Sea Dragon Kanon

Sea Dragon Kanon (のカノン, Shī Doragon no Kanon), also known as Gemini Kanon, is a a character from the classic anime/manga series, Saint Seiya. He was the younger twin brother of Gold Saint Gemini Saga, and later took up the position after Saga's death. Before finally embracing his destiny as the Gemini Saint, Kanon masqueraded as the Sea Dragon, one of Poseidon's seven Marina Generals, and thus he was then known as Sea Dragon Kanon (のカノン, Shīdoragon no Kanon).

Personality & Background
Kanon is a character with substantial importance in the universe of Kurumada's manga, and therefore in its anime adaptation. He is directly responsible for triggering two main events : the Conflict of the 12 Temples by inciting Gemini Saga to succumb to his evil desires, and the resurrection of Poseidon, Emperor of the Seas. Also, Kanon is notable for redeeming himself for all his sins in the past and wreaking havoc as the Gemini Gold Saint against the army of Hades' 108 Specters.

At first, Kanon was depicted as a treacherous man, always tempting his twin brother to use his status and power to advance his status of influence beyond that of a Gold Saint. He concluded that their amazing and powerful abilities were gifts from the gods for them to take advantage of. Much to his dismay, his brother opposed this and caused his incarceration at Cape Sounion. After his redemption, however, Kanon became a centered, more thoughtful person, much like his deceased brother.

Kanon was the one person responsible for Poseidon's awakening, although he kept the sea god only partially awakened so that he could pose as the true leader of the Marinas as a Marina General and use Poseidon's army to achieve his desires. In order to do so, Kanon stole the Sea Dragon Scale and pretended to be the Sea Dragon General under Poseidon's order. Even after joining forces with Athena, Kanon retained his ruthless personality and harsh characteristics, scolding Pegasus Seiya and Andromeda Shun for hesitating to finish their enemies, because their hesitation was a weakness that their enemies would take advantage of. Even so, he quickly absorbed the honor of a Gold Saint.

Kanon's imprisonment
At a point prior to the series, Kanon and Saga trained together and had roughly the same level of power. However, Saga was the more dedicated of the duo, and thus more powerful. He was also the first to receive the Gold Cloth of Gemini. Nevertheless, Kanon was ambitious and he understood that Saga shared the same ambitions he did, whether or not he wanted to admit it. After scheming for a long time, Kanon finally decided to approach Saga on one fateful day with his ruthless plot to assassinate both the current Pope and the infant Athena, all so the brothers could claim Sanctuary for themselves. Unfortunately for Kanon, his timing was slightly off, Saga's evil side still had not yet fully awakened at this point. Revolted by the fact that his own flesh and blood would even consider committing such heinous crimes, Saga locked Kanon within the confines of a watery prison in Sounion as a form of punishment. Should the gods allow it, then Kanon would find a way to escape. If not, then this would be their farewell. As Saga began to walk away, Kanon berated the older Gemini for not embracing the power that the gods have given him. Deep down, there was a darker aspect of his nature whispering the same evil desires within Saga's heart. The Gold Saint paid Kanon no attention, and was soon out of sight. Boiling with rage, Kanon sworn that he would escape and kill Athena and her Saints.

The water level of the cave was very unstable, as it would continually rise and fall with each passing day. For 10 days, Kanon was trapped and barely survived. Oddly, every time he found himself within an inch of death, a powerful yet gentle Cosmo would somehow lift the younger Gemini away. Still refusing to give up his ambitions, Kanon began to search the prison for a way out, and he discovered it in the form of a hollow wall in the back of the cave. With a single blow, Kanon destroyed the wall and was instantly shocked to see the object concealed behind it: the legendary majestic trident of the Lord of the Seas, Poseidon. The Gemini also recognized the tag that had previously concealed its power: Athena's seal. The bind had been gradually losing its power, however, as Kanon noticed that even his own strength was enough to release the trident from its hold. Freed from Athena, the trident suddenly glowed with power, and immediately sought to return to its owner, taking Kanon along with it into the depths of the deep blue.

Kanon & Poseidon
Kanon woke up in a bizarre yet serene location. All around him were temples and shrines, no doubt some sort of holy ground. Yet above him was a skyline of jet-blue water, as if to suggest that he was now inside a breathable haven under the seas, and he was. This was the legendary Sanctuary of Poseidon, where the Lord of the Seas reigns supreme. Kanon soon came to understand this, when he realized that he was directly staring at the Temple of Poseidon. The Gemini entered and, etched high on individual pillars before him were the Marina Scales of Poseidon and his seven Marina Generals. Below the scale of Poseidon was a metallic jar, apparently locked with the same Seal of Athena that Kanon had seen securing the weapon of Poseidon. Placing the trident down, Kanon approached the jar, and Athena's hold was once again vanquished. The jar burst open, and the soul of Poseidon once again inhabited his holy shrine, briefly taking residence in the Poseidon Scale.

