Andromeda Shun // artwork by Shingo Araki (1987)

Shun, is one the Bronze Saints. He is arguably one of the strongest characters in the series, although his gentle disposition and kind nature tend to hold him back from using his full power, until he is forced to do so. Shun is also the younger brother of Phoenix Ikki. The Andromeda saint is perhaps the most reluctant of the group when a situation must be resolved by violence, as the Saint of the Andromeda constellation. He is a merciful soul by nature, and a firm believer in solving problems without causing bloodshed. This creates a sharp contrast between himself and the rest of the Saints: Whereas they will not hesitate to battle when the situation demands it, Shun only allows himself to fight if it’s an absolute necessity, or when his almost endless patience wears out. When this is the case, Shun can become an extremely skilled and deadly fighter.

Shun is portrayed rather weak in the first 4 movies and the anime-only ‘Asgard’ arc: In almost every fight scene, he is almost always defeated, and needs his brother Ikki to rescue him (except against Mizar Zeta Syd, the one time Shun defeated a foe in either of the first 4 movies or the ‘Asgard’ anime-only story). This has led to a misconception among certain fans that Shun is a ‘weakling’, but it is important to remember that these stories were not written by Masami Kurumada and therefore are not canonical, and are out of Kurumada’s true continuity and plot.

However, in the ‘Sanctuary’, ‘Poseidon’ and ‘Hades’ storylines of the original manga (which were written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada), Shun is shown as a competent and tough, if unwilling, fighter and opponent. In ‘Sanctuary’, he manages to hold his own against Gemini Saga, and even manages to kill Pisces Aphrodite, both of them Gold Saints. In the Poseidon arc, he acquits himself very well, defeating Io, the Southern Pacific Mariner General of Scylla, and Sorrento, the Southern Atlantic Mariner General of Siren. In the Hades arc, he manages to dispatch various opponents, and is the second of the Bronze Saints to achieve his God Cloth. As a result, he comes off looking much better in these arcs than in the movies or ‘Asgard’; though he may be adverse to fighting, he will fight when he is required to, and is just as powerful or skilled as any of the other main Bronze Saints.

His arsenal of attacks is mainly composed by diverse use of the set of chains he wears on each arm. The Nebula chain is a straight forward attack which hits the enemy directly and it can be complemented by the “Thunder Wave” which allows Shun to electrocute his adversaries. The “Rolling Defense” helps him to create a barrier to prevent attacks from his enemies, a variation of this defense is the “Great Capture” which allows him to evade attacks creating an specific defense to his opponent techniques. When Shun loses his armor or expands his cosmos to the max he can make use of the “Nebula Stream” which he uses to manipulate the air currents surrounding his enemies to paralyze them. When the attacks reaches his full spectrum it becomes the “Nebula Storm” a deadly technique that tear his opponent apart with burst of cosmos and a furious wind storm. (source)

Cygnus Hyoga // artwork by Shingo Araki (1987)

Hyoga is the bronze saint of The Cygnus constellation. Born in Russia, Hyoga originally did not choose to participate in the Graude Foundation’s Galaxian Wars until he received an order from Sanctuary to assassinate the other bronze saints. He originally accepted this due to his hatred for the Graude Foundation, being aware that Mitsumasa Kido was his father. As he became more familiar with his subjects, however, Hyoga grew indecisive about his mission. Once Silver saints began to target him along with the other bronze saints, however, he dropped his allegiance to Sanctuary. His rage towards Sanctuary boiled after his master Camus made an unexpected visit to Siberia to sent his mother’s ship deep into the ocean’s abyss.*

Since the saints are only Mitsumasa Kido’s protegés in the anime, this sub-plot isn’t there; Hyoga competes with the same motivation as the other bronze saints: To win the Gold Cloth of Sagittarius, although during the Sanctuary wars Camus does sink Hyoga’s mother’s ship as he did in the manga. When the series began, Hyoga was depicted as cold and calculating, and he was often seen keeping distance from the other saints. During the battle with Phoenix Ikki, his tender side was revealed, and he slowly began to display his true personality. In the Sanctuary arc, Hyoga became extremely close to Andromeda Shun after his comrade displayed an act of selflessness in attempt to revive his cosmos from death, constantly referring to how he owed Shun his life. In the Hades arc, Hyoga paired with Dragon Shiryu as the saints of Athena waged war against the Underworld.

The one person that forever lives in Hyoga mind is his deceased mother. She died when Hyoga was still very young, having drowned during the shipwreck of a doomed cruise. The ship sunk into the icy ocean, where the extreme cold kept Hyoga’s mother from rigor mortis. Throughout the Sanctuary arc, Hyoga is shown to visit his mother periodically by diving into the waters. Later on, the ship is sent deep into the ocean’s graves as part of a final lesson from Hyoga’s master, Camus.

