Literature / Gokudō

Gokudō, or Gokudō the Adventurer, is a Light Novel, Anime and Manga all developed off the original concepts of Usagi Nakamura.

Initially beginning with a light novel, Gokudō-kun Man'yūki penned by Usagi Nakamura with illustrations by Takeru Kirishima and published by Kadokawa Shoten between June 1st, 1991 - September 1st, 1999 with 13 volumes. The success of the first light novel warranted a second and Gokudo-kun Man'yūki Gaiden was soon developed by the same writer and illustrator. This time published under Media Works beginning on June 10th 1993 with an ongoing publishing run of 10 volumes.

The Light Novels were followed by a Seinen Manga adaptation, published by Kadokawa Shoten and enjoying a run in Dengeki Daioh magazine from 1995 - 2000. As the Manga was still in production, a TV Anime adaptation was put into development by studio Softx. The Anime adaptation spanned 26 episodes directed by Kunihisa Sugishima and running between April 2nd, 1999 - September 24th, 1999, airing on the TV Tokyo network.

All adaptations of the work share the same basic premise and story; Gokudo an adventurer and Anti-Hero, discovers a magical Genie named Djinn who wants to grant him three wishes. This inevitably leads to number of problematic situations and misadventures for Gokudo.

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Gokudō provides examples of:

