Saint Seiya: Tenkai-hen Josou - Overture

After the Saints' victory against Hades, Seiya is left wounded and motionless in a wheel chair with no possible chance of recovery. Athena's sister Artemis, the Virgin Goddess of the Moon and twin sister of Apollo, makes an elaborate proposal - to restore Seiya's physical health in exchange for the supremacy of Sanctuary. Athena accepts and Artemis and her "Knights of the Sky" swiftly take control of Sanctuary. Now Seiya and his fellow Bronze Saints combat the forces of Zeus to regain their homeland but it will not be so easy. Bronze Saints Hydra Ichi and Unicorn Jabu, and Silver Saint Ophiuchus Shaina have join forces with Artemis and Apollo.

(Source: ANN)

Phoenix, Ikki Main

Hori, Hideyuki Japanese

Dragon, Shiryuu Main

Suzuoki, Hirotaka Japanese

Pegasus, Seiya Main

Furuya, Toru Japanese

Andromeda, Shun Main

Horikawa, Ryo Japanese

Cygnus, Hyouga Main

Hashimoto, Kouichi Japanese

Kido, Saori Main

Han, Keiko Japanese

Libra, Douko Supporting

Horiuchi, Kenyuu Japanese

Aries, Shion Supporting

Tobita, Nobuo Japanese

Ophiuchus, Shaina Supporting

Koyama, Mami Japanese

Eagle, Marin Supporting

Yamamoto, Yuriko Japanese

Yamauchi, Shigeyasu Director

Yokote, Michiko Script

Duclos, Didier Script

Del Greco, Marcelo Script

Reviews

Jan 19, 2021

Lhumberto49

Recommended

This movie is heavily criticized by the Saint Seiya fandom, however to be fair is a very competent work. The story happens after the Hades arc, and it shows very well the consequences of these events: the gold saints were punished and turned into a statue, Seiya now is in a wheelchair, in a semi-vegetative condition. This was a smart decision, because it shows that conflicts have consequences, what was not done in other sagas of the franchise, in which the protagonists simply win without side effects or losses.
Also, the saints do not have the same faith and confidence in their powers, what is very ... realistic, since the golden saints are absent and Seiya has not the same power from before. All this contributes to create a much more real scenario, in which you really feel that maybe the protagonists will loose in the end. Other factor that makes this have sense is that Athena apparently abandoned Earth, which is now in the control of Artemis.
In terms of animation the movie is very good: the colors that were choosed combine perfectly with the idea of a Sky saga, the action is fluid and dynamic, and more importantly: the art is capable of expressing the emotions and feelings that the story needs.
In regards to the theme it is coherent with Saint Seiya as a franchise: the mortals challenging the gods, what is very well developed, with Seiya regaining his power until he can face the gods and angels. The end is a controversial one, but I personally love it: it has impact, it is strong, and it expresses the thematic that was developed not only in the entire movie, but also in the original series. In conclusion, Overture offers a version more realistic, thematically coherent and well animated than the majority of the series, being in my opinion the highest point of the Saint Seiya franchise.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Oct 9, 2010

rahvii

Mixed Feelings

First half of the movie is extremely boring. The story most of the time is very abrupt, as if was skipping all the time, not that it matters because the series never had a super complicated story, but still it's annoying. The character designs are what you expect from Saint Seiya, but the backgrounds and most of the animations are catastrophic. Really, this movie was a very low budged one. The music is almost nonexistent, it's as if they forgot completely that the movie should actually have some of it.

When the movie hits the Icarus vs Seiya part it slowly starts to build up ... to the more emotive shonen Saint Seiya real deal. Suddenly everything it's decent and makes you remember what you have been following this franchise for such a long time. Simple a clean shonen it it's purest form. Still love it!. Thanks to that the movie gets a refresh and its saved from failing miserably as being the worst Saint Seiya material ever released.

Conclusion, if you love Saint Seiya, at first will be a bit slow but you will get rewarded. If you are not a fan please avoid it. If you haven't seen anything of Saint Seiya just try the Series first.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Dec 4, 2011

Alpharon

Not Recommended

Esta review también está en español.

Note: this is about the Heaven saga, the last part of Saint Seiya, so there are some spoilers of the previous sagas (but not for this movie), so please, have that in mind.

