Shaka

From Seiyapedia

This is about the character of the Classic "Saint Seiya" series. For Virgo Shaka in "Episode G", click here. For Virgo Shijima in "Next Dimension", click here. For Virgo Asmita in "Lost Canvas", click here. For info on the constellation, click here. For info on the Virgo Gold Cloth, click here.

But it's such an important part of Buddhism!

Occupation: Gold Saint of Athena
Constellation: Virgo
Armour: Virgo Gold Cloth
Age: 20
Birthday: September 19th
Birthplace: India
Trained at: Basin of the Ganges, India
Height: 182cm
Weight: 68kg
Blood type: AB
Related characters: Shiva (student), Agora (student), Saga, Camus and Shura (killers)
Seiyuu: Yuji Mitsuya

Virgo Shaka (乙女座のシャカ) is a character from long-time manga-ka Masami Kurumada's hit series, Saint Seiya. Shaka is a Gold Saint, and as such, he was one of the most powerful characters introduced. His constellation is the Virgo, and serves as one of the guardian of the Sanctuary with his gold saint peers.

A World of Enlightenment

"Shaka" (シャカ) is a play of "Shakya", the name of the ancient ruling clan. Among them was the famous Gautama Buddha, the figure that Shaka himself is arguably based on.

His Defensive Is Offensive

Shaka is an extremely capable fighter, with a good arsenal of defensive, offensive, and evasive techniques at his disposal. His techniques are usually aimed at crippling his opponents until they can no longer battle, with his main targets being their 5 human senses. Once the targets have lost the abilities to touch, hear, see, taste, and smell, they are rendered harmless and no longer a threat.

"Tenma Koufuku" (Demon Pacifier)

Shaka's "standard" Cosmo attack that deals physical damage to his enemies. Illusions of angels and demons appear to those it targets, thus very effectively creating a mixture of harmony and corruption. It is presumed that the technique will do extra damage to those with evil in their will.

"Kan"

A defensive move that summons a shield to protect Shaka from incoming attacks. The energy can also be manipulated as a means to gather his Cosmo in one force (usually his opened palms) to prepare for more devastating attacks.

"Tenkuuhaja Chimimouryou" (Heaven's Supremacy Over Goblins of Rivers and Mountains)

Shaka's favoured crowdbusting technique, for which he summons minor spirits and projects them at his enemies.

"Rikudou Rinne" (Six Incarnation Cycle)

Be thankful Shaka isn't aware of the other ways of using beads.

Rikudo Rinne is an illusory technique where Shaka traps the opponent into one of six deadly worlds, usually after a tour of each:

The Jigokukai (Realm of Hell)-bound shall suffer from eternal damnation and pain.
The Gakikai (Realm of Preta)-bound must suffer a constant struggle to eat.
The Chikushokai (Realm of Beasts)-bound must live in a prehistoric world where animals reign supreme.
The Shurakai (Realm of Warring Demigods)-bound shall constantly fight one another to the death.
The Jinkai (Realm of Humans)-bound will forever suffer from mental instability and deterioration.
The Tenkai (Realm of Heaven)-bound will be judged on the weight of their sins, and possibly fall into Chikushokai, Gakikai, or Jigokukai.

"Tenbuu Hourin" (Heavenly Dancing Treasure Wheel)

Tenbu Hourin is such a technique, and easily Shaka's most powerful. It traps the opponent into a matrix of illusions (normally Buddhist in nature), and is completed in five steps. Each step strikes at one of the opponent's five human senses, until they have lost all of them in a sequential manner, leaving them with nothing but their intuition (but no way to express any action). Eventually, Shaka may destroy this sixth sense too, sending his opponent into total oblivion.

Telekinesis & Other Defenses

In addition to his main techniques, Shaka is equipped with the standard gold saint's fare of light-speed abilities, as well as extraordinary telekinetic powers. His command of telekinesis rivals even that of Aries Mu, a well-established master of the art and a fellow gold saint. Finally, while all of his techniques are deadly to those below gold saint level, their power can be heightened even further if Shaka chooses to open his eyes and release all restrains on his cosmos. It is said that Shaka can choose to annihilate all that he physically sees.

The Closest Man To God

The Virgo Saint is, without a doubt, one of the strongest gold saints in the series. He is said to be the next reincarnation of Buddha, and as a result, has a tremendous cosmos. Because of this, Shaka has developed a reputation that is known throughout Sanctuary and the rest of the world -- as "The Closest Man To God."

Even at a young age, Shaka was gifted with the ability to communicate with Buddha himself. As a child growing up in the villages of India, he was depicted to be very curious, and often conversed with Buddha about the various human sufferings around him. With various philosophies learned from his conversations, Shaka eventually became powerful enough to wear the Gold Cloth of Virgo. In the manga, he was shown to be wearing the armor even as a child.

