Saint Seiya (Manga)

**Saint Seiya** also known as Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac or simply Knights of the Zodiac, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by **Masami Kurumada**. 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, and empowered by a mystical energy called "Cosmo". The Saints have sworn to defend the reincarnation of the Greek goddess Athena in her battle against other Olympian gods who want to dominate Earth. It was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1986 to 1990, with the chapters collected into 28 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha.

## Plot

The story focuses on an orphan named Seiya who was forced to go to the Sanctuary in Greece to obtain one of the "Cloths" (, *Kurosu*), the Bronze Cloth of the Pegasus constellation, a protective armor worn by the Greek goddess Athena's 88 warriors known as "Saints" (, *Seinto*, or "Knights" in some adaptations). Upon awakening his "Cosmo" (, *Kosumo*), the power of the Saints which is an inner spiritual essence originated in the Big Bang, Seiya 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 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 revengeful Phoenix Bronze Saint, Ikki, who wishes to eliminate track from the people who forced him to undergo his 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 Pope to eliminate them. When they remain victorious, the Bronze Saints learn that Saori is Athena's reincarnation and that the Pope once tried to kill her as a baby. The Sagittarius Gold Saint Aiolos saved Saori but was killed shortly afterwards and gave Saori to her adopted grandfather, Mitsumasa Kido. 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. Believing the Pope may be able to heal her, the Bronze Saints go to find him. To do so, they have to go through 12 temples, each one guarded by one Gold Saint (the most powerful Saints of Athena). Following several battles, Seiya gets to the Pope's temple and learns that he is the Gold Saint Gemini Saga, who in his madness 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. Shortly afterwards, Saga, having come to his senses, 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, who follows his will of flooding 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 war is Saga's twin, 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, 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 followers, Hypnos and Thanatos, the Saints gain the strongest 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

At first, Kurumada planned to create a wrestling-themed manga as he enjoys writing individual sports rather than collective sports. 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. 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. 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. Although they look like European medieval armors, Kurumada said his main inspiration for the Cloths was Hajime Sorayama's 1983 illustration book *Sexy Robot*. 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. 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.

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.

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. 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.

## Media

Written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada, *Saint Seiya* was serialized in *Weekly Shōnen Jump* magazine from January 1, 1986 to November 19, 1990. The individual chapters were collected and published into 28 *tankōbon* volumes by Shueisha. The series has three main parts or acts: *Sanctuary Act* (volumes 1 to 13), *Poseidon Act* (volumes 14 to 18), and *Hades Act* (volumes 19 to 28). Volume 13 also contains a separate short story called "The Chapter of Nastassja from the Land of Ice". In addition to Japan, the manga of Saint Seiya has been published since 1986 in various nations of the world and then translated into various languages including: Chinese (Taiwan), Filipino, Korean, Thai, Portuguese, English, Italian, French, Spanish, German.

In addition to the original 28 *tankōbon* volumes, the series has been reissued several times. The first as 15 *aizōban* volumes in 1995, the "Collector's Version." The second reissue was 2001 *bunkoban*, the "Library Version." The series was released again in 2003 in 19 volumes with art design images from the anime adaptation, and called the "Remix Version." The fourth reissue, in 22 volumes and called the "Complete Version", contains additional colored pages as well as colored armor schematics. Another "Remix Version" was published at the end of 2007 to coincide with the broadcast of Chapter Elysion of the anime. Another "Remix Version" was published at the end of 2012.

The series is licensed in English in North America by Viz Media under the title *Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac*. Viz released the first collected volume of the series on January 21, 2004, and as of February 2, 2010, all twenty-eight volumes have been released.

Many different events took place to celebrate the manga's 30th anniversary. In June 2016, there was a convention in Akihabara (Tokyo) commemorating the historic series, with numerous commemorative gadgets on sale. An official website called *seiya30th* was launched. A second exhibition was held in Hong Kong in September 2016. *Saint Seiya 30 Shunen Keny Gashu, Seiiki - Sanctuary*, an art book consisting of 130 pages illustrated by Masami Kurumada, was launched in Japan on October 21, 2016, by Takarajimash. A third exhibition was held in China (Hong Kong) in April 2018.

