As someone who grew up watching the original "Saint Seiya" anime, I found "Saint Seiya: Legend of Sanctuary" to be a mixed bag at best: The first half of the movie introduces the story and the main characters in a decent (albeit a bit rushed) manner, but during the second half (Specifically, after the Taurus House part), the plot turns muddled and hard to follow. Not as muddled as in movies like "Final Fantasy: Advent Children", but I think that some scenes will confuse those viewers who never watched the original series. (Hey, I watched the original series several times, and I still found some parts of this movie to be confusing and not very well explained)
The short duration of the movie (90 minutes approximately) is simply not enough to cover the 73 episodes of the Sanctuary Arc from the original anime, having too many characters which aren't properly developed (Case in point: Pisces Aphrodite, who only appears in this movie to be killed off without doing anything relevant to the plot.)
Some moments lack of the same emotional impact that the original anime had due the rushed narrative (For example, the duel between Camus and Hyoga, which isn't as memorable as in the 80's series, since their whole master-disciple relationship is merely referenced, but not explored)
Visually speaking, the film is very impressive and well done, though I'm sure that the comparisons with the Final Fantasy games will be unavoidable.(Specially taking in consideration the transformation of the main villain near the end of the movie, which reminded me the final boss battles from those videogames) The soundtrack was decent, but in my opinion the soundtrack of the original series was far more memorable.
While it was moderately entertaining to watch "Saint Seiya: Legend of Sanctuary" had the potential to be something much better. I wasn't expecting a 100% faithful adaptation (That would have been impossible in such short time) but it could have been a far more memorable experience with its own merits instead of being a merely watchable flick.
On a side note, the Latin American dub used almost all the voices from the original series for the movie, and I think that was a nice touch for the nostalgic fans.
6/10
The short duration of the movie (90 minutes approximately) is simply not enough to cover the 73 episodes of the Sanctuary Arc from the original anime, having too many characters which aren't properly developed (Case in point: Pisces Aphrodite, who only appears in this movie to be killed off without doing anything relevant to the plot.)
Some moments lack of the same emotional impact that the original anime had due the rushed narrative (For example, the duel between Camus and Hyoga, which isn't as memorable as in the 80's series, since their whole master-disciple relationship is merely referenced, but not explored)
Visually speaking, the film is very impressive and well done, though I'm sure that the comparisons with the Final Fantasy games will be unavoidable.(Specially taking in consideration the transformation of the main villain near the end of the movie, which reminded me the final boss battles from those videogames) The soundtrack was decent, but in my opinion the soundtrack of the original series was far more memorable.
While it was moderately entertaining to watch "Saint Seiya: Legend of Sanctuary" had the potential to be something much better. I wasn't expecting a 100% faithful adaptation (That would have been impossible in such short time) but it could have been a far more memorable experience with its own merits instead of being a merely watchable flick.
On a side note, the Latin American dub used almost all the voices from the original series for the movie, and I think that was a nice touch for the nostalgic fans.
6/10