This is a list of characters of the manga and anime series Saiyuki.
Main characters
The Sanzo Party
Sanzo
One of the main characters and a priest, He is the 31st of China. He is one of the only five supreme monks in Taoyuan Township, and is the owner of the Tenchi Kaigen Kyobun "Maten". He has no intention of devoting himself to Buddhism, and he is a priest who enjoys drinking, smoking and gambling. While he has a keen eye and charisma to discern things, his attitude is always arrogant and violent. His habit is "die" and "kill". he is the one who brought the group together to travel to the west under the command from the Sanbutsushin and from Kanzeon Botatsu, the Goddess of Mercy. He is also the one who released Goku from his 500-year prison and who now looks after him like a father. He carries the Maten scripture that some are after but uses his gun (a silver banishing gun in the anime and an ordinary snub-nosed revolver in the manga) as his main weapon. Some demons come after him because they believe that eating a priest would make them immortal, but that was soon proved wrong. Ill-tempered and cynical, Sanzo is frequently smacking Goku on the head with his fan whenever he does or says something annoying and constantly shoots at both him and Gojyo whenever they start arguing. Despite the fact that he refuses to openly acknowledge the other members of his group as friends, Sanzo deeply cares for his teammates and will do whatever it takes to protect them. Sanzo's real name is Koryu, which he was named by the senior monks of the temple he was raised at as a way to make fun of him. The only people who Sanzo openly recognized and respected were his predecessor and mentor: Koumyou Sanzo, who was killed by demons one night after bestowing the young Koryu the title of Sanzo, and Rikudo, formerly named Shuei, the clerk abbot who was the only other survivor of the attack, and whom Sanzo was later forced to kill out of mercy after using a curse known as "Araya". Sanzo is voiced by Toshihiko Seki in Japanese, with the exception in the original OVA in which he is voiced by Wataru Takagi. In the English dub, he is voiced by David Matranga in the original series, Requiem, Blast and ZEROIN, while in Reload and Gunlock he is voiced by Lex Lang. As a child, Sanzo is voiced by Yuko Kobayashi in Japanese of the original series and by Kahoru Sasajima in Reload. In the English dub he is voiced by Kevin Corn in the first two seasons, by Mona Marshall at the start of Reload and Gunlock and by Mela Lee in the later episodes of Reload.
Goku
A heretical existence that is neither a human being nor a youkai nor a god, born from a rock on the summit of Mt. He had committed some mortal sin in the past and was trapped in a rock prison for 500 years, but was rescued by Sanzo. The official name is "Saitendai Holy Son Goku". He controls the magical power with the gold of his forehead. He has a bright, pure and straightforward personality. He has a bottomless stomach and his habit is "hungry" He is the cheerful "Monkey King" who uses a staff, known as the Nyoi-Bo, as his primary weapon. There is no explanation given in the anime as to the origin of Goku's weapon; in the manga, it is revealed that the Nyoi-bo was sealed in a canister in the temple, which he and Gojyo shattered whilst goofing off. He is the Seiten Taisei, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, and whose true self and powers are released when his diadem is removed. As the Seiten Taisei he is very destructive and cruel, and nearly invincible. He's even able to take in the Earth's energy and regenerate because he was spawned from the sheer energy of the earth itself. During Saiyuki Gaiden, Goku was made a ward of Konzen and befriends both Tenpou and Kenren. When his diadem was removed, Goku killed many celestial beings in his craze. Konzen, Tenpou, and Kenren work to protect Goku, but all four became banished from Heaven. Goku was locked in cage high in the mountains and lost his memories. Goku is found by Sanzo and freed from his imprisonment, and Sanzo becomes something like a foster father to Goku. Goku accompanies Sanzo on his mission to track down Hakkai, and helps to prevent Hakkai from killing himself, and Hakkai later becomes his teacher. Goku joins Sanzo, Hakkai, and Gojyo to stop the resurrection of Gyumaoh, during which he discovered that he was Seiten Taisei, having previously been aware of it. Goku is voiced by Sōichirō Hoshi in Japanese, with the exception of when he was voiced by Kōsuke Okano in the first OVA series. He is voiced in English by Greg Ayres in the original series, Requiem, Blast, and ZEROIN, while Yuri Lowenthal voiced him in Reload and Gunlock.