Welcome to the fourth installment of Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas and prepare for a trip in the Underworld! Are you scared yet?

It starts with a dream of Athena. Or is it a premonition? She sees Hades wandering about with Tenma’s head in his hands. Then she awakes. The two Golden Saints returned from Italy and they are ready to deliver their report. The news hit her. Tenma has been killed by Hades. And Hades is Alone. With her whole world crumbling, she regains her strength and she orders everyone to be prepared for a massive attack from the Specters. She is a true leader , showing no weakness in front of her men, knowing that it may affect  their morale. No matter how painful her loses are, she is Athena. She must  focus on the greater good, the defeat of Hades.

Last time we left an injured Yato on the field of battle, struggling to take Tenma’s body out of the rubble. Tenma looks dead, but then a strange woman appears. She informs Yato that there is still some life left in Tenma and she opens a portal to a strange dimension called Jamir. A barren desolated place, full of empty rock and cliffs. They arrive at a strange tower, but after they enter inside, Yato finds himself in a room full of Saint armors (or clothes as they called them) and an old men sitting at the end of the hall. Yato believes that they killed the Saints and taken their clothes, but soon he finds out that the people of this place, although no saints, do their part in the battle against Hades, reviving dead clothes with their own blood. The woman, Yuzuriha, and the old man, manage to revive Yato’s armor, The Unicorn.

But Tenma’s spirit is still on the verge on passing on the other side, the only thing still binding him to this world being the wreath on his right hand, the one that Sasha give to him and Alone when they were kids. But when all the petals of the wreath fill scatter, Tenma will pass into oblivion.

So Yato must travel in the Underworld and save Tenma from there. He receives a sword, one that was forged with the blood and prayers of Athena and has the power to bind him to this world, as no living person can venture in the Underworld.

After a short ritual, he lands in the Underworld and Yuzuriha is with him (I thought that no living person can go there). The Underworld is a place full of the souls of the dead, and we can see thousands of them marching in line to reach a high cliff. From there, they jump in the entrance of the Land of the Dead. Those who fall, they can never reborn again and they are chained for eternity as dead people.

Tenma’s spirit is there, in a dungeon, chained to a wall. As he wonders where he is and why is he chained, his guardian appears. A sinister being called Fyodor of Mandrake. From him, Tenma learns that he is now at the border between Underworld and the world of the living. Brrrr!!

Yato and Yuzuriha finally find the dungeon, but between them and Tenma is Fyodor of Mandrake. They they to fight with him but they fail. Fyodor’s powers are too big for them. The fight blows them into the walls, as Fyodor releases his devastating attack, the Strangle Shrill! They fight back, but with no success. Why Yato is not using the sword, this is a good question. A little script slip, or the sword is not meant for battle?

No problem, because when Tenma sees his friend Yato being beaten and thrown all around the dungeon, he suddenly breaks  his chains, mad as hell. It is the same surge of anger and energy that allowed him to defeat Phlegyas of Lycaon, back at his burned hometown.

And then Pegasus strikes Fyodor, putting all of his power in a single fist, a devastating blow that goes through the armor of the enemy. Pegasus Comet Fist kills Fyodor in an instant. Seeing Tenma in action again is such a pleasure. He is like a berserk. When he gets mad, nothing stays in his way. And it seems that Tenma gets his tremendous power in the moments when his friends are in mortal danger and he is desperate to help. And so finishes this fourth episode but at the end, we can see in a flashing moment, Minos looking at the Sanctuary that he will soon attack.

This episode is building up the scene for the huge battle of the Sanctuary. Also, Tenma, who was almost dead, now has another chance to live because of Yato’s devotion. Just a Bronze Saint, this Yato, but such an important one. His efforts to revive Tenma could balance the faith of the big battles yet to come, and the outcome of the whole war. Brilliant fighting scenes, there were no slip-ups or bad animation during the fights. All fluent, animated with care. Bright colors and dynamic bodies clashing together. And the scenery is special as well. The artists  that made the backgrounds sure they know their job. You can see it all through this OVA.

A special mention for the opening and ending credits, one full of beat rhythm and movement (Saint Seiya, we’re calling put for you!), the other slow and nostalgic (We both painted our dreams…). Really good. Another great episode.

I cant even think ahead at the battle between the Golden Saints  and Minos. Imagine those tremendous powers unleashed, The Sanctuary walls trembling… It saddens me that this is just an OVA. Looking forward for the next episodes. And you?

Related Posts

1. Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas 3
2. Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas 2
3. Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas 1
4. Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas 5