Saint Seiya - US & Canada, why not so popular?

[Aerys]

Guys, I read a bit about it on the internet, and we can point the cause to the level of violence for the decade and later we can point to the age of it when it was finally released in USA, and then the very poor adaptation to american english that killed the last chance "imo". and many other things.

Why do I care?
Well, maybe coz I think it's something ppl from us and canada would enjoy as we do.


I would like to know what you all think about it, and if you are American or Canadian, what's your point of view or what can be done?


GL HF

[PBsallad]

I've never touched Saint Seiya but have heard quite a bit about it. I came here because its on sale and for curiosities sake. Anyway, there was an article written on Anime News Network written a year ago about this very thing.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/answerman/2016-02-15/.98694

It's a good read if you haven't read it yet.
For me... It never really interested me. It came out in 2003 here, I think, so I would've been in the 10th or 11th grade. I was watching anime on TV at the time but I probably thought it look ugly and old. Even though I did like the original Mobile Suite Gundam when it aired a few years before. So maybe I was busy hanging out with friends, homework, watching other shows, and it must not have hook me in if I ever did see it.
This was over 10 years ago too (2003-2004) so I can't recall exactly.

[☦₪TBC₪☦フェルニー]

There's also the fact that the FCC in the U.S. is very strict in regards violence and sexuality so the adapted version of Saint Seiya know as Knights of the Zodiac aired over Cartoon Network, was extremely censored which did not help at all. So the old age of the show + the extreme censorship, made the anime bomb hard in the U.S.

In Latin America and Mexico the show aired in the decade of 1990, I grew watching the show as a kid, Saint Seiya was dubbed as "Caballeros del Zodiaco" (lit. Knights of the Zodiac), and was aired fully uncensored on local T.V. (TV Azteca aired it first along with many other animes: Queen Millenia, Dragon Quest: Dai no Daiboken, Sailor Moon, Magic Knight Rayearth, Bt'X, Slam Dunk, The Vision of Escaflowne, Mazinger Z, Kishin Dōji Zenki, Slayers, Gamba no Bouken, Kerokko Demetan, just to name a few, and yes all of those great animes were aired uncensored).

A bit more of info on the US Saint Seiya: https://www.reddit.com/r/SaintSeiya/comments/2a4l5y/was_the_english_dub_of_the_anime_ever_finished_im/

To end my post this is how Ikki the Fenix trained to obtain the Bronze Armor, the dub is from México and just how it is showed here it was aired on TV. (The blonde girl is the daughter of Ikki's Master named Guilty, and he is trying to show Ikki the importance of the power of "Hate" (Odio in spanish) to obtain the Fenix's Armor). Now I wonder if the US FCC would let them show this:

https://youtu.be/ySvuuwoby6U

[Aerys]

thanks guys, i'm gonna read the links you sent.

I hope one day Saint Seiya's community grow as big as Dragon Ball one.

[SpectrumWarrior]

Because Saint Seiya didnt go there when the anime hitted the world..its not only on south america, but europe and japan the anime was huge!
Americans have problems with showing series where the heroes are not americans, you can see the super sentais or metal heroes from japan they were HUGE on the entire world but the US
and then many years later the US bought one super sentai and made its own version (Power Rangers) but changing the history to make the heroes americans...
They even want to make a movie about the anime Akira...but they will make the film take place in NY rather than Tokyo..
Even with Street Fighter...they put Ken better than Ryu in the US version...and made Guile stronger too

and that is a shame...if the anime were to be shown on US when it first came out..it would be much more sucess than Dragon Ball and since the US market is the richest..we would have more decent content about Saint Seiya

[Chimera]

Saint Seya has a HUGE, I mean really HUGE fan base in South America, specially in Brazil where it is known as "Cavaleiros do Zodíaco" in Portuguese and "Los Caballeros Del Zodiaco" in Spanish.

