Knights of the Zodiac (partially lost DIC English dub of "Saint Seiya" anime series; 2003-2004): Difference between revisions

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(Actually nope there was a preview for episode 32 lol)
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{{InfoboxLost
{{InfoboxLost
|title=<center>Knights of the Zodiac (English Dub)</center>
|title=<center>Knights of the Zodiac (English Dub)</center>
|image=Knights of the zodiac adv dvd 1.jpg
|image=Knights of the zodiac adv DVD 1.jpg
|imagecaption=''Knights of the Zodiac'' DVD released by ADV Films.
|imagecaption=''Knights of the Zodiac'' DVD released by ADV Films.
|status=<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Lost'''</span>
|status=<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Lost'''</span>
}}
}}
'''''Knights of the Zodiac''''' is the international title for the ''Saint Seiya'' media franchise created by Masami Kurumada. Debuting in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump in 1986, the series later sprawled out to include multiple spinoffs, sequels and anime adaptations. The first of which was produced by Toei Animation for 114 episodes on the TV Asahi network between 1986 and 1990.
'''''Knights of the Zodiac''''' is the international title for the ''Saint Seiya'' media franchise created by Masami Kurumada. Debuting in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump in 1986, the series later sprawled out to include multiple spinoffs, sequels, and anime adaptations. The first of which was produced by Toei Animation for 114 episodes on the TV Asahi network between 1986 and 1989.


After achieving great success internationally in French, Portuguese and Spanish speaking markets, the original anime series was brought to English audiences in the early 2000s. One of those attempts included an edited dub produced by DIC Entertainment which received only a partial home video release.
After achieving great success internationally in French, Portuguese and Spanish-speaking markets, the original anime series was brought to English audiences in the early 2000s. '''One of those attempts included an edited dub produced by DIC Entertainment, which received only a partial home video release.''' Over the years, this dub has become infamous for its poor visual editing, primarily with the blood being recolored into something else other than red, questionable dialogue changes, with removing almost any mention of death in the series and replacing it with terms related to sleep being a notable example, and Stuart Stone's role as Cygnus Hyoga (Swan Hyoga in the DIC dub) being too out of character and sounding too similar to that of a stereotypical surfer boy.<ref>[http://landofobscusion.blogspot.com/2018/08/dics-knights-of-zodiac-i-just-ran-i-ran.html Land of Obscusion's review of the DIC dub.] Retrieved 10 May '22</ref>


==History==
==History==
In July 2002, anime distributor ADV Films announced at their Otakon 2002 panel that they had purchased the rights to release the series in North America.<ref>[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2002-07-28/adv-otakon-announcements Anime News Network article on the announcements ADV Films made at their Otakon panel.] Retrieved 04 Jun '18.</ref> The following June, it was revealed that the company had only acquired a sublicense to ''Saint Seiya'' through an agreement with children's entertainment company DIC Entertainment - similar to their earlier partnership on another anime series, ''Sailor Moon''. The French studio announced that it had sold 40 episodes of the show to Cartoon Network for broadcast in the United States under the name ''Knights of the Zodiac''.<ref>[https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20030611005036/en/DIC-Entertainment-Launches-Famed-Japanese-Anime-Hit  Business Wire article detailing how DIC Entertainment was granted with airing the English dub of ''Knights of the Zodiac'' in the US, Bandi America is granted the toy license, and ADV is granted the home video rights.] Retrieved 04 Jun '18.</ref>


