The second season of Saint Seiya Lost Canvas just finished and I believe it's high time I took both series into consideration and shared my thoughts about them. Forgive me for collapsing the two into a single entity, but once the whole show is completed most reviewers will actually do the same.
For starters, it's worth mentioning, that although the series has been up as an OVA for more than 2 years now, we are still only half-way through. This is because at the time the first episode was aired, the manga was still ongoing and only recently came to a spectacular end (at least for
...
those we have no experience with SS franchise), therefore the animators took their time to polish Lost Canvas OVA instead of come up with poinstless fillers, like most people would do. Thank you dearly for that. I believe that it's a good thing, that the series is split into 13-episode-long seasons which end at crucial moments in the series. By doing so, the studio managed to pace the title just exaclty right and omit adding extra content or re-cap episodes just to buy some time for the manga to gain the distance. However, now that the manga is finished I'm sincerely hoping that the two final seasons will be delivered sooner than the previous ones. Otherwise those will be really painfull 4 or so years...
The story may appear a bit cliched with straightforward shounen backtracks at the first glance, but if one looks just a little bit deeper it may appear that the initial thoughts are somewhat invalid or distorted by the fact, that shounen series these days offer very little and in consequence blunt our-the viewers' hopes for new franchise(s). The grieveness of this idea is multiplied by the sincere lack of anything that would only little go beyond the accepted cliches of good guys fighting against bad guys. In Lost Canvas this small glimpse is represented not so much by the plot but by the characters and their overlapping development over the course of events. The authors are not scared by the fact that they have to deal with so many people (if we only consider the Golds it's 12 people already!!) and this accounts for supreme control over the content which appears on the screen. Every character gets his or her 5 minutes (the leads of course more), most motivations are solidly backgrounded and although some situations may apper too 'captain-obvious'-like, it's still refreshing to see the characters struggle not so much to defeat the enemy, but rather to survive in the end. Of course, this appears to be rather difficult in the rough SS world (sorry for the abbreviation, it's Saint Seiya obviously :] ) and people really die when they are killed, but it's for the best: we can move with the plot and grieve for all those who lost their lives, not necessarily reminiscenting about them every moment possible in every flashback possible (Hello there Naruto bozoos!).
The characters' strength lies in their difference. Even among the Saints or the Specters you will rarely find the two alike characters. Sure, the Golds are obsessed with fighting (you can tell just by their spiky hairstyles though :> ) and the Specters are obsessed with killing the Golds (this, well, you can tell just by looking at them :] ). Both the teams fight for their own leaders though, and although I do understand why 12 men wearing gold pants are into a lovely 18-year-old goddess from the Age of Myth, I still find it difficult to accept the other side of the fence admiring a dark-haired boy who loves to lick blood from the floor or play with his puppy-of-a-cerberus.
I also like the main character - the Pegasus Saint Tenma. He's a much better folly then his 20th century counterpart - Seiya, more decisive, less annoying and definitely more intelligent. He also appears to be slightly more talented than Seiya, which comes across as being crucial in some of the battles and saves his life on occasion. As we will learn from the upcoming seasons his background is also more solid than Seiya's and includes much more twists and wicked characters. Through the 90s' series Seiya appeared to be more of an 'accident' of a Saint, than a fated warrior whose destiny is to aid Athena in her final battle against Hades. Tenma is..., well exactly this definition with the small add-on: 'Oh Gods, I carry a torch both for Sasha and her brother Alone, who, erm, happen to be the Athena and the Hades'. Aside of that, he's a perfect protagonist. He shows up occasionally, isn't omnipotent and is far from being strong, even by the end of the series. He also understands, that since he cannot bring Alone back, he will have to take him down eventually.
The other characters are also a far better counterparts to their younger brothers and sisters from Saint Seiya the original. That may be, because we live with these people and most of them serve as not only mentors for Tenma, but also a rather eloquent battle subjects. The original was, at this particular point really scarce. At least half of the Sanctuary warriors died in the initial battles against the Bronze, only to be later revived by Hades - thus we know very little about them in general.
Another kudos should belong to two other protagonists: Sasha aka Athena and Alone aka Hades. They both play their roles splendidly, while introducing a more complex twists into the plot. Although you may find Sasha to be a bit too kind and extraverted at first, her 'alter ego' - Alone, is exactly the opposite. Cruel, decisive and a bit emotional version of one of the darkest and most well-known villains in the Mythology and yet you nearly believe in the world he's pointing at: without wars, killing and cruelty. The only problem is, this also means the world without humans.
