Movies News Talk
This one hurts! The "Knights Of The Zodiac" anime series is beloved for its dramatic storylines and heart-pounding action, with plenty of characters fans adore. But the recent live-action adaptation was a miss. In fact, the whole thing flopped pretty hard. Turns out, they didn't quite get the epic feeling and soul of the story right, and a lot of anime fans were pretty disappointed.
There were a bunch of things about the film that got criticism: the plot wasn't really working for a lot of people, and it had a hard time giving all those incredible characters the justice they deserved. That's something even the most forgiving anime fans struggled to swallow! So when you talk about the “Knights Of The Zodiac" movie, people are ready to tell you everything that was wrong with it.
Think about this: "Knights of the Zodiac" has some major heavy hitters - the Gold Saints, a super powerful crew of warriors protecting Athena, the Greek Goddess of War. The bronze saints are lower ranked than them, but are still epic, even a little more relatable. It was the Bronze Saints that carried a lot of the series’ story and some really memorable scenes, and they’re like the true underdog warriors. They’re definitely fan-favorites, including Dragon Shiryu, Andromeda Shun, and Pegasus Koga - so when they were totally left out, fans went, “what?”.
A lot of those original stories from the manga and anime would've probably been lost in the film, and the original scope of the series wouldn't have come across well either. You know those powerful fights and huge armies – those elements get kinda washed out without them. In a nutshell, it was a pretty major miscalculation!
It was a gamble for them to leave the bronze saints out! It's not like they just had a cameo! Nope, those characters were fully missing in action, and the whole thing felt underwhelming and lost some of its depth! The original manga was so much deeper and the Bronze Saints had really amazing story arcs, too!
You gotta give sony pictures props for taking the chance to make a "Knights of the Zodiac" film! But you know what they say: If it ain't broke, don’t fix it! Because a lot of us would've preferred they stick with the animated format. If anything, the live-action film really made fans even more aware of what makes "Knights of the Zodiac" special – those beautifully crafted, visually dazzling anime episodes, the cool soundtrack, the characters they've grown up with. So really, this whole "live action" movie wasn’t exactly a slam dunk. It kind of solidified for some viewers how much they loved the original animation, so maybe there's a reason the series had already gotten an animated film back in 2014 – people have great memories, and maybe live-action was just going to mess that up.
To be fair, those “Knights of the Zodiac" writers really tried to add a bunch of their own story ideas! But in trying to be “new,” they might've messed with the heart and soul of the story! The result was, let's just say, less-than-stellar! When it came to those Bronze Saints – the film had a lot of chances to make the movie really special! And yet they avoided them altogether! There’s no way to know, but imagine how badly they’d have screwed up the characters in the live-action! Seriously, those Bronze Saints are some of the most beloved characters of all time – like, it was more safe for everyone for them not to get that makeover!
One example that showed up in the movie was Ikku/Nero, the leader of those Bronze Saints in the series! They transformed him into some ordinary henchman. He’s so much deeper than that, but that just proves it – those other Bronze Saints were saved, which, in the end, might've been the best-case scenario. For a whole new audience, it's great that those iconic characters never had to make the trip into that weird “Knights of the Zodiac” movie world!
To all the fans out there who never gave “Knights of the Zodiac” a try: now is the perfect time to binge! You might miss some key storylines from the manga but honestly, that is probably for the best, considering what happened with the live-action film! And if you're already a die-hard fan – just thank your lucky stars! You don't have to worry about seeing your beloved heroes get mishandled or watching the iconic style and lore of the story be distorted for the silver screen!
This movie wasn’t the only one, but the thing that makes "Knights of the Zodiac" a unique anime – the scope of those storylines, the intricate power dynamics, the epic battle scenes – that’s why it's beloved, so the live-action did a pretty big disservice. You just don't get that in those live-action films! Those "Knights of the Zodiac" fans really dodged a bullet – for everyone. And it only made the original animated version even more amazing.