Saint Seiya, also known as Knights of the Zodiac here in the west, is a series with a long lineage. The main series started in 1985 and was among the titles that helped make Weekly Shonen Jump the power house it was in the 1980s and 1990s. Since the end of original series, there have been some spin offs  that are now reaching a conclusion.

Saint Seiya Next Dimension is a spin-off series that started back in 2006 that has been published sporadically, and is the prequel and continuation of the original series. While that may sound weird, when time travel is involved, you can’t expect anything less. The series takes place mostly in the 18th Century, during the previous “Holy War” between Athena and Hades. The series starts with Hades reminiscing about his past life and former friend Tenma, who was the Pegasus Saint. Meanwhile, present day Pegasus Saint Seiya is wounded by Hades, so Athena Sayori and Andromeda Saint Shu go back in time to try to save Seiya, but go back too far, and become mixed up in the previous war. The story bounces between the 18th and 20th centuries, and is broken up into “seasons.”

The series was on hiatus from January 2014 until December 2015, when it resumed in Akita Shoten’s Weekly Shonen Champion. It announced that the chapter released back on January 21, 2016 was the start of the title’s final story arc. The series is currently at 9 volumes. Since this series is technically the prequel/sequel to the original Saint Seiya, it would be so awesome to see this series released here in the west, especially now that there is an end in sight. Saint Seiya did well when it was released digitally, so that would be the way to go, and honestly, I’d like to see it go to Viz Media, since they released the first series. But I’d be happy to see it on Bookwalker as well.

The second currently running Saint Seiya spin-off is Saint Seiya: Lost Canvas Gaiden. It is the spin-off of the spin-off Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas, which was an alternate telling of the story in Next Dimension about the friendship between Tenma and Alone, the Pegasus Saint and Hades of the 18th Century. Lost Canvas Gaiden is serialized monthly in Akita Shoten’s Bessatsu Shonen Champion, and tells stories about the gold saints from the 18th century. There are 15 volumes of this second series, and it was announced that the final chapter would run in the April issue that came out last Saturday.

I would love for this series to be licensed as well, though I would want The Lost Canvas to come out first, and that is 25 volumes, almost as long as the original series. Add on this Gaiden spin-off, and that’s 35 volumes total for The Lost Canvas series. There’s no way that is going to see print. It’s another job for Bookwalker! But for Saint Seiya, I’ll take these releases any way I can get them.