The following list comprises the characters that form the three ranks of the army of the Greek goddess Athena, in the Japanese manga Saint Seiya and the canonical sequel and prequel Saint Seiya Next Dimension , written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada.
The Saints (聖闘士, Seinto, lit. "Holy Fighter") are the warriors that form Athena's army, clad in special battle armors known as Cloths, who during millennia have battled to protect Athena, love and justice. It is the main warring faction presented by Kurumada in his work. Although the three ranks swore allegiance to Athena, Kurumada presented some of the characters at first in an antagonic role, later revealing their true nature.
The Bronze Saints (青銅聖闘士, Buronzu Seinto) are the lowest-ranking Saints in Athena's army. As their mastery over the Cosmo essence is at the basic level, the Bronze Saints wield superhuman strength, among other abilities, and a maximum speed of mach 1. Aside from the five protagonist Bronze Saints, Kurumada presents six more in his work, described as follows.
The Saints wearing the second-highest ranked Cloths are the Silver Saints (白銀聖闘士, Shirubā Seinto), the specialists in battle. They possess advanced mastery of Cosmo, which enables them to attain speeds ranging from mach 2 to 5, and also grants them tremendous physical strength. When they receive an assignment from the Sanctuary, they go to any part of the world to fulfill it, whatever the cost, using all their power. They represent the true concept of a Saint of Athena.
Another of their responsibilities is to take care of the Cloths that do not have owners. It is common to find Silver Saints training potential candidates to gain one of these Cloths. As many Saints and Cloths were lost in the last Holy War, training new Saints and increasing the ranks are important tasks to be fulfilled before the next Holy War. [1]
The Silver Cloths are more beautiful and stronger than Bronze Cloths. They freeze at a temperature of -200 °C. Currently there have only been eighteen Silver Cloths confirmed, however, the Silver Cloths of Orion, Shield and Southern Cross, created by Masami Kurumada for the first Saint Seiya theatrical release, as well as their bearers, are considered canonical.
The seventeenth and eighteenth Silver Cloths were revealed in the non-canonical work Saint Seiya Encyclopedia; they represent the constellations of Crateris and Altar, although the latter has never been featured in any arcs of Kurumada's comic book to date.More recently, since the start of Saint Seiya Next Dimension , the canonical continuation of Kurumada's original work, a new Silver Saint was added to the universe, Crateris Suikyō, whose Cloth differs entirely from the one shown in the Saint Seiya Encyclopedia, becoming the canonical incarnation of said Cloth and constellation.
The Gold Saints (黄金聖闘士, Gōrudo Seinto) are the most powerful Saints in Athena's Army and personal guard to her, invincible among them since the ages of myth. They wear the 12 Gold Cloths that correspond to the zodiac constellations, the most powerful among the 88 Cloths. The Gold Saints have mastered the seventh sense, the essence of Cosmo, which grants them miraculous abilities, among them, the capacity of attaining the speed of light. In Saint Seiya Next Dimension, it is revealed that there were originally 13 Gold Saints. [5]
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. 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 battle against other gods who want to dominate Earth.
Pegasus Seiya, simply known as Seiya, is a fictional character and the main protagonist in the Saint Seiya manga series created by Masami Kurumada. He is the eponymous protagonist who makes his debut in the first chapter "The Saints of Athena", published in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on December 12, 1985. Like most of Kurumada's characters, Seiya's design was inspired in the main character of his previous hit manga Ring ni Kakero, Ryuji Takane.
Andromeda Shun is a protagonist in the Saint Seiya media franchise, which originated in the manga of the same name, written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada, that subsequently inspired an anime series, soundtracks, OVAs, films, video games, and other collectibles. He is one of the strongest characters in the series, although his gentle disposition and kind nature tend to hold him back from using his full power until he has no other choice but to do so. Shun is also the younger brother of Phoenix Ikki, a fellow Bronze Saint.
