Saint 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''), is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1985 to 1990, with its chapters collected in 28 volumes. In North America, the manga was licensed for English release by Viz Media.

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 battle against other gods who want to dominate Earth.

The manga was adapted by Toei Animation into a 114-episode anime television series broadcast on TV Asahi from 1986 to 1989. The anime series was followed by a 31-episode original video animation (OVA) series, subtitled ''The Hades Chapter'', 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 2023.

The ''Saint Seiya'' manga had over 50 million copies in circulation by 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.

A manga sequel by Kurumada, titled '' Saint Seiya: Next Dimension'', was serialized from 2006 to 2024. Several spin-off manga by different authors have also been created.

Plot

The story focuses on an orphan named Seiya who was forced to go to the Sanctuary in Greece to obtain one of the , the Bronze Cloth of the Pegasus constellation, a protective armor worn by the Greek Goddess Athena's 88 warriors known as . Upon awakening his , 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 Bronze 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 younger 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 infant 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 Seas 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 Athena 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 Bronze Saints gain the all-powerful God Cloths and use them to aid Saori in defeating Hades. However, Seiya sacrifices himself in an attempt to protect Saori by getting stabbed by Hades' sword, and Saori and the God Saints return to Earth with his lifeless body.

Production

Manga author Masami Kurumada initially planned to create a wrestling-themed manga, preferring individual sports over team-based narratives. Inspired by ''The Karate Kid'' (1984), he first conceived a story about a young karateka named Seiya, trained by a karate master and his female assistant, but the idea was rejected by his publisher. Believing traditional martial arts like judo or karate lacked sufficient appeal, Kurumada integrated elements of Greek mythology and constellations for innovation. The core concept of ''Saint Seiya'' emerged as a (hot-blooded) manga, distinguished by the "fashionable" Saint Cloths. Following the abrupt cancellation of his 1984 series ''Otoko Zaka'', Kurumada sought to incorporate a unique aesthetic, differentiating it from his earlier works featuring plain high school uniforms. Though resembling medieval armor, the Cloths were primarily inspired by Hajime Sorayama's 1983 illustration book ''Sexy Robot''. Beyond aesthetics, the armor also served a practical purpose, shielding characters during explosive combat sequences. Kurumada initially debated the armor's design, even considering Buddhist , but ultimately settled on the Greek-inspired Saint Cloths. The mythological framework was adapted from his earlier series ''Ring ni Kakero'' (1977).

During development, Kurumada initially named the protagonist Rin and titled the manga ''Ginga no Rin'' (''Rin of the Galaxy''). However, he later changed it to Seiya, first using kanji for "Holy Arrow" (to reflect his status as a Saint) before settling on "Star Arrow" to emphasize the celestial theme. The final title, ''Saint Seiya'', was chosen once the Saints' concept solidified. One of Kurumada's earliest ideas was the Pegasus Meteor Fist, designed to evoke a meteor shower, aligning with the constellation motif. Despite a slow start—due to reader unfamiliarity with concepts like Cosmos and Sanctuary—the series gained popularity within six months. The term was derived from , reinforcing the mythological foundation.

The God Cloths, introduced in the final arc to defeat Thanatos, were later deemed excessive by Kurumada. The nature of divine protections—such as Athena's Cloth or those of Hades and Poseidon—remained ambiguous. The Hades arc drew inspiration from Dante's ''Inferno'', while the revival of the Gold Saints (as traitors) catered to fan demand. Aries Shion was included to establish his superiority over Cancer Deathmask and Pisces Aphrodite by mentoring Aries Mu. Key twists—such as Hyoga confronting his mentor Camus and Shun becoming Hades' vessel—were improvised, as Kurumada had not pre-planned much of the story.

Seiya's design was modeled after Ryūji Takane, the protagonist of Kurumada's earlier series ''Ring ni Kakero'', reflecting his adherence to Osamu Tezuka's Star System (reusing character archetypes). Each main character was given distinct traits: Shiryū (righteous), Hyoga (composed), Shun (gentle), and Ikki (lone wolf). Despite the focus on the five protagonists, supporting characters often overshadowed them in popularity—a recurring trend in Kurumada's works. Although ''Saint Seiya'' concluded with the battle against Hades, Kurumada considered arcs involving Apollo and Artemis, but abandoned the idea due to workload concerns, opting instead to focus on a ''Ring ni Kakero'' sequel. While ''Ring ni Kakero'' solidified his domestic fame, ''Saint Seiya'' brought him international recognition.

