Saint Seiya - General Review

This is one of the series I got into right after DragonBall and during a resurge in interest towards it since the whole Hades OVA were being outed and it was being shown once again on TV . And like the ingenuous kids we were, we followed it and loved it ! Don't get me wrong, I still like it and much like DB, Sailor Moon, Hokuto No Ken and JJBA it is seen as a classic. BUT Saint Seiya is the kind of franchise that proves that spin-offs are not necessarily bad... far from that actually. Having read and watched some of them  thoroughly I do have to give some general statements:
- Kurumada's artwork did not exactly age well , which is why I consider some of the graphic redesigns to be superior.(Namely Shingo Araki's and Shiori Teshirogi's respective artworks.). With that said the man can draw unsettling things.
- Seiji Yokoyama's score is simply fantastic and fitting to the overall mood of the series
- I don't know for most fans, but I am much more fascinated by the Gold Saints rather the Bronze Saints (the latter group will suffer of "protagonistical fatigue"). So you know what to expect from me ...
- The series seems to be far more popular outside of Japan. Then again, I am only theorising here.
- I don't care for what you see as Canon or not, it's all fiction so the price always goes to what gave me the most kicks , capice ?
- I found many complaints about the over-the-top aspects of Saint Seiya ridiculous. The charm is THAT it is over-the-top and cosmically Flashy ! And I do not know a single manga that was not ham-fisted in one way or another .
- All the voice actors in the anime are top-notch. This is indeed one of those series where the original dub could never be surpassed .
- I enjoy the varied techniques of the characters ! In fact, this is easily one of the best parts of Saint Seiya : Dragon Ball was always rather unclear when it comes to the different techniques (seriously, Only the Kamehameha was really memorable !) and the ones in Hokuto No Ken ... well we mostly remember them for their consequences mre than anything else (it involves lots of salsa and tomato juice!)
- For it's time Saint Seiya was actually quite revolutionary and created the rescue arc. So , like Dragon Ball and Hokuto No Ken , you have to see it with that context in mind...




SAINT SEIYA (1986)

A little presentation of our main players by now :

Seiya: The Pegasus Saint - The Leading protagonist who is often scheduled to fight the first elite agent and the Big Boss of the story-arc. Will get grating once we get to the Hades arc ( If I hear a "SAORI-SAAAN" again, I'll stab someone !).
Shiryu: The Dragon Saint - The Rival to Seiya at first. Has a tendency to become blind in battles. Ends up shirtless and loses a lot of blood in all of his important fights. Becomes unfortunately transparent in the latest arc.
Hyoga: The Cygnus Saint - The quiet smart-ass of the bunch. Is notorious for having to fight and kill people that were very close to him. Is haunted by the death of his mother (... I can't joke about that because well, I do sympathise...)
Shun: The Andromeda Saint - Is very often mistaken for a woman due to being an effeminate version of an effeminate man.Has perhaps the most destructive power of the core five, and the most restraint and brains when using it. He doesn't snap very often, but when it does happen, SNAP he does.
Ikki: The Phoenix Saint  - The Lone wolf of the bunch. Appears when the others (especially his younger brother Shun) get punked. This tendency is cool at first, but gets annoying in the final arc. Has 2 pretty awesome moves.

I can't say the characters develop tremendously in an individual sense, but this is made up for by the relationships the characters develop and try to maintain.  Hopefully when the next installments come about, there will be a bit more emphasis on that.

Let's go by sagas then (Since I'll discuss the manga, I am not including the Asgard part, even though it was a rather cool addition...)

# Sanctuary

A Japanese teenager named Seiya, is training in Greece to win an armor known as "Cloth" which was originally from the 88 warriors called "Saints" from the goddess Athena. By awakening the energy called Cosmo, which covers all the universe, Seiya easily defeats his opponent in Athena's Sanctuary, winning the Pegasus Bronze Cloth. However Seiya and his teacher Marin are attacked by the Saint Shaina the following night, who does not want Seiya to take the Cloth. Using the Pegasus Cloth, Seiya defeats Shaina, and then returns to his homeland, Japan. There, he tries to find his sister, whom he was separated by a deceased man, Mitsumasa Kido, to become a Saint. His granddaughter, Saori Kido, tells him that if he participates in a competition against 9 other Bronze Saints, they will search for his sister.