Between 2018 and 2019, the original author Masami Kurumada published in the Champion Red magazine a series of special in-depth chapters of events from the original Saint Seiya manga called "Episode 0 and Saint Seiya Origin".

### Other Series

In 2002, a new manga called *Saint Seiya Episode.G* started being serialized. The story is situated 7 years before the events at the beginning of the original *Saint Seiya* manga, and 6 years after the death of the Gold Saint Sagittarius Aiolos, making Leo Aiolia the main character. During the series, Titans are brought back to life with the mission of recovering their realm, and the Gold Saints are assigned to stop them to protect the humans. This new series is written and illustrated by Megumu Okada, under the authorization of Masami Kurumada. The individual chapters were published in Akita Shoten's *Champion Red* magazine and they have been compiled into a total of 20 *tankōbon*.

In the summer of 2006, Kurumada resumed the story of *Saint Seiya* in *Saint Seiya: Next Dimension*. The official and canonical sequel of the original manga, the story continues with the previous Holy War between the deities in the *Saint Seiya* universe. Heroes from the present journey back in time to save Pegasus Seiya from his imminent death. The manga tells about the events of two different periods, alternating between the twentieth century and the eighteenth century. The full-colour series is being published in Akita Shoten's *Shōnen Champion* magazine at irregular dates, with 12 compiled *tankōbon* volumes released so far.

Also, during the fall of 2006, another new manga series called *Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas* started being published. This series tells an alternate non-canonical interpretation of the previous Holy War that took place in the 18th century, 250 years before the original series in the *Saint Seiya* universe. The story centers on the relations between Tenma, the Pegasus Saint, and his beloved friend, Alone, who would eventually become his greatest enemy, Hades. Along with *Saint Seiya: Next Dimension*, it was published in Akita Shoten's *Shōnen Champion* magazine. Written and illustrated by Shiori Teshirogi under the authorization of Kurumada, the chapters have been compiled into 25 *tankōbon*.

In June 2013, a third *Saint Seiya* spin-off manga series was announced. Titled *Saint Seiya: Saintia Shō*, it began serialization in the September 2013 issue of *Champion Red* magazine. The series features a female Saint named Shō as the protagonist and is authored by Chimaki Kuori, under commission by Masami Kurumada.

## Reception

The original manga of Masami Kurumada has sold over 25 million copies in Japan as of 2007, and over 35 million copies as of 2017. When TV Asahi, a television network in Japan, conducted a nationwide survey for the one hundred most popular animated television series, *Saint Seiya* anime came in twenty-fifth place. In his number #271 of January 2001, Animage listed the anime series among the "Best 100" animes of the Twentieth Century. The anime series won the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize in 1987.

Tite Kubo, the author of the manga series Bleach, considers Saint Seiya to be 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.

In the NHK ranking "Best Anime 100", celebrating a century of Japanese Animation, the Japanese voted the "Classic Anime Saint Seiya (1986–1990)", making it the 123rd place among the more than 5,000 Japanese animations produced in the first century, resulting the 123rd Anime of all time preferred by Japanese fans, also "Anime Classic of Saint Seiya" is the animated product of Saint Seiya preferred by fans of the Japan.

Yaoi dōjinshi based on *Saint Seiya* popularized the term "yaoi" in 1987. *Saint Seiya* was particularly popular as a subject in yaoi 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 yaoi for.

