The Saint Seiya Episode.G manga features a large number of fictional characters, both created by its author, Megumu Okada, and by Masami Kurumada, author of the original Saint Seiya universe in which the story takes place. Episode.G acts as a prequel to Kurumada's work and it is set seven years before the events of the first manga, in a fictional universe where the Greek gods cyclically reincarnate into the world to wage war on each other for dominance. Okada takes characters who had played only a supporting role in the original series and puts them in the position of protagonists. The old main characters appear only briefly, in flashforwards of the future.
The protagonists of the story are the Gold Saints, an elite group of twelve warriors devoted to the goddess Athena, whose duty is to protect the Earth from evil and maintain peace and justice. Among them, Leo Aiolia plays the role of main character. The antagonists are the twelve Titans and the primordial god Pontos, a group of ancient gods who escaped from the prison of Tartarus, where they had been confined in since the mythological era. They seek to overthrow the Olympian gods and regain control of the Earth. The Titans are led by Kronos, father of the leader of the Olympian gods, Zeus, and are assisted by an army of Giants and other evil creatures.
Several merchandise items depicting the main characters of Episode.G have been released with the limited edition volumes. The sharp differences and similarities between Okada's characters and Kurumada's, however, have been a target of both criticism and praise among critics.
Creation and conception Most of the protagonists were originally created by Masami Kurumada, who introduced them in his 1986 manga Saint Seiya as supporting characters and, at one point, antagonists. In the first volume of Episode.G, author Megumu Okada has commented that his intention was to write a prequel to the original story and critics have noted that he has done a good job in making the characters his own while staying true to their original concept. Okada adopted the colour schemes of either the original manga or its anime adaptation and used the same fighting techniques and mottoes that identified each character in Kurumada's manga. The story has many dialogues and situations that refer to the original manga. At the same time, Okada adds to their back-stories and renovates designs according to his personal drawing style. Characters appear more stylised, "anorexic and androgynous" in the words of Manga-News's critic, and are drawn with enhanced details, especially on clothing and armours. Entire scenes have been taken directly from Kurumada's work and replicated in Episode.G, with the only change being the drawing style.
The antagonists of Episode.G appear in the Saint Seiya franchise for the first time in this manga. Most are based on Greek mythology, but it is also possible to find a few characters inspired by Egyptian mythology. Some of the supporting characters also appear solely in this manga, while others, especially among the Silver Saints, were previously established in the Saint Seiya universe by Kurumada.
Protagonists The protagonists of Saint Seiya Episode.G are Athena's Saints. Devoted to the goddess , they are sworn to defend the Earth from danger and the influence of evil gods. Although Athena's Saints are only human, their use of – the energy of the Big Bang that remains inside every being – gives them superhuman strength and allows them to perform formidable feats. It is said that their fists can rend the sky and their kicks can split the earth. Since their bodies are still as frail as any ordinary man's, however, Athena gifts her Saints with protective armours called which are linked to the constellations. As such, Saints are usually referred to by their guardian constellation and their given name.
There are eighty-eight Saints in total, as many as the constellations, and they are divided into three hierarchic categories according to power: the lowest-ranked are the Bronze Saints, followed by the Silver Saints, then the twelve elite Gold Saints. Cloths also reflect this classification system, being usually divided into Bronze, Silver and Gold Cloths, the latter being the most effective and durable. The home and training ground of the Saints is the , an isolated location in Athens, Greece, that only Saints, apprentices and their servants have access to. Their leader is the representative of the goddess Athena, the .
The concept of the Saints, as well as most of the characters that make up their ranks, was first created by Masami Kurumada. In this manga, it was expanded upon by Megumu Okada to include new characters and develop aspects related to the organisation of Sanctuary that had been left undefined in Saint Seiya.
Gold Saints The are the main protagonists of Episode.G. They possess full mastery of their Cosmo through their and as such can move at the speed of light. They are the mightiest of Athena's Saints and guardians of the , the series of twelve temples that defends the Pope's chambers and the massive statue of Athena overlooking Sanctuary. Their constellations are those situated over the ecliptic, the twelve constellations of the zodiac.
Leo Aiolia is the main character of Episode.G. He is the thirteen-year-old Gold Saint of Leo and the younger brother of Sagittarius Aiolos. He was first created by Masami Kurumada and is voiced by Hiro Shimono in the released Drama CDs.
Despite being a natural blond, Aiolia dyes his hair red to distance himself from his brother, whom most of Sanctuary believes to be a traitor. However, it is made evident that even though he resents his brother and suffers immensely because of him, he still loves him very much. This conflict is behind the grudge he holds against the rest of the Gold Saints and it often drives him to fight them and challenge the Pope's commands. Aiolia holds his loved ones close to his heart, particularly his servants Lithos and Galan, whom he considers to be family. As taught by John Black, he proudly fights, not for himself, but to protect everyone and everything he holds dear.