In July 2002, anime distributor ADV Films announced at their Otakon 2002 panel that they had purchased the rights to release the series in North America.<ref>[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2002-07-28/adv-otakon-announcements ADV Otakon Announcements] Retrieved June 4, 2018.</ref> The following June, it was revealed that the company had only acquired a sublicense to ''Saint Seiya'' through an agreement with children's entertainment company DIC Entertainment - similar to their earlier partnership on another anime series, ''Sailor Moon''. The French studio announced that it had sold 40 episodes of the show to Cartoon Network for broadcast in the United States under the name ''Knights of the Zodiac''.<ref>[https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20030611005036/en/DIC-Entertainment-Launches-Famed-Japanese-Anime-Hit  DIC Entertainment Launches Famed Japanese Anime Hit Knights of the Zodiac in the U.S.; Bandai America is Awarded the Master Toy License; ADV is Granted Home Video Rights] Retrieved June 4, 2018.</ref>
The company produced an edited English dub recorded in Toronto, Ontario, by Kaleidoscope Entertainment. This version featured significant visual edits, storyline modifications and a cover of the A Flock of Seagulls song "I Ran (So Far Away)" by American rock band Bowling for Soup as its opening theme song. The series debuted on Cartoon Network in the United States on August 30, 2003.<ref>[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2003-08-02/knights-of-the-zodiac-on-cartoon-network Anime News Network article on ''Knights of the Zodiac'' on Cartoon Network.] Retrieved 04 Jun '18.</ref> Canadian broadcaster YTV aired a preview episode on September 1st before airing the show in its regular rotation on September 5th, 2003.<ref>[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2003-08-26/inu-yasha-st-seiya-on-ytv  Anime News Network article on YTV airing dates of ''Inu Yasha'', ''St. Seiya'', and ''Knights of the Zodiac''.] Retrieved 04 Jun '18.</ref><ref>[ftp://support.crtc.gc.ca/logs/200309/YTV_0309_YTV0309.ZIP YTV broadcast log for September 2003, includes ''Knights of the Zodiac''.] Retrieved 04 Jun '18.</ref><ref group=Notes>This dub also allegedly ran on Cartoon Network in Australia, though information regarding the broadcast is difficult to come by. Local home video distributor MRA Entertainment released seven DVDs containing the first 23 episodes between [http://members.optusnet.com.au/veemon/jan2005.html June 2005] [http://members.optusnet.com.au/veemon/sep2005.html and] [http://members.optusnet.com.au/veemon/jan2006.html February 2006].</ref> Parallel to DIC's dub, ADV Films produced their own uncut version under the ''Saint Seiya'' name.<ref>[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2003-01-13/adv-to-release-two-varieties-of-st-seiya Anime News Network article on ADV releasing two varieties of ''St. Seiya''.] Retrieved 04 Jun '18.</ref> Utilizing an entirely separate voice cast from the Houston, Texas area, their dub was primarily released on home video and ran for 60 episodes.


The company produced an edited English dub recorded in Toronto, Ontario by Kaleidoscope Entertainment. This version featured significant visual edits, storyline modifications and a cover of The Flock of Seagulls song "I Ran" by American rock band Bowling for Soup as its opening theme song. The series debuted on Cartoon Network in the United States on August 30, 2003.<ref>[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2003-08-02/knights-of-the-zodiac-on-cartoon-network  Knights of the Zodiac on Cartoon Network] Retrieved June 4, 2018.</ref> Canadian broadcaster YTV aired a preview episode on September 1 before airing the show in its regular rotation on September 5, 2003.<ref>[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2003-08-26/inu-yasha-st-seiya-on-ytv  Inu Yasha, St. Seiya on YTV] Retrieved June 4, 2018.</ref><ref>[ftp://support.crtc.gc.ca/logs/200309/YTV_0309_YTV0309.ZIP YTV Broadcast Log for September 2003] Retrieved June 4, 2018.</ref><ref group=Notes>This dub also allegedly ran on Cartoon Network in Australia, though information regarding the broadcast is difficult to come by. Local home video distributor MRA Entertainment released 7 DVDs containing the first 23 episodes between [http://members.optusnet.com.au/veemon/jan2005.html June 2005] [http://members.optusnet.com.au/veemon/sep2005.html and] [http://members.optusnet.com.au/veemon/jan2006.html February 2006].</ref> Parallel to DIC's dub, ADV Films produced their own uncut version under the ''Saint Seiya'' name.<ref>[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2003-01-13/adv-to-release-two-varieties-of-st-seiya ADV To Release Two Varieties Of St. Seiya] Retrieved June 4, 2018.</ref> Utilizing an entirely separate voice cast from the Houston, Texas area, their dub was primarily released on home video and ran for 60 episodes.
Though Cartoon Network initially planned to run the rest of DIC's dub in a late-night slot,<ref>[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2004-03-22/toonami-saturday-schedule Anime News Network article for a Saturday schedule in 2004 including ''Knights of the Zodiac''.] Retrieved 04 Jun '18.</ref> the show was pulled from the channel's schedule in April 2004 after 32 episodes aired.<ref>[https://www.toonzone.net/forums/threads/the-saturday-2004-toonami-schedule-that-might-have-been.5438681/ Toonzone forum thread about a Saturday 2004 Toonami schedule that could have happened.] Retrieved 04 Jun '18.</ref><ref>[https://www.toonzone.net/forums/threads/so-long-sweet-sves-knights-of-the-zodiac-island-of-doom-explodes-spoilers.3602011/ Toomzone forum thread about ''Knights of the Zodiac''.] Retrieved 04 Jun '18.</ref>


