Considered the most mature and wisest of the five heroes, Shiryū is the Bronze Saint of the Dragon constellation, whose Cloth possesses legendary defensive and offensive properties.
In the Sanctuary arc, Shiryū used the weapons of the Libra Gold Cloth to free Cygnus Hyōga from Aquarius Camus's ice coffin.
Six years after the Graude Foundation sends Shiryū to train at Lushan's Five Old Peaks (廬山五老峰, Rozan Gorōhō) in China, he obtains the Bronze Cloth of the Dragon constellation from Libra Dohko.
When Phoenix Ikki steals the Gold Cloth, Shiryū becomes involved in the battles to recover it from the Black Saints and eventually discovers that Saori Kido is the Goddess Athena whom he swore to protect.
Having been repaired with the blood of the Gold Saints after the battles of the Twelve Temples, the Dragon Cloth becomes golden whenever Shiryū uses his Cosmo to the maximum and awakens his seventh sense.
According to the Saint Seiya Omega history, Shiryū finally returned to Lushan, where he married his love interest Chunli and fathered a boy called Ryūhō.
Due to an unspecified accident, however, Shiryū has lost all of his five senses and was forced to step down as a Saint, bequeathing his armor, duties and obligations to his son.
[4] The Journal of Popular Culture noted the use of Shiryu's techniques where a dragon is seen alongside his fists as one of Kurumada's most striking illustrations in the Saint Seiya manga due to the style the impact has.
[9] Mark Thomas of the Fandom Post criticized Shiryu's overuse of his Rising Dragon as he tends to repeat in all of his fights even when his enemies manage to block it.
[10] Similarly, in a review of the series, writer Jason Thompson notes Kurumada tend to make overuse of Shiryu's training so that in a latter fight, he remembers to use a more powerful technique in order to defeat his enemies.
[11] IGN noted that Shiryu stands out for being able fight despite being disabled and is one of Seiya's closest friends despite initially clashing as enemies in the series' beginning.