Whenever I see people discuss the Hades arc, specifically the anime adaptation, the general consensus seems to be that the Sanctuary chapter (the first 13 episodes) was great, but the Inferno and Elysion chapters suffered a drop in quality and were bad in comparison. This is also reflected on MAL; the Sanctuary chapter is ranked the highest. But honestly, I have to disagree.
Most people claim that the animation was superb, but I didn't think it was exceptional. There was an abundance of CGI, but the color palette was quite varied, in contrast to the dark environment. This is understandable due to the switch to digital animation, but I still prefer the look and feel of the original anime (props for using Yokoyama's original OST, though).
Apart from the Athena Exclamations, which were quite memorable, the fights were good, but I didn't think they were amazing. The Bronze Saints were barely there and Saori telling them to go away and not fight was dumb. Though, I can see why some might see this as a good thing, as both the alive Gold Saints and the resurrected ones got more screen time.
I also have an issue with the continuity errors, such as Shiryu being blind again for no reason; despite recovering his eyesight earlier, and not losing it during the Poseidon arc in the anime. Or that one flashback showing that Camus trained Hyoga and not the Crystal Saint, who was Hyoga's master in the original series. I understand that those things happened in the manga and the OVA was trying to be faithful to it, but if you look at this as a sequel to the original series, and watch it right after, you can't help but notice the inconsistencies.
And the thing that bothered me the most about this OVA was the opening. It lacked the energy previous openings had, and it felt a little out of place. Saint Seiya has always had amazing openings that are full of energy. This is no Soldier Dream. It's a shame they didn't use Dead or Dead, the song Kageyama had recorded in the early 90s, before the Hades adaptation was canceled back then. The song they ended up using feels like it belongs in a different show.
What exactly makes this portion of the story so much better than the rest? I enjoyed the Inferno chapter more, it had the plot twist involving Shun, and the Wailing Wall, which was the best moment in the entire Hades arc in my opinion. I had no issue with this supposed drop in animation quality. I think it looked fine. And the opening was much closer to what I would expect from the franchise, I liked it.
I know most complaints regarding Inferno and Elysion had less to do with the story and more to do with the production values. I am aware of the whole Heaven Overture movie situation and the cast replacement that ensued. But I didn't think it caused the remaining Hades chapters to be worse. Why do people think this?
Maybe I should give it another chance and rewatch it, but I simply don't get what makes this portion of the story so beloved. It wasn't bad, but to me, it wasn't outstanding either. |