PROS:
+ The first fight between Seiya and Shiryu in the Galaxian wars tournament is one of the best if this story-arc.
+ Ikki is a decent first boss as well as a cool supporting character.
+ The whole climbing the stairs is basically a classic in pop-culture these days. So is the whole "BURN MY COSMOS" !
+ Each of the bronze gets equal footing in this story-arc. I guess that's a factor as to why it is the most well-remembered of the bunch, whether animated or printed.
+ Say what you will about the Gold saints individually here, BUT all the fights had a lot of awesome moments and were never won easily.
+ Saga is an excellent character ; he ended up suffering the most due to being his own worst enemy. While his death in the anime was well done, I felt that his suicide in the manga was more touching.

CONS:
- A lot of the fights against the silver saints (except for Perseus Argol) and the black saints felt like padding.
- The story really picks up with the Gold Saints part.
- Athena/Saori is rather annoying... not to mention a frigging load.
- The anime unfortunately missed the characterization of Shaka and Aphrodite ... They made the former a bit too assholish and the latter unnecessarily narcisstic and underhanded (which he is not at all in the manga. It's not because one is androgyneous that he'll be necessarily a narcissist ).
- Saori makes me roll my eyes and facepalm... A LOT !

# Poseidon

Soldiers from the god Poseidon try to kidnap Saori, but they are stopped by her Saints. Aldebaran faces one of Poseidon's generals, Siren Sorento, but both are interrupted by Saori. Saori then goes to Poseidon's temple, where she meets the god. Although Poseidon tells her that he will use his power to make rain around to world to destroy mankind, he allows Saori to stay in the central pillar from his temple to absorb all the rain. Still recovering form the fight against the Gold Saints Seiya, Shiryu, Shun and Hyoga go to Poseidon's temple, where they are told that the only way to save Saori is to destroy the seven pillars from the temple, and then the central pillar.


PROS:
+ The way Poseidon's kingdom was designed kicks ass. I always felt that this story-arc was really underrated. Nothing too profound but at least a honest structure.
+ The Marinas's powers are pretty imaginative , I also love the motives their Scales bear.
+ Funny how the actual instigator of this war was never Poseidon himself but rather his general, The Sea Dragon Marina.
+ While it is a middle/transitional, I really felt that it was the last one where the bronze saints were tolerable.
+ I really loved the way the confrontation between Ikki and Kanon ended.
+ Athena/Saori FINALLY serves a purpose : Sealing Poseidon's soul !
+ I enjoyed the use of the Libra Cloth weapon.
+ The stakes are actually higher in this story-arc: The planet is being FLOODED ! Say what you will, but it is much more of an emergency than saving a dumb broad.

CONS:
- Does try to copy the excitement of the Sanctuary arc a bit too much.
- This is the last time Ikki gets a genuinely cool moment.
-  I agree that the marinas could have been a bit more developped (but to their credit, Sea Dragon aside , they were all faithful to Poseidon . That has to count !)
- None of the Gold Saints could have come to help them personally? I guess they were just being slackers. XD

# Hades

The seal from the Underworld god and Athena's strongest enemy, Hades, is broken. Hades revives the Gold Saints Aphrodite, Deathmask, Mu's teacher and former Pope Shion,Saga, Camus and Shura.
Oh boy. This is it ! The big deal, the big piece , the big cheese ! Since it is long and ambitious, let us divide it into 2 parts (trust me, anyone who'read or watched it KNOWS about the gap in quality this story-arc's 2 parts is synonymous of .)

