Spotlight: Saint Seiya Episode G

Time for Gold!

Gather one. Gather all. It’s time for another Spotlight.

Today we take a look at Saint Seiya Episode G!

The G is for Gold.

As in Gold Saints.

This is a shiny spotlight!

Setting

… You know the drill. Gods. Saints. Athena. Save the world.

Like Lost Canvas this is kind of a prequel, not written by the original mangaka. The story takes place just a few years before the original manga’s story-line as opposed to 200 years.

It also happens to have the Gold Saints as the main characters, Aiolia specifically.

The Story

Now there's a totally trustworthy looking guy

Once upon a time there were Titans. Gods of enormous power that were sealed away. Now, they are back and it is up to Athena’s Saints to protect the Earth from them.

But can even the strongest Saints stand up against gods?

Maybe… if they stopped fighting amongst each other.

Or if Aiolia would stop feeling bad about his brother being a giant traitor. Or if Saga would be less…. Saga. Or maybe if Shura would stop vacillating between knight templar and being totally guilt-ridden…

Earth is so doomed.

How it Manages

Kneel!

Pretty damn good. It does a much better job than Lost Canvas at capturing that “Burn my Cosmo!” feel. The Gold Saints make interesting protagonists. The author does a good job at showing you how powerful these guys are while making sure to establish the bad guys as legit threats.

Really, the Titans are monstrously powerful  and it shows. Even the Gold Saints don’t have an easy time here.

Aiolia makes for an interesting main character. I honestly wasn't sure about him when I first picked up the manga on a whim, but the author has managed to convince me. The inner conflict between his desire to actually be a good guy and his doubts about his brother’s betrayal and how that makes others look at him is really interesting. The young Ailoia presented in Episode G is one badass shounen hero.

The other Gold Saints provide a lot of good moments to. They are a really diverse bunch and the conflict between them is fun to see. Be it arguing over their definition of justice, Deathmask being what you expect from a guy with that name, and general distrust of Aiolia, the Gold Saints provide some good interaction.

I also want to remark on the art.

It’s good.

I mean it’s maybe a little too “pretty” but it is good. Seriously, there is just so much color at times.

Yeah, I know I am talking about a white and black manga but seriously. The things done with black and white here are just amazing.

Lastly,  the “burn my cosmo” is awesome here, and yes I needed to say that again. That phrase is the spirit of Saint Seiya, and it is great!

Even if you don’t know much about Saint Seiya, Episode G is a fun manga. Give it a read. You won’t regret it.

Final thing, no update tomorrow.