Andromeda Shun

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Andromeda Shun (瞬, wink or twinkle of star) is one of five main characters in the popular manga/anime, Saint Seiya. He is arguably 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. Shun is also the younger brother of Phoenix Ikki, a fellow bronze saint.

Shun, the Bronze Saint of Andromeda

[edit] Statistics

• Full Name: Shun
• Age: 13
• Height: 165 cm
• Weight: 51 kg
• DOB: September 9
• Zodiac Sign: Virgo
• Blood: A type
• Birth Place: Japan
• Trained: Andromeda Island
• Techniques: Nebula Chain, Thunder Wave, Rolling Defense, Nebula Stream, Nebula Storm, Spider Web, Casting Net, Spiral Duct, Boomerang Shoot, Wild Trap, Great Capture
• Seiyuu (1986-1991; 2002-2003; 2004): Ryo Horikawa (堀川 亮, ほりかわ りょう)
• Seiyuu (2005-2006): Yuuta Kasuya (粕谷 雄太, かすや ゆうた)
• Seiyuu: Yumi Touma (冬馬 由美, とうま ゆみ) child Shun
• ADV Dub VA: Chris Patton

[edit] Character Outline

[edit] The Saint of Andromeda

Shun donning his Bronze cloth temporary turning gold after his cosmos reached the highest point by helping six of the Gold Saints control the Athena Exclamation.

Perhaps the most reluctant of the bronze saints, Shun is the official Bronze Saint of the Andromeda constellation. He is a merciful soul by nature, and a firm believer in solving problems without causing bloodshed. This creates a sharp contrast between himself and the rest of the saints -- whereas they will not hesitate to battle when the situation demands it, Shun only allows himself to fight if it's an absolute necessity.

[edit] Special Techniques

The Andromeda Saint's favorite technique is the "Nebula Chains," which allows him to manipulate the chains of his cloth however he pleases. At the most basic, the "Nebula Chain" is a straight-forward attack where the chains rapidly slice and wrap themselves around the enemy. Later in the series, Shun is able to perform the "Great Capture" -- a technique that twists the chains to paralyze, capture, or immobilize foes.

"Nebula Stream" is a defensive attack that links directly to Shun's cosmos. It entangles the foe with streams of the Andromeda cosmos in attempt to paralyze them. As Shun becomes more determined to use his true power, the stream will eventually transfigure into the "Nebula Storm" technique.

In the Libra temple, Shun displayed an act of selflessness in attempt to revive Hyoga's life from death by transmitting all of his own cosmo, becoming in extremis.

By the time Shun has chosen to execute the "Nebula Storm," his cloth and chains are abandoned (either voluntarily or destroyed by his opponent) to allow him full access to his cosmos. The attack is dispelled as a single burst from the summit of Shun's cosmos. Because of its destructive nature, Shun will only use it as a last resort.

The "Rolling Defense" is a simple defensive technique that utilizes Shun's chains in one of two ways: he will either twirl the chains around himself to create a barrier, or set them on the ground to mimic a circular web -- this was later named the "Circle Defense." In web mode, the chains construct a distance between himself and the opponent, and will discharge energy volts or simply slash the enemy if they attempt to enter the field.

[edit] The Chains of Andromeda

The chains from the Andromeda cloth are said to be the very same chains used to tied the mythological character in her legend. The chains are legendary for their durability as well as defensive nature, and have only been completely shattered several times. They are also renowned for their great length, as they can be extended far enough to reach light years away.

[edit] The Gold Cloth of Virgo

As Shun was born under the astrological constellation of Virgo, he has the privilege of donning the gold cloth in times of crisis. This was shown when he and his fellow bronze saints (also wearing gold cloths each) battled the God of Death, Thanatos.

[edit] Notable People & Events

[edit] The Bronze Saints

In the anime, Shun's only blood relative is his other brother, Ikki of the Phoenix constellation. Because of Shun's delicate nature, Ikki was very protective of him when they were children, even to the point of accepting a fate worse than death. When the Graude Foundation decided to send their orphans to train for Sainthood, Shun unluckily drew Death Queen Island as his training camp, a place notorious for its zero survival rate. Ikki refused to allow his brother to go, and immediately volunteered to take his place. When Shun drew again, he received Andromeda Island.

In the manga, Shun's half brothers are Seiya of the Pegasus, Shiryu of the Dragon, Hyoga of the Cygnus, as well as the rest of the other 100 orphans in the Foundation. Ikki remains as the only brother with whom he shares both identical parents with.

Shun also grew particularly close to Cygnus Hyoga during their mission to retake Sanctuary. When Hyoga was found on the blink of death, Shun offered to help jump-start the Cygnus Saint's cosmos by burning all of his own, knowing full well that he could die if he lost just the tiniest of control. Hyoga was eventually revived, and was especially moved by Shun's display of friendship.

[edit] Juné & The Cepheus Saint

Andromeda of Greek mythologies during "The Sacrifice," as depicted in Saint Seiya

Juné of the Chameleon is a bronze saint he met and trained together with during his days on Andromeda Island. When news of Seiya, Shiryu, Hyoga, and Shun's decision to challenge Sanctuary broke through the world of saints, Juné took off from Andromeda Island on her own to persuade Shun to change his mind -- half out of concern for Shun, and half because their master had just been murdered by a gold saint.

When Shun first arrived on Andromeda Island for training, he hadn't realized the tough conditions of Andromeda Island until he had "died 15 times." His master (Silver Saint Daidalos in the manga; Silver Saint Albiore in the anime) was strict and appeared unemotional, and the blistering 105º heat of the hot desert was unrelenting.

