The last week of January brought us pleasant surprises and, unfortunately, also the second part of the first season of Saint Seiya on Netflix. A nostalgic operation that, despite the commitment and the budget used, continues to remain in limbo between the comic and the tragic. The new episodes, for a total of 6, see the Bronze Knights first confront the Silver Knights and then the last forces of the Black Knights.
For a longtime fan of the original animated series, writing about this remake is absolutely painful. Except for the dubbing, which winks at the cartoon of many years ago while maintaining its original voices, everything seems to have lost poetry.
Saint Seiya: The prophecy of the goddess Athena
In this remake of classical history a prophecy has been introduced that is said to have split the Great Temple and men. Looking at the stars, the men of the last Great War predicted that the next reincarnation of Athena would lead to the destruction of the world. Taking note of this prophecy, the Knights divided into the "Righteous" who want to defend the goddess and those who instead want the head. I will try to briefly explain why this is a really silly idea.
Unless the writers want to change the cards on the table, in that case we will see episode by episode, Athena protects the Earth from two divinities in particular: Poseidon and Hades. Removing his protection would only serve to make the god of the seas and then the underworld win at the table.
Saint Seiya: The Black Knights children of science
In this remake the Steel Saints were removed, who owned armor born of science and not of a divine entity. Unfortunately their charm has been transferred to the black knights, pale imitations that "store" the cosmos and use it as a battery. Given the "infinite" and ineffable nature of the energy produced by the cosmos, I would really like to understand how they intend to justify this in the future.
The role of human rebellion in front of the gods is very interesting, too bad that in the world of Saint Seiya this struggle cannot ignore the awakening of one's own cosmos and, in a certain sense, becoming divinity in turn.
Swinging Italian adaptation
Although the Italian adaptation wants to strongly recall that of the original series, which has added so much compared to the other versions, there are some choices that amaze. Some names have been translated, while others are not, and in the course of the series the latter change in turn. Seiya at some point becomes Pegasus, Phoenix undergoes the same treatment. I wish they were oversights but, at this point, I don't even know what to believe. The Italian adaptations commissioned by Netflix are opening a crisis in the sector, or at least they should open it if there was some kind of reception of criticism.
