02.08.10
Posted in Anime, Reviews Tags: anime classics, Ginga Eiyu Densetsu, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, OVA, sci-fi anime, space opera anime, 銀河英雄伝説 at 10:00 am by reversethieves
Random warning: Never watch the previews, NEVER, they are full of spoilers. And so are the episode titles, so never look at them, NEVER.
Legend of the Galactic Heroes can be one of the most intimidating series to start in all of anime with 110 episode in the main OVA series, several movies, and 52 OVA side story episodes it can seem like madness. But this is the definitive space opera inside or outside of anime. There are dozen of reasons to watch Legend of the Galactic Heroes: the complex politics, the epic space battles, and just the overall maturity of the the whole production. But the only reason any of that matters is because the characters are so compelling that they make you care about everything that happens. This is why I never cared for Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series despite how good it might be it never connected me to the characters. I had considered starting Legend of the Galactic Heroes on my own several times but thankfully Narutaki and my roommate decided to join me in watching this series once a week otherwise I would be watching this at a much slower pace. Even if you have to brave it alone know that it few series will reward for your effort and dedication. This review is for the first arc of the series with 26 episodes.
So perhaps you don’t know anything about Legend of the Galactic Heroes. Well, let me tell you, it’s infamously epic and quite long. And no we didn’t write that wrong, it is a 110 episode OVA. You might be saying to yourself, well 110 episodes sounds long but compared to many a shonen fighting show it’s not too crazy. But this isn’t a shonen fighting show, these 110 episodes are a dramatic, political, and strategic running narrative with a cast that swells with significant characters. But don’t worry, as the title implies, you can quite easily break the show into parts. You can even take a break between parts, but I promise you won’t want to. That is what makes it so amazing! Space opera has never been done better than Legend of the Galactic Heroes.
The Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance have been dead locked in intergalactic war for centuries. The Galactic Empire is a decadent monarchy and the Free Planets Alliance is a corrupt democracy both so weakened from within that they cannot conquer the other. But there are two rising stars, one on each side, whose actions will forever change the balance of the galaxy. Admiral Reinhard von Lohengramm plans to overthrow the corrupt regime of the Empire where as commodore Yang Wen-li merely wishes to keep the democracy he loves alive. Reinhard is disgusted with the decadent nobles who stole his sister from him and vows to gain power through the military to get his revenge. Yang on the other hand keeps rising through the ranks despite his best efforts and in the process drawing the attentions of the vile Patriotic Knight Corps. Countless men and women will dedicate themselves to helping or stopping these two men. As a man who studies history, Yang realizes that this story has happened before and will happen again.
Yes, there are huge space battles, we are thrown into one in the first episode where numbers like 300,000 get batted around when discussing the loss of soldiers in an attack. People get blown up, set aflame, impaled, and everything else but LotGH likes to throws these moments at you sparsely, so much so that you get surprised by the graphic nature of things each time it happens. This story is about a huge war that has been waged and never ceased but something about the clash of these two men, Yang and Reinhard, is about to change the course of the war. The ideas they represent, the moral ground that is tread, and the ability to show two sides, each with a set of values that are not demonized is what gives LotGH a unique flavor.
Everyone in LotGH comes off as someone to either root for or hate on both sides of the conflict. Yang and Reinhard are amazingly charismatic each in their own way and the similarities and contrasts between the two of them in the first arc are brilliant. Reinhard with his ambitious and upstanding goals but morally gray motivations and methods perfectly flank Yang with his slacker charm, easy genius, and upstanding character that is seasoned with a realistic view of the world. They are both tactical geniuses but both are remarkable strategists with their own distinct style. Reinhard is able to set up situations where he cannot lose and Yang is able to come up with brilliant strategy on the fly to survive in hopeless moments no matter how horrible the hand he is dealt. I definitely felt myself leaning towards Yang but I was still enthralled by Reinhard’s story. Both Reinhard and Yang strive to make the galaxy a better place but their ideals make it destiny to clash time and time again. Each time they meet it is not only a clash of their military strategy but of their world views. Reinhard wants to burn away the corrupt nobility of the Empire and feels only he has the vision and strength to reform the galaxy. Yang wishes just to keep himself and the people under his command out of trouble but we see that he has deeper and more grand ideals than just survival. Yang just knows you have to survive to make them a reality. As the first arc goes on both of them must also deal with internal struggles within their respective governments which exposes the strengths and weaknesses of both of their philosophies as well. When this part ends both men have changed themselves, their organizations, and the very course of human history itself.
Yang, Yang he’s our man! If he can’t do it no one can! This poor guy clearly comes off as the underdog in the series because not only does Reinhard just have more resources, his own government is constantly getting in his way. The Alliance seems to flip-flop from thinking Yang is the hero of the hour to thinking he is going to plot a coup to overthrow them. This actually stems from their own greed and corruption, they just can’t understand that a man exists who doesn’t want power and dominion, especially one has military and strategically capable as Yang. And this is what makes Yang such a contrast to Reinhard. Reinhard is trying to do all those things! However, Reinhard also has noble ideals and grand dreams for the Empire he so desperately wants as his own. Both of these men are plagued by the deceit, arrogance, and disregard for the people by their respective factions but their personalities and ways of dealing with it couldn’t be more different. Yang has sort of accepted that the democracy that he defends is rotten from the inside, but he doesn’t believe in using military might to fix it. Reinhard on the other hand believes the only way to cure the downward spiral of the Empire is by becoming the Empire himself. They are two sides of the same coin and as such they are perfect rivals.
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