• Affectionate Parody: All of the arcs poke fun at standard anime/hero cliches, as well as twisting them in a rather unique and amusing way.
• Anti-Hero: Gokudo is a Nominal Hero, Rubette is a Pragmatic Heroine, and prince Niari is an Anti-Villain.
• Arson, Murder, and Admiration: Usually between Gokudo and Ikkyu. One is a selfish Anti-Hero adventurer who would rather give up someone else's soul for a deal instead of his own, and the other is a wise devil monk who can trick a sphinx by getting her a Moon Drop in a 'special vial' that would revert to normal water without, and that she is only allowed to ask one riddle at a time (so she can't ask him to get proof, much to her annoyance). Both of them are amazed and impressed with how the other acts.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: When Gokudo was thought to be dead, Rubette was ready to fight both Indra and the Dragon God, the cause of this, with Berserker Tears. Also, at the end of the last episode, Gokudo notices he's alone and starts calling out for Rubette. He looks genuinely upset before trying to brush it off, but she's already heard, and that's enough proof to give him a kiss.
• Back for the Finale: Seigi and Arsaga make brief bystander appearances throughout the final episode, which involved Gokudo, Rubette, and Prince Niari fighting against Indra.
• "Blind Idiot" Translation: Translators can't seem to figure out a consistent translation behind each character's name. Even the anime suffers from this in the closing credits, misspelling the names of the Japanese cast.
• Bratty Half-Pint: Lady Nano, the Sun Goddess, has the appearance of a small child and is a massive Spoiled Brat.
• Calling The Old Woman Out: Prince to Granny in the finale. Being dismayed by her sudden offensive behavior towards Gokudo and Rubette, petrifying Djinn and the others, and seeing her fall for Indra's shameless flirting (who represented the Hokote, and was the other rival clan trying to win Granny's heart but lost to Prince's father), he finally breaks out of his Momma's Boy mindset, unlocks the seal on his magic by sheer willpower, and proceeds to summon his Humongous Mecha to face Indra.
• Came Back Wrong: Granny reveals that the prince of the Eshalatto Empire was killed by his father before the events of the series, and she tried bringing him back to life. However, she accidentally ended up splitting him in two, resulting in Gokudo and Seigi.
• Chivalrous Pervert: Prince turns into this.
• Deal with the Devil: When first meeting Ikkyu, Gokudo asks for the Moon Drop himself willing to give him anything he wants. The Devil replies he would do it for his soul. Gokudo subverts this by telling the devil he can have Issa's soul instead. Ikkyu comments how evil he is and likes him for it.
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: While unintentionally, Gokudo and company are the cause of all the Hokote and Gods being dead, banished, or sealed within.
• Dude Looks Like a Lady: Miroku looks VERY feminine.
• Empathic Weapon: With the help of the Djinn, Gokudo instantly claims a powerful sword that causes giant fire blasts. Without warning, Djinn throws the weapon out into the sky, pissing Gokudo off. She tells him since it is now bound to him, he needs to call it. Believing she watches too much TV, Gokudo does so. It works. He instantly gets the idea to sell the sword at a shop and then recall it later, and repeat this process until he's rich, much to the Djinn's shock and dismay, he goes and does that.
• The End of the World as We Know It: The TRUE nature of the Happiness Device
• Fantasy Counterpart Culture: A staple of the series is that Gokudo and friends visit five nations that resemble real-world countries and/or cultures. The Eshalatto Empire is medieval Europe, the Parmetian Empire is a combination of Egypt and Arabia, Inaho is ancient Japan, and the last two areas are ancient China and a Mesoamerica-like island.
• For Great Justice: Indra constantly preaches about justice, and believes those who oppose him stand against it.
• "Freaky Friday" Flip: The main point of the fourth arc: Gokudo ends up in Rubette's body, Rubette to Djinn, Djinn to Prince, Prince to a monkey, and by default, the monkey is in Gokudo's body (complete with the monkey-like appearance, fur, and tail). Turns out that was a puppet Gokudo and the real one ended up blasted into an egg, which was eaten by Panda and reverted to a baby. That was the body Goku, the monkey king, ended up in.
• Gender Bender: Djinn can change gender at will (among other things) and can either be a typical portly guy or the attractive harem dancer. Also, in the first episode, Djinn gets upset at Gokudo for 'hurting a girl's feelings' while she was drunk, so she turned him into a girl as punishment. The way he slowly figures it out was downright hilarious.
  • Then there's the fourth arc (read "Freaky Friday" Flip entry above)
• Girl Group: The Chingensai Sisters
• Goldfish Poop Gang: The Dumpling King, who chases the world after Gokudo because he didn't pay him 8 gold coins for his meal.
• Heel–Face Brainwashing: The monster buster Tei captures monsters and converts them to be mostly harmless and timid servants, such as Ikkyu and Panda. It's not permanent, though.
  • Sanzo also used this method, albeit more cruelly in gaining an army of obedient soldiers for him.
• Heel–Face Turn: Prince Niari, Rayuka, and Shikinka appear as minor antagonists in their respective arcs, but once they join Gokudo and his party they no longer pose a threat to them.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Both invoked and parodied. Because of a disturbance of the country's magic and loss of monsters all a part of Prince Niari's takeover plan, Issa and Princess Coco used Gokudo, the hero of the Eshalatto Kingdom, to die so their country could be saved. Gokudo manages to avoid this with the help of Ikkyu, but eventually ends up as a sacrifice... by giving up his virgin first kiss to the sealed spirit of the Parmetian Empire, which was really Granny. The shock of kissing her caused Gokudo to petrify for several minutes, but in breaking her seal, he DID save Parmetian.
• Honey Trap: If there's a beautiful woman who flirts with Gokudo or offers themselves to him, expect it to be a trap of sorts, and one that he falls for every time.
• Hulk Speak: Pegasus speaks this way after Djinn turns her into a human male.
• Humans Are Morons: The inherent mindset of all the Gods and Buddha. They believe humans are far too stupid to be left to their own devices, so they must assert their dominance over them to keep them in line.
• Humans Are Ugly: In the English dub, Gokuu's Mother-In-Law doesn't see how he could be attracted to Rubette, calling her garbage.
