Review: Knights of the Zodiac – Saint Seiya – The Beginning
The leak of Knights of the Zodiac – Saint Seiya – The Beginning took us by surprise, especially since we are talking about a product that began production during the pandemic. Doubts arose when the cast was revealed. We worried a lot, however, it was a project that was already underway and was not going to take a single step back as it happened with Sonic at the time.
Be careful, this is not the first time that Knights of the Zodiac has had a reinterpretation or restart. We already had the CGI that premiered in Netflix and which will eventually be added to Crunchyroll. Come on, Masami Kurumada’s work has been tampered with for a long time, even in the 90’s when they made it a play or when they tried to Americanize it and nothing really happened.
This new film is an interesting piece of work, an attempt to transcend where few do. The question is how does this work end, where does it go? How it ends? What do you respect? Those are the questions to look at.
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What you should know about Knights of the Zodiac – Saint Seiya – The beginning
A start for others family
Knights of the Zodiac – Saint Seiya – The Beginning is, as its name indicates, the beginning of a reinterpretation of Masami Kurumada. If you saw the CGI that was first shown on Netflix, well, you more or less have an idea of what’s waiting for you: Seiya is already grown, he was separated from his sister, he earns a living in underground fights, and he’s relatively strong.
Cassios looks like a mercenary and the action takes place very, very far from Greece, it even feels like a kind of disorder if we compare it with the original work, however we must remember that this is a different interpretation and that it is normal for them to be taken some creative liberties, which is good and bad at the same time, because that brings a lot of risks.
Fuente: Sony Pictures
The path of the hero Mackenyu as seiya it is one full of stumbling blocks, they steal it, they reveal to him that Sienna what is the reincarnation of Athena And the bombardment of information is not only overwhelming on him, but also on the audience, and that can spell some kind of problem with the overall storytelling of the film. What is a fact is that they respect the concept of the cosmos, the teaching of Marin a seiya and the drama of never giving up.
What is not clear is who the bad guys are. Why are they? We do not have a sanctuary trying to end Athena, it is the Guraad organization that wants to stop her because she could end the world, however, her way of operating is also somewhat withered. This is one of those jobs where you notice a clear disorganization and that’s a shame.
The actors behind Knights of the Zodiac – Saint Seiya – The Beginning
Mackenyu take the role of Seiya, the Knight of Pegasus. The American-born Japanese actor does a dutiful job, as he has to work with what he has. Be careful, he is neither the hero of the anime nor of the CGI, here you already understand that he is a full-fledged adult and we must understand him as he is, even if we don’t like it.
Madison Speaker takes the role of Athena in Knights of the Zodiac – Saint Seiya – The Beginning and, since she is not Saori Kiddo or the one who will sacrifice her life to save the world, you understand that her character is also built in a different way. Of course, she has purple hair. Sean Bean He is Alman Kiddo and he is the one who recruits Seiya and sends him to train in Greece with Marin. As always, the English actor does a good job, despite the fact that he has the script against him.
Fuente: Sony Pictures
Diego Tinoco He takes the role of Nero from Phoenix and is a character very close to the Guraad organization, he even explains that his role is transcendental in the history of the Knights who defend Athena. Girl Janseen He does an interesting job in the antagonistic given that his character has a very strong character and that he does not bow down to anyone. Nick Stahl has a lot of action in the role of Cassios and Mark Dacascos he also does a good job as Mylock, Athena’s bodyguard.
We must applaud that we have a diverse cast, with different traits and personalities. That way you understand that finally the characters are from all over the world and not just from Japan. The concept is not bad, but it needed polishing.
Story execution is a problem
The problem of Knights of the Zodiac – Saint Seiya – The beginning lies mainly in its script. Sometimes the film rushes, then slows down. This is a problem for the audience because they may well be bored by the lack of action. Now, if you understand all the concepts well, then you understand that this is a reinterpretation – with many plot holes.
What is applaudable is that the context of the film is very clear, it just needs to be much more agile and get to the point. You can well understand that what you are seeing is funny and idea, but it lacks drama, something where Seiya finds himself in a lot of trouble and has no choice but to explore as much as possible within himself so that his cosmos explodes and defeats his rivals. . The action here feels very Power Rangers a lot of the time and that’s also disappointing.
Fuente: Sony Pictures
The conclusion of the film is not bad, the sacrifices, learning and other elements that build this new universe are noticeable, however, if you are not meticulous enough, you will not be able to realize all the references that adorn the story. Come on, it is normal to expect something more and in that sense it fell short.
If the project goes ahead, it will be necessary to rethink something other than the heavy narrative that will explain the possible introduction of the rest of the protagonists of the series, as well as justify the creation of new villains.
They had everything to take advantage of the fan service
Super Mario Bros., Sonic and Detective Pikachu are clear examples that if you stick to the original concept, things can turn out well, that includes special effects that lead to drama and action at the same time. It seems ridiculous, but that’s how these works work.
Come on, at times you can hear the theme of the Pegasus when Seiya is burning his cosmos, but then they cut the whole tune. Knights of the Zodiac – Saint Seiya – The beginning had to take much more advantage of the entire original soundtrack, although, we also understand if they did not want to use it due to copyright or try to offer something new.
Fuente: Sony Pictures
We did need more emotional moments, meaningless explanations, but with a good construction. It doesn’t have to be a realistic product! The joke is that it falls into the absurd, but there was not much room for that. What it is is that it is a very short product, it is hardly a crumb of what Saint Seiya can offer just by making the leap to the cinema.
The special effects leave a lot to be desired when the images are very slow, static and boring. We needed something more to feel that this cosmos had something much more prominent and solid at the same time. The experience feels ephemeral and that is certainly a negative.
Is it the movie we deserve or the one we can have?
Let’s be honest, until Toei or any other production house delivers the last season of Lost Canvas, we won’t be happy with what they get out of Saint Seiya, despite the fact that they want to make us spend on beautiful-looking collectible figures. The reality is that spinoffs, reinterpretations and the like will leave a bad taste in your mouth.
What happens with Knights of the Zodiac – Saint Seiya – The beginning is certainly special, because despite having its flats in more than one section, the reality is that it takes risks and tries to be as entertaining as possible. Mackenyu gradually evolves into a hero, Athena’s tragedy is understandable and the battles could be better. It is necessary to have more drama in a potential sequel, however, we have no choice but to live thinking about something that might not happen.
Fuente: Sony Pictures.
Should you go see her? Yes, but with many reservations and when the cinema is cheaper. It doesn’t make sense to pay an expensive ticket for something that perhaps will leave you in bad shape due to the lack of concordance with the original material that seems to only depreciate over time and no one wants to use it anymore.
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