Due to the series' high popularity in Japan and in Spain,France,Italy,Latin America and China,six films based on Saint Seiya were released in theatres between 1987 and 2014. The plots of these films are not canon with the chronology and events of the manga or anime plots,except for Heaven Chapter –Overture.
These films were never released in the U.S until it was announced by Discotek Media in 2012 that they had acquired the rights to the first four movies in a two disc set. The DVDs contain the original Japanese audio track with English subtitles.[6]
Saint Seiya (聖闘士星矢, Seinto Seiya), retitled Saint Seiya: Evil Goddess Eris (聖闘士星矢 邪神エリス, Seinto Seiya: Jashin Erisu) on its home video release, is the first anime film of the series.The movie was directed by Kōzō Morishita and produced by Toei Animation. The movie premiered on July 18, 1987, at the Toei Manga Matsuri film festival.
When Seiya, Hyōga and Shun visit Saori (Athena) at the orphanage, they meet an employee called Eri. An orphan herself, Eri takes a liking to Hyōga and one night they sit outside watching the stars. They see a shooting star and Hyōga asks Eri to make a wish. After Hyōga leaves, however, Eri becomes powerfully attracted to the shooting star and wanders alone into the woods, where she finds a golden apple. She is then possessed by Eris, the Goddess of Discord, and kidnaps Athena, planning to use the golden apple to suck her energy out, fully reincarnate and take over the world. Eris leaves a message for the Bronze Saints, who set out for the goddess's temple which appears on the mountains. There, the heroes fight the five Ghost Saints: Sagitta Maya, Lyra Orpheus, Southern Cross Khristós, Scutum Jan and Orion Jäger.
The Heated Battle of the Gods (1988)
Saint Seiya: The Heated Battle of the Gods (聖闘士星矢 神々の熱き戦い, Seinto Seiya: Kamigami no Atsuki Tatakai) is the second anime film of the franchise. The movie was directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi and produced by Toei Animation. It premiered on March 12, 1988 in the Toei Manga Matsuri film festival.
In Siberia, Hyōga saves a man that is being attacked. Injured, the man manages only to say something about Asgard. Some days later, Saori, Seiya, Shiryū and Shun are wondering about Hyōga and decide to go to Asgard to investigate. At Valhalla, the Lord of Asgard, Dolbar, says he has not heard of any Hyōga and neither has his right hand, Loki. However, at all times Seiya and the others can feel an evil cosmo emanating from Loki and the other Odin Saints called God Warriors. Shiryū, in particular, notices a familiar cosmo coming from Midgard, a mysterious, masked God Warrior. Dolbar makes it clear that he is trying to take control of both Asgard and the Sanctuary, imprisoning Athena in a strange dimension within the giant statue of Odin. Midgard reveals himself as Hyōga and tries to kill Shiryū to prove himself to Dolbar. Thus, it is the task of the Bronze Saints to defeat Dolbar, Loki and the rest of the God Warriors, to save Athena and Hyōga.
Due to this film's popularity, Toei Animation created the Asgard saga for the anime, which did not originally appear in the manga and is set between the Sanctuary and Poseidon arcs of the story.
Legend of Crimson Youth (1988)
Saint Seiya: The Legend of Crimson Youth (聖闘士星矢 真紅の少年伝説, Seinto Seiya: Shinku no Shōnen Densetsu) is the third anime film of the series. The movie was also directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi and produced by Toei Animation. Unlike its predecessors, which premiered on the Toei Manga Matsuri film festivals, this installment was instead shown on July 23, 1988 at the Weekly Jump 20th Anniversary Festival.
Athena receives the visit of Phoebus Abel, her older brother and God of the Corona. He informs her that he has come to destroy humanity as punishment for their corruption, just as it was done in ancient times. He dismisses Seiya and the Bronze Saints, as she will now be guarded by Abel's three Corona Saints, Atlas of Carina, Jaō of Lynx and Berenice of Coma Berenices, and the five resurrected Gold Saints who died in the Sanctuary battle: Saga of Gemini, Deathmask of Cancer, Shura of Capricorn, Camus of Aquarius and Aphrodite of Pisces. When Athena rebels against Abel's plan, he attacks her, sending her soul to Elysion, the final resting place from which there is no return. The Bronze Saints immediately rush to the Sanctuary to save her and ultimately overcome Abel.
Unlike the other Saint Seiya movies made in the 1980s, this one was a full featured film, having a running time of 75 minutes. The events occur sometime after the Poseidon saga and before the Fallen Angels saga (4th movie).
Warriors of the Final Holy Battle (1989)
Saint Seiya: Warriors of the Final Holy Battle (聖闘士星矢 最終聖戦の戦士たち, Seinto Seiya: Saishū Seisen no Senshitachi) is the fourth anime film of the franchise. The movie was directed by Masayuki Akihi and produced by Toei Animation. It premiered on March 18, 1989 in the Toei Manga Matsuri film festival.
Lucifer, a fallen angel who was a child of God but was condemned to hell for his ambitions, has risen to the present day and began to spread disasters around the world. Athena sacrifices herself to save the earth and heads alone to the Fushima Hall, where Lucifer is waiting. Upon learning of this, Seiya and the other Bronze Knights follow Saori to the Fushima Hall, but in front of them are four Holy Demon Angels, powerful enemies who have also defeated the Golden Saints. A fierce battle begins for the future of the earth and the fate of the entire universe.
