To Love An Alpha

Haven’t read the first but I think I started Overgeared and couldn’t get into it. Edit: I just remembered Overgeared. One of the worst light novels I’ve ever read. A game with billions of players where the main character goes out into the wilderness and runs into his childhood bullies who are just chilling there for no reason whatsoever so the mc can kill them. It was so mind blowingly dumb I immediately stopped reading. I also remember there being other ridiculous moments. The game world isn’t nearly as immersive and interesting as God’s Domain. I’m genuinely curious how on earth you think Overgeared is better than Reincarnation.

why there is no tag of transport into another world or something like that...???

Translation is really bad in the first 20 chapters. Does translation of this get's better later on?

Okay, Okay. I love this book already.......️

Saint Seiya is a renowned classic and one of the first anime/manga that many anime enthusiasts watch or read during their childhood.  
Saint Seiya: Next Dimension primarily takes place in the 18th century, focusing on the previous holy war between Athena and Hades, intertwined with events from the 20th century after Athena and her Saints defeat Hades. However, if you're expecting to see the same characters from Lost Canvas, you'll be mistaken.  

Kurumada is fully in charge here, so the characters, including the Gold Saints, differ from those in Lost Canvas. There are numerous betrayals among the Saints, something not frequently seen in other Saint Seiya series. The story resembles the original Sanctuary Arc from the first Saint Seiya manga, such as the Pope attempting to kill the baby Athena with the same knife, a Gold Saint rescuing her only to be branded a traitor...  

Despite many elements resembling the original, this manga is one any Saint Seiya fan would undoubtedly enjoy. The battles are spectacular as always, with plenty of new elements introduced—new gods, witches, even Artemis and Tōma make appearances.  

Even if you're new to Saint Seiya, you'll still find this manga enjoyable. Just don't go into it expecting the events of the previous holy war to align with those in Lost Canvas.  

I'd recommend you stop reading reviews, dive right in, and start reading it—you won't be disappointed. That said, I think you'd appreciate it more if you've read the original manga first.  

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I CANNOT OVERSTATE HOW TERRIBLE THIS ENTIRE F***ING SERIES IS, IF I COULD GIVE IT LESS THAN A 1, I WOULD.  

18 years of serialization, years of acting like a complete diva who boasts about how you're gonna do this awesome stuff and cry when everyone else wants to do it, only to end the manga with "lol JK, I'm not gonna do the thing I promised to do" and just END THE ENTIRE F***ING SERIES WITH NO WAY TO CONTINUE IT.  
Absolute garbage author.  

So rewind the stage back to 1988,  
when Saint Seiya was going to release its 3rd anime movie, and they were set to use the character Apollo, who was Athena's brother.  
BUT Kumada threw a fit and went "nooooooo, you're not allowed to use him, I'm gonna use him for my series D:&lt;" so they had to come up with some bullsh*t anime original character that's totally not just Apollo in disguise.  

Cut to the end of Seiya manga, where it got canceled due to low readership, and so Kumada could no longer do said Apollo arc.  

BUT, a miracle happened, when Toei adapted the Hades arc of the manga that was never adapted, it got enough viewership to make Toei and Kumada realize "oh, we can continue this."  
So they made a movie sequel in 2004, FINALLY about Apollo and what the continuation would be.  
OFC we can't have that now, can we? So Kumada had issues with the adaptation for some reason and cut ties with Toei, saying he won't work with them anymore, and so he made his own sequel for the manga—this one, Next Dimension.  

Now you would THINK it would finally be about Apollo, right? After all this diva behavior, haha, no.  

He decided to REUSE THE SAME PLOT OF SAINT SEIYA, THE F***ING SANCTUARY ARC for 18 years instead of doing anything meaningful with said time.  
During this time, Lost Canvas was also released, and despite being the better-written series covering the same plot, it's forced to be non-canon so Kumada can do this self-gratifying sanctuary garbage plot for 18 years.  

All this while he still continues to whine when the anime does stuff like wanting to use a character that he planned to use in Next Dimension,  
while approving shitty spin-offs that he was completely okay with them stealing established villains.  

