The manga (and anime) Gensoumaden Saiyuuki (in the U.S. it’s commonly shortened to Saiyuki) is a very liberal retelling of the Xiyouji, or Journey To The West, legend. This series is currently in second place for “most costumes we’ve made from the same series,” so some costumes have been split off into separate galleries below.
Characters
- Alena as Genjo Sanzo
- Alena as Ukoku Sanzo
- Alena as Kamisama
- Alena as Son Goku
- Alena as Cho Hakkai
- Laura as Konzen Douji
- Laura as Ukoku Sanzo
- Laura as Koumyou Sanzo
- Laura as Genjo Sanzo
- Mark as Hazel Grosse
- Mark as Ni Jianyi
- Mark as Tenpou Gensui
- Mark as Sha Gojyo
Awards
- Best Advanced, Animarathon 2007 (Koumyou Sanzo, Ukoku Sanzo, Hazel Grosse)
- Best In Show (Craftsmanship & Performance), YoumaCon 2007 (Koumyou Sanzo, Ukoku Sanzo)
Saiyuuki Gaiden
These were some of our earliest costumes. (And it shows, in both costume and image quality. But hey, back in the dialup days, 640 x 480 WAS high resolution!)
“Ghetto Ikkou”
…Okay, this one REALLY needs an explanation.
We’d pulled nearly a week of all-nighters to finish a set of complex competition costumes. At about 2 a.m. on Friday, mere hours before we left to drive to the con in another state, we realized that we hadn’t packed any group costumes for Sunday. We were just sleep-deprived enough at that point to think it would be really funny to go totally “ghetto cosplay” (the term comes from a now-defunct costume contest that did not permit any sewing or “correct” construction), and Saiyuuki was the easiest choice. And so — in between stitching the final details onto Haydee’s gown — we assembled Saiyuuki costumes for five people in under fifteen minutes. All were made of trash or (largely unaltered) found items. Because it was fun, we wore them again!
Genjyo Sanzo — This costume contains the only stitching done for this group, in the black detached sleeves. Of course, measuring them wasn’t a priority, and we used cheap lining fabric rather than any kind of stretchy material, so they are appropriately lumpy and misshapen. The black shirt came from Laura’s closet, and the monk’s robe is actually a 1950s negligée with the lacy bits safety-pinned out of sight. The sash was made by tearing strips from more leftover fabric, knotting them together to make it long enough. Sanzo’s threatening bulging veins were created with makeup, as was his chakra.
We used Sanzo’s “casual look” with the robes down — because it was easier, of course.
Son Goku — his red and black frontispiece was made with leftover fabric scraps held together with fusible interfacing — no sewing! The yellow and white cape was a fabric test for another costume. The claws on the shoulders came from a stuffed dog toy. The nyoi-bo, Goku’s famous extending staff, was the Count’s staff borrowed from the Gankutsuou costume.
The golden coronet was made for our earlier Saiyuki Gaiden cosplay, but it still counts as ghetto, as it was made of leftover gold lamé taped over a section of wheat bran box. (With FallingRain as Goku)
Cho Hakkai — the Chinese outfit was made of long underwear and a silk shirt from Alena’s closet, a pair of khakis, and a tablecloth tied for the sash. The Jeep was once an Easter basket, purchased on clearance. Hakkai’s signature monocle was drawn directly on Alena’s face with eyeliner. (Yup, classy.)
Laura’s husband generously agreed to play Jeep/Hakuryuu (the white dragon who shapeshifts into a green Jeep) by wearing a white shirt with a dragon figure and standing behind Hakkai’s shoulder for pictures.
Sha Gojyo — the jacket version is a borrowed leather jacket over a white T-shirt. The vest version was made of a denim jacket from Goodwill, cut appropriately. The red hair is a wig purchased originally for another costume and then sacrificed for this one. The cigarette is rolled notepaper.
With Yasuhiro Koshi 
Yasuhiro Koshi is an actor and a noted military adviser for action films in Japan and the U.S. He also has a wonderful sense of humor and was highly amused by our “gomi no cosplay” (“garbage cosplay”), as we explained it, and wanted a photo with us and our cute Jeep. (Note the Naruto headbands — a reference to our “Fullmetal, Panicked!” skit of the previous evening.)