Pegasus Seiya

Pegasus Seiya (天馬星座の星矢, Pegasasu no Seiya, Seiya meaning "star arrow) is the main character of the series. He is one of the 88 saints of Athena and one of the 48 Bronze Saints. He is protected by the Pegasus Constellation so he wears the Pegasus Cloth.

Creation and conception
Pegasus Seiya (天馬星座の星矢, Pegasasu no Seiya, Seiya meaning "star arrow) is the main character of the series.

He is one of the 88 saints of Athena and one of the 48 Bronze Saints. He is protected by the Pegasus Constellation so he wears the Pegasus Cloth. He is Tenma's reincarnation.

Creation and conception
When Masami Kurumada was in the process of creating Saint Seiya, he gave Seiya the name Rin at first, since Kurumada was going to title his manga "Ginga no Rin" (Rin of the Galaxy). However, as Kurumada continued developing his manga, he decided to change the name to Seiya, which was more fitting. First, he wrote the name using the Kanji that meant "Holy Arrow" to relate it to Seiya's condition as a Saint, but later decided to use the kanji that meant "Star Arrow" to emphasize the constellation and mythological motif. Finally, he changed his manga title as well to Saint Seiya, once he fully developed the concept of the Saints. Also, Kurumada stated that one of the first ideas he conceived for Saint Seiya was the Pegasus Meteor Fist. Since his manga was going to use the constellations as a very important and ever-present theme, he wanted his protagonist to have a special move that would be like a shower of meteors. When Kurumada designed Seiya's likeness, he was inspired by Takane Ryuuji, the main character of his hit manga Ring ni Kakero, which he created 9 years before Seiya. Most protagonists of Kurumada's works bear a resemblance to Ryuuji, because Kurumada subscribes to the revered Osamu Tezuka's Star System technique, which calls for a stable cast of characters that are constantly referenced. The reason Masami Kurumada chose the Sagittarius Gold Cloth as the most powerful of the Gold Cloths is because of its symbolism in relation to Seiya. In the Japanese language, Seiya means "star arrow," which is a metaphor for "meteor" and Sagittarius represents an archer, so Kurumada thought it would be a perfect match for Seiya, especially since he already had in mind that the Sagittarius Gold Cloth would eventually be worn by Seiya in certain parts of the manga. Hence, Seiya's zodiacal sign is Sagittarius, since in Kurumada's canon, a Gold Cloth bearer's sign must match the Gold Cloth he represents.

Character attributes
Seiya is the main character of his namesake series, Saint Seiya. He is a show-off. He is one of the 88 saints of Athena and serves loyally at her side. Seiya draws his Cosmo from the constellation that connects to the Cloth. At the start of the series, Seiya's main objective is to find his older sister Seika, who disappeared from Japan when Seiya was sent to train to become a Saint. However, as the series continues, Seiya eventually starts fighting alongside the other Bronze Saints to protect Athena, albeit reluctantly at first. During his childhood in Greece, he met Eagle Marin, a female Silver Saint who trained him to become a Saint. Due to her similarities to Seika, Seiya starts thinking Marin is his sister, but later he discovers he was wrong and finds his real sister. Seiya tends to be the most immature Saint, as he frequently makes jokes and is not quite concerned about the consequences of his actions.

Although Seiya began his journey as a Bronze Saint, the lowest of three ranks, his abilities gradually grow to rival those of the Gold Saints, the most powerful of Athena's soldiers. He achieves this by awakening his 7th sense, the essence and origin of the Cosmo. Before descending into the realm of Hades, he also awakes his 8th sense Cosmo, allowing him to enter into the Underworld without being subject to its laws. The Pegasus Cloth represents the Pegasus constellation, which is associated with Pegasus, the divine winged horse from Greek mythology. Seiya defeated 10 other trainees in order to acquire the Pegasus Cloth and the status of Saint of Athena. The Pegasus Bronze Cloth suffers damage various times throughout the series, with Aries Mu typically responsible for repairs. In Kurumada's manga, the Cloth changes shape each time it is fixed, with each revision evolving the Cloth into a more detailed form while it remains the same in the anime until the series' second arc. When the Gold Saints use their blood to revive the Bronze Cloths, the second version of the Pegasus cloth can change from bronze to golden hue whenever Seiya charges his Cosmo to the maximum. With the Cloth that Seiya uses in the Hades arc, Seiya is able to use the wings to fly, both normally and through dimensions. In his fight against Thanatos, it resurrects in God Cloth state, which was last seen in the ages of myth, further increasing Seiya's Cosmo and vitality.