Heaven Chapter – Overture (2004)
DVD cover of Heaven Chapter: Overture
Saint Seiya: Heaven Chapter – Overture (聖闘士星矢 天界編 序奏 〜overture〜, Seinto Seiya Tenkai-hen: Josô Overture) is the fifth anime film of the franchise. The movie was directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi and produced by Toei Animation. It premiered on February 14, 2004 in Japan. The film is the canonical continuation of the anime after the Hades Saga.
Injured after his confrontation with Hades, Seiya is in a wheelchair and vegetative state under Saori's care. The Goddess Artemis, Saori's older sister, comes to Earth and strikes a bargain with her. In return for restoring Seiya's mind and body, she will take control over Sanctuary. Now Seiya and his fellow Bronze saints must fight Zeus and his Angels to restore their homeland. Hoping that it may bring peace on Earth, Saori goes to the Sanctuary and starts spilling her blood. Upon invading the Sanctuary, the Bronze Saints learn that Athena was banished by Artemis and decide to fight the moon goddess in order to rescue their true goddess and free the Earth from Artemis's ominous control.
The movie focuses mostly on Seiya and Athena, as the other Bronze Saints are not seen as much; they only appear during their respective fights with the other Angels, and briefly towards the end. However, Eagle Marin also appears, as Ophiuchus Shaina, Unicorn Jabu, and Hydra Ichi do, though the latter three are just cameos.
The movie also has a very ambiguous ending, with many plot points and danglers unresolved with rushed out animation. Also many ommissions from the original script were made such as: Seiya's cloth early in the film; Seika’s appearance and crucial important role diminished; two more Angel opponents for other Saints to fight; the Libra Cloth box was supposed to be in the film at one time.
Saint Seiya: Legend of Sanctuary (聖闘士星矢 レジェンド・オブ・サンクチュアリ, Seinto Seiya Rejendo Obu Sankuchuari), is the sixth anime film of the franchise. The movie was directed by Keiichi Sato and produced by Toei Animation. It premiered on June 21, 2014 in Japan.
Saori Kido, a teenager with strange powers who was raised by Mitsumasa Kido, pretending to be her grandfather. As she heads to the airport with her butler Tokumaru Tatsumi, she learns from him that she is Athena's reincarnation and what fate awaits her. It is then that she is attacked by Saints. But Seiya, accompanied by Shiryu, Hyoga and Shun intervene to save her. A few hours later, Aiolia, Aioros' brother, confronts Seiya and his companions. After recovering Aiolos' armor, he invites them to meet the Pope with Saori. She and her four saints are joined by Shun's brother Ikki. They invade the sanctuary. But time is running out: before leaving, Saori was hit in the chest by a knight sent by the Pope. A mysterious evil makes her suffer and slowly ends her life span. Seiya, Shiryu, Hyoga, Shun and Ikki must then go through the houses of the twelve Gold Saints to access the Pope's room so that Saori's life is saved and that she officially becomes Athena.
In 2016, Toei Animation announced that a live-action Saint Seiya film was in development. A few months after the announcement it was revealed that Tomasz Bagiński would be directing. The official title of the film is Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac. In 2021, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the film will star Mackenyu as Seiya, Madison Iseman as Sienna, Sean Bean as Alman Kiddo, and Diego Tinoco as a man hired to kill the vulnerable goddess. Famke Janssen, Nick Stahl and Mark Dacascos are also cast in the film.[7] The film was released on April 28, 2023.
Related Research Articles
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.
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: The Lost Canvas – The Myth of Hades, also known as simply The Lost Canvas, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Shiori Teshirogi. It is a spin-off based on the manga series Saint Seiya, which was created, written and illustrated by Japanese author Masami Kurumada. The Lost Canvas was published by Akita Shoten in the Weekly Shōnen Champion magazine since August 24, 2006, concluding after 223 chapters on April 6, 2011, with twenty-five tankōbon released. Originally envisioned as a comic book whose purpose was to work simultaneously with Kurumada's Saint Seiya: Next Dimension as a multi-angle interpretation of the shared elements of its storyline, which stems from an event mentioned in Kurumada's original Saint Seiya manga; the approach was quickly abandoned, as both works greatly diverged, Kurumada's Next Dimension stayed as the canonical telling of these events, and The Lost Canvas as a separate alternate retelling. The story takes place in the 18th century, and focuses on how an orphan known as Tenma becomes one of Athena's 88 warriors known as Saints and finds himself in a war fighting against his best friend Alone who is revealed to be the reincarnation of Athena's biggest enemy, the God Hades.
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 CG 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 Omega is an anime series produced by Toei Animation. It is a spin-off of the Saint Seiya anime series written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada, produced in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the franchise. The series began broadcasting in Japan on TV Asahi on April 1, 2012.
Saint Seiya: The Sanctuary, also known as Saint Seiya: Chapter Sanctuary, is a 3D action video game for the PlayStation 2 console based on the Saint Seiya manga series by Masami Kurumada. It was developed by Dimps Corporation and published by Bandai. It was originally released in Japan on April 7, 2005, and in Europe on June 30, 2005. The European release includes translations into English, Italian, French, German and Spanish.
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.
Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya is a Japanese-American original net animation series based on the manga series Saint Seiya by Masami Kurumada.
Saint Seiya: Meiō Iden – Dark Wing is a Japanese manga series written by Kenji Saitō and illustrated by Shinshū Ueda. It is a spin-off of the manga series Saint Seiya by Masami Kurumada. The manga started serialization in Akita Shoten's monthly magazine Champion Red in December 2020.
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.
Not including Madhouse-animated features produced by Toei Category
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