It's an understatement to say that fans of the original 80s anime series Saint Seiya (a.k.a. Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac or simply Knights of the Zodiac) are not happy with the look of Netflix's upcoming reboot. The decision to go for a computer-generated animation style over the traditional hand-drawn original is not a surprising one, but seeing it in motion still came as quite the shock. The first trailer is here, and for folks who have never seen the original, it does an okay job at setting up the basics of the story. But any newcomers are being drowned out by those who are directing criticism at the new take.

Saint Seiya has already become the next battleground in the war between modern CG anime series and the more traditional approach of years (decades, really) past. Berserk fans know what I'm talking about. Even the new Ultraman series, itself also a Netflix Original now, took some getting used to as it featured a visual shift from live-action to CG; a traditional animated version of the franchise aired during the late 80s but it's not as well-known as the tokusatsu norm. This is all to say that Saint Seiya may yet deliver a decent new animated series, but it will have a hard time winning over existing fans.

Watch Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac on Netflix this July 19th, and check out the trailer below:

In ancient times, a group of young men devoted their lives to protecting Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom and War.

 

Now, in present day, a young orphan Seiya and a new generation of Saints is about to come forth to aid Athena in battle against those who seek to end mankind.

 

SAINT SEIYA: Knights of the Zodiac arrives July 19, only on Netflix.

Oh and if you are getting this series confused with Ronin Warriors or Toonami's re-runs of the original series as Knights of the Zodiac, you're in good company. (Though I did love the English intro for Knights.) As for Ronin Warriors, or Legendary Armor Samurai Troopers (a.k.a.Yoroiden Samurai Torupa), that similar series came a couple of years after Saint Seiya. It's got its own following but what it doesn't have is a CG-remake on Netflix ... yet.

Does Saint Seiya look enticing to you, or does it look, as some YouTube comments have put it, like a mobile game or PS2 cinematic? Let us know your thoughts!

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