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| Saint Seiya | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Pegasus Seiya | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 聖闘士星矢 (Seinto Seiya) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Genre | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manga | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Written by | Masami Kurumada | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Published by | Shueisha | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| English publisher | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Imprint | Jump Comics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Magazine |
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| Demographic | Shōnen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Original run | December 12, 1985 – December 12, 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Volumes | 28 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Saint Seiya (Japanese: 聖闘士星矢, Hepburn: Seinto Seiya), also known as Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac or simply Knights of the Zodiac (translated from the French title Les Chevaliers du Zodiaque),[5] is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada. It was serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1985 to 1990, with its chapters collected in 28 tankōbon volumes. The story follows five mystical warriors called the Saints who fight wearing sacred sets of armor named "Cloths", the designs of which derive from the various constellations the characters have adopted as their destined guardian symbols. The Saints have sworn to defend the reincarnation of the Olympian goddess Athena (in her fictional depiction specific to the series) in her battle against other gods who want to dominate Earth.
In North America, the manga was licensed for English release by Viz Media. Since 2006, Kurumada has been publishing a sequel manga titled Saint Seiya: Next Dimension. Several spin-off manga by different authors have also been created. The manga was adapted by Toei Animation into a 114-episode anime television series which was broadcast on TV Asahi from 1986 to 1989. Saint Seiya was later continued with three original video animations released from 2002 to 2008. Four animated feature films premiered in Japanese theaters from 1987 to 1989, with a fifth in 2004 and a sixth in 2014. A live-action film adaptation premiered in April 2023.
The Saint Seiya manga had over 50 million copies in circulation as of 2022, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time. Both the original manga and the anime adaptation were successful internationally across Asia, Europe, and Latin America.
Plot[edit]
The story focuses on an orphan named Seiya who was forced to go to the Sanctuary in Greece to obtain one of the "Cloths" (聖衣, Kurosu), the Bronze Cloth of the Pegasus constellation, a protective armor worn by the Greek goddess Athena's 88 warriors known as "Saints" (聖闘士, Seinto, or "Knights" in some adaptations). Upon awakening his "Cosmo" (小宇宙, Kosumo, lit. "mini-cosmos" or "mini-universe"), Seiya acquires the ability to unleash the true power of a Saint through what is variously described as the "burning", "explosion", or "big bang" of his "Cosmo" (alluding to the Big Bang of the universe). He then quickly becomes the Pegasus Saint and returns to Japan to find his older sister.
Because his sister disappeared the same day Seiya went to the Sanctuary, Saori Kido, the adopted granddaughter of Mitsumasa Kido (the person who sent all the orphans to train) makes a deal with him to go to fight in a tournament called the Galaxian Wars. In this tournament, all the orphans who survived and became Bronze Saints must fight to win the most powerful Cloth: The Sagittarius Gold Cloth. If Seiya goes to compete there and wins, Saori would start a search to find Seiya's sister. The tournament is interrupted by the vengeful Phoenix Bronze Saint, Ikki, who wishes to eliminate the people who forced him to undergo his especially harsh training. He steals parts from the Sagittarius Cloth and eventually fights against the remaining Bronze Saints: Seiya, Shun (Ikki's brother), Shiryū, and Hyōga.
Upon Ikki's defeat, the Bronze Saints are attacked by the Silver Saints sent by the Sanctuary's corrupt Pope to eliminate them. When they prevail, the Bronze Saints learn that Saori is Athena's reincarnation and that the Pope once tried to kill her as a baby. The previous Sagittarius Gold Saint Aiolos saved Saori but was mortally wounded shortly after escaping and gave Saori to her adopted grandfather. Deciding to join forces with Saori, the Bronze Saints go to the Sanctuary to defeat the Pope, but upon their arrival, Saori is severely wounded by a gold arrow from a Silver Saint and will die at the end of the day. Believing the Pope may be able to heal her, the Bronze Saints go to find him. To do so, they must go through 12 temples, each one guarded by one Gold Saint (the most powerful Saints of Athena). Some of these Gold Saints are friendly, but others are just as corrupt as the Pope and take a sick pleasure in fighting the Bronze Saints. Following several battles, Seiya gets to the Pope's temple and learns that he is actually the Gold Saint Gemini Saga, who suffers from a split personality: one good and one evil. His evil side took over completely and had killed the real Pope to obtain more power. With help from his friends' Cosmos, Seiya is able to knock out Saga and use the shield from Athena's statue to heal Saori just in time. Shortly afterwards, Saga, his good side having regained control, commits suicide as a self-punishment.