Hyoga’s techniques are set to test the strength of his opponent raging from a mere blow of cold air in the form of the “Diamond Dust” to the more strong “Aurora Thunder Attack” which lifts the opponent in the form of a freezing tornado. The more lethal attack was learned by Hyoga near death while facing his master Aquarius Camus. The “Aurora Execution” allows him to freeze his surroundings as well as his opponent with “Absolute Zero” a blow of super cold air that can break even a Gold Cloth

*In manga continuity.(source)

Mermaid Thetys // artwork by Shingo Araki and HadesSama (2012)

Thetys is a servant of Poseidon, the God of the Seas, and assistant to his Marina Generals. She is a Marina of low rank and if the Generals are counterparts to the Gold Saints, she may be the counterpart of a Silver Saint. It’s unknown if other Marinas of the same rank ever existed in Poseidon’s army of if she is one of a kind. You can read her whole history here.

Polaris Hilda // artwork by Shingo Araki (1987)

A character created by Shingo Araki with the blessing of Masami Kurumada. In the days of the production of the original Saint Seiya series, the anime catched up with the manga pretty quickly. It was necessary to create a bridge between the Sanctuary Wars and The Poseidon Saga, so the Asgard Saga was conceived. The basis for this story is a short tale starring Cygnus Hyoga in the land of Asgard and while it proved to be pretty popular among fans of the original manga it was never adapted properly, spawning instead, the non-canon Asgard saga for the main series and the “God’s Heated Battle” in OVA format.

Polaris Hilda is the main antagonist of The Asgard Saga. Very much like Athena, Hilda is the living incarnation of a God, in this case Odin, Lord of Asgard and at his behest she carries the weight of keeping the polar caps from melting by making prayer with her people as her cosmos burns. Despite the suffering and heavy burden of her fellow citizens she carries out her mission with love and dedication until one day, she becomes possessed by the power of the Nibelung Ring which she uses to summon the Seven Warrior Gods who are protected by the power of the Ursa Major Constellation and declares war on the outside world.

Athena is visited by Hilda’s ambassador: Misar Syd from the star of Zeta, who attempts to kill her before a last minute save by Seiya and Shun. After the impasse, Athena goes on a personal visit to Asgard only the find the country up in arms against Sanctuary and Hilda refusing to pray to Odin thus making the polar caps melt and drowning the world. So now it’s up to Athena and her saints to make the renegade Goddess come to her senses before time runs out for the planet.

Apollo // artwork by by TridentPoseidon (2010)

Apollo is God of the Sun. Son to Zeus and second in command in Olympus, his sister Artemis is the one appointed to do his commands by killing his rebel young sister Athena after her continuous defiance of the will of Olympus in Saint Seiya: Tenkai-Hen - Overture. In an act of supreme defiance and with nothing to lose, Seiya managed to strike the God in the face before he restarted reality and left us with a thousand questions about this non-canon story.

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.

Phoenix Ikki // artwork by Shingo Araki (1987)

The powerhouse of the Bronze Saints. While is truth that Seiya always defeat the big threat is impossible to negate that Phoenix Ikki could do the same with more effective results than his Bronze brother (unfortunately, the series is not called Saint Ikki). A fan favorite, Ikki resonates a lot with the Saint Seiya audience for the same reasons that american characters like Wolverine and Batman does: he is harsh, cold, aggressive, and very much of a loner. he also has a lot of uniqueness bound to him, since he’s the first human to ever wear the Phoenix cloth. His cosmos is also very different than any other saints since it is full of hatred, anger, incredible aggression and power, but it still guided by his deep love and loyalty for his younger brother, his friends and his loyalty to Athena. Although he dislikes teamwork, he comes to battle whenever Athena’s Saints need his help, and is often seen coming in the nick of time to save his younger brother and friends from certain death.

Kurumada knew how to exploit the popularity of this character, making him appear on very specific parts of the story, always making a last minute save or by intimidating his opponent with his aggressiveness. In the anime however he has a lot more of exposure but always by the same principles of the author. Ikki is driven by the people he loves. It was the death of Esmeralda at the hands of his master Guilty and finding the truth about his family* that triggered the anger that made him go as a one-man army against the bronze saints in the Galaxian Wars. But only after facing his fellow bronze saints and his brother Shun he would come to his senses. The realization that Saori Kido was in fact Goddess Athena made him neutral in character. It also made much more clear as to which side he should take against Sanctuary.

The Phoenix saint is the only one of the 88 who cannot ever truly die since his namesake and constellation grant him the ability to return from the dead. His Bronze cloth also cannot be really destroyed since he can regenerate it at will (an ability that not even a gold cloth can achieve). Ikki’s techniques destroys and enemy Psychically and Psychologically. His Hōōgenmaken (Phoenix Demonic Illusion) can fill the mind of an enemy with powerful illusions to drive him mad, but he also has used it at times to make an enemy spill his guts about anything he needs to know. his Hōyokutenshō (Phoenix Wings Rise) unleashes and incredible force in the form of tornado-like winds or a powerful cosmos blow directed to an enemy.

*: In Manga continuity.