Though Cartoon Network initially planned to run the rest of DIC's dub in a late night slot,<ref>[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2004-03-22/toonami-saturday-schedule Toonami Saturday Schedule] Retrieved June 4, 2018.</ref> the show was pulled from the channel's schedule in April 2004 after 32 episodes aired.<ref>[https://www.toonzone.net/forums/threads/the-saturday-2004-toonami-schedule-that-might-have-been.5438681/ The Saturday 2004 Toonami schedule that might have been] Retrieved June 4, 2018.</ref><ref>[https://www.toonzone.net/forums/threads/so-long-sweet-sves-knights-of-the-zodiac-island-of-doom-explodes-spoilers.3602011/ So Long Sweet SVES: Knights of the Zodiac - Island of Doom Explodes (Spoilers)] Retrieved June 4, 2018.</ref> ADV Films would later release those 32 episodes across 8 DVD and VHS releases between January and November 2004.<ref>[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/releases.php?id=2319 Knights of the Zodiac - Battle of the Bronze Knights (Dub. DVD 1)] Retrieved June 4, 2018.</ref><ref>[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/releases.php?id=3247 Knights of the Zodiac - Brink of the Abyss (Dub. DVD 8)] Retrieved June 4, 2018.</ref>
In Canada, however, all 40 episodes aired on television, with the dub's conclusion airing on July 24th, 2004.<ref>[ftp://support.crtc.gc.ca/logs/200407/YTV_0407_YTV0407.ZIP YTV broadcast log for July 2004, which includes the finale of ''Knights of the Zodiac''.] Retrieved 04 Jun '18.</ref> The channel ran episodes 33-36 twice, with 37-40 only airing once, as YTV permanently removed ''Knights of the Zodiac'' from its lineup on October 9th, 2004.<ref>[ftp://support.crtc.gc.ca/logs/200410/YTV_0410_YTV_0410.zip Another YTV broadcast log for July 2004.] Retrieved 04 Jun '18.</ref> The existence of the dub is supported by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), which approved 40 ''Knights of the Zodiac'' episodes as Canadian content on December 1st, 2003.<ref>[https://services.crtc.gc.ca/pub/CanrecList/eng/CanadianProgramList?F=2003-12-01&T=2003-12-01&C=07E A list of CRTC Canadian program recognition numbers, including ''Knights of the Zodiac''.] Retrieved 04 Jun '18.</ref> That indicates production on the entire batch was finished months beforehand.