~Sanctuary

PROS:
+ This part is not as linear as its predecessors and it is therefore more suspenseful.
+ The OVAs adaptation is simply SUPERIOR IN EVERY WAY to the manga. It is simply THAT well put together and surpasses the TV anime (which still has many qualities).
+ The opening theme is the best in the entire series.
+ Seeing the the gold saints dealing with having to fight not only just fellow warriors but also old friends was very interesting. Most are not willing to kill their former colleagues but they still realize that is their duty.
+ The former Gold saints treason will lead to one neat plot twist as well as the most emotional part of the manga/anime :Athena's death !
+ The specters showcased in this part are pretty cool, especially Rhadamanthys !
+ Kanon's redemption  was definitely worth it and is a good case of character development.
+ Dokko VS Shion was a damn good fight .

CONS:
- The whole "forbid the entrance of the sanctuary to Seiya and co to protect them" was stupid and pointless ... then again this is Saori we're talking about.
- I really hated how Aldebaran , Deathmask and Aphrodite got jobbed for the sake of continuing the plot. It would have been far better to have a 6 VS 6 fight brawl.
- Aioros not being resurrected was fucking infuriating for me (guess why ! XD ).
- Shaka being able to handle Saga, Shura and Camus really show how HAXXED the Virgo saint IS !
- Shiryu being able to deviate the Athena Exclamation was puching it ! Thankfully, the OVA fixed that by having the whole Bronze saints team deviate it.


~ Inferno/Elysion

PROS :
+ Hades's realm is just as cool-looking as Poseidon's. Shame about his story and that he was not as threatening as his brother, all things considered.
+ We see actual mythological monsters.
+ Orpheus's story was pretty neat.
+ Kanon's sacrifice was touching and one of my favorite moments in the series.
+ The Gold Saints reunion was kind of cool...

CONS: WHERE DO I START ?
- It pains me to say this, but the most ambitious arc literally crashed and burned the moment Shun was revealed to be the host of Hades soul.... sounds neat ? DEFINITELY. And then , instead of taking advantage of this plot twist to give us one awesome and heartfelt finale and giving us one reason to feel bad for the Bronze saints, we get ZIP, NADA and jack shit ! They 've decided to not take any risks and the whole Athena/ Hades encounter was ... as bland as a rice cracker !
- As I said, the Bronze saints just feel redundant and suffer from protagonistcal fatigue.
- Minos and Aiacos are discarded way too fucking quickly !
- They completely botched the emotional meeting between Aiolia and Aiolos. Was it too much to ask for more interactions ?
- The majority of the specters stop feeling that threatening after that whole Shun possession gig ...
- Pandora lost a lot of her majestic and threatening aura by that point. I do agree that her backstory is decent but than again, it could have been brought up better than that.
- No more budget ... the anime is every bit as botched as this part...
- Wanna know the definition of rushed ? Take a good look at the Elysion part:
* Athena is kidnapped and endangered AGAIN ! At this point , I'd have given up...
* Thanatos seems to be a force of nature at first... then he is smashed like a mosquito one Seiya gets the divine armor of Pegasus (... for fuck sake ...)
* Hypnos is erased in 2 pages ... So much for a deity !
* Seiya 's sister is found in the sanctuary... what a coincidink !
* The last fight that involves Hades himself is TOTAL BULLSHIT ! I really should talk about Manga endings that pissed me off !
- This whole thing led to the "TenKai Hen" movie which ended up itself as being one huge fucking disappointment despite some beautiful moments... Then again, Saint Seiya succeeded in spite of Kurumada rather than directly thanks to him (which is similar to Todd MacFarlane for Spawn and Kane/Finger for Batman when you think about it ...).




SAINT SEIYA G (2003)

The story is set seven years before the events of Saint Seiya and depicts the battle of the Gold Saints to protect the Earth from the threat of the awakened Titan gods.
The protagonist is the Leo Gold Saint Aiolia, who is mistrusted by the rest of the Saints because of the seemingly traitorous actions of his brother, Sagittarius Aiolos in the past.In turn, he holds a grudge against the Saints as a whole,and against the elite order of the Gold Saints in particular.
While the Pope, the leader of the Saints, sends Aiolia on mission after mission to prove his loyalty, evil forces manifest that threaten to destroy Sanctuary, the home of the Saints. A modern-day Titanomachy begins as the Titans, ancient gods with a desire for revenge on the Olympian gods, attack Sanctuary to retrieve the "Megas Drepanon", the weapon into which Zeus had sealed their King, Kronos, in the age of mythology.

