One of my top five all-time anime series is Saint Seiya. Known elsewhere in the world as Knights of the Zodiac, the series had a huge following in Japan, Southeast Asia, and South America.
The original series from the 1980s is available on Netflix and the platform also licensed a remake Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya. Is this a piece of Netflix animation that lives up to the original? Does it top the classic?
Netflix Animation:Knights of the Zodiac- Saint Seiya
The answer to the first question is “Not exactly.” It’s an adaptation so the original storylines and characters are all used but retold differently.
As a matter of fact, Netflix’s Saint Seiya moves at a faster pace than the original and manages to either squish several episodes together or drop a lot of the exposition to move things along.
A long time ago, this would’ve turned me off since I preferred the original story. However, after watching several modern anime series that were heavy on backstory and enjoying the Dragon Ball Kai version of Dragon Ball Z, I really enjoy the pacing of Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya.
The series is brisk. Before you know it season one is done. I mean, that’s to be expected from a six-episode season with each episode being a little over 20 minutes. With this remake, Toei Animation took a CGI approach to the animation while keeping the designs anime-inspired.
The first season follows the unification of the Bronze Saints who serve the reborn Athena. Now, in the manga and the anime series, there was a lot of backstory about Seiya, the Bronze Knights he would befriend, their training in different places, and the big tournament for the Golden Cloth, worn by the elite Golden Saints.
Netflix’s Saint Seiya scraps about 80-percent of that and has the Bronze Saints meet up for a small tournament on an island. Things move along rapidly here but follow the same story progression as the original series.
Netflix Animation: Verdict- 5.5/10
The series had some backlash around the genderswap of Bronze Knight Andromeda Shun—in this series as Shaun. While I get why diehards and lovers of the classic would be upset, I dug the change. Hell, season one of this series had another character—a Silver Knight—that I couldn’t tell if they were a man or woman.
That was part of the appeal of the original Andromeda Shun but it didn’t bother me in this adaptation. After all, it’s an adaptation and not a 1:1 remake.
What bothered me the most were the fight scenes. A lot of them were pretty bland with the Knights using their special attack in battle and that being the bulk of the battle. There are some battles where the Knights mix it up but those are few and far between.
On the note of the fight scenes, I will say that it was cool to still have that anime scene where the main character finds a different way to use their special attack. That aside, I do like the animation approach.
Honestly, I thought the remake was going the old school Sailor Moon route of tomato can villains getting washed by the one special attack viewers are introduced to in the first few episodes.
Overall, season one of Knights of the Zodiac: Saint Seiya is solid. Or mid-tier. You can skip it and miss nothing but since there are two seasons you’re going to want to catch the first one. For those looking for a series to watch, there are better options presented under the Netflix animation banner.