Saint Seiya

BarkeyForeman

[08] Mercenary
I know I might seem like I am posting too much as far as other series go, but I am going to resume Saint Seiya:Lost Canvas spinoff and be purchasing official manga ebook volumes very soon.

Saint Seiya oh. My one favorite anime/manga of all time and I am not lying, it is the one fiction that IMPACTED my life the most.

Its what got me not just into anime/manga and American superhero comics years ago, it made me fall in love with the comic medium as my favorite medium from Alan Moore to Manwha to Spawn to Dragon Ball and a whole lot of other authors you never heard off. It is what got me into fanfiction and along with Zatchbell and animation in general, it boosted my interest into drawing.

During the last several years, I went into aloofness for, at times direct hatred towards anime/manga. To the point I scoffed down on anyone who watches/reads it as a primary hobby and even endorsed banning some titles like magical girl Shojos and this intense aloofness also went to comics. But I just loved Saint Seiya so much I had to rewatch it a few times (in fact I just done my 3rd rewatch last Fall) and quickly not only got my interest sparked back for anime/manga and comics but I also finally went around reading Homer and mythology became one of my hobbies. My 3rd rewatch permanently placed comics (not just reading but drawing them and other direct activity with the hobby) as my primary hobby along with athletics, astrology, mythology, and gaming.

Did I mention astrology? Saint Seiya is directly what made astrology an obsession for me. In my first watch I never even knew what Libra was. In fact I thought astronomy and astrology were the same things. Such was the brilliant use of zodiac motifs in Saint Seiya I eventually started researching into astrology and learned what an Aquarius is, what day is a Scorpio born, and gradually advanced into very deep stuff such as the Arabic Parts, aspects, duads, etc etc etc.

Astrology played such a major role in my life, it made me realize my life is so screwed up, opened me up to my fatal personality traits and inspired me to work upon changing them, and served as a guidance for me through the 12 archetypes of the zodiac and the use of predictive techniques and forecast to make choices in the future.

Saint Seiya also made me fall in
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with the determinator and underdog archetypes and the theme of sacrifice, good vs evil, and manliness. To the point most of my favorite stories are of the heroic types who struggle against impossible odds such as Rocky and The Lord of the Rings. Just two examples but when I start discussions about Rocky and Tolkien, you will learn those two fictions also impacted my life tremendously and I'm not counting other stories. Its because of Saint Seiya I even bothered to check out those masterpieces.


I really recommend Saint Seiya, It has some of the best lore in anime/manga and perhaps the most inspirational story I seen in that medium. Not other manga successfully executes the determinator underdog story as well as Saint Seiya. Its theme of love, sacrifice, manliness, responsibility, and good vs evil is so well done its easily one of the most heartwarming stories ever made in the comics medium (not just anime/manga).

Not to mention the fight choreography is one of the most intense and exciting I ever witnessed (especially in the manga)! Characters really feel like they move at insane speeds and attacks look like they really freakin' hurt. I don't want to put spoilers but the later you get in the story, the more insane the battles get. Just to put an example, battles start moving at the speed of light starting around volume 6 (maybe its volume 5 I still have to purchase more of the manga) and around the 50s episode range (a bit earlier actually before that arc there were characters who already shown lightspeed movement).

Don't even get me started on the art direction which is utterly fantastic (especially starting by the time the 12 temples arc start in the manga;where armor literally sparkle like Gold in white and black pages!)

I recommend the 1980s TV series adaptation. Because the manga cannot be found entirely in its complete form online (which is why I only started to reading the manga from start to end for the first time) and also because the production values are outstanding. From the musical score to the art direction and magical attacks and to the voice acting (really some of the best I ever heard across fiction period). The anime adaptation really does stuff outstandingly. Even the animation (which is 80s) aged a lot better than most of its contemporaries such as Dragon Ball and Fist of the North Star. Also the anime adaptation has one of the best filler arcs I ever seen. The 1980s TV series is totally worth watching before you decide to purchase the manga.

Saint Seiya is what paved the way for modern fighting Shonen like Naruto and Bleach. Many modern elements such as scenes from different angles to the classic Shonen hero archetype who refuses to surrender to insane speed of exchanging blows started in Saint Seiya. Hell Bleach creator Tite Kubo credits Saint Seiya as the inspiration for so much of his concepts!

Also Saint Seiya's author Kurumada is popular for popularizing what is now called "Shonen Jump" (or whatever title) magazines in newsstand.
 
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Never seen this anime, might need to check it out.

Its just as huge as Dragon Ball Z is in Europe and even surpasses Z's popularity in South America. In fact in that continent, Saint Seiya actually aired before Z in specific countries and was what led to the anime craze in those nations. Mexico is the quickest specific example that comes to mind.

Just out of curiosity, what other 80s series do you know? Excepting gamers and those who seen the 80s movies, most people who are familiar with North Star I've met are also big fans of Saint Seiya and DBZ or at least heard of the other 2. How did you get exposed to Hokuto?
 
Its just as huge as Dragon Ball Z is in Europe and even surpasses Z's popularity in South America. In fact in that continent, Saint Seiya actually aired before Z in specific countries and was what led to the anime craze in those nations. Mexico is the quickest specific example that comes to mind.

Just out of curiosity, what other 80s series do you know? Excepting gamers and those who seen the 80s movies, most people who are familiar with North Star I've met are also big fans of Saint Seiya and DBZ or at least heard of the other 2. How did you get exposed to Hokuto?

Well the first big anime I ever watched was Ranma 1/2. Got those VHS straight from Japan lol. I loved the original Dragon Ball series. Same with the original Gundam series.
 
Also what about american animation from the 80's? Thundercats is my joint.
Lets save that for another thread ;).

Well the first big anime I ever watched was Ranma 1/2. Got those VHS straight from Japan lol. I loved the original Dragon Ball series. Same with the original Gundam series.

WOW we are getting off topic but I was just curious because North Star is so obscure in North America even those who seen the 80s movie dub don't even realize there is a TV series and manga. By this point in time unless you were introduced by the 80s movie or Ken's Rage beat em ups, if you do discover and watch North Star eventually you'd probably learn of Saint Seiya and watch that too (or vice versa in my case). At least thats how much of the HNK and Saint Seiya fandom from North America I came across online tend to be (especially younger generations like me).
 
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