• Humongous Mecha: Prince's most potent magic is to create and pilot one. Indra may also count, but it's more like Powered Armor.
• Incoming Ham: Lady Nano reveals herself after Gokudo... let's one rip.
  Nano: STINKY!!!
• Interspecies Romance: Between Djinn, a genie, and Nanya, a white tiger that can take the form of a human. There is also one between one of the princes of Inaho and the White Fox.
• It's All About Me:
  • Gokudo always thinks his problems outweigh everyone else's, no matter how small they are in comparison.
  • Once Shikinka becomes a solo act, she makes everything about herself.
• Jerkass God: The Gods and Buddha are arrogant and self-serving. The only one to subvert this is Miroku.
• Laser-Guided Karma:
  • Gokudo, and how. All of his countless misdeeds come back to bite him in some of the worst ways possible.
  • Issa and Princess Coco were manipulating Gokudo and planning to sacrifice him from the get-go, but Issa ends up paying the ultimate price for it.
• The Load: Panda, big time. He's not so much a threat as he is useless, and tends to make things worse for everyone because of his stupidity. The gang only keeps him around because of what he claims to know.
• Magical Weapon: Gokudo has a magical sword that throws fire as a beam and comes back to him if it dissapears, since the sword makes a bond to him.
• Market-Based Title: In some regions, the series is known as Jester the Adventurer, and while most characters retain their names, Gokudo is renamed as "Jester" and Seigi is "Justice".
• Medium Awareness: Frequently, but especially in the finale.
  Indra: I've returned so that I may finish you guys off once and for all, making sure that this final episode ends with your total destruction! And that there's absolutely no chance of you ever reappearing for a sequel!
  Gokudo: Huh? You can't do that to my anime! Besides, you were the worst villain we had in the series!
• Mister Seahorse: Panda, who after swallowing an egg whole somehow gives birth to Goku trapped in a baby Gokudo's body.
• Mr. Exposition: Issa does a presentation explaining the race that the Parmetian Empire holds, and Djinn does something similar when explaining why the Buddha aren't on good terms with the magic world.
• MST3K Mantra: Invoked by the characters themselves when someone asks a question.
• Naked People Are Funny: There are times where Gokudo and Prince Niari are freed of a transformation and end up completely without clothes, much to the horror of their allies.
• Not Quite Dead: Sanzo manages to absorb a good deal of godly powers to animate himself in a giant statue. As well as come back with gusto to fight Gokudo and company for round 2.
• Order Versus Chaos: Many of the Jerkass Gods justify their questionable acts and behavior by claiming that everything they do is to maintain the order of the world, believing the humans would destroy themselves without them. Gokudo and the others see them as corrupt power-hungry tyrants whose authority has gone to their heads and cause more problems than they solve when he and Rubette would prefer to be in control of their own lives outside of their iron grip.
• Our Dragons Are Different: Djinn can transform into a dragon, and both eastern and western-style dragons populate the world. Oh, and there is a Dragon God, too.
• Panthera Awesome: Nanya is a white tiger who can take the form of a human. She serves the Queen Mother West, who is a humanoid white tiger Who was REALLY Granny in disguise.
• Power Limiter: Granny uses this on Prince after the 2nd Arc.
• Power of Friendship: Averted in a conversation between Indra and Gokudo, Rubette, and Prince, confused greatly about how come they act the way they do and do not understand each other through trust and friendship and love. They merely laugh at him.
• Physical God: If possessed by a god, its possible to trap them there and use their power.
• Rage Against the Heavens: Gokudo makes frequent (unintentional) enemies with the Gods and Hotoke 3rd arc onwards.
• Random Events Plot: There's really no final objective that Gokudo and his party are really after. Whatever new location they stumble upon, they immediately get sucked into whatever conflict is already happening, and Gokudo is usually trapped in some kind of predicament he's trying to get out of, such as being turned into a girl, an old man, or a baby.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Gokudo is the red to his brother Seigi's blue. Gokudo is rude, selfish, uncooperative, and doesn't care about what is right or wrong. Seigi is polite, a Large Ham, believes in The Power of Friendship, and always chooses the side of justice. The sword Gokudo possesses releases fire, while Seigi's is ice-based.
• Royal "We": The Dragon God uses the Royal We.
• Secret Test of Character: Granny loves doing these. Knowing her though, they were very much elaborate plans to make Gokudo and the others do her bidding.
• Schizo Tech: It's a medieval world, but apparently there are microphones and modern concert technology?
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Gokudo tries many times to invoke this trope, only to to get forced in situations he tries to get out of anyway.
• She's a Man in Japan: Miroku is depicted as a male in the Japanese dub of the anime, but is voiced by a woman and referred to as one in the English dub.
• Shout-Out:
  • When Rubette looks through Djinn's magic book, some of spells she comes across involve turning a prince into a frog and turning a pumpkin into a carriage.
  • Gokudo /in Rubette's Body "get your stinking paws off me!" to a monkey in the English dub.
• Sickeningly Sweethearts: A sort of Running Gag in the series, as each arc has at least one couple that makes everyone else go "I'm gonna be sick."
• Silly Simian: The fourth arc especially, when Niari's souls goes into that of Goku, the monkey king, and his soul apparently goes into Gokudo's body, making him act like a monkey.
  Gokudo: Stop acting like a monkey!
  Goku: I AM a monkey!
• Unsettling Gender-Reveal: Tei was very infatuated with Gokudo... in Rubette/Gon-Gon's body. But when he saw the real him...
  Tei: Where's Gokudo? Isn't Gokudo with you?
  Gokudo: *smirking* Sorry to disappoint you Tei, but I'm your darling Gon-Gon.
  Tei: Huh?! No way!
• We Can Rule Together: Gokudo takes up the Evil Dragons on their offer to join the great evil empire in the first arc. He only switches back when he learns that he can't kill his twin brother.
• Woman Scorned: Princess Coco is not happy when Issa falls victim to Gokudo's Deal with the Devil, and probably would have killed him if she wasn't taken out from behind.

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