List of Saint Seiya characters
This article comprises a list of characters that play a role in Saint Seiya (also known as Knights of the Zodiac) and its canonical continuation, Saint Seiya: Next Dimension, two manga series created, written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada.
The plot of Saint Seiya begins in 1990 (date retconned from 1986 by the author at the beginning of Next Dimension) and follows a group of five mystical warriors called Saints as they battle in the name of the goddess Athena against agents of evil who seek to rule the Earth. Their main enemy in the first arc of the story is the traitorous Gold Saint of Gemini, who has murdered the representative of Athena and taken his place as leader of the Saints. In the second arc, the Saints are confronted with the god of the Sea Poseidon, who, after kidnapping the mortal reincarnation of Athena, threatens to flood the world with incessant rain to cleanse it of the evils of mankind. Their final enemy, who appears in the third arc of the series, is the god of the Underworld, Hades, whom Athena has fought since the age of myth.
Saint Seiya: Next Dimension acts both as a prequel and a sequel to the first series. It details the aftermath of the war against Hades and starts with Athena seeking help from the gods of Olympus and from Chronos to save Pegasus Seiya by travelling back to the 18th century. The two main antagonists are the troops of the goddess Artemis, in the 20th century storyline, and the incarnation of Hades in the 18th century.
Creation and conception
When Kurumada designed Seiya's likeness, he was inspired by Ryūji Takane, the main character of his hit manga Ring ni Kakero, which he created 9 years before Seiya. Most protagonists of Kurumada's works bear a resemblance to Ryūji, because Kurumada subscribes to the revered Osamu Tezuka's Star System (a stable cast of characters) technique. The same process is done with almost all the other characters from the series, as in all Kurumada's works.[1]
Protagonists
Saori Kido
Pegasus Seiya
- Pegasasu no Seiya (天馬星座の星矢?, Seiya meaning "star arrow")
Main article:
Pegasus Seiya
- Voice actors: Toru Furuya, Hiroko Emori (as child), Masakazu Morita
- The Bronze Saint Pegasus in the 20th century and protagonist of the series. An orphaned child later revealed to be son of Mitsumasa Kido, he was separated from his sister Seika and forced to become a Saint. Attaining such goal against all odds, first motivated to rejoin his sister, Seiya later discovers his destiny as one of the soldiers of the goddess Athena, whom he has protected for millennia, his soul returning every time she does, to assist her in the battle against the evil that consumes Earth. As a warrior of immense might, Seiya achieves victory in impossible battles, managing to defeat the gods Poseidon and Hades, who finally curses him to stop his rebirth cycle, leaving him using a wheelchair and in a comatose state, which Athena now seeks to revert.
Dragon Shiryū
Main article:
Dragon ShiryūCygnus Hyōga
- Kigunasu no Hyōga (白鳥星座の氷河?), Hyōga meaning "glacier"
- Voice actors: Kōichi Hashimoto, Hiroaki Miura, Jason Douglas (US version)
- Techniques: Diamond Dust, Kholodnyi Smerčh (manga only, from холодный смерч, russian for Cold Tornado), Aurora Thunder Attack (anime only), Aurora Execution, Koĺtso, Freezing Coffin variant.
Cygnus Hyōga, also known as Swan Hyōga in several international adaptations, is one of the main characters in Kurumada's manga. He is the Bronze Saint of the Cygnus constellation and was born in the fictional village of Kohoutek, in eastern Siberia, which, at the time when Kurumada wrote and drew his manga, was in the Soviet Union. His mastery over his Cosmo grants him superhuman talents, including the ability to create ice and snow at temperatures as low as absolute zero, by stopping subatomic particles. Hyōga is often portrayed wearing a cross and rosary of the Northern Cross, another name for the constellation Cygnus. Calm by nature, he displays a seemingly emotionless exterior, but a more tender side of his character emerges on occasion, such as his deep gratitude to Andromeda Shun for having saved his life and his undying devotion to his mentor Aquarius Camus. In Japan, Hyōga is a popular character, ranking second in the main character polls of the Bronze Saints.[2]
Andromeda Shun
Main article:
Andromeda ShunPhoenix Ikki
Main article:
Phoenix IkkiPegasus Tenma
- Pegasasu no Tenma (天馬星座の天馬?, meaning "Heavenly Horse")
- Techniques: Pegasus Meteor Punches
The previous incarnation of Pegasus Seiya, during the 18th century, who is best friends with Alone since childhood, and was trained as the Saint of Pegasus by Crateris Suikyō. He first met Alone during a snowstorm night in an abandoned shack, where they both sought shelter. Tenma deceived Alone at first so that he could steal his belongings, but was stopped by Suikyō. As Suikyō decided to kill Tenma for theft, Alone lied and said he had given his bag to Tenma. Suikyō was eventually convinced to a degree and told Tenma he was now in debt to Alone, and should therefore guard the boy for the rest of his life.
