Taurus Aldebaran

Taurus Aldebaran (牡牛座 （タウラス）のアルデバラン, Taurasu no Arudebaran) is one of the 12 Gold Saints. Aldebaran is one of the 12 Gold Saints of Sanctuary, with the Taurus as his destined constellation. He was physically the strongest of the Gold Saints in the modern era. He is Brazilian in origin.

Background
Masami Kurumada introduced Aldebaran in chapter 29, contained in vol.8 of his manga. Being a Brazilian character made Aldebaran popular in Brazil, since he is one of the few Brazilian characters in manga and anime, and Saint Seiya was hugely popular in Brazil (being in that country renamed "Os Cavaleiros do Zodíaco", literally "Knights of the Zodiac").

Personality
Unlike most of the gold saints, Aldebaran is often depicted as an humble and friendly guy, laughing and being less serious in times of peace. He was a good friend of Aries Mu, and with Pegasus Seiya as this last is said in the anime adaptation of the Hades Saga, when Aldebaran sacrificed himself with the other eleven Gold Saints to destroy the Wailing Wall.

In a flashback in the anime version of the Hades Saga, he is shown to awkwardly accept the gift of a flower from an unnamed small girl, while Aiolia, Mu and other village girls from around the Sanctuary look on. Although Aldebaran followed the orders of the Pope, he was growing suspicious of his integrity and tested the Bronze saints during their invasion on the Sanctuary. According to Aries Mu, Aldebaran could have killed all of them if he used his true power, but Aldebaran answered that if his enemies were fighting so hard, then their beliefs couldn't be all wrong.

In Saint Seiya Episode G, Aldebaran is depicted as an easy-going person who likes to buy little mementos. He is also shown as someone who has strong faith in his beliefs and learns from his past errors, seeing them as steps and not sins. Due to that, he was able to easily defeat the Brabeus Talanton that was smashing Leo Aiolia and Capricorn Shura with the weight of their sins. In Soul of Gold, he refuses to drink with Dohko, feeling drained by the elder's energy, but he but he patiently follows Dohko's adventures, like fighitng in the arena when Dohko asked him.

Etymology
Aldebaran is the giant star of the constelation of Taurus. Seconded the video game Saint Seiya Online it is mentioned that, like many other Taurus Knights in the past, he decided to change his name to Aldebaran. According to the same source, his real name is Tiago.

Episode G
Aldebaran appears along with other Gold Saints golden at the meeting, who is later accompanies Leo Aiolia and Lithos Crysallis on journey to Jamir. Then take care to Aries Mu after he had his fight with Lapetus Dimension Dimension. It teleported to Greece even with warnings Mu was not quite sure to do something like that. When the body was recovered Cronos, Capicorn Shura and Leo Aiolia had to face the six Titanids, drawing his wounds Temis tried to crush them with their technique Balance The Judge, but Aldebaran came and saved them, ending the three Rea called the ERath Python , but destroyed them with his Aldebaran Steel Arm , so the queen of the titans summoned the legendary Hydra , Shura used his Excalibur to cut some heads but when do Saints were splashed acid blood as and new heads appeared, then used the Taurus Aldebaran Great Horn to attack the main head, which allegedly was immortal, and completely destroyed killing Hydra, incidentally ended Temis technique. In Chapter 78 of Episode G, during the fight against Kronos, Aldebaran and Capricorn Shura face to Mythological Giant Hoplisma nephritis (Jade Armor). Taurus Capricorn intends to concentrate its cosmos to use Excallibur against deity while he distracts him, so resist Aldebaran says Giant's five attacks. Aldebaran uses his arms to hit nephritis, but apparently invulnerable armor does, but also quite fast they could dodge the attack GReat Horn of Aldebaran, one of the fastest we have Taurus Gold Saints stoically resists even Pelekus Dunnamis supports that as the Giant, has all the power of a God, everything to concentrate all his cosmos Shura. In the end, Shura is ready to attack and reveals the giant Aldebaran with his Great Horn showed that Jade Armor no longer a fortress, then launches Excalibur bringing the game ends and giant dies.

Saintia Sho
Being one of the eight Golden Saints found in the Sanctuary, Aldebaran is present at the assembly called by the Pope, where the latter exposes the danger in which the Sanctuary is found since Saori Kido has several rebellious Saints under his command. command which makes the Pope doubt whether it is possible that the young woman is the subordinate of some evil being or the reincarnation of one, therefore the Sanctuary must be on high alert

Saint Seiya (1986), Part 1: The Sanctuary
Aldebaran was first seen in the 12 Temples in the Sanctuary. At his Taurus temple, he faced the four Bronze Saints: Pegasus Seiya, Dragon Shiryu, Cygnus Hyoga, and Andromeda Shun. The four Bronze Saints were no match to Aldebaran since none of them had reached to the seventh sense. His battle stance (with crossed arms) allowed him to attack and defend at the same time; since he moves at the speed of light, he can launch his "Great Horn" and return to defense without being seen. Using his "Pegasus Ryu Sei Ken", Seiya reached to the seventh sense for the very first time, getting Aldebaran out of his stance and making it possible for him to see his technique.

