Saint Seiya

Seiya is an orphan sent to Athena's Sanctuary in Greece to obtain a powerful armor known as a "Cloth" (聖衣（クロス）, Kurosu; lit. 'Holy Cloth'). He is successful in awakening the inner source of a Saint's power, his "Cosmo" (小宇宙（コスモ）, Kosumo; lit. 'Microcosm'), and returns to Japan as the Pegasus Bronze Saint to find his missing sister.

The granddaughter of the man who sent him, Saori Kido, promises to locate his sister if he competes in the Galaxian Wars tournament to win the Sagittarius Gold Cloth. The event is disrupted by the vengeful Phoenix Bronze Saint, Ikki, who is defeated by Seiya and the other Bronze Saints: Shun, Shiryū, and Hyōga.

Manga author Masami Kurumada initially planned to create a wrestling-themed manga, preferring individual sports over team-based narratives. Inspired by The Karate Kid (1984), he first conceived a story about a young karateka named Seiya, trained by a karate master and his female assistant, but the idea was rejected by his publisher. Believing traditional martial arts like judo or karate lacked sufficient appeal, Kurumada integrated elements of Greek mythology and constellations for innovation. The core concept of Saint Seiya emerged as a nekketsu (hot-blooded) manga, distinguished by the "fashionable" Saint Cloths.

Following the abrupt cancellation of his 1984 series Otoko Zaka, Kurumada sought to incorporate a unique aesthetic, differentiating it from his earlier works featuring plain high school uniforms. Though resembling medieval armor, the Cloths were primarily inspired by Hajime Sorayama's 1983 illustration book Sexy Robot. Beyond aesthetics, the armor also served a practical purpose, shielding characters during explosive combat sequences. Kurumada initially debated the armor's design, even considering Buddhist kasaya, but ultimately settled on the Greek-inspired Saint Cloths.

The Saint Seiya manga has sold over 25 million copies in Japan by 2007. It had over 35 million copies in circulation by 2017, and over 50 million copies in circulation by 2022.

Jason Thompson characterized the series as being primarily combat-oriented. He noted that this emphasis stemmed from creator Kurumada's genuine passion for the foundational elements of the battle shōnen genre, which included themes of friendship and emotional sacrifice, all presented through a distinctive visual style of dynamic action and dramatic impact. In Blood, Biceps, and Beautiful Eyes: Cultural Representations of Masculinity in Masami Kurumada's Saint Seiya, Lorna Piatti-Farnell noted that the masculinity to which Seiya, Shun, Hyoga and Shiryu subscribed—one centered on the achievement of just goals—was consistent with the narrative patterns frequently found in Weekly Shōnen Jump manga.