From ancient Buddhism, to iconic manga hair, to Keanu Reeves: a PC Gamer Causality Chain™

Causality Chain is a series at PC Gamer exploring the unlikely links between history, culture, and videogames. And ocassionally hedgehogs.

The arc of history curves in mysterious ways. Beloved actor Keanu Reeves—Ted, Neo, John Wick himself—may not be Buddhist, but he does, in fact, owe the existence of one of his blockbuster roles to the teachings of one of Buddhism’s most important figures.

How, you ask? And what exactly does this have to do with videogames? Excellent questions that can only be answered by a causality chain, tracing the butterfly effect of a man walking westward 1,400 years ago to the modern day movie star known for his iconic delivery of the word “Whoa.”

The origins of Chinese Buddhism 🔗 Keanu Reeves big dogging Sonic the Hedgehog

The foundational text

620s AD: Around the year 627, Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang begins a 17 year journey from China to India in search of Buddhist texts…

He returns in the year 645 with hundreds of Sanskrit manuscripts, which he will work to translate until his death. One of Xuanzang’s disciples writes and publishes a book titled Records of the Western Regions, a dictated account of his pilgrimage.¹

(Image credit: Wikimedia)

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A legendary journey

1590s: Xuanzang’s account inspires 1,000 years of folktales, both written and in the oral tradition. In the late 16th century, a fictional account of the journey of Buddhist monk Tang Sanzang and the monkey king Sun Wukong is published under the name Journey to the West.²

Sun Wukong art by Yashima Gakutei — (Image credit: Wikimedia)

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From the west to the east

1984: Manga artist Akira Toriyama decides to follow up his hit comic Dr. Slump, which was set in a vague satirical version of America, with a new series that has “Chinese scenery” instead.³

Toriyama uses Journey to the West as the template, saying in a 1995 interview “I thought it would be easy if that story served as the basis, since all I would have to do would be to arrange things.” His protagonist Son Goku is modeled after the Monkey King.

Goku from the cover of the first volume of Dragon Ball — (Image credit: Akira Toriyama, Jump)

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The Super moment

1991: After Dragon Ball becomes increasingly popular as a battle manga, Toriyama gives Goku a power-up called Super Saiyan. He draws Super Saiyan Goku with a golden aura and blonde hair instead of black so that his assistant can spend less time inking Goku’s hair each issue.⁴

The first panel of Super Saiyan Goku from the Dragon Ball Z manga — (Image credit: Akira Toriyama, Shueisha)

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Sonic’s power-up looks mighty familiar

1992: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 debuts in November the following year. When he powers up by collecting the Chaos Emeralds, Sonic glows gold and transforms into Super Sonic.