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Saint Seiya Watch Order in the correct order

How to watch the Saint Seiya series in order

Last updated: October 4 2026

Written by: ChronoAlice

Saint Seiya is a legendary shonen franchise about young warriors clad in mythological armor who battle to protect the goddess Athena. Decades of series, OVAs, and spin-offs can be daunting, so here's a clear watch order.

Masami Kurumada's Saint Seiya helped define the fighting-spirit shonen genre, inspiring countless later series. The Bronze Saints β€” Seiya, Shiryu, Hyoga, Shun, and Ikki β€” fight through escalating cosmic conflicts across the original anime, the Hades arcs, and numerous spin-offs. With so many entries and reboots, a roadmap helps enormously.

πŸ• Release Order

Release order traces the saga from the classic 1980s anime through its later OVA continuations and modern spin-offs.

  1. Saint Seiya (1986)
  2. Saint Seiya: The Hades Chapter – Sanctuary (2002)
  3. Saint Seiya: The Hades Chapter – Inferno (2005)
  4. Saint Seiya: The Hades Chapter – Elysion (2008)
  5. Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas (2009)
  6. Saint Seiya Omega (2012)
  7. Saint Seiya: Soul of Gold (2015)
  8. Saint Seiya: Saintia Sho (2018)

The Hades OVAs directly continue the original anime, while spin-offs like The Lost Canvas and Omega branch into different eras.

πŸ“– Story Chronology

For the core narrative, follow the original series straight into the three-part Hades saga, which forms its true climax.

  1. Saint Seiya (1986) β€” Sanctuary, Poseidon, and Asgard arcs
  2. Saint Seiya: The Hades Chapter – Sanctuary (2002)
  3. Saint Seiya: The Hades Chapter – Inferno (2005)
  4. Saint Seiya: The Hades Chapter – Elysion (2008)

Which Order Should You Choose?

Start with the original 1986 anime and continue into the Hades OVA trilogy for the complete, canonical Bronze Saints story. Once you've finished that, the spin-offs are a matter of taste: The Lost Canvas is a prequel about a previous Holy War, Soul of Gold expands the Gold Saints, and Omega follows a new generation. Newcomers who prefer a modern starting point can try the Netflix CG reboot, Knights of the Zodiac, but the classics remain the heart of the franchise.

πŸ”— Related Guides

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