Years later, escaping with Alone from Libra Dohko and Aries Shion, Tenma discovers Alone's change and vows to protect him, but he does not tell his friend the reason. After realizing he has left behind his Pegasus Cloth during the escape from the Gold Saints, he heads back and equips it and attempts to fight the Gold Saints. He is defeated, and later heads back for Alone, but discovers that he has finally become Hades. He tries to make him remember, though Pandora and some Skeleton soldiers intervene and almost kill him, until Dohko and Shion arrive. The two Saints defeat the small group of Skeletons and interrogate Tenma about his identity and who trained him. He reveals that his master went by the name of Crateris Suikyō, which shocks the Gold Saints since they knew him.
Suddenly, a Specter appeared: Celestial Noble Star, Gryphon Vermeer. As Tenma charges towards him, Vermeer stops him with just one finger and easily overpowers him along with Shion and Dohko, due to Hades' barrier. It is then that the Garuda Specter appears and Tenma recognizes his voice as his master Suikyō's. The Saints lives are spared in the last minute due to Pandora's summoning of the Specters. The Saints then escape and revitalize themselves with water from the Crateris Cloth. Afterward, Tenma sees a mysterious reflection of his future: Seiya, using a wheelchair.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]
Kurumada chose the forced reading Tenma for the kanji that compose his name, instead of the more commonly used Tenba to avoid redundancy in the complete name of the character. Also, Tenma's name is spelled in kanji in Next Dimension, as opposed to Saint Seiya Lost Canvas, where it appears spelled in katakana.
Silver Saints and Gold Saints
Antagonists
Support characters
- Kashiosu (カシオス?)
- Voice Actor: Banjo Ginga, Matt Culpepper (English)
- Formerly a Saint apprentice under Ophiuchus Shaina. During the final fight for the Pegasus Cloth and the status of Saint, Seiya cut off one of his ears, and he hated Seiya for it ever since. Cassios had great respect and affection toward Shaina; however, he realizes that Shaina had affection toward Seiya. Motivated by this, he takes Seiya's place and dies during the fight with Leo Aiolia in order to wake the Leo Gold Saint from the control of Saga's Dellusional Demon's Emperor Fist. In the anime adaptation, he was also the younger brother of Docrates, an anime-only character.
- Nazo no Seinto Girutī (謎の聖闘士 ギルティー?)
- Voice Actor: Hidekatsu Shibata
- Master of Phoenix Ikki during his stance on Death Queen Island. Harsh and heartless, and concealing his features behind a fearsome mask, Guilty employed brutal methods in Ikki's training, to force him to become a being of pure hate, to be able to wield the power of the Phoenix Cloth. Guilty was responsible for Esmeralda's death, and died at the hands of Ikki, as his final trial to become a Saint, not before revealing to Ikki the secret of his birth. Also known as the mysterious Saint, Masami Kurumada never revealed Guilty's destined constellation.
- Guilty's mask is inspired by the gruesome Rangda, the feared creature from Balinese myths.
- Natāsha (ナターシャ?)
- Voice Actor: Akiko Tsuboi
- One of Mitsumasa Kido's women and late mother of Cygnus Hyōga. After dying in a shipwreck, her remains were preserved intact by the gelid waters of the Siberian seas. She's also alternatively known, both in the manga and anime adaptation as Hyōga's Mama (氷河の母親, Hyōga no Māma?). Kurumada later introduced a character of the same name in the short story arc dedicated to Hyōga in the thirteenth volume of the manga, sister to Alexer, leader of the Blue Warriors.
- Esumeraruda (エスメラルダ?)
- Voice Actor: Chisato Nakajima
- She was sold as a work slave to an abusive local farmer for only three bags of grain. When Ikki first encountered her, he mistook her for Shun, because she and Shun shared the same facial features with the only differences being hair color and gender. She was killed by Guilty, Ikki's master, in order to provoke Ikki into drawing power from hatred. In the anime adaptation her background is the same, with the addition of being Guilty's daughter.
