OVA
Description
In The Lost Canvas, Dohko is portrayed as a young man of Chinese origin, born on October 20, who serves as the Gold Saint of the Libra constellation. At this point in the timeline, he is biologically eighteen years old, though he is part of a generation of Saints fighting in the Holy War against Hades that takes place in the 18th century. His training originated in the region of Lushan, where he was once a member of the legendary Taonia order of warriors. His back is marked with a tiger tattoo, which becomes visible when he unleashes his full power.
Dohko's personality in this story is notably different from the wise and stoic old master seen in other narratives. In his youth, he is depicted as being somewhat rash and immature, showing signs of hot-headedness and a lack of concern for the consequences of his actions, especially when his companions are threatened. He has a strong sense of justice and feels great respect for his fellow warriors. When his partners are in danger, he becomes furious and acts decisively, often without fully considering the outcome. Despite this impulsiveness, he possesses a strong moral core and looks up to his friends, such as Aries Shion and Taurus Aldebaran, often confiding in them and shaping his way of thinking through their guidance.
Dohko's primary motivation throughout the Holy War is to protect Athena and eradicate the forces of Hades. He harbors a deep-seated desire to bring back the humanity in his enemies, believing that even Specters can be saved from their hatred. This compassionate drive becomes a central part of his character, particularly in his confrontations with the fallen warrior Bennu Kagaho, whose spiritual pain mirrors his own. He is also deeply committed to his role as a mentor and older brother figure to the Bronze Saint Pegasus Tenma, whom he discovers and brings to the Sanctuary to be trained.
In the story, Dohko plays a pivotal role as an active frontline warrior, a discoverer of new Saints, and a key protector of Athena's plan. He first encounters Tenma while on a mission to Italy to investigate Specter activity, saving the boy from a flood and convincing him to become a Saint. He fights against Hades himself inside the god's cathedral, being pierced through the chest by Hades's sword in an effort to allow his comrades to escape. He survives this wound, unconscious for a month, and is healed on Kanon Island with the help of Gemini Defteros and even his later rival, Kagaho. He is entrusted with the vital secret mission of using Athena's blood to revive the goddess's Cloth at the Sanctuary. After fighting his way past three powerful Specters, he is captured by Kagaho, who tortures him to make his blood flow over Athena's statue, successfully triggering the resurrection of the Divine Cloth. He eventually catches up to his friends at the Third Demon Temple, delivers the Cloth to Athena's incarnation Sasha, and remains behind to fight Kagaho in a final battle meant to save the Specter's soul.
Key relationships define Dohko's journey. His closest friend is Aries Shion, a companion with whom he shares an unbreakable bond of mutual trust and respect as they fight side by side. He acts as a mentor and older brother to Tenma, whom he trains and cares for deeply, even seeing him as family. His most significant adversarial relationship is with Bennu Kagaho; he understands the sorrow driving the Specter and attempts to redeem him, culminating in a mutual destruction technique meant to save Kagaho from himself. He also receives crucial guidance from his mysterious old master in Lushan, who taught him the ultimate techniques and eventually ascended to the stars.
Throughout the narrative, Dohko undergoes a subtle but meaningful development. While he begins as a capable but somewhat impetuous young warrior, his experiences, particularly his near-death at the hands of Hades and his psychic communion with Kagaho, mature his perspective. He learns to temper his rashness with a deeper understanding of suffering, moving from a simple desire to defeat the enemy to a complex goal of saving the human within the monster. By the end of the war, having survived alongside Shion, he accepts the heavy burden placed on him by Athena: to guard the sealed souls of the Specters for the next 243 years, marking his transition from the fiery youth of The Lost Canvas to the venerable old master of the future.
As a Gold Saint, Dohko has awakened the Seventh Sense, granting him the ability to move and punch at the speed of light. His techniques are named after his training ground, Lushan. The Rozan Shoryuha, or Lushan Rising Dragon Force, is a powerful upward strike where a golden dragon erupts from his fist to consume the enemy. His ultimate technique is the Rozan Hyakuryuha, or Lushan One Hundred Dragons Force, which unleashes countless dragon-shaped bursts of Cosmo to annihilate the target. He also possesses the Rozan Koryuha, or Lushan's Enraged Dragon Force, a forbidden technique of mutually assured destruction that launches both user and opponent out of the atmosphere. In addition to these, he can use the Rozan Ryuhisho to transform into a dragon for high-speed flight and combat. He is also highly proficient in telekinesis, capable of dispelling powerful psychic seals. After the war, Athena bestows upon him the divine gift of Misopethamenos, which slows his heartbeat to only 100,000 beats per year instead of per day, granting him an effective lifespan of over two hundred years to watch over Hades's seal. As the Libra Saint, he is also the guardian of the Libra weapons, six pairs of armaments kept within his Cloth to be used by the other Gold Saints when authorized.
