Known as Knights of the Zodiac in the West, the Saint Seiya franchise is one of the most popular classic shonen properties around the world. Debuting in the 1980s, it’s gone on to be a major hit even outside Japan, with Latin America and other regions loving the series. Unfortunately, that’s not the case with the recent live-action movie, which unfortunately has the same issues as most anime adaptations of this variety.
Saint Seiya: The Beginning (simply Knights of the Zodiac in the West) is now premiering in North America, having already been released in other regions. In said other countries, it’s been a massive flop, even with how iconic the original series may be. It’s now set up to fail exponentially in America, which has historically rejected it anyway. From acting issues to bad pacing and worse adaptation choices, it’s no wonder why many are comparing the new Saint Seiya film to perhaps the worst anime adaptation ever.
Saint Seiya: The Beginning Has Been a Massive Flop at the Box Office
Saint Seiya: The Beginning was originally released on April 27th, 2023 in Latin America, with Japan getting the movie the day afterward. The higher priority for Latin countries shows just how popular the anime series is there, not to mention the greater box office potential in the region. Unfortunately, this hasn’t paid off, with the live-action version of the story completely failing to convince even major fans to give it a chance. After two weeks, it’s only accumulated $4.5 million at the box office. This is with a $60 million production budget, the overwhelming majority of which hasn’t been earned back through international markets. Now, North America is its last bastion for success, and it’s almost certain to fail even more spectacularly there.
When it was brought over as Knights of the Zodiac, Saint Seiya completely bombed in the U.S. market. This was due to a variety of reasons, but especially the unnecessary levels of censorship and the dated nature of the anime by that point. Needless to say, there’s no real nostalgia for the franchise in the West like there is for Asia and Latin America, giving the new movie an even bigger uphill battle. The movie could work had it been properly promoted and advertised, but as it currently stands, only diehard anime fans are aware of its existence, with big Hollywood releases such as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and the upcoming Fast X completely sucking the air out of the room. Worst of all, Saint Seiya: The Beginning might be one of the worst anime adaptations ever made regardless of its marketing.
Saint Seiya‘s Live-Action Movie Is Worse Than the Infamous Dragonball Evolution
Overall, the reception to the live-action Knights of the Zodiac has been fairly negative, with some reviews in particular being especially damning. While the actors involved have been praised, the scripts they were given to work with certainly haven’t. Even the best actors in the movie are let down by bland or outright bad dialogue. The movie’s themes are also muddled, with the film being unable to decide if it’s a “chosen one” story or one where characters break out beyond their supposed fate. Of course, with its low budget, it’s no surprise that the special effects are abysmal. In the end, however, the worst elements are the changes made to the source material.
For some reason, Saint Seiya: The Beginning mostly adapts the controversial CGI Netflix Saint Seiya anime instead of the original story. On top of that, not all of Athena’s saints are introduced, making the adaptation feel incomplete. This is also why there are a few random military antagonists, which feel far too mundane for those familiar with the classic series. With how disliked the Netflix series already was, using it as a basis for a live-action movie was certain to fail. It’s caused many fans unfavorably compare the movie to the notorious Dragonball Evolution, which ravaged its source material and is largely considered the worst anime adaptation ever made. However, Saint Seiya: The Beginning gives it a run for its money, with some elements being worse than the scandalous Dragon Ball film.
The Knights of the Zodiac movie has a budget almost twice that of Dragonball Evolution, and with special effects that have obviously come a long way with time. Despite this, it looks just as cheap and pedestrian, failing to do the source material justice. The worst part of that is that so much of the aesthetic in the film gets things right, whereas Evolution was almost entirely off-base. Even with this in its favor, Saint Seiya: The Beginning manages to mangle a classic to the point where even fans have no desire to watch it. It’s likely to end up far below even the box office underperformance of Dragon Ball‘s massacre of an adaptation, with its reception and financial intake being far less than something worthy of the gods.
Knights of the Zodiac is now playing in theaters.
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