Aries Mu (牡羊座のムウ Ariesu no Mū?) is a fictional character from the manga Saint Seiya, written and illustrated by the renowned Japanese mangaka Masami Kurumada, and later adapted to anime. He is one of the Bronze Saint's most trusted allies, and serves as the man who repairs damaged Cloths.
Personality and background[]
Mu was introduced by Masami Kurumada in vol. 3 of his manga.
Under the tutelage of Shion, the Pope of the Sanctuary, Mu was able to become the Gold Saint of Aries at a young age. While all Gold Saints have mastered psychic abilities to some degree, Mu has been stated to possess the strongest raw psychic talent among all living Gold Saints. This allows him to manipulate his gift to manifest it in diverse ways: psychokinesis, telepathy, teleportation, and various other abilities that are at his command.
Mu is very soft spoken, with a scholarly-like personality; his demeanor is very tranquil and logical. Various official translations of the manga and anime, as well as Mandarin language Saint Seiya fans, tend to refer to the character as 'Lord Mu' or 'Mister Mu'. He is good friends with Taurus Aldebaran, and is very respectful to the 243 year old master Libra Dohko.
Before the start of the series, Mu removed himself from Sanctuary after suspecting that his mentor (and then-Pope), Aries Shion, had been quietly assassinated. He relocated to Jamir, a mystical land that only those with a high level of either psychic or Cosmo power can enter. From here, Mu severed all ties to Sanctuary and lived a life of seclusion with his apprentice, the young psychic Kiki. It wasn't until years later, when he met Dragon Shiryū and Pegasus Seiya, that he began to become involved in the affairs of Sanctuary again.
Throughout the manga and its anime adaptation, Mu is the man with the knowledge and skill necessary when a Cloth is to be repaired. Although every Cloth has the ability to regenerate itself after a battle, a hands-on restoration from Mu is needed if a Cloth has been severely damaged to the point of death. In normal cases, 1/3 of a person's total blood supply is required for Mu to begin restoration. When restoring a Cloth, Mu uses hardware tools and the elements that are used to forge a Cloth: the mythical and extremely rare metal known as Gammanium, used in an alloy with the legendary metal Orichalcum, and finally, the radiant Star Dust Sand.
Plot overview[]
The 'Sanctuary' arc[]
Mu with Kiki, in a manga color illustration drawn by the author Masami Kurumada.
After their lengthy battle with one another, Bronze Saints Shiryū and Seiya found themselves with the loss of their Cloths — they had both heavily damaged them to the point where it was impossible to wear them. With the impending threat of Phoenix Ikki and his Black Saints, Seiya and Shiryū both desperately needed a solution. Luckily for them, Shiryū's master, Libra Dohko, knew of a man who would be able to return life to their Bronze Cloths. That man was known as Mu of Jamir. Shiryū, carrying both the Dragon and Pegasus Cloth on his back, quickly left for a journey to locate this mysterious entity.
Shiryū had to endure many traps and hardships on his way across the mountains. Spirits of dead Saints haunted him. Giant boulders crashed down from the sky. But after getting past the obstacles, Shiryū overcame Mu's tests of determination and finally reached the mystical Jamir. At first, he was greeted by Kiki, whom he assumed to be Mu himself. Fortunately, Mu was present in Jamir at the time, and appeared to the Dragon Saint to correct the misunderstanding. Shiryū then dropped the two Bronze Cloths and begged Mu to repair them. Mu originally refused, stating plainly that the armors had been far too damaged for him to fix. However, he soon found himself convinced to give Shiryū a chance when the Saint revealed that he would sacrifice his very life if it meant the Cloths could come back to life once more.
Mu agreed to take the job, but explained that he would need 1/3 of Shiryū's blood shed on the Cloths before he could work on them. Shiryū, without hesitation, slit his own wrists and poured his blood onto the Dragon and Pegasus Cloths. Mu was impressed, and healed Shiryū's wounds just as the blood had dripped to the amount he needed.
In the manga, Mu appeared moments after the battle against Phoenix Ikki. He used his teleportation abilities to remove Seiya, Shiryū, Hyōga, and Shun out of the collapsing Mt. Fuji. After getting the teenagers to safety, he was confronted by Silver Saint Lizard Misty, who threatened him by creating a crater with one finger, inches from Mu's feet. Mu was unimpressed, however. The would-be fight was interrupted when Seiya's mentor, Eagle Marin, appearedrrived
At one point, the Silver Saints commented that it would be a bad idea to challenge Mu. Although it was not revealed at the time by Kurumada to his readers, their prudence was derived from the fact that Mu was, in fact, a Gold Saint.
