Monkey Magic

Monkey, the 1978 popular cult classic television series, is the dubbed English language version of the Japanese television series Saiyūki, which is based upon Wu Cheng’en’s legendary Chinese epic – ‘Journey to the West’.

Monkey Magic

The show was performed by Japanese actors in China and then dubbed into English. It ran for two seasons totaling 52 episodes.

Monkey, the title character, was played by Masaaki Sakai. As the title song says he was the “punkiest monkey that ever popped”. His job was to escort the young Buddhist monk Tripitaka (played by Masako Natsume) on a long journey to retrieve sacred scripts from India. They are joined on the journey by the pig monster Pigsy (played by Toshiyuki Nishida in Season 1 and Tonpei Hidari in Season 2) and the water monster Sandy (played by Shiro Kishibe).

Here is a video of the opening title sequence:

Click here to check out Monkey Season 1 Episodes 1-13 (1979) TV Series on Amazon.

Opening title sequence (spoken word introduction) for the first series:

In the worlds before Monkey, primal chaos reigned. Heaven sought order. But the phoenix can fly only when its feathers are grown.

The four worlds formed again and yet again, as endless aeons wheeled and passed. Time and the pure essences of Heaven, the moisture of the Earth, the powers of the Sun and the Moon all worked upon a certain rock, old as creation. And it became magically fertile.

That first egg was named “Thought”. Tathagata Buddha, the Father Buddha, said, “With our thoughts, we make the World”. Elemental forces caused the egg to hatch. From it then came a stone monkey.

The nature of Monkey was irrepressible!

Monkey Magic lyrics:

Born from an egg on a mountain top
The punkiest monkey that ever popped
He knew every magic trick under the sun
To tease the Gods
And everyone and have some fun

Monkey magic, Monkey magic
Monkey magic, Monkey magic
Monkey magic, Monkey magic
Monkey magic, Monkey magic

What a cocky saucy monkey this one is
All the Gods were angered
And they punished him
Until he was saved by a kindly priest
And that was the start
Of their pilgrimage west

Monkey magic, Monkey magic
Monkey magic, Monkey magic
Monkey magic, Monkey magic
Monkey magic, Monkey magic

With a little bit of monkey magic
There’ll be fireworks tonight
With a little bit of monkey magic
Every thing will be all right

Born from an egg on a mountain top
The punkiest monkey that ever popped
He knew every magic trick under the sun
To tease the Gods
And everyone and have some fun

Monkey magic, Monkey magic
Monkey magic, Monkey magic
Monkey magic, Monkey magic
Monkey magic, Monkey magic

1. Take Anything You Want
2. Yakitate!! Japan – British Stereotypes
3. Puff! The Magic Upskirt iPhone App
4. Unforgiving Fuji
5. I Was A Teenage Ninja