A Lost Piece of Anime History Has Been Uncovered After 20+ Years

Thanks to a lost media curator, a piece of anime history has been uncovered regarding Saint Seiya.

By Megan Peters

There are few things in the world better than a good mystery, and that goes for anime fans. From rumored films to short-lived TV series, media collectors have documented a number of old-school projects. Still, there are some anime titles that have eluded netizens for decades. Now, one of those mysterious projects has been found, and the lost media recovery comes more than 20 years after it surfaced.

Can you guess what it is? Well, if you know your lost media, then you can put two and two together. The lost live-action pilot of Saint Seiya has been found, and the Hollywood project was sussed out by Ray Mona over on YouTube.

A Piece of Saint Seiya History

As you can see above, a full documentary has been posted by Mona about Saint Seiya. The curator was able to track down the full pilot episode of Saint Seiya's live-action adaptation. The project dates back to the '90s, but it was first mentioned publicly in 2003. Masami Kurumada, the creator of Saint Seiya, told a French publication that he was approached by a Hollywood company about a live-action adaptation. A fifteen-minute live-action pilot was made, but ultimately, Kurumada pulled the plug. According to the creator, the Saint Seiya adaptation did not align with the series and its core story elements. In 2005, further reports detailed the pilot's existence, but it has not been seen by the public until now.

"After a year since finding Guardians of the Cosmos in part 2 of The Secret Stories of Saint Seiya... The infamous cancelled live action Saint Seiya pilot episode, known as StarStorm, has finally been FOUND," Mona shared with followers as she shared her documentary with the world.

"Thank you for all your continued patience, I love my viewers so much and I feel blessed to have been able to uncover so many lost items in the last 3 years of being involved in the lost media community."

When Anime Meets Live-Action Film

As you can see, the Saint Seiya pilot is very different from the anime, so initial reports about the project were spot on. The documentary goes on to break down how Renaissance Atlantic, the producers behind Power Rangers, brought this live-action romp to life. Clearly, the team had hope for Saint Seiya in the United States, but Kurumada did not side with the company's vision. But as we all know, the Saint Seiya creator did eventually sign off on a live-action adaptation.

In 2017, Toei Animation helped bring a live-action Saint Seiya film to life with director Tomasz Baginski. The movie, which stars Mackenyu as Seiya, was released in April 2023. The movie was met with little success as it only grossed $7 million globally. Painted with poor reviews, Saint Seiya failed to live up to expectations, and it continued anime's rough history with live-action adaptations.

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However, it seems that trajectory is now changing. From Dragon Ball to Death Note, a number of live-action anime adaptations have been made under big studios, and none have gone well. That changed with One Piece as Netflix and Tomorrow Studios worked closely with series creator Eiichiro Oda to tackle the title. Following its season one launch in 2023, One Piece became a smash hit for Netflix, and a second season is now filming. So if One Piece can do it right, well – what's to stop other franchises from navigating those waters in the future?

What do you make of this wild recovery? Are you caught up on Saint Seiya? Give me a shout at @meganwpeters with your take! You can also let us know what you think over on X (Twitter) and Instagram.

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