Saint Seiya: Jashin Eris

"Saint Seiya: Jashin Eris" is the typical movie that reminds us why we love (and at the same time laugh at) the 80s classics. The plot is extremely predictable, almost as if it followed a "hero movie" manual: a villain revives, threatens the world, and the Bronze Knights must save the day. There are no surprises, but did anyone watching really expect anything different?

The animation is "ok". It's nothing that will impress those who are used to the fluidity of modern anime, but it does the job, especially considering the era. The soundtrack is a highlight, carrying the epic vibe of the series and elevating ... even the most absurd moments of the narrative.

And that's where the movie shines: in its "bad, but good" charm. Every exaggerated line, every blow shouted at the top of its lungs, and even the dramatic expressions of the characters generate a mixture of nostalgia and unintentional humor. You know you're watching something that isn't objectively "good", but you can't help but smile.

All in all, "Jashin Eris" is a celebration of the essence of Saint Seiya: heroic combat, camaraderie and lots of drama. For fans of the franchise, it's a dish full of memories. For new viewers... maybe it's just funny. And frankly, that's enough.

Esta review también está en español.

Ok, since I believe is blasphemy that Saint Seiya doesn't have the propers reviews it deserve, here I am...
Shonens tend to be long. And in that time, movies are made. Almost every time, not very good. Saint Seiya is not the exception, but in general, they're fine. The first one was: Saint Seiya: The Battle with Eris or Saint Seiya: The Legend of the Golden Apple.

Story: The bronze saints are visiting Seiya's orphanage (Ikki don't, cause he's way too cool for stuff like that). There, besides Miho (Seiya's friend) and the orphans, they find Elli (or Ellien, like it says ... in this page synopsis) a girl that, apparently, work there. Then, cause destiny said so, a huge meteor land in the Earth. In said meteor, rest Eris's spirit (inside a golden apple, actually). You don't need to be Sherlock Holmes to know what happened: the apple posses Elli, and the goddess of discord is back in the mortals world. Next, she kidnaps Athena (that happens a lot to her...). So, the bronze saints must fight the Ghost Five: Maya of Sagitta (he look a lot like Tremy, the silver saint that put the gold arrow in Athena's chest in the Sanctuary arc), Orpheus of Lyra (this can be Benetnasch Mime clone... not related with Lyra Orpheus of the Hades arc), Khristós of the Southern Cross, Jan of Scutum, and Jäger of Orion. Then a lot of fights happen and blablabla.

Animation: Like the TV series. This was made back in 87, so if you are used only to new stuff, you may think is old and primitive (or, in a more polite way, classic). If you started back in the 80/90, then is pretty good. Back then, it was f*cking awesome.

Sound: The music's epic, as always. The voices... well, since you are reading the engrish version of this review, that means you aren't from Latin America or Spain. I assume that you are going to watch the japanese dub. It's pretty awesome, you may know the seiyūs from the Hades: Chapter Santuary (In Inferno and Elysion Toei change all the voices). Soooo, good voice acting.

Verdict: Like Saint Seiya? If you do, watch the movie. It's more of the same: Saints bashing each others. It's only 45 min long, so it's not that big of a deal, but the movie is, in general, fine.
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Muy bien, como es blasfemo que Saint Seiya no tenga las review correspondientes, acá estoy yo para arreglarlo!
Los shonens suelen ser largos. Y en esos intervalos de tiempo, se hacen películas. En la mayoría de los casos, no muy brillantes. Si bien Saint Seiya no es la excepción, son entretenidas en general. La primera de todas: La Reencarnación de la diosa Ellis.

Historia: Los santos de bronce (Ikki no) van de visita al orfanato donde creció Seiya. Ahí, además de Miho y los chicos (como Akira y Makoto, o como sea que se llamen), se encuentran a Elli, una joven que según parece trabaja ahí. Después, por necesidad argumental, cae un meteorito en el que esta la manzana de la Diosa de la discordia, Eris. No hay que ser Sherlock Holmes para adivinar que pasa: la manzana posee a Elli, y Eris renace en el mundo de los mortales. Acto seguido, secuestra a Athena (como no podía ser de otra forma). A partir de ahí, los caballeros de bronce (Ikki llega más tarde, como tampoco podía ser de otra forma) deberán pelear contra los Ghost Five: Maya de Flecha (que podría ser el primo de Tremy, el tipo que le encajo la flecha dorada a Athena en la saga del Santuario), Krakus de la Cruz del Sur, Yan del Escudo, Orfeo de Lira (este es casi el gemelo de Mime de Benetnasch; no confundir con el Orfeo de Lira de la saga de Hades) y Yaga de Orión. Después hay peleas y todo eso.

