Friday, November 7, 2008

Saint Seiya

It's time to go a bit old school.

Saint Seiya is a popular manga series by Masami Kurumada that originally ran during the 1980's.  It deals with warriors, "saints," who are sworn to protect the reincarnation of the Greek goddess Athena from danger.  The name of the manga comes from the main character, Seiya.  The original anime version of this series also aired in the 1980's and it's quite popular internationally (except for America).

This anime/manga had a big influence on things relevant to HFG.  Although yaoi (and yaoi doujinshi) were around before Saint Seiya, the manga/anime (with its many male characters) spawned more and helped popularize it.  In another, more subtle way, it also probably lead to the trend of populating manga/anime meant for boys with male characters that are also appealing to girls.  I'll wager that most yaoi doujinshi (fan comics) you can find feature characters from manga/anime technically aimed at males.

The original Saint Seiya manga is available from Viz under the name Knights of The Zodiac.  The anime is available from ADV Films, although it should be noted that their release is incomplete.  All but one piece of artwork is from the anime.

 
  
  
  
  
  
  
 

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