Saint Seiya: Next Dimension (manga)
Saint Seiya: Next Dimension – Myth of Hades (Japanese: 聖闘士星矢 NEXT DIMENSION 冥王神話, Hepburn: Seinto Seiya Nekusuto Dimenshon Meiō Shinwa) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada. It is the canonical sequel to the manga series Saint Seiya by Kurumada, while also serving as a prequel to the events presented in it. The main plot is set in the 18th century during the previous “Holy War” between the goddess Athena and the god Hades, and centers on the battles between each deity’s warriors who are known as the Saints and the Specters, respectively, during that era. It is published by Akita Shoten in the weekly magazine Weekly Shōnen Champion at irregular dates.
Unlike the original work, Next Dimension is published in full color in its volume compilations, with the printed chapters in the Shōnen Champion magazine originally published in the standard black and white format of Japanese comics media, with occasional color pages. However, the digital version of the chapters is published in color, albeit in a simplified color scheme that is later improved and enhanced in the compilations.
Plot
Next Dimension resumes the story of Kurumada’s original Saint Seiya manga by means of a flashback to the final battle of the Saints of Athena in the Hades arc. During the battle, Hades, the god of the Underworld recognizes Seiya as the feared enemy he faced millennia ago, in the ages of myth, reincarnated in this era. The god is reminded of past incarnations and then reminisces about the events that occurred in the last war between Athena and himself 243 years earlier. During that era, a boy named Tenma was one of Athena’s legendary warriors, the Saints. He was also the incarnation of Pegasus Seiya in the 18th century. Tenma was best friends with a boy named Alone, Hades’ chosen vessel to inhabit in that era. As Alone became possessed by Hades, Tenma ventures to rescue him, meeting Aries Shion and Libra Dohko and eventually suffering defeat at the hands of two of the Magnates from the Underworld. Surviving the encounter, the Saints return to Athena’s Sanctuary to devise a strategy to prevent Hades from completing his machinations.
In the present time, Pegasus Seiya is under a curse from Hades that will kill him in three days. Athena decides to save Seiya and is accompanied by the Saint, Andromeda Shun. They travel back in time with the aid of Chronos, but are sent further back than intended so that they end up during the previous holy war. They are separated and Athena is turned into a baby, but she is saved from harm by a Saint as it turns out the leader of the Sanctuary is in league with Hades.
Tenma meet Shun and is convinced of the situation and they race to rescue Athena. On their way through the twelve houses of the Zodiac the meet and fight against several of the powerful Gold Saints and also Specters, warriors of Hades. They are also joined by Shun’s comrades, Ikki, Shiryu and Hyoga. Another looming threat is revealed to be coming in the form of the 13th Gold Saint of Ophiuchus.
Characters
The following are some of the characters that have a prominent role in the chapters released to date. As the story progresses, some more characters have been introduced, and are expected to be developed further in future chapters.
- Pegasus Tenma: The 18th century incarnation of Pegasus Seiya and the main character of the story.
- Alone: The purest soul in the 18th century and the previous human vessel for Hades, god of the Underworld. A young painter apprentice who is an orphan and a close friend to Tenma.
- Aries Shion: A former Bronze Saint promoted to Gold Saint of Aries, future Pope of Sanctuary.
- Libra Dohko: A former Bronze Saint promoted to Gold Saint of Libra, future master of Dragon Shiryū.
- Crateris Suikyō: Formerly the Crateris Silver Saint, master of Tenma and a well-respected soldier of Athena’s army. Unknown events have led him to switch his loyalty to Hades, forsaking his destiny as a Saint and embracing a new one as the Garuda Specter in Hades’ army. He also trained with Shion and Dohko during their childhood.
- Andromeda Shun: One of the main characters, he travels back to the past with Saori and is later separated from her in the 18th century. In the same way as Alone was in the 18th century, Shun is the human with the purest soul in the present.