Regarding the anime adaptation, Kurumada expressed mixed feelings: while pleased with its expanded reach, he likened the process to "giving isdaughter away in marriage." He praised the sound design, noting its superiority over written onomatopoeia, and contributed the finale's theme song, , expressing satisfaction with the result.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada, ''Saint Seiya'' debuted in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' on December 3, 1985. It finished in the magazine's 49th issue of 1990 (with cover date November 19), 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). Shueisha collected its 110 individual chapters in 28 volumes, released from September 10, 1986, to April 10, 1991. Shueisha has also released the series in other editions; 15 volumes, from November 20, 1995, to January 20, 1997; 15 volumes, from January 18 to August 10, 2001; 22 volumes, from December 2, 2005, to October 4, 2006. Akita Shoten began republishing the series in a edition on June 8, 2021. As of September 6, 2024, thirteen volumes have been released.

In North America, the series was licensed for English release by Viz Media in 2003. Under the title ''Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac'', Viz Media released its 28 volumes from January 21, 2004, to February 2, 2010.

Kurumada started a sequel to ''Saint Seiya'' in 2006, titled '' Saint Seiya: Next Dimension''. A prologue chapter was published in Akita Shoten's ''Weekly Shōnen Champion'' on April 27, 2006, and the series officially debuted in the magazine on August 23 of the same year. The collected volumes are published in full color. The series finished after eighteen years of publication on July 4, 2024.

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, to February 19, 2018. ''Saint Seiya Origin'', from December 19, 2018, to January 19, 2019; and ''Saint Seiya: Destiny'', on December 19, 2018. The three chapters of ''Episode Zero'' were included in the first volume of the series' edition.

Spin-offs

A spin-off series by Megumu Okada, titled ''Saint Seiya Episode.G'', was serialized in Akita Shoten's ''Champion Red'' from December 19, 2002, to June 19, 2013.

A second spin-off series by Shiori Teshirogi, titled ''Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas'', was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Champion'' from August 24, 2006, to April 7, 2011.

A third spin-off series by Chimaki Kuori ''Saint Seiya: Saintia Shō'', was serialized in ''Champion Red'' from August 19, 2013, to July 19, 2021.

A fourth spin-off series by Kenji Saito and Shinshu Ueda, titled , started in ''Champion Red'' on December 19, 2020.

A fifth spin-off series by Tsunakan Suda, titled , started serialization in ''Champion Red'' on September 16, 2022. The first volume was released on October 19, 2023. As of November 8, 2024, two volumes have been released.

A sixth spin-off series by Seira Shimotsuki, titled , started in Akita Shoten's manga magazine ''Princess'' on January 6, 2025. The first volume was released on June 16, 2025.

Other print media

Three ''Saint Seiya Anime Special'' mooks, published by Shueisha under its Jump Gold Selection imprint, were released from July 13, 1988, to April 19, 1989. A databook, titled , was released by Shueisha on August 17, 2021.

A series of two novels by Tatsuya Hamazaki, '' Saint Seiya: Gigantomachia'', were published by Shueisha under its Jump J-Books imprint. The first novel was released on August 23, 2002, and the second on December 16 of that same year.

, an art book which contains over 90 illustrations by Masami Kurumada, was launched by Takarajimasha on October 21, 2016.

Anime

Television series

An anime adaptation of ''Saint Seiya'' was first proposed in June 1986 three months before the first manga volume was published. After Toei Animation started a partnership with TV Asahi, they looked for sponsors. Bandai got interested in selling the Saint Cloths as merchandise so it began development. Masayoshi Kawata, producer of TV Asahi, thought ''Saint Seiya'' was the perfect fit for the "hero show" they were looking for. By July of that same year, scriptwriter Takao Koyama had written the first episode scheduled to be broadcast in October. 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. The series was broadcast on TV Asahi from October 11, 1986, to April 1, 1989. 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, with the final story arc of the manga not animated until it was adapted into an original video animation series in 2002. The entire series was later released on two Blu-ray box sets on June 20 and September 24, 2014. It was re-broadcast on TV Asahi in 2015.