After the defeat of the Silver Saints, the Master of Sanctuary commented that he was missing 3 Gold Cloths to complete the 12 Gold Saints of the Zodiac: The Gold Cloth of Sagittarius, which belonged to the "traitor", Aiolos, which was now currently in Japan; the Gold Cloth of Aries, belonging to a hermit living in Jamir with the power to repair Cloths; the Gold Cloth of Libra, belonging to the oldest Gold Saint who left Sanctuary many years ago, living in the Lushan Falls. He dispatches the Gold Saint Cancer Deathmask to Lushan, attempting to take the Gold Cloth of Libra by force from its owner, who was revealed to be Dohko, Shiryū's master. Dohko does nothing to stop Deathmask, and Shiryū was clearly no match for the Cancer Saint - who was endowed with the ability to move at the overwhelming speed of light. As Deathmask was about to perform his deadliest technique on the young Dragon, the Gold Saint of Aries interferes, and prevents Deathmask from killing Shiryū, saying that Shiryū is a good friend of his. Shiryū is shocked to learn that Mu was actually the Aries Gold Saint.
Although he has left Sanctuary many years ago, Mu was bound by duty to return to Sanctuary when Saori Kido declares that she is Athena, and challenges the Pope for leadership of Sanctuary. When the Bronze Saints were sent to make their run through the 12 Temples, they discover that Aries Mu was the guardian of the first Temple. Instead of fighting them, Mu tells the Bronze Saints that their Cloth withstood small amounts of damage over the past battles, and asks them to spend 1 hour here so he could repair them. He also reveals to the Bronze Saints the "Seventh Sense," the essence of Cosmo that is mastered by the Gold Saints.
Mu decides to stay behind with his apprentice Kiki, and watch over the goddess, fatally wounded by Sagitta Ptolemy, while the Bronze Saints go through the 12 Zodiac palaces to retrieve the Pope, to save her life.
Near the end of the battle in Sanctuary, Mu suddenly hears the voice of Virgo Shaka, calling him from an alternate plane of existence to help him return to the material plane. Mu agrees to help Virgo Shaka teleporting Phoenix Ikki back to Earth.
Aries Mu reveals the secret which was known among very few, that the Grand Pope is actually the Gemini Gold Saint - Gemini Saga. It was Saga that had orchestrated the assassination of Athena, labeled Aiolos a traitor and took over Sanctuary as Pope.
'Poseidon' arc[]
Because the Bronze Cloths had been destroyed in the battle against various Gold Saints, Mu had to repair them again. This time each Cloth was repaired by the blood of a Gold Saint, allowing them to reach levels of strength similar (though not equal) to a Gold Cloth. Similarly, they would glow golden when a Bronze Saint flared his Cosmo to its climax.
During the war against Poseidon's Marine Generals, Leo Aiolia wanted to join the Bronze Saints to rescue Athena. Unable to stand still, with the knowledge that the weaker Bronze Saints are battling overwhelming odds, and even confronting a god - Aiolia decides to leave the Temple of the Lion and head off to Atlantis to help the Bronze saints. However, Mu reveals that under orders of Libra Rōshi (who acts as second-in-command of Sanctuary due to the death of the Grand Pope, and the absence of Athena - and him being the Eldest of the Gold Saints) all the Gold Saints must remain in Sanctuary, to prepare themselves for "the war that is ahead." Aiolia was angered by this, and Mu threatened to stop him by force if he tried to leave.
The spirit of the deceased Gold Saints Sagittarius Aiolos and Aquarius Camus, hearing their dispute, sent their Gold Cloths to Seiya and Hyōga, allowing the remaining Gold Saints to remain at Sanctuary. Mu thanks both former Gold Saints in helping them in such crucial moments.
'Hades' arc[]
At the entrance of the Aries temple, the first temple of Sanctuary, several black cloaked men appeared before Mu. He tells them to stop, but the leader of the group orders Mu to bow down to him. Mu is shocked when he recognizes the man as his deceased master Aries Shion, former Pope of Sanctuary, and does so. Shion orders Mu to enter Sanctuary and return with the head of Athena, an order which Mu could not accept. Shion then sends two Specters: Cancer Deathmask and Pisces Aphrodite, to attack Mu. Mu managed to deflect their attacks with his technique: Crystal Wall, while Shion mocks his disciple for daring to stop him with such a simple trick, and shatters the Crystal Wall.
