How influential was Journey to the West on Japanese anime

As for how much influence it really is, you can take another look at another Japanese blood manga:

Naruto (1999)

If you mention Son Goku in Naruto, which one would you think of? In fact, in "Naruto", the image element of Sun Wukong in "Journey to the West" is used more than once.

For example, in the first part, the three generations of Naruto Ape Flying Sun Slash and his psychic beast "Ape Demon", in which the Ape Demon can transform into the "Ruyi Golden Hoop Stick".

Later in Naruto's plot of practicing spiral pills, the mask stall where Naruto passes also has masks selling "Monkey King".

Tribute to elements pulled full of mask stalls

In the plot of the Fourth Ninja War later, there is another "Sun Wukong" - that is, the "four tails" of the tailed beasts - the Monkey King of the Water Curtain Cave, the Immortal Ape King who bestows the Name of Sun Zhifa by the Six Immortals, and the Qitian Great Saint Sun Wukong.

Although this Sun Wukong does not have a ruyi golden hoop stick, the connection with "Huaguo Mountain" is quite full, and Huaguo Mountain is not only a place name place where Four Tails live, but also a trick of Four Tails.

And in "Naruto", there are also the golden horn and silver horn brothers and their props: the Seven Star Sword, the Golden Rope, the Red Gourd, the Amber Pure Bottle, and the Banana Fan (corresponding to the Seven Star Sword, the Golden Rope, the Purple Gold Red Gourd, the Mutton Fat Jade Pure Bottle, and the Banana Fan in "Journey to the West").

And in the end, a wave of golden horns and silver horns were sucked in by their own amber net bottles and red gourds.

Doraemon

One of the theatrical versions, Doraemon: Nobita's Parallel Journey to the West (1988),

PS: This theatrical version is not one of doraemon's 24 manga adaptations, but an animated theatrical version in between the 8th manga adaptation of Nobita and the Dragon Knight and the 9th manga adaptation of Nobita and the Birth of Japan.

Of course, the setting elements of "Journey to the West" that appear in this theatrical version have gone to the sea (after all, the story is about "Journey to the West"), such as "Sun Wukong jumped out of the stone" played by Nobita at the beginning of the story (and the scene took place in HuaguoShan), holding a golden hoop stick to set up a douyun.

Later, he also met Shakyamuni (Rulai Buddha) played by Doraemon, and made a bet to fly out of his palm, and he made a doodle on his hand and was finally suppressed.

And the villain character represented by the golden horn and silver horn also appears in the story, as well as their classic prop gourd (but easily dissolved by any door of Doraemon).

as well as the villain BOSS Bull Demon King (who lives in the Flame Mountain), the Iron Fan Princess (Luocha Girl) and the Red Child who use the Banana Fan (but the Red Child here only continues the setting of a Child of the Bull Demon King and the Iron Fan Princess, and does not have the ability of Samadhi True Fire). Even Doraemon, who came to the rescue, was considered by the real Tang monk to be a Guanyin Bodhisattva.

The Bull Demon King defeated by the Golden Hoop Stick

And this theatrical version also added the historical "real Journey to the West" setting" in the Tang Dynasty - Master Xuanzang's westward adventure road.

A Sanzang master who lived in the Tang Dynasty and traveled to Tianzhu to learn the scriptures

However, in "Doraemon: Nobita's Parallel Journey to the West", we actually see a lot of elements of the "Japanese version of "Journey to the West", such as the beginning of the story in the drama rehearsal by Shizuka as a female character as a Tang monk, and the sha monk played by Xiaofu has a "kappa" headdress on his head.

From the perspective of "film and television from life", I think this is also a interpretation of the Japanese elementary school students' cognition of "Journey to the West", in other words, what is played here is probably the character image of "Journey to the West" that Japanese elementary school students think (or that the theatrical version thinks that Japanese elementary school students think so).

Therefore, the theatrical version of Doraemon: Nobita's Parallel Journey to the West should be a tripartite use of the original Journey to the West, the Japanese version of Journey to the West, and the historical Sanzang Mage process.

And in the two later "Doraemon" manga adaptation theatrical version also appeared in the "Journey to the West" element, respectively, the 11th manga adaptation theatrical version of "Nobita's One Thousand and One Nights Story" (of course, the picture saves trouble here directly I clap the manga): Fat Tiger and Xiaofu put on the magic shoes that entered the album and jumped into the story of "Sun Wukong", and the result came directly to the Flame Mountain...

Similarly, the kappa element of the sand monk figure here is higher.

In the 12th manga adaptation of the theatrical version of Nobita's Kingdom of Clouds/Nobita's Dream Kingdom, the example of Sun Wukong is given to prove the existence of the Kingdom of Heaven.