#poseidon arc

I have no idea why they changed his name from Sorrento (an Italian name, even if it’s a place) to Sirya. That, by the way, it’s a girl’s name. What. 

Overall score (character, not looks): 10/10

I love Sorrento. As soon as this man crossed the screen I was sold. Sold, I tell you.  Let’s go in order.

In the anime, he first appears at the end of the Asgard Arc (the manga is different, he is sent to kill the Bronze Saints at the hospital they were staying at), and plays the role of a messenger.  Sorrento is the first Marina General that appears, bringing with him the beginning of a new arc, and I quite liked the transition.

He actually made a good impression on me, despite how cocky he seemed, and I think this happened because of his Italian voice actor. I have a tendency to bond with a character if my first impression of character+voice actor is good, and this is the main reason I wasn’t like “please, stop being like that”. Worth noticing the voice actor he had during the Asgard Arc was the same one as Milo, so I kind of assimilated both things into one and here we go. 

But seriously, I liked Sorrento from the get go. I loved how overly sure of himself he was, especially as he used his Dead End Symphony against Siegfried, only to become a scared mess when Siegfried retaliated and tried to kill him by yeeting them both into space.  That, if I might say, was a very human reaction from him.  But of course he survived, using another trait I love from this character: quick thinking and intelligence. He got away from Siegfried’s hold to let him burn alone by cleverly using his techniques and skills.  Amazing. 

And then, he appears once again in the Poseidon Arc, towards the end of the series. 

And this is where things start going amazingly well for Sorrento’s characterization.  Sure, he starts off as an opponent for the Bronze Saints, fighting Shun at his Pillar, but does he yell at him his loyalty to Poseidon and refuses to see beyond his nose? Nope.  Guess what, he actually understands!

Obviously, the fight against Shun happened. He did try to kill him, because it was his duty as a Marina General to protect his Pillar, but he hasn’t been as blind as his fellows.  On top of that, the fight against Shun showed how determined and brave Sorrento was, continuing to play his flute to use the Dead End Climax even though he knew he was going to die. 

To that point, all the Marina Generals were mostly depicted as evil warriors, because they were being see through the eyes of the Bronzes, but Sorrento appeared for what he was; someone who wanted to protect his deity, as much as everyone else, but without the feeling of his actions being wrong.  I loved that so much.

He survived the Nebula Storm, quite impressive by itself, and quickly understood how much Kanon had manipulated all the Generals for his own goal. This led him to help Ikki destroying Kanon’s Pillar, though I’m pretty sure he was heartbroken in doing so.  He does care for his deity, and admitting Poseidon shouldn’t have been awoken surely put a strain on his emotions. I refuse to believe the opposite. 

Sorrento took the matter into his own hands, turned against his deity to stop a man who wanted to take over, and fought alongside someone he previously considered an enemy because he knew it was the right thing to do.  Is this doesn’t make him one of the best character in this damn franchise, I don’t know what would. 

Poseidon Mariner Scales (海闘士スケイル) appreciation post in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Saint Seiya anime back in 1989. While not the best arc of the series, it had beautiful backgrounds and a nice seapunk color palette. The battles were underwhelming, though. Compared to the Asgard God Warriors, the Mariners felt underpowered. Only Kraken Isaak and Sea Dragon Kanon had interesting backstories, the rest were mediocre at best. My favorite character was Mermaid Thetis and her relationship with Poseidon/Julian Solo, as it mimics the tale of The Little Mermaid in a way. 

Here are some scans of the figure boxes by Bandai, 1988-89.

海皇ポセイドン Sea King Poseidon (Julian Solo)

海馬のバイアン Seahorse Baian

スキュラのイオ Scylla Io

クリュサオルのクリシュナ Chrysaor Krishna

Part 2