## Charcaters

* **Pegasus Seiya:** Pegasus Seiya is the Bronze Saint of Pegasus in the 20th century and titular character of the series. An orphaned child later revealed to be one of Mitsumasa Kido's sons, he was separated from his sister Seika and sent to Greece to become a Saint, a soldier of the goddess Athena. Initially motivated by the desire to rejoin his sister, he eventually discovers he has protected Athena for millennia, his soul returning every time she reincarnates to assist her in the battles against the evil agents that threaten the Earth. As a warrior of immense might, Seiya achieves victory in impossible battles, occasionally donning the Sagittarius Gold Cloth before particularly challenging opponents. He defeats the gods Poseidon and Hades, although the latter curses him at the end of *Saint Seiya* to stop his cycle of rebirth. He is left in a comatose state which Athena seeks to revert in the canonic sequel *Next Dimension*. Seiya is proclaimed as the future Gold Saint of the Sagittarius successor to Sagittarius Aiolos.
* **Dragon Shiryu:** Dragon Shiryu is the Bronze Saint protected by the constellation of Draco the Dragon, considered the calmest and most collected of the protagonists. As one of Mitsumada Kido's sons, he was sent at an early age to the Five Old Peaks of Rozan to train under the Libra Gold Saint and acquire the Dragon Cloth. This Cloth is known for possessing the strongest fist and shield. After he returns to Japan, Shiryu becomes involved in the battles to recover the Gold Cloth from Ikki and the Black Saints, and eventually discovers that Saori Kido is the goddess Athena whom he swore to protect. In the ensuing battle against the Silver Saint Perseus Algol, Shiryu is forced to blind himself to achieve victory. He recovers his sight upon awakening his seventh sense during the fight against Cancer Deathmask, but later loses it a second time while facing Poseidon's General Chrysaor Krishna. More than once, he dons the Libra Gold Cloth when confronting a particularly powerful opponent. In the *Next Dimension* official sequel of the manga of Saint Seiya, Shiryu and Shunrei have adopted a baby whom they named Shoryu. Then, he goes back in time with Hyoga, to the time of the previous Holy War against Hades in the eighteenth century, in order to help Saori / Athena save Seiya's life, who is cursed by the sword of the god of the underworld. Shiryu is proclaimed as the future Gold Saint of Libra successor to Dohko, from the Gold Saint of the eighteenth century Libra Dohko(Young)
* **Cygnus Hyoga:** Cygnus Hyoga also known as Swan Hyoga in several international adaptations, is the Bronze Saint of Cygnus. He was born in the fictional village of Kohoutek, in eastern Siberia, which, at the time when Kurumada wrote and drew his manga, was in the Soviet Union. His mastery over his Cosmo grants him the ability to create ice and snow at temperatures as low as absolute zero by stopping subatomic particles. Hyoga is often portrayed wearing a cross and rosary of the Northern Cross, another name for the Cygnus constellation. Calm by nature, he displays a seemingly emotionless exterior, but a more tender side of his character emerges on occasions, such as when he expresses his gratitude to Andromeda Shun for having saved his life and his undying devotion to his mentor Aquarius Camus. He first appears in the series as he receives an order from Sanctuary to eliminate his fellow Bronze Saints, but he quickly abandons this mission when he discovers the truth about Saori Kido's identity and joins her in the battles against her enemies. While in Poseidon's Undersea Temple, he re-encounters Kraken Isaac, a fellow apprentice of Camus. To repay an old debt to the Mariner, Hyoga sacrifices one of his eyes. He occasionally dons the Aquarius Gold Cloth. In the anime adaptation, he was given a different master: an original character referred to as the Crystal Saint, who was, in turn, Aquarius Camus's apprentice. In Japan, Hyoga is a popular character, ranking second in the main character polls of the Bronze Saints. In the *Next Dimension* official sequel of the manga of Saint Seiya, Hyoga goes back in time with Shiryu, to the time of the previous Holy War against Hades in the eighteenth century, in order to help Saori / Athena save Seiya's life, who is cursed by the sword of the god of the underworld. Hyoga is proclaimed as the future Gold Saint of Aquarius successor to Camus, from the Gold Saint of the eighteenth century Aquarius Mystoria
* **Andromeda Shun:** Andromeda Shun is the Bronze Saint of Andromeda and Phoenix Ikki's younger brother, although he shares the same father as the rest of the main Bronze Saints. He trained at Andromeda Island under the Silver Saint Cepheus Daidalos and returned to Japan after earning his Cloth, hoping to be reunited with Ikki. He helps Athena reclaim Sanctuary and later becomes involved in the battles against Poseidon and his Generals. In the final arc, it is revealed that the necklace he has carried since he was a baby was given to him by Pandora, to mark his body as Hades's future container. Ikki manages to free him after the god takes hold of his body and both follow Athena to Elysion, where Shun briefly dons the Virgo Gold Cloth and helps to finally defeat Hades. In *Next Dimension*(canonical sequel and prequel), Shun accompanies Athena to the 18th century, to save Seiya from the curse of Hades's sword. There, he joins forces with the former Pegasus Saint, Tenma, to save the helpless goddess from Hades's Specters. Shun is proclaimed as the future Gold Saint of Virgo successor to Virgo Shaka. In the anime adaptation, his master's name was changed to Albiore.
