Yûsuke Watanabe

Monkey!: Episodes 14-26 Yûsuke Watanabe

Episodes 14 to 26 from the cult Japanese fantasy series. In 'Catfish, Saint and Shape-Changer', the quartet of pilgrims are divided by the revelation that one of their number is a shape-changing imposter. In 'Monkey Meets the Demon Digger' Monkey is dismissed by Tripitaka after using his magic skills to speed up the digging of a mountain tunnel.

In 'The Most Monstrous Monster', the King of Unicorns attempts to steal Monkey's magic staff as a present for his sweetheart Chun-Shou's spoilt son. 'Truth and the Grey Gloves Devil' sees Pigsy captured when the pilgrims arrive at a village destroyed by the Grey Gloves Demon. In 'Land for the Locusts', Monkey attempts to save a village being terrorised by a plague of locusts.

In 'The Vampire Master', Tripitaka and his disciples are invited to stay at the Kingdom of Buddha's Law by the Prime Minister. Ill fortune strikes when Tripitaka falls seriously ill with Tibetan Fever, while Pigsy goes in search of a murdering vampire. 'Outrageous Coincidences' sees the pilgrims forced to seek shelter from a blizzard in a mountain cave.

Monkey tricks Pigsy into sacrificing himself and so providing food for the ailing Tripitaka, who is consequently ridden with guilt over having eaten his swinish follower. To Monkey and Sandy's consternation, Tripitaka now begins to take on several of Pigsy's less appealing characteristics! 'Pigsy, King and God' has Pigsy welcomed as a deity when the pilgrims arrive at the Kingdom of Red Hog, while Tripitaka discovers that the current king is in fact a disguised demon bent on wedding the innocent Princess Green Lotus. In 'Village of the Undead', Pigsy and Sandy fall foul of a demon and his witch companions when the pilgrims venture into a deserted village.

'Two Little Blessings' sees the transformed Yu-Lee attempting to trick Tripitaka into drinking the water of fertility; however, when Pigsy and Sandy drink the water by mistake it is they who become pregnant! 'The Fires of Jealousy' has Monkey attempt to get hold of the Queen of Fire's fan so that the pilgrims can make their way past the volcano that blocks their past. But before he can get the fan, the magical primate must sort out some marital disharmony between the queen and her errant husband, the Spirit of the Water Buffaloes. In 'The Country of Nightmares', Monkey is forced to disguise Tripitaka as a beautiful female demon when the pilgrims travel through a land populated by hellish monsters.

'The End of the Way' sees Tripitaka's life placed in jeopardy when the pilgrims' path is blocked by the King of All Geological Ages - just days away from India.