Cygnus Hyoga is a main character in the manga series Saint Seiya, created by Masami Kurumada, and later adapted to anime. Hyoga is cold and calm by nature, which complements his abilities as a saint. He was the third of the five main protagonists to be introduced. In some English adaptations he was named Swan Hyoga.
Dragon Shiryū is a fictional character from the Saint Seiya universe created by Masami Kurumada. As one of the protagonists of this media franchise, he has made appearances in the several manga, the original anime adaptation, OVAs, films and video games. He has also inspired a large number of collectibles. Considered the most mature and wisest of the five heroes, Shiryū is the Bronze Saint of the Dragon constellation, whose Cloth possesses legendary defensive and offensive properties. Shiryū is one of the ten surviving orphans trained to become Athena's Saints by Mitsumasa Kido. With Kido dead, Shiryū and his allies become the protectors of his adopted granddaughter, Saori, Athena's reincarnation.
Saint Seiya, retitled Saint Seiya: Evil Goddess Eris on its home video release, is the first in a series of anime films produced by Toei Animation based on the manga Saint Seiya by Masami Kurumada. The movie premiered on July 18, 1987, at the Toei Manga Matsuri film festival, where it was shown as part of a quadruple feature along with Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle and the movie versions of Hikari Sentai Maskman and Choujinki Metalder.
Saint Seiya: Next Dimension – Myth of Hades is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada. It is the canonical sequel to the manga series Saint Seiya by Kurumada, while also serving as a prequel to the events presented in it. The main plot is set in the 18th century during the previous "Holy War" between the goddess Athena and the god Hades, and centers on the battles between each deity's warriors who are known as the Saints and the Specters, respectively, during that era. It is published by Akita Shoten in the weekly magazine Weekly Shōnen Champion at irregular dates.
Saint Seiya: Legend of Sanctuary, is a 2014 Japanese CGI animated fantasy martial arts action film produced by Toei Animation, directed by Keiichi Sato and written by Tomohiro Suzuki. It is based on the manga Saint Seiya by Masami Kurumada. It is the sixth film based on the series. Legend of Sanctuary was released in Japan on June 21, 2014, after premiering at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 11, 2014. It stars the voice talents of Kaito Ishikawa, Ayaka Sasaki, Kenshō Ono, Kenji Akabane, Nobuhiko Okamoto, and Kenji Nojima in the leading roles, and the executive producer is Masami Kurumada. The plot focuses on five young warriors known as Saints who take on the mission of protecting Saori Kido, the reincarnation of the goddess Athena from enemies in the Sanctuary.
Saint Seiya: Saintia Shō, also known simply as Saintia Shō, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Chimaki Kuori. It is a spin-off of the manga series Saint Seiya by Masami Kurumada. Saintia Shō started its serialization in Akita Shoten's Champion Red magazine on August 19, 2013, concluding after 86 chapters on July 19, 2021, with sixteen tankōbon released.
Saint Seiya: Soul of Gold is a Japanese ONA anime series, a spin-off from the classic anime Saint Seiya, the animated adaptation of Masami Kurumada's manga of the same name.
Saint Seiya: Time Odyssey is a French comics series by Jérôme Alquié and Arnaud Dollen based on Masami Kurumada's manga series Saint Seiya. Volume 1 chapters were first published in Akita Shoten's Champion Red from July 19, 2022 to September 16 before the official French release by Kana on September 30. In October 2023, Ablaze Publishing announced that they licensed the comic in English.
Saint Seiya: Gigantomachia is a Japanese novel series written by Tatsuya Hamazaki and illustrated by Shingo Araki. It is a spin-off to the Saint Seiya manga series by Masami Kurumada. Two novels were released by Shueisha, under their Jump J-Books light novel imprint, in August and December 2002.
Saint Seiya: The Hades is a three-dimensional fighting video game developed by Dimps and published by Bandai for PlayStation 2. Released on December 20, 2007, in Japan and November 27, 2009, in France, it is the seventh video game based on the Saint Seiya franchise, a manga series written by Masami Kurumada.