After the last confusing volume of Saint Seiya, I didn't think that things could get much worse, but they did with this set of episodes.  With continuity errors galore and yet even more endless battles, I am very perplexed as to why this show was so popular in Japan.

This DVD includes five episodes that continue the story from were the last DVD left off.  They are:

Episode 21 – A Fight in Siberia!:  Hyoga returns to Siberia to find that his master is under the control of the evil Pope.  The two fight, but Hyoga doesn't want to hurt his old master.  The Crystal Saint has no problems with killing Hyoga though.
 
Episode 22 – Phoenix Ikki!:  The Fire Saint arrives in Japan and burns down Saori's house trying to find out where the Gold Helmet is located.  Their plan works when Tatsumi shows up and is captured.  The Fire Saint heads up to the mountain cabin where Saori and the Helmet are, but Shun is guarding Saori and the cloth.

Episode 23 – Fly Pegasus, Fly!:  Lizard Misty, an oddly androgynous Silver Saint arrives from Greece with orders to kill Seiya.  How can a mere Bronze Knight defeat a Silver one, especially one that can't be touched.

Episode 24 – Silver Saint!  The Proud Assassin!:  Seiya is having a hard time with Misty but he doesn't give up. He is finally victorious, but his battles are not over.  Two other Silver Knights have captured Seiya's mentor Marin, and are threatening to kill her.
 
Episode 25 – United with Athena!  After the battles on the beach, Marin disappears.  Seiya and the other knights learn a secret about Saori.

I am constantly amazed at the odd errors that crop up in this show.  There are little, stupid errors like Seiya walking through a snowstorm in Siberia in short sleeves.  (I assume the creators didn't want to draw him wearing a coat for fear of confusing the viewers.)  Then there are the continuity errors that make you scratch your head.  For example, in the previous volume Saori relates how her Grandfather adopted and raised her.  In episode 25 she is astounded to learn that she was adopted.  I guess she had just forgotten that she already knew about that.  Then there is the quandary about Seiya's sister.  He's been looking for her since the second episode when he remembered having to say a tearful goodbye to his little sister.  When he ends up finding her, she's about 10 years older than he is.  How did that happen?  And why isn't he worried about it?  But then again, time acts in a weird fashion in this show.  It was stated that Seiya was 8 years old when he started training in Greece, and that he trained for 5 years before he left which happened in the first episode.  So he should be, ummmm let me see....put down the three....carry the one....13!  That's it, he should be thirteen years old!  But he and the other knights look and act like they are in their late teen's or early twenties.  These are just a few of the errors that have cropped up.  There are many more but why bother listing them?  This show is just sloppy in a lot of respects.

In my reviews of the previous volumes I mentioned that the animation was very crude and cheaply done.  Well it doesn't improve with this volume.  Neither does the writing (with such classic lines as "What a powerful cosmos!") or the acting.  (Some of the characters sound as if they are constantly constipated.)  The standard way out of a problem for the heroes is still to have a deus ex machina ending with someone showing up at the last minute or the seemingly defeated hero just winning because he has righteousness on his side.  The show is almost enjoyable as camp, but not quite.

Audio:

There is the choice between the original Japanese or an English dub and there are optional English subtitles.  The two-channel track was essentially mono, there was little use of the sound stage made.  The quality is about what you would expect from an older television show.  Both tracks were fairly clear, but not dynamic or full.  While the acting in neither track is very outstanding, I preferred the Japanese track. The voices seemed to fit with the characters a little bit more.  In the English dub women talking in high-pitched voices voice all of the children, and it gets weary very quickly.  One odd thing is that with this volume they changed the term for the magical vestments that the Knights wear.  In previous volumes the English dub referred to it as the Knight's "armor," but they have now changed it to "cloths."  I like the term armor a lot better.

Video:

The video for this show is a little less than average.  The 1.33:1 picture had occasional specks and dirt, and was slightly dull.  Though it was from the late 80's the picture actually looked older than that.  A slight amount of grain was present throughout the shows, and the colors were muted a bit.  There were a few artifacts present in the picture, especially in the background and in dark scenes.  Nothing to horrible, but not anything great either.

The Extras:

There are minimal extras.  They include a clean opening and closing, and a text piece on Greek Mythology.  (Amazons this time.)  There are also trailers for (click on the titles to read DVDTalk's reviews) Azomanga Daioh, Kino's Journey, Steam Detectives, Magical Shop Abenobashi, Final Fantasy Unlimited,, and Aura Battler Dunbine.

Final Thoughts:

Since I started watching the uncensored version of this show with volume 3 (I have since seen the 10 episodes I missed, but censored for US television broadcast) I assumed that it would take a little time to get used to the characters and get into the show.  Well, I've seen 15 episodes now, and I still have no connection with any of the people who populate this program.  I was hoping by this point that I would care what was going on, but I don't.  This is just one large fight scene, and the plot that holds it all together makes no sense much of the time.  If you are really interesting in this series, rent it, but most people should just Skip It.