Dragon Shiryu // artwork by Shingo Araki (1987)

The most popular character of the main 5 protagonist. Shiryu is well liked and a very loved part of Saint Seiya, having the cool demeanor and strength of character that Seiya lacks, Shiryu could be very well be the main character for the series if he wasn’t such an insecure fighter. Always dependent on the strength of his armor which carries the strongest shield of any constellation, in most fights Shiryu has to let go his Dragon cloth to focus his greatest power and be able to release his full potential. When he does so, a majestic Dragon appears on his back. He usually wins every combat he’s been in in the series but is always left very battered and broken after every clash because he has to fight unprotected. He also has a penchant for being left blind (it happens to him in three of the four sagas of the anime).

Shiryu was another of the bastards of Mitsumasa Kido*. Born in Japan he was recruited by the Graude foundation and then sent to train to China under the care of the old master of the five peaks (Libra Dokho under the effects of Misophetamenos). He endured a rigorous training to acquire the superhuman strength and endurance that most saints have, but he was also taught by his master to gain great power through the mastering of cosmos energy. He learned three powerful techniques that can crush his enemy with a single powerful blow: the Rozan shō ryū ha (Rising Dragon Punch), the Rozan ryū hi shō (Flying Dragon Punch), and the most deadly, the Rozan kō ryū ha (Enraged Dragon Force). This technique engulfs the Dragon Saint and his opponent in a powerful cosmos wave that rockets both of them upward until both are incinerated by friction, the only time Shiryu had to use this technique was to defeat Capricorn Shura.

Shiryu learned one last technique of his master in the Hades Saga, the Rozan hyaku ryū ha (The One Hundred Dragon Palms) it is his most powerful technique, one he used to defeat three very strong specters at once in Judesca. Shiryu also possesses the power of Excalibur on his right hand, a gift that Shura gave to the bronze saint before dying. All in all Shiryu has one of the most complete arsenals of offensive and defensive techniques of the bronze saints which makes him one of the most strong characters in the whole series second only to Phoenix Ikki in terms of raw power.

*: In Manga continuity.