List of Saint Seiya characters

This article comprises a list of characters that play a role in Saint Seiya (also known as Knights of the Zodiac) and its canonical continuation, Saint Seiya: Next Dimension, two manga series created, written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada.

The plot of Saint Seiya begins in 1986, spanning until 1990, and follows a group of five mystical warriors called Bronze Saints as they battle in the name of the goddess Athena against agents of evil who seek to rule the Earth. Their main enemy in the first arc of the story is the traitorous Gemini Gold Saint Saga, who has murdered the representative of Athena and taken his place as leader of the Saints. In the second arc, the Bronze Saints are confronted with the God of the Seas, Poseidon, who kidnaps the mortal reincarnation of Athena and threatens to flood the world with incessant rain to cleanse it of the evils of mankind. Their final enemy, who appears in the third and final arc of the series, is the God of the Underworld, Hades, whom Athena has fought since the age of myth.

Saint Seiya: Next Dimension acts both as a prequel and an official sequel to the first series. It details the aftermath of the war against Hades and starts with Athena seeking help from the Gods of Olympus and from Chronos to save Pegasus Seiya from Hades' sword curse by travelling back to the 18th century. The two main antagonists are the troops of the Goddess of the Moon, Artemis, in the 20th century storyline, and the incarnation of Hades in the 18th century.

Pegasus Seiya (天馬星座（ぺガサス）の星矢, Pegasasu no Seiya) is the Bronze Saint of Pegasus in the 20th century, the titular character and main protagonist of the series. An orphaned child later revealed to be one of Mitsumasa Kido's sons, he was separated from his older sister Seika and sent to Greece to become a Saint, a soldier of the goddess Athena. Initially motivated by the desire to rejoin his sister, he eventually discovers he has protected Athena for millennia, his soul returning every time she reincarnates to assist her in the battles against the evil agents that threaten the Earth. As a warrior of immense might, Seiya achieves victory in impossible battles, occasionally donning the Sagittarius Gold Cloth before particularly challenging opponents. He defeats the gods Poseidon and Hades, although the latter Seiya is cursed by Hades's sword at the end of Saint Seiya to stop his cycle of rebirth. He is left in a comatose state which Athena seeks to revert Hades's curse in the canonical sequel Next Dimension. Seiya is proclaimed as the future Gold Saint of the Sagittarius successor to Sagittarius Aiolos.

Dragon Shiryu (龍星座（ドラゴン）の紫龍, Doragon no Shiryū) is the Bronze Saint protected by the constellation of Draco the Dragon, considered the calmest and most collected of the protagonists. As one of Mitsumada Kido's sons, he was sent at an early age to the Five Old Peaks of Rozan to train under the Libra Gold Saint and acquire the Dragon Cloth. This Cloth is known for possessing the strongest fist and shield. After he returns to Japan, Shiryu becomes involved in the battles to recover the Gold Cloth from Ikki and the Black Saints, and eventually discovers that Saori Kido is the goddess Athena whom he swore to protect. In the ensuing battle against the Silver Saint Perseus Algol, Shiryu is forced to blind himself to achieve victory. He recovers his sight upon awakening his seventh sense during the fight against Cancer Deathmask, but later loses it a second time while facing Poseidon's General Chrysaor Krishna. More than once, he dons the Libra Gold Cloth when confronting a particularly powerful opponent. In the Next Dimension official sequel of the manga of Saint Seiya, Shiryu and Chunli have adopted a baby whom they named Shoryu. Then, he goes back in time with Hyoga, to the time of the previous Holy War against Hades in the eighteenth century, in order to help Saori / Athena save Seiya's life, who is cursed by the sword of the god of the underworld. Shiryu is proclaimed as the future Gold Saint of Libra successor to Libra Dohko, from the Gold Saint of the eighteenth century Libra Dohko(Young)

