Saint Seiya

A Parent's Guide to Anime
Rated: M
Recommended for Mature Audiences

Review by Nicholas Gutierrez:

In modern times, when the evil menaces the Earth, Goddess Athena will return to protect it. She and her knights will fight aganist the evil. Athena is really Sahori Kido, the adoptive daugther of a rich and powerful man called Mitsumasa Kido. He was rescued a baby from the arms of a dying warrior within the ancient Greek ruins. Kido trains selected children to be the Bronze Saints.

When the children grow and finish the knight training, they are gathered in a tournament. The new bronze knights must fight between them. The prize is the Armor of Saggitario. Four boys succeed: Seiya (the pegasus), Hyoga (the swan), Shiru (the dragon) and Shun (Andromeda). Each Knight wears armor that represents a constellation or star in the sky.

Saint Seiya is a superb anime that conbines Greek, Nordic and Eastern mythologies, and it is based upon the manga by Masami Kurumada. This review is based on the TV series; four movies are also available.

Saint Seiya is a discourse with respect to destiny of man. Heroes fight in the Twelve Houses of the Zodiac (where each golden knight represents a Zodiac sign) is a giant metaphor about searching of truth beyond the stars.

Parent's Guide Rating:

red (recommended for mature audiences)

Violence: Graphic violence is plentiful. Fight sequences are extremely violent and some deaths are very impressive.

Nudity: There are some scenes of male nudity, but they are discreet and unclear. One female nude is shown also. No sexual reference or behavior here.

Understanding the series' background requires a high level of culture. It contains abundant mythological and astronomical references. Saint Seiya reveals a wide literary knowledge from its author. This series also addresses complex human and moral problems. Topics won't be understood by children.