Dohko's personality in this story is notably different from the wise and stoic old master seen in other narratives. In his youth, he is depicted as being somewhat rash and immature, showing signs of hot-headedness and a lack of concern for the consequences of his actions, especially when his companions are threatened. He has a strong sense of justice and feels great respect for his fellow warriors. When his partners are in danger, he becomes furious and acts decisively, often without fully considering the outcome. Despite this impulsiveness, he possesses a strong moral core and looks up to his friends, such as Aries Shion and Taurus Aldebaran, often confiding in them and shaping his way of thinking through their guidance.
Dohko's primary motivation throughout the Holy War is to protect Athena and eradicate the forces of Hades. He harbors a deep-seated desire to bring back the humanity in his enemies, believing that even Specters can be saved from their hatred. This compassionate drive becomes a central part of his character, particularly in his confrontations with the fallen warrior Bennu Kagaho, whose spiritual pain mirrors his own. He is also deeply committed to his role as a mentor and older brother figure to the Bronze Saint Pegasus Tenma, whom he discovers and brings to the Sanctuary to be trained.
In the story, Dohko plays a pivotal role as an active frontline warrior, a discoverer of new Saints, and a key protector of Athena's plan. He first encounters Tenma while on a mission to Italy to investigate Specter activity, saving the boy from a flood and convincing him to become a Saint. He fights against Hades himself inside the god's cathedral, being pierced through the chest by Hades's sword in an effort to allow his comrades to escape. He survives this wound, unconscious for a month, and is healed on Kanon Island with the help of Gemini Defteros and even his later rival, Kagaho. He is entrusted with the vital secret mission of using Athena's blood to revive the goddess's Cloth at the Sanctuary. After fighting his way past three powerful Specters, he is captured by Kagaho, who tortures him to make his blood flow over Athena's statue, successfully triggering the resurrection of the Divine Cloth. He eventually catches up to his friends at the Third Demon Temple, delivers the Cloth to Athena's incarnation Sasha, and remains behind to fight Kagaho in a final battle meant to save the Specter's soul.
Key relationships define Dohko's journey. His closest friend is Aries Shion, a companion with whom he shares an unbreakable bond of mutual trust and respect as they fight side by side. He acts as a mentor and older brother to Tenma, whom he trains and cares for deeply, even seeing him as family. His most significant adversarial relationship is with Bennu Kagaho; he understands the sorrow driving the Specter and attempts to redeem him, culminating in a mutual destruction technique meant to save Kagaho from himself. He also receives crucial guidance from his mysterious old master in Lushan, who taught him the ultimate techniques and eventually ascended to the stars.
Throughout the narrative, Dohko undergoes a subtle but meaningful development. While he begins as a capable but somewhat impetuous young warrior, his experiences, particularly his near-death at the hands of Hades and his psychic communion with Kagaho, mature his perspective. He learns to temper his rashness with a deeper understanding of suffering, moving from a simple desire to defeat the enemy to a complex goal of saving the human within the monster. By the end of the war, having survived alongside Shion, he accepts the heavy burden placed on him by Athena: to guard the sealed souls of the Specters for the next 243 years, marking his transition from the fiery youth of The Lost Canvas to the venerable old master of the future.
As a Gold Saint, Dohko has awakened the Seventh Sense, granting him the ability to move and punch at the speed of light. His techniques are named after his training ground, Lushan. The Rozan Shoryuha, or Lushan Rising Dragon Force, is a powerful upward strike where a golden dragon erupts from his fist to consume the enemy. His ultimate technique is the Rozan Hyakuryuha, or Lushan One Hundred Dragons Force, which unleashes countless dragon-shaped bursts of Cosmo to annihilate the target. He also possesses the Rozan Koryuha, or Lushan's Enraged Dragon Force, a forbidden technique of mutually assured destruction that launches both user and opponent out of the atmosphere. In addition to these, he can use the Rozan Ryuhisho to transform into a dragon for high-speed flight and combat. He is also highly proficient in telekinesis, capable of dispelling powerful psychic seals. After the war, Athena bestows upon him the divine gift of Misopethamenos, which slows his heartbeat to only 100,000 beats per year instead of per day, granting him an effective lifespan of over two hundred years to watch over Hades's seal. As the Libra Saint, he is also the guardian of the Libra weapons, six pairs of armaments kept within his Cloth to be used by the other Gold Saints when authorized.