Saint Seiya Vol 1 - The Power of the Cosmos Lies Within (1986)
Animation Production: Toei Animation
Released by: ADV Films
Official Website: Saint Seiya
Episodes: 1-5
By Jeffrey Couto

Introduction

Over the past couple of years I’ve heard much about a mid-1980’s anime series known as Saint Seiya, which was supposed to be very good according to everything I’ve read and seen. Unfortunately I never had a chance to check out until this week when I was finally able to sit down and watch it. Did it live up to expectations? Oh yeah…

Story

“The cosmos is bound together by an incomprehensible web of strength, power and—some would even say—magic. And only by a select few may these forces be harnessed! Seiya is a mortal from Japan who has been trained and has excelled. The time has now come for him to test his skills in battle and to claim the sacred cloth: cloth that will change the order of the universe; armor that will earn Seiya a place in the cosmos; cloth that will establish his rank among the Saints. Through a series of tournaments and trials, Seiya must not only defeat some of the most powerful fighters ever to set foot in the ring, but he must also defeat the demons within himself… Long live the Saints! Long live Saint Seiya!” -- ADV's Saint Seiya Vol-1Page

Review

This series gets started with a bang as we join the first round of the Saint's Galactic Tournament, which determines who will earn the gold armor of the Sagittarius. It's here where we are introduced to the Saints and told what they represent and their mission, which is to protect Athena, the goddess of peace and fight evil wherever it might appear.

These first five episodes of Saint Seiya serve as our introduction to the universe that has been crafted by Masami Kurumada (initially as a manga series before it was picked up by TOEI Animation) and the characters that inhabit it. Slowly as each episode progresses, we are introduced to each protagonist and begin to learn what their motivation is, how each earned his/her armor and their relationships to each other in the beginning of the story.

I know that these are the first five episodes of what was a total run of 114 episodes, which would make it hard to judge the entire show, but I can already tell that this has the makings of a great anime series. All the elements that make up the program, the narration, dialog, pacing, animation, music, SFX, etc, work in perfect unison to make for a truly enjoyable show!

While many people may be turned off by the classic 1980's animation style I could not help but love it! There is a real dynamic to the flow of the drawings that harkens back to the 70's era of Japanese animation that I could not get enough of and which is sorely missing from today's more technically achieved programs. If you are an old school Japanese animation fan, Saint Seiya will not disappoint!

The other element of Saint Seiya that I thoroughly enjoyed was the amazing soundtrack! The music, as much as the characters and the story, makes its presence known, from the opening theme song to the background music and ending theme; everything fits perfectly with whatever is taking place onscreen at that moment and definitively add to the series' overall production.

The DVD itself is a great package, featuring the first five episodes of Saint Seiya, which include:

Episode 1: Revive! Legendary Hero
Episode 2: Burn! Meteor Punch of Pegasus
Episode 3: Cygnus! Warrior of the Ice Cold
Episode 4: Dragon! Unrivaled Fist and Shield
Episode 5: Revival and Friendship

Overall the quality of the DVD is really good! The video transfer was amazingly sharp for an older series and the colors surprisingly bright and clean. The audio quality is also excellent, with clear sound in Dolby Digital 2.0 format. I was very impressed at how ADV was able to restore this program for today's audiences.

The DVD comes with some nice extras, including and ADV-produced English dubbed track, which was surprisingly well handled, a special section that details the mythology behind the Saint Seiya story, and the original Japanese opening. There are also some previews included for other series being released by ADV in the US.

Final Thoughts

Saint Seiya is without a doubt one of the best anime DVD releases of the year. As a fan of older anime shows I cannot be thankful enough that releases like Saint Seiya are finally becoming a reality and hope that the trend continues. I highly recommend Saint Seiya to all anime fans, both new and old. Make sure to check it out!

Jeffrey Couto