With the positive opinions the Hades Saga (chapter Sanctuary) received, Masami Kurumada, Saint Seiya's creator, finally got the OK to make the final stage of the series, that one that hadn't even been in the manga: the heaven part. For the very first time, we would receive an adaptation of the Olympus war, that final showdown we only heard rumors about. The idea was that this movie would ... be the kickoff for a few movies, or a continuation in the OVA format (like the whole Hades project, or Lost Canvas). However, that didn't happen: Overture was a failure, and several heads were cut. Why? Let's see.

Overture's story begin showing us that, at the the end of the battle against Hades, Seiya is quite injured, and now is confined to a wheelchair, under Athena's care. While the Pegasus knight was resting in a semi-vegetable state, is attacked by the angels, the saints of the goddess Artemis. Like all the gods in the past, Artemis comes to the mortal land to tell her sister that the humanity is corrupted and must be eradicated for their insolence. Athena gives the control of the earth to her sister, and even tells her that she will sacrifice her life in exchange for forgiveness for mankind in general, and his saints in particular. Artemis accepts the request of her sister and prepares its execution. Since that is outrageous, Seiya (which miraculously healed), Shiryu, Hyoga, Shun and Ikki (which for a change, arrives on time) go to the Sanctuary (now under the control of the goddess of hunting) to fight Icarus, Theseus and Odysseus, and ultimately, Artemis AND her brother, Apollo.

What's wrong with the story? Despite being quite similar to the one in the third movie (Legend of Crimson Youth), things are setted in a weird, confusing way. For a spoiler thing, I can't give too much info, but the ending is unintelligible. There isn't one ending scene, no... there are three: one at the end (let's say, the proper ending), then black and another final scene (totally different from the first one), and after the credits, one more scene! A total madness! No need to say that one of the heads that rolled was the one from the director, that one fella who decided this...

Another problem here are the characters. In this film, the Athena saint's are like... crushed mentally. Basically, they don't believe they can win the battle, but they fight anyways cause they feel they owe it to their goddess. They look sad and angry sometimes. That's unbelievable, since in the past, this people defeated 4 Gods! And now they don't believe in themselves? What the hell! Seeing the bronze knights fighting resigned, without their typical belief, is something I find very, very shocking, especially if we consider that one of Seiya's powers is getting up no matter what happens (and Ikki can't die, no matter what xD).

The visuals are... spectacular. Seriously, it's incredible. Not even the most passionate critic could say anything wrong about them. The Sanctuary is different (argumentally justified), but it looks amazing, specially the flooded parts (and believe me, there's water everywhere!). The character design is superb. The angels have a similar vibe to the Corona Saints, Artemis looks the way she acts (cold as ice), and Apollo is awesome (his hair looks like fire. That's way too cool).

Sound time. Although the seiyuus did a great job, everyone, and i mean absolutely everyone, were fired after this movie because Toei / Kurumada said that it did not sound like in the 80's (didn't sound like 25 years ago? That's crazy!). The soundtrack follows the lines of quality of the series (was made by the same person n_n), and it was a nice touch that the ending (Never) is sang by Make Up, the group that give us Pegasus Fantasy and Blue Forever.

So, at the technical level this is an amazing work, but it fails in the most important things, the plot and characters. This movie is boring. A lot. At first is pretty dense, the fights are meh (pretty serious deal in a shonen... not even an enemy for each bronze saint, since this is 3 vs 5), and the ending is pure nonsense. The final product was so bad that, shortly after the movie premiered, Kurumada made Next Dimension, a new manga that would work as the official continuation of the Hades saga. That means Overture was removed from the Saint Seiya canon, and now is just like the other films.
Anyways that's about it. I can't really recommend this, but I know every true Saint Seiya fan will see this eventually. At least is pretty in the outside...
And remember, thanks to this film, we don't have the original seiyuus anymore!
--------
Nota: esto trata de la saga del cielo, cronológicamente la última parte de Saint Seiya, por lo que hay spoilers leves sobre las sagas anteriores (pero no de la película misma), así que por favor, léase con discreción.

Aprovechando las críticas positivas cosechadas por los OVAs de la saga de Hades (capitulo santuario), Masami Kurumada, el creador de Saint Seiya, finalmente recibía el OK para animar la etapa final de la serie, aquella que ni siquiera había sido plasmada en el manga: la saga del cielo. Por primera vez recibiríamos una adaptación de aquello de lo que solo habíamos escuchado rumores, de esa batalla definitiva contra los dioses del Olimpo. La idea era que esta película sea el puntapié inicial para que de una vez y por todas la historia de Saint Seiya sea concluida, ya sea con otras continuaciones cinematográficas, o con series de OVAs (como la saga de Hades, o Lost Canvas). Sin embargo, esto no terminaría sucediendo: Overture fue un fracaso, y rodaron varias cabezas.

