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It’s been 30 years since the hit manga Saint Seiya first appeared in Weekly Shonen Jump, and fans can look forward to a special commemorative exhibit next year!

The 30th anniversary exhibit, subtitled the Complete Works of Saint Seiya, should prove to be a real treat for fans of the series, as plans are for various original artwork, anime illustrations and figures—practically all things Seiya related—to be displayed. It sounds like the event will be a great chance to look back on the story that over the years has been the basis for not only an animated TV series and multiple feature length films, but several spin-off comics by different manga artists as well.

▼ The anime artwork, while slightly different from the style of the original manga created by Masami Kurumada, was quite stunning, especially considering it was made 30 years ago.

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If you were a kid or teenager in Japan in the late 1980s to early 1990s, it really would have been difficult not to have had a passing interest in, or at least having known about, this series, in which warriors known as “saints” fought epic battles to protect the goddess Athena. The elements of foreign (mainly Greek) mythology incorporated into the story and the numerous saint characters, each with their own unique fighting techniques and intricately designed armor, contributed to making the manga and anime a huge success. (And despite it being an action-filled battle story, we’re sure the manga and anime held significant appeal to girls with certain tastes as well, as it involved many young attractive boys literally in shining armor fighting together to save the world…and well, you can kind of guess where that leads to in Japan, right?)

The Saint Seiya exhibit is scheduled to be held at the Akihabara UDX shopping/dining/entertainment/office complex in June next year, and while not much information has been announced at this time, they do have an official exhibit website open now, so hopefully there will be more updates as details become available.

▼ If you watched the anime in the late 80s, you were sure to have a favorite character among the five principals: Seiya, the indomitable protagonist who brings everyone together; Shun, the beautiful warrior with a kind heart; Hyoga, who masks his emotions beneath his ice-cold exterior; Shiryu, who is calm and thoughtful with a strong sense of justice; and Ikki, the powerful older brother figure with a slightly dark past.

91gS5+b9DLL._SL1500_Image: Amazon Japan

Do you have a favorite Saint Seiya character? Tell us, and we’ll you tell you ours!

Soure and top image: Saint Seiya 30th Anniversary Exhibit website (Image edited by RocketNews24)