Animación: La misma de la serie. Tengamos en cuenta que esto fue en el 87, por lo que si uno está acostumbrado a lo actual, por supuesto que Saint Seiya puede parecer primitivo, o al menos, “clásica”. Para los que arrancamos en los 90, la animación es muy buena, correcta, y todo eso.

Sonido: La música, épica, como siempre. En cuanto a las voces, depende de la versión que viste: la versión española es correcta para los españoles, supongo. Pero el consenso americano general es que las voces de España apestan. Después, esta la versión remasterizada mexicana, en la que Jesús Barrero y compañía están presentes :D. O al menos, los caballeros de bronce, con la excepción de Shiryu (la vos de Shun puede sonar distinta, pero es el original... solo que con más años). Los actores de doblaje hacen un trabajo notable, y la calidad de sonido es muy buena.

Veredicto: Te gusta Saint Seiya? Mira la película. Es más de los mismo, ni más, ni menos: Santos golpeándose unos a otros.
Algunos pueden pensar que al ponerle 6 le estoy dando una calificación baja (o que no me gusto), pero como seis es Fine, es justo n_n. En 45 minutos no se puede hacer mucho más.

As the first feature-length animation for the Saint Seiya franchise, the film Evil Goddess Eris is somewhat seen as a gateway representation of microcosm of what the franchise has to offer. Calling this film that, however, is the same as saying so for some of the less memorable DBZ films; at best true on a very surface level and at worst a complete misrepresentation of what makes the franchise good.

This is mainly due to both the structure of the plot, the display of its characters and how it relates to the manga at the time. Without spoiling much, the structure of the film is the ... Goddess Eris doing something that puts Athena at risk, the Bronze Saints having to fight their way through her henchmen (the Ghost Five Saints) before eventually confronting their main threat to save Athena. On the surface, this sounds like the general premise of the Sanctuary Arc that was ongoing at the time as well as the general structure of most story arcs in the main series from thereon, but the difference lies in execution. Unlike the main series, the fights are extremely short and lack any twists and turns in their combat, nor do the opponents provide any important growth for the characters as those within the main series did. Moreover, the climax of the film is a quick fix imparted by the Saggitarius Gold Cloth, and all of these poor elements would become the general structure of the 3 films to follow during the anime's original run.

On top of this, the characterisation in the film is very weak compared to the main anime with 5 Bronze Saints being boiled down to very thin and one-note caricatures of their true selves (Seiya's only defining trait is never giving up, Shiryu is the same but he takes off his Cloth, Hyoga has to get attacked with thoughts of his loved ones, Shun needs rescuing from Ikki and Ikki rescues Shun) which would unfortunately be the case for the other 3 non-canon films to follow. There's very little that can be said of their opponents either beyond gimmicks that were done better in the main series both before and after, nor do the Ghost Five seem that special when the manga at this point had transitioned beyond Silver Saints being impressive with the Gold Saints and the anime had just started doing so, leaving this as no more than a teaser of the power scale anime watchers could expect to come.

Narrative-wise, the only redeeming element would be Hyoga's bond with Eri as well as that initial plot thread being connected to the more mundane setting of the orphanage and Miho that'd sadly be almost forgotten once the 12 Zodiac Palaces conflict started. With it being apparent none of this would be revisited beyond this film, however, it's overall a waste. The one element that holds up is the art as it displays the beautiful art of the series with very fluid animation in a visual display that the weekly tv episodes couldn't always do. That said, the film certainly has a lot of good style, which is the only saving grace for its lack of substance.

Overall, Evil Goddess Eris has a decent premise and great art, but is completely vapid beyond that. If wanting an introduction to the Saint Seiya franchise or a good representation of it, just read the original manga or watch the original anime. Those who say this film serves as a taste of what the series is are fairly off the mark, with it only representing what the series could be in the hands of a writer who didn't care about making something of quality.