In Canada, however, all 40 episodes aired on television, with the dub's conclusion airing on July 24, 2004.<ref>[ftp://support.crtc.gc.ca/logs/200407/YTV_0407_YTV0407.ZIP YTV Broadcast Log for July 2004] Retrieved June 4, 2018.</ref> The channel ran episodes 33-36 twice, with 37-40 only airing once, as YTV permanently removed ''Knights of the Zodiac'' from its lineup on October 9, 2004.<ref>[ftp://support.crtc.gc.ca/logs/200410/YTV_0410_YTV_0410.zip YTV Broadcast Log for July 2004] Retrieved June 4, 2018.</ref> The existence of the dub is supported by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), who approved 40 ''Knights of the Zodiac'' episodes as Canadian content on December 1, 2003.<ref>[https://services.crtc.gc.ca/pub/CanrecList/eng/CanadianProgramList?F=2003-12-01&T=2003-12-01&C=07E List of CRTC Canadian Program Recognition Numbers] Retrieved June 4, 2018.</ref> That indicates production on the entire batch was finished months beforehand.
Nearly 20 years after the DIC dub aired, the original anime, as well as an entirely new dub, produced by Sentai Filmworks, was released on Netflix between 2019<ref>[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2019-10-17/netflix-adds-1st-41-episodes-of-1986-saint-seiya-anime-with-new-english-dub-subtitles/.152323?ObBbkkiuw Anime News Network: Netflix Adds 1st 41 Episodes of 1986 Saint Seiya Anime With New English Dub, Subtitles (Updated)] Retrieved 10 May '22</ref> and 2020<ref>[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/daily-briefs/2020-01-02/netflix-adds-32-more-episodes-of-1986-saint-seiya-anime-with-new-english-dub-subtitles/.154989 Anime News Network: Netflix Adds 32 More Episodes of 1986 Saint Seiya Anime With New English Dub, Subtitles] Retrieved 10 May '22</ref><ref>[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/daily-briefs/2020-04-06/netflix-adds-final-41-episodes-of-1986-saint-seiya-anime-with-new-english-dub-subtitles/.158313 Anime News Network: Netflix Adds Final 41 Episodes of 1986 Saint Seiya Anime With New English Dub, Subtitles] Retrieved 10 May '22</ref>, making it the first one to dub the whole series in English. Both the series and the third dub are no longer available on the platform as of December 2021.<ref>[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/daily-briefs/2021-11-17/1986-saint-seiya-anime-leaves-netflix-in-december/.179661 Anime News Network: 1986 Saint Seiya Anime Leaves Netflix in December] Retrieved 10 May '22</ref>


Since its Canadian broadcast, the last 8 episodes have not surfaced in any form.
== Availability ==
Of the 40 episodes that exist of this dub, only 28 have ever been released on DVD.<ref>[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/releases.php?id=2319 Anime News Network Encyclopedia page on ''Knights of the Zodiac - Battle of the Bronze Knights'' (Dub. DVD 1).] Retrieved 04 Jun '18.</ref> However, five more volumes were planned but were cancelled for unknown reasons, which resulted in the remaining 12 episodes to become lost.<ref>[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/releases.php?id=3247 Anime News Network Encyclopedia page on ''Knights of the Zodiac - Brink of the Abyss'' (Dub. DVD 8).] Retrieved 04 Jun '18.</ref> Due to DIC Entertainment folding in 2008, this dub has been long out of circulation, and therefore it is extremely hard to come by, especially when compared to the ADV and Sentai Filmworks dubs, which are easily available online via torrents. Various clips from the dub, as well as its intro and a few promos, exist on YouTube, and though full episodes were also uploaded to the platform, they get taken down very quickly by Toei Animation.


==Missing Episodes==
As of 2022, all 28 episodes that were released on DVD have been made available on the Internet Archive by Lost Media Wiki user Vexer6. The once missing episode 31 was also uploaded by the same user on April 4th, albeit in poor quality. For now, 8 episodes of the DIC dub remain completely lost, whereas the DIC dub of episodes 29, 30, and 32 only exist through short clips seen in episode 31, with episode 30 having audio.
The following episodes are believed to have aired exclusively in Canada on YTV:


