On a whim I decided to watch this film and similarly on a whim I have decided to write this review. I put the word review in quotations because I dont see this as much of a review and more of a commenting on the film. This will be a rather short review with no pictures as detailed below. 2200https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/811111525729042453/888998673906819103/mpvshot0025.png Earlier this month a rather prolific anime r Cariboukunhttps://www..com/channel/UCWu9kSl3evVWivzmECe4w put out a rather interesting video entitled Disneys Mortal Sinhttps://www..com/watch?v=St4J3OcDCwo which goes over some interviews comparing the animation styles from Japan most notably those of Osamu Dezaki and Hayao Miyazaki to the animation styles of the West of course taking from Walt Disney. The idea that came from the interviews was that Disneys mortal sin was a fear of being boring. Everything has to constantly be animated to keep the audience from realizing what they are viewing is a drawing and while watching Saiyuuki I couldnt help but have a similar thought process. This is a very early Japanese animated feature it was released in 1960 in fact. A period when Japan was still deeply entrenched in Western culture and particularly their entertainment. This seems to have resulted in making this film feel like a Japanese Disney production with it being based on a common Asian myth of sorts that being the legend of the Monkey King with plenty of musical numbers for the audience to sing along to and of course fluid animation. Though I feel the fluid animation here is too much of the focus as it results in a film that you only watch for its animation. Very rarely is there a singular shot that will stick in your mind let alone one that is wholly memorable. There is a very clear desire to want to show this films strengths as an animated feature but it has limited its strength to just the animation. I can completely understand why this is Japanese animation in its infancy but I just dont feel engaged with this as Ill call it overanimation. I want the film to slow down and give me a gorgeous shot rather than a gorgeous slice. I know I am definitely asking too much of an anime film from before Tetsuwan Atom let alone Ashita no Joe or Dororo to Hyakkimaru but my biases will be my biases. I still think this is a very interesting film but I dont see it as monumental a piece for Japanese animation as the three mentioned earlier in this paragraph. I guess I would talk about the story here but come on its The Monkey King everyone has heard of this one. If youre interested and/or want some Classic anime cred I guess you could watch this. This is a full theatrical piece its 90 minutes long and in a theatrical resolution forgive me Im tired. But I dont recommend it as a piece of historical anime. It may be a landmark of sorts but it is nowhere near as important in my eyes as the works of Osamu Dezaki Hayao Miyazaki Yoshiyuki Tomino and so many others.