Aries Shion
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Aries Shion is a character from the anime/manga series, Saint Seiya. Shion is the original Grand Pope of Sanctuary, as well as one of the remaining survivors of the Holy War from the 1800s. He also served as the master of Aries Mu, who would eventually inherit the Gold Cloth of Aries from him.
Contents |
[edit] Statistics
- Age: 261 (Age of death); 18 (With restored body)
- Techniques:
"Crystal Wall"
"Starlight Extinction"
"Stardust Revolution"
- Seiyuu (2002): Nobuo Tobita
[edit] War of The 1800s
In the beginning of the war, Shion was promoted from Bronze to a Gold Saint. Under the guidance of Athena, gold saints Aries Shion and Libra Dohko set out to lead the saints in an invasion of Hades' domain, the World of the Dead. Much of the war ended in bloodshed and annihilation, with the saints having to resort to the weapons of Libra -- a move that Athena herself normally frowned upon. There were no doubt many casualties in this war -- both saints and spectres alike. The last two survivors of this struggle were the Gold Saint of Aries, and the Gold Saint of Libra.
After the war, Dohko would be assigned with the task of watching over the seal on the souls of Hades' 108 spectres, while Shion would go on to become the new Grand Pope of the Sanctuary, with the main duty of preparing new blood for the next Holy War.
[edit] Legacy of Aries
Upon becoming the Grand Pope, Shion could no longer perform the duties of the Aries saint as he had previously done -- thus, he began to train an apprentice to succeed the cloth. Shion found that successor in Mu, an extraordinary young man with a natural talent for cloth reparation. Mu not only became the new Gold Saint of Aries, but he did so with all of Shion's abilities under his belt.
[edit] The Grand Pope
After Athena had once again reincarnated into a human infant, Shion began preparations for the inevitable war. He understood that, with old age, his own time would soon be up, and therefore needed to choose a successor for his seat. With the exception of Sagittarius Aiolos and Gemini Saga, all of the gold saints were too young and inexperienced to take up the responsibilities. After a lengthy time of consideration, Shion eventually settled on the Gold Saint of Sagittarius. While Aiolos was not as powerful as Saga, Shion felt confident in his choice because he knew of Aiolos' undying loyalty to Athena.
Unfortunately, Shion was confronted by Saga in regards to his decision shortly after the announcement. It seems Saga felt discontent at Shion's choice, and demanded an explanation for it. Shion revealed that, while he acknowledged that Saga had a heavenly reputation and was the more powerful of the two, he could not help but sense something terrifyingly dark within the Gemini Saint. It is at this point that Saga confirmed Shion's suspicions, and assaulted the weary Pope with a deathblow.
[edit] The Last Order
Not even death could keep Shion away from aiding Athena in her Holy War against Hades. Years after his assassination, Shion returned from death to help Athena and the current saints with a way to get into the World of the Dead. Originally, it was assumed that Shion, along with other deceased saints such as Saga, Shura, Camus, Deathmask, and Aphrodite, had sold their soul to Hades and returned to Sanctuary to kill Athena. It turns out that this was a grand scheme by the former Pope and the dead saints in order to get a message to Athena -- that she must commit suicide and consequently awaken the 8th sense if she hoped to successfully defeat Hades within his domain.
After the message had been delivered, Shion met with Seiya, Shiryu, Hyoga, and Shun to inform them of the truth of what had taken place with the gold saints and Athena. Perhaps as a nod to his apprentice's talents for armor reparation, Shion instantly restored all four saints' individual cloths using the blood of Athena. Finally, with his last act as the Grand Pope, Shion commanded the young bronze saints to invade the World of the Dead -- they shall not stop until every spectre has been defeated, and Hades himself is on his knees.
In the manga, it is at this point that Shion's restored body gave way and the former Aries perished into dust. In the anime, Shion lasted until near sun rise; prior to disappearing for good, Shion once more united with old friend Dohko to share past times.
[edit] Notes & Trivia
- In an episode of the anime, the former Pope was shown as a man with lavish dark blue hair when Aquila Marin discovered his remains on Star Hill. Although this Pope and Shion do not share much resemblance, it can be assumed that TOEI intended for them to be one and the same.
- There is a misconception among fans that the Grand Pope who assigned the Bronze Cloth of Pegasus to Seiya is Shion. This is due to the fact that the Pope in the episode worn similar garments to Shion. Considering the fact that Shion was assassinated 13 years prior to Seiya becoming the Pegasus Saint, it is safe to state that it is Saga who gives the young bronze saint his armor (it is important to say that the Saga "good part" of him was acting as almost a divine being as stated in the manga, that is why his personality traits are so different when he gave Seiya his cloth).
- In the non-canon short novel, "Saint Seiya: The Outside Story", Shion has a younger silver saint brother named Ares. This young man has no relation to the God of War, nor is he the same Ares that would become Pope during the classic anime -- at least, not physically. In the short novel, Ares is secretly killed by Saga after he accidentally discovered Saga's evil personality. In the classic anime, it was announced that the Grand Pope's "younger brother" had succeeded him -- since Saga had met both Shion and Ares, it can be inferred that he was actually masquerading as Shion's younger brother, and not the God of War himself. In the manga, Saga continued to use the identity of Shion up until Seiya invaded the Pope's throne room.
- In Saint Seiya: SD, Shion returned from death and attempted to recruit Saga, Camus, Shura, Deathmask, and Aphrodite -- only to find out that they were still alive and in the middle of a comedic variation of Rock, Paper, Scissors, where each loser must strip off a piece of their gold cloth. Shion was able to convince the gold saints to join him -- only because they would, in turn, be given a surprice each to continue their game.
| Saint Seiya characters | |
|---|---|
| Bronze Saints | |
|
Pegasus Seiya | Cygnus Hyoga | Dragon Shiryu | Andromeda Shun | Phoenix Ikki Unicorn Jabu | Lionet Ban | Wolf Nachi | Bear Geki | Hydra Ichi |
|
| Silver Saints | |
|
Lizard Misty | Centaurus Babel | Auriga Capella | Kerberos Dante | Crow Jamian | Hound Asterion | Whale Moses ("Kaitos Moses" in the anime) | Cepheus Daidalos | Perseus Algol | Musca Dio | Canis Major Sirius | Hercules Algethi | Eagle Marin | Ophiuchus Shaina | Lyra Orphée | Sagitta Tramy Tarantula Arachne | Lotus Agora | Pavo Shiva |
|
| Gold Saints | |
|
Aries Mu | Aries Shion | Taurus Aldebaran | Gemini Saga | Gemini Kanon | Cancer Deathmask | Leo Aiolia | Virgo Shaka | Libra Dohko | Scorpio Milo | Sagittarius Aiolos | Capricorn Shura | Aquarius Camus | Pisces Aphrodite |
|
| Asgard God Warriors | |
|
Phecda Gamma Thor | Alioth Epsilon Fenrir | Benetnasch Eta Mime | Megrez Delta Alberich | Merak Beta Hagen | Mizar Zeta Syd | Alcor Zeta Bud | Dubhe Alpha Siegfried |
|
| Poseidon's Marinas | |
|
Sea Horse Baian | Scylla Io | Chrysaor Krishna | Lymnades Casa | Kraken Isaac | Siren Sorento | Sea Dragon Kanon Mermaid Tetis |
|
| Hades' Specters | |
|
Wyvern Rhadamanthys | Griffin Minos | Garuda Aiacos Papillon Myu | Deep Niobe | Worm Raimi Acheron Charon | Balron Lune | Sphinx Pharaoh | Lycaon Phlegyas | Basilisk Sylphid | Harpy Valentine |