Pegasus Seiya, who arrived in Sanctuary, is shocked to see Deathmask and Aphrodite still alive, and tries to fight them. Mu stops him by hitting Seiya, and explaining to him - that this is no longer a battle for a simple Bronze Saint. Deathmask proves this point by pummeling the Pegasus Saint, while Mu only watches. Seiya is ready to counter-attack when a gold beam pierces his chest from behind. Mu declares that he will kill him if he refuses to leave Sanctuary, an order decreed by the goddess Athena herself. Seiya refuses to believe that, and Mu is left with no choice but to finish off the Pegasus Saint with a Starlight Extinction attack (though in reality, he actually warped Seiya to another part of Sanctuary). After that Mu proceeds to defeat Cancer Deathmask and Pisces Aphrodite with another Starlight Extinction attack, intending to banish them to the world of death once more. According to Shion, this was the first time Mu fought to kill his opponent.
Shion tells Mu that this is not over, and warns him that Deathmask and Aphrodite are not the only fallen Saints after Athena. Gemini Saga, Aquarius Camus and Capricorn Shura appear before him as Specters of Hades. Mu is shocked to see, the strongest of the Gold Saints stand before him and he was no match for their combined power. A battle of the most powerful Gold Saints begin, which ends with Mu being defeated, allowing the three to pass through the Aries temple. However, Mu was able to see the bloody tears the three Gold Saints were shedding in their hearts and began to suspect that they had actually not truly betrayed Athena. Shion paralyzes Mu, and decides to kill him in a painless manner because he was fond of his former pupil. Shion tries to finish Mu himself, but is interrupted by Libra Dohko, Shion's friend and comrade-in-arms in the past Holy War 243 years ago. Rōshi reveals Shion's true nature, and reveals that him and Shion were the only 2 survivors of the past Holy War. He orders Mu to gather Aioria and the rest to protect Athena for next 12 hours (Rōshi realizes that Shion's and the others' lives are like the flame on the clock, slowly dying away) - Mu then pursues after Saga, Camus and Shura.
In the Taurus temple, Mu is surprised to find Taurus Aldebaran dead. He realizes the true Specters of Hades' army have infiltrated as shadows in Sanctuary after the appearance of Deep Niobe, who claims that he poisoned Aldebaran to death, and attacks Mu. Mu blocks his attack with the Crystal Wall, and tells Niobe that he is already dead and has been killed by Aldebaran's Great Horn but fails to realize that his body is about to fall apart. Niobe is shocked as his body explodes as Mu exits the temple.
Mu then comes across another Specter, saying Mu is his target. The Specter revealed himself to be a caterpillar-looking creature, and traps Mu in a cocoon. Mu managed to break free eventually, and the Spectre states that he was only biding time to transform into his ultimate form: he now appears as a human with a butterfly Surplice, Papillon Myu. He possesses strong telekinetic powers much like Mu, which he employs in battle. Myu managed to block Mu's Stardust Revolution attack easily with his fairies, and used his Fairy Thronging attack which managed to pin down Mu twice, but Mu escapes both times by teleportation. Myu wonders why Mu wouldn't teleport away to another temple escape the battle, and Mu reveals his attack: he has woven a web with his psychic powers and stardust, trapping Papillon Myu and the fairies he use for his Fairy Thronging in a giant spider web. He then proceeds to kill him with the Starlight Extinction, throwing Myu's fairies against himself.
Mu arrives in the Virgo temple, and prevents Seiya and others from helping Virgo Shaka, saying that this was Shaka's final wish, but is shocked to see that Saga, Camus and Shura have just killed the Gold Saint Virgo Shaka with the Athena Exclamation, the forbidden technique. Saga, Camus and Shura charge up another Athena Exclamation - threatening that they will do it again if anyone stands in their way. Mu reminds Saga, that there are also 3 Gold Saints ahead. Mu combines his powers with Leo Aiolia and Scorpio Milo to use Athena Exclamation against them. The clashing powers of two Athena Exclamations destroy the Virgo temple apart. Eventually, the combined power of these two attacks was deflected by Dragon Shiryu (in the anime, it was by the combined power of all 4 Bronze Saints). Athena beckons the two parties to stop fighting and come to her at her palace. Athena tells the fallen Gold Saints that they no longer have to suffer and commits suicide (secretly invoking the 8th sense as told by Virgo Shaka in his petals he sent her) and it was then that Shion's true intention was revealed: they came to Sanctuary as Spectres to tell Athena of the God Cloth, and that the only way to defeat Hades was to enter Hell alive using the Eighth Sense - the ability to go the realm of the dead while having the will to live.