==Episodes==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
|-
! style="background-color:green" | #
! style="background-color:lightblue" | #
! style="background-color:green" | Episode Title <ref group=Notes>Episode title and broadcast dates via the CRTC logs for YTV in [ftp://support.crtc.gc.ca/logs/200406/YTV_0406_YTV0406.ZIP June] and [ftp://support.crtc.gc.ca/logs/200407/YTV_0407_YTV0407.ZIP July] 2004.</ref>
! style="background-color:lightblue" | Episode Title<ref group=Notes>Episode title and broadcast dates via the CRTC logs for YTV in [ftp://support.crtc.gc.ca/logs/200406/YTV_0406_YTV0406.ZIP June] and [ftp://support.crtc.gc.ca/logs/200407/YTV_0407_YTV0407.ZIP July] 2004.</ref>
! style="background-color:green" | Air Date
! style="background-color:lightblue" | First Air Date
! style="background-color:lightblue" | Status
|-
|-
|Episode 33||Sightless Dragon's Tears||June 5, 2004
|1||A New Era of Heroic Legends||Aug 30th, 2003||[https://archive.org/details/knightsofthezodiac12<span style="color:green;"><span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|-
|Episode 34||Farewell, Comrade||June 12, 2004
|2||Burn! Meteor Punch of Pegasus!||Sept 6th, 2003||[https://archive.org/details/knightsofthezodiac13<span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|-
|Episode 35||Seiya's Journey of Hope||June 19, 2004
|3||Swan, Warrior of the Ice Field||Sept 13th, 2003||[https://archive.org/details/knightsofthezodiac14<span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|-
|Episode 36||Twelve Gold Cloths||June 26, 2004
|4||Dragon's Invincible Fist and Shield||Sept 20th, 2003||[https://archive.org/details/knightsofthezodiac15<span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|-
|Episode 37||Decision of the Mask||July 3, 2004
|5||Miraculous Rebirth and Cosmic Friendship||Sept 27th, 2003||[https://archive.org/details/knightsofthezodiac22<span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|-
|Episode 38||Battle of the Gold Knights||July 10, 2004
|6||The Return of Phoenix||Oct 4th, 2003||[https://archive.org/details/knightsofthezodiac23<span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|-
|Episode 39||Dragon Defends His Master||July 17, 2004
|7||Theft of the Gold Cloth||Oct 11th, 2003||[https://archive.org/details/knightsofthezodiac24<span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|-
|Episode 40||Away We Go!||July 24, 2004
|8||Battle for the Gold Cloth||Oct 18th, 2003||[https://archive.org/details/knightsofthezodiac25<span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|9||The Black Knights Appear||Oct 25th, 2003||[https://archive.org/details/knightsofthezodiac32<span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|10||Dragon in the Graveyard of Knights||Nov 1st, 2003||[https://archive.org/details/knightsofthezodiac33<span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|11||Seiya Battles Black Pegasus||Nov 8th, 2003||[https://archive.org/details/knightsofthezodiac34<span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|12||The Nebula Chain of Friendship||Nov 15th, 2003||[https://archive.org/details/knightsofthezodiac35<span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|13||Duel of the Dragons||Nov 22nd, 2003||[https://archive.org/details/knightsofthezodiac42<span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|14||Defeat of the Phantom Demon||Nov 29th, 2003||[https://archive.org/details/knightsofthezodiac43<span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|15||Phoenix's Secret Revealed||Dec 6th, 2003||[https://archive.org/details/knightsofthezodiac44<span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|16||Docrates' Fierce Attack||Dec 13th, 2003||[https://archive.org/details/knightsofthezodiac45<span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|17||Save Sienna!||Dec 20th, 2003||[https://archive.org/details/knightsofthezodiac52<span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|18||Ghost Knights on the Rampage||Dec 27th, 2003||[https://archive.org/details/knightsofthezodiac53<span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|19||Battle on the Island of Spirits||Jan 3rd, 2004||[https://archive.org/details/knightsofthezodiac54<span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|20||Shina's Revenge||Jan 10th, 2004||[https://archive.org/details/knightsofthezodiac55<span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|21||Fight on the Ice Field||Jan 17th, 2004||[https://archive.org/details/knightsofthezodiac62<span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|22||Phoenix the Firebird||Jan 24th, 2004||[https://archive.org/details/knightsofthezodiac63<span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|23||Attack of the Silver Knight||Jan 31st, 2004||[https://archive.org/details/knightsofthezodiac64<span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|24||Fly, Pegasus, Fly||Feb 7th, 2004||[https://archive.org/details/knightsofthezodiac65<span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|25||Fight On! The Rise of Athena||Feb 14th, 2004||[https://archive.org/details/knights-of-the-zodiac-7-2<span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|26||Friends or Foes – The Knights of Steel||Feb 21st, 2004||[https://archive.org/details/knights-of-the-zodiac-7-3<span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|27||Medusa's Shield||Feb 28th, 2004||[https://archive.org/details/knights-of-the-zodiac-7-4<span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|28||Dragon's Sacrifice||Mar 6th, 2004||[https://archive.org/details/knights-of-the-zodiac-7-5<span style="color:green;">'''On DVD''']
|-
|29||''Unknown''||Mar 13th, 2004||<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found'''</span> (Poor Quality)
|-
|30||''Unknown''||Mar 20th, 2004||<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found'''</span> (Poor Quality)
|-
|31||Evil Apparitions||Mar 27th, 2004||[https://archive.org/details/knights-of-the-zodiac<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>] (Poor Quality)
|-
|32||''Unknown''||April 10th, 2004||<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found'''</span> (Poor Quality)
|-
|33||Sightless Dragon's Tears||June 5th, 2004||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|34||Farewell, Comrade||June 12th, 2004||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|35||Seiya's Journey of Hope||June 19th, 2004||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|36||Twelve Gold Cloths||June 26th, 2004||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|37||Decision of the Mask||July 3rd, 2004||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|38||Battle of the Gold Knights||July 10th, 2004||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|39||Dragon Defends His Master||July 17th, 2004||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|-
|40||Away We Go!||July 24th, 2004||<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''
|}
|}
==Gallery==
===Video===
{{Video|perrow  =3
  |service1    =youtube
  |id1          =46rdXCKzuHs
  |description1 =The intro used for the dub.
  |service2    =youtube
  |id2          =rBjs9if8N2w
  |description2 =Cartoon Network promo for the dub.
  |service3    =youtube
  |id3          =XfC9vDl_WfY
  |description3 =Trailer promoting the dub.
}}
===Images===
<gallery>
Knights_of_the_Zodiac_covers.jpg|Cover art for all known DVD releases of the DIC dub. Note the unreleased Volume 8.
</gallery>