Absolute clown of an author.  
Burn all Saint Seiya books tbh.  

Dude baited everyone for over 30 years, and this is the result.

Next Dimension, which commenced in April 2006, serves as both the sequel and official prequel to Saint Seiya, crafted by Masami Kurumada himself, the original creator. The narrative unfolds immediately following the Hades saga, revising Seiya's death (which happened at the end of the classic manga) into a temporary "coma." To save his life, Saori Kido and the other protagonists journey into the past (with Chronos's assistance, the primordial deity of time, not the Titan king from Episode G), traveling back to the era of the prior holy war (240 years earlier) to destroy Hades's sword. This forms the foundation.

Interestingly, Next Dimension and The Lost Canvas (a spin-off manga penned by Shiori Teshirogi) delve into the same holy war, sharing young Shion and Dohko, along with Tenma (the Pegasus of 700) and Alone (Hades's avatar of 700).

This overlap could be attributed to either Kurumada or Shiori herself, as The Lost Canvas also launched in 2006, a few months after ND (in September). The only shared elements are the names of these four characters; the others and the storylines differ entirely.

Due to the author pursuing other projects over time, the publication pace of this manga has been—and remains—extremely slow. Typically, seven chapters are released annually; in thirteen years, only 95 chapters have been published so far.

Now begins the review, potential spoilers ahead.


STORY: 4

In one word, "12 HOUSES" sums up ND.

Each SS series typically features its own 12 houses, but usually just once. Here, in nearly 100 chapters, there has been almost continuous ascension or descent through the 12 houses, with half the battles being among allies.

Moreover, it seems the author has forgotten the premise, and with this sluggish pace, it's uncertain if they'll conclude the story satisfactorily.

1) The first 20 or so chapters present three premises: saving Seiya's life (why Saori and the other four bronzes travel to the past), recounting the previous war with Hades, and setting the stage for a war with Zeus and Olympus.

So, what? The first is ongoing, with alternative solutions emerging since Hades (in 700) appears unreachable.

2) The second premise is scattered. From the initial ten chapters, Tenma and Alone, two friends, were meant to play crucial roles like Pegasus and Hades in the holy war tale. In these 100 chapters, the actual war hasn't even begun; there have been no significant clashes with key specters, Alone/Hades vanished early on, while Tenma is ineffectual. Classic bronzes grew stronger as they faced silver, gold, and beyond. Tenma here is useless—a basic bronze, lacking depth, a Seiya clone who (from the premise) should battle Hades. But in what universe?

Furthermore, the war with Hades itself has faded into the background since the author introduced the thirteenth gold saint, Ophiuchus, redirecting the entire narrative around him. This continues.

Fortunately, Teshirogi excels with her alternate story. So far, this is a disaster.

3) The war with Olympus is a long-anticipated saga by fans. However, Kurumada must first conclude the 700s' past (and as mentioned, the war with Hades hasn't started yet), and the manga progresses very slowly, releasing seven chapters a year. Add to that the author wasting time with flashbacks on gold saints, pleasant but unnecessary.

We may never witness it.

Additionally, issues of internal consistency arise (the author creates mysteries or situations, then resolves them inconsistently years later). For instance, Gemini's true nature.


ART: 6

The manga is fully colored, and the color style has evolved over the years. The first phase (volumes 1-2) was overly saturated, the second (volumes 2-9) was good, while the third (volume 10-present) features simple tones with fewer shadow shades.

The design style remains similar, occasionally improving but less impactful. Paradoxically, the historical manga was more intricate.


CHARACTERS: 6

Help me...

Excluding the classic characters, who are somewhat underwhelming here, there are a couple of intriguing or decent new characters. Cancer Deathtoll, Virgo Shijima, Ophiuchus Odysseus, and even Suikyo stand out.

The issue lies with the others. Either they're CLONES of classic characters (Ox is a stupider Aldebaran, Cain mirrors Saga but is stronger, Kaiser is an Aiolia 2.0, etc.) or they're circus acts. The author enjoys making them bizarre, sometimes absurdly so (take Gestlat, a Sagittarius).