His fierce personality, Cosmo and battle skills attract the attention of Pontos, who acknowledges him as a potential menace to his plans, and Hyperion, whom he encounters during the Titan's first invasion of Sanctuary. They refer to the Leo Saint as the "man of the Evil Omen" and Kronos prophesies that he will be the one to release him from Zeus's seal.
At one point, Aiolia is assigned to protect Shaka while the Virgo Saint enters a deep meditation to banish the evil monsters that the Titans' presence on Earth had called forth. He then faces Koios for the first time. Overwhelmed by the Titan's power, the memory of his brother offers Aiolia the encouragement and strength he needed to unleash the "Photon Burst", an attack Aiolos had once advised him to never use. With it, he defeats Koios and would have destroyed him if not for Hyperion's intervention. Aiolia dedicates the technique to his brother, saying that he created it to protect him.
Aiolia shows his mettle again while fighting Kronos, the Titan King, the second time the Titans invade Sanctuary. He professes his belief that humanity is not worthless and that the Titans have no right to interfere with their lives. Severely wounded, he strikes Kronos with his "Photon Burst". The Titanesses, however, keep the attack from annihilating their King and Kronos is freed. Kronos comes out of the fight with no idea of who he is and the other Titans, believing this is due to Aiolia's attack, lay down a plan to lure the Saint into the Time Labyrinth to restore their King's memory. After Iapetos kidnaps Lithos, Aiolia does not hesitate to follow him into the Titans' domain, where he battles not just Iapetos and Themis a second time, but also Pontos, Koios (who entrusts him the god-slaying power "Keraunos"), Hyperion and a restored Kronos.
Although the original series does not mention any peculiarity about Aiolia's Cosmo, in Episode.G it is portrayed as electrical in nature. His fighting techniques therefore involve electricity in some manner. They are: the single-hit , the multiple-hit , the multidirectional , and the ultimate . The first two were introduced in Kurumada's Saint Seiya, while the last two are exclusive to Okada's Episode.G.
Aries Mu is a Gold Saint who lives in Jamir, Tibet, and the only person in the world who can repair damaged Cloths. His character was first created by Masami Kurumada, but Okada adopts the colour scheme present in the Saint Seiya anime, switching Mu's original long blond hair to lilac. He has two dots in the place of his eyebrows.
He is a descendant of the people of the Lost Continent of Mu"History of the Great Holy Wars" (大聖戦史) (also known as "Hypermyth"), published in Saint Seiya Cosmo Special Databook (1988) and possesses his ancestors' distinctive trait: a powerful psychokinetic ability which allows him to restrain his enemies and teleport himself and others. He is a pacifist, but also a fierce warrior. The technique he inherited from his master, the former Pope Aries Shion, is so powerful that it can destroy a Hecatonchire in one strike. His other fighting techniques are the and the , all of which were designed by Kurumada.
Mu battles Dimension Iapetos in Jamir and repairs Aiolia's Cloth in the aftermath of the first invasion of Sanctuary. Later, he aids the Leo Saint again, by teleporting the Virgo, Scorpio, Taurus, Aquarius and Capricorn Saints into the Time Labyrinth to fight the Titans.
Taurus Aldebaran is depicted as a friendly, punctual person who enjoys life and likes to buy little souvenirs. He dislikes saying bad things behind anyone else's backs and never hesitates to help a companion.
He was prepared to sacrifice himself so that the Leo Cloth, broken by Hyperion, could be repaired, but it proved unnecessary, as Mu used his own blood. He remains in Jamir while Mu recovers, until the Titans attack Sanctuary. His strong beliefs and ability to learn from past mistakes allow him to defeat Themis's "Brabeus Talanton", which was smashing Aiolia and Shura under the weight of their sins. Later, he steps forth to help Aiolia once more, answering Mu's call to go fight the Titans at the Time Labyrinth.
This character was first created by Masami Kurumada. Megumu Okada stays true to that design's colour scheme, making Aldebaran a blond. Like in the original manga, he has only one fighting technique: the .
Gemini Saga is both a protagonist and one of the central antagonists. He is responsible for many tragedies that have plagued Sanctuary. This information, however, remains undisclosed to most who follow him.
Saga was once a kind and honourable Gold Saint, but an evil presence lurks within him that only his twin brother Kanon knew of. After Kanon confronts him about this and reveals to him his dark intentions of taking over Sanctuary, Saga declares his brother to be pure evil and locks him in Cape Sounion, in a watery prison designed to contain Athena's enemies. Some time later, however, evil finally consumes him and Saga murders Pope Shion. He then starts impersonating Shion and controlling Sanctuary to further his ambitions. To hide his true identity, he wears a helmet that obscures his face at all times.
He conspires with Kronos and Pontos, and the Titan King gives him a golden dagger that has the power to kill gods. Saga uses it to attempt to kill the infant Athena, but Aiolos interrupts him and saves her. As a result, Saga declares Aiolos a traitor to Sanctuary.