Saint Seiya Lost Canvas final promo!

This is the promo for final episodes of the second season, which correspond to episodes 24 to 26.

Exciting to say the least!

Good news for Toei Animation!! Finally!!

Toei Animation reported earlier this month that its operating income from overseas copyright licensing is increasing 66% or about 500 million yen (about US$6 million) during the fiscal year ending in March of 2012, compared to the previous year. In particular, sales of character goods are growing in China and Europe.

Sales in licensing are projected to rise 66% to the range of 1 billion yen (US$12 million) in the current fiscal year. Sales of Saint Seiya T-shirts are launching in China in collaboration with a local company, and these sales are expected to lift Toei's income from licensing. Similarly, One Piece, Precure, and other franchises are being merchandised as items such as toys and stationery in Europe.

President Hiroshi Takahashi added that the domestic licensing business is off to a good start this fiscal year, but the business is still feeling the unavoidable impact of the previous year's downturn.

Source: Nikkei, ANN

I think this has mostly to do with the success of the Lost Canvas series, how it's raising the awareness of the Saint Seiya franchise, as for One Piece, I think that speaks for itself with its millions of fans around the world that buy and collect the merchandise.

Saint Seiya Lost Canvas season 2 trailer

The production company TMS Entertainment began streaming a 92-second promotional video for the fourth volume in the second video anime season based on Masami Kurumada and Shiori Teshirogi's Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas - Meiō Shinwa manga on Wednesday. The mythical action manga's story is set in the middle of the 18th century, 243 years before the first Saint Seiya storyline.



Source: ANN

Toei confirms that there's a new Saint Seiya movie in the works

But it will be a CGI one, which could mean a slap in the face for the hardcore old-school fans that hated the 3D effects in the first Ovas of Hades Sanctuary.

However, the plot could turn out interesting, if they follow the Tenkai-hen saga, and have a Final Fantasy feel to it.

The film marks the 25th anniversary of this classic cult series by Masami Kurumada.

There's even a stream trailer available on Toei's official page.

Crunchyroll will stream Saint Seiya Lost Canvas OVAs!

The first two episodes of the second season of this series are scheduled to be released on Crunchyroll on the same date as their DVD release in Japan, that is, on February 23rd.

The series will also only be available (in theory) to users in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.

New Ring ni Kakero anime premieres on April 2011

It's great to hear that Masami Kurumada's works are still making it into this media. Despite being known mostly for Saint Seiya, this author should be recognized also for B'tX and Ring ni Kakero.

Ring ni Kakero is a classic boxing anime series, whose protagonist is eerily similar to Seiya, Ryuji Takane, a young boy who looks to enter in the world junior boxing championship. But's it a story that has the trademark inspirational theme of this author.

Toei Animation company just launched a website for Ring ni Kakero 1: Sekai Taikai-hen, and it will premiere next April on Japan's Animax channel.

As a sidenote, series script supervisor Yousuke Kuroda, character designers Michi Himeno and Shingo Araki, and musical composer Susumu Ueda are reprising their respective roles from the previous anime series. However, Hiroshi Ikehata is the new director, and Keiichi Ichikawa is co-designing the characters in addition the overseeing to animation process.

Curiosities: where does the term 'yaoi' come from?

'Yaoi' can be considered an interchangeable term with 'shonen-ai', meaning 'boy's love' or any story whose protagonists are males that have great chemistry, and the possibility of becoming an actual homosexual couple is always foreshadowed.

But 'yaoi' stories go beyond that and are more explicit in their content, featuring more 'slash' situations.

Believe it or not, the term comes from Saint Seiya slash fanarts from the 80's! 'Yaoi' referred to the potential pairings between the protagonists of the series, especially with Shun of Andromeda.

And after recalling the infamous classic scene with Hyoga in the House of Libra, well...



Now you know where 'Yaoi' comes from :)

And don't forget Aphrodite of Pisces!



Yaoi situations can always potentially emerge in series where all protagonists are boys or men and they practice activities that are supposedly oh-so-masculine, like being samurais, warriors or ninjas. Just ask Naruto and Sasuke ;)

Curiosities: bishonen characters in manga and anime (2)

Bishonen characters can play both good and evil roles. Captain Aizen in Bleach can be considered an example of the latter (and if you read further the manga you will 100% agree with me),

Often their 'bishonen' quality is what adds to their mystery and mysticism, making them an encompassing character.

Yet at the same time they are aware of their beauty and use it as a weapon to deceive their enemies. No wonder samurais in ancient Japan wore lipstick and makeup to stun the enemy.

But bishonen is a term applied to those characters under 18. For a beautiful male character in his twenties or thirties (Aizen is seemingly in that age group??), the correct term would be 'bidanshi', meaning 'handsome man'.

Another classic example of a 'bishonen' character would be Shun from Saint Seiya:

(nosebleeds!)

Despite people understimating him during the course of the whole series, Shun proved that he was worthy of being an Athena Saint, if not one of the strongest around, just that he doesn't really like to fight.

Given the influence of the androgynous looks from Glam rock bands of the 70's and the 80's, the 'bishonen' archetype was consolidated as a pretty guy with long hair, big eyes of an unusual color, a slender, skinny physique, and feminine features, of course.


This is further proved in the Kurama character from Yu Yu Hakusho.

Bishonen characters are never afraid of being who they are, but rather embrace it, as they are basically males who embrace their feminine side, and in contrast it makes their masculinity stand out more, in my opinion.

Saint Seiya: is Kagaho of Bennu the previous encarnation of Ikki of Phoenix?

With the great success of The Lost Canvas, the prequel series of Saint Seiya with an original spin has continued to gather the excitement of fans, old and new alike.