- Phoenix Ikki: Another of the protagonists and brother of Shun, he reappears fighting off LaScomoune before leaving and travelling to the past.
- Dragon Shiryū: Another of the protagonists, Shiryū goes back in time, to the time of the previous Holy War against Hades in the eighteenth century, to help Saori / Athena to save the life of Seiya.
- Cygnus Hyōga: Another of the protagonists, who back in time with Shiryū, at the time of the holy war against Hades in the eighteenth century, to help Athena.
- Saori Kido: She is the current incarnation of Athena, the greek goddess of justice and heroic endeavor. She, along with Shun, travels back to the holy war against Hades in the 18th century to revert Hades’ curse on Seiya, but was turned into an infant by Chronos, the god of time.
- Ophiuchus Odysseus: Originally a Silver Saint, endowed with miraculous healing abilities, he was beloved and well respected in Sanctuary, where his tragic passing was heavily mourned in the 18th century. Years later, he is resurrected as the legendary Ophiuchus Gold Saint, who was cursed and sealed away in the ages of myth. Odysseus is presented by Kurumada in an antagonistic role.
- Tōma: Formerly an Angel, a combatant of the Heavenly Realm, imprisoned in the Lunar Prison due to sins of his past. His status as an Angel is restored by Callisto, who sends him to take Athena’s life, as well as Seiya’s. His past is mysteriously connected to Eagle Marin.
- Pegasus Seiya: The main character of the story. After the battle against Hades, he remains between life and death from the god’s cursed sword. For that reason, Athena and his Saint friends embark on a journey back in time to save him.
Production
Masami Kurumada first announced the start of the follow-up to his famous Saint Seiya series in 2006. On April 21 he posted an image of Hades, Lord of the Underworld, on his blog. Short chapters came to be published once or even twice per month due to its sporadic release until January 4, 2007 when the next chapter did not get released until August 2, 2007. The series have kept up sporadic releases, with brief intervals of week-to-week publication, but Masami Kurumada updates his blog after a longer interval to show the next upcoming chapters. In Volume 2, in his personal message, Masami Kurumada apologies for the delay of the second volume; revealing that he was sick for a long time in the spring of 2009.
Saint Seiya: Next Dimension was conceived by Masami Kurumada as a prequel to his Saint Seiya manga, parting from elements revealed in it but never further developed and explored then, hence, he started writing and drawing Next Dimension by opening the storyline in a prologue, with a flashback to the last battle of his original manga, contained in vol. 28. Additionally, the original concept of the prequel was to work simultaneously with Shiori Teshirogi’s Saint Seiya : The Lost Canvas as a multi-angle interpretation of the storyline, but this approach was quickly abandoned, as both works greatly diverged. At the release of the first collected volume (tankōbon) of the series, Next Dimension was confirmed to be canonical within the universe and chronology conceived by Kurumada for Saint Seiya.
Following Masami Kurumada’s traditional writing and drawing style, the storyline unfolds in typical shōnen manga narrative. In addition each chapter is presented in full colour. The first chapter was initially called Prologue ①, however, the “①” was removed in the collected first volume. During the first 14 chapters, the borderline of the pages was coloured to look like a starlit night sky, this was changed to standard white in part 14 and further chapters as well as a standard in compiled volumes. Parts 15 and 16 were published in a black & white format complemented by one colour image each. The following parts have continued being released in black & white accompanied by various colored pages. The parts published in black and white will be available in full colour in their respective volume compilation. Certain objects and pieces of information that was previously published in the Saint Seiya Encyclopedia are used in the story such as one of Athena’s 88 armours, the Crateris Silver Cloth, albeith with a new design.
Media
A prologue, 102 chapters, and two additional special chapters have been released to date since 2006, and are being collectively published in tankōbon form. The fourteenth compilation was released on April 7, 2023. The first special episode for Next Dimension was published on June 19, 2014 to commemorate the release of the animated film Saint Seiya: Legend of Sanctuary. The second special chapter was released a year after on July 16, 2015. Both special chapters were compiled in the tenth volume.