* **Phoenix Ikki:** Phoenix Ikki is the Bronze Saint of the Phoenix constellation and Shun's older brother. He trained at the hellish Death Queen Island under Guilty, which turned him into a loner, cold and harsh. Ikki first appears as an antagonist, as the leader of the Black Saints who is set on taking the Sagittarius Gold Cloth for himself and destroying the other Bronze Saints for revenge against the Graude Foundation. He later overcomes his hate and becomes an ally to Athena and the Bronze Saints, often arriving at critical moments to save them from certain death. Born under the sign of Leo, Ikki dons the Leo Gold Cloth once, during the fight against the twin gods Hypnos and Thanatos in Elysion. In *Saint Seiya: Next Dimension*, the ongoing canonical sequel and prequel to *Saint Seiya* authored by Kurumada that deals with the aftermath of the war against Hades. After Athena visits Mount Olympus to meet her sister Artemis and ask for her help to cure Seiya from the curse Hades inflicted on him, Andromeda Shun is attacked by Artemis's soldiers, the Satellites, and their commander Lascomoune. Shun manages to defeat the Satellites, but not Lascomoune, who nearly takes his life. Ikki then intervenes to protect his brother and defeats the commander of the Satellites. Afterwards, he follows Athena and Shun into the past, to the war against Hades that took place in the eighteenth century. Ikki is proclaimed as the future Gold Saint of the Leo successor to Aiolia, from the Gold Saint of the eighteenth century Leo Kaiser
* **Saori Kido:** Saori Kido (城戸 紗織, *Kido Saori*), also known as Princess Sienna in some English versions of the series, is the reincarnation of the greek goddess of war, wisdom, justice and heroic endeavor, Athena (, *Atena*), in the 20th century. Based on the Greek goddess of the same name, she is the daughter of Zeus and sister of Artemis and Apollo. She usually carries a golden staff representing Nike, the Goddess of Victory, and a shield which can eliminate all evil and owns a powerful Divine Cloth. She is reborn approximately every 250 years to protect the Earth from evil with the help of her loyal Saints. While still a baby, Gemini Saga attempts to kill her, but Sagittarius Aiolos saves her life and delivers her to Mitsumasa Kido, who raises her in secret in Japan. Thirteen years later, after Mitsumasa's death, Saori gathers the Bronze Saints that the Graude Foundation trained and battles to reclaim Sanctuary from Saga's control. During the Poseidon arc, she offers to be locked inside the main pillar in Poseidon's Undersea Temple while it fills with water that would have otherwise flooded the Earth. After her Saints save her, she reseals Poseidon's soul. In the Hades arc, she infiltrates the Underworld and follows Hades to Elysion, where she also seals away the evil god. In *Next Dimension*, hoping to save Seiya's life from the curse cast on him by Hades's sword, Saori travels to Olympus to ask for Chronos's help. The God of Time sends her back to the 18th century war against Hades, as per her request, but she appears in the past as a helpless baby at the mercy of her enemies. In the latest chapters of *Next Dimension*, author Kurumada introduces Sasha, Athena's previous incarnation, who descended to Earth once again during the 18th century.
* **Pegasus Tenma:** Trained to be the Pegasus Saint by Crateris Suikyō, Pegasus Tenma (の天馬, *Pegasasu no Tenma*) is Seiya's incarnation in the 18th century and Alone's best friend. After he and Alone escape from Libra Dohko and Aries Shion, Tenma realizes that his friend has become Hades. He vows to protect Alone, but, when he tries to make him remember who he is, Pandora and some Skeleton soldiers intervene and Tenma has to be saved by Dohko and Shion. The trio is then beset by Griffon Vermeer and Suikyō, who reveals himself as the Garuda Specter. The Saints manage to escape after Pandora summons the Specters and drink water from the Crateris Cloth to revitalize themselves. There, Tenma sees his future: Seiya in a wheelchair. Returning to Sanctuary with Dohko and Shion, Tenma later encounters Andromeda Shun and the two begin to climb the Twelve Temples, joining forces to protect the infant time-traveling Athena. An alternate version of Tenma makes an appearance in the spin-off *Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas*, where his name is spelled only in katakana.
* **Other Saints:** Athena's army is composed of warriors known as Saints, who for millennia have battled to protect the goddess and the ideals she stands for. They inhabit the Sanctuary and possess superhuman powers thanks to their Cosmo, the energy of the Big Bang that dwells inside every being. They are divided into three hierarchical ranks – Bronze, Silver and Gold – and wear armors that are linked to the constellations named Cloths. Although all Saints have sworn allegiance to the goddess, Kurumada first presented most of them in an antagonistic role.