Episode G was a bit of hard-sell for me when I was younger, I Was simply not interested. But I decided to give it a fair chance and... I was pleasantly surprised ! Yes, we know the Gold saints won't die by the end of it but that never bothered me, I wanna know how they will manage to survive.

PROS

+ Aiolia is simply a far more intriguing and better protagonist than any of the Bronze Saints.The Lion has a heart of gold, a really bad temperand a rebellous streak  against the whole sanctuary .
+ The Gold Saints characterizations in Episode G is simply far superior to the original, without any exception. This is actually the manga that improved and redeemed (in terms of badassery) DeathMask, Aldebaran , Aphrodite and Aiolos (yeah, Okada made Aiolos an actual character rather than just a symbol!).The only  plothole in Episode G is the fact the Saints are much more powerful than they were in the original story, but fuck it ! That's part of the charm for me, they are finally seen as the demi-gods they have been described as and have the bite that backs off the bark !
+ We get to see how Aiolos's actions affected the relationships of the Gold Saints. This is a group of folks that do not necessarily trust each other and yet they're in the same boat , so they have to deal with it !
+ The coverage of normal peoples' life around Sanctuary and Aiolia's disciples are great additions to the story. I especially love his interactions with Lithos and Galan.
+ The Titans clan and the whole Megas Drepanon plotline is as epic as it can get ! Finally a mythological catastrophe ! Megumu Okada is great in making a grand wagnerian atmosphere.
+ Cronos is a rather interesting final boss; he never comes up in ONE form.

CONS

- The Artwork... God fucking lord ! The Artwork is still not a good point for me !  Okada makes almost all characters look like anorexic CLAMP protagonists !
- Some of the speeches are a bit too pompous and repetitive.
- The extensive amount of detail and shading are a hindrance when something is in Black and White !
- You know ? It really would have helped if this were adapted into an anime ! With a better chara-design please !
- I am still looking out for the rest in scans ... . Which is a shame becuse I'd love to see how it actually concludes.


SAINT SEIYA: THE LOST CANVAS (2006)

This manga tells the story of the previous Holy War, taking place in the 18th century, 250 years before the original series. The story centers on the fight between Tenma, one of the 88 Saints following Athena, and Alone, the reincarnation of the God Hades. While the two were close childhood friends in Italy alongside Alone's sister, Sasha, the trio separated. Sasha was sent first to the Sanctuary and then, a short time later, Tenma was sent to the Sanctuary too; while Tenma had the Cosmos, the Saints' energy, awaken, Sasha was revealed to be the reincarnation of Athena. As years passes, everything that Alone paints is destroyed, and he is convinced that death means salvation by the god Hypnos and his follower Pandora. Alone then gathers Hades' soldiers, the 108 Specters to start a war against Athena...


Oh God... This one. It basically was the most marketing-based spin-off, it has made many fans cringe for some reason or another .... AND YET IT FUCKING ROCKED MY SOCKS !
THIS version of Saint Seiya is MY absolute FAVORITE ! It took the concepts from the original Hades arc and ACTUALLY DID SOMETHING WITH THEM ! Yes, I agree that not everything is original but I am always game for a good remake.
It took me a while to get around to read all 25 volumes and once I was done, it definitely ended up in my top 10 mangas ! Naysayers tale a hike to hell, THIS was a honest to Hades HOLY WAR ! This is the one that re-awakened my interest towards the series !

PROS : WHERE DO I START ?