Volume list
| No. | Japanese release date | Japanese ISBN | ||
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| 1 | February 6, 2009 | 978-4-253-13271-8 | ||
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| In 1990, the Bronze Saints of Athena engage the god Hades in a final battle to save their goddess Athena and the world. During the fight, the god of the Underworld remembers encountering Pegasus Seiya before, and the reader is then taken to the past. In the 18th century, Dohko and Shion are promoted from Bronze to Gold Saints by the Pope of Athena’s Sanctuary. With their new status, they set out to take down Hades before he manifests in his chosen vessel of the era, Alone. Tenma, the Pegasus Saint in the 18th century steps in between and stops their attack. During the confusion Alone winds up in an old temple were Pandora manages to awake Hades’ soul in Alone. With a barrier now in place that reduces the Saints’ strength, Dohko, Shion and Tenma retreat with dismay. Yet before they can they are attacked by Griffon Vermeer and Garuda Suikyō, the latter being Tenma’s former master. the Saints are hurt badly as the Specters are called back to Hades, but with the help of Tenma’s horse they are able to escape and head back to Sanctuary, to recover and devise a strategy for the upcoming Holy War. | ||||
| 2 | March 8, 2010 | 978-4-253-13272-5 | ||
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| Tenma, Shion and Dohko return to Sanctuary to report their findings about the situation, only to be greeted harshly by the Taurus Gold Saint, Ox, enraged by their seemingly irresponsible behavior. After Taurus is restrained by Capricorn Izō, the Saints are puzzled by the absence of their goddess and ponder about her whereabouts. The Virgo Gold Saint, Shijima, then unveils that Athena may come from the future.
250 years later, in 1990, Athena travels with Andromeda Shun to Mount Olympus and meets her elder sister Artemis, seeking help to relieve Seiya from the comatose state he was put in after by Hades’ curse. Artemis reveals that the only way to do so is to travel back in time, Athena seeks then the help of the god of time, Chronos. During the trek to Chronos, Shun and Athena are separated, the Saint is engaged by the guardians of Artemis, the Satellites, sent by Callisto to kill Athena. Shun is helped by his brother Phoenix Ikki to defeat them and their commander Lascomoune. Eventually, Athena meets Chronos, who sends her along with Shun back in time, to the Holy War in the 18th century, fulfilling Shijima’s prediction. |
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| 3 | December 8, 2010 | 978-4-253-13273-2 | ||
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| In 1990, Phoenix Ikki finds Athena’s garland, a lead to her whereabouts, and travels back in time.
250 years earlier, in the 18th century, the situation of the Holy War becomes only direr as Athena reincarnates as an infant. The Pope tries to murder her, but is thwarted by Virgo Shijima. Shijima is gravely wounded by Pisces Cardinale, who has sworn fealty to Hades, and flees to protect Athena. The Underworld Commander Garuda Suikyō is dispatched to Sanctuary to take the Athena’s life. Followed by a cadre of Specters, Suikyō reaches the Sanctuary and engages Aries Shion in battle. Arriving from the future, Ikki meets an overpowered Shion and engages Suikyō in battle. |
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| 4 | December 8, 2011 | 978-4-253-13274-9 | ||
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| In the 18th century, Sanctuary trembles as the war rages on and warriors of both armies engage in deadly combat. Sparing Shion and Ikki over suffering the effects of the latter’s attack, Garuda Suikyō reaches the Taurus Temple, defeating its guardian, Ox. Simultaneously, Tenma and Shun venture into the Gemini Temple, where a deadly encounter between Gemini Abel, Cain and Suikyō takes place. As they rush to their encounter with Athena, Tenma and Shun almost reach the Cancer Temple.
