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wickedwizdom · 1 year

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Lets talk Knights of the Zodiac:

This review will be mostly positive based on my own experience but I still will have my criticisms as I go along. To begin I want to be very transparent here and say after watching this movie: It is NOT--I repeat--NOT “Dragon Ball Evolution 2.0” like many people claim online. This movie's characters, script, dialogue, action, and story are leaps and bounds more faithful to the source material it is adapting and showing respect for it all the same. I'm positive those who keep claiming that it is have never watched the movie or are just speaking utter nonsense because let’s be real: Dragon Ball Evolution is beyond bad and KOTZ—objectively—is not.

This movie is perfectly fine; very fun I might add. It definitely stands up there with the likes of Alita: Battle Angel in terms of anime adaptations and as a movie it gets the job done.

Now for the fans going into this story expecting it to be verbatim like the original animanga, you are not going to find that here. This movie is very much an origin story for this particular universe of Saint Seiya with its own key lore and world building that takes influence from the Netflix reboot but actually executed those aspects better in comparison to how the CG show did it. I certainly appreciate this movie trying something new with its setting and story in comparison to LoS which told a very rushed rendition of the Silver Saints and Twelve Temples arc and I believe if this movie did the same thing, my expectations would be significantly lower and my criticisms far more harsher.

From an objective standpoint, this movie’s pacing definitely could use some improvement. I definitely appreciate what the writers and directors could give with the runtime they had but when it comes to character such as Nero and Seiya and Sienna’s time spent bonding, there’s definitely something to be left desired, Nero especially but we’ll get to him later. The script itself is okay, can be basic in some areas, cheesy in others but never anything that made me actually cringe. The movie’s music is otherwise really good. The orchestral Pegasus Fantasy rendition was definitely a highlight of the film for me and the music that plays through a lot of the action and somber scenes is really atmospheric.

To add, I know there were some fans that complained that not all the bronzes were here but I’m pretty sure that was for the movie’s benefit. Introducing so many characters all at once would mean that audiences would have no time to connect with them and the story would have been bloated and full of plot holes. I love how they kept the core cast as just Seiya, Nero, and Sienna for the time being to get us more familiar to their world before moving onto the others.

As for other things, the set pieces and CGI aren't terrible. It's definitely a step above most tokusatsu shows and movies but not on the level of something like Alita or some MCU movies. It's passable but definitely not a complete eye sore.

Some shots are a bit goofy but they don't linger too long and I think it adds to the charm of this being an otherwise fun action film based on an even more zany and violent anime. The fights are all well-choreographed and filmed. I saw some complaints about the lighting being dark but that's not the case here. Everything in the movie is well lit and it's obvious who's who.

I thought the armors looked pretty okay and knowing that Kurumada actually approved them looking more medieval and archaic rather than how they were in the original animanaga makes for a nice creative detail that gives this movie more uniqueness in the StS verse.

Slight spoilers here but it is confirmed and shown in the movie that the armors do in fact evolve like how they do in the original manga and anime so if this movie does get its potential sequels, I look forward to seeing how they translate that.

⚠️SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT⚠️

To move onto characters I enjoyed a majority of the main cast throughout the movie. Everyone not only understood the characters they were portraying but giving them their own charm and nuances to make them feel more like individuals.

To start with the main man Seiya, he's a lot more reserved here, because he is a lot older, but some of his attitude from the animanaga still remains like his brash attitude and his unwavering resolve to never give up. His character is quite complex with this movie going further in detail about the conflict he has with losing his sister, his obsession with finding her, and his hesitance to accept Sienna as a goddess until he witnesses it for himself. I appreciate them putting more and more time into emphasizing Seiya's relationship with his sister and Seiya at a crossroads between finding her and protecting Sienna all at once as opposed to how the anime/manga did it.

Seika is almost forgotten after the first few episodes/chapters of the original so it was nice to see that she had more of an impact on Seiya's character here.

