To my knowledge I haven't seen this but now I kinda want to. There's
the original 1978 TV series, as dubbed and rebroadcast in the UK (and elsewhere?) in 1981 --
fan site here -- and now there's a
remake just starting to broadcast in Japan:
The remake has remained faithful to many of the original elements - the fighting stick that shrinks to fit inside the human ear and the magical cloud that Monkey uses to travel great distances.
Fuji Television's most significant decision was to cast Shingo Katori as the show's hero.
Mr Katori is one of five members of SMAP - one of Japan's most popular boy bands. The Japanese heart-throb will be the first actor to play Monkey after Masaaki Sakai more than 25 years ago.
However, Monkey purists may be disappointed by the new version. The opening scene of each old episode that retold the legend of his birth from a stone egg on a mountain has been dropped.
The scene where Monkey achieves immortality by gorging himself on 9,000-year-old peaches will also not be included.
Seeing one of the SMAP dudes do this role will probably be worth it alone. Perhaps.
Anyway, any other fans? Details? Etc.
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 17:17 (nineteen years ago)
ITV4 are currently showing the (dubbed) original series. I loved it as a kid and I think I may like it even more now that I get more of the 'jokes' and that I know that the dubbing wasn't exactly true to the original dialogue. I toyed with getting it on DVD a year or two back along with the 13 "new" dubbed episodes but it was rather expensive at the time.
ITV4 are also showing The Water Margin!
― Onimo (GerryNemo), Wednesday, 15 February 2006 17:39 (nineteen years ago)