After Japan, ''Saint Seiya'' was first broadcast in France in 1988 on TF1's , under the title ''Les Chevaliers du Zodiaque'' (which inspired the title in other language versions), and the series became quickly popular. The series was broadcast throughout Asia, Europe and Latin America, where it was a success as well. In North America, the series was first licensed by DIC Entertainment, under the title ''Knights of the Zodiac'', in 2003. 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. This version premiered in the United States on Cartoon Network on August 30, 2003, and in Canada on YTV on September 5 of the same year. Unlike other territories, ''Saint Seiya'' did not succeed in North America, and DIC only dubbed forty episodes. 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, which also included a new dub (with a different voice cast than the one used by DIC). ADV Films released the first twenty-eight episodes of the edited version on seven DVDs from January 27 to October 25, 2004, and released only sixty episodes of the uncut version on twelve DVDs from October 21, 2003, to May 31, 2005. A box-set collection was released on January 13, 2009. New Video released the first seventy-three episodes on a subtitle-only DVD set, titled ''Saint Seiya: Sanctuary Classic Complete Collection'', on April 15, 2014. On October 15, 2019, Netflix began streaming a third English dub, featuring the cast from '' Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya''; the first fifteen episodes premiered first and episodes 16–41 were added some days later; episodes 42–73 were added in January 2020; and episodes 74–114 were added in April 2020, in effect making the Netflix dub the only complete English dub of the entire original series. The series was removed from the platform in December 2021. Crunchyroll added the series to its catalogue in April 2023.

Films

Four animated feature films were shown in Japanese theaters from 1987 to 1989. A fifth animated film came out in Japanese theaters in 2004, , which was supposed to follow the regular chronology right after the end of the manga (which finished being adapted on August 1, 2008) as a prologue to a new chapter. Toei Animation first announced that this new chapter would be a new animated series, but later Kurumada stated that he wanted the film to be part of a trilogy. Tōru Furuya, Pegasus Seiya voice actor, revealed Kurumada's wishes for the series during a press conference. After Pegasus Seiya eventually defeats Zeus, he is to go on and face Chronos, the God of Time.

Despite the first film being released in 1987, none of the films received an official English release in North America until it was announced by Discotek Media in 2012 that it had acquired the home video rights to the first four ones and intended to release them across two DVDs, each containing two films. The DVDs contain Japanese audio with English subtitles.

On June 21, 2014, '' Legend of Sanctuary'' was released. Animated in CGI, ''Legend of Sanctuary'' is based on the original series. It was produced by Toei to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the franchise.

Original video animations

The last story arc of the original manga series, which was not previously adapted into the television series, was adapted into an original video animation (OVA) series, subtitled and released across three parts. The first part, , was directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi, still with designs by Shingo Araki and Michi Himeno, while the scripts were done by Michiko Yokote, and the soundtrack was entirely taken from Yokoyama's work on the previous TV series. It consists of 13 episodes, and before its release on home video, it was broadcast on the pay-per-view channel SKY PerfecTV! from November 9, 2002, to April 12, 2003, with the episodes released by Bandai Visual on seven DVDs from January 25 to July 25, 2003.

The second part, , consists of 12 episodes; from this part onwards there was a recasting for the main characters. The first six episodes were broadcast on SKY PerfecTV! from December 17, 2005, to February 18, 2006, and were released on three DVDs by Avex from February 22 to April 26, 2006; the following six episodes were broadcast on from December 15, 2006, to February 18, 2007, and were released on three DVDs by Avex from January 31 to March 28, 2007.

The final part, , consists of six episodes, which premiered on Perfect Choice from March 7 to August 1, 2008, and were released on three DVDs from March 28 to August 22, 2008.

Original net animations

An original net animation (ONA) series titled '' Saint Seiya: Soul of Gold'' began streaming in 2015.

Another ONA series, '' Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya'', premiered on Netflix, with six episodes, on July 19, 2019. Another six episodes premiered on January 23, 2020. The second season premiered on Crunchyroll on July 31, 2022.

Live-action film

In 2003, the French magazine AnimeLand published an interview with Masami Kurumada where the author revealed that a company in Hollywood had approached him some years prior with a fifteen-minute pilot of a live-action film of ''Saint Seiya''. The project was abandoned as Kurumada did not feel the essence of the series had been preserved. In a later interview published in 2005 the reporter was allowed to see the video and commented on how the names of the main characters were changed and noted that one of them, Andromeda Shun had been changed from male to female.

In 2017, a collaboration between Toei Animation and Hong Kong-based production company A Really Good Film Company was announced. In the press conference, plans for a live-action ''Saint Seiya'' film were detailed, and Polish director Tomasz Bagiński was announced as being in charge of filming, based on the 1986 series, which was supposed to take place in 2019. The film was released in English under the title '' Knights of the Zodiac''. It stars Mackenyu as Seiya, Madison Iseman as Sienna, Sean Bean as Alman Kido, Diego Tinoco as Nero, Famke Janssen as Vander Guraad, Nick Stahl as Cassios and Mark Dacascos as Mylock. The film premiered in Japan on April 28, 2023. Sony Pictures distributed the film outside Japan, except in China and the Middle East.