- Appendekkusu no Kiki (アッペンデックスの貴鬼?, Kiki meaning "Noble spirit")
- Techniques: Telekinesis, ability to sense invisible energy forces, and ability to see invisible crack marks on Saints' Cloths.
- Voice Actor: Hiroko Emori, Karen Hatch (English)
- Apprentice under Aries Mu. Also known as Appendix Kiki. Like his master and grandmaster, Kiki also bears the ornaments on his forehead and is the youngest of the people of the continent of Mu. He never fights, but can use powerful telekinesis against normal humans. In the Poseidon arc, he was given the duty of bringing the Libra Cloth to all the Bronze Saints, fulfilling it valiantly even at the risk of his life.
- The ornaments in Kiki's forehead are inspired by the traditional make-up of the aristocrats of the Heian period of Japanese history.
- Yakofu (ヤコフ?)
- A young boy from Kohoutek village, in Eastern Siberia, neighbor and good friend of Cygnus Hyōga. He watches over Nastassja's eternal sleep when Hyōga is absent due to his responsibilities as a Saint. He helps Hyōga in various domestic tasks and also assisted the Saint in his escape from the Blue Warriors' imprisonment.
- Miho (美穂?)
- Voice Actor: Naoko Watanabe, Sasha Paysinger (English)
- Seiya's fellow orphan and childhood friend, she works at the orphanage where she and Seiya, along with his sister Seika lived before Seiya was taken away. Miho is in love with Seiya to some degree, and in a sense represents the point of view of the normal people who are mere witnesses to the struggles among the gods.
- Kido Mitsumasa (城戸光政?)
- Voice Actor: Kōhei Miyauchi, Marty Fleck (English)
- Foster-grandfather of Saori who adopted her and took her to Japan after finding a dying Sagittarius Aiolos in Sanctuary. In the manga, it was revealed that he was actually the birth father of all the orphans he sent around the world to be trained as Saints. In the anime, he merely took the children from various orphanages, and sent them for their training. Just before he died, he told Saori all the truth regarding the encounter with Aiolos in Sanctuary and her divine origins and purpose of her birth in this era.
- Seika (星華?, Seika meaning "Star flower")
- Voice Actor: Yuriko Yamamoto, Satsuki Yukino OVA
- Seiya's older sister, whom he lost contact with when he was sent to Greece to be trained as a Saint. After Seiya was taken away, she wandered the world looking for him. It was long implied that Marin, Seiya's mentor, could be Seika, and some characters, including Seiya, thought it was possibly true. Marin and Seika even shared the same physical characteristics: same age, same birthdate, same height, same birthplace. Also, Marin has a brother she lost and was looking for. Seika resurfaced as a separate character in the Hades chapter, completely amnesiac, after having followed Seiya all the way to Greece alone. It was Seika's voice that, more than any other, urged Seiya on in his fight against Thanatos. It is then revealed in the final arc of Kurumada's manga that Seika and Marin are not the same person.
- Shunrei (春麗?)
- Voice Actor: Yumiko Shibata, Eriko Sato OVA, Ai Bandō Elysion OVA, Kimberly Prause (English)
- Shunrei was an abandoned orphan found by Dohko in Rozan (China). She cares deeply for Shiryū, and her prayers for Shiryū's safety in battle often help him through his darkest hours, particularly against Cancer Deathmask, as well as against the Specter trio of Sylphid, Gordon and Queen.
- Shunrei's name kanji are (春麗) which are also the same for the name of Chun Li in the Street Fighter series, meaning "Spring Beauty".
- Yuridīsu (ユリディース?)
- Voice Actor: Yuko Nagashima
- Lyra Orphée's lover, she enjoyed great happiness at the Saint's side on Earth, until the day of her untimely death because of a snake bite. Crushed by her demise, Orphée descended to the Underworld to bargain for her soul with Hades. Touched by the Saint's pleas and melody, she was allowed to return to Earth by the deity, only to be thwarted by Sphinx Pharaoh. She thus was condemned to remain bound to the Underworld half-turned into stone, and later helped Seiya and Shun to unearth Orphée's seemingly forgotten loyalty to Athena.
- Tatsumi Tokumaru (辰巳 徳丸?)
- Voice Actor: Yukitoshi Hori, Ron Howald (English)
- Saori's butler, bodyguard and right-hand man. Trusted man of Mitsumasa Kido and a black belt, third dan in Kendō. He was in charge of overseeing the orphans who were to be sent out all over the world to train and become Bronze Saints, and due to his extreme severity and at times downright abusive behavior, most of them were resentful towards him. He always tried to be strong and protect Saori, but even the Sanctuary soldiers can defeat him. (Not without struggle, however, as he offered considerable resistance for an outnumbered man). He starts as a rather daunting and abusive retainer for the future Saints, but he is in truth a man who is honor-bound to protect Saori, and ultimately is the series' comic relief.
