Monkey (1978)

Monkey, Pigsy and Sandy become disillusioned with the pilgrimage and go their separate ways. Monkey flies home to his Kingdom of Fruit and Flowers. Pigsy goes back to China seeking rewards from the Emperor. Sandy returns to the Western Heaven, hoping the Jade Emperor will forgive him. Tripitaka continues his journey. He's flabbergasted when lightning strikes the horse and it turns into a human called Yu-Lung. Deserted by his disciples, Tripitaka soon finds himself in grave danger.

The evil Dogs of Plague, disciples of the Great Hound of Hell, plan to kill Monkey, Pigsy, Sandy and Tripitaka. Their leader brings the Plague of Black Dog to a nearby town. The pilgrims arrive at the town, but when Tripitaka tries to help the sick, he catches the deadly plague himself. Monkey discovers the only cure is to give the afflicted grilled fresh monkey brains from a newly dead ape. Will Monkey give up his life to save Tripitaka?

A powerful man called Shotenki and his demon master, Kokufki, lure all the men from surrounding villages to their casino in Ittakudo, where they spend all their time gambling. Tripitaka offers to help the desperate wives and children of one village, and sends Pigsy and Sandy to bring the men back to their senses. When their attempt fails, Sandy asks Monkey for assistance in finishing off Shotenki for good.

The Fraction Demon goes around asking children questions about fractions, and kidnaps those who answer correctly. The pilgrims arrive at a small village and get mistaken for Fraction Demons by the vengeful locals. After a very close shave, Monkey gets a bit hot under the collar. Pigsy volunteers to track down the dazzlingly beautiful Fraction Demon and sort her out - but will he get otherwise distracted?

The pilgrims enter a land where night never falls. For five hundred years, ever since the vulture demon Konsei-Maoh stole Dainichi Buddha's sun-mirror, as soon as one sun sets another one rises. Tripitaka offers the villagers their help and Monkey, who has an old score to settle with the demon, is more than happy to oblige. Things take a turn for the worse after Monkey bumps into a familiar face, and the demon sets his sights on Tripitaka.

After getting separated from Pigsy and Sandy, Monkey and Tripitaka find a creepy house in the middle of nowhere. They are shown hospitality by Mr. Chin and his daughter Kohran who live there. After he befriends Kohran, Monkey discovers that there's more to her father than meets the eye. Meanwhile, Pigsy and Sandy are kidnapped by the man who murdered Mr. Chin's wife thirteen years earlier. He plans to abduct Kohran...

Every night, Tripitaka's sleep is disturbed by a recurring dream. In it, he's being attacked by Lord Yuki, ruler of The Devil's Hell. One night, after Tripitaka nearly sleepwalks off a cliff, the disciples decide they must take immediate action. They think up ways of expelling the demon from Tripitaka's body. Things don't quite go to plan though - before long, Tripitaka ends up in very hot water, and Monkey gets pulled into the dream too...

Emperor Busoku, ruler of the country of Biku, is tormented at night by the ghost of Queen Seiko of Shitan, whose country he destroyed many years ago. Tripitaka and his followers arrive at Biku and hear of the Emperor's plight. After the ghost leaves behind a shoe, Monkey becomes suspicious and sends Pigsy and Dragon to investigate. They sneak into the women's dormitory at the palace in search of the shoe's owner. But Pigsy has other things on his mind.

The pilgrims arrive at a sacred shrine called Chokken Shokoku. Every day, its many visitors pay to go through a hole in the wall that guarantees them entry to paradise in the after-life. Tripitaka is sceptical, but his disciples insist on trying it. When Sandy gets stuck in the hole, the shrine's priest demands 100,000 Gen from the others to let them enlarge the hole, otherwise Sandy must die. Can Monkey, Pigsy and Tripitaka raise the money in time?

A snobby princess has been kidnapped by a fish monster who wants to marry her, but she continually refuses because he's too common. She sends two little water sprites to get help from her parents. They meet Tripitaka and his disciples, who offer their help. Tripitaka and Monkey escort them to the king and queen, while Sandy and Pigsy go to rescue the princess. Things aren't looking good for Sandy when the fish monster captures him.

The pilgrims eat some freshly picked mushrooms, and lose their memories. Monkey wanders off and joins a band of outlaws. They think he's the Fungus Prince who was banished by his father, King Seven Souls. The king wants to kill Tripitaka, so they plan to capture him and claim a reward. Tripitaka leaves Pigsy and Sandy and gets captured by Monkey and the outlaws. Yu-Lung sets out to help Monkey get his memory back so he can save Tripitaka.

Monkey, Pigsy, Sandy and Tripitaka are on their way to the palace in The Land of Search for Understanding; the king insists on interviewing all pilgrims who pass. Following an argument, Monkey stays behind, and an evil magician turns him invisible. Posing as a Taoist priest, the magician persuades the naïve king to hold a contest between him and reluctant Tripitaka to determine which is better - Taoism or Buddhism. The magician plans to take over the kingdom - will he succeed?

Tripitaka is shocked when his three followers bathe in a pool and are transformed into babies. It's a Fountain of Youth, and it belongs to two Spirits of Time Passed. Tripitaka must make one of these spirits cry, and use the tears to change his disciples back. Leaving Monkey, Pigsy and Sandy with a babysitter, Tripitaka goes in search of these cannibalistic spirits. Believing Tripitaka won't return, the babysitter decides to sell the three babies at the local market.

