Pegasus Seiya
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Pegasus Seiya | |
|---|---|
| Saint Seiya character | |
 Pegasus Seiya by Masami Kurumada |
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| First appearance | Manga chapter 1, (volume 1) Anime episode 1 |
| Voiced by | Japanese Tōru Furuya[1] Hiroko Emori (as child)[2] Masakazu Morita (Since Meikai-hen OVAs)[3] English Illich Guardiola[4] Cameron Bautsch[5] |
| Profile | |
| Age | 13[6] |
| Date of birth | December 1[6] |
| Nationality | Japan[6] |
| Class | Athena Pegasus Bronze Saint |
| Known relatives | Mitsumasa Kido (father, deceased) Seika (sister) Orphaned Bronze Saints (half brothers) |
Pegasus Seiya (天馬星座の星矢 Pegasasu no Seiya?, Seiya meaning "star arrow"), also known as Seiya, is a fictional character from the Saint Seiya universe created by Masami Kurumada as the main protagonist of the media franchise, which originated in the eponymous manga written and illustrated by Kurumada, later adapted to anime, and subsequently inspiring soundtracks, OVAs, movies, video games, and other collectibles. Like most protagonists of Kurumada's works, his design for Seiya was inspired in the main character of his hit manga Ring ni Kakero, Takane Ryuji.[7]
In the story, Seiya is one of the 88 mythical warriors that have served the goddess Athena during ages, protecting justice and peace on Earth, and are known as "Saints, the bringers of hope." As a Saint, Seiya dons one of the radiant and powerful armors of divine origins known as Cloths, his representing the constellation of Pegasus. He also possesses superhuman strength and speed, which the Saints draw from their guardian constellations and an inner essence called Cosmo.
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[edit] Creation and conception
When Masami Kurumada was in the process of creating Saint Seiya, he gave him the name Rin at first, since he was going to title his manga "Ginga no Rin" (Rin of the Galaxy). But as he continued developing his manga, he decided to change the name to Seiya, which was more fitting. First he spelled the name with the kanji that meant "Holy Arrow", to relate it to his condition of Saint, but later decided to use the kanji that mean "Star Arrow", to emphasize the constellation and mythologic motif. Finally, he changed his manga title as well, to Saint Seiya, once he fully developed the concept of the Saints.[7] Also, he stated that one of the first ideas he conceived for Saint Seiya was the Pegasus Meteor Fist. Since his manga was going to use the constellations as a very important and ever-present theme, he wanted his protagonist to have a special move that would be like a shower of meteors.[7]
Kurumada designed Seiya's likeness inspired in the main character of his hit manga Ring ni Kakero, Takane Ryuji, which he created 9 years before Seiya. Most protagonists of Kurumada's works bear a resemblance to Ryuji, because he suscribes to the revered Osamu Tezuka's Star System (a stable cast of characters) technique.[7]
The reason why Masami Kurumada chose the Sagittarius Gold Cloth as the most powerful of the Gold Cloths it's because of its symbolism, related to Seiya. In Japanese-language, Seiya means "star arrow", a metaphor for meteor, and the Sagittarius represents an archer, so Kurumada thought it would be a perfect match for Seiya, since he already had in mind that the Sagittarius Gold Cloth would eventually be worn by Seiya at certain parts of his manga. Hence Seiya's zodiacal sign is Sagittarius, as in Kurumada's canon, a Gold Cloth bearer's sign must match that the Gold Cloth represents.[7]
[edit] Character attributes
[edit] Outline
Seiya is the main character of his namesake series, Saint Seiya. He is one of the eighty-eight saints of Athena, and serves loyally at her side. Seiya dons the bronze Cloth (an armor that denotes sainthood) of Pegasus, and draws Cosmo from the constellation that connects to it. During the start of the series, Seiya's main objective is to find his older sister Seika, who disappeared from Japan when Seiya is sent to train to become a saint. However, as the series continue Seiya eventually starts fighting alongside the other bronze saints to protect Athena. During his childhood in Greece, he meets Eagle Marin, a female silver saint who trains him to become a saint. Due to her similarity with Seika, Seiya starts thinking Marin is his sister but during his fight against Thanatos he discovers he was wrong and find his real sister.[8] Seiya tends to be the most immature Saint, as he always jokes and he does not quite concern about consequences of his actions.[9] He also has big respect to his partners, turning pretty furious if they are in danger.