There has been quite a controversy over the web on the matter of the coincidences and similarities between Kagaho and Ikki.

The imagery is obvious and speaks for itself:

Having almost the same armor, the same looks, their renegade and reckless attitude.

The author, Masami Kurumada, and the co-author of the Lost Canvas series, Shiori Teshirogi, have neither confirmed or denied if Kagaho is in fact, Ikki's previous life.The constelation of Bennu represents the Egyptian myth version of the Phoenix, the celestial star of Violence, need I say more??

But as we know, mangakas will always prefer to leave things open.

Bokkuko (tomboy) characters in anime

These types of characters can be quite common in some shonen manga. Bokkuko girls are basically tomboys that serve as sidekicks and can also play the role of the female heroine along with their hero counterpart.

They can be physically slim, with short hair, skinny and flat chested, yet also have particular skills that you would normally expect from their male counterpart. (Shonen manga can be a bit mysoginistic when it comes to delimiting specific roles by gender, so don't shoot the messenger here XD)

At least we know that these delimitations by gender are changing.

Good examples would be Tatsuki Arisawa from Bleach, or Tenten and Sakura from Naruto.

These type of characters have evolved into strong female characters that don't necessarilly have to be the less appealing, quite the contrary, in fact.

Look at Yuzuriha from Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas. In the original manga, she would have just been another side character as Marin and Shaina with little to almost no development. But she has a key role in helping her friends to achieve all the misions through Hades' Inferno.

This week's featured AMV! (7)

Saint Seiya will remain a classic in anime culture and the Tenkai Hen movie is an undeniable proof of that. The outstanding quality of that movie provides plenty of material for really neat and inspired AMVs such as this one:



Enjoy!

Andromeda Shun (part 1)

Being a controversial and an ambiguous character at the same time, Andromeda Shun has his fans as well as his detractors (the infamous scene in the house of Libra with Hyoga comes to mind!).

Somewhat effeminate in appearance, Shun has always been underestimated, but it is no wonder since it's what you would normally expect of a bishounen or bishie character (Japanese for 'beautiful boy').

Shun, unlike his brother Ikki, is calm, sweet and does not like fighting. However, he is one of the few Saints that has a physical weapon as a primary mean of attack.

But while the story of Saint Seiya progressed, Shun was showing his tough side and he was determined to protect Saori (Athena) no matter what, mastering his maximum technique 'Nebular Storm' (Storm Nebular).

The Nebular Storm is one of the most impressive techniques seen in the series, and consists of a cosmic wind that paralizes the enemy, that in a matter of just seconds can become a brutal storm that destroys everything in its path.

That's how Shun was able to finish Aphrodite of Pisces, using this technique as a last resort before he was struck with the White Rose (White Rose Dead).

Like his peers, Shun is an orphan and was selected to train as a Saint. He was initially meant to train at the Fire Island, most known as the Death Island, but Ikki took his place so that his brother had better luck on the Island of Andromeda.

Basic Facts

Height: 1.65 meters.
Weight: 51 Kg
Date of Birth: 9 September (Virgo), the same date that Hades was born, making him the perfect candidate to be his host, as well as being the human with the purest soul.
Blood Type: A
Source: Japanese
Teachers: Daidalos in the manga, and Albiore of Cepheus in the anime, given that the creators thought that it was more accurate, because in Greek mythology, Cepheus was the father of Andromeda, whom he gave in sacrifice to Poseidon.

Shun de Andromeda (parte 1)

Siendo un personaje controversial y ambiguo a la vez, Shun de Andromeda ha tenido sus fans así como sus detractores (la famosa escena en la casa de Libra con Hyoga!!) Y no solo en el fandom de Saint Seiya sino dentro de la misma historia del manga también.

A lo largo de todo el manga, Shun ha sido subestimado por su apariencia algo afeminada, y es que no es para menos, como personaje bishie o bishounen (en japonés se traduce como 'muchacho hermoso').

Shun, al contrario de su hermano Ikki, es tranquilo, dulce y no le gusta pelear. Sin embargo, es de los pocos caballeros que posee un arma física como su principal medio de ataque.

Pero mientras la historia de Saint Seiya fue avanzando, Shun fue mostrando su lado más rudo y determinado por proteger a Saori (Athena), llegando a dominar su máxima técnica 'Tormenta Nebular' (Nebular Storm) con singular maestría.

El Nebular Storm es una de las técnicas más impresionantes vistas en la serie, y consiste en un viento cósmico paralizante del enemigo, que en cuestión de apenas segundos, y a voluntad, puede convertirse en una brutal tormenta que arrasa con todo a su paso.

Asi fue como Shun pudo acabar con Afrodita de Piscis, como último recurso antes de que le alcanzara la Rosa Blanca (White Dead Rose).

Al igual que sus compañeros, Shun es huérfano y fue seleccionado para entrenar como caballero. Inicialmente le había tocado entrenar en la Isla del Fuego o Isla de la Muerte, pero Ikki tomó su lugar para que su hermano tuviera una mejor suerte en la isla de Andrómeda.

Datos básicos

Estatura: 1.65 mts.
Peso: 51 Kg
Fecha de Nacimiento: 9 de septiembre (Virgo), la misma fecha en que nació Hades, lo que lo hace el perfecto candidato para ser su host o cuerpo, aparte de tener el alma más pura.
Grupo Sanguíneo: A
Origen: Japonés
Maestro: Daidalos en el manga y Albiore de Cefeo en el anime, ya que a los creadores les pareció más preciso darle este nombre, pues en la mitología griega Cefeo era el padre de Andrómeda, a quien dio en sacrificio ante Poseidón.

(fuente: SNK-Seiya y Enciclopedia Saint Seiya Taizen)