### Antagonist

The first characters to appear in an antagonistic role are the Black Saints, servants of Phoenix Ikki on his quest to kill all the Bronze Saints. The second were most of the Silver and Gold Saints, deceived by the dark personality of the Gemini Gold Saint Saga. The short story dedicated to Hyōga that followed the Sanctuary arc of the manga introduced the Blue Warriors from the icy lands of Bluegrad. Afterwards, most antagonists were various deities from Greek mythology: Poseidon and Hades, in the original *Saint Seiya*, and the Olympians of the Heavenly Realm, in *Saint Seiya: Next Dimension*. The anime adaptation of the manga introduced several other antagonists, such as the Ghost Saints and Odin's God Warriors.

### Supporting Characters

* **Alone:** Hades' chosen vessel in the 18th century, with the purest soul on earth. Prior to the Holy war, he was best friends with Pegasus Tenma since childhood. He first met Tenma during a snowstorm one night, in an abandoned shack where they both sought refuge. Tenma deceived Alone at first so that he could steal his belongings, but was stopped by Suikyō. As Suikyō was going to kill Tenma for theft, Alone lied and said he had given his bag to Tenma. Suikyō was eventually convinced and told Tenma he was now in debt to Alone and should therefore guard Alone for the rest of his life. At the start of the war, he could feel that darkness was headed his way, and that it came after him. He and Tenma escaped from Libra Dohko and Aries Shion, and ended up outside a small mausoleum. As Tenma went back to retrieve his Cloth, a voice called for Alone inside the mausoleum. As he entered, he found Hades' Sword stuck in the ground. It was then that Pandora showed herself and convinced Alone of grabbing the hilt of the sword. Alone started plunging into darkness and ignored Tenma as he strode towards Hades' Castle.
* **Appendix Kiki:** Apprentice under Aries Mu. Also known as Appendix Kiki. Like his master and grandmaster, Kiki also bears the ornaments on his forehead and is the youngest of the people of the continent of Mu. He never fights, but can use powerful telekinesis against normal humans, as well as teleport himself, and can tell when the cloths are damaged. In the Poseidon arc, he was given the duty of bringing the Libra Cloth to all the Bronze Saints, fulfilling it valiantly even at the risk of his life.
* **Cassios:** Formerly a Saint apprentice under Ophiuchus Shaina. During the final fight for the Pegasus Cloth and the status of Saint, Seiya cut off one of his ears, and he hated Seiya for it ever since. Cassios had great respect and affection toward Shaina; however, he realizes that Shaina had affection toward Seiya. Motivated by this, he takes Seiya's place and dies during the fight with Leo Aiolia in order to wake the Leo Gold Saint from the control of Saga's Dellusional Demon's Emperor Fist. In the anime adaptation, he was also the younger brother of Docrates, an anime-only character.
* **Esmeralda:** She was sold as a work slave to an abusive local farmer for only three bags of grain. When Ikki first encountered her, he mistook her for Shun, because she and Shun shared the same facial features with the only differences being hair color and gender. She was killed by Guilty, Ikki's master, in order to provoke Ikki into drawing power from hatred. In the anime adaptation her background is the same, with the addition of being Guilty's daughter.
* **Eurydice:** Lyra Orphée's lover, she enjoyed great happiness at the Saint's side on Earth, until the day of her untimely death because of a snake bite. Crushed by her demise, Orphée descended to the Underworld to bargain for her soul with Hades. Touched by the Saint's pleas and melody, she was allowed to return to Earth by the deity, only to be thwarted by Sphinx Pharaoh. She thus was condemned to remain bound to the Underworld half-turned into stone, and later helped Seiya and Shun to unearth Orphée's seemingly forgotten loyalty to Athena.
* **Guilty:** Master of Phoenix Ikki during his stance on Death Queen Island. Harsh and heartless, and concealing his features behind a fearsome mask, Guilty employed brutal methods in Ikki's training, to force him to become a being of pure hate, to be able to wield the power of the Phoenix Cloth. Guilty was responsible for Esmeralda's death, and died at the hands of Ikki, as his final trial to become a Saint, not before revealing to Ikki the secret of his birth. Also known as the mysterious Saint, Masami Kurumada never revealed Guilty's destined constellation.
* **Hell's Watchdog Cerberus:** The enormous, three-headed demonic watchdog guarding the entrance to the Underworld. Savage, grotesque in appearance and emitting a foul stench, it relentlessly devoured souls that belonged to greedy people in life. Sphinx Pharaoh was in charge of taking care of the creature, and it was defeated temporarily by Pegasus Seiya and Andromeda Shun.