250 years later, in 1990, the fallen Angel Tōma invades Sanctuary to slay Seiya, but fails due to the intervention of Cygnus Hyōga and Eagle Marin. Tōma senses a mutual but unclear connection to Marin as he retreats. |
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| 5 | April 6, 2012 | 978-4-253-13275-6 | ||
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| In the 18th Century, Tenma and Shun continue their traversing of Sanctuary, managing to trespass the Gemini Temple and make it as far as to the Cancer Temple. The Specter Garuda Suikyō, seems to be under the effects of the Demon Emperor’s Delusion Fist, also proceeds. Tenma and Shun, then Suikyō fight against the Cancer Gold Saint, the ambivalent Deathtoll, the coffin maker. Beyond the deathly portal of Praesepe, Tenma manages to defeat Deathtoll by sealing him in the coffin Omertà, saving his life as well as Shun and his mentor’s. Surviving the battle, Suikyō returns to Sanctuary, encouraging his apprentice to battle on, and resuming his way, heads to the next Temple. | ||||
| 6 | December 12, 2012 | 978-4-253-13276-3 | ||
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| In the 18th Century, the young Bronze Saints recover from their battle against Deathtoll and proceed to the following Temple, where they find Tenma’s mentor Suikyō utterly defeated by its fierce guardian, Leo Kaiser and his pet Goldie. Meanwhile, in the Temple of the Twins a fierce battle between Gemini Cain and Phoenix Ikki ensues, until the young Bronze Saint proves to Cain their goals and allegiance are the same. Shun and Tenma also endure a hard trial to prove their loyalty to Athena to Leo Kaiser, and Deathtoll returns from Praesepe, revealing his true allegiance. As the battle for Earth continues Gemini Cain and Gemini Abel prepare to reveal the mystery of their birth. | ||||
| 7 | August 8, 2013 | 978-4-253-13277-0 | ||
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| In the 20th century, after stopping Angel Tōma from killing Seiya, Cygnus Hyōga proceeds to rally Dragon Shiryū to rush to Athena’s aid. The reluctant Shiryū’s loyalty as a Saint is rekindled only after a brief encounter with the Angel. Both Saints proceed to Mount Olympus and reach Athena’s garland, which sends them back in time. Ophiuchus Shaina is suddenly taken over by a mysterious entity, which Eagle Marin fears to be the thirteenth Gold Saint, cursed since the age of myths.
250 years earlier, in the 18th century, Suikyō is challenged by Virgo Shijima, and after breaking through his defenses is revitalized by his Crateris Cloth, then reveals to Athena the mystery of the cursed Ophiuchus Gold Saint; and Shiryū meets the younger self of his revered mentor, Libra Dohko. |
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| 8 | December 6, 2013 | 978-4-253-13278-7 | ||
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| In 1747, the mystery of the origin of the cursed Ophiuchus Gold Saint is revealed by Virgo Shijima, although his identity remains unrevealed. Dragon Shiryū earns the trust of his mentor Libra Dohko after a harsh trial, and proceeds to the next temple after the arrival of Garuda Suikyō, who then engages the Libra Gold Saint in an emotional and desperate battle, while reminiscing about the days of their youth. As Andromeda Shun and Pegasus Tenma arrive to the Temple of the Maiden, they become witnesses of an unprecedented clash between two Virgo Gold Saints of different eras, as the soul of the deceased Virgo Shaka manifests to come to Shun’s aid. As Shijima convalesces after his battle, he is shocked to learn of the existence of another goddess who comes to his encounter, and the battle between Dohko and Suikyō comes to a sorrowful but inevitable ending. | ||||
| 9 | June 20, 2014 | 978-4-253-13279-4 | ||