Stage plays

In August 1991, a musical, sponsored by Bandai, was performed at the Aoyama theater in Tokyo, Japan. The story retells the Sanctuary and Poseidon chapters. The cast included members of SMAP as the five Bronze Saints and Poseidon. The characters Aries Mu, Leo Aiolia, and Scorpio Milo were portrayed by members of another band, Tokio.

A stage play adaptation of the first ''Saint Seiya'' film, ''Evil Goddess Eris'', ran at Shibuya's theater from July 28–31, 2011.

Video games

Several video games have been released based on the series.

Discography

Seiji Yokoyama was the main composer for the ''Saint Seiya'' original anime series. A selection is listed below:
* '' Saint Seiya Original Soundtrack I–VIII'' (1987–1989)
* ''Saint Seiya – Piano Fantasia'' (1989)
* ''Saint Seiya – Hades'' (1990)
* ''Saint Seiya – 1996 Song Collection'' (1996)
* ''Saint Seiya – 1997 Shonenki'' (1997)
* ''Saint Seiya – Gold Collection: Best Songs & Symphonic Suites'' (spanning 5 CDs) (1997)
* ''Saint Seiya – Memorial Box'' (spanning 5 CDs) (2002)
* ''Saint Seiya – Song Selection'' (2016)

Other media

In the early 1990s, Renaissance-Atlantic Entertainment planned to produce an American animated version of the series titled ''Guardians of the Cosmos''. Only a pilot was made, and the intro was revealed at the end of YouTuber Ray Mona's documentary on the subject titled ''The Secret Stories of Saint Seiya'' in December 2022. The full pilot was showcased in the follow-up documentary ''The Secret Stories of Saint Seiya Part 2'' in April 2023. In September 2024, Marshall uploaded to her channel the pilot episode of ''StarStorm'', a proposed live-action adaptation of ''Saint Seiya'' made in the 1990s.

An exhibition was held in Akihabara in June 2016 to celebrate the manga's 30th anniversary, with numerous commemorative gadgets on sale; a second exhibition was held in Hong Kong in August of that same year; a third exhibition was held in China (Shanghai) from December 2017 to March 2018.

Reception

The ''Saint Seiya'' manga has sold over 25 million copies in Japan by 2007. It had over 35 million copies in circulation by 2017, and over 50 million copies in circulation by 2022. The anime series won the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize in 1987. In Animage's 2001 "Top-100 Anime" ranking, ''Saint Seiya'' was 53rd. In 2006, TV Asahi conducted a nationwide survey for the one hundred most popular animated television series, where ''Saint Seiya'' came in 25th place. In NHK's "Best 100 Anime" online poll ranking, celebrating a century of Japanese Animation, ''Saint Seiya'' came in 123rd place.

The series was considered one of the biggest phenomena of the 1980s. It would become the inspiration for future series, including several Gundam series such as ''Mobile Suit Gundam Wing'' and ''Mobile Fighter G Gundam'', ''Legend of Heavenly Sphere Shurato'', ''Ronin Warriors'', ''Wild Knights Gulkeeva'', and Kurumada's later work ''B't X''. In ''The Anime Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917'', Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy praises the series' complex plot and felt that animation designers' Shingo Araki and Michi Himeno had worked "magic" with both the anime series and the films. They also praised the grand soundtrack and director Shigeyasu Yamauchi's ability to stretch out the tension and chose the perfect places to stop an episode to keep audiences waiting for the next one. Clements and McCarthy did, however, find the series disturbing in that its main emotional impact comes from the audience seeing "older boys and men fighting brave but naive teenagers" and through victories earning more weapons. Jason Thompson describes the series as being "almost pure battle".

based on ''Saint Seiya'' popularized the term "" in 1987. ''Saint Seiya'' was particularly popular as a subject in as it had a large cast which was predominantly male. This allowed "an incredible number" of pairings, although Andromeda Shun was one of the more popular characters to create for.

Tite Kubo, the author of the manga series ''Bleach'', named ''Saint Seiya'' as one of his biggest inspirations for the designs of the different types of weapons that his characters use in the story as well as the battle scenes.

'' Saint Seiya: Soul of Gold'' (2015) drew a viewership worldwide by September 2015.

References

Further reading

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External links

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