#phoenix nero

[saintseiya-zone]

Knights of the Zodiac

Phoenix Nero illustration by Tomek Baginski

[lily-s-world]

Me: I don’t know about this Knights of the Zodiac movie.

KoZ: We gave Ikki/Nero a Nebula chain earring.

Me: OMG! They gave Ikki a Nebula Chain earring!!

[soleminisanction]

I have seen the new Knights of the Zodiac movie and must now scream into the void about this fandom no other English-speakers care about. General thoughts above the cut, spoiler-y thoughts below it.

In general: it's fine. Fun even. I'm not gonna sit here and tell you it's a masterpiece, but I'd watch sequels. I'd be interested to see how they interpret other stories in the series given what they've set up here.

It's basically a reworked, movie-original origin story designed to give Seiya and Sienna actual character arcs, and it does that. Pretty much all the weirdness comes from the fact that they're clearly using the Netflix series as the basis of deviation, not the original manga or anime.

Despite the multinational cast, being filmed in English, and everybody trying to talk it up as a "Hollywood" take on the franchise, I honestly don't think it felt like a Hollywood movie. Something about the pacing, editing and special effects reminded me way more of Japanese cinema, specifically high-budget tokusatsu productions like Gatchaman and Shin Ultraman. Which is honestly what I wanted so I was perfectly happy.

The central cast is great. I'd like to see them come back.

I liked the special effects and designs, personally.

They made some great use of music that was either based on, remixed from, or just completely new orchestral arrangements of the music from the original anime.

Sean Bean made it to the second-act climax before his inevitable death.

The choice to make Guraad, the military leader from the Netflix series, a woman, and also Kido's ex-wife, was a fascinating choice. But hey, it meant the movie passes the Bechdel test, because she and Sienna have this interesting, antagonist mother/daughter relationship that has absolutely nothing to do with the men in their lives and everything to do with the existential horror of humanity confronting the gods so. That's fun.

Marin was appropriately badass. I really liked her chemistry with Seiya's actor.

Honestly in general Mackenyu was a real highlight of the film? Him and Diego Tinoco both, they were great. Madison Iseman and Mark Dacasos were both more Hollywood-y, but they put in good performances, and once Sienna went full Athena the effects and performance were pretty spot-on.

Cassios shows up as a henchgoon and jobber. He's got an Ophiuchus tattoo, which was an interesting little detail.

But speaking of little details -- unsurprisingly, Nero is the one with the most interesting potential for sequels. He's the only other Knight besides Seiya and Marin that we get to see and acts as Guraad's "dragon" and mystical-stuff advisor throughout the film. They don't really explain what his deal is, aside from wanting to kill Athena and steal the Gold Cloth, so he could be there on Sanctuary's behalf. But at one point during their fight he says to Seiya, "Humans don't need any gods." And throughout the movie, he's wearing an earring that is super obviously Shun/Shaun's triangle chain. That has some really interesting potential for sequels, particularly in parallel with what they do with Seika/Patricia protecting Seiya.

Oh, and it ended with both Seiya and Nero shirtless and showing off their very nice abs so hey, kudos for remembering the secondary fanbase that's kept this franchise alive.

So yeah, overall: I see why it only got a limited release, but it'd sure be nice if it was popular enough in Latin America to fund a sequel. I've seen worse movies. This is a cheesy-ass franchise, I never get my hopes up too high, if it entertains me for the length of the film I consider it a success.

Still think it's hilarious that Sean Bean wound up here. How the hell did that happen.

[mysunnyspot]

Un pequeño fanart de la película live-action de Los Caballeros del Zodiaco. Si, quiero y demando una secuela. La inspiración para este dibujo fue gracias a Cesarin y a @murielkawaii

[2700lagostas]

[alyssum-gi]

Netflix’s Saint Seiya + Text Post Meme (1/?)

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[navysodas-archive]

Icy Hot Bastards

[shaka-obsession]