Sanzo’s friends have come to save him from Hazel’s plot just in the nick of time. Or have they also fallen into the lion’s den? The quartet of heroes try to stop Hazel but first they have to defeat Hazel’s right hand and deadly muscle, Gato. The massive brawl has bullets and people flying everywhere as the heroes try to gain the upper hand. But when Sanzo gets shot, and Gato is wounded too, Hazel becomes half-crazed and that’s when the story really takes off.

It seems there’s a secret to Hazel and Gato that no one knew about, not even Hazel. In a surprising turn of events, the Sanzo Party finds themselves in deeper water then when they started. When Gato reveals the truth, Hazel succumbs to madness and the real battle begins!

Saiyuki is a series that can only go so far with its main characters. Sanzo, Goku, Hakkai and Gojyo have already been fleshed out over the previous series as far as this kind of energetic action adventure can go. Therefore, to keep the anime interesting, it has to depend on how well it builds up the villains for each season. In the case of Gunlock, the late-comers to this season, Hazel and Gato, have become intriguing antagonists for the Sanzo group, raising pointed questions for the heroes to tackle and becoming true threats that may be impossible to overcome. One of the things that make them such intriguing antagonists is their sympathetic pasts which had slowly been revealed over the last few episodes. This makes them more human, more relatable, and not mere caricatures. This added depth to their characters helps make the confrontation with Sanzo a dramatic one and keeps the emotional investment reasonably high.

There is a brief appearance in the final volume by Kougaiji and his group, but to be frank, there presence wasn’t necessary. Also the true mastermind behind a large part of Hazel’s story is never brought to task. That was a bit unfulfilling. There is also the fact that as the only human of the group, Sanzo gets shot more than once, but there is no blood nor does he seem injured shortly afterward. That lack of consistency, he is only human after all, seems a bit out of place. His comrades are all demons so they heal faster and their tougher in a pure physical sense of the word. Nevertheless, the final episodes have a lot of action, a surprising twist to Hazel’s story, and a tense and dramatic finale.

EXTRAS:
Bonus features on this disc include Geneon previews, music clip “wing area” featuring Goku and sung by Soichiro Hoshi, and a second music video featuring Sanzo called “trigger”, sung by Toshihiko Seki.

IN SUMMARY:
The final volume of Saiyuki Reload Gunlock ends with action, a heavy dose of angst, and some surprising twists.

	1. 14-06-2008 04:25
	is there another season of saiyuki on dvd after saiyuki reload gunlock? Guest Report

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	2. 14-06-2008 09:22
	I do believe that Gunlock is the final in the series, however a three episode OVA titled, Saiyuki Burial, was release in Japan. It is considered a prequel since the story took place in the past before their formation and their travel to the west. Guest Report

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