Juné, a fellow trainee, took pity on Shun and urged him to drop the training. Shun, however, refused; after all, his older brother had been subjected to a fate worse than death because of him, and thus, Shun absolutely must return to Japan with the Andromeda Cloth.

Soon enough, Shun made a request to his master to put him in the ultimate test: Chain him to rocks in the sea (mirroring the legend of Andromeda) and leave him be. If Shun managed to escape, then it will be known that he is truly worthy of the cloth, and a new bronze saint will be born. If not, Shun will drown. This final test was known as "The Rite of Sacrifice."

With Ikki and the Bronze Cloth of Andromeda as encouragement, Shun finally allowed himself to release the cosmos within him. After freeing himself from the rock, the Andromeda Cloth immediately recognized Shun as its new owner. Before returning to Japan, Shun approached his master to offer words of gratitude for the past six years of training. During their conversation, the Cepheus Saint curiously pointed out that when Shun manifested his cosmos during "The Rite of Sacrifice," it did not feel like it was his first time. Smiling, Shun revealed that his master's intuition was correct; that Shun had actually suppressed his true power all of this time. The Andromeda Saint then offered his master a glimpse of his hidden cosmos, and the Cepheus Saint was left amazed.

[edit] Pisces Aphrodite

When Shun and Seiya approached the final temple of the gold saints, Shun made an odd request that Seiya continue moving to the next room, while he stayed behind to battle the gold saint Pisces Aphrodite. Seiya complied and moved on ahead.

As the battle began between Aphrodite and Shun, it is revealed that this Gold Saint was the man responsible for the assassination of Shun's master, the Silver Saint of Cepheus. Aphrodite himself barely remembered the incident, but Shun still demanded vengeance.

This fight was arguably one of Shun's toughest, as he was forced to heighten his cosmos to the highest point for his "Nebula Storm" attack. The Andromeda Saint eventually succeeded in landing the death blow, but not without a price: One of Aphrodite's deadly "Bloody Rose" latched itself into Shun's heart, and began to drain his blood as the Bronze Saint fell unconscious to the floor.

[edit] Saori Kido

Unlike Seiya and Ikki, Shun and Saori Kido's relationship is founded on mutual respect and call of duty. Saori is the goddess that Shun, as a Saint, must serve to protect. On the same token, Saori respects Shun as one of her Saints and regards him as a friend outside of Sainthood.

[edit] Incarnation of Hades

In one of the biggest plot twists of the series, Shun is revealed to be the human incarnation of Hades, God of the Underworld, in the same way Saori Kido is Athena, Goddess of War & Wisdom, and Julian Solo is Poseidon, Lord of the Seas. Although Shun himself was initially unaware of this fact, the soul of Hades became dominant once Shun lost the childhood pendant that bounded his body with the god's, and the Hades soul was united with Shun's body during the close encounter in Hades' room after death of the Lyra Saint.

Not long after, the new Hades is confronted by Shun's older brother, Phoenix Ikki. Ikki believed that Shun's soul was still inside somewhere, and he was soon proven correct. With one hand strangling his own body (and thus, Hades'), Shun urged Ikki to mercilessly destroy him while the opportunity was fresh. Ikki was moved by Shun's willingness to sacrifice himself, as it proved that he truly was born to be the Saint of Andromeda.

Unfortunately, Ikki hesitated at the last second. Shun's temporary hold was lost, and Hades reclaimed the saint's body once more. With the God of the Underworld back in command, the Phoenix was swiftly dealt with.

Eventually, it took the boiling blood of Athena herself to separate Hades from Shun's body once and for all. When Shun awoke moments later, he once again donned the Andromeda Cloth and was ready to return to action.

[edit] Evolution of the Andromeda Cloth

Shun, amazed with the final evolution of the Andromeda Cloth

Along with his comrades, Shun's bronze cloth has changed shape several times throughout the series. The manga and anime both parallel each other in terms of the Andromeda Cloth's evolution (although, it should be noted that the cloth received one extra repair in the anime; however, it did not change shape after it):

• When Gold Saint Virgo Shaka (Taurus Aldebaran in the anime) revived it using his own blood.
• When the former Pope Shion of the Aries Constellation rejuvenated it with Athena's fresh blood during the beginning of the Hades arc.
• When Shun summoned his cosmos to protect his older brother Ikki from a would-be-fatal blow by Hypnos, the God of Sleep.

[edit] Notes & Trivia

• In the series itself, Shun was initially depicted as very popular among the female attendants of the Galaxian Wars tournament. This is perhaps also true in real life, as Shun is among one of the most popular characters among female fans of the series.
• Many newcomers to the series have mistaken Shun for a female character, since the Andromeda is a feminine constellation, and the original design of the Cloth itself appears to have a breast plate (many have mistaken for years until they were old enough to distinguish the subtle differences).
• A popular joke among Saint Seiya fandom is that in every movie, and almost every battle scene, Phoenix Ikki will always arrive just in time to save Shun from certain death. This was true in the first four Saint Seiya feature films (released in the late 80s and early 90s), and the "tradition" was continued in the latest movie, "Tenkai-hen: Overture" (released in 2004).
• In the late 80s, Taiwanese publishers included short doujinshi stories at the end of every volume. One of these stories poked fun of Shun's apparent obsession with binding his chains with other people's arms. This is true, as Hyoga, Ikki, Shaka, Pisces Aphrodite, Siren Sorrento, and Hypnos were all victims of this in the classic series. In the doujinshi, Shun's obsession eventually spiraled out of control to the point where it bound with everything it could reach- including the Statue of Athena.