Ophiuchus Shaina

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Ophiuchus Shaina
Saint Seiya character
Ophiuchus Shaina
Ophiuchus Shaina by Masami Kurumada
Created by Masami Kurumada
Voiced by Mami Koyama (小山茉美)
Yuka Komatsu (小松由佳)
Profile
Age 16
Gender Female
Date of birth March 24
Nationality Italy
Class Saint
Loyalty Athena
Cloth Ophiuchus
Rank Silver
Training Greece
Height 1.66 m
Weight 49 kg
Blood type B
Secret moves Thunder Claw
First appearance manga: chapter 1, vol.1
Anime: ep.1

Ophiucus Shaina (蛇遣い星座のシャイナ Opyukusu no Shaina?) is one of Athena's 88 Saints in the classical manga Saint Seiya, authored by Japanese mangaka Masami Kurumada, and later adapted to anime. Kurumada introduced her in vol.1 of his manga, and she was teacher to Pegasus Seiya's rival Cassios.

Contents

[edit] The life of a female Saint

[edit] The Strongest Silver Amazon

Shaina trained in the Sanctuary with other female trainees though her fierce fighting style and nature, which earned her an infamous reputation. Shaina became a fearsome opponent due to the fact that she was perceived as the most powerful female Saint.

[edit] Two Choices: Love or Death

Shaina, after taking off her mask before Seiya, in vol.7 of the manga. Drawing by the author Masami Kurumada.
Shaina, after taking off her mask before Seiya, in vol.7 of the manga. Drawing by the author Masami Kurumada.

The Sanctuary has a certain law for the few female saints. They must wear masks, and if a man sees her uncovered face, she would be given two choices: Love him or kill him. Shaina chose to kill Pegasus Seiya, since he saw her face during the beginning of the series. The Pegasus Saint proved to be too much even for her, meaning she had to love him, and this destiny would continue to frustrate her throughut the series.

After failing several times in killing him, Shaina slowly swayed more towards Seiya's side. After finding out that that Athena was really with them, she aided the Bronze Saints in their battle against Sanctuary; it's here that her turmoil over being unable to kill Seiya is revealed. When she's almost killed for helping him, in a plot twist that leaves Seiya very shaken, he learns Shaina was a girl he once helped in the past and whom he never forgot.

[edit] Love

Shaina's feelings for the Pegasus Saint started when they were younger. Few after Seiya's arrival, after training during one afternoon, Shaina saw a rabbit and took her mask off because the little animal was scared and she didn't want to terrorize it more. She heard the footsteps of the young Seiya, who was still a trainee; she took a defensive stance, but reeled back since she was wounded from her previous training. Upon seeing the wound, Seiya ripped a piece of his tunic and tended to it, which left Shaina flushing. When she protested, he lectured her for not taking care of herself and insisted into helping her. From that point on, the confused Shainna began to love Seiya, but in the outside made a mockery of him because he was a foreigner, and was very torn when he defeated her trainee Cassius for ownership of the Pegasus cloth.

The night Seiya left for Japan during the Sanctuary Saga, Shaina attacked him. The Pegasus Saint shattered her mask, only to find that Shaina was more beautiful than what he imagined. Not recognizing her, Seiya praised her beauty and spared her, which only fueled Shaina's confusion and hatred and making her one of Seiya's biggest enemies. Some time later during the same saga, after seeking a last duel with Seiya and being refused for the umpteeth time, Shaina's emotions overcame her and she hurled herself at the Lightning Plasma attack that Leo Aiolia unleashed in order to protect Seiya and tell him of her love. Seiya was very shocked at the revelation, and seeing Shaina injured for him gave him the courage to face Aiolia.

In the proper Sanctuary arc, Shaina was in recovery from her injuries, which upset Cassios big time. She later mourns the loss of Cassios and helps Seiya and Marin to break free from Piscis Aphrodite's poisonous roses.

In the Poseidon Arc, Seiya was wearing the Sagittarius Cloth and shot the golden arrow, but Poseidon reflected it back, thus injuring him. He tried again, but the same effect occurred, which resulted in Shaina protecting him.

In the Hades arc, she leads the Bronze saints who did not go to Mekai, so they could protect the Sanctuary.

[edit] Cloth

Shaina's cloth is the Silver Cloth of Ophiucus which represents the constellation Ophiucus (the snake bearer). It is depicted as half a person with a cape, holding a cobra. The anime version doesn't differ greatly, except that the head piece has been simplified and the pelvis armor have been removed.

What is interesting to note is, though the constellation Ophiucus is in the path of the Sun during Earth's rotation, and rests between the constellations Scorpius and Sagittarius, the cloth and story behind it are not as profound as the 12 Gold Saints, whose cloths are based on the constellations that the Sun crosses over.

[edit] Notes

  • Seiya and Shaina's seiyuu, Tohru Furuya and Mami Koyama, were married
  • Along with Marin, Shaina is the first Silver Saint Masami Kurumada introduced in his manga, though he didn't reveal their rank until after the introduction of Lizard Misty.

[edit] References

Saint Seiya manga vols.1, 7, 14 to 18, by Masami Kurumada

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