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| Suikyō has finally fallen, and Griffon Vermeer is sent to continue with the attack on Athena’s Sanctuary. Cancer Deathtoll and Phoenix Ikki are able to defeat the Magnate of the Underworld, leaving Deathtoll in a special condition in the aftermath. Meanwhile, Libra Dohko became aware of Suikyō’s true mission and decides to betray Athena and take her life. Snakes begin appearing all over Sanctuary, and one of them talks to Aries Shion, announcing the inexorable resurrection of the 13th Gold Saint, the legendary Ophiuchus Odysseus. | ||||
| 10 | June 6, 2016 | 978-4-253-13280-0 | ||
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| Athena manifests herself again, this time, as a young girl and comes to Virgo Shijima’s aid. With the help of the mythical thread of Ariadne, they both manage to find the exit of the Labyrinth of the gods, only for Athena to suffer the bite of a snake which inoculates her with the fabled venom of Samael. Meanwhile, Phoenix Ikki arrives to the Leo Temple and is subjected to a tortuous trial by Leo Kaiser to prove his loyalty to Athena. Time is precious as Samael’s venom is about to reach Athena’s heart. Arriving at the Aquarius Temple, Shijima entrusts the moribund child goddess to its guardian, Aquarius Mystria. Cygnus Hyōga arrives at his temple moments later, and engages Mystria in a duel of Saints of Ice for the life of Athena. After acknowleding Hyōga as a true Saint, Mystria sends him off with Athena, to take her to the only man who can heal her, Ophiuchus Odysseus, whose imminent resurrection causes Sanctuary to tremble. | ||||
| 11 | September 7, 2017 | 978-4-253-13281-7 | ||
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| Tremors and space-time distortions stem from Odysseus’ resurrection. Shiryū is caught in a strange dream-like state, in which he experiences all stages of life having forgotten his destiny as a Saint. Later realizing it all to be an illusion, Shiryū frees himself and encounters Scorpio Écarlate, who engages him in deadly battle. Recognizing him as a true Saint after witnessing his determination, Écarlate reveals the motives of the Gold Saints’ loyalty to Odysseus. Meanwhile, Athena is near death as Samael’s venom weakens her heart even further. Hyōga finally comes to an encounter with the fierce Sagittarius Gestalt, who refuses to acknowledge Athena as the true goddess. In the 20th century, the distortions cause Eagle Marin to find the fabled arrow of the goddess, also causing Sagittarius Aiolos’ testament to manifest itself in the past. Facing certain death at the hands of Gestalt, Athena uses the arrow of the goddess to prove her divinity. Moved by Aiolos’ quality as a true Saint and by the moribund Athena’s gesture, Gestalt finally acknowledges her and allows Hyōga take her to Odysseus, whose return is now all but inevitable. | ||||
| 12 | May 8, 2018 | 978-4-253-13282-4 | ||
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| 13 | June 8, 2021 | 978-4-253-13283-1 | ||
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| 14 | April 7, 2023 | 978-4-253-13284-8 | ||
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Chapters not yet in tankōbon format
- Part 103: Protect Athena (アテナを守れ, Atena o Mamore)
- Part 104: To Sahā (娑婆へ, Shaba e)
- Part 105: The Bond of Flowers (花の絆, Hana no Kizuna)
- Part 106: The Voice of the Heart (心の声, Kokoro no Koe)
- Part 107: Scorpio’s Annihilation (蠍座の消滅, Sukōpion no Shōmetsu)
- Part 108: From Beyond the Flames (炎の彼方から, Honō no Kanata kara)
- Part 109: The godkiller blade (神殺しの刃, Kamigoroshi no Yaiba)
- Part 110: Golden Gathering (黄金の集結, Gōrudo no Shūketsu)
Reception
- During its first week, the first volume of the manga sold 30,618 copies in Japan and stood on the 22nd place of most sold in February 2009. The following week it had sold 57,426 copies, but had gone down to 27th place of most sold that month.
- After its first week the second volume lay on 9th place of most bought manga volume of march in Japan.
