Pisces Albafica should have been in the Saint Seiya canon

The first time I laid my eyes on Pisces Albafica

Appearances can deceive us indeed.

It was what happened to me when I first saw Pisces Albafica (魚座のアルバフィカ) in “Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas” anime on Netflix. Albafica’s first appearance (and soon to be the last as well…) in The Lost Canvas was when he battled spectres Griffon Minos, Niobe and the gang. Albafica appeared in the middle of a red rose garden, perching beautifully on a rock, his white cape billowing behind him.

The billowing cape made him look like a beautiful Batman sans the fear factor. In fact, Albafica was so beautiful that the spectres were just staring at him agog.



I was too. I knew he was a guy, anime shows usually have at least one beautiful bishonen for a wow factor. But then if he was just beautiful, I see no point in that, no matter how beautiful he was.

Then during battle, Albafica threw roses. ROSES. And I was like, OMG, really, roses??? Granted, those were poisonous roses that can kill men and spectres alike. Why, even Albafica’s blood were poisonous, such that a drop of his blood can kill men (that’s why Pisces Saints tend to isolate themselves from their allies and from innocent people). But still, using roses…? I seriously thought it was so lame…

I was going to zone out when things got rough with Albafica because Griffon Minos decided to get his hands dirty. With his Marionettion stance, being the cruel puppet master that he was, Minos was able to control Albafica’s body such as that the Pisces Saint had no control over his own body. He threw himself punches after punches (by the way, this is not the first time Albafica’s fists are displayed chronologically, so keep reading…) such that his beautiful face was marred. I felt sorry for Alba-chan, but I also wondered how a Gold Saint could be so easily defeated…

Then things shifted when Minos made Albafica’s fingers thrusting towards the Pisces Saint’s eyes. To avoid being blinded, Albafica decided to break his own arm. I don’t know how Albafica was able to break his own arm but he couldn't break Minos’ overall control of his body… perhaps it was that one moment of despair that he was able to break through mentally. Anyway, that event flipped my impression towards this beautiful saint.

When previously I only saw just a beautiful Gold Saint, now I see a brave Gold Saint deserving of respect, and he happened to be drop-dead gorgeous.

So, with trepidation I watched Albafica being tortured further by Minos, for he was still under the Spectre’s control. It went so far that Minos cruelly broke Albafica’s arms and legs (Seriously, I agree that TLC was NOT for young audience! The violence!). The Pisces Saint was finally left laying down, unconscious if not dead, in a pool of his own blood.

Minos himself progressed to the Rodrio Village to destroy the little village before attacking the Sanctuary. He was met by Aries Shion who rescued teenage girl Agathia (who wore a red rose Albafica gave her and who totally had a crush on Albafica, not that I blame her…). However, the mighty Aries Shion was also not immune to Minos’ control freak technique; Shion’s body was immediately controlled by Minos. Yet, just before Minos broke Shion’s body, several black roses flew through the air and cut off Minos’ thin threads of control.

Yep, Aries Shion’s saviour was none other than Pisces Albafica. Bloodied, battered, barely able to walk, somehow Albafica’s body healed himself and he was able to arrive in time to rescue Shion and Agathia. With a single red rose on his lips, Albafica challenged Minos once more.

Albafica's last fight (source)

(by the way, a bishōnen (gorgeous boy) biting a stem of red rose on his lips is a recurring theme in manga, but Albafica’s bloodied face and demeanour make this scene very powerful!)

Thus Round Two, where Albafica attacked Minos with Crimson Thorn (which was basically his own blood thrown very quickly that it became thousands of blood needles). But Minos had his flappy metal wings that protected him from Albafica’s roses (that was how the Spectre blocked Alba-chan's attacks during Round One), such that no matter how many needles (and blood) Albafica threw at him, Minos was not injured.

And thus Aries Shion’s fear came true: Albafica ran out of blood (almost literally) and collapsed. Laughing, Minos challenged Shion in case the Aries Saint now wanted to test his might. Shion replied that there was no need for him to face a dead man. Surprised, Minos saw that the red rose that was on Albafica’s lips was now pierced into his heart. And it was actually not the Royal Demon Rose (red rose with poisonous perfume) – this trick didn’t work with Minos earlier for somehow he was immune to the poisonous perfume. This red rose, attached firmly on Minos’ heart, was Bloody Rose. A white rose that would suck the blood of the person it attached itself to.

