Saint Seiya has a “woman problem”. Saint Seiya has always had a woman problem, because the original material is just…not very good with them. The mask trope is weird, sexist and outdated, their armor is never really as cool as any of the male Saints, and many times while they are useful, it is only usefulness so Seiya or someone else can save the day. Saori still remains powerful, but she spends most of her time in a jar or a pillar or unconscious or as a baby, so she’s not exactly the great female rep we deserve either.
However: making Andromeda Shun a woman is decidedly the last way to fix Saint Seiya’s “woman problem”. I would take making literally any other Saint a woman over Shun. Ikki, Hyoga, Shiryu–sure. Why not. It’s different, but go for it.
But Shun, you see, is very valuable as a boy in the way those other three aren’t. Shun has a feminine constellation, wears feminine armor with a breastplate, and is decidedly non-violent. He is feminine, he is soft, he does not like fighting. He does not like being told there is only one way to be a man. And underneath all his softness, he is actually extremely powerful, with an incredible Cosmo. He could easily win any battle he enters. But he would prefer not to fight. And that is why he’s valuable–in Saint Seiya’s rough world of masculinity and “manliness”, where that often involves fighting, punching, blood…Shun is the mirror to that. He is a boy who is thought of as fragile and weak because of his kindness and desire not to fight, but he is actually incredibly strong.
This is Andromeda Shun’s “weak” masculinity. But it’s not weak at all. It’s incredibly strong, and a very important counterpoint to the other forms of aggressive, punch-em-down, yell-the-loudest masculinity in Saint Seiya. Shun also goes on to inherit Virgo, another feminine cloth known for its incredibly strong former Saint (Shaka) and a cloth that traditionally sort-of has the role of Saori’s/Athena’s “companion”. Shaka journeys with her to the Underworld, and Shun mirrors this by journeying with her back in time. Shun takes Shaka’s successorship up under this mantle.
This is literally so, so disappointing. “New interpretation” or new character or what have you, it’s sad that by attempting to fix Saint Seiya’s “woman problem” they have actually set the series back even more.
annaxmalina
titsay
gummygunk
germansingergirl