Pegasus Seiya // artwork by Shingo Araki (1987)

Seiya is the defacto main character of the series (it bears his name after all). A headstrong, impetuous and stubborn Japanese young man, Seiya was left in an orphanage along his sister Seika when they both were very young. Unknown to him, he was the son of Mitsumasa Kido and he was later recalled by his dad to go to Greece and train to become a Saint*. At his arrival at sanctuary he was greeted by Pope Arles himself and put in the care of Marin, who taught him how to handle the supernatural strength of the Saints by not relying on merely brute force, but in cosmos-energy.

The teachings of Marin made him a very strong warrior, one who would defeat the favorite front runner for the Pegasus cloth, Cassius with just a few moves, leaving him battered and broken. He would later leave for Japan again to meet with Saori Kido, who replaced her grandfather as the head of the Graude Foundation. He expected to be reunited with his sister but was told that she was lost almost at the same time he went to Sanctuary. Saori offers him a choice: battle another Saints in the Galaxian Wars and get media exposure or find her on his own. After some though Seiya reluctantly accepts her offer.

As main characters go, Seiya is your typical front-man, selfless but arrogant, humble, but headstrong. He will not quit until his opponent is defeated, even if he’s stricken a thousand times. A technique doesn’t work with him twice and he has some of the most powerful displays of battle in the series, his combat skills include a mastering of The Ryu-Sei-Ken (meteor punch), and two techniques developed by himself: the Sui-Sei-Ken (a concentrated blow of energy) and the Rolling Crush. Of all the characters he’s been the only one who ever raises his fist against a God successful striking Eris, Poseidon, Dolbar, Hilda, Abel and Apollo. Although he despised Saori and everything she stood for, once he learns that she’s Goddess Athena his devotion to her is unconditional and absolute.

*in Manga continuity. 

Gemini Saint: Saga & Kanon // artwork by Carlos Lam (2007)

One of the most popular characters in the series outside of the main five bronze saints. The Gemini Saint is a role filled by twins in every era. The eldest twin always carries the cloth until he dies, or renounces to it. Although they are both very powerful (almost godlike in nature) the eldest twin is always stronger than his young brother. In the modern era the role of the Gemini Saint is bestowed upon Saga and Kanon.

Before the Sanctuary wars, Saga was known as the most benevolent saint of this era, his love and compassion was only matched by his massive power. His brother Kanon however was an evil soul, always tempting his brother to use their incredible powers to seize control of The Sanctuary. Saga would not have any of this, so he condemned his brother to die in the Cape Sunion prison. What happened next has never been clarified. A large group of fandom thinks that Saga was possessed by Ares the God of War and that’s why he did all the atrocities he accomplished disguised as Pope Arles. Others think that he was merely schizophrenic and his dual personalities kept fighting for control over his mind.

After the war with Poseidon was done, the saints waged war against Hades. Kanon returned to sanctuary asking for redemption, which Athena granted to him after Scorpion Milo made sure his intentions where noble (in the most painful way possible, I might add). He was granted his brother’s old Gemini Cloth, which he wore until his last fight against Wyvern Rhadamantys.

Poseidon // artwork by Masami Kurumada and Ni-Link (1989)

Poseidon wakes up in the modern era by accident. Gemini Saga had a twin brother named Kanon, who was pure evil at heart and tempted his brother constantly to go over the dark side and seize power in Sanctuary by killing Athena. Saga incarcerated his brother a bit too late since his poisonous words had the desired effect. Kanon was left to die in the prision of Cape Sunion in which he struggled for years to survive, until one day using his cosmo-energy he manges to break a wall containing Poseidon’s Trident which had his power sealed by Athena. As soon as he makes this amazing discovery he’s sallowed by the floor and driven to the Undersea Temple.

Kanon wakes up to find himself in a new world over the ocean, destroyed in the last holy war. while he explores this Undersea Temple he finds himself in Poseidon’s Sanctuary where his soul rests along his seven general. Kanon breaks the seal in the urn containing Poseidon’s soul and quickly proceeds to interrogate Kanon, who identifies himself as “Sea Dragon”. He reveals to the God that Athena has just come back to earth, and that it would wise to be prepared for a new holy war. Poseidon agrees, but his slumber must be concluded, so he’ll hide in the body of the Solo family youngest heir, Julian, who has the royal blood necessary to carry his power until he and Athena come of age and wage war.

Kanon agrees to these terms and feels the power of Poseidon leave his temple and go across the undersea temple making it come to life again and restoring his grandeur, he also grants to the renegade saint the Scales of Sea Dragon (similar to a Saint’s Cloth) and makes him second in command of The Undersea Temple Army. Poseidon, like every other deity on the series is a massive powerful character, he has complete control over the sea currents, the rains and every other natural phenomenon in the planet, he also manipulates energy projection either through his mind, his trident or his bare hands. Julian Solo has a hold of all of these powers while Poseidon is still asleep. The god is not awakened by Kanon when the time comes, and his real power surfaces when he faces the Bronze Saints in their last stand..