After wandering through endless wilderness, Tripitaka and his starving disciples find themselves in a small town in the middle of nowhere. For two years, ever since her son and his human bride abandoned her, the bloodthirsty demon Kari-Temo Hanja has been appearing at weddings in the town and kidnapping the brides. Monkey goes to seek help from Senju Kannon Bosatsu, the Bodhisattva of endless fulfilment, who was once the demon's master. Meanwhile, Tripitaka decides to pay the demon a visit...

Chen-Gold, the world's richest man, is advertising for a husband for his only daughter, beautiful Mai-Sun. Possessed of the Spirit of Greed, he eats gold in order to turn himself golden. To feed his habit, he enslaves men to work in his gold mines. When Sandy tries to help an escaped slave, he becomes enslaved himself. Meanwhile, Pigsy puts himself forward as a possible husband for Mai-Sun. Tripitaka wonders where Pigsy and Sandy have gone, and sends Monkey to investigate.

A young goblin, Yung-Hu, is desperately in love with a married human woman called I-Ling. I-Ling and her husband, Kwo-Fong, are excited that the pilgrims are approaching, because they want to learn about Buddha. Tripitaka is deeply offended by I-Ling's awful Buddhist dance, and the pilgrims leave. The goblin father disguises himself as a priest and convinces Kwo-Fong to join Tripitaka's pilgrimage to India, to become a Buddhist. With Kwo-Fong out of the way, Yung-Hu goes to see I-Ling.

While Tripitaka and his disciples sleep, The Illiterate Vampire appears and plans to bite Tripitaka. The others wake, and chase him away. The next day, the pilgrims see a display of wanted posters - the king is rewarding people for killing monsters, 10 gold pieces per monster. Pigsy meets a blind girl selling flowers in the street, and becomes fond of her. To raise 100 gold pieces for an operation to cure her blindness, Pigsy goes into business as a monster-killer.

A gentle monster dresses up as a puppy dog and calls himself ""a good dog"" in an attempt to make friends. He desperately wants to be liked, but all the villagers are terrified of him. The pilgrims arrive at the monster's country, and Tripitaka tells his disciples to go ahead and make friends with him. After Pigsy, Monkey and Sandy fail, Yu-Lung befriends the good dog, and comes up with a plan to make the villagers like him.

While taking a rest from their journey, the pilgrims are confronted by four sorcerors who are impersonating them. They plan to assassinate Tripitaka and his followers, to improve their ranking in the sorcery community. By wreaking havoc on villages, the imposters ensure that the real pilgrims are blamed and made unwelcome everywhere they go. Monkey decides that Tripitaka should continue alone for a while. The disciples split up, and become targeted by their clones. Will Tripitaka ever see them again?

The pilgrims are welcomed to a village headman's house. He shows the disciples a screen that has a picture of the beautiful Goddess Sorosvati painted on it, along with the six other Gods of Good Fortune. During the night, the goddess magically steps out of the screen, tricks Tripitaka, and takes his place on the pilgrimage. While she enchants the others, Monkey discovers Tripitaka trapped in the screen. Can Monkey free Tripitaka and get the goddess back on canvas?

The pilgrims enter a country where an evil wasp witch with a magic whip flies on her chariot and steals children from their parents. The witch lives in a poison mountain called Kijo, and has a hundred or more children of her own. No one knows what she does with the stolen children. While Sandy and Pigsy help the villagers set traps and prepare themselves to fight the witch, Monkey decides to pay her a visit.

Mt. Sekigutsu, famous for the flowers that bloom on its rocks, is ruled by a fearful demon called Seisai, who has the power to turn anything into stone. A young stonemason from Ushizokoku called Kokanshi climbs the mountain and falls prey to the demon's magic rays. Two years later, Kokanshi's overzealous fiancée Airen travels to the mountain to rescue him, and tricks Tripitaka's disciples into helping her fight the demon. Meanwhile, Seisai abducts Tripitaka and plans to eat him...

Disowned by his parents for being unable to do sorcery, the young demon Shosanpu practises on the unsuspecting pilgrims, but is soon found out. After listening to his story, Monkey decides to give him special training, against Tripitaka's wishes. Using Monkey's staff, Shosanpu turns the four pilgrims into stone statues, and goes to fetch his father, Yuzankun. While he's away, the four statues are stolen and taken to an auction. Will Shosanpu find them in time, to change them back?

After losing their way, the pilgrims find themselves heading towards Mt. Blue Wolf, a place where hideous wolf demons swagger like peacocks. Their leader, Blue Wolf Demon, craves human flesh, and sets his sights on the tasty Tripitaka. While looking for food, Dragon falls off a cliff. He is rescued by a farmer called Ri Shishin, who turns out to be a wolf in sheep's clothing; Blue Wolf Demon makes him an offer he can't refuse to hunt down Tripitaka.

While having lunch, the pilgrims catch a mischievous young boy called Chou trying to steal food from them. Monkey takes him home, and falls instantly in love with his mother, Shugyoku. Chou's father was killed by the fire-breathing Tiger Demon two years earlier, but Shugyoku detests violence, and insists that Monkey should not get involved. Monkey takes a break from the journey to India, and stays with Shugyoku and Chou. Will Tripitaka and the others ever see Monkey again?

Tripitaka has an ominous dream that his mother is dying, and becomes very preoccupied the next day. Concerned about his master, Monkey cloud-flies back to China, and finds Tripitaka's mother, Wing-Chow, infected with a deadly plague. Just before dying, she tells Monkey that her son, original name Hsüan Tsang, must continue his journey to India. Monkey returns and impersonates Wing-Chow, to pretend she's alive, fearing that Tripitaka would stop his journey and return to China if he knew the truth.