Cygnus Hyoga (白鳥星座（キグナス）の氷河, Kigunasu no Hyōga), also known as Swan Hyoga in several international adaptations, is the Bronze Saint of Cygnus. He was born in the fictional village of Kohoutek, in eastern Siberia, which, at the time when Kurumada wrote and drew his manga, was in the Soviet Union. His mastery over his Cosmo grants him the ability to create ice and snow at temperatures as low as absolute zero by stopping subatomic particles. Hyoga is often portrayed wearing a cross and rosary of the Northern Cross, another name for the Cygnus constellation. Calm by nature, he displays a seemingly emotionless exterior, but a more tender side of his character emerges on occasions, such as when he expresses his gratitude to Andromeda Shun for having saved his life and his undying devotion to his mentor Aquarius Camus. He first appears in the series as he receives an order from Sanctuary to eliminate his fellow Bronze Saints, but he quickly abandons this mission when he discovers the truth about Saori Kido's identity and joins her in the battles against her enemies. While in Poseidon's Undersea Temple, he reencounters Kraken Isaac, a fellow apprentice of Camus. To repay an old debt to the Mariner, Hyoga sacrifices one of his eyes. He occasionally dons the Aquarius Gold Cloth. In the anime adaptation, he was given a different master: an original character referred to as the Crystal Saint, who was, in turn, Aquarius Camus's apprentice. In Japan, Hyoga is a popular character, ranking second in the main character polls of the Bronze Saints. In the Next Dimension official sequel of the manga of Saint Seiya, Hyoga goes back in time with Shiryu, to the time of the previous Holy War against Hades in the eighteenth century, in order to help Saori / Athena save Seiya's life, who is cursed by the sword of the god of the underworld. Hyoga is proclaimed as the future Gold Saint of Aquarius successor to Aquarius Camus, from the Gold Saint of the eighteenth century Aquarius Mystoria

Andromeda Shun (アンドロメダ星座（アンドロメダ）の瞬, Andoromeda no Shun) is the Bronze Saint of Andromeda and Phoenix Ikki's younger brother, although he shares the same father as the rest of the main Bronze Saints. He trained at Andromeda Island under the Silver Saint Cepheus Daidalos and returned to Japan after earning his Cloth, hoping to be reunited with Ikki. He helps Athena reclaim Sanctuary and later becomes involved in the battles against Poseidon and his Generals. In the final arc, it is revealed that the necklace he has carried since he was a baby was given to him by Pandora, to mark his body as Hades's future container. Ikki manages to free him after the god takes hold of his body and both follow Athena to Elysion, where Shun briefly dons the Virgo Gold Cloth and helps to finally defeat Hades. In Next Dimension(canonical sequel and prequel), Shun accompanies Athena to the 18th century, to save Seiya from the curse of Hades's sword. There, he joins forces with the former Pegasus Saint, Tenma, to save the helpless goddess from Hades's Specters. Shun is proclaimed as the future Gold Saint of Virgo successor to Virgo Shaka. In the anime adaptation, his master's name was changed to Albiore.

Phoenix Ikki (鳳凰星座（フェニクス）の一輝, Fenikkusu no Ikki) is the Bronze Saint of the Phoenix constellation and Shun's older brother. He trained at the hellish Death Queen Island under Guilty, which turned him into a loner, cold and harsh. Ikki first appears as an main antagonist of the Black Saints arc, as the leader of the Black Saints who is set on taking the Sagittarius Gold Cloth for himself and destroying the other Bronze Saints for revenge against the Graude Foundation. He later overcomes his hate and becomes an ally to Athena and the Bronze Saints, often arriving at critical moments to save them from certain death. Born under the sign of Leo, Ikki dons the Leo Gold Cloth once, during the fight against the twin gods Hypnos and Thanatos in Elysion. In Saint Seiya: Next Dimension, the ongoing canonical sequel and prequel to Saint Seiya authored by Kurumada that deals with the aftermath of the war against Hades, after Athena visits Mount Olympus to meet her sister Artemis and ask for her help to cure Seiya from the curse Hades inflicted on him, Andromeda Shun is attacked by Artemis's soldiers, the Satellites, and their commander Lascoumoune. Shun manages to defeat the Satellites, but not Lascoumoune, who nearly takes his life. Ikki then intervenes to protect his brother and defeats the commander of the Satellites. Afterwards, he follows Athena and Shun into the past, to the war against Hades that took place in the eighteenth century. Ikki is proclaimed as the future Gold Saint of the Leo successor to Leo Aiolia, from the Gold Saint of the eighteenth century Leo Kaiser