La historia de Overture nos muestra que, al final de la batalla contra Hades, Seiya está en silla de ruedas, hecho bastante mierda, y es cuidado por Athena. Mientras el caballero de Pegaso descansaba tranquilamente en estado semi-vegetal, es atacado a traición por los ángeles, los santos de la diosa Artemisa. Al igual que todos los dioses, Artemisa viene a la tierra a decirle a su hermana que la humanidad esta corrompida, y que debe ser eliminada por su insolencia. Athena decide entregarle el trono de la tierra y su vida a su hermana, a cambio de que perdone a la humanidad en general, y a sus santos en particular. Artemisa acepta la petición de su hermana y prepara su ejecución. Como esto no puede quedarse así, Seiya (que se cura milagrosamente) junto a Shiryu, Hyoga, Shun e Ikki (que para variar, llega a horario) se dirigen al Santuario (que ahora está bajo el control de la diosa de la cacería) para enfrentarse a Icaro, Teseo, Odiseo y de ser necesario, también Artemisa y Apolo.

Que es lo que está mal con la historia? A pesar de recordar bastante a la de la tercera película (la de los santos escarlata), las cosas están planteadas de forma bastante confusa. Por una cuestión de spoilers no puedo dar detalles, pero el desenlace es inentendible. No hay una escena final, si no 3: una al final (lo que sería el final de la película), después negro y otra escena final (totalmente distinta a la anterior), y después de los créditos, otra más! Un delirio total! Demás está decir que una de las cabezas que rodaron fue la del director, que fue el que decidió esto...

Otro problema son los personajes. En esta película, los santos de Athena están como... abatidos. Básicamente, no creen que pueden ganarle a algo tan descomunal como dos dioses, pero pelean por que sienten que se lo deben a su diosa. Esto es una estupidez monumental, dado que en la batalla de Hades vencieron a tres! Ver a los caballeros de bronce luchando resignados, sin su convicción típica es algo que me resulto muy, muy chocante, más si tenemos en cuenta que uno de los poderes de Seiya es levantarse sin importar lo que pase (y el de Ikki es no morir. Literalmente).

El apartado visual... es espectacular. En serio, es increíble. Ni siquiera el más enardecido detractor podría criticarlo. El santuario esta cambiado (argumentalmente justificado), pero se ve realmente muy bien, especialmente las partes inundadas (por que hay agua por todos lados!). El diseño de personajes es soberbio, y los ángeles tienen un aire similar a los santos de la corona. Artemisa se ve cómo actúa, fría como el hielo, y Apolo es imponente (su pelo parece que se prende fuego, y todo).

Sonido. A pesar de que los seiyuus hicieron un gran trabajo, todos, absolutamente todos fueron despedidos después de esta película, dado que Toei/Kurumada decían que ya no sonaban igual que antes (que no sonaban igual que hace 25 años? Qué locura!). Eso por el lado de los japoneses, por Latinoamérica recibimos esta película junto a las cuatro clásicas, con las voces originales, en un trabajo descomunal n_n. La banda sonora sigue las líneas de calidad de la serie (hecho por la misma persona, de hecho), y fue un buen detalle que el ending (Never) sea interpretado por Make Up, el grupo que canto Pegasus Fantasy y Blue Forever.

Así que bueno, por lo dicho anteriormente, a nivel técnico esta es una gran producción, pero falla a nivel argumental, y lo peor de todo: es aburrida. Mucho. El principio es bastante pesado, las peleas son meh (ni siquiera había un rival para cada caballero...), y el final es insólito. El resultado final fue tan malo que, al poco tiempo de estrenada la película, Kurumada creó Next Dimension, un nuevo manga (con la publicación mas errática de la historia del comic japonés) que sería oficialmente la continuación de la saga de Hades. Eso quiere decir que Overture fue sacada del canon de Saint Seiya, para simplemente ser como cualquiera de las otras cuatro películas. Ah, y gracias Overture, nos jodiste a los seiyuus originales!

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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