Brazilian TV during the 90's frequently aired violent anime such as Genocyber and M.D. Geist. No one gave a single ♥♥♥♥. You can be sure that every guy who's around 25-30 today had watched that anime during his childhoold. And we all have very found memories of that times. The anime even had some more bloody-oriented scenes cut when it was aired the first time. But not to the same extent of the Knights of the Zodiac version aired over Cartoon Network that has also aired here circa 2000.

Ah, what a golden age for those ultraviolent 80's animes. Really miss those times. Never I will get back home after school and watch YuYu hakusho and Cavaleiros do Zodíaco in a Cathode ray tube televison while eating Doritos and sipping some nice ice cold lemon tea...

Yes, now you know why we are so savage and visceral down here. Cheers!

[Aerys]

Цитата допису SpectrumWarrior:

Because Saint Seiya didnt go there when the anime hitted the world..its not only on south america, but europe and japan the anime was huge!
Americans have problems with showing series where the heroes are not americans, you can see the super sentais or metal heroes from japan they were HUGE on the entire world but the US
and then many years later the US bought one super sentai and made its own version (Power Rangers) but changing the history to make the heroes americans...
They even want to make a movie about the anime Akira...but they will make the film take place in NY rather than Tokyo..
Even with Street Fighter...they put Ken better than Ryu in the US version...and made Guile stronger too

and that is a shame...if the anime were to be shown on US when it first came out..it would be much more sucess than Dragon Ball and since the US market is the richest..we would have more decent content about Saint Seiya

Hmmm, that makes sense, it's like a protectionism, i remember the same happening in japan with american material, like xbox hehehe.

In fact, japanese companies seems to not consider the rest of the world (sometimes). I mean, The Lost Canvas producers made it clear for latin american and europe when asked why they stopped.

But yeah bro, all i imagine is how Saint Seiya would be with the american market on its side.

[Aerys]

Цитата допису Chimera:

Saint Seya has a HUGE, I mean really HUGE fan base in South America, specially in Brazil where it is known as "Cavaleiros do Zodíaco" in Portuguese and "Los Caballeros Del Zodiaco" in Spanish.

Brazilian TV during the 90's was full of violent anime such as Genocyber and M.D. Geist. You can be sure that every guy who's around 25-30 today had watched that anime during his childhoold. And we all have very found memories of that times. The anime even had some more bloody-oriented scenes cut when it was aired the first time. But not to the same extent of the Knights of the Zodiac version aired over Cartoon Network that has also aired here circa 2000.

Ah, what a golden age for those ultraviolent 80's animes. Really miss those times. Never I will get back home after school and watch YuYu hakusho and Cavaleiros do Zodíaco in a Cathode ray tube televison while eating Doritos and sipping some nice ice cold lemon tea...

Yes, now you know why we are so savage and visceral down here. Cheers!

Censorship, it really works? I grew up with such violent anime and stuff, but was not even close to start a schoolshooting hehehe, well i can't argue about latin american violence levels but... there are many more points to consider... those animes isn't related to drug dealers and thug life vida loca generation...

I was inspired by the dedication and sense of justice that Saint Seiya and other animes teach us. The Hades Saga taught it a lot.

[Chimera]

Цитата допису BXM:

Цитата допису Chimera:

Saint Seya has a HUGE, I mean really HUGE fan base in South America, specially in Brazil where it is known as "Cavaleiros do Zodíaco" in Portuguese and "Los Caballeros Del Zodiaco" in Spanish.

Brazilian TV during the 90's was full of violent anime such as Genocyber and M.D. Geist. You can be sure that every guy who's around 25-30 today had watched that anime during his childhoold. And we all have very found memories of that times. The anime even had some more bloody-oriented scenes cut when it was aired the first time. But not to the same extent of the Knights of the Zodiac version aired over Cartoon Network that has also aired here circa 2000.