This rose was actually a Bloody Rose (source)

Albafica apparently had used his own Bloody Rose to withdraw his own poisonous blood into the Bloody Rose such that the Rose became saturated red (hence looked so similar to the red Royal Demon Rose). It was this Bloody Rose that Albafica threw right into Minos’ heart when he saw an opening during his last Crimson Thorn attack.

As Aries Shion commented, Minos failed to take Albafica’s strength seriously, thus the Spectre lowered his guard, giving Albafica a chance to threw his Bloody Rose at Minos. Enraged, Minos tried to attack the village with his flappy wing tornado thing, but this time Aries Shion used his crystal wall (so cool…) to protect the village.

Thus Minos died.

Moments later, after asking Shion whether they indeed won, Pisces Albafica died as well, after appreciating for the first time his red rose petals that were gently flown by the wind. It was the first time he saw beauty in his poisonous roses…

... and the warrior passed away peacefully... (Source)

And I cried. Because I could only see Pisces Albafica in two (yes, TWO!) episodes of The Lost Canvas, and this snippet ended with this beautiful warrior’s death, nonetheless!

Life can be so unfair.

But then, stubborn as I am, I asked Dr Google about Albafica and got my comfort: Albafica actually has a background story and another adventure that he shared with Gold Saint “Big Mouth” Cancer Manigold. The background story (side story or “gaiden”) was written by Teshirogi Shiori after The Lost Canvas manga concluded (Teshirogi-sensei also wrote The Lost Canvas; she basically created Albafica from scratch).

And thus this girl binge-read TLC Gaiden Chapters Pisces and Cancer because this brave warrior Pisces Albafica (who happened to be drop-dead gorgeous) was featured in those two chapters. After reading them, here’s what I can say about Albafica.


Albafica was a gentle, kind soul (and I'm not the only one who says so). As told in Chapter Pisces, as a child, the orphaned Albafica refused to leave his teacher Pisces Rugonis and he stubbornly agreed to perform the Red Bond ritual with Rugonis because if he didn’t become a Pisces student, he would leave Sanctuary and leave Master Rugonis alone. Rugonis was a very lonely man prior to him finding baby Albafica. The young Albafica didn’t have the heart to leave his teacher, hence he stayed and subjected his body to the poisonous ritual. However, perhaps because Albafica had a natural immunity to poison, his blood proved to be too poisonous for Master Rugonis. When Rugonis later died (it was Rugonis’ choice to die at the hand of his student), Albafica berated himself for not knowing that the Red Bond ritual would kill his master.

Albafica gave his cloak to Agathia, but he didn't let her touch him (source)

Albafica was chivalrious. He silently lent his cloak to Agathia when the girl was drenched in the rain as she ran towards the Sanctuary (she regularly delivered flowers to Pope Sage). Later, as he departed to fight Minos, Albafica threw a stem of red rose towards Agathia, saying that he would protect her and the village. In Chapter Cancer, Albafica was also flustered and turned red in embarrasment when he realised that his and Manigold’s new friend Gioca was actually a girl.


Albafica liked fist fight despite his association with the feminine roses. And his fist was rather deadly. At least it really hurt crooks. In Venice (Chapter Cancer), he was one-to-one with Ruse, a Black Saint with the ability to manipulate crow feathers the way Albafica controlled his roses. Realising that Albafica’s blood was toxic, Ruse transported Albafica, Manigold and Gioca to the Realm of the Dead, where Alba’s toxin wouldn’t work. Instead of getting stressed about it, Albafica was glad. In the midst of Ruse rattling about how he would kill Alba there, Alba’s fist landed on Ruse’ face. Smirking, Albafica thanked Ruse for transporting them to the Realm of the Dead, hence Alba didn’t have to worry that his own blood would hurt Manigold and – particularly – Gioca. After inviting Ruse to settle the matter with their fists, Albafica then continued pummelling Ruse with his fist until the latter collapsed.

