Saint Seiya Plus

Welcome to Saint Seiya Plus, the place to have more fun with Saint Seiya!!

[Complete Edition Scan Source: Aries Mu(Philip Ho)
Translations, Image Restore+Cleanings, Texts: Aries Mu(Philip Ho)]

Plus #21-31

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21. Argor Defeated[2 Color]
22. 7Th Sense[Full Color], 2nd Big Pic[2 Color] , Death Mask, Milo[Manga Only]
23. Seiya vs Aldebaran[2 Color]
24. Big Bang vs Aldebaran[2 Color]
25. Wolf, Cygnus Diagrams, Camus, Shura, Shun[Manga Only]
26. Shiryu vs Death Mask[2 Color]
27. Death Mask Defeated!![2 Color]
28. Phoenix, Pegasus 2 Diagrams ,Brain-washed AIolia!![2 Color]
29. Seiya vs Hyoga Poster, Ikki and Brothers[Manga only]
30. Shaka Vs[Full Color]<
31. Shaka Attacks!![Full Color]

Discussions #11-20

So Many Dragons!!

The constellation Draco represents a Dragon, in fact a lot of them. First there is the dragon Hercules killed to get the Golden Apples. Afterward, Hera put the Dragon up in the sky near Libra Zodiac. It's not an accident that Shiryu's master and zodiac is Libra. Another dragon is Ladon which Athena defeated. This dragon had 100 heads. Dohko's skill probably was inspired by this dragon. In Chinese Constellations, the stars of Draco were part of 紫微垣[Purple Forbidden Enclosure]. These stars represent the Emperor's Palace in the heavens which ruled surpreme over all. The kanji 覇[Surpreme] in Shiryu's and Dohko's skills probably could be inspired by that. Unlike western dragons which most saw as evil, Chinese Dragons are consider to be wise. It is no accident that Shiryu and Dohko have these attributes. Other dragons for the Draco constellation are the one killed by Cadmus who guarded a spring and a dragon killed by the Argonauts which guarded the Golden Fleece.

Natasia

Natassia or Natasia is a variation of the name, Natasha. The meaning of Natasha is "birthday". This connects to the Christian themes of the character of Hyoga and the fact that the Swan Constellation is also called, the 'Northern Cross'. In Black Chapter, the Northern Cross Rosary protected Hyoga from dying or you can also say when Hyoga returned to confront Ikki again, it is a metaphor for a resurrection. The resurrection theme is used again in 12 Palaces Chapter.

Dead Bull?

Aldebaran is the character that keeps dying and then it turns out "Oh he didn't really die, Haha...!" This is a reference to the mythology of the Taurus constellaton. Osiris was killed by Set and cut to 14 pieces. Isis, Osiris' wife found most of the pieces and resurrected him. They both became Gods of the Underworld. In Hades Sanctuary OVA, you can see an original scene where Aldebaran, Aiolia and Mu had a meeting with 3 girls. The staff said that it was inspired by myth of the constellation. The first one is the Bull God Bacchus. In his festivals, he would be surrounded by dancing girls and there would be orgies. The second myth is the Pleiades or the 7 Sisters. They were the daughters of Atlas and Pleione and they were persued by Orion intent on molesting them. The 3rd myth is the Hyades or the Rainy Ones. The stars that represent them were an ill omen to farmers because they were a sign storms and heavy rain are coming.

Samurai Sword Cloth

As many fans already noticed, Masami puts a lot of Samurai concepts and ideas in his manga. For Saint Seiya, it is true also, mainly the Cloth. The story of the birth of the Samurai sword tells that Amakuni Yasutsuna and his son forged swords that were very easily broken in battle. The Emperor demanded they make better swords. After a divine dream, they were able to create a new sword which became the Samurai sword that was strong and did not break at all. A legend in the Samurai sword making, Masamune, actually used martensitic crystals to create his Samurai swords. The crystals were said to resemble the stars in the night sky. All of this can be the inspiration for the Hypermyth info telling how the Cloth of the Saints came to be.