Graphically and soundwise the production nearly reaches perfection. Of course, it's an OVA, anything lower than perfection is unacceptable, but the studio put so much care and heart into making this beatifully drawn manga into something of this quality, that it cannot remain untold. Every aspect of it, starting from extra smooth animation, detailed drawings and beautiful backgrounds to nearly non-existent CGI is a work of art. There is not a single episode of a less format than it should be, and that's good. It's the kind of enjoyment many of us have been waiting for for nearly a decade. The graphics also prove, that making the series into OVA rather than regular TV show was a much better solution. By doing so, the animators could retain the original concepts and beauty of the manga without rush and with more money to spend. Action scenes are really good and some could easily become a good show-off for all those, who aim at superb quality but end up doing rubbish instead. Special attention is required when we want to discuss the way the Cloths (armors) look. It's a completely different level from the ones availbile in the old series. Although I do like the old designs, the new cloths, while retaining the spirit of the originals, are far better looking, slicker and more modern.
The music is composed by Kaworu Wada, who made the entire OST for D-Gray man. Back in that show, I loved his creations and Lost Canvas is no different. The music is for most part fantastic, climatic and well suited with the tone of the series and the development of the characters. For some scenes you don't really notice it's there but for others it's crucial and without it the moment wouldn't be even half that good.
A separate paragraph should also follow the opening and ending sequences - those are fabulous. At first, I didn't quite like them as I'm not a fan of the Japanese artists singing English lyrics. This time around, however, what I usually assume to be something weak turned out to be so good, that I tend use my utter singing abilities to perform it occasionally in bath :] (a joke). The Realm of Athena, obviously, is a living proof of the Japanese using English consciously and nearly flawlessly - and for only that, you should check it. The ending is also good, but it gets old pretty fast, on the contrary, The Realm of Athena is a neverending feat that, when pops up on my playlist, reminds me of this great series instantly.
Voice acting is definitely the weakest part of the OVA, and although the studio hired pretty well-known people to do their work as seiyuus (Hirano Aya, Hiro Shimono, Tetsuya Kakihara) some parts just don't go too well with the epicness of the scenes. I tend to like Aya-san which voices Sasha and Tetsuya-san as Tenma, though. These two seiyuus really did their best to input as many emotions into their animated characters as possible and it paid off.
It's really difficult to credit something which is still on-going, but I'll try to pass the final verdict. Lost Canvas is a v.good OVA series, mainly because it follows the manga consequently and consistently leaving aside no room for fillers or recap episodes. Therefore it borrows all the good and bad parts of the manga, while retaining the general idea intact. For a shounen it sure is refreshing, to see the series which ends in 200-- chapters rather than a thousand or so, but I still can't get this odd feeling off, that it's a sheer rip-off from the original series. Although you do get a lot of new characters, a more developed protagonists (Saoru from Kurumada's manga was very very weak) and a better development of the other Saints beside the Pegasus and his henchmen it still is a good old Saint Seiya show. Thus, if you have nothing against battles that end in one-two attacks, overpowered and shiny armors and are into beautiful animation, epic ost and memorable characters - the series is for you!
Alternative Titles
Japanese: 聖闘士星矢 THE LOST CANVAS 冥王神話 2
More titlesInformation
Type:
OVA
Episodes:
13
Status:
Finished Airing
Aired:
Feb 23, 2011 to Jul 20, 2011
Producers:
Akita Shoten
Licensors:
Discotek Media
Studios:
TMS Entertainment
Source:
Manga
Demographic:
Shounen
Duration:
24 min. per ep.
Rating:
PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
Statistics
Ranked:
#4932
2
based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity:
#2464
Members:
75,588
Favorites:
324
Available AtResources | Reviews
Filtered Results: 11 / 11
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Your Feelings Categories Jul 25, 2011
The second season of Saint Seiya Lost Canvas just finished and I believe it's high time I took both series into consideration and shared my thoughts about them. Forgive me for collapsing the two into a single entity, but once the whole show is completed most reviewers will actually do the same.
For starters, it's worth mentioning, that although the series has been up as an OVA for more than 2 years now, we are still only half-way through. This is because at the time the first episode was aired, the manga was still ongoing and only recently came to a spectacular end (at least for ... Jun 30, 2011
Is my first review, english is not my first language, don´t be harsh XDDD.
SS Lost Canvas, is like a dreamed SHONEN adaptation, nice animation, a real war, no plotkai. Shonen series should imitate lost canvas Im a classic Saint Seiya fan, but I consider Lost Canvas as the superior one. Now, first I will introduce people about saint seiya: This anime tells the story of the previous Holy War, taking place in the 18th century, 250 years before the original series, in the Saint Seiya universe. The story centers on the relation between Tenma, the Pegasus Saint and his beloved friends, Alone, who eventually becomes his greatest enemy, ... Nov 23, 2013
In this installment, picking up from where the last series leaves off, there is more at stake, more danger, and it gets progressively darker but yet exciting at the same time. Though Tenma is officially the main character, the 3 acts that this story centers more around 3 gold saints.