* **Miho:** Seiya's fellow orphan and childhood friend, she works at the orphanage where she and Seiya, along with his sister Seika lived before Seiya was taken away. Miho is in love with Seiya to some degree, and in a sense represents the point of view of the normal people who are mere witnesses to the struggles among the gods.
* **Mitsumasa Kido:** Foster-grandfather of Saori who adopted her and took her to Japan after finding a dying Sagittarius Aiolos in Sanctuary. In the manga, it was revealed that he was actually the birth father of all the orphans he sent around the world to be trained as Saints. In the anime, he merely took the children from various orphanages, and sent them for their training. Just before he died, he told Saori all the truth regarding the encounter with Aiolos in Sanctuary and her divine origins and purpose of her birth in this era. He is known as Lord Nobu in some English versions.
* **Natasha:** One of Mitsumasa Kido's women and late mother of Cygnus Hyōga. After dying in a shipwreck, her remains were preserved intact by the gelid waters of the Siberian seas. She's also alternatively known, both in the manga and anime adaptation as Hyōga's Mama. Kurumada later introduced a character of the same name in the short story arc dedicated to Hyōga in the thirteenth volume of the manga, sister to Alexei, leader of the Blue Warriors.
* **Pegasus:** Tenma's loyal horse and steed. He saved Shion's, Dohko and Tenma's lives, by protecting them from the Skeleton soldiers.
* **Seika:** Seiya's older sister, whom he lost contact with when he was sent to Greece to be trained as a Saint. After Seiya was taken away, she wandered the world looking for him. It was long implied that Marin, Seiya's mentor, could be Seika, and some characters, including Seiya, thought it was possibly true. Marin and Seika even shared the same physical characteristics: same age, same birthdate, same height, same birthplace. Also, Marin has a brother she lost and was looking for. Seika resurfaced as a separate character in the Hades chapter, completely amnesiac, after having followed Seiya all the way to Greece alone. It was Seika's voice that, more than any other, urged Seiya on in his fight against Thanatos. It is then revealed in the final arc of Kurumada's manga that Seika and Marin are not the same person.
* **Shōryū:** A new character introduced by Kurumada in *Next Dimension*, an orphaned baby, found in the Five Old Peaks fairylands of Lushan, by Shunrei. He is very fond of Shiryū.
* **Shunrei:** Shunrei was an abandoned orphan found by Dohko in Rozan (China). She cares deeply for Shiryū, and her prayers for Shiryū's safety in battle often help him through his darkest hours, particularly against Cancer Deathmask, as well as against the Specter trio of Sylphid, Gordon and Queen.
* **Suishō:** Garuda Suikyō's younger brother. The Specter is forced to reminisce about him after suffering the effects of Phoenix Ikki's Demonic Illusion Attack. Suishō was afflicted by a terminal disease, thus Hades offered Suikyō to save his brother's life in exchange of loyalty to him. Suishō died shortly after the deity's offering. Suishō's background remains to be revealed in further detail by Kurumada.
* **The Pope of the 18th century:** he Pope ruling Sanctuary in the 18th century, a survivor of the Holy War against Hades in the 15th century. He grants Shion and Dohko the rank of Gold Saints and the right to don the Aries and Libra Gold Cloths. He also foresees Hades' return to Earth and prepares Sanctuary to face such event. A false Pope, who swore allegiance to Hades also plays a role in the story-line, whether he and the legitimate Pope are the same person, still remains to be revealed by Kurumada.
* **Tokumaru Tatsumi:** Saori's butler, bodyguard and right-hand man. Trusted man of Mitsumasa Kido and a black belt, third dan in Kendō. He was in charge of overseeing the orphans who were to be sent out all over the world to train and become Bronze Saints, and due to his extreme severity and at times downright abusive behavior, most of them were resentful towards him. He always tried to be strong and protect Saori, but even the Sanctuary soldiers can defeat him. (Not without struggle, however, as he offered considerable resistance for an outnumbered man). He starts as a rather daunting and abusive retainer for the future Saints, but he is in truth a man who is honor-bound to protect Saori, and ultimately is the series' comic relief.
* **Yakov:** A young boy from Kohoutek village, in Eastern Siberia, neighbor and good friend of Cygnus Hyōga. He watches over Natasha's eternal sleep when Hyōga is absent due to his responsibilities as a Saint. He helps Hyōga in various domestic tasks and also assisted the Saint in his escape from the Blue Warriors' imprisonment.

