I am wholly convinced that Soul of Gold's origin can be traced to some story some TOEI executive wrote as a teenager. The crazy attention to plot details from the original series and return to one of the least popular arcs and settings of the show reek of wish fulfillment. On top of that, Soul's plot reads like a "Best hits" of franchise tropes and its animation is sometimes absolutely ridiculous.
And you know what? That is perfectly fine with me. For everything the show lacks in terms of shine and substance, it makes up for in spirit. Saint Seiya's always been a story about loyalty and this nails that. The misguided God Warriors actually come across as more believable this time (well, the good ones) since their leader is doing something that seems beneficial, while the Gold Saints fortunately know better, taking action to save the world even when nobody is really leading them.
The Saints themselves get about as much of a fair shake as you can hope for in such a short series. Most notably, Aldebaran gets to finally escape his reputation for being a punching bag for strong villains and Deathmask and Aphrodite do some serious heavy lifting to help save the day. Yeah Aphrodite doesn't stick around long but he makes the most of his time and Deathmask's character development is totally fanfiction-y, but the payoff when he beats Fafner is seriously worth it and in-character for a Deathmask who's become a better person.
The show also does a great job avoiding Saint Seiya's greatest flaws: bad pacing and always somehow letting the heroes defeat demonstrably stronger villains in a single hit when they were suffering beatdowns prior to that. The Gold Saints are treated as the rightful powerhouses they are, with the villains weaseling out ways to tip the scales in their favor, and the fights go at a great clip. Plus, the show still keeps the tension by having Gold Saints fall left and right in situations that still make sense, which mitigates the fact that in full groups, the Gold Saints outnumber the God Warriors nearly 2 to 1.
If you're expecting an amazing, thought-provoking experience you're looking at the wrong show. Familiarity helps a lot with this show, but if you want something fun, short, and action-packed you can't go wrong with Soul of Gold.
Saint Seiya: Animated Fanfiction Edition!
I am wholly convinced that Soul of Gold's origin can be traced to some story some TOEI executive wrote as a teenager. The crazy attention to plot details from the original series and return to one of the least popular arcs and settings of the show reek of wish fulfillment. On top of that, Soul's plot reads like a "Best hits" of franchise tropes and its animation is sometimes absolutely ridiculous.
And you know what? That is perfectly fine with me. For everything the show lacks in terms of shine and substance, it makes up for in spirit. Saint Seiya's always been a story about loyalty and this nails that. The misguided God Warriors actually come across as more believable this time (well, the good ones) since their leader is doing something that seems beneficial, while the Gold Saints fortunately know better, taking action to save the world even when nobody is really leading them.
The Saints themselves get about as much of a fair shake as you can hope for in such a short series. Most notably, Aldebaran gets to finally escape his reputation for being a punching bag for strong villains and Deathmask and Aphrodite do some serious heavy lifting to help save the day. Yeah Aphrodite doesn't stick around long but he makes the most of his time and Deathmask's character development is totally fanfiction-y, but the payoff when he beats Fafner is seriously worth it and in-character for a Deathmask who's become a better person.
The show also does a great job avoiding Saint Seiya's greatest flaws: bad pacing and always somehow letting the heroes defeat demonstrably stronger villains in a single hit when they were suffering beatdowns prior to that. The Gold Saints are treated as the rightful powerhouses they are, with the villains weaseling out ways to tip the scales in their favor, and the fights go at a great clip. Plus, the show still keeps the tension by having Gold Saints fall left and right in situations that still make sense, which mitigates the fact that in full groups, the Gold Saints outnumber the God Warriors nearly 2 to 1.
If you're expecting an amazing, thought-provoking experience you're looking at the wrong show. Familiarity helps a lot with this show, but if you want something fun, short, and action-packed you can't go wrong with Soul of Gold.