The 3 gold saints are Manigoldo, the Cancer saint, El Cid, the Capricorn saint, and Sisyphus, the Sagitaurrius saint. And even though their respective original series counterparts didn’t really have much screen time as lets say Saga, Mwu, or Milo did, these characters do a whole lot and demonstrate how fucking bad ass they are. ... Apr 30, 2019
Continuation of the first season, unfortunately without a third, so far.
As for the first 13 episodes, even in these there will be a high graphic quality, great characters and clashes (perhaps even better than the first part), between epic and dramatic drama of the Holy War of Lost Canvas, against the king of the underworld. STORY: 10 As mentioned before, there is the continuation of the war, which will see some very important clashes, namely those against the twin gods, Hypnos and Thanathos, two bastions of Hades' army. I don't go into details to avoid spoilers, but the development is epic, it deserves. ... Oct 22, 2020
I don't get why people voted so high for this anime...
The characters are bleak, at best, as well as the story. Stuff usually just...Happens, with like a brief explanation or 5 seconds of informing the viewer that it just happens, I guess? It seemed interesting at first, with Hades + Athena's revival, but then the show just skips 2 years...Right off the bat? Now, I've seen this being done in Naruto, Fairy Tail, One Piece (the big 3) because, well, they have A LOT of episodes and time to explain characters/plots, etc., and they can (maybe) afford it (tho I still think it's one of the ... Feb 6, 2016
It's a decent anime, since the original Saint Seiya its not that good, we can see that Lost Canvas as the main animation of the series.
The story it is like need to be, Athena VS Hades, saints vs specters, and all the fight to protect the planet Earth. The characters all pretty much have the same personality, the saints are good, and the specters are evil, i don't liked the characters, the protagonist. But there excessions, like Manigold was a really good character and that specter who fight with taurus, they are really excessions in that simple based good and evil personality. And there is too much ... Dec 27, 2016
Possa ser que pareça fanboysisse mas essa serie diferente de ômega é realmente maravilhosa pode parecer parecido com a serie original mas apesar disso ela continua a ter toques chamativos e diferentes, posso estar exagerando mas essa serie pode até competir com a série original, e oque me deixa perplexo a arte dela e melhor que ambas as séries tanto a original quanto a mais recente como o ômega e soul of gold mas oque destaca com certeza é a trilha sonora que realmente é uma das melhores que já ouvi além da dublagem ser bastante boa e combinar com a maioria dos personagens, apesar
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Oct 14, 2018
This review is for both season 1 and 2 of Lost Canvas. I watched about eight episodes of the second season so it is not a complete review, but comprehensive enough where I feel I can give my thoughts.
Season 1 and 2 are very similar to how they are executed. Saint Seiya is an extremely efficient anime. Meaning, no second is wasted and every episode has a purpose. Everything is methodically put well together, and its clear they produced this well. I just had a hard time enjoying it, although I cant rate this lower than an "8" because it is technically "good" (art, ... Jul 8, 2021
This anime is so freaking good. I watched the entire Saint Seiya series plus the movies. I love this prequel. Shiori Teshirogi did an amazing job in creating the characters and story. I really want this anime to get a third season because it is brutally underrated. More people should know about Saint Seiya in general but sadly it isn't big in the West. If you're interested in starting Saint Seiya, I really recommend The Lost Canvas because it's short and does a fantastic job in explaining the gist of the holy wars. 10/10! PS. My favorite characters are Alone, Tenma, Albafica, Sisyphus, and Manigoldo!
Dec 18, 2012
The Story
The Great holy war begin's again, the Goddess Athena must lead his warriors once more to save the world from Hades. The story begins with three characters, Tenma, Alone, and Sasha who all lived together, Tenma goes off to become a warrior of Athena called saints, Sasha finds out she is the 18th century reincarnation of Athena, Alone finds out he is the chosen vessel for Hades return. The Characters ... May 12, 2020
English version and then Spanish
General: (7.35 / 10) The truth was very high expectations with this adaptation for the seriousness that this work took in what could be seen from the first installment of Lost Canvas and it keeps having those positive points such as animation and history but I feel that unfortunately under a step in when it comes to characters and overall enjoyment. Now with this brief introduction let's take a closer look ... Story: (7/10) We continue with the journey of Tenma and company in search of the castle of Hades to stop the holy war, while the golden saints are the true protagonists of the ... |