During the 100 years war of Muromachi period, mass produced swords were needed. The skills of making swords deteriorated. Even after the war ended, the sword forging quailty was not on the level of those first Golden Age of Samurai Swords. With the Samurai and their kind outlawed and destroyed by the Japanese government and the army adopting military weapons like guns and canons, sword making was left to only a few. All this can serve as inspiration of the ideas for the Lost Mu Alchemists and Black Cloths. Furthermore, there were stories of Samurai swords made by the crazy sword smith Muramasa, his swords would make the holder of the sword crave blood and violence and murder. A lot of his swords were actually sealed and forbidden to be used by the Samurai. The inspiration of Ikk's master, Guilty, and the Berserkers of Ares mentioned in the Hypermyth can come from these forbidden swords.

Scorpion Camus, Aquarius ???

Scorpion Milo was originally intended to be Hyoga's Master but one thing fans have notice is that the name Camus fits perfectly for Hyoga's Master but Milo don't really fit, however we can't totally dismiss it. First, the name is inspired by Milos Island, the place where the statue, Venus de Milo, was discovered. In history, during the time of the Peloponnesian War where Athens was warring with Sparta. Milos Island stayed neutral. This is very like Milo's character. Yes, he did attack the boys but when he realized Saori could be Athena, he let Hyoga pass.

The name Camus obviously was inspired by the French philospher, Albert Camus. A lot of people associate Camus with Existentialism but he himself didn't like that association. What's more important for him was the idea of Absurdism, to find meanings in things is absurd because in the end you can't find any meaning. He used the myth Sisyphus to illustrate that. Sisyphus was given an eternal punishment of pushing up a rock on a hill but just about when he was able to accomplish the task, he doesn't have enough strength and the rock rolls back down to its starting place. For the character Camus, this is the way he sees Hyoga's behavior where the Cygnus Saint would bring flowers to his dead Mama. No matter how many flowers, how many times he sees his Mama, she won't come back to him. To keep doing it, it's absurd. He must let go.

Another thing for fans to wonder if Masami stayed true to his original intention what would have been the plot for Hyoga? If Master Milo made Hyoga lose his weakness. Would the Aquarius Saint be the final test to prove Hyoga is a real Saint that can defeat any opponent? What about the name? What would the name of the Aquarius Saint be if not Camus? If we follow the Bibical theme in names like Isac and Jacob, how about Aquarius Yeshua? :D Would he have Water Skills like ND's Suikyou?

Cancer Ghost Fire

Fans who have read on Cancer already know the inspiration of his Skill, however, that skill is actually a combination of 2 ideas. For the Chinese, Praesepe, the 50 star cluster is part of the Ghost Mansion constellation and they called it Pile-Up Corpse or Pile-Up Corpse Air[積尸氣]. The surrounding stars around Praesepe were seen as a ghost on a wagon. The other part of the skill is the concept of Ghost Fire[鬼火]. For the Chinese, seeing Ghost Fire was an ill omen and also it is a sign that the Chinese version of the Grim Ripper was there to collect souls. Death Mask described Praesepe as the hole for earthly souls to rise up to Heaven. It is actually the opposite. For the Mesopotamians, Cancer was the gateway for souls to come back to live as another incarnation.

Almost Hell

Although the West don't have a concept like the East where there's a place that exists between the living world and the world for the afterlife, there are examples of concepts that come close. We have people with near death experiences who say they went to a place where they saw their pasted family members welcoming them to Heaven or telling them it's not time yet. There's also the concept of Limbo, not necessary a place but a state of being. The entrance to hell is also relevant. Heroes like Hercules and Orpheus enter hell and came back by their own will. In Roman myth, they saw the volcano Solfatara as the entrance to hell. This might be why Masami drew Yomotsu Hirasaka as more of a volcano than a tunnel. In Japanese myth, the tunnel to hell was sealed with a giant rock to prevent the dead from coming back to the living world.

Lion Maddness and Anger

Leo Constellation represents the Nemean Lion killed by Hercules as one of the 12 Labours. The purpose of the 12 Labors was the way for Hercules to attone for his sins. Hercules was driven mad by Hera and in that madness he killed his family. In Saint Seiya, Aiolia being brain-washed by Saga and until he kills someone, his brain-washing won't go away relates to this myth.

