Saint Seiya: Meiou Hades Juuni Kyuu-hen

One thing that's appreciated with the adaptation of this story arc, which is a prelude to the Hades saga, is that it's much more faithful to the manga than the classic series, although it takes its creative liberties, of course.

The work is very well directed, with spectacular moments that made many love returning to the series after so many years.

And although the mechanics of the 12 temples arch are repeated here, it has a foundation, a reason, and it makes it feel much more exciting.

Sure, there are some things that have to be blamed on the mangaka for certain decisions he makes in this saga ... that it shows that he was deciding on the fly instead of thinking it through, but he can be forgiven.

In short, and getting to the point, this saga starts off spectacular, and closes with a flourish, so it's highly recommended.

It's...weird. The power of memory. The power that one moment in time can have over you.

I...remember, when I first watched the ninth episode of this OVA. Beyond Pride. I was a kid then, watching my favorite show ever, just before going to school.

I couldn't go that day, after watching that episode.

I bawled my eyes out that day. Cried until the evening. It was like I had seen something sacred, and knew, in the back of my mind, that I would never, ever, see anything like that ever again. And I knew I would never forget these characters.

Fuck man, it's been well over a ... decade since then, and yet I remember the names of every single one of these characters. I will never forget Aries Mu and Shion, Taurus Aldebaran, Gemini Saga and Kanon, Cancer Deathmask, Leo Aiolia, Libra Dohko, Scorpio Milo, Sagitari Aiolos, Capricorn Shura, Aquarius Camus, Pisces Aphrodite, and...most of all...I will never forget Virgo Shaka, the greatest of all saints.

Thank you for all the lessons, my teacher.

I will never forget my golden brothers.

Burn, our golden cosmo!

The first part of the Hades Arc is quite the gripping opening act after the below average Poseidon Arc the original series ended on. We get a lot of tension in the build up of the threat the Spectres hold to the Gold Saints, the drama of the Gold Saints having to fight their own allies and some good character writing in fleshing out Shaka a lot more. We also have a fair amount of payoff in seeing characters such as Mu and Dohko finally showing their capabilities after such a large amount of time building them up.
However, things start to lose steam with the ... plot twist revealed in the last two episodes which causes the majority of the arc's plot to be one giant act. I don't see it as being too damaging, given the circumstance made it understandable and the actions and statements of certain characters made it apparent things weren't what they appeared to be at surface value, but it still means the sense of loss and conflict wasn't as great. That said, whilst the plot didn't live up to it's own hype, it was overall still above average.
Character writing was also decent. Focusing more on the Gold Saints than the Bronzes was a nice change from the previous arcs that feels well deserved and makes things far more interesting than seeing the same five characters stealing the limelight. Nobody was outstanding other than Shaka and maybe Saga, plus the anime lessened one of Shiryu's highlights in the arc, and the villains were all bland but character writing was overall decent.

When it comes to superficial aspects, this series is nearly a masterpiece. Aside from the CGI, which is still far less dated than most modern anime, the art of almost every frame is outstanding in detail and the animation is as fluid as you'd expect of an OVA series. With the possible exception of the 1986 Hokuto no Ken movie, this may very well be the best looking work Toei has ever produced. The sound is also excellent and can be considered nostalgia done right. From reusing Pegasus Fantasy as a secondary opening, the reuse of the classic ost and the return of many of the original seiyuu such as Toru Furuya, this OVA was a great service to fans of the original series. Unfortunately, sound and art are nowhere near as important as plot and characters, so it won't factor much into the overall score.

In conclusion, the Sanctuary segment of the Hades Arc acts as a good introduction to the arc beyond the twist to make things typical. Unfortunately, things go downhill from here in the next two OVA series as the arc hyped itself too much to deliver.

Overall ranking - 5.5/10