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More Than Just a Pretty Face - Sha Gojyo (Saiyuki)
Title: More Than Just a Pretty Face
Author: scribblemoose
E-mail: fanfic@scribblemoose.co.uk
Website: scribblemoose
Character: Sha Gojyo
Fandom: Saiyuki
Spoilers: For Gensomaden Saiyuki anime & manga, Reload anime (and manga up to volume 4), and the movie Requiem.
Notes: With thanks to gwendolynflight for first-readering and mistressrenet for general encouragement. And many thanks for the patience of those who've been waiting for my contribution.

Right. Here goes! *gulp*

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Kazuya Minekura's Sha Gojyo is introduced to us in the original manga as "a flirtatious, sly, and (let's face it) flat-out horny rogue." (Saiyuki Vol.1) This is evidenced by pretty much every chapter of the manga and episode of the anime. He conforms all too easily to the stereotype of womanising playboy, Kudoh Yohji from Weiß Kreuz being an easy comparison. Long-haired man-slut: every four-way bishonen-fest anime should have one.

There's no denying that Gojyo really is a "flat-out horny rogue". His search for women with whom to while away the hours is as apparent as Goku's need for food and Sanzo's longing for a little peace and quiet. Barely an inn goes by without Gojyo earning a near-miss bullet or a thwap from Sanzo's fan for chatting up a pretty serving girl or oggling a passing villager.

Gojyo by PL Nunn Not to be altered or reproduced without permission of the artist.

However, to take Gojyo at face value as the group slut is, to my view, to miss out on one of the best-developed and most sympathetic characters in the series. What I aim to do in this essay is to take a deeper look at what's behind the rough-and-ready playboy -and what turned him, for me, from a piece of pure gorgeousness into a fascinating character that simply won't let me alone.

In doing this I'll be drawing on both the anime and the manga, up to and including episode 25 of the Reload anime and Volume 4 of the Reload manga, with a light touch on Gaiden and the Requiem movie. There will be spoilers for anyone who hasn't watched and read that far.


Seeing Red

Minekura's wonderful art gives us more than just a set of pretty faces. The appearance of her characters helps to tell her story, and Gojyo is no exception. His red hair and eyes are an indication of his genetic heritage as the offspring of a youkai and a human, evidence of a taboo act as the two races are not supposed to interbreed. 'Children of taboo' like Gojyo can expect to be humiliated, outcast and generally picked on. In Gojyo's case his father was youkai and his mother human, his conception doubly unwelcome as he's not only a half-breed but a bastard as well. His mother presumably died early on in his life and his father has either died or gone missing, as we see him being raised as a small child by his father's youkai wife whom he calls 'mother'.

This brings us to his most notable facial feature: two scars slashed across his left cheek, inflicted by his stepmother in one of her rages. She is deranged, abusive and loathes the very sight of Gojyo. His very existence tortures her, a constant reminder of her husband's betrayal. She regularly beats him. Most of the frames in the manga featuring the young Gojyo show him sporting bruises, and if it wasn't for Gojyo's half-brother Jien she would probably have killed him long ago.

Jien is very much loved by his mother, although not in a strictly maternal sense as they also have a sexual relationship. But one day she pushes him too far: having slashed her mark on Gojyo's cheek she is about to attack him with an axe. The young Gojyo submits to her assault, ready to die if it will make her happy, but Jien intercedes and kills her to save Gojyo's life.

Tragically, however, Gojyo's rescue also dooms him to a lonely path, as Jien leaves. This could be because Jien resents having to kill his mother, and there are hints in both anime and manga that Gojyo blames himself for this. However Jien, who has reinvented himself by the start of the story proper as Dokugakuji, shows considerable affection and respect for his little brother as an adult, making it more likely that the real cause of his leaving was to avoid repercussions from the killing, including any reflection on Gojyo himself.

The abuse he received as a child doesn't diminish Gojyo's longing to be loved; in fact it seems to feed it. When we meet him later on, aged nineteen and finding company in the beds of the many women who are keen to sleep with him, he tells Hakkai: "I don't have anything important in my life," and goes on to ponder: "Just once, I think I wanna know. What exactly is love? Not that I want it particularly. You don't need love to get laid." The latter quote is set over an image of a condom packet, incidentally, which not only serves as a nice piece of imagery but also works as blatant fanservice, as Hakkai is the only person who's been near Gojyo's bed for quite some time at this point.

