Anime and new series can be expected?
Kurumada is finally finishing 'Saint Seiya Next Dimension' that began back in 2006 when the series first begun in Weekly Shonen Champion. After 18 years and 118 chapters, the sequel to the classic shonen series from the 80s will end. Lets go over its journey to Champion from Jump and a few interesting tidbits.
The original series 'Saint Seiya' was not published in Weekly Shonen Champion, it was instead serialised in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1985 to 1990. It was not Kurumada's first work, he was a known property for his previous work 'Ring ni Kakero' at the time but it eventually became his most known work.
The series itself is focused on knights (saints) that receives armors (called cloths) and that represent all sorts of constellation. The main cast are all bronze knights that fight for Athena, with Seiya the titular character having the Pegasus cloth. The first arc usually called the Galaxian Wars arc sets up the main cast and introduces the main tenets of the series. However, what everyone might know about the series likely comes from the second main arc the Sanctuary arc that was focuses on the Bronze knights having to overcome the Gold knights, that each represent a sign of the zodiac, within quite a limited timeframe. Considering that the Gold knights are supposed to be the strongest knights of Athena, you can see the challenge of the task and the stakes are high as well.
The original anime series that aired through the late 80s, after the Sanctuary arc added an Asgard anime only arc then it covered the Poseidon arc, but it did not cover the Hades arc that wrapped up the original series. The Hades arc was later animated in the 2000s in a new anime series that finally saw that the entire original Saint Seiya series was completely animated. Later arcs did not seem to reach the same status as the Sanctuary arc which was so iconic that many casual fans believe it to be the end of the series.
The anime adaptation of the series made its way around the globe especially with dubbed versions. In my home country it was a popular show in the 90s and it is one of the few anime that my parents can recognise. It established strong multimedia presence especially internationally in Spanish speaking areas and in China as well that has meant that despite times of sparse animation projects, it has continued receiving games, figurines and other merchandise products.
After the original anime from the 80s and the manga series ended, the series entered a period of slumber in terms of new content. The slumber came to an end in the 2002 with the start of the anime series covering the Hades Arc, and the start of an all new manga series called 'Saint Seiya Episode G' however this time Kuramada was only overseeing it, handling the series was Megumu Okada in the magazine Champion Red. The series was a spin off series that acted as a prequel to the original series that focused on the gold knights. It was the first time Saint Seiya as a series was published in a magazine other than Jump and by a publisher other than Shueisha. The main driver behind the new series was Sawa the head editor in charge of the creation of Champion Red in 2002 that was familiar with Kurumada, who still had many ideas for Saint Seiya and was convinced to launch a spin off series in the magazine as one of the series for its starting lineup.
Sawa eventually became the head editor of Weekly Shonen Champion in 2005 and not long after he took over the magazine together with Kurumada a sequel of the original Saint Seiya manga that had ended in 1990 that as we know is 'Saint Seiya Next Dimension Meio Shinwa' was launched. The series act as continuation of the Hades arc that ended in a cliffhanger per say. However, soon after its debut the series became a irregular series that was published chapters in batches that were referred as seasons. With the latest season, the manga officially ends with chapter 118 in a few days.
118 chapters in 18 years is quite a slow pace, however this is likely due to Kuramada's other projects and many spin offs that he at the very least act as overseer as the author of the original work. This include the continuation of 'Saint Seiya Episode G' that is currently on its second sequel with the title 'Saint Seiya Episode G Requiem'. Another series notable spin off series was 'Saint Seiya The Lost Canvas' that ran in Weekly Shonen Champion from 2006 to 2011. Shiori Teshirogi drew the series, and it was the only spin off series to be animated until' Saint Seiya Santia Sho' by Chimaki Kuori was in 2018.
Two other spin offs started in recent years one is Saint Seiya Dark Wing by Kenji Sato and Shinshu Ueda that explores the isekai trend using Saint Seiya. The other is Rerise of Poseidon by Suda Tsunagami which mimics closely Kuramada artstyle, both are interesting projects for fans of the series.
Champion spin offs of Saint Seiya
Saint Seiya Episode G Saga - 2002 - ongoing
Saint Seiya The Lost Canvas - 2006 - 2011
Saint Seiya Santia Sho - 2013 - 2021
Saint Seiya Dark Wing - 2020 - ongoing
Saint Seiya Rerise of Poseidon - 2022 - ongoing
Does the end of Saint Seiya Next Dimension spell the end of the series?
The end of the Saint Seiya Next Dimension was expected so there was no surprise that this was the last season, but with the end many news are expected as anticipated by comments from Kuramada earlier in the year in a comment in Champion Red. It is his 50th anniversary as a manga author after all, so I do not believe anticipating announcements from his biggest ongoing project is too much . One such announcement is likely to be a new featuring the Heaven arc that involves the Gods in the Olympus against Athena. Notably the preview of the issue whilst it does say Saint Seiya Next Dimensino will be in the cover for its last chapter does not state anything about announcements, but we can only wait and see.
Many rumours and insiders in the Saint Seiya community expect an announcement of an animation for Next Dimension to happen as well not necessarily in the upcoming issue but by the end of the year, and it would make a lot of sense alongside the release of a final edition which is marketed as the best edition with revision on cloth designs and text by Kuramada himself and to my knowledge it is the first time the original series was published by Akita Shoten. For potential new fans it is readily available for readers to read back to prepare for the animation of the direct sequel.
An animation for Next Dimension by Toei has always been a question. It should not be forgotten that the series is a multimedia success that is featured prominently in their financial statements. It has been a series with great returns for Toei especially internationally despite the absence of many animation projects. The slow pace of release of the series might have been an impediment to an interest in animating it by the studio but with its completion the series can be animated without worry of running short on content due to releases.
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