Next, we have Sienna and I'm going to say that she is the best iteration of the Saori Kido character. While some of the pacing of her scenes were a little off at times, it didn't matter because I was engaged with what they did with her in this film. This story focuses on Sienna's humanity as opposed to the original where Saori has pretty much already accepted what she is and we never truly get to see a lot of her struggle with her heritage and most of that was relegated to the very beginning of the series. Here, Athena is the equivalent of a malevolent spirit that Sienna is constantly trying to drown out. From the way, she speaks about Athena to her parents and how that separated them feels real. She is a toung woman who’s not only caught in the middle of a broken family she cares for but is essentially a ticking time bomb. She accepts that she may not be herself one day but you can tell that deep down she doesn't want to believe that. She starts off as the typical haughty rich girl towards Seiya and while I do think that their relationship could have used a few more scenes of them getting used to each other, it still feels plausible that he cares for her I’m the end. I would be a bit of a brat too if I was going to become doomsday incarnate one day. Here she suffers loss but in turn finds a new purpose and reason to keep living. At a core it is her human side that matters most.

I also adore that Sienna starts off not in complete control of her cosmo. It gives more presence to the gods in this scenario and how dangerous their cosmo is to a regular human. It makes me really excited to see what gods late like in this universe but only time will tell.

Moving onto Alman and Guraad since they're basically two sides of the same coin. Making Alman a morally ambiguous man who is not all good fits very in line with the Mitsumasa in the original animanaga. The slow unraveling of the truth that he first and foremost only cares about his daughter is perfect and sets up the domino effect that will extend to all the children he used as a means to an end.

Guraad on the other hand is a MILLION times better than the Guraad in the Netflix reboot. Not only does she feel appropriate as an antagonist but she gives better layer to the conflict of fighting against the gods and at the same time having to come with the burden of killing her surrogate daughter to do so. Sienna and Guraad share a bond that feels genuine and when her maternal instincts shine it's wonderfully executed. It adds so much more emotionally weight knowing that a complete accident on Sienna’s end pushed away who she considered family and Guraad realizing that to makes her attempt to save Sienna feel earned.

Now we have Nero. I love Ikki in almost every universe and here it is no different. The mystery behind his character and past along with him as an antagonist is one of the best but weakest aspects of his character in this movie in my opinion. His true motives are unclear but from what a lot of people have speculated and based on Diego himself, his motivations largely have to do with Shun. Potentially Nero does not know where his brother is and I think that would make for a great parallel between Seiya and Nero if this series is to continue. He definitely has a vendetta against the gods and has the Sagittarius armor in his possession but at what ends? His character toward the end leaves more questions than answers and I wish we got a fair balance of flashbacks from his perspective to compare/contrast with Seiya’s. He is a threat through and through and the movie does well in establishing the bar that is set between him and Seiya. He's definitely a character I want to see expanded upon more in the future and what ulterior motives he has going on as it seems that Guraad was a stepping stone for things to come. I want more of him and I hope to god we do.

Marin is, dare I say, perfect. Everything from her nonchalant demeanor, to the way she trains Seiya, THE WAY SHE GOES TO SLEEP and her presence she's easily another favorite of mine in the movie next to Sienna. We get just enough of her to see what she's all about but like Nero, I hope we do see more of her. She serves the purpose she’s meant to in the story and I was quite confused about her “bound to this island by destiny” schtick (which was really an excuse to keep her out of the third arc) but overall she’s just awesome.

And last but not least Mylock. Easily he's better than Tatsumi by a country mile. The writers actually managed to make a dull asshole of a character into a fun and entertaining one. His action scenes were a highlight and were just classic king fu action that I just adore.

The story overall centers around the ideals surrounding family, humanity, and fighting through a destiny that’s not completely set in stone. It’s very anime but at the same time is personable and relatable in some way or another.

To conclude : Knights of the Zodiac is a fun film with great action, solid writing, a talented main cast of characters, and I was genuinely surprised at how much I ended up liking it. It shows respect or to the source material while doing its own thing and that’s honestly the best route it could have gone. It could have been way worse.

It’s a solid 7/10. Had some bumps in the road but it managed to make it to its destination safe and sound. Regardless of performance, I will definitely watch sequels.

#saint seiya #knights of the zodiac #kotz #sts #pegasus seiya #sienna kido #phoenix ikki #andromeda shun #kotz live action #kotz movie

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