In the second story arc, the Greek god Poseidon reincarnates within the body of Julian Solo, the heir to a rich and powerful family, and plots to flood the Earth. Saori goes to his Temple, where Julian offers her to reduce the flooding by absorbing the water inside the Oceans' Central Pillar. Following Saori, Seiya, Hyōga, Shun and Shiryū go to Poseidon's underwater Temple and are confronted by his underlings, the Marines. As Seiya, Hyōga, and Shiryū make their way to Julian, Ikki learns that the mastermind behind this conflict is Saga's twin brother, Gemini Kanon, who is manipulating Poseidon. During the final battle, Poseidon's spirit awakes within Julian and manages to defeat his opponents. Saved by the Saints from the Pillar, Saori seals Poseidon's soul within her amphora.
The third and last arc follows how Hades, the Underworld god, is freed from his seal and revives the deceased Gold Saints and the Pope Aries Shion, and alongside some of his 108 Specters, sends them to the Sanctuary to kill Athena. The remaining Gold Saints serving Athena are able to subdue the enemies, but Saori then commits suicide. This act is instead meant to directly send her to the Underworld to face Hades, and the Bronze Saints follow her. Shion reveals that the revived Gold Saints' true intentions were of giving Saori her own Cloth so she could fight alongside her knights, and gives it to Seiya's group before dying once again. In the Underworld, as the Saints fight Hades' Specters, Shun is possessed by Hades. Saori reaches Hades and expels his soul from Shun's body. Hades then takes Saori to Elysium, and the five Bronze Saints follow them. In the final fight against Hades and his two subordinates, the gods Hypnos and Thanatos, the Saints gain the all-powerful God Cloths and use them to aid Saori in defeating Hades. However, Seiya also sacrifices himself by receiving one of Hades' attacks, and the Saints return to Earth with his body.
Production[edit]
At first, Kurumada planned to create a wrestling-themed manga as he enjoys writing individual sports rather than collective sports.[6] He was initially inspired by The Karate Kid (1984) to conceive a story about a young karateka named Seiya found by a karate master and his female assistant; however, his publishing department did not approve the idea.[7] Since he thought simple sports like judo or karate would not be interesting enough, he added aspects from Greek mythology and constellations to make it innovative.[6] However, the basic concept of Saint Seiya was to be a nekketsu manga with a "fashion" touch added by the Saint Cloths. After the quick cancellation of his previous work, Otoko Zaka, in 1984, this "fashion sense" was something Kurumada thought would be an aspect that would attract fans, making it different from his previous manga with simple high school uniforms.[8] Although they look like European medieval armors, Kurumada said his main inspiration for the Cloths was Hajime Sorayama's 1983 illustration book Sexy Robot.[6] Besides from fashion, the Cloths were created because Kurumada wanted characters to throw explosive sparks and the armors was a way to give them some protection.[7] Initially, he could not decide what type of armor it would be, considering even Buddhist kasaya; based on the Greek motif, he designed the actual Saint Cloths.[7]
When Kurumada was in the process of creating Saint Seiya, he gave Seiya the name Rin at first, since Kurumada was going to title his manga "Ginga no Rin" (Rin of the Galaxy). However, as Kurumada continued developing his manga, he decided to change the name to Seiya, which was more fitting. First he spelled the name with the kanji that meant "Holy Arrow", to relate it to Seiya's condition as a Saint, but later decided to use the kanji that meant "Star Arrow", to emphasize the constellation and mythological motif. Finally, he changed his manga title as well, to Saint Seiya, once he fully developed the concept of the Saints. Also, Kurumada stated that one of the first ideas he conceived for Saint Seiya was the Pegasus Meteor Fist. Since his manga was going to use the constellations as a very important and ever-present theme, he wanted his protagonist to have a special move that would be like a shower of meteors.[9]
