere specific following his second duel with Kongo.

1,000 Sutra Scroll: This is a sacred scroll passed down for generations. It is not known how many of these scrolls are present within existence, but it seems that Kongo's master is in the possession of this sacred object. As seen at the end of episode 2, this legendary scroll is used as the gateway to awaken the jet cloud art to a conscious state. For external protection, "The Master" makes the scroll extremely small with his arts, and then hides it behind his right ear. This scroll is later impulsively rippen up by Kongo after the master had attempted to get it back.

Weapon manipulation: A technique used generally by high ranking officials of the Celestial Heavens. This weapon manipulation technique is first shown by that of Prince Nata when he had continuously transformed his weapon to defeat Kongo. Later in the series, Refang elaborates on this ability to a high extent by changing his sword into various weapons such as an axe. This ability primarily allows the user to turn their sacred weapon into any type of weapon that they please. This ability is attained by Kongo himself later on when attaining his As-You-Will Cudgel.

Heavenly Ships: A large ship that usually consists as in a group, forming a full fleet. These heavenly ships have large golden dragon heads atop the frontal area, while cannon holes are placed on each side of the ship. These ships have the infinite ability of flight, in which 3 paddles on each side simultaneously revolve as to more or less make the ship look cooler. On the ship, there is an extended tower like region where the commander as a full view of the extended terrain before him while afloat in the sky. These ships seem to have very great maneuverability skills, in which they can turn a full 180 degrees within a mere 3-4 seconds.

Power Rod: Renowned as the main weapon of Kongo. This power rod was first attained by Kongo during episode 9, in which Kongo physically tore it from Lao Tzu's furnace and completely destroyed his whole furnace with ease due to his new weapon. After this, the power rod is used with great skill, which defeats the 4 Heavenly Generals of East, West, North, and South. Refang himself even fell to his knees before this incredible weapon. It seems that the Power Rod was claimed to be the "strongest weapon in the universe".

Lao Tzu's Furnace: A very large furnace area that is under the protection of many officials of heaven. This furnace's primary function is the establishment of heavenly pills that grant immortality to it's consumer. Day and night the officials shall work to their fullest towards the production of this material. Lao Tzu himself takes the center role over the governing of this process. The "most powerful weapon in the universe" - the Power Rod is also contained within a small area that produces large measures of heat as to kill any such person who attempts to obtain this superb weapon.

[edit] Areas

Celestial Heavens a very large area and rather important area within the overall Monkey Magic anime series. This area is run by the renowned Jade Emperor and his high ranking officials such as Dupac, Refang, Fujin, and Nata. Kongo personally comes to this area around episode 7 in which he was later made the Protector of the Horses. As seen through the high ranking officials in the Celestial Heavens, each official seems to have the ability of being able to manipulate an object into any type of weapon that they wish. However, it seems this ability is only possessed within the generals of Heaven that seem to have a legendary treasure like weapon. Over all, this area is one of the very most largest and stands out as a far more pleasant area to live than that of the earth.

The Underworld a rather unfeatured area throughout the whole of the Monkey Magic series. The ruler of the underworld is meant to be Dearth Voyd, the supposed main villain within the anime. Due to this fact, it seems that King Yama along with the external 9 kings were taken out - as derived from the Journey to the West novel. Random demons seemed to be grouped in this area, in which a very large mansion like area is the only true object seen within this underworld. Overall, it seems that all demons are meant to come from this area which is meant to be classified as "evil", in which contradicts the fact that many random demons had been from Heaven, such as a certain animal that changed it's body when coming to earth.

[edit] External links

• Journey to the West- Comprehensive and detailed website with in-depth information about Journey to the West, the book Monkey was based on.
• Journey to the West: Related Anime/Manga- Part of this page contains information on Monkey Magic.