Saint Seiya Volume 6 (Uncut, Animé TV)
Picture:
C Sound: C Extras: C- Episodes: C+
What is Saint Seiya and why did it need to be
released in an uncut version on DVD?
Well, the show is from way back in 1986, before Animé really caught
on. Good guys in armor battle evil ones,
only distinguished by their colors and angry voices. Even joining the show in later episodes, the
characters do not seem very developed and mythology is thrown around in token
(not Tolkien) ways that never add up to much.
This show
is unintentionally funny too and some of the translated dialogue would not be
used the way it is today as some of the dialogue is naïve. One villain warns of how deadly his “flaming
balls” are, yet I doubt that has anything to do with the uncut part of the
programs. If anything, the show
desperately wants to be another Star
Blazers or Battle Of The Planets,
but it is simply not that good. I could
imagine where some cuts did happen, but they are far from shocking and
ultra-violent, even when blood is shown.
The full
frame image is a bit color poor and the pencil drawing style shows its age, but
the images are on the dull side as well.
Add the Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono in either English or Japanese, with the
English less compressed, yet less natural sounding, and you get a very average
presentation. The extras include the
opening and closing without text, previews for other ADV Animé DVDs, and the
mythology section promised on the back of the box is just a few text sections
that still do not clarify how the myth is used in the show and proves my point
that they were too loose with it in the first place. Saint
Seiya in any DVD volume is a curio at best that old school Animé fans who
have not seen it might get a particular kick out of.
- Nicholas Sheffo