- Jigoku no Banken Keruberosu (地獄の番犬 ケルベロス?)
- The enormous, three-headed demonic watchdog guarding the entrance to the Underworld. Savage, grotesque in appearance and emitting a foul stench, it relentlessly devoured souls that belonged to greedy people in life. Sphinx Pharaoh was in charge of taking care of the creature, and it was defeated temporarily by Pegasus Seiya and Andromeda Shun.
- Kashimodo (カシモド?)
- An aged man from Rodrio village, who led a righteous life. Irrationally fearing an undeserved eternal punishment while on his deathbed, Quasimodo was personally comforted by the Pope of Sanctuary, thus passing away in peace.
- Ninfu (妖精?)
- The minor divine spirits in Elysion, who delight Thanatos with their beautiful voice and music.
- Arōn (アローン?)
- Hades' chosen vessel in the 18th century, with the purest soul on earth. Prior to the Holy war, he was best friends with Pegasus Tenma since childhood. He first met Tenma during a snowstorm one night, in an abandoned shack where they both sought refuge. Tenma deceived Alone at first so that he could steal his belongings, but was stopped by Suikyō. As Suikyō was going to kill Tenma for theft, Alone lied and said he had given his bag to Tenma. Suikyō was eventually convinced and told Tenma he was now in debt to Alone and should therefore guard Alone for the rest of his life. At the start of the war, he could feel that darkness was headed his way, and that it came after him. He and Tenma escaped from Libra Dohko and Aries Shion, and ended up outside a small mausoleum. As Tenma went back to retrieve his Cloth, a voice called for Alone inside the mausoleum. As he entered, he found Hades' Sword stuck in the ground. It was then that Pandora showed herself and convinced Alone of grabbing the hilt of the sword. Alone started plunging into darkness and ignored Tenma as he strode towards Hades' Castle.[3][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]
- Tsuki no Majo Hekāte (月の魔女ヘカーテ?), (from Greek: Ἑκάτη, "far shooting").
- The elderly witch of the moon. Kurumada based her on the mythological persona Hecate. She tricks Athena into cutting off her hair by means of an illusion of multiple pathways to the temple of the moon. She makes a brew with Athena's hair which restores her youth, becoming a young girl again. She then guides Athena to Chronos who in turn punishes her, turning her body into dust. Later, she resurfaces unharmed, as she was able to survive Chronos' assault.[15]
- Adorufu (アドルフ?)
- Pandora's pet dog during her childhood, who fled in terror when he sensed Hypnos and Thanatos' presence.
- Pegasasu (ペガサス?)
- Tenma's loyal horse and steed. He saved Shion's, Dohko and Tenma's lives, by protecting them from the Skeleton soldiers.
- Suishō (水清?, Suishō meaning "Water purity")
- Garuda Suikyō's younger brother. The Specter is forced to reminisce about him after suffering the effects of Phoenix Ikki's Demonic Illusion Attack. Suishō was afflicted by a terminal disease, thus Hades offered Suikyō to save his brother's life in exchange of loyalty to him. Suishō died shortly after the deity's offering. Suishō's background remains to be revealed in further detail by Kurumada.
- The Pope of the XVIII century
- Zenseisen no Kyōkō (前聖戦の教皇?)
- The Pope ruling Sanctuary in the 18th century, a survivor of the Holy War against Hades in the 15th century. He grants Shion and Dohko the rank of Gold Saints and the right to don the Aries and Libra Gold Cloths. He also foresees Hades' return to Earth and prepares Sanctuary to face such event. A false Pope, who swore allegiance to Hades also plays a role in the storyline, whether he and the legitimate Pope are the same person, still remains to be revealed by Kurumada.
Non-antagonic deities
- Toki no Kami Kuronosu (時の神 クロノス?)
- (Ancient Greek: Χρόνος)
- The god who rules time and father of Zeus. Said to be shapeless and hidden within the universe. Athena meets with him in the gate to time-space. Chronos helps Athena to return to the era of the previous Holy War in order to remove Hades' curse from Seiya, turning her into a baby.
- Tentei Zeusu (天帝 ゼウス?)
