Saint Seiya Omega - First 5 Episodes Review

Saint Seiya is an anime that is revered world wide as one of the must see and must read series, both the manga and the animated series have story lines that may concur on many points but also take literal freedoms when needed.

The animated series was reborn in recent years with the long awaited Hades Saga, then an OVA Tenkai Chi, after during San Diego Comic Con to my own surprise it was announced that Saint Seiya The Lost Canvas was to air in Japan, and of course old school fans like myself rejoiced and lost our minds when we found out that  it would be based on the holy war that took place before the original series. Sadly this well produced and beautifully animated series was cancelled due to it’s poor reception in Japan, even though everyone else in the world fell in love with the series. Now in it’s place we have Saint Seiya Omega, or as I would like to rename it as Saint Seiya Harry Potter Pokemon Anime, and I can fully justify this title.

The series is set 25 years after the original story of Saint Seiya, at this point Seiya the saint of pegasus is now the new gold saint of Sagittarius, which is to no surprise of anyone who are fans of the series. Now the series revolves around Kouga the new saint of Pegasus, which to be honest we all suspect he is the son of Seiya and Saori, and again if you have watched the previous series then you know how much potential this character has as far as cosmos and fighting techniques he has.

Within the first 5 episodes of the series most of the premise is established and the main story elements are explained, with the exemption of what exactly happened to the armors since the last war and why the sudden need for elements from all saints as well.

The series took on a Sailor Moon esk animation style vs the more detailed look of Lost Canvas, also one of the reasons I can tease the series is that now there is a school for young bronze saints that reminds me of Hogwarts school of wizardry, also on top of that you have the elements that work much like Pokemon, Fire types are weak against Water types and so on.

In all honesty as a fan of the original series and the Lost Canvas I am having a hard time to fall in love with this new series for all the changes that have not been justified to the viewer, not only that but the enemies are referred to as Martians and they all seem to use Darkness as an element and Kouga uses Light, so it just seems like young Kouga will always have an advantage over main enemies in the series.

One of the other issues I cannot get passed is the armor now really looks like cloth, in fact through most of the series so far they only equip an arm of the armor for training purposes. So it seems like lazy animating since the parts of the episode that show more than 3 or 4 saints in one scene they will either be in matching school uniforms or in gym sweats with the one armlet equipped.

They do start to reference more and more about the previous Saints but with the little ammount of information given so far it makes it hard to understand what exactly happened that made the large crated armors into small jewels that they wear or why the sudden need to learn an element, much like Ichi the Serpent from the previous series is now stuck in the school for being the only Saint from the previous guard who has yet to discover his element and be able to graduate the school and continue on as a Bronze Saint.

The reason this anime can be referred to as a Harry Potter like story is because Kouga is the newest student who for some unknown reason had never even heard of the school and yet he was trained by Shyna of the Cobra a silver saint from the previous series and also the woman who was infatuated with either loving or killing Seiya, so now we as viewers get to learn about the school and it’s inner workings along side of Kouga. With friends like Ryuho the Dragon son of Shiryu the Dragon from the previous series he has a lot to learn about his cosmos and how the life of Saint is nothing more than to protect Athena.

The series does have it’s moments of excitement, in fact one of the best parts of the series are the fights and in fact that is where Saint Seiya has always shined, they are well animated and the banter between characters is also well written much like any other angsty teen anime. Overall the series still has some promise but it will take some serious twist and turns to make it appeal to old school fans, with the promise of further explanation of what happened to the previous saints and the future of the enemies they will face the series might still stand out as a must watch but that all still remains to be seen.

by

Erick Castillo

A Legend Returns - Saint Seiya Omega Episode 1 Review and News

Saint Seiya was the anime of choice for me when I was a kid, it was not the first I had watched but it was the one that made me love anime in general. So when I was hosting Anime Import Weekly on our podcast channel I had to make sure I covered with extreme detail. 

Then when the prequel series called Saint Seiya The Lost Canvas came out I was also very excited and pleased, the series was well produced and revived my love for the series. The Lost Canvas was animated because of the success of the original Manga saga for the Hades saga was animated and then a follow up film Saint Seiya Tenkai Hen Overture. 

When the last film was released it ended in a cliff hanger that was never really answered, so when Saint Seiya Omega was announced as a sequel to the series that takes place 25 years later you better believe that I started to jump for joy about all of it. 

As mentioned the story takes place 25 years after the Holly Wars, what is not clear is what happened after if Tenkai Hen Overture or if that movie never happened in continuity to the main story. Now in present day Seiya is but a legend among the young saints in training, Athena is still in power of the Sanctuary and peace on earth has come to an end, Mars has come to take the earth from Athena. Kouga is training with Shaina to become the new saint to wear the Pegasus cloth.