Gojyo has grown up to find comfort in willing female bodies, but it doesn't satisfy his need for love and affection. Just before he comes across the dying Hakkai in the woods, he tells us that it's "nauseatingly easy" to get women to sleep with him. For all the energy Gojyo puts into seducing them, women never really seems to make him happy.

The nineteen year old Gojyo hates his red hair and eyes, and all they stand for. He grew his hair deliberately to hide the scars his mother left him with, and sees his colouring, as does Cho Gonou when they first meet, as a pennance, a reminder of blood spilt. Sanzo and Goku, however, each in their own way, show him that this is an unnecessarily melodramatic view to take, and in doing so help him to begin to come to terms with his heritage and himself.

Shortly afterwards he cuts his hair off in mourning for the presumed loss of his new friend Gonou, and when he grows it back again he does so more to piss Sanzo off than as a renewed statement of his own self-loathing. By the time Gojyo starts on the Journey to the West, he seems relatively comfortable in his own, very sexy skin.

But he still has so very much to learn.

Gojyo's Journey

Gojyo is one of the three companions Sanzo is instructed to take with him on his trip to India. The four of them initially met three years earlier when Sanzo was charged with finding the murderer Cho Gonou and bringing him to the Sanbutsushin, and the key dynamic between the four of them is there from the very beginning. It's no wonder the Merciful Goddess Kanzeon Bosatsu finds them so entertaining to watch.

One of the most satsifying elements of the story of Saiyuki is that the characters develop and change over the course of the journey. Kanzeon Bostatsu frequently hints that the main purpose of sending them to India the long way round is because they need to learn about themselves and to become more closely bonded, and frequently we see them doing just that, either as a group or sometimes with the influence of the supporting cast. They each have their own part to play, and while as individuals they all have their own strengths and weaknesses, as a group they compensate for and strenghten each other - much to Sanzo's apparent disgust, of course.

Gojyo has a number of roles within the group. First and most noisily, he is Goku's 'big brother' and sparring partner: the two bicker ceaselessly and this often spills over into not-so-gentle rough and tumble. Although Hakkai and Sanzo might prefer a quieter life, it's obvious that Goku needs to be occupied; he has far more energy than is good for a boy doomed to be cooped up in a jeep for days on end, and every now and then we notice Gojyo actually teaching him something. That their behaviour irritates the life out of Sanzo only makes it more fun for Gojyo. He absolutely delights in irritating Sanzo, and the feeling appears to be mutual.

There's a wide streak of fun in Gojyo, in sharp contrast to Sanzo's dry humour and serious nature. This makes them an excellent double-act, as the following exchange demonstrates (read right to left):



Again, this serves a positive function within the group: it gives Sanzo an outlet for his anti-social tendencies and also serves on occasion to lighten his mood. Gojyo is an intellectual punch-bag for Sanzo in the same way that he's a physical punch-bag for Goku. Not that he's a pushover; he can give as good as he gets with both of them, but sparring with Gojyo keeps them both sharp.

For all their disagreements, Sanzo and Gojyo have a lot in common. They both chain-smoke (although different brands, and they're both picky); both love to drink; neither of them pulls punches; and, although they'd never confess it, they care deeply for each other and for Goku and Hakkai. They're also both incredibly stubborn, which makes their relationship particularly fun to watch. It also makes them eminently slashable.

For all the sexual tension between Gojyo and Sanzo, however, it is Hakkai he shares the closest relationship with. By the start of their journey the pair have lived together for three years, and to be honest, it shows. Like their Gaiden incarnations, Kenren and Tenpou, there's something about the way they behave around each other that makes them seem just plain married. Hakkai and Sanzo probably have more in common that Gojyo and Hakkai, in terms of education and a quiet disposition if nothing else, but Hakkai and Gojyo have a bond much deeper than sheer intellect. For all their differences, they really seem to understand what makes each other tick. We often see them looking out for each other. At the start of the Chin Yisou arc, for example, it's Gojyo who realises Hakkai's having trouble sleeping and goes after him when he leaves the Jeep, and when Gojyo sneaks away to persue Kami-sama it's Hakkai who realises there's something wrong. Gojyo even seems to be jealous from time to time of Hakuryuu, Hakkai's pet dragon and their transport, who is after all constantly at Hakkai's side and perhaps, from Gojyo's point of view, a little too often the recipient of treats and petting at Hakkai's hand.