In the end, he cuts Aldebaran's left horn off his helmet. Aldebaran, who had told Seiya that he would let him pass the Temple of Taurus if he could break the horn, kept his promise. Before the four Bronze Saints left his temple, Aldebaran told them that without the seventh sense, they don't stand a chance against any of the Gold Saints. In order to reach to the seventh sense, they must burn their cosmo to the limit.

Later, Aldebaran joined Mu, who was watching over the wounded Saori. Mu asked him why did he allow Seiya and the others to pass through his temple; Aldebaran replied that he saw that the Bronze Saints truly believed that Athena is on their side and had his own misgivings about the Pope's claims that they were traitors. The ensuing conversation allowed him to realize that perhaps the Pope was not as he seemed.

Asgard saga (anime only)
In the anime-only Asgard arc, Aldebaran was the first one to be confronted by one of the God Warriors. After the Twelve Temples arc, Aldebaran was unexpectedly attacked by Mizar Syd, and seemingly defeated. It was later revealed that Syd never landed a single blow; instead, it was his brother Alcor Bud who attacked Aldebaran from behind. Aldebaran confined this information to Silver Saint Shaina, asking her to warn the Bronze Saints who would face Syd in battle. The Asgard saga, however, doesn't exist in the original manga, and therefore is not considered canon.

Retro-continuity: The Asgard arc was made without Masami Kurumada's input, being an alternate version of the events.

Saint Seiya (1986), Part 2: Poseidon
In the beginning of the Poseidon chapter, Aldebaran followed Athena to the hospital where Seiya, Hyoga, Shiryu and Shun was. After Athena went to attend some matters, the Marina General Siren Sorento appeared. Upon Aldebaran returning to find Siren on the way on turning the medical equipment down, a battle was eminent. Although under Sorento's music that reduced Aldebaran's power to just one percent of its total, he still was able to knock his enemy away with his Great Horn, but without causing him any injuries. Aldebaran had to puncture his ears for Sorento's music not to come through, but it was in vain and the Siren utilized a final move leaving only the Taurus Cloth behind. Despite this, the saint had actually evaded the attack and used his Cosmo to paralyze the movements of his enemy. Before they could start to fight again, Athena appeared and demanded to be taken to the Sanctuary of Poseidon. Aldebaran could not refuse the wishes of Athena and returned to Sanctuary though helmless, while Sorento escorted Athena. In the anime, Aldebaran just had a cameo appearance in this saga.

Saint Seiya (1986), Part 3: Hades
In the beginning of Hades Chapter, Mu ran to the Taurus temple while chasing after Gemini Saga, Aquarius Camus and Capricorn Shura. There, he found Aldebaran standing strong in front of him. At first he was relieved to see he is all right. Sadly, after a short while, Mu found that Aldebaran was already killed by Niobe, a spectre of Hades.

With Aldebaran's very last remaining cosmo, Mu was able to move again after Nyobe attacked him with Deep Fragrance. Mu then defended himself with "Crystal Wall" against Nyobe's attack. Afterward, he quietly walked away. Nyobe was surprised, until Mu reminded him that he was, in fact, already dead: Aldebaran's Great Horn had already hit him and destroyed his entire body. Mu thanked Aldebaran for his help and swore on his life that he would protect Athena to the end.

In the manga, Aldebaran was surprised by Deep Niobe because he was deaf after destroying his own eardrums in his battle against Siren Sorrento.

Later, Aldebaran joined the rest of the twelve Gold Saints at the Wailing Wall with his Gold Cloth. He showed his surprised comrades that he remained loyal to his friends and Athena, even after death.

Saint Seiya: Next Dimension
In the official sequel Saint Seiya Next Dimension, Aldebaran appears (together with the other Gold Saints) in the form of spirit to help of Athena.

Soul of Gold
Still not knowing the reason for being alive, Aldebaran appears in a coliseum in Asgard, attracted by the cosmos of a Golden Saint. Once there, he witnesses the fight of Dohko, who defeats several soldiers without difficulty. Stopping for a break, the two go to a tavern, where Aldebaran rebukes the Libra's attitude of getting involved in fights of this kind. The Taurus knight is also worried about the inexplicable reason why they have returned to life, which Dohko doesn't give so much importance, saying that the main thing is to find out why they are in Asgard.

