In summer 2019, Netflix will release its remake of the ‘80s- and 2000s-era anime classic Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac, a series about five cosmic warriors defending Earth against vengeful Greek gods.
The original Japanese program featured a gentle male character named Andromeda Shun. He had long green hair, wore magenta armour, was very emotional and always tried to resolve conflicts without violence, despite being a skilled warrior. As such, some Saint Seiya fans viewed Andromeda Shun as queer or at least challening the idea of what a male warrior has to look and act like. However, Netflix’s remake will change Andromeda Shun’s gender to female, upsetting many fans.
Andromeda Shun fanart by じょぼ
Last month, the show’s producer Eugene Son explained his decision to change Andromeda’s gender in a series of tweets, stating, “This one is all on me.” The series has other strong female characters, but Son wanted to make one of the Knights female to avoid an all-male cast of protagonists.
“Thirty years ago,” he tweeted, “a group of guys battling to save the world with no girls around was no big deal. That was the default then. Today the world has changed. Guys and girls working side-by-side is the default. We’re USED to seeing it. Right or wrong, the audience could interpret an all-male team as us trying to make a STATEMENT about something…”
Interestingly, fans seem divided over the gender-swap. Some don’t particularly mind the female inclusion, but others feel it betrays the subversive spirit of an “openly emotional, pretty, strong, non-macho male lead.”
Netflix has previously tried to elevate strong queer and female characters. But its attempt to be more inclusive here has proven controversial. While many agree that making the cast of a show more diverse is a good thing, they question if erasing the only character that could be read as queer or gender-non-conforming to make space for a different kind of representation was the most sensible choice.