In Hakkai Gojyo finally finds someone he can trust, someone who won't abandon him and who returns his affection. The precise nature of this affection is arguable, but it certainly looks like love - whether of a sexual or a strictly platonic nature I'll leave up to the reader. Gojyo trusts Hakkai with secrets he doesn't share so readily with Sanzo or Goku, at least at first, such as his upbringing and family background. He's open-minded and accepting, not caring in the least when Hakkai confesses he's slept with his sister, although perhaps this isn't surprising considering Gojyo's own family situation.

Gojyo is very funny. He gets some of the best punch-lines and one-liners in the series, and he likes to be funny. He talks to himself (or inanimate objects) a lot when no-one's around, he loves to try and make Sanzo blush with his crude remarks and teasing, and is always keen to make jokes at Goku's expense.

He's also affectionate, frequently ruffling Goku's hair, or slinging an arm around someone's neck. All of which is consistent, of course, with Gojyo's journey. Above all, Gojyo is looking for love. He wants to be appreciated and cared for, he craves affection and closeness, and as the series moves on it looks as though, in an odd and unexpected kind of way, he's finding it. For all that each of the four of them protest to be only interested in themselves, they sure get mad when one of them goes down, and Sha Gojyo is absolutely no exception.

Gojyo may play the rogue and the playboy, but he has a kind heart and a strong sense of honour, albeit laced with mischief. One of the better filler episodes, Mother, sees the boys in a village "swollen with hatred" (Nii Jienyi). Gojyo intercedes on behalf of a woman who's being turned away from the village shop.

It transpires that her rejection is on account of her child, a red-haired, red-eyed infant, who, like Gojyo, is the product of a union between youkai and human. Gojyo's mission changes immediately from that of rescuer-seducer to that of rescuer-champion. The encounter presses so many of Gojyo's buttons: feminine tears; the baby suffering his own fate of being tormented and hated as 'taboo''; the woman hated for her love of a youkai; and his desire to prove himself strong and protective.

Gojyo's protective urges extend beyond his relationships with women. His fierce loyalty for his companions frequently spills over into heroic gestures. At the end of the 'Sandstorm' arc he admonishes Hakkai for using all his strength to save them saying it makes him, Gojyo, "look pitiful" (Saiyuki,'Sandstorm'). Later on he insists on driving Jeep when Hakkai's health is failing - despite his own considerable injuries. And he enjoys it. He gains great satisfaction and validation from protecting those he loves and doing the right thing. This image from Mother on the left says it all.

Gojyo doesn't always make wise choices. Frankly, sometimes it's easy to see why Sanzo bemoans his stupidity. He certainly has a tendency to act first and think later, especially in battle. He's also often easily led, as we see in the 'Burial' arc. In this flashback story he follows his old room-mate Banri into dodgy dealings, and finally puts his life up as ransom for him. Banri deserts him, leaving Hakkai to assume his hated youkai form to rescue Gojyo from the thugs he put himself at the mercy of. On the surface this paints Gojyo as a fool: indeed, he admits as much to Hakkai. But he also poignantly reveals why he made such a poor choice: to him it was worth risking his life for the very slender hope that Banri might just prove himself a friend after all and come back for him.

Once again we're brought to the core of Gojyo's character: that in an uncertain and lonely world he wants to be able to trust and be trusted, to love and be loved. And after all, Hakkai did come after him.

Gojyo tends to wear his heart on his sleeve, certainly more so than Sanzo and Hakkai (although he's not as excitably open and straightforward as Goku). While Sanzo and Hakkai's observations and thought processes tend to be quiet and often enigmatic, Gojyo says what he thinks - sometimes with disasterous consequences, such as in the Kami-sama arc. At the start of this story, Gojyo shares his irritation and annoyances about his team mates with a child he's just met - not realising that the boy has both the power and inclination to act on his behalf and wreak the ultimate vengeance for his teammate's crimes. Later in the same arc, Gojyo uncharacteristically hides his feelings, which leads Hakkai to suspect that something's amiss. Sure enough, the next morning it transpires that Gojyo has abandoned them and snuck away to pursue his own revenge.

