I was recently surprised to discover a King Arthur and the Knights of Justice comic, based on the 1990s cartoon.

As a kid, I thought that show was the coolest. It follows a football team (led by quarterback Arthur King) who have been transported to ancient Camelot to fight in place of the Knights of the Round Table against the evil witch Morgana and her general, Lord Viper. In practice, it was a toy-centric children’s show featuring buff dudes in armor riding buff horses in armor, firing missiles from medieval weapons and sometimes summoning a dragon. Totally radical.

Like so many animations of that era, it’s more impressive in my childhood memories and has no actual conclusion. Eventually, it faded from pop culture consciousness. Seeing it pop up again in a new format, I had to at least give the thing a chance.

Currently at a single volume, the comic version keeps the same basic premise but changes a few things up. The plot is a little more nuanced and does a lot to foreground the characters’ interpersonal dynamics. It’s also a lot more gay now, and I don’t mean that in a derogatory fashion. Two of the male teammates-turned-knights are literally a couple, and their relationship is both displayed prominently and becomes a major factor in the plot. There’s even a note at the end of the book promoting it as LGBTQA+ fiction. 

While I could see some people criticize this adaptation for “changing the characters,” it’s not as if King Arthur and the Knights of Justice was ever some work with strong, three-dimensional personalities or significant cultural traction in the first place. Related to this, the characters are drawn fairly differently, going from the barrel-chested children’s cartoon heroes common in the 80s and 90s, to appearing a bit more svelte and often kind of sultry.

I find the new designs fascinating, because it’s like the comic designs are a confluence of various influences and forces originally found in shounen manga. First, there’s the handsome sports dudes component in the vein of Prince of Tennis or Yowamushi Pedal, but through the additional lens of comics such as Check, Please! Second, whether intentional or otherwise, King Arthur and the Knights of Justice has always been a kind of American version of Saint Seiya, a series that is foundational for the fujoshi community. In a way, making a Saint Seiya descendant that was as chaste/bland as King Arthur in the character department into something closer to Saint Seiya (in a way that appeals more to a chunk of the latter’s fanbase) feels like things have gone full circle.

The comic is trying to draw from a past resource and do its own thing, and I appreciate that. Although it runs the risk of alienating people who just want something totally faithful to the original, I think that aiming it at a newer generation is A-OK.