Saint Seiya fans. What are you're thoughts on the Heaven Chapter Overture (Saint Seiya Movie 5)

[PhoenixAKG]

So the Heaven Chapter Overture was the 5th Saint Seiya movie to be released:

Commissioned after the success of the Hades Chapter Sanctuary (But before the arc was finished in the anime for some reason) It was intended to be the start of a new series of Saint Seiya films that dealt with the Heaven Chapter (facing the Olympian Gods) and used some of Kuramada's ideas and concepts. Toei Animation really brought their A-Game to the film, hiring some of the series best animators and composers to make the film

However the film ended up being a mess as a LOT of changes to Kuramada's vision was made, which really angered him to the point that he got a different studio to the remainder of the Hades Arc (which ended up sucking due to having REALLY bad animation). He also decided to continue the Heaven Chapter with the Next Dimension which unfortunately has bene moving at a snails pace so who knows if it will be finished or even continue.

In light of this how do Saint Seiya fans feel about the movie. As a kid I HATED this movie because it sidelined the other Bronze Saints, and was confusing as hell with why Seiya was in a coma at the start, why all the other Saints abandoned Athena, and the ending which still baffles me to this day. Kuramada had to explain the ending himself which was not a good sign.

But lately I've come to appreciate it more. The animation and music are gorgeous and some of the best the series has to offer (NEVER slaps hard). It also avoids the repetition found in the movies as for example Ikki and Shun work together to win their fight unlike in the movies where Shun needs Ikkit to save his life. The movie does have an interesting commentary on the themes of Saint Seiya such as why they follow Athena compared to the other gods, the consequences the Saints face for challenging and killing gods, Seiya's rejection of the Olympians condemnation of humanity and flat out telling Apollo he's not worthy to be a god. There's actually a debate between the protagonist and antagonist instead of the usual fight, and it's really unclear who actually wins in the end which is interestingly thought provoking and actually a good new ground for the series to trend which is a breath of fresh air as it seems Kuramada in the Next Dimension is YET again rehashing the Sanctuary arc albeit with some admittedly good themes.

On the other hand, this movie is pretty much responsible for the state Saint Seiya is in today due to Kuramada's unhappiness with it and since then TOEI has never really treated Saint Seiya with the respect it deserves.

So what are anyone else's thoughts on the movies.

 

[NeonZ]

However the film ended up being a mess as a LOT of changes to Kuramada's vision was made, which really angered him to the point that he got a different studio to the remainder of the Hades Arc (which ended up sucking due to having REALLY bad animation). He also decided to continue the Heaven Chapter with the Next Dimension which unfortunately has bene moving at a snails pace so who knows if it will be finished or even continue.

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No, that was still Toei. The animation hit was likely due to Heaven Chapter Overture underperforming, while they expected it to bring more attention to the franchise.

Anyway, the movie attempts to be artistic and is really pretty, but it missed the appeal of the franchise, which ended up leading to all the problems afterwards - low budget ending for Hades, Next Dimension with a really slow run, and lack of direction of later animated entries.

Of course, Kurumada's Next Dimension, which is just another Sanctuary run, wasn't really the answer either (and even if this ever finishes it's all just a prologue to the actual Heaven battle so it won't even really close the story), but it should be easily possible to make an action packed movie that's not just a new sanctuary run.

 

[Ifrit]

I actually love this movie, it explores new themes while having gorgeous soundtrack and animation, just recently found out that Kurumada seems to hate it lol, but I loved how it feels like something new for the franchise, which is actually why I like the Hades - Chapter sanctuary too, after which, the series becomes pretty same-y unfortunately, and the animation downgrade still hurts.

 

[OhSatan]

I liked it not going to lie.

I have nothing against it but it is really a shame that it doomed thecfranchise.

 

[PhoenixAKG]

I actually love this movie, it explores new themes while having gorgeous soundtrack and animation, just recently found out that Kurumada seems to hate it lol, but I loved how it feels like something new for the franchise, which is actually why I like the Hades - Chapter sanctuary too, after which, the series becomes pretty same-y unfortunately, and the animation downgrade still hurts.

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How does the Hades Chapter Sanctuary do something different. I love it to death but how does it?

 

[Nightengale]

I liked it.

Apollo was sexy af, best God design from Kurumada.

 

[JCG]

I enjoyed it, not only due to the high quality animation and directorial touches but also because the movie was more like a commentary on Saint Seiya as a property and explored the meaning of the whole fight against the gods in more thematic detail, despite the lack of a formal resolution.

As someone who loved the original Saint Seiya TV series but eventually outgrew the same old underlying formula, that felt quite fresh.

How does the Hades Chapter Sanctuary do something different. I love it to death but how does it?

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Well, the fact the "bad guys" were the ones invading rather than the other way around and the increased prominence of the Gold Saints as active participants.

Things do get a lot more formulaic afterwards though, almost inevitably so, but the initial setup was pretty well done.

 

[Ifrit]

How does the Hades Chapter Sanctuary do something different. I love it to death but how does it?

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Well it's actually the bad guys this time doing a "Sanctuary run" as an invasion, while having the remaining gold saints pretty much as main characters during the whole chapter, and having the nice twist that some former gold saints actually working undercover against Hades.

Also, the bronze saints having pretty much no participation during this part until right at the end iirc, and the bad guys actually managing to kill Athena at the end of the chapter, even though that gets undone afterwards, I think it's pretty different from the Saint Seiya formula, which is why it stands out storywise, the nice animation helps too.