In another Labor Hercules had to kill the Hydra. Hera sent a crab(Cancer) to aid the Hydra but instead it made Hercules even angrier and Hercules suceeded killing the Hydra with the aid of Iolus. When Shiryu fought Deathmask, DM made him angry by making Shunrei fall. Shiryu thought she was killed. With the help of the Will of Cancer Gold Cloth, Shiryu succeed to defeat DM. Also, the idea of torn lovers relates to Leo constellation, too, with the myth of Pyramus and Thisbe. They were forbidden to love. The Nemean Lion caught Thisbe's veil. Seeing this, Pyramus thought Thisbe was dead and he killed himself with his own sword. When Thisbe discovered Pyramus's body, she killed herself with the sword too.

Phoenix Hell Cup

Many already know the myth of the Phoenix and in Japan it actually confuses the Phoenix with another bird Garuda. So the myths of Garuda is very relevant. In one myth Garuda's mother was imprisoned in the Underworld. He had to steal the Moon from Heaven to get her back. In other versions, he had to steal a Cup of Amrita, the food of immortality. All this relates to Ikki and Suikyou's stories revolving around their brothers.

In the Hypermyth, it is said that no one wore the Phoenix Cloth before Ikki and the one who can wear it has to bring out the power of the Phoenix Cloth. Ikki uses his Cosmo and the Cloth can resurrect but interestingly enough for the God Cloth, the other 4 boys had to burn their Cosmo but all Ikki needed was to touch Athena's Blood. This is an obvious clue that the so called Self Restoration Ability is somehow related to either the materials or the Divine part of the Kamui or God Cloth. The Phoenix Cloth must have some of that material or the divine. Will ND one day reveal the reason for all this? For now, it's up to fans to decide on themselves what this is all about.

Close to Hints

Hades chapter already revealed the reason why Shaka is Close to God but in Angel Lore the Angels closest to God are the Seraphim. The fact that Shaka talks to Buddha or Gods all the time is an obvious hint that that's more to his story. Shaka is also considered the Reincarnation of the Buddha. In Buddhlist myth, Shaka would be considered a Bodhisattvas. They are those human beings who has already found the way to join with the Buddha, but helps other people to do it first. Will Heaven Chapter reveal the reason of this hint?

If you read the Hypermyth, it says Shaka inherited the knowledge concerning the Holy Wars. Now most fans would think Dohko's the guy for that but maybe Dohko knows alot about Hades and the previous Holy War like Shion because they live through it or Shion being the Pope told him alot of stuff. Dohko might not know a little less about other Holy Wars. If Shaka is a reincarnation of his previous selves, this could be a hint that he can access the memories of his previous selves therefore helping the fight. Will this hint be revealed in Heaven chapter or other chapters about other Holy Wars?

Virgo Under Gods

It is not an accident that Shaka, Athena, Shun, Pandora are all Virgos. The Virgo constellation is related Goddesses and the Underworld. Astraeia is the Goddess of justice and the Libra Constellation next to Virgo are her scales. She lived on land with everyone in the Golden Age of Myth but decided to leave and live in Heaven when humans became more base and violent. Shaka's personality toward others might be inspired by Astraeia.

The characters Pandora and Shun in Hades Chapter draws their inspiration from the myth of Peresephone. Demeter's daughter, Peresephone was a maiden in Heaven when one day she decided to visit the land. She was so beautiful that Hades came from the Underworld and stole her as his bride. Demeter, goddess of the harvest was so saddened, nothing grew on Earth. Zeus made an arrangement so that Peresephone can spend half of the year on the land and the other half in the underworld.

Another goddess associated with the constellation is Ishtar, the goddes of sex and war. With her lover Tammuz dead, Ishar demanded to enter the Underworld but she had to pass through many gates. By ancient law, as she passes one gate, she has to take off one piece of her clothing. When finally arrives she is naked. Athena going into the Underworld without her Cloth and Seiya/Saori dying themes are all inspired by this myth.

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