Honest Opinion - Crystal Saint
You know, I’m pretty sure this man right here is the reason why Hyoga is called Crystal in our dub. Just going from the fact he’s not called Crystal Saint in Italian, but Maestro dei Ghiacci. The literal translation is “Ice Master”. I could be wrong, but this is damn suspicious.
Him being in the Silver Saints entries might be weird, since there’s some people who think he’s a Blue Warrior, but when I asked about them in my previous post someone told me to add the Crystal Saint to the Silvers, so here we go.
I will tackle the Marina General next. This series is done, a new one is about to begin. Buckle up, it’s going to be a whole new journey!
Overall score (character, not looks): 10/10
I really liked him. For being an anime only character, and basically a placeholder for Camus (when it was still unknown Camus was Hyoga’s master), he’s pretty good.
From what we see of him, the Crystal Saint is smart, clever, strong and kind. All characteristics that I love regarding Saints, because that’s what they should be. His role as a master is amazingly depicted, he shows compassion and dedication towards Hyoga (and later Isaac), and he was clearly loved by both of them. The most blatant instance of his apprentices’ love for him was shown during the fight between Hyoga and Isaac, where the latter accused the former of being a heartless murderer (yeah, maybe not with those words, but come on it’s obvious).
Not only that, but he’s very intelligent. Something that popped up when he got summoned by Arles, but instead of falling right into his lies, the Crystal Saint tried to rebel against him. He sensed something was off, and didn’t want to be part of that. Again, something I really liked about this character. And, you know, seeing such a gentle man literally snapping someone’s neck told me more about him as a Saint than anything else. Kind with his friends, merciless with his enemies. As it should be, if you’re someone who fights for a goddess.
Needless to say, it was heartbreaking seeing how much he struggled against Arles’ mind control. He might have fallen under his spell, but he also never stopped fighting it, regardless of the pain. The Crystal Saint chose to die, didn’t just lose against his disciple. Hyoga couldn’t have killed him at that point, not with so much ease. But, knowing he was a danger to innocent people, the Crystal Saint decided to die, even if that meant forcing his own beloved apprentice to kill him. That’s not just dedication, it’s selfless love for who he was fighting for.
I am thoroughly convinced that, if he could have done such a thing, the Crystal Saint would have taken his own life without involving Hyoga. Dammit, he was crying as Hyoga held him into his arms, that moment was one of the saddest in the entire series. And he’s not even a “real” character, but only someone created to fix a plot hole.
This is a Saint, they did an amazing job with him. Even though they had to scrap the Crystal Saint in favor of Camus, when things evolved. The Italian dub has been clever with him falling behind the scenes, however, because it never stopped mentioning the Crystal Saint when Hyoga’s master was brought up.
In short? He’s one of my favorite characters, despite him having gotten so little screentime.
A final consideration: for me, he doesn’t have a constellation. Being a completely original character, I don’t think he should have a Cloth linked to one. I do like, however, the theory of him having a Cloth linked to the North Star. It makes more sense than him being the Corona Borealis Saint, at least for me. But then again, this is only my opinion.