Mu, Aioria and Milo arrive in Hades' castle, where they face Wyvern Rhadamanthys. To their shock, Rhadamanthys easily overpowers the three of them, revealing that Hades castle is under Hades' will and cosmo - all Saints have their power reduced to 1/10th (this was stated by Gemini Kanon in the anime and in the manga). He defeats all three of them easily, and throws them into the abyss to Hell.
When Pegasus Seiya was cast into the frozen Hell where those who dare to defy the gods are kept, he saw Aries Mu, Leo Aiolia and Scorpio Milo trapped in there as well, apparently dead. However, upon Athena's arrival to Hell, they were revived by her power, and broke free. The three arrived in front of the Wall of Sighs, the gateway to Elysion, with Virgo Shaka and Libra Dohko, and the group attempts to break the wall with the weapons of the Libra Gold Cloth, but fail. In fact they must have had to gather all 12 of the Gold Cloth, and sacrifice themselves to open this gateway, allowing the Bronze Saints to reach Elysion - the paradise of the Gods - the true home of Hades.
Powers and abilities[]
While Mu is depicted as a pacifist throughout the first half of the series, he is an extremely capable and powerful fighter when the situation demands so. Not only is the Saint of Aries built with two offensive and one defensive attacks, he is also a master of various psychic techniques. From basic teleportation to advanced telekinesis, Mu is revered as a premiere psychic user among even those outside of Sainthood.
His defensive techniques are Crystal Wall (クリスタルウォール Kurisutaru Wōru?) which creates a transparent, glass-like barrier made of psycho-power, between Mu and an object. The wall is very durable, and has been shown to shield Mu against everything from normal cosmos attacks to poison scent and rebounding the attack back to the enemy with the same strength it was launched. The strength of the wall is dependent on Mu's cosmos level; at 100%, it is nearly unbreakable to almost all but Mu's mentor who taught him the technique, Aries Shion. A variation of this technique is Crystal Net (クリスタルネット Kurisutaru Neto?) that creates a psycho-power made spider web. This web can refrain the movements of the targets that get in contact with it.
Starlight Extinction (スターライトエクスティンクション Sutāraito Ekusutinkushion?) its a teleportation-based offensive technique. Although it essence rely not on destroying the opponent but on removing him from battle, by teleporting the opponent out of sight and out of the fight, when Mu used it against Pegasus Seiya, he was able to send the bronze saint to a location of his choosing. He also used this technique to send Cancer Deathmask and Pisces Aphrodite to Hades' earthly castle in Germany (it must be noted that he was trying to kill them by sending both to the "dead world"). In the fight against Papillon Myu, at the end of the battle when Papillon is entrapped by Crystal Net, Mu sent him out of existence, and thus successfully killed him. (The kill was confirmed by Virgo Shaka's 108 Rosary. The number of the black beads also includes Papillon's.) In Episode G, Starlight Extinction is also used to remove Dimension Iapetos' dimensional rifts.
One of Mu's most powerful attacks is Stardust Revolution (スターダストレボリューション Sutādasuto Reboryūshon?). Like Crystal Wall, it is an attack that was handed down by his mentor Aries Shion (The former Aries Gold Saint and the real Pope of Athena's Sanctuary in this modern era). The attack summons stardust from stars and galaxies then throws million of blows instantly. It's well known that the attack has force of shooting stars and comets and obliterates an enemy with raw cosmos power. In Episode G, Mu used this attack to destroy all the hundred arms of the Hechatonchire.
In addition to all of these techniques, Mu is also blessed with the speed of light that all Gold Saints possess due their mastering over the 7th sense. He can also teleport his own body or any object at will at anytime, even during the midst of battle. The will of Athena wakes Mu and the other eleven gold saints out of death state in order for them to batter down the Wailing Wall.
Cloth, Constellation and Temple[]
Mu's guardian constellation is Aries, and his Gold Cloth represents it and its associated myth : the winged Ram that saved the boy Phrixus and his sister Helle, and later, the Ram's skin was known as the legendary Golden Fleece, found by Jason of the Argonauts.
The temple Mu guarded was known both in manga and the anime adaptation as Hakuyōkyū, the "Temple of the White Ram".
Notes[]
- In his manga, Kurumada gave Mu blonde hair. In the anime adaptation, Mu's hair color was modified to lilac.
- As revealed by Masami Kurumada in vol.12 of his manga, Mu became a Gold Saint at an early age. He had already been granted the Gold Saint status and the Aries Gold Cloth by the time he was 7 years old.
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