, also known as Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac or simply Knights of the Zodiac (translated from the French title Les Chevaliers du Zodiaque), is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada. It was serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1985 to 1990, with its chapters collected in 28 tankōbon volumes. The story follows five mystical warriors called the Saints who fight wearing sacred sets of armor named "Cloths", the designs of which derive from the various constellations the characters have adopted as their destined guardian symbols. The Saints have sworn to defend the reincarnation of the Olympian goddess Athena (in her fictional depiction specific to the series) in her battle against other gods who want to dominate Earth.
In North America, the manga was licensed for English release by Viz Media. Since 2006, Kurumada has been publishing a sequel manga titled Saint Seiya: Next Dimension. Several spin-off manga by different authors have also been created. The manga was adapted by Toei Animation into a 114-episode anime television series which was broadcast on TV Asahi from 1986 to 1989. Saint Seiya was later continued with three original video animations released from 2002 to 2008. Four animated feature films premiered in Japanese theaters from 1987 to 1989, with a fifth in 2004 and a sixth in 2014. A live-action film adaptation premiered in April 2023.
The Saint Seiya manga had over 50 million copies in circulation as of 2022, making it one of the best-selling manga series. Both the original manga and the anime adaptation were successful internationally across Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America.
Plot
The story focuses on an orphan named Seiya who was forced to go to the Sanctuary in Greece to obtain one of the , the Bronze Cloth of the Pegasus constellation, a protective armor worn by the Greek goddess Athena's 88 warriors known as . Upon awakening his , Seiya acquires the ability to unleash the true power of a Saint through what is variously described as the "burning", "explosion", or "big bang" of his "Cosmo" (alluding to the Big Bang of the universe). He then quickly becomes the Pegasus Saint and returns to Japan to find his older sister.
Because his sister disappeared the same day Seiya went to the Sanctuary, Saori Kido, the adopted granddaughter of Mitsumasa Kido (the person who sent all the orphans to train) makes a deal with him to go to fight in a tournament called the Galaxian Wars. In this tournament, all the orphans who survived and became Bronze Saints must fight to win the most powerful Cloth: The Sagittarius Gold Cloth. If Seiya goes to compete there and wins, Saori would start a search to find Seiya's sister. The tournament is interrupted by the vengeful Phoenix Bronze Saint, Ikki, who wishes to eliminate the people who forced him to undergo his especially harsh training. He steals parts from the Sagittarius Cloth and eventually fights against the remaining Bronze Saints: Seiya, Shun (Ikki's brother), Shiryū, and Hyōga.
Upon Ikki's defeat, the Bronze Saints are attacked by the Silver Saints sent by the Sanctuary's corrupt Pope to eliminate them. When they prevail, the Bronze Saints learn that Saori is Athena's reincarnation and that the Pope once tried to kill her as a baby. The previous Sagittarius Gold Saint Aiolos saved Saori but was mortally wounded shortly after escaping and gave Saori to her adopted grandfather. Deciding to join forces with Saori, the Bronze Saints go to the Sanctuary to defeat the Pope, but upon their arrival, Saori is severely wounded by a gold arrow from a Silver Saint and will die at the end of the day. Believing the Pope may be able to heal her, the Bronze Saints go to find him. To do so, they must go through 12 temples, each one guarded by one Gold Saint (the most powerful Saints of Athena). Some of these Gold Saints are friendly, but others are just as corrupt as the Pope and take a sick pleasure in fighting the Bronze Saints. Following several battles, Seiya gets to the Pope's temple and learns that he is actually the Gold Saint Gemini Saga, who suffers from a split personality: one good and one evil. His evil side took over completely and had killed the real Pope to obtain more power. With help from his friends' Cosmos, Seiya is able to knock out Saga and use the shield from Athena's statue to heal Saori just in time. Shortly afterwards, Saga, his good side having regained control, commits suicide as a self-punishment.