Lastly, the disappointments. Tenma and Alone, presumed central figures in the 700s' holy war per the premise—one is utterly useless, the other disappeared.

And let's not forget Dohko and Shion. Some recall the classic Hades bow referencing their past war. They were two bronzes promoted to gold. They don't shine in any aspect—they're not strong, clever, or charismatic, and thus far, not heroic. A complete letdown, leaving one to wonder how they survived.


ENJOYMENT: 6

The story flows easily, simply. As noted, there are some interesting points or ideas for the future, but the author is slow both in publications and narration (deviating from the theme and wasting time).

Saint Seiya is a classic Shounen Jump manga that has seen a resurgence with recent sequels, prequels, and spin-offs. Among these, Saint Seiya – Lost Canvas stands out prominently. Lost Canvas recounts the tale of the previous Holy War between Athena's saints and Hades' army, set in the 18th century. The narrative unfolds from the perspective of the former Pegasus saint, Tenma.

Saint Seiya – Next Dimension is also situated in the same era and context. Similar to Lost Canvas, characters like Pegasus Tenma, Libra Dohko, and Aries Shion make appearances. However, Next Dimension introduces significant changes to the story arc established in Lost Canvas. This could be attributed to Masami Kurumada having full control over the plot direction of Next Dimension, unlike in Lost Canvas.

- Some clarifications and minor spoilers ahead -

Regrettably, the first 13 chapters of Next Dimension are rather unengaging. The manga briefly narrates how Alone, Tenma's childhood friend, transforms into Hades. Pegasus Tenma rashly teams up with Libra Dohko and Aries Shion to prevent Alone's "transformation" into the malevolent god. Their impulsive attempt leads them to confront Garuda Suikyo, a formidable former Athena saint who has allied with Hades.

The storyline continues in this mediocre fashion until chapter 14, which picks up right where the original manga left off. At this juncture, it is crucial that you have read the initial Saint Seiya manga. If you have, you can proceed with reading Next Dimension as well as this review.

Starting from chapter 14, Pegasus Seiya is confined to a wheelchair, suffering from the curse of Hades' sword. Saori Athena and Andromeda Shun decide to seek Chronos' assistance to reverse the curse. Chronos sends them back in time to destroy Hades' sword in the past and save Seiya (Understand? Neither do I lol).

However, Chronos deceives Athena, transforming her into a baby form and sending her to the same period when Pegasus Tenma exists. Shun also arrives in the 18th century and joins Tenma to protect Athena. They must traverse the Twelve Temples to inform the somewhat skeptical Gold Saints of Athena's reincarnation. Eventually, other familiar Bronze Saints from the 20th century make cameo appearances.

Upon reading chapter 14, things seemed promising and thrilling. Every Saint Seiya fan anticipated the long-awaited "Heaven Chapter." Kurumada even reintroduced Artemis, the character who made a brief appearance in the Saint Seiya - Heaven Chapter Overture "filler" movie.

Yet, Kurumada failed to deliver what fans had hoped for. Once again, he resorts to the repetitive format of the Twelve Temple arc. Once more, Pegasus and Andromeda must navigate the Twelve Temples. Again, the Gold Saints exhibit similar traits and roles as their past incarnations, reinforcing the concept of fate and reincarnation central to the series.

Surprisingly, the same Bronze Saints who battled the 20th-century Gold Saints, Poseidon's Marina, and Hades' Specters display an unsettling inexperience while fighting in the 18th century.

Unfortunately, Saint Seiya should not rely on rehashing old battles with slight variations and new ideas sprinkled here and there. It’s more of the same. Given the slow pace at which Kurumada publishes his recent works, when will the Bronze Saints finally complete their journey through all the Twelve Temples?

Nonetheless, long-time Saint Seiya fans will appreciate this manga simply for the joy of witnessing their cherished characters in action once again. It may fall short of expectations, but Next Dimension retains the same essence and spirit of the original manga. Kurumada denies us the opportunity to experience what we truly desired and needed, but he offers the pleasure of indulging our nostalgia with more of the same. And that's it.