### Other Deities

* **Ares:** Briefly mentioned in the first chapter of Kurumada's manga, the fierce and bloodthirsty god of war, who battled Athena and her Saints millennia ago, in the ages of myth.
* **Cronus & Rhea:** Briefly mentioned by Libra Dohko in vol.27 of Kurumada's manga, the mighty Titans, whose union gave birth to Hades, god of the Underworld, in the ages of myth.
* **Cupid:** Mentioned by Thanatos in vol. 27 of Kurumada's manga, attributing the nymphs' agitation caused by Pegasus Seiya, to his usual mischief.
* **Giants:** Mentioned briefly in the first chapter of the manga; the ancient race of giants, who battled Athena and her army in the ages of myth in a conflict that became known as the **Gigantomachia** in Greek myths.
* **God of Time Chronos:** The god who rules time. Said to be shapeless and hidden within the universe. Athena meets with him in the gate to time-space. Chronos helps Athena to return to the era of the previous Holy War in order to remove Hades' curse from Seiya, turning her into a baby.
* **Goddess Of Victory Nike:** The greek goddess of victory, who is always at Athena's side, manifested in the form of her golden staff, leading the Saints to triumph. Her true form is visible in the giant Athena Parthenos statue in Sanctuary.
* **Heavenly Emperor Zeus:** Father of Athena and the supreme god of the Olympus. His participation is to date, reduced to only mentions by other characters and in background narrative.
* **Sun God Apollo:** He is mentioned in passing when Athena visits Artemis, and is said to merely watch over the time of the day. Older brother of Athena and Artemis.
* **Buddha:** An enlightened being with whom Shaka conversed during his childhood, and taught him the true value of life. Although Kurumada hints at the true identity of this being as **Siddharta Gautama**, the Supreme Buddha, he doesn't confirm neither he is Buddha Gautama nor if he was who instructed Shaka in the ways of the Saints.
* **The Nymphs:** The minor divine spirits in Elysion, who delight Thanatos with their beautiful voice and music.

## Gallery

Vol 1 EnglishVol 27 EnglishPisces Aphrodite
## Reviews

* At The Time Of Making This Review Haven't Read The Classic Manga Yet, But Talking about Masami Kurumada and His Work and How The Anime By Toei Was, There is No doubt that this Manga Series is increditable and with the world building into Mythology Which I love so i know i am gonna like it for sure and so will you, well when that comes Maybe I'll Update my Review on this Page Someday (Review By **Rebekah Rodriguez**, August 10th 2021)

## Videos

Saint Seiya’s History Explained- Everything Before Netflix’s Knights of the ZodiacSaint Seiya The Lost Canvas Manga Review