==Notes==
==Notes==
Line 51: Line 136:


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist|2}}


[[Category:Lost animation]]
[[Category:Lost audio]]
[[Category:Lost audio]]
[[Category:Lost TV]]
[[Category:Lost TV]]
[[Category:Partially lost media]]
[[Category:Partially lost media]]

Revision as of 21:13, 20 May 2022

Knights of the zodiac adv DVD 1.jpg

Knights of the Zodiac DVD released by ADV Films.

Status: Partially Lost

Knights of the Zodiac is the international title for the Saint Seiya media franchise created by Masami Kurumada. Debuting in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump in 1986, the series later sprawled out to include multiple spinoffs, sequels, and anime adaptations. The first of which was produced by Toei Animation for 114 episodes on the TV Asahi network between 1986 and 1989.

After achieving great success internationally in French, Portuguese and Spanish-speaking markets, the original anime series was brought to English audiences in the early 2000s. One of those attempts included an edited dub produced by DIC Entertainment, which received only a partial home video release. Over the years, this dub has become infamous for its poor visual editing, primarily with the blood being recolored into something else other than red, questionable dialogue changes, with removing almost any mention of death in the series and replacing it with terms related to sleep being a notable example, and Stuart Stone's role as Cygnus Hyoga (Swan Hyoga in the DIC dub) being too out of character and sounding too similar to that of a stereotypical surfer boy.[1]

History

In July 2002, anime distributor ADV Films announced at their Otakon 2002 panel that they had purchased the rights to release the series in North America.[2] The following June, it was revealed that the company had only acquired a sublicense to Saint Seiya through an agreement with children's entertainment company DIC Entertainment - similar to their earlier partnership on another anime series, Sailor Moon. The French studio announced that it had sold 40 episodes of the show to Cartoon Network for broadcast in the United States under the name Knights of the Zodiac.[3]

The company produced an edited English dub recorded in Toronto, Ontario, by Kaleidoscope Entertainment. This version featured significant visual edits, storyline modifications and a cover of the A Flock of Seagulls song "I Ran (So Far Away)" by American rock band Bowling for Soup as its opening theme song. The series debuted on Cartoon Network in the United States on August 30, 2003.[4] Canadian broadcaster YTV aired a preview episode on September 1st before airing the show in its regular rotation on September 5th, 2003.[5][6][Notes 1] Parallel to DIC's dub, ADV Films produced their own uncut version under the Saint Seiya name.[7] Utilizing an entirely separate voice cast from the Houston, Texas area, their dub was primarily released on home video and ran for 60 episodes.