Eventually, Seiya becomes powerful enough to wear the Gold Cloth of Sagittarius, which is a Cloth that had lost its true owner before the series began, and becomes Sagittarius Seiya. When Seiya has the Gold Cloth on, his Cosmo is magnified. Nevertheless, while Seiya uses the Sagittarius Gold Cloth many times throughout the series to save Athena from certain peril, he is never officially granted ownership of the Cloth.

Special Attacks
Pegasus Ryu Sei Ken (ペガサス流星拳, Pegasus Meteor Fist): The Pegasus Saint's signature technique. He concentrates his cosmos in his hands and makes positions of the stars of its constellation, Pegasus. Then the saint fires several punches capable of hitting the enemy at hundred times a second like meteors and may even hit the enemy from long distances. If the cosmos is high enough, more meteors may strike and at the speed of light. He not only fires using his punches but also kicks, as in the fight against Bear Geki.

Pegasus Sui Sei Ken (ペガサス彗星拳, Pegasus Comet Fist): Seiya concentrates his strength at the enemy and in a split second, a huge and powerful ball of pulsating Cosmo taking the form of a comet blasts the opponent's body, causing huge damage. It is his strongest blow and he uses it only in times of extreme hardship and despair.

Pegasus Rolling Crush (ペガサスローリングクラッシュ, Pegasasu Roringu Kurasshu): Seiya grabs the opponent, then surrounded by a powerful energy, he jumps while spinning in the air and projects this energy against the enemy, throwing the enemy to the ground with violent force.

Story
Seiya plays a prominent role in all the arcs of the series. In the Sanctuary arc, Seiya returns from his training in Greece looking for his sister, but is attacked by the many Saints sent by the traitorous Pope. When Athena is struck by the Phantom Arrow at Sanctuary, Seiya and his partners climb up the Twelve Temples to find the Pope and remove the arrow. In order to get to the Pope, the Bronze Saints are forced to fight against the Gold Saints. Seiya is able to overcome them by awakening the seventh sense, the essence of Cosmo. During the Poseidon arc, Seiya fights against the Mariner Generals, the followers of the God of the Sea Poseidon. In the Hades arc, Seiya must fight against the Specters of Hades, the lord of the Underworld. He had been sent out of the Sanctuary by an order from Athena meant to protect the Bronze Saints, but, after her apparent death, Seiya instinctively burns his Cosmos up to the Eighth Sense while falling into the underworld. Seiya attempts to deliver Athena's Cloth to her and fights some specters. Seiya eventually arrives in Elysion and, after fighting against the gods Hypnos and Thanatos, he encounters Hades. During the fight, Seiya is mortally wounded by the sword of Hades while protecting Athena and his Cosmo disappears, leading readers to believe the Pegasus Saint had died.

Appearances in other media
Seiya also appears in Saint Seiya related manga. In Saint Seiya Episode G, Seiya appears in Leo Aiolia's vision and in Saint Seiya: Next Dimension, he appears when Pegasus Tenma sees his future in the Crateris Cloth. Seiya also stars in all Saint Seiya movies, in which he always defeats the antagonist using the arrow of the Sagittarius Cloth, with the exception of Heaven Chapter ~Overture~, in which he scarred Apollo with his fist.

Pegasus Tenma is Seiya's incarnation in the 18th Century. He appears only in Masami Kurumada's Saint Seiya: Next Dimension and Shiori Teshirogi's Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas manga, both prequels of the original manga. The few facts that both universe have in common is that Tenma is a friend of Alone, Hades's chosen body of the time, since their childhood and that they soon become enemies. Tenma has the same appearance as Seiya and uses the same type of techniques.

Next Dimension
Main Artcle: Pegasus Seiya ( ND )

Omega
Main Article: Sagittarius Seiya

Reception
In Japan, Seiya is the least popular character in Saint Seiya, ranking 5th in the Bronze Saints character poll. However, in the technique poll, his Pegasus Meteor Fist ranked 1st. Merchandise based on Seiya has also been released, including plushes and action figures with different cloths.

Several anime and manga publications have provided both acclaim and criticism of Seiya's character. DVDVisionJapan criticizes the fact that Seiya takes beating after beating but gets back up every time. However, they praise his seiyu, Tōru Furuya, for giving the character a good array of emotions. Anime News Network comments that Seiya's voice actor for the English dub is unsuitable, that he enunciates strange words and does not sound at all heroic. They also criticize Seiya for being an underdog in all the fights. DVDVerdictReview.com praises Seiya as a good developed character, since most of his characteristics are related to Greek mythology.