Ah, what a golden age for those ultraviolent 80's animes. Really miss those times. Never I will get back home after school and watch YuYu hakusho and Cavaleiros do Zodíaco in a Cathode ray tube televison while eating Doritos and sipping some nice ice cold lemon tea...

Yes, now you know why we are so savage and visceral down here. Cheers!

Censorship, it really works? I grew up with such violent anime and stuff, but was not even close to start a schoolshooting hehehe, well i can't argue about latin american violence levels but... there are many more points to consider... those animes isn't related to drug dealers and thug life vida loca generation...

I was inspired by the dedication and sense of justice that Saint Seiya and other animes teach us. The Hades Saga taught it a lot.

That was just an attempt to do some humor here.

And yes, the message about loyalty is real, but it also happens in many other anime, since the Japanese (and Asian people as a whole) always had a strong sense of community and self sacrificing for the greater good of their community.

Censorship is an incentive for to go looking for the original stuff.

[Pastor⛧Biden]

"It's truly bizarre to see just how huge Saint Seiya is in Latin and South America, and yet be more or less completely unknown here in North America"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNJmE8Ra0i0

[Goatframe]

I do remember seeing it on TV when I was younger, but other then that, nothing.

[The Great Mighty Poo]

People were talking about the censorship and etc in US. According to what I read,indeed they airbrushed (editing technique) a lot of the 90s,80s and 70s animes that had scenes considered obscene or violent. However,Dragon Ball Z was censored and still,was succesfull there,while Saint Seiya wasn't. So IDK what exactly might have been responsible for its failure on North America (except Mexico).

[Aerys]

Цитата допису General Gogol:

People were talking about the censorship and etc in US. According to what I read,indeed they airbrushed (editing technique) a lot of the 90s,80s and 70s animes that had scenes considered obscene or violent. However,Dragon Ball Z was censored and still,was succesfull there,while Saint Seiya wasn't. So IDK what exactly might have been responsible for its failure on North America (except Mexico).

Indeed, but idk when and how Dragon Ball Z was released there. It's one thing to think about.

[Aerys]

Цитата допису Goatframe:

I do remember seeing it on TV when I was younger, but other then that, nothing.

Bro, what about Dragon Ball Z, could you share what do you remember of it?

[Thanathos]

Saint seiya was too violent, plust add the name which obviously got renamed to Knights of the Zodiac after parents thought they were watching a show about saints, didn't go so well with the audience, hence why Dic enterainment dubbed it horribly and changed the characters up to make them more americanized, then ADV FIlms released the uncut japanese anime with perfect subs and extra scenes not seen on the TV series and it still didn't draw that big of a fan base.

Honestly I tried showing Saint Seiya to some anime friends and they found it too boring, almost main stream anime now days prefers comedy.

[Aerys]

Цитата допису Thanathos:

Saint seiya was too violent, plust add the name which obviously got renamed to Knights of the Zodiac after parents thought they were watching a show about saints, didn't go so well with the audience, hence why Dic enterainment dubbed it horribly and changed the characters up to make them more americanized, then ADV FIlms released the uncut japanese anime with perfect subs and extra scenes not seen on the TV series and it still didn't draw that big of a fan base.

Honestly I tried showing Saint Seiya to some anime friends and they found it too boring, almost main stream anime now days prefers comedy.

Hmmm, I think nothing can be done so. Did you try showing them Hades Saga?

Maybe a "HD Remaster" with a shorter timeline and Hades like drawing would work. Toey extended the anime a lot back in 80's coz the manga wasn't done yet... but i really like Asgard Saga.

Maybe the main episodes could fall from 114 to just 50 with asgard or 40 without. (Sorry Odin)
Dragon Ball Super is too long for me too nowadays, but it's very funny to watch... Saint Seiya have funny moments too but the dramatic scenes are dominant (This even I found boring).

Maybe balancing those moments in a shorter manga focused remaster with modern drawing and the classic music remastered too (I love those songs).

Or maybe just animate Next Dimension like a boss

What u guys think?