At this, a strong voice, coming from the coliseum, challenges Dohko. Once there, the God Warrior, Hercules summons the Libra knight. Dohko accepts the challenge, but says that the one who would fight would be Aldebaran. Even victorious, the fight weighed heavily on Aldebaran who, exhausted, sees strange marks appear on his body. Later, he and Dohko look to Yggdrasil, where they hope to find the answers. Along the way, Aries Mu contacts them telepathically, informing them of the procedure to destroy the barrier around Yggdrasil. Unexpectedly, Aldebaran finds himself surprised by a known character, who uses chains; Shun. Initially he is confused by the appearance of the Bronze Knight, who should have been in the Elysian Fields, fighting Hades. But soon he understands that it is an illusion and defeats it.

The path reveals one of Yggdrasil's roots to be destroyed. Dohko asks Aldebaran to destroy the barrier. They feel their cosmos being sucked in when Mu contacts them again. Continuing the explanation, to destroy the barrier it was necessary to awaken the Divine Armor. He burns his cosmos to get the divine cloth. Then, after entering the temple, he turns to meet Heracles. The god warrior is particularly happy to see Aldebaran again, willing to take revenge for the earlier fight. Accusing the Golden Saint of being a cheater for wearing the divine armor, Aldebaran tries to correct him, saying he is the cheater, and battle against him being victorious once again. Later, the gold Taurus returns for what will be his last battle in Asgard, along with his companions, against the false god Loki.

Warriors of the Final Holy Battle
At the beginning of the movie, Aldebaran is taken by surprise by an attack of the four Fallen Angels together. He is badly injured, and he does not appear in the rest of the movie.


 * Retro-continuity: The movie was made without Masami Kurumada's consent, and Aldebaran was supposed dead. As he is alive in the 3rd part of the Manga (see below), and at the end of it his soul leaves the Underworld to go to the Nirvana, it can be assumed that in this movie he was just badly injured.

Techniques and abilities
Having mastered the Seventh Sense, Aldebaran is able to fully control his Cosmo energy and make movements at the speed of light. This power allowed him to become one of the Gold Saints, the strongest class among the protectors of the goddess Athena. It is hinted that he achieved the Eighth sense in the Hades saga, so he could freely fight Hades and aid the other Gold Saints.

Great Horn (グレートホーン, Gurēto Hōn) An attack in which he sends two massive waves of cosmos towards his enemy. The destructive power of this technique is so great, that it pulverizes a warrior completely together with his armor and on "luckier" outcomes, the opponent is being ripped large parts of its body during the attack.

Aldebaran has displayed superhuman physical strength and endurance with no equal among even the gold saints of his generation, in Saint Seiya Episode G, he was able to lift a plate that was crushing two other Gold Saints with one hand. Between his fights, he has also shown that in order to increase the power and strength of his Great Horn, Aldebaran keeps his arms-crossed during a fight, it might seem that Aldebaran is just standing there without purpose with arms crossed, but in reality this is an strategic pose, as noted by Pegasus Seiya this is a strategy is similar to iaijutsu method of sword fighting (this following the concept that a katana being drawn from its sheath moves with a much greater speed and force than when it is being wielded normally. Additionally, greater drawing speed gives a swordsman more of an advantage in combat than an opponent whose speed is inferior) thus while in this pose, Aldebaran can instantly react to incoming attacks, uncross his arms and counter-attack, this being so fast, the enemy is unable to perceive or feel the blow before Aldebaran crosses his arms again, this becomes harrowingly apparent when seconds later, the fatal damage starts appearing on the opponent who moments ago thought that he or she had actually dodged or survived the hit.

Cloth, Constellation and Temple
Aldebaran's guardian constellation is Taurus, and his Gold Cloth represents it and its associated myth : the Cretan Bull, captured by Heracles as his seventh task.

The temple Aldebaran guarded was known both in manga and the anime adaptation as KinGyuuKyuu, the "Temple of the Golden Bull".

Predecessor
Main Article: Taurus Ox

Successor
Main Article: Taurus Harbinger

Other media

 * Taurus Ox

In Masami Kurumada's current Saint Seiya work, Saint Seiya Next Dimension, the Taurus Saint in the 18th century was known as Taurus Ox (牡牛座のオックス, Oushiza (Taurasu) no Okkusu). In the same way as Aldebaran, Ox is a giant, with blonde hair and bushy eyebrows, and also possesses the Great Horn. A recently introduced character that has yet to take a more prominent role in the plot, he is ackowledged by Libra Dohko to be a true Gold Saint. He first appeared in chapter 13, punishing Pegasus Tenma, Libra Dohko and Aries Sion because of their reckless charge against Hades.

Settei
Aldebarán de Tauro Aldébaran du Taureau Pt-br: Aldebaran de Touro