Though Cartoon Network initially planned to run the rest of DIC's dub in a late-night slot,[8] the show was pulled from the channel's schedule in April 2004 after 32 episodes aired.[9][10]

In Canada, however, all 40 episodes aired on television, with the dub's conclusion airing on July 24th, 2004.[11] The channel ran episodes 33-36 twice, with 37-40 only airing once, as YTV permanently removed Knights of the Zodiac from its lineup on October 9th, 2004.[12] The existence of the dub is supported by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), which approved 40 Knights of the Zodiac episodes as Canadian content on December 1st, 2003.[13] That indicates production on the entire batch was finished months beforehand.

Nearly 20 years after the DIC dub aired, the original anime, as well as an entirely new dub, produced by Sentai Filmworks, was released on Netflix between 2019[14] and 2020[15][16], making it the first one to dub the whole series in English. Both the series and the third dub are no longer available on the platform as of December 2021.[17]

Availability

Of the 40 episodes that exist of this dub, only 28 have ever been released on DVD.[18] However, five more volumes were planned but were cancelled for unknown reasons, which resulted in the remaining 12 episodes to become lost.[19] Due to DIC Entertainment folding in 2008, this dub has been long out of circulation, and therefore it is extremely hard to come by, especially when compared to the ADV and Sentai Filmworks dubs, which are easily available online via torrents. Various clips from the dub, as well as its intro and a few promos, exist on YouTube, and though full episodes were also uploaded to the platform, they get taken down very quickly by Toei Animation.

As of 2022, all 28 episodes that were released on DVD have been made available on the Internet Archive by Lost Media Wiki user Vexer6. The once missing episode 31 was also uploaded by the same user on April 4th, albeit in poor quality. For now, 8 episodes of the DIC dub remain completely lost, whereas the DIC dub of episodes 29, 30, and 32 only exist through short clips seen in episode 31, with episode 30 having audio.

Episodes

# Episode Title[Notes 2] First Air Date Status
1 A New Era of Heroic Legends Aug 30th, 2003 On DVD
2 Burn! Meteor Punch of Pegasus! Sept 6th, 2003 On DVD
3 Swan, Warrior of the Ice Field Sept 13th, 2003 On DVD
4 Dragon's Invincible Fist and Shield Sept 20th, 2003 On DVD
5 Miraculous Rebirth and Cosmic Friendship Sept 27th, 2003 On DVD
6 The Return of Phoenix Oct 4th, 2003 On DVD
7 Theft of the Gold Cloth Oct 11th, 2003 On DVD
8 Battle for the Gold Cloth Oct 18th, 2003 On DVD
9 The Black Knights Appear Oct 25th, 2003 On DVD
10 Dragon in the Graveyard of Knights Nov 1st, 2003 On DVD
11 Seiya Battles Black Pegasus Nov 8th, 2003 On DVD
12 The Nebula Chain of Friendship Nov 15th, 2003 On DVD
13 Duel of the Dragons Nov 22nd, 2003 On DVD
14 Defeat of the Phantom Demon Nov 29th, 2003 On DVD
15 Phoenix's Secret Revealed Dec 6th, 2003 On DVD
16 Docrates' Fierce Attack Dec 13th, 2003 On DVD
17 Save Sienna! Dec 20th, 2003 On DVD
18 Ghost Knights on the Rampage Dec 27th, 2003 On DVD
19 Battle on the Island of Spirits Jan 3rd, 2004 On DVD
20 Shina's Revenge Jan 10th, 2004 On DVD
21 Fight on the Ice Field Jan 17th, 2004 On DVD
22 Phoenix the Firebird Jan 24th, 2004 On DVD
23 Attack of the Silver Knight Jan 31st, 2004 On DVD
24 Fly, Pegasus, Fly Feb 7th, 2004 On DVD
25 Fight On! The Rise of Athena Feb 14th, 2004 On DVD
26 Friends or Foes – The Knights of Steel Feb 21st, 2004 On DVD
27 Medusa's Shield Feb 28th, 2004 On DVD
28 Dragon's Sacrifice Mar 6th, 2004 On DVD
29 Unknown Mar 13th, 2004 Partially Found (Poor Quality)
30 Unknown Mar 20th, 2004 Partially Found (Poor Quality)
31 Evil Apparitions Mar 27th, 2004 Found (Poor Quality)
32 Unknown April 10th, 2004 Partially Found (Poor Quality)
33 Sightless Dragon's Tears June 5th, 2004 Lost
34 Farewell, Comrade June 12th, 2004 Lost
35 Seiya's Journey of Hope June 19th, 2004 Lost
36 Twelve Gold Cloths June 26th, 2004 Lost
37 Decision of the Mask July 3rd, 2004 Lost
38 Battle of the Gold Knights July 10th, 2004 Lost
39 Dragon Defends His Master July 17th, 2004 Lost
40 Away We Go! July 24th, 2004 Lost