- During its first week, the third volume of the manga sold 44,200 copies in Japan and stood on the 17th place of most sold in December 2010
- During its first week, the fourth volume of the manga ranked at the 8th place of the 30 most sold titles in December 2011, according to Comiclist.jp. Also, according to the same source, the fourth volume of Next Dimension ranked 6th in the 10 most sold shōnen manga in December 2011.
- Oricon.jp ranked the fifth volume of Next Dimension in the 23rd place out of the 30 most sold titles, in its first week of sales.
- During its first week, the sixth volume of the manga sold 61,525 copies in Japan and stood on the 30th place of most sold manga in December 2012.
- (No data)
- During its first week, the eighth volume of the manga sold 62,500 copies in Japan and stood on the 28th place of most sold manga in December 2013
- During its first 3 days, the ninth volume sold approximately 40,000 copies, coming in 7th place among the top selling Shōnen manga in Japan; 67.215 copies sold in the first 12 days.
- In Japan, the tenth volume of Saint Seiya: Next Dimension has sold 46,000 copies in its first week, reaching the 19th position of the best-selling manga of the week.
- In Japan, the eleventh volume has sold 54,922 copies in the ten day period from its day of release to September 17, 2017, ranking #44 on the list of the 50 most sold titles of Oricon.jp
- The volume 12 of Saint Seiya: Next Dimension in Japan reached the 10th position of the best-selling manga in Japan in the first week with 46,649 copies sold.
Merchandise
As of September 2017, merchandise related to Saint Seiya: Next Dimension is still uncommon. Aside from the tankobōbon compilations, only a few promotional cards have been published, included in the Champion magazine issues. The cards feature selected characters from the Saint Seiya universe illustrated by the author Kurumada and occasionally a message from him and his signature. In addition, numerous promotional posters with illustrations from the series have been released together with several of the publications. A skin for the interchangeable protective cover of the Iphone 5 was released in June 2014 with an image of Athena and Seiya.
In a message included in the issue of publication of chapter 84 of Next Dimension, Masami Kurumada teases the release of a collectible figure of Ophiuchus Odysseus in the near future.
On september 20th, 2017, it was revealed in the Tamashii Nations website, that the collectible figure mentioned by Kurumada is a special release and part of the Cloth Myth EX line, and it will be indeed a figure of the Ophiuchus Gold Saint, to be released in the Original Color Edition format, creator Kurumada was involved in the development of the figure as supervisor, although, the figure is not modeled in Odysseus’ likeness, as it is meant to represent the image of the Ophiuchus Gold Saint from legend and not Odysseus or Asclepios specifically. Based in Kurumada’s original design from his manga and not from an anime adaptation as is usual for the line; the figure is the first collectible figure ever released from Next Dimension and of the character as well.
Video game
A song for Next Dimension titled “END OR NEXT”, was composed, for the Saint Seiya: Awakening mobile video game from Tencent, with vocals by Nobuo Yamada, the original singer of Pegasus Fantasy. Ophiuchus Odysseus is also featured as a character in the game, voiced by Yuichi Nakamura, as well as Virgo Shijima.
Events
For the event of the 50th anniversary of the Weekly Shōnen Champion magazine, the Ophiuchus Gold Cloth was recreated on a 1:1 scale, about 6′ 8″ tall; also a gallery showcased several art pieces authored by Masami Kurumada and taken from Next Dimension and collectible figures of the Ophiuchus Gold Saint.
| Saint Seiya: Next Dimension – Myth of Hades | |
First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Pegasus Seiya
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| 聖闘士星矢 NEXT DIMENSION 冥王神話 (Seinto Seiya Nekusuto Dimenshon Meiō Shinwa) |
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| Manga | |
| Written by | Masami Kurumada |
| Published by | Akita Shoten |
| Imprint | Shōnen Champion Comics |
| Magazine | Weekly Shōnen Champion |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Original run | April 27, 2006 – present |
| Volumes | 14 |
A simple moment can change the entire life…
A pure friendship is being born…