+ The artwork is simply fantastic.
+ A lot of fans whine that Teshirogi's Gold saints are a graphic copy of the ones in the original.... THAT IS THE EXACT REASON I WANTED TO READ LOST CANVAS IN THE FIRST PLACE ! You could say that the original Gold falsified their ID cards to get another chance. I will eventually give you a versus article to show which one entertained me more  (And by that I mean Episode G VS LC , if it were only the original it would be like pitting a paraplegic mouse against a hungry snake !). Plus much as I love the GS interactions in Okada's hands, Teshirogi's had a much better emphasis in their mutual friendship and trust.
+ Tenma is far more lovable and enjoyable to read and watch than Seiya. At no point did he overstay his welcome unlike his predecessor and  I loved the reveal behind his true family ! SO THERE !
+ I really do not need to explain the superiority of Sasha over Saori. That'd be like saying that the sky is blue...
+ Alone, the host of Hades is actually one of the most unsettling antagonists in the whole franchise (even more so than the TRUE Hades ! That's how terrifying he got !). In fact the Lost Canvas itself is one splendid weapon of genocide; turning human souls into parts of a gargantuesque painting is one of the most imaginative armaggedons I've heard of !
+ Yuzuriha and Unicorn Yato are pretty nice supporting characters (I found the rivalry between Yato and Tenma quite funny and touching).
+ Instead of just being a war between the Saints and the Specters, there are many independent players that made the whole conflict less certain in its resolution and development. And for characters dying left and right, it is a fucking massive scale WAR , DEAL WITH IT !
+ Here's something people can  not whine about (or I'd honestly punch them): The Entirety of Hades's army ! Instead of being mere cannon fodder , they actually are a nightmarish force that convinced me they could take over the planet. In fact , let me give you a little run-down :
* Hypnos and Thanatos: They are given a bigger role as opposed to the original series where they were mere punching balls. Thanatos is portrayed as brash, arrogant, murderous, and sadistic, while Hypnos was calculating, manipulative and patient. And sealing them was done with the proper difficulty it should when you seal GODS !
* Pandora. Just Pandora. Once I finished reading the whole manga, it was clear that she was one of Teshirogi's best characters. Why ? Well she goes through a fuckload of emotions and impressions. This is a woman that had at first the same mysterious aura as the original, but instead of ending up as an absurd one note hindrance, she fucking OWNS the scenery by flip-flopping between aggressivity, sadism and genuine sadness. Teshirogi made me hate then pity then actually love Pandora. She actually gave this character a 3-dimensional personality and a redemption that is actually SUBTLE for this series (especially once she understands how the specters she saw as pawns cared and respected her)! And as for people complaining about fanservice , well I don't. I actually advocate it when it concerns actually interesting characters , nyark nyark img54.xooimage.com/files/a/d/f… fc03.deviantart.net/fs51/f/200… (Oh yeah! I'd hit it! Chiron style !)
* The judges of the Underworld. Once again she gave each one of them their teeth BACK ! Like the Gold Saints here and episode G, these 3 are badass enough to back off their boasts. Yes, Griffon Minos is the first to die, but he was a fucking beast ! Almost a one-man-army ! Garuda Aiacos had one fantastic fight against the Sagittarius (I don't care what anyone says, that fight ROCKED !) and, after his defeat, he faced his doom with dignity and up on his feet. And Wyvern Rhadamanthys ? Believe it or not, but he easily wins for having THE saddest moment in all 3 series (and that's saying a lot !).But point is, ALL 3 OF THEM ARE METAL !
* A lot of specters showcase how formidable they are during a fight and how respectful they are towards their superiors. This made them more well-rounded than before !
+ Mephistopheles Yoma is a fucking BOSS !
+ The plot is not linear at all due to the variety of players that come into it and what the saints have to go through to defeat Hades!
+ It HAS AN ACTUAL ENDING ! In fact, if you take away the epilogue , you can read it as its own story .

CONS:

- Morpheus was the only interesting Hypnos child. The others were rather pointless.
- There are some elements that felt too much like pandering during the latter part of the story. Thankfully , unlike the last volume of Steel Ball Run, it did not turn sour despite what many claim (then again, What do THEY KNOW ?).
- The OVA adaptation stopped... FUCK ! And it is a fucking shame they did not get Seiji Yokoyama's music.
   

There it is, ladies and gents I spoke my mind so you give me your opinion. But damn do I need to dust off my mangas/anime list one of these days ...