I enjoy Albafica's smirk here so much! (Chapter Cancer)

Albafica was not a vain guy. He couldn’t care less that he was beautiful. If anything, he was insulted whenever people said he was beautiful, such as in TLC anime when Albafica told Minos how he was offended that people (most likely his enemies in this context) referred to him as being beautiful. In Chapter Cancer, when Ruse commented how beautiful Alba was (but then he also said that he’d kill Alba so that he – Ruse – could stand out even more), Alba couldn’t stand it. He told Manigold to watch over Gioca because he would personally address that chatty crow Ruse. At that time, Albafica was irked at Ruse because the reason Ruse wanted to kill him was so shallow, i.e. so that the beautiful Black Saint’s beauty stands out further amongst the saints. Albafica wasn’t concerned the least that his beauty would not stand out if Ruse was around; he just didn’t like Ruse’s attitude. Also, Albafica and Pisces Rugonis lived in a shack, basically, although they were gold saints.


Albafica was brave and honourable. Him breaking his own arms  in the anime proved that. In Chapter Cancer, while pummelling Ruse’ face, the usually silent Albafica also lectured that the Black Saint should be less concerned with his own appearance and more concerned with having the pride of a warrior. Albafica also reminded Cancer Manigold not to steal during Chapter Cancer.

Albafica reminded Manigold that stealing isn't correct (source)

Albafica was a talented warrior with a very strong inner strength and high precision. Throwing roses as such that the rose was firmly attached to the enemy’s heart? That’s difficult. A knife would be much easier to wield for that purpose. A rose stem is very flimsy, hence a person who could throw it with such a precision would have to have a very strong inner strength. Also, he cut off the Marionettion threads that Minos had, proving that Albafica had a good knack on precision.


Albafica respected his fellow saints. In Chapter Cancer, Albafica told Black Cetus (a Black Saint who was fighting Manigold) that the Black Saint shouldn’t be so complacent because Cancer Manigold “is a very dangerous man”. In the anime, during Griffon Minos’ attack, Albafica politely apologised to Aries Shion for causing him the trouble of protecting the village. In his own Chapter Pisces, Albafica bonded with Aries Shion after the latter stubbornly and warmheartedly welcomed him home after the former returned from the Island of Healing. By the way, I really like Albafica's interactions with Cancer Manigold and Aries Shion. Manigold was such a big mouth, but somehow he paired well with Albafica's silent demeanour. The kind-hearted Aries Shion was also a good friend for Albafica's introvert self; such that I'm longing to read more chapters about Albafica, Shion and Manigold, actually.


Albafica treasured human company; he was just afraid of hurting them. The very reason Albafica agreed to continue the Red Bond with Rugonis was because both would be alone again if he left Rugonis. When Manigold refused to include Gioca in their mission, Albafica also told Manigold that the Cancer Saint wasn’t being reasonable with Gioca, for the local Venice orphan could certainly help them finding Nero/Avido (their enemy for that chapter). However, despite his longing for human connection, Albafica was still afraid of any physical contacts with humans. In Chapter Pisces, Albafica forbade little Pefko (Healer Luco’s student) from touching him after the Pisces Saint rescued the boy from a bunch of spectres. Pefko was disappointed and gave a look of “what’s wrong with me”. Albafica also looked sad and pensive, but he still kept his distance. In the anime, Albafica also forbade Agathia from touching him, although the girl just wanted to thank him for the coat that protected her from the rain. But things turned out well for Pefko in the end because Albafica ruffled the boy’s hair at the end of their adventure in the Island of Healing, which made the boy very happy.



Last but not least, Albafica was a forgiving person and someone who was willing to understand others. In his own Chapter Pisces, after defeating Dryad Luco (Pisces Rugonis’ brother who was lured to the dark side because he wanted to rescue his own student Pefko), Albafica asked why Luco changed. A person whose sole purpose of life was to heal people couldn’t have traded his soul for Hades unless there was a very strong, compelling reason. Luco then admitted that once Pefko was very ill and almost died. To rescue the child, Luco agreed to turn his patients to become spectres. Luco finally died after making his peace, while Albafica embraced his poisonous blood more because it was a legacy his teacher Rugonis entrusted him with.