- Father of Athena and the supreme god of the Olympus. His participation is to date, reduced to only mentions by other characters and in background narrative.
- Tsuki no Megami Arutemisu (月の女神 アルテミス?)
- The beautiful goddess of the moon, and elder sister to Athena. The goddess is initially hostile to her sister due to her battles with Hades and Poseidon. Though she reveals to Athena that the only way to remove Hades' curse from Seiya's body is to travel back in time with the help of Chronos.[16]
- Taiyō no kami Aporon (太陽の神 アポロン?)
- He is mentioned in passing when Athena visits Artemis, and is said to merely watch over the time of the day. Older brother of Athena and Artemis.
- Kuronosu to Rea (クロノスとレア?)
- Briefly mentioned by Libra Dohko in vol.27 of Kurumada's manga, the mighty Titans, whose union gave birth to Hades, god of the Underworld, in the ages of myth.
- Kyūpiddo (キューピッド?)
- Mentioned by Thanatos in vol. 27 of Kurumada's manga, attributing the nymphs' agitation caused by Pegasus Seiya, to his usual mischief.
Canonical characters outside the manga
The following characters are considered canonical within the universe of Saint Seiya, as they were all created by Masami Kurumada. They were not introduced in his manga, but instead in the first Saint Seiya film. Two elements related to them, specifically the Sagitta Cloth and the Lyra Cloth, however, hold indisputable canonical status as they were later integrated by Kurumada into his manga.
In the musical for theatre Saint Seiya: Super Musical they returned as antagonists, as the musical is based on the film they appeared in and they are mentioned collectively in the summary of the play available at its official website and the cast portraying them has been revealed.[17]
- Sazan Kurosu no Kuraisuto (南十字星座のクライスト?)
- Voiced by: Ryūsei Nakao
- Techniques: Southern Cross Thunderbolt
- The Silver Saint of the Southern Cross constellation, who battled the Saint who bears the opposite of his constellation, Cygnus Hyōga.
- Named after Jesus Christ, the anointed one.
- Sajitta no Maya (矢座の魔矢?)
- Voiced by: Michitaka Kobayashi
- Techniques: Hunting Arrow Express
- The Silver Saint of the Sagitta constellation, predecessor of Sagitta Ptolemy, known as the deadly hunter.
- His name means both Demonic Arrow and Magic Arrow in Japanese.
- Tate-za/Sukyūtamu no Yan (楯座のヤン?)
- Voiced by: Keiichi Nanba
- Techniques: Bonecrush Screw
- The Silver Saint of the Scutum constellation, whose shield in his Cloth is even stronger than the fabled Dragon Shield.
- Kurumada named him after Jan Sobieski III, the polish ruler in whose honor the Scutum constellation was created.
- Koto-za/Raira no Orufeusu (琴座のオルフェウス?)
- Voiced by: Yūji Mitsuya
- Techniques: Stringer Requiem
- The Silver Saint of Lyra, predecessor of Lyra Orphée.
- Kurumada named him after Orpheus, the legendary music virtuoso of Greek mythology.
- Orion no Jagā (オリオン星座のジャガー?)
- Voiced by: Yū Mizushima
- Techniques: Megaton Meteo Crush
- The Silver Saint of the Orion constellation, from the ages of myth, regarded as one of the strongest Saints that ever lived.
- His name means Hunter in german, as his constellation represents the legendary hunter Orion from Greek myth.
Anime-only characters
See also
References
- ^ (in Japanese) Kappa Magazine, number 80. 1999.
- ^ Saint Seiya Volume 3, Argentinian Edition, Japanese characters poll
- ^ a b Shōnen Champion #6 2007
- ^ Shōnen Champion #36+37 2007
- ^ Shōnen Champion #38 2007
- ^ Shōnen Champion #8 2008
- ^ Shōnen Champion #36+37 2006
- ^ a b Shōnen Champion #38 2006
- ^ a b Shōnen Champion #43 2006
- ^ a b Shōnen Champion #49 2006
- ^ a b Shōnen Champion #50 2006
- ^ a b Shōnen Champion #51 2006
- ^ a b Shōnen Champion #4+5 2007
- ^ a b Shōnen Champion #1 2008
- ^ Shōnen Champion #12, February 2009
- ^ Kurumada, Masami (2010). "Chapter 16". Saint Seiya Next Dimension, Volume 2. Shōnen Jump. ISBN 978-4-253-13272-5.
- ^ www.musical-seiya.com The Ghost Saints will appear in the new Saint Seiya musical