In fact, the Kami-sama arc tells us a great deal about Gojyo, and is thus worthy of detailed attention. In a story which takes as one of its main themes the notion the strain and complexities that intimacy brings to friendship, and how these very difficulties can also be the bonds that tie friends together, we see his relationships with his team played out in sharp focus. His double act scenes with Sanzo here not only present enough UST hints to over-excite even the most relaxed Sanzo/Gojyo shipper, but they are also funny, witty and insightful. These two enjoy swapping insults, and they know each other very well. Whether or not they really dislike each other may be open to debate, but they show a good deal of (albeit grudging) respect. You need to have a solid relationship to be able to risk the kinds of arguments these two engage in.

The story also gives examples of Gojyo's understated heroism and loyalty to his friends, and that while it may go unremarked, it doesn't go unnoticed. For example, Gojyo rescues Sanzo without a second thought when a youkai takes him over the edge of a cliff, despite the fact that they've been arguing constantly and declaring publicly and in detail just how little they care for each other. In turn, when Sanzo realises Gojyo's arm is bloody and presumably painful as a result of the rescue, he actually stops bitching at him - at least long enough to light his cigarette.

Although Hakkai and Gojyo are separated for much of the arc, we also get some valuable insights into their relationship, and particularly how well they know each other. When inside the gourd-dimension, Hakkai and Goku contemplate the dangers of Gojyo and Sanzo being left to each others' devices, and Hakkai's image is this:



Hakkai knows that Gojyo will tease Sanzo - and notably he knows that it is teasing rather than a genuine dislike, and equally that this will irritate Sanzo to the point of violence. More seriously, he notices Gojyo's uncharacteristic behaviour after the death of Kinkaku and recognises it as a sign of something being badly wrong.

But most importantly of all, we see Gojyo making huge strides in his own personal journey in this story. Motivated by his own weaknesses and convictions, he drags the others through an adventure that appears, especially to Sanzo, to be nothing but a time-wasting side-trip. But every step of the way Gojyo reinforces his role in the group and at the same time comes to terms with himself. Tortured by an illusion of his stepmother as he approaches Kami-sama's castle, he confronts his past. He remembers Sanzo's words, originally directed at Hakkai: "if you die, nothing will change. However, if you continue living there are some things you can change." Unlike the child who was willing to give up his life to the woman who despised him, Gojyo has now reached the point where he can and will fight back. Where there's no shame about who he is or what he feels.

For Gojyo, that's been a very long, hard journey.

The Ero-Kappa

Like the others in Sanzo's party, Gojyo has a counterpart in the original Chinese 'Journey to the West' story, albeit very different in character and appearance. Gojyo's equivalent, Sha Wujing is mostly bald for a start, except for a red beard. He's also a sand demon, quiet, very ugly and really doesn't seem to have much in common with Sha Gojyo at all.

However, in the Japanese rendering of the myth, the character is presented as a 'kappa' - mischievious water imps who have indentations in their skulls where resides a pool of water which is the source of the kappa's strength and life force. They are fond of the cruder range of practical jokes and adore cucumbers (as well as eating people occasionally, unfortunately). Such mythological roots provide Goku with much amunition in their name-calling contests, as, of course, do the twin antennae that seem to be an inevitable part of Gojyo's hairstyle.

Goku varies his insults by the occasional addition of the prefix 'ero' or 'pervert'. However, Gojyo doesn't seem to have any problem with this. As he says to Sanzo with reference to his recently-shorn hair: "I'm a pervert, so it grows fast." Judging by the fact that it's grown from close-crop to shoulder-length by the time we reach the 'Burial' arc three months later, we can only accept this as truth!

There is some controversy as to Gojyo's relationship with water; some are of the opinion that he's water-phobic, but I haven't found any evidence for this myself. Minekura seems fond of immersing her heroes fairly regularly, especially in rivers, and although he tends to bitch when his clothese are drenched, Gojyo does seem to be a competent swimmer, at least.

More to the point, he certainly looks good wet.




Just Good Friends?

For all that Saiyuki is not an out-and-out shounen-ai or yaoi series, the hints are many. For me, that makes for the perfect slash series. All pairings are up for grabs, anything is possible. I think Mikekura knows this and deliberately plays her audience accordingly - the artbooks, for example, show the boys draped around each other in endless delicious, yet fairly platonic, combinations.

