Saiyuki Reload Image Albums Volumes I and II (Anime Music Review)

This hub is all about the two music albums from the anime Saiyuki Reload. These albums are called Saiyuki Reload Image Album Volume 1 and Saiyuki Reload Image Album Volume 2.

In this hub, you will see the track list for both of these albums as well as information on the songs that can be found in said albums. You can even see and listen to some song samples.

This hub will also mention some details about Saiyuki Reload because the albums are related to it.

If you want to see a more detailed summary of the Saiyuki Reload anime, then look at this.

The 4 main characters of the Saiyuki series will also be mentioned in this hub as well as some more general information on the Saiyuki series, so if you want more information on all of this, then look at this.

This link will take you to a hub where you can see an overview of all the anime in the Saiyuki series as well as some information on the Sanzo-ikkou.

The entire Saiyuki series has an extensive collection of music sung by different artists.

Each of the singers are exceptionally wonderful and each of the songs are superbly amazing. The songs have nice tunes and melodies.

The lyrics have wonderful meanings that are all inspirational and quotable. The image albums of Saiyuki Reload have the same high quality and excellent songs as the other albums in the Saiyuki series.

Here are the image albums of Saiyuki Reload:

There are 12 tracks in this album but only 6 are songs.

The other 6 are merely instrumental music but they all still sound good.

The 6 songs from this album are as follows:

1. Take Wings
2. Snow Crystal
3. Wake Up Heart!
4. Ending
5. Quickening
6. With You

The 6 instrumental music from this album are as follows:

1. Comeback
2. Remembrance
3. Thoughtfulness
4. Voice From The Ground
5. Hostility
6. With The Intention

This was sung by Koji Ueno. This song starts off in a really lively beat that remind you of dancing tunes.

The tone of this song is happy and upbeat.

There are words that are sung in English like 'take wings now' and 'take a new step'.

The translated lyrics has great meaning with words and phrases like 'I’ll continue on this endless path as best I can', 'beyond the setting sun that flees in a crimson blur' and 'even if there is a gloomy darkness'.

All this may well be referencing the Sanzo-ikkou and their journey to the west, which might seem never-ending since they still haven't reached their destination. But they haven't given up and they continue to traverse the path they have chosen no matter what might stand in their way.

This was sung by Masaki Nomiyama. This song has a different feel to it. It sounds solemn and serious but not entirely so because the beat and tone isn't really all that dark.

There are also a lot of words that are sung in English like 'snow is falling, silence, I fall into heaven' and 'I fall into darkness'.

The translated lyrics also hold much deep meaning with words and phrases like 'the sorrow and warped happiness that fills me'.

All this may well reference the Sanzo-ikkou, each of whom have their own dark and sad tragic pasts and issues to deal with. This song may also be touching on the many themes that the Saiyuki series has like light and darkness.

This was sung by Masaki Nomiyama. This song starts off really solemnly with a bit of a long instrumental music before the singing starts.

The lyrics are sung lightly and softly, giving this song an even more serious tone to it.

In the middle parts, the song picks up a little and gets a bit louder but it still sounds rather solemn. The words 'wake up heart' are sung in English.

The translated lyrics has great meaning with phrases like 'while saying it's for anyone's sake, for someone's benefit', 'the truth probably is that you're living only for yourself' and 'So deep in this gloomy darkness, light shines on'.

These and other such words from the lyrics seem to be referencing the Sanzo-ikkou and their pasts yet again.

Each of them have their own darkness and demons to deal with. They've been shaped by their experiences and they act the way they do now precisely because of their respective pasts that they had to endure and live through.

This was sung by Garden. This song also appears in Saiyuki Reload Burial Opening Theme Song: Late-Show. From the music album Saiyuki Reload Gunlock Piano Supplement - Lively And Relaxed Days, this song shows up as a piano instrumental version.

"Ending" has a very solemn tone to it. It sounds serious but it has a nice beat. The word 'ending' is sung in English. The translated lyrics hold much meaning with words and phrases like 'gods are watching, always long dreams' and 'however many times you stand with pain'. This song may well reference the Sanzo-ikkou because all 4 of them have their own sad, tragic pasts to deal with and that still haunts them. The Saiyuki series also has a lot of themes on gods, endings and many other things.

This was sung by Manabu Enuma. This song has a rather long instrumental music before the singing starts but it sounds lively and upbeat from the get-go. It has a very nice tone to it.

The lyrics has great meaning too with words and phrases like 'thoughts unchanging, we're only surviving', and 'striking rain that's shown diving'.

All this may well reference the Sanzo-ikkou as they continue their journey to the west. They keep on moving forward and fighting their way through any obstacle that might stand in their path. In spite of their tragic pasts, they continue to survive and live.

This was sung by Jushi-ca. The song starts almost right away and it has a nice soft tone to it.