When Kurumada designed Seiya's likeness, he was inspired by his character Ryūji Takane, the protagonist of his hit manga Ring ni Kakero, which he created 9 years before Seiya. Most protagonists of Kurumada's works bear a resemblance to Ryūji, as Kurumada subscribes to the revered Osamu Tezuka's Star System (a stable cast of characters) technique. The same process is done with almost all the other characters from the series.[9] After creating Seiya as a nekketsu character, he decided to give different personality traits to each of other main characters: Shiryū is the "righteous and serious"; Hyoga is "posed and classy"; Shun is the "lovable boy"; and Ikki is the lone wolf.[7]
Media[edit]
Manga[edit]
Written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada, Saint Seiya debuted in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump on December 3, 1985.[10] It finished in the magazine's 49th issue of 1990 (with cover date November 19),[11] and the last chapter was published in the first issue of V Jump (released as an extra edition of Weekly Shōnen Jump, with cover date December 12, 1990).[12][13] Shueisha collected its 110 individual chapters in 28 tankōbon volumes, released from September 10, 1986,[14] to April 10, 1991.[15] Shueisha has also released the series in other editions; 15 aizōban volumes, from November 20, 1995, to January 20, 1997;[16] 15 bunkoban volumes, from January 18 to August 10, 2001;[17] 22 kanzenban volumes, from December 2, 2005,[18] to October 4, 2006.[19] Akita Shoten is releasing the series in a shinsōban edition since June 8, 2021.[20] As of June 8, 2023, nine volumes have been released.[21]
In North America, the series was licensed for English release by Viz Media in 2003.[22] Under the title Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac, Viz Media released its 28 volumes from January 21, 2004,[23] to February 2, 2010.[24]
Kurumada published in Akita Shoten's Champion Red a series of special in-depth chapters of events from the manga; Saint Seiya: Episode Zero, from December 19, 2017,[25] to February 19, 2018.[26] Saint Seiya Origin, from December 19, 2018, to January 19, 2019;[27] and Saint Seiya: Destiny, on December 19, 2018.[28] The three chapters of Episode Zero were included in the first volume of the series' shinsōban edition.[20]
Other series[edit]
A spin-off series by Megumu Okada, titled Saint Seiya Episode.G, was serialized in Akita Shoten's Champion Red from December 19, 2002,[29] to June 19, 2013.[30]
Kurumada started a sequel to Saint Seiya, titled Saint Seiya: Next Dimension, in 2006. A prologue chapter was published in Akita Shoten's Weekly Shōnen Champion on April 27, 2006,[31] and the series officially debuted in the magazine on August 23 of the same year.[32] The collected volumes are published in full color.[33]
A second spin-off series by Shiori Teshirogi, titled Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas, was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Champion from August 24, 2006,[34] to April 7, 2013.[35]
A third spin-off series by Chimaki Kuori Saint Seiya: Saintia Shō, was serialized in Champion Red from August 19, 2013,[36] to July 19, 2021.[37]
A fourth spin-off series by Kenji Saito and Shinshu Ueda, titled Saint Seiya: Dark Wing (聖闘士星矢・冥王異伝 ダークウィング, Seinto Seiya Meiō Iden: Dāku Wingu, lit. "Saint Seiya: An Alternate Tale of the Underworld Emperor – Dark Wing"), started in Champion Red on December 19, 2020.[38][39] Its first volume was released on June 18, 2021.[40]
A fifth spin-off manga series by Tsunakan Suda, titled Saint Seiya: Rerise of Poseidon (聖闘士星矢・海皇再起, Seinto Seiya: Kaiō Saiki, lit. "Saint Seiya: The Return of the Sea Emperor"), started serialization in Champion Red on September 16, 2022.[41]
Anime[edit]
Overview[edit]
- TV and OVA series
| No. | Title | Episodes | Animation studio | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||||
| 1 | Saint Seiya | 114 | Toei Animation | October 11, 1986 | April 1, 1989 | |
| 2 | Saint Seiya: Hades | 31 | Toei Animation | November 9, 2002 | August 1, 2008 | |