Without giving out any additional information about the first episode let’s go into initial feel for the series, sadly I cannot say that I enjoy the animation style compared to the original series let alone the fantastic work done with the Hades Saga, Tenkai Hen Overture, and the Lost Canvas as examples of how well the series can be done graphically.

Music wise I love the remake of the original intro music for the 80’s series and some of the music used in the episode did help make for some emotional driven story telling.

One of the initial gripes I have with the series is the way the cloths are being treated, there is no explanation as of yet and no idea if there will be one at all, but the cloths are no longer carried in their crates instead they are now worn as a crystal necklace that will activate the armor when needed.

Some of the basics of the series are still there for what we can tell from the first episode, the saints are still ranked by bronze, silver, and gold, Seiya now dawns the Golden Armor of Sagittarius, and as always Athena needs protecting from a greater evil. From the previous main saints only Pegasus and Dragon will be coming back as main characters but other side line saints like Wolf and Lion will becomes main stays this time around.

Overall the series shows some promise but I cannot help but feel that the series almost looks like a Sailor Moon/Saint Seiya fans dream come true with more effeminate looking characters and armors that looks like easy cosplay looking clothing, and a main villain that looks like a reject from the Negaverse. I hope that the series will take on more and more classic story styles like the previous series in recent years and maybe some actions scenes that show more detail in combat, the season started in April 1st and will continue on every Sunday for a few weeks until the season finally later this year.

by

Erick Castillo

Trigun: Badlands Rumble

Well it’s been a long time since I have sat down and written about an anime, and in this case I get a chance to write about one of my favorites of all time. I am the proud owner of the entire Trigun series on DVD with the original metallic box cards and all, and now that the movie is came out I got a chance to check it out. Does it live up to my expectations or should I act like it never happened?

Well the film starts 20 years in the past with a towering man known as Gasback robbing a bank and holding the staff hostage, of course Vash happens to walk in unannounced and tries to defuse the situation in his usual fashion. Sadly it does not work out the way Vash expected, Gasback is betrayed by his men and almost killed in the process, the bandits get away with the money and Gasback gets away with his life and Vash well he continues to be himself for 20 years. 

We cut to the present and well the story now takes place before the series climax and unfortunate deaths of certain characters, so this all takes place in the middle of the fun parts of the story and the characters are still their happy go lucky personalities. 

With everything that happens in planet Gunsmoke you would think that Vash would their biggest concern, but instead a few towns have to worry about Gasback and his new gang going around hunting down his old friends for some pay back. Gasback leaves a large trail of destruction almost as large as the ones Vash is known for, the only problem is Wolfwood is his current bodyguard. Vash and hundreds of bounty hunters head to Gasback’s next target in hopes to cash in his bounty, with all the trouble the means Vash still manages to meet a cute girl by the name of Amelia.

Meanwhile Milly and Meryl are on a mission to guard a statue that is insured for $$5 billion double dollars more money than the insurance company can ever pay out, and from there the story takes all the twist and turns that one can expect from a Trigun episode that was extended to a feature film lenght. So now that we have established what the basic premise is and trust me I would love to go on and explain the whole story for those of you that have not had the luck to find the film as of yet but as a true fan I have to leave it as is.

As far as the animation and music goes as fans we could not have asked for anything better, and the animation still feels like the old series, when it comes to the voices I am not sure if it is the same actors because I watched it English dub. I will say that they changed the costumes a bit and they do not look bad but it took me a bit to get used to them as I kept looking at them and it was something that I could not get passed, but once I did get passed it I watched and enjoyed the story as one long lost episode.

Well I can say that as a Trigun fan I looked forward to this since I had heard they would premier this at Sakura Con last year, and let me tell you that the film did not disapoint me and lived up to the classic series. Fans will love it and new fans should feel lucky they did not have to wait for so long for something new and fresh from series, now if you will excuse me I have to go give my Angel Cannon a good stretch.

Disciplined1

make custom gifts at Zazzle

Fullmetal Alchemist: Simple People

Hey all you anime fans I just finished watching the second of two Full Metal Alchemist mini movies, Simple People. NOW SPOILER ALERT TIME!!!! Stop reading if you do not wish to know more until you see the movie itself.

Well this story is a lot more light hearted than the first, in this mini movie we see a sort of running gag that was in the series, in which Ed was always breaking his Automail and Winry always has to fix it for him. Of course this always leads to an epic Ed vs Winry fight in which Ed always loses and ends up getting a wrench or some other kind of tool thrown at his head and causing a bloody nose.

But we open the movie with Hawkeye and Winry sharing a scene from the opening of the series in which Winry tells Hawkeye that she does not like military people, Hawkeye explains that sometimes soldiers are forced to kill people for their missions to be successful. In her case she states “No one is forcing me to kill, I kill in order to protect someone important to me and I will continue to kill until his goals are met” or something in those terms.