The words 'fly away' and 'with you' are sung in English.

The translated lyrics has great meaning to it with words and phrases like 'search in this crumbling world, looking for fragments that have been reborn' and 'all alone with you, I am warding off this pain'.

This song may well be referencing the Sanzo-ikkou and their unique friendship with each other.

You can say that each of them are broken with their own sad pasts to deal with.

They're very different from each other and they have their arguments and fights but the 4 of them stick together and remain loyal to each other. This song also appears in Saiyuki Reload Gunlock Piano Supplement - Lively And Relaxed Days although it's only as an instrumental piano version.

This album has tracks 12 tracks, 6 of which are songs while the other 6 are instrumental music.

The 6 songs from this album are as follows:

1. Beat
2. For Me
3. Leave
4. True Flower
5. Stream
6. In The World

The 6 instrumental music from this album are as follows:

1. Beyond The Riot
2. Vivid Living
3. Invisible Future
4. Spiral
5. Fellow Feeling
6. Stroll

This was sung by Manabu Enuma. This is a very lively and upbeat song with a lot of words sung in English like 'broke the barrier', 'don't just walk away' and 'your soul'.

There's good meaning to this song with the translated lyrics having words and phrases like 'even if now is a lost battle, the passage marks aren't the end' and 'if you spit out complaints of "I can't do it"'.

This song may well be referencing the Sanzo-ikkou and their journey to the west as well as touching up on themes of regret, soul, and hesitation.

This was sung by Masaki Nomiyama. There's a different tone to this song that isn't lively and yet not really solemn either. It's more of something in-between.

Words like 'what can you do for me?' and 'don't be afraid' are sung in English.

Words and phrases from the translated lyrics include 'you won't be able to run away' and 'being captured, in the dark night'.

This song may well be referencing the Sanzo-ikkou's journey to the west yet again. It also seems to be touching up on the escaping theme because Sanzo has previously said that you can only really escape pain and sadness if you die and leave this world.

This was sung by Koji Ueno. This is another lively song with a bit of a fast beat to it.

The translated lyrics has much meaning with words and phrases like 'seeming to locate proof of strength', 'while afraid, while lost, living, feeling the bitterness' and 'because of things abandoned, begin protecting things'.

This may well be referencing the Sanzo-ikkou and their tragic pasts.

For instance, Hakkai regrets not being able to save the woman he loves, Kanan.

Sanzo is still not over the death of his mentor, Komyou (or Koumyou) Sanzo.

Goku is afraid of being alone. Gojyo has had to deal with his stepmother hating him and then being left by his older half-brother, Dokugakuji.

This was sung by Garden. This song also appears in Saiyuki Reload Burial Opening Theme Song: Late-Show and also Saiyuki Reload Gunlock Piano Supplement - Lively And Relaxed Days, although, in the case of the latter album, "True Flower" only appears as an instrumental piano version.

The song has a rather solemn tone to it with a serious beat.

The translated lyrics has great meaning with words and phrases like 'the insignificant flower, for what reason' and 'spreads both hands, looks up to the sky'.

The lyrics also mentions such things as light, moon, rain and reality, all of which are themes that the Saiyuki series touches on.

This song may well be referencing the Sanzo-ikkou yet again. Due to their respective pasts, they do have a lot of bitterness to deal with but they still keep on living and surviving.

This was sung by Masaki Nomiyama. This is yet another solemn song with a serious tone to it. The translated lyrics has great meaning to it with words and phrases like 'the strength from not losing to fate', and 'even if long ago the stream was broken in the deep darkness'.

The song also mentions other themes that the Saiyuki series touches on like darkness, journey and moon. This may well be referencing the Sanzo-ikkou. Their journey to the west is far from over and they are still heading to their destination without hesitation.

This was sung by Nobuko Kotani. This song has great music with a solemn tone and feel to it.

It sounds meaningful and poignant and the lyrics add to that.

The translated lyrics include such words and phrases as 'ruins that have piled up, the cheap paradise', 'forgetting the pain that you were born with', and 'in this world where sunlight descends and then rises again'.

The song also has themes on the sun, world, and living, among other things.

The song may well be referencing the many themes of the Saiyuki series and the Sanzo-ikkou themselves.

The 2 Saiyuki Reload Image Albums are definitely worth acquiring with its superb track list, its excellent singers, high quality sounds and quotable lyrics.

You might just find yourself singing along to the songs even if you don't understand the lot of them. The Saiyuki series itself is worth looking into with its depth and seriousness and the poignancy of many scenes and the discussion of much meaningful themes.

Pic credits: The images are enlarged pics of the products from Amazon.com

Sources:

• holdthelight.net/Pages/SaiyukiSongs via waybackmachine (for references to the translated lyrics)
• saiyuki.wikia.com (for the track list of both image albums)

Saiyuki and all things related to it is copyright to Kazuya Minekura.