| 3 | Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas | 26 | TMS Entertainment | June 24, 2009 | July 20, 2011 | |
| 4 | Saint Seiya Omega | 97 | Toei Animation | April 1, 2012 | March 30, 2014 | |
| 5 | Saint Seiya: Soul of Gold | 13 | Bridge | April 11, 2015 | September 26, 2015 | |
| 6 | Saint Seiya: Saintia Shō | 10 | Gonzo | December 10, 2018 | February 18, 2019 | |
| 7 | Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya | 36 | Toei Animation | July 19, 2019 | June 10, 2024 | |
| Total | 327 episodes | — | October 11, 1986 | October 9, 2022 | ||
- Animated movies
| No. | Title | Release date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint Seiya: Evil Goddess Eris | July 18, 1987 | |
| 2 | Saint Seiya: The Heated Battle of the Gods | March 12, 1988 | |
| 3 | Saint Seiya: Legend of Crimson Youth | July 23, 1988 | |
| 4 | Saint Seiya: Warriors of the Final Holy Battle | March 18, 1989 | |
| 5 | Saint Seiya: Heaven Chapter – Overture | February 14, 2004 | |
| 6 | Saint Seiya: Legend of Sanctuary | June 21, 2014 | |
Release[edit]
An anime adaptation of Saint Seiya was first proposed in June 1986 three months before the first manga volume was published.[8] After Toei Animation started a partnership with TV Asahi, they looked for sponsors.[42] Bandai got interested in selling the Saint Cloths as merchandise so it began development.[8] Masayoshi Kawata, producer of TV Asahi, thought Saint Seiya was the perfect fit for the "hero show" they were looking for. By July, scriptwriter Takao Koyama had written the first episode scheduled to be broadcast in October.[42] Since an episode adapts several chapters the anime goes faster than the manga, which led the TV series staff to create some original stories to fill the gap.[8][42] The anime adaptation was broadcast on TV Asahi from October 11, 1986, to April 1, 1989.[43] It was directed first by Kōzō Morishita (episodes 1–73) and then by Kazuhito Kikuchi (episodes 74–114). The character designers and aestheticists were Shingo Araki and Michi Himeno, and Seiji Yokoyama composed the soundtracks. Following Kurumada's storylines from the manga closely, the chief scriptwriters were Takao Koyama (1–73) and Yoshiyuki Suga (74–114). The series has three main parts: Sanctuary (episodes 1–73), Asgard, an anime original story arc (episodes 74–99), and Poseidon (episodes 100–114). The series was cancelled and left unfinished in 1989, leaving one arc of the manga not animated, until finally being adapted into a series of OVAs in 2002.[44] The series one-hundred fourteen episodes was re-released in Japan on two Blu-ray box sets on June 20 and September 24, 2014.[45] The series was re-broadcast on TV Asahi in 2015.[46]
After Japan, Saint Seiya was first broadcast in France in 1988 on TF1's Club Dorothée, under the title Les Chevaliers du Zodiaque (which inspired the title in other language versions),[5][47] and the series became quickly popular.[48][5][49] The series was broadcast throughout Asia, Europe and Latin America, where it was a success as well.[50][51][52] In North America, the series was first licensed by DIC Entertainment, under the title Knights of the Zodiac, in 2003.[53][54] The DIC version was edited for broadcast, cutting overly violent scenes, coloring the red blood to blue, adding in previously non-existent digital scene transitions, rewriting the scripts, renaming several characters and replacing the music themes and the original soundtrack.[55][56][57][58] This version premiered in the United States on Cartoon Network on August 30, 2003,[59] and in Canada on YTV on September 5 of the same year.[60] Unlike other territories, Saint Seiya did not succeed in North America,[58][61] and DIC only dubbed forty episodes.[62] ADV Films licensed the home video rights to the series. They released the DIC-edited version and an uncut version of the show with English subtitles,[63][64] which also included a new dub (with a different voice cast than the one used by DIC).[65][66] ADV Films released the first twenty-eight episodes of the edited version on seven (of the planned twelve) DVDs from January 27 to October 25, 2004,[56][67] and released only si