Seiya is a decently capable fighter; he has the uncanny talent of understanding the mechanics of an opponent's technique after seeing it performed. In many of Seiya's fights, he begins receiving all the attacks but works hard to gain enough of an advantage to outclass his opponent by the end of the battle, such as trying to evade the attack of the opponent or looking a way to break his defense. Although Seiya is not necessarily the most powerful bronze saint, his determination and courage, along with the support of his friends and Athena, allows him to overcome many obstacles and adversaries.[10]
[edit] Abilities
Although Seiya began his journey as a bronze saint -- the lowest of three ranks --, his abilities gradually grows to rival those of gold saints, the most powerful of Athena's soldiers, by awakening his 7th sense Cosmo.[11] Before descending into the realm of Hades he also awakes his 8th sense Cosmo, allowing him to enter into the Underworld without dying.[12] His most seen technique is the Pegasus Meteor Fist (ペガサス流星拳 Pegasasu ryūseiken?) which initially allows him to send a large number of punches in a second.[13] Seiya can combine all his meteor in one fist called the Pegasus Comet Fist (ペガサス彗星拳 Pegasasu suiseiken?).[14] His most powerful technique is Pegasus Rolling Crush (ペガサスローリングクラッシュ Pegasasu Rōringu Kurasshu?) where he grabs hold of his opponent from the back, soar miles into the air, then suicide dive head-first into the ground.[15]
[edit] Constellation and Cloth
The Pegasus Cloth represents the Pegasus constellation, which is associated to Pegasus, the divine winged horse from Greek mythology. Seiya, along with Cassios, defeated 9 other trainees in order to advance to the final round of a tournament in the Sanctuary. The last match pitts them against each other, with Seiya pulling the victory almost effortlessly due to his mastery of the cosmos.[16]
The Pegasus bronze cloth is damaged various times throughout the series, with Aries Mu typically responsible for repairs.[17] In the manga, the cloth changes shape each time it is fixed, with each revision evolving the cloth more detailed. In the anime, the original design of the cloth remains intact until the beginning of the series's second arc. When the gold saints uses their blood to revive the bronze cloths, the cloths gains a little bit of the gold Cloths' strength. Because of this, the second version of the Pegasus cloth (fourth version in the manga) can change from bronze to gold whenever Seiya charges his cosmos to the maximum.[18] The cloth that Seiya uses in the Hades arc is able to use the wings parts to fly, normally and through dimensions.[19] In his fight against Thanatos, the Pegasus cloth evolves into a God Cloth increasing the cosmos of Seiya drastically.[20]
Eventually, Seiya becomes powerful enough to wear the Gold Cloth of Sagittarius, a cloth that had lost its true owner before the series begin.[21] When Seiya has the gold cloth on, his cosmos is magnified, thanks to Sagittarius Aioros' cosmos expressed through the armor and his attacks can now defeat opponents previously too powerful for just a mere bronze saint. Nevertheless, while Seiya uses the Sagittarius gold cloth many times throughout the series to save Athena from certain peril, he is never officially granted ownership of the cloth. The owner is still the former saint, Aioros.[22]
[edit] Plot overview
Seiya always takes a big role in all the arcs of the series. In the Sanctuary Arc, Seiya returns from his training in the Sanctuary, looking for his sister, but he becomes attacked by many soldiers Saints sent by the Pope. When Athena is attacked by the Phantom Arrow, he, along his partners, go to the twelve temples of the Sanctury to find the Pope and remove the arrow. In order to get to the Pope the bronze saints are forced to fight against the gold saints, who he is able to encounter by awakening the 7th sense Cosmo. During the Poseidon Arc, Seiya fights against the Marine Generals. In the Hades Arc, Seiya tries to fight against the specters of Hades but he is sent out of the Sanctuary because of an order of Athena to protect them. After her death, Seiya goes to the Underworld to give her her Cloth. With the destruction Wall of Sighs, Seiya arrives in the Elysium and after fighting against the gods Hypnos and Thanatos he encounters Hades. During the fight Seiya is mortally wounded when he protects Athena from an attack of the sword of Hades.
[edit] Appearances in other media
Seiya appears in many Saint Seiya related manga. In Saint Seiya Episode G, in a Leo Aiolia's vision[23] and in Saint Seiya: Next Dimension, when Pegasus Tenma sees his future in the Crateris Cloth. Seiya also stars in all Saint Seiya movies in which he always defeats the villain using the arrow of the Sagittarius cloth.
In the Heaven Arc Prologue finally removing the curse of Hades, Seiya's is able to make a minor damage to Apollo with a single attack. The conclusion of the actual fight between the two is not depicted; rather, the climax of the movie cuts to a peaceful scene where Seiya apparently became reacquainted with Saori Kido.[24] It was explained, in the Japanese DVD audio commentary with director Shigeyasu Yamauchi, that since Seiya's and Saori's greatest strength was in their love and trust for each other, Apollo erased their memory, so that they would never again be able to find the will to rebel against the gods.[25]
[edit] Pegasus Tenma
Tenma[26] is Seiya's incarnation of the 18th Century that appears only in Masami Kurumada's Saint Seiya: Next Dimension and Shiori Teshirogi's Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas manga, both prequel of the original manga. The few facts that both universe have in common is that Tenma is a friend of Alone, Hades's chosen body of the time, since their childhood and soon they become enemies. Tenma has the same appareance of Seiya and uses his type of techniques.