So, given that I believe that most Saiyuki pairings are fair game, where does this leave Gojyo? My first answer is 'wherever you like him', because a character who's looking for love and affection and has advanced skills to aid him in the search gives a lot of room for manoeuvre. So it's down to personal preference and interpretation, really. Speaking strictly for myself, I can see Gojyo with Hakkai, with Sanzo and, my own personal favourite, with both of them at once. I think that Hakkai provides Gojyo with stability, affection and closeness that no-one but Jien has ever been able to. He keeps Gojyo grounded and he needs him, which is a very important part of what Gojyo is looking for. Sanzo, on the other hand, is a matter of chemistry. The two of them spark together. Here it's Gojyo doing the grounding, bringing Sanzo back to earth and out of his cool arrogance with a healthy dose of bawdy humour and, to my mind at least, a good hard seeing-to. In turn Sanzo gives Gojyo a lot to think about; he frequently challenges Gojyo's world view and sharpens his wits.

Gojyo also, at least in canon, does girls. However, he doesn't have much luck as far as we see on the journey West - at least four near-misses, one of whom turns out to be an attacker in disguise, one spoken for, another a damsel in distress and a fourth both a would-be attacker and a damsel in distress (and a fellow half-breed to boot). I wouldn't go so far as to suggest that Gojyo's exclusively gay, and he doesn't seem to like being uke (as he enjoys reminding Sanzo at regular intervals). But I do think that affection, trust and love mean a lot more to Gojyo than gender. He offers his writers a true wealth of possibilities with which to play.

Saiyuki is a gift to fanfiction because it presents and maintains a range of possibilities to fire the imagination, and a (fairly!) coherent backdrop against which to paint them. Gojyo has many possibilities - and for that, among other things, I love him. In fact, despite being a flexible (some might say fickle) writer who rarely has favourites, Gojyo has undeniably become very special to me indeed.

So, why Gojyo?

The first time I saw Saiyuki I wasn't all that impressed. Sanzo irritated me, Hakkai confused me, Goku annoyed me intensely and Gojyo, while pretty, seemed to be no more than the token long-haired bishonen fluff.

Fortunately I'm addicted enough to long-haired bishonen-fluff that I persisted. I've come to love all the characters, and that's all it took to make me want to write in the fandom. But what really stole my heart and makes Saiyuki the thing I want to watch and write and squee over in my LJ; the thing that makes my nearest and dearest put on a Saiyuki episode for me when they see I'm in need of comfort; the thing that has converted many a month's disposable income into art books, DVDs, collectibles and doujinshi - that thing is Gojyo. He has totally captured my imagination. He's beautiful, kind, loyal, strong, funny, passionate and wants to be loved.

Really, what more could a girl[1] want?



[1] Or boy, obviously. ^_~

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References

Saiyuki Vol. 1 by Kazuya Minekura, english trans. Tokyopop, 2005
Saiyuki Vol. 7 by Kazuya Minekura, english trans. Tokyopop, 2005
Saiyuki Reload Vol. 4 by Kazuya Minekura, english trans. Chuang Yi, 2005

Gensomaden Saiyuki Episode 20, 'Sandstorm'
Gensomaden Saiyuki Episode 24, 'Mother'

Licensed Saiyuki DVD and manga available from usual outlets, including Amazon.

Saiyuki Web Sites

Just a few of my favourites:


Gensomaden Saiyuki (good all-round introduction)
Saiyuki.com (has a handy episode listing and good image selection)
Gensomaden Saiyuki: Journey to the Distant West (includes a comprehensive image gallery)
Journey to the Rest: Saiyuki & it's Doujinshi Great information site

Fanfic Recs

Again, my personal favourites:

Echoes from the West a comprehensive and ever-growing fanfic archive.

Frenzy by Paxnirvana - hot smut, spot-on characterisation and a twist.
Hot For Teacher by Cosmorific - schoolgirl!Gojyo as encountered by Hakkai. Oh yes.
Making Do by Jan Incredibly hot Gojyo/Sanzo.
Easy by Eleanor K - Gojyo, Hakkai, bondage.
Various Hakkai/Gojyo from Louise Lux - a nice range including some particularly nice ficlets.
Rise by Viridian5 - for me the quintessential Hakkai/Gojyo/Sanzo
Vindication by PL Nunn - hot and dirty with an intriguing plot.

I could go on and on. There's some great fics out there. If in doubt, google. ^_^