Gallery

Video

The intro used for the dub.

Cartoon Network promo for the dub.

Trailer promoting the dub.

Images

Notes

  1. This dub also allegedly ran on Cartoon Network in Australia, though information regarding the broadcast is difficult to come by. Local home video distributor MRA Entertainment released seven DVDs containing the first 23 episodes between June 2005 and February 2006.
  2. Episode title and broadcast dates via the CRTC logs for YTV in June and July 2004.

References

  1. Land of Obscusion's review of the DIC dub. Retrieved 10 May '22
  2. Anime News Network article on the announcements ADV Films made at their Otakon panel. Retrieved 04 Jun '18.
  3. Business Wire article detailing how DIC Entertainment was granted with airing the English dub of Knights of the Zodiac in the US, Bandi America is granted the toy license, and ADV is granted the home video rights. Retrieved 04 Jun '18.
  4. Anime News Network article on Knights of the Zodiac on Cartoon Network. Retrieved 04 Jun '18.
  5. Anime News Network article on YTV airing dates of Inu Yasha, St. Seiya, and Knights of the Zodiac. Retrieved 04 Jun '18.
  6. YTV broadcast log for September 2003, includes Knights of the Zodiac. Retrieved 04 Jun '18.
  7. Anime News Network article on ADV releasing two varieties of St. Seiya. Retrieved 04 Jun '18.
  8. Anime News Network article for a Saturday schedule in 2004 including Knights of the Zodiac. Retrieved 04 Jun '18.
  9. Toonzone forum thread about a Saturday 2004 Toonami schedule that could have happened. Retrieved 04 Jun '18.
  10. Toomzone forum thread about Knights of the Zodiac. Retrieved 04 Jun '18.
  11. YTV broadcast log for July 2004, which includes the finale of Knights of the Zodiac. Retrieved 04 Jun '18.
  12. Another YTV broadcast log for July 2004. Retrieved 04 Jun '18.
  13. A list of CRTC Canadian program recognition numbers, including Knights of the Zodiac. Retrieved 04 Jun '18.
  14. Anime News Network: Netflix Adds 1st 41 Episodes of 1986 Saint Seiya Anime With New English Dub, Subtitles (Updated) Retrieved 10 May '22
  15. Anime News Network: Netflix Adds 32 More Episodes of 1986 Saint Seiya Anime With New English Dub, Subtitles Retrieved 10 May '22
  16. Anime News Network: Netflix Adds Final 41 Episodes of 1986 Saint Seiya Anime With New English Dub, Subtitles Retrieved 10 May '22
  17. Anime News Network: 1986 Saint Seiya Anime Leaves Netflix in December Retrieved 10 May '22
  18. Anime News Network Encyclopedia page on Knights of the Zodiac - Battle of the Bronze Knights (Dub. DVD 1). Retrieved 04 Jun '18.
  19. Anime News Network Encyclopedia page on Knights of the Zodiac - Brink of the Abyss (Dub. DVD 8). Retrieved 04 Jun '18.