This set Winry in a bit of confusion but at the same time understanding which we saw develop in the series and of course if you have seen the series then you know what person Hawkeye was referring to in that scene. Well as the story progresses we see Al and Ed walking around looking for souvenirs for Granny and Winry, even though Ed stated that “Winry gets nothing, nothing!” And of course he gives in and they buy her some earrings as a gift. 

This of course is where the gag starts because Ed hopes that the gifts will keep her happy and she won’t get pissed off the next time he has to go home for some automail repairs. And of course the theory is a success as we see Winry completely space out once the gift is presented to her. At this point in the story Winry had only had her left ear pierced and of course the boys give her 2 sets of earrings from each of them. She states that maybe she will just have to get the right one pierced as well. By the next scene Al and Ed are facing an assasin in an allyway and Ed’s arm gives out, after some quick action from Al and a good butt woopin from Ed the assasin is taken down and arrested. 

Al reminds Ed that Winry will be very upset when they go back home to get the arm repaired cause he was careless in the fight. Ed of course sees a jewelry store and goes in to buy more gifts. When they return home Winry has now pierced her other ear and of course upon hearing about the needed repair she is about to hit Al and he presents her with more earrings to keep her happy.

Well as Ed would be Ed he asked why the sudden change of having her ears pierced, after a wrench to Ed’s head Winry explains that when Hawkeye was visiting she noticed that she had her ears pierced and she like the way it look on her, so she decided to follow her lead. Ed claims that it’s a real simple reason to be it, she responds with life is simple.

We then cut to Hawkeye walking around Central’s shooting range and her short boyish hair cut had been let out and was now a more elegant below the shoulder length. When asked by a comrade “why the change? Is there a man in your life?” Her response was that when she visited Resembool she saw a girl with long hair and thought she would give it a try. The soldiers response was “It was that simple reason?” Hawkeye’s response is “Reasons are always simple. We are living in a simple world”

Well that entire statement puts Madonna to shame, the material girl living in a material world has now been outdone by simple people living in a simple world with simple reasons. Well that’s the story and I hope that you enjoyed it and we will cover this in AI Weekly with the crew and get some different perspectives on the movie. I hope that you will continue to visit my page and read up on more of my reviews as I bring them forward.

Overall 

4 out of 5

Fullmetal Alchemist: Blind Alchemist

Hey all you anime fans I just finished watching one of two Full Metal Alchemist mini movies, the first being Blind Alchemist. NOW SPOILER ALERT TIME!!!! Stop reading if you do not wish to know more until you see the movie itself.

Now that you have decided to stay and read the rest, here it goes. We start our story with the Elric brothers having a quiet lunch when Al reveals that rumors of an alchemist has successfully executed Human Transmutation. Of course this causes Edward to scarf down his sundae in order to locate the alchemist Judau. 

Judau is the private alchemist for the Humbergang family, the family suffered the loss of their daughter Rosalie. Grief stricken the family turned to the alchemist for help. He attempted human alchemy and paid the price by losing his eyes much like the Elric borthers lost their bodies. 

When the Elric’s find the Humbergang family they are welcomed kindly but with an underlined suspicion, as we see in a few scenes the grounds keeper and the guards give the brothers a strange look to clue us in that something is not right with this place. 

Well after a short conversation and Al being dragged off by Rosalie to “play” as Al seems to achieve, Ed talks with Judau and request that he teaches him the secret to his success in order to bring Al his body back. He is turned down due to the head of the family left it in his will that Judau will only use his alchemy for the family and no one else and may not pass on his secrets to no one else. 

Ed accepts this after some insisting, as he ventures off to look for his brother he is asked not to go into the rooms in the second floor. And in typical Ed fashion he does just that, he follows his brother and Rosalie into a room where “Rosalie” is sitting among her stuffed animals. Sadly we see a corpse like figure in a yellow dress sitting among the toys, the first Rosalie tell us that her real name is Amy and she was adopted because she resembles the original girl. 

And thats when the brothers are caught spying and instead of big showdown or attack, Rosalie’s mother explains that in order to not let Judau’s sacrifice go in vain they allowed him to think that she came back to life. The family now spends their time keeping this lie alive. Amy seems happy because to her this is heaven, she is loved, fed, clothe, and cared for. almost like a real family but she can never be part of it.

The episode has a bitter sweet ending because a man’s sacrifice did not go unrewarded and a child gets to live a life of dreams, but now the real Rosalie now resides in a shell of a body unable to move and Judau lost his sight and can no longer practice alchemy. As Ed said they are good people but no one was saved.

Well that’s it for this review and I know I will cover it with the AI Weekly gang and see what they think of it as well. Check back because I will have a review of the other short Full Metal Alchemist film Simple People.

Overall

4 out 5