Science Fiction Saiyuki Starzinger

Sci-Fi West Saga Starzinger
Starzinger screenshot
SF西遊記 スタージンガー (Esu Efu Saiyūki Sutājingā)
Genre	Science fiction
Anime television series
Directed by	Yugo Serikawa
Written by	Leiji Matsumoto
Studio	Toei Animation
Original network	Fuji TV
Original run	April 2, 1978 – August 24, 1979
Episodes	73
Anime film
Directed by	Yugo Serikawa
Written by	Leiji Matsumoto
Studio	Toei Animation
Released	March 17, 1979
Manga
Written by	Leiji Matsumoto
Published by	Wonder Comix
Original run	1979 – 1980
Volumes	3

Sci-Fi West Saga Starzinger (SF西遊記スタージンガー, Esu Efu Saiyūki Sutājingā^?), also known as Force Five: Spaceketeers in the United States, is an anime series that aired in Japan from 1978 to 1979. In the United States, it was referred to as Spaceketeers and was part of Jim Terry's Force Five series. In the United Kingdom, it was referred to as Sci-Bots on VHS releases. In Latin America, it was known as El Galáctico.

The story revolves around the Princess of the Moon, Aurora and her three cyborg companions (Kugo, Djorgo, and Hakka) who must travel to the Great King planet and restore the Galaxy Energy in the year 2072. The universe was becoming more and more unbalanced as the Queen of the Great Planet grows older. Their adventure includes battling the starmen who are transformed from the unbalanced minerals and planets.

Starzinger was essentially a sci-fi space opera retelling of the shenmo fantasy novel Journey to the West, a Chinese literary classic written by the Ming dynasty novelist Wu Cheng'en. The sci-fi twists were designed by Leiji Matsumoto based on the Terebi Magazine manga with art by Gosaku Ohta.