In short, Albafica presented all the high qualities demanded from a saint of Athena, a gold saint nonetheless. Thus, his very short appearance in the anime (only two episodes of anime) and manga (just one volume/book of manga) saddens me.

However, I suppose in many ways his character touches the hearts of a lot of readers and viewers. In Amazon Japan, TLC Chapter 3 where Albafica battled Minos receives 5/5 stars from eight readers (another reader gave 4/5). When the Gaiden (side stories) chapters of TLC were published, Albafica’s main story (Chapter Pisces) was the first chapter, followed by Scorpio, Aquarius and Cancer. To me, this is special because in the zodiac chronology, Aries is the first zodiac (because Aries starts during the Spring Equinox) and Pisces is the last zodiac (Pisces ends just before the Spring/Vernal Equinox). In addition, the Gaiden chapters are not chronologically numbered (for instance, Chapters 15 and 16 started more than 200 years before The Lost Canvas and Chapter Pisces (#1) happened after Chapter 13 (about Aries Shion)). Yet, the Gaiden chapters still starts with Pisces. In addition, Albafica is also the only gold saint who has a CD Drama, basically the audio version of Chapter Pisces. To me, it means that Pisces Albafica is a very important character in The Lost Canvas, although he only appeared in one manga volume and two anime episodes.

Many fans also praised Albafica’s characters and compared him with the canon 20th century Pisces Aphrodite. For those who grew up watching the canon Saint Seiya (where the Pegasus Saint is called Seiya instead of Tenma as in the Lost Canvas), they might be more familiar with Aphrodite, a beautiful man who wields the cape of Pisces. I understand that some people prefer the canonical Aphrodite to Albafica (perhaps because Albafica looked so weak; in the anime, he died in one fight after all), but I respectfully disagree.

Pisces Aphrodite might have a different tactic to face Minos, he might have stayed alive because of his options (many of them are borderline cruel), but Albafica is still the more superior Pisces Saint to me.

To a Pisces like me, Albafica’s characters speak true Piscesian. We Pisces are sensitive souls, like Albafica’s. We don’t like to boast our assets, just like Albafica’s indifference to his own beauty. We appreciate human connections, and Albafica actually longed for that connection.  Pisces certainly are not characterised with thirst for power, and that is true as well for Albafica (OTOH, Aphrodite thinks that power is the ultimate beauty). I admit there was no panel that showed Albafica talking about power, but he talked about honour (he chastised Cancer for stealing) and pride as a saint (him punching Ruse as he said so) in Chapter Cancer. In Chapter Pisces, Albafica helped Luco made his own peace before the latter died. I don’t see how this type of person is a person who is also power-hungry.


Because of that, I think Pisces Albafica should have been made canon. Don't get me wrong: I'm VERY GRATEFUL that Teshirogi-sensei wrote Albafica as he was. Albafica, as I argued above, is a much more precious character than Pisces Aphrodite, IMO. Due to his exemplary character, Albafica (and many of his saint colleagues) should have been in the canonical Saint Seiya episodes. Heck, even reading Pisces Cardinal from the Next Dimension (canon) convinced me that Albafica should’ve been canon instead, even if just for the 18th century version of the canon. In fact, three out of five Pisces Saints are depicted as being bloodlust (Aphrodite, Cardinal and Amor). Only Pisces Albafica and his master Pisces Rugonis are truly kind-hearted the way a Piscesian Knight/Saint should be.

Pisces Albafica has all the qualities a Gold Saint should have, and I thus mourn his early demise in The Lost Canvas.

Oh, and a side note, in the unlikely event that they’re making an action movie out of The Lost Canvas, please cast Okada Masaki as Pisces Albafica? He’d do justice to this noble character. And please extend Albafica’s story so that he shows more sides of his great qualities.

... not just because - like Albafica - Masaki looks great in long hair (Gintama 2017)...

... but also because Masaki can definitely deliver Albafica's layers of bottled up emotions...