[edit] Reception
In Japan, Seiya is the most unpopular character in Saint Seiya ranking in 5th in the bronze saints characters poll.[27] However in the techniques poll his Pegasus Meteor Fist ranked 1st.[28] Merchandise based on Seiya has also been released, including plushes,[29] and action figures with different cloths.[30][31]
Several anime and manga publications have provided acclaim and criticism of Seiya's character. DVDVisionJapan criticizes the fact that Seiya takes beating after beating but gets back up every time. However, they praise his seiyu, Tōru Furuya, for giving the character a good array of emotions.[32] Anime News Network comments that Seiya's voice actor for the English dub unsuitable and enunciates strange words and sounding not at all heroic. They also criticize Seiya of being an underdog during all the fights.[33] DVDVerdictReview.com praises that Seiya as a good developed character since most of his characteristics are related with the Greek mythology.[34]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ Tōru Furuya. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2008-03-11.
- ^ Hiroko Emori. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2008-03-11.
- ^ Masakazu Morita. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2008-03-11.
- ^ Illich Guardiola. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2008-03-11.
- ^ Cameron Bautsch. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2008-03-11.
- ^ a b c Kurumada, Masami (2006). Saint Seiya, Volume 13. Viz Media, 179. ISBN 1-4215-0236-4.
- ^ a b c d e (1999) Kappa Magazine, number 80 (in Japanese).
- ^ Kurumada, Masami (1991). "Chapter 104", Saint Seiya, Volume 27. Shueisha. ISBN 4-08-851789-X.
- ^ Kurumada, Masami (1990). "Chapter 85", Saint Seiya, Volume 23. Shueisha. ISBN 4-08-851538-2.
- ^ Kurumada, Masami (2005). "Chapter 29", Saint Seiya, Volume 8. Viz Media, 115. ISBN 1-59116-715-9.
- ^ Kurumada, Masami (2005). "Chapter 29", Saint Seiya, Volume 8. Viz Media, 115. ISBN 1-59116-715-9.
- ^ Kurumada, Masami (1990). "Chapter 84", Saint Seiya, Volume 23. Shueisha. ISBN 4-08-851538-2.
- ^ Kurumada, Masami (2004). "Chapter 1", Saint Seiya, Volume 1. Viz Media, 16. ISBN 1-59116-470-2.
- ^ Kurumada, Masami (2004). "Chapter 21", Saint Seiya, Volume 5. Viz Media, 172. ISBN 1-59116-225-4.
- ^ Kurumada, Masami (2004). "Chapter 21", Saint Seiya, Volume 5. Viz Media, 181. ISBN 1-59116-225-4.
- ^ Kurumada, Masami (2004). "Chapter 1", Saint Seiya, Volume 1. Viz Media. ISBN 1-59116-470-2.
- ^ Kurumada, Masami (2004). "Chapter 12", Saint Seiya, Volume 3. Viz Media. ISBN 1-59116-299-8.
- ^ Kurumada, Masami (2006). "Chapter 15", Saint Seiya, Volume 15. Viz Media, 6-9. ISBN 1-4215-0656-4.
- ^ Kurumada, Masami (1991). "Chapter 100", Saint Seiya, Volume 26. Shueisha, 146-147. ISBN 4-08-851788-1.
- ^ Kurumada, Masami (1991). "Chapter 107", Saint Seiya, Volume 28. Shueisha, 20-28. ISBN 4-08-851790-3.
- ^ Kurumada, Masami (2005). "Chapter 27", Saint Seiya, Volume 7. Viz Media, 122. ISBN 1-59116-616-0.
- ^ Kurumada, Masami (2005). "Chapter 27", Saint Seiya, Volume 7. Viz Media, 192. ISBN 1-59116-616-0.
- ^ Okada, Megumu (2007). "Chapter 47", Saint Seiya Episode. G, Volume 11. Akita Shoten. ISBN 978-4253231251.
- ^ Saint Seiya Tenkai-hen (movie). Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2008-03-10.
- ^ Yamauchi, Shigeyasu. (2004). Saint Seiya Tenkai-hen Overture [DVD]. Toei Animation.
- ^ In The Next Dimension Tenma's name has the kanji of Pegasus/Celestial Horse (天馬?); In The Lost Canvas Tenma's name is only in katakana, as result of him being born and raised in Italy.
- ^ Kurumada, Masami (2004). "Popularity polls", Saint Seiya, Volume 3. Viz Media. ISBN 1-59116-299-8.
- ^ Kurumada, Masami (1990). "Techniques polls", Saint Seiya, Volume 25. Shueisha. ISBN 4-08-851540-4.
- ^ japanimation.com Saint Seiya Plush Doll. japanimation.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
- ^ Saint Seiya Gashapon. atamaii.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
- ^ Amazon: Pegasus Seiya. Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
- ^ Saint Seiya. DVDVisionJapan. Retrieved on 2008-01-24.
- ^ Saint Seiya DVD 1. Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2008-01-24.
- ^ Saint Seiya: Collection 1. DVDVerdictReview.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-24.
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