The Lord of the Seas demanded to know why he was awoken 300 years too early. Kanon, struck with awe, informed him that Athena's seal had weakened to the point of being non-existent. The god scoffed and claimed that Athena's seal had zero effect on him; that if he wanted to, he could've awoken at any point in time. Kanon then revealed that Athena's next manifestation had arrived, and that the goddess was preparing to once again walk the Earth in mortal form. Poseidon was surprised by this, and recalled that he had awoke under similar circumstances 200 years ago. At the time, Athena had reincarnated once again to battle with a certain god, a god that was even more ambitious than the Lord of the Seas. Poseidon then declared that since the seal had weakened, it was probably his turn to do battle with the goddess. Thus, he needed a living host. Fortunately, there was a certain bloodline that he had always counted on for this task. Exiting the Under Sea Temples, Poseidon's soul jumped into the 3 year old toddler body of Julian Solo, the heir of a wealthy business family whose expertise was the seven seas. Before the god left, he inquired Kanon's name, and Kanon replied that he was known as "Sea Dragon." The god warned him to make sure that his soul does not awake within Julian Solo's body until the child is 16 years of age. Kanon smirked and vowed that he will do exactly just that. In fact, he wouldn't ever truly awaken the sea god within Solo's body, if he could help it. Kanon donned the Sea Dragon Scale, and recalled the bit where Saga mentioned that only the gods can help Kanon. It seems the gods have allowed this to happen, and Kanon once again declared a strong ambition : to rule not only land, but the seas, as well.

As Kanon patiently waited, he received news that his older brother had finally snapped and succumbed to his evil side. Not only that, but Saga had actually followed through with the very same plans that Kanon had laid out for him. He had assassinated the Pope and attempted to kill the infant Athena. The Sea Dragon sat back and waited, as his own ambitions could not be fulfilled unless he had the other Marina Generals with him, and they would only arrive when Solo has declared that he is Poseidon. Eventually, Kanon received news that five Bronze Saints had invaded Sanctuary, and that Saga had fallen. The Sea Dragon could only smile, as it was now up to him to succeed where his older brother had failed.

Battle of The Seven Seas
The plan was genius, with about half of the twelve Gold Saints killed in action in their fight with the Bronze Saints, Poseidon's resurrection would require whomever was left of Sanctuary's high-ranked fighters to invade the Under Seas Temples of Atlantis and counter the threat in a swift and efficient manner. The abduction of Athena would only further entice this. By this point, the other six Marina Generals and the massive army of foot soldiers had fully awakened and gathered to the seas. The disappearance and death of all twelve Gold Saints would make Sanctuary easy pickings. Unfortunately, a wrench was thrown in Kanon's plans, and instead of Gold Saints arriving to rescue their patron goddess, Sanctuary had sent Bronze Saints in their place. Humored by the minuscule power of these lower-ranked Saints, Kanon swatted them away and advised the challengers to call for the older, more powerful Gold Saints instead. Unbeknownst to Sea Dragon, however, the Bronze Saints that stood before him were the same ones who had battled their Gold brethren and walked away alive. They thwarted Poseidon's foot soldiers, then went on to battle the Marina Generals who awaited them. The Bronze Saints were successful in combat against the Marina Generals, and later confronted Julian Solo. It appeared that Poseidon's true power had not yet manifested in him. However, each blow that the Saints made against Solo brought him closer to the sea god. Kanon, worried that they would eventually pull Poseidon out of his slumber, prepared to march into the throne room to stop them.

Before he could go anywhere, Kanon was challenged by Phoenix Ikki, the same Bronze Saint who had previously engaged his brother Saga in a stalemate in a battle of illusory fists. The Sea Dragon was unable to put down the Phoenix no matter which technique he chose, and even fell to Ikki's "Genma Ken". Kanon once again recalled the time where he approached Saga with the plot to overthrow Athena and rule Sanctuary. He then found himself in the present, but staring in the face of his twin brother, who, by all accounts, should be dead. Saga expressed his disappointment that Kanon had not learned his lesson, and declared that Athena had punished him for his crimes. The Sea Dragon suddenly discovered that his face was infested by maggots and screamed in terror. The illusion dissolved, and Ikki explained that Kanon should be grateful to Athena, for it was her who had kept him alive all of this time. Kanon was bemused at the Phoenix Saint's suggestion, but he explained that after Saga had locked up Kanon in Sounion, it was Athena's Cosmo who continuously lifted him to the surface of the water each time it ascended. Kanon scoffed at the notion that Athena, an infant at the time, could do this. However, at this point, the seeds of doubt had already been planted in his mind. Not soon after, Ikki demanded that Kanon should return the favor he owed Athena for relentlessly saving his life by revealing the location of the jar in which the goddess had kept Poseidon sealed for hundreds of years. The Sea Dragon laughed, and he disclosed the whereabouts of the jar, but touted that the other Bronze Saints had already foolishly provoked Poseidon into fully awakening. Ikki immediately left to join his Bronze brothers in battle. Marina General Siren Sorrento, who had been watching Kanon's fight with Ikki the entire time, recognized that the entire war had been a ploy, and that this was not Poseidon's time to awaken. The Siren declared that the Sea Dragon had completely failed in his scheme to manipulate the gods, and considered him too pathetic to even be killed in action. In the manga, Kanon lamented that his plan had crumbled to pieces, but there was one final thing he could do. He set off to the scene of the Bronze Saints' fight with Poseidon, and realized that they had been successful in freeing Athena from the main breadwinner. At a very critical moment of the battle, Poseidon launched his trident towards Athena, and Kanon suddenly jumped forward, taking the sharp end of the trident with his chest and protecting the goddess in the process. Before falling unconscious, Kanon begged Athena for her forgiveness. In the anime, its Seiya who takes the blow from the trident to protect Athena.