The epic quest continues for the young Saints. In this episode, they are taken to an obstacle course across a forest leading into a mountain range. They have to get through it before dawn to pass. The reward for passing…is entry into the Saint Fight! This tournament will pit all of the Bronze Saints against each other for two rewards: the chance to meet Athena, and also become a Silver Saint! Sound a bit familiar? Let’s move on here…
As a long time Saint Seiya fan, I didn’t expect much from this episode. Going through hazardous environments has never really been a big piece of the Saint Seiya mythos. The only good things I was hoping for were more character development, origins, and talk about the Saint Fight. If you recall, in the first season of Saint Seiya, the ten Bronze Saints fought in a tournament, with the winner being awarded the Gold Cloth of Sagittarius. Guess they were a bit more ambitious back then huh? Fans know what ended up happening there…
Kouga and Souma team up to traverse the terrain together. It is revealed that Souma’s father was the Silver Saint of the Southern Cross, a nod to more serious fans. This episode reminded me of a very light version of the episode in the original series when the Bronze Saints have to go through the House of Sagittarius. There were some obstacles, a surprise enemy in one of the scumbag Saints, but in the end, everyone passed. I’ve never known why there are Saints who act like greedy scumbags, I guess it’s the same thing as scumbag cops…
We get an interesting reveal at the end, the Orion Saint, Eden. Geki tells everyone that he made it across the course a lot earlier than anyone else, by himself, through a path that gives Silver Saints issues. Hmm…a Bronze Saint that has power comparable or higher than that of a Silver Saint…hasn’t happened yet huh? He bears a striking resemblance to the Phoenix Saint, Ikki. Being that he was my favorite Saint, you know I have a vested interest in this Eden guy. Things are getting to regular Saint Seiya territory now. We have fights coming! Let’s hope these new Saints can give us as much excitement as the Saints of old.