Forget Me... Forget Me Not

In the manga, Shaka and Phoenix Ikki met early on, when the bronze saint was still fresh from earning his Phoenix cloth from defeating the then-leader of the Black Saints, Jango. Shaka had been sent by the Pope to rid the world of the black saints and to sink Death Queen Island, but he had come too late -- by that point, a new bronze saint by the name of Ikki had already dispatched of Jango, of whom had been holding the precious Bronze Cloth of Phoenix captive.

Searching for a suitable challenger to test out his new cloth, Ikki charged after Shaka after recognizing the gold cloth and sensing an enormous cosmos from the arriving saint. However, the Virgo easily overwhelmed the Phoenix, and almost effortlessly immobilized the bronze saint. In the final moments of this match-up, Shaka decided to spare Ikki's life because he did not sense true evil in him. He erased the Phoenix's memory of this meeting, but warned him that it shall be unlocked should they reunite under hostile circumstances.

Praise You Like I Should

In the anime, Shaka and Ikki do not personally meet until later on in the series, but the gold saint would be impressed enough with the Phoenix to send two of his disciples to assassinate him. Lotus Agora and Peacock Shiva are both silver saints with above-average powers; Agora is more of a defense-based fighter, with a special technique that was capable of locking down Ikki's cosmos. Shiva is the offensive-based of the two, and was the one who took up the physical duties of the mission. When the two Disciples of Virgo teamed up, Agora used his own cosmos to chain down the Phoenix Saint while Shiva took advantage and assaulted a helpless Ikki.

The Magic Number Is 8

In the Hades arc, Shaka took on a more aggressive role than before. When Gemini Saga, Shura, and Camus returned from the dead, it was he who urged his dead friends to drop their allegiance to Hades and return to the Underworld where they belonged. When the true spectres invaded the 12 temples revealed themselves, it was Shaka who ultimately rid the Sanctuary of their presence with his "Ten Ma Kou Huku" technique. After confronting Saga, Shura, and Camus in the Virgo Temple, Shaka fought the three former gold saints in a suicidal battle that forced them to team up and use the "Athena's Exclaimation" -- a forbidden technique that combined the power of three gold saints to create a power equal to the Big Bang.

With his physical body completely obliterated into dust from the banned attack, Shaka's spirit returned to Earth one last time to write a final message for the goddess Athena herself -- "Arayashiki", the power of awakening the 8th sense to travel to the World of the Dead without being bound by it. It is said that Shaka was the first one to awake this ability among the saints. In the Underworld, Shaka was shown to accompany Athena on her journey to find Hades.

Beyond the Classic

Episode G

In Episode G, Shaka was depicted to be quite keen on sensing the cosmos of the mighty Titans. Although he originally did not get along with Leo Aiolia, the two men would come to understand one another after engaging in battles with the Titans together.

Next Dimension

In Next Dimension, Shaka's previous reincarnation is a man named Shijima. This Virgo Saint was also well known as "The Man Closest to God", and proved this by being able to sense Athena's arrival before anyone else could. He would later save the infant Athena from murder at the hands of that era's Pope and Pisces Cardinale.

Lost Canvas

In Lost Canvas, the Virgo Saint reincarnated as a man named Asmita. In many ways, Asmita is identical to Shaka in terms of core beliefs and power, with the biggest difference being that his eyes were kept closed due to blindness. Asmita was revealed as the man who crafted the 108 beads that seals the spectres' souls, of which would later be passed on to Shaka himself. Interestingly, he was also quite close to Gemini Defteros.

Notes & Trivia

Mitsuya Yuuji has provided the voice for Virgo Shaka in every instance of the anime where the character is featured. Other veteran voices that have remained the same throughout the years are: Leo Aiolia, Taurus Aldebaran, Sagittarius Aiolos, Julian Solo, Siren Sorrento, Pisces Aphrodite, Cancer Deathmask, and old Libra Dohko.
There is a notable difference between the Virgo cloth in the anime, and the Virgo cloth in the manga. In the manga, there is a circular connector in the middle of the cloth's chest where the shoulder blades join together; in the anime, this piece is omitted. The "Saint Seiya: Episode G" manga, while illustrated by Megumi Okada, interestingly retains the anime's version of the Virgo cloth as opposed to original author Masami Kurumada's design.

→ back to Character Index (Classic)

Gold Saints:

Shion · Mu · Ox · Aldebaran · Abel/Cain · Saga · Kanon · Deathtoll · Deathmask · Kaiser · Aiolia · Shijima · Shaka · Dohko · Milo · Aiolos · Izo · Shura · Camus · Cardinale · Aphrodite