Sanzo is a Buddhist priest on a long journey to India. On his travels, he rescues the monkey Son Goku, who possesses a myriad of powers and the ability to speak.

Despite Son Goku’s helpfulness and claim to be a Buddhist monk, Sanzo can’t quite bring himself to trust him. A strange old man appears before Sanzo one day and offers a circlet to him, which the old man promises will help subdue the monkey should trouble arise, and he leaves. Sanzo naively accepts the circlet and tells Son Goku it will help him remember the sutras, so Son Goku eagerly puts it on. While Son Goku doesn’t feel different, the old man reappears and announces Sanzo has sealed Son Goku’s divine powers. The old man reveals his demon form and kidnaps Sanzo.

Son Goku has to rely on his cleverness and strength to retrieve Sanzo. It turns out Sanzo is being held captive so he can be eaten by a demon horde, who will supposedly get enhanced spiritual powers and eternal life due to Sanzo being reincarnated nine times. Son Goku refuses to let this happen. He comes to Sanzo’s rescue and it’s an emotional reunion—Son Goku is attacked repeatedly and gets hurt, and is going to die unless he takes Sanzo’s suggestion:

The main demon wants Son Goku to join his side, but Son Goku refuses, making a bold declaration that he won’t:

The battle is emotional and action-packed and I won’t share anything beyond that poignant panel, but I think the images I’ve shared gives you a good idea about this manga—there’s a lot packed into a short volume.

This story is merely a snapshot of Sanzo and Son Goku’s adventure on their journey west to India, but it selects an interesting point to focus on—the titular bonds the characters have formed with each other. First they are tenuous because of the lack of trust, but the threat of lives lost quickly removes the obstacles from Sanzo and Son Goku’s budding friendship and allows it to become a partnership of true devotion and sacrifice.

The art is expressive and the action sequences are vivid. ZENZO’s art looks unique to me—eyes are rounder, faces are more distinctive—and maybe it’s because I’ve been buried in BL for months that things have started to look the same, but the art of Bonds is like a breath of fresh air to me. I particularly love Son Goku’s depiction—he manages to flit between being expressively human but entirely monkey-like as well. He is a well-drawn character.

My only disappointment with Bonds is that it is 36 pages, and a bit costly for that length. The mangaka ZENZO manages to pack a lot of activity and emotion into a limited length, and I couldn’t help but want more after what I’d read had been so good. I’m not alone thinking this manga is wonderful, either.

Bonds won both the Japan Representative Selection and Candidate Award in the Featured Manga category for the 2019 Goku Cup manga contest, according to Manga Mavericks.

This is a quality story with incredible illustrations and emotional scenes that focuses on the bonds between two extraordinary characters. Though short in length, it is a fulfilling reading experience for any manga fan and highly recommended. I plan on going down the rabbit hole to see more of what ZENZO has done and am happy to add Bonds to my manga collection.

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Bonds was published July 16, 2025 by Manga Mavericks Books and is currently available in digital or print.