Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Arata naru Tatakai no Overture

Led by Reinhard von Müsel, the Galactic Empire crushes the Free Planets Alliance in the Fourth Battle of Tiamat. Arriving in the Imperial capital of Odin to a hero's welcome, Reinhard's victory earns him a promotion to High Admiral and the distinguished title of Count von Lohengramm. On the other side, Yang Wen-li safely returns to the Alliance capital of Heinessen without fanfare and reunites with his dear friends.

Reinhard and Yang look forward to a long-awaited reprieve. However, at the request of the scheming Duke Otho von Braunschweig, the Imperial High Command orders the new High Admiral to invade the Alliance with a fleet of twenty thousand ships. After the Duke leaks the plan to the Alliance government, three fleets totalling forty thousand ships are sent to counter the incoming attack and recreate the famous Battle of Dagon. But even though Reinhard is outnumbered two to one, he has an ingenious plan—and Yang sees right through it. Will Yang's superiors heed his warning before it is too late?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Related Anime

Sequel:	Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu
Prequel:	Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Waga Yuku wa Hoshi no Taikai

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Characters & Voice Actors

Yang, Wen-li

Main

Tomiyama, Kei
Japanese

von Lohengramm, Reinhard

Main

Horikawa, Ryo
Japanese

Kircheis, Siegfried

Main

Hironaka, Masashi
Japanese

von Reuenthal, Oskar

Supporting

Wakamoto, Norio
Japanese

Mittermeyer, Wolfgang

Supporting

Mori, Katsuji
Japanese

Minci, Julian

Supporting

Sasaki, Nozomu
Japanese

Attenborough, Dusty

Supporting

Inoue, Kazuhiko
Japanese

Edwards, Jessica

Supporting

Koyama, Mami
Japanese

von Merkatz, Willibald Joachim

Supporting

Naya, Gorou
Japanese

Truniht, Job

Supporting

Ishizuka, Unshou
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Ishiguro, Noboru

Director

Shimizu, Keizou

Director

Aketagawa, Susumu

Sound Director

Maejima, Kenichi

Storyboard

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Opening Theme

"Der Fliegende Höllander" by Richard Wagner

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Reviews

Dec 21, 2023

Cayusashi

Recommended

Overture to a New War is the best film of the three, but not by much. Following in the footsteps of Golden Wings, this movie is yet another retelling of events seen in the show but takes the opportunity to flesh out familiar characters' relationships and roles in the Battle of Astarte. It's great for viewers watching chronologically or by release date because of this.

This movie has the soul of the original series, and not just because it retells the first two episodes. Lap, Jessica, and Yang have a complex friendship with each other. Lap is like Yang's Kircheis; they share a one mind ... with Lap being Yang's moral compass. Both are both in love with Jessica but Lap is dating her. There's a beautiful scene without any dialog in the first act where we see how deep their emotions are with each other explaining why the tension exists later between Yang and Jessica when they reunite after the battle. Yang's story moving forward is primarily his relationship with Lap leading up to the fateful Battle of Astarte. But you can't have Yang Wenli prominently featured in the movie and not have his political observations on the shortcomings of a democratically run military. Reinhard's story is the same as the first two episodes without any meaningful additions I noticed. He's facing opposition within the military hierarchy because of his age and lack of experience. He proves himself at the Battle of Astarte with a special focus on Fahrenheit and Merkatz's opinion of the young Commander. Overture to a New War also plants seeds for viewers watching the series next by introducing them to Reinhard's primary antagonist for the first season; admittedly, it's difficult to notice as it's a single scene since chronological viewers won't know who he is yet. Yang's story was far more interesting, but Reinhard's is high quality as well.

A strength and weakness of Legend of the Galactic Heroes is the sheer amount of characters being followed with Overture to a New War being no different. Lap and Jessica get a significant amount of development, something desperately needed for watching the first season. Lap is a relatively shallow character, mostly defined by his love for Jessica. Jessica herself had a little more depth because of her closeness with Yang. Yang, Reinhard, and Kircheis are their usual selves. All three are entertaining, intelligent, and keeping the story moving. Reinhard's job during the movie is to keep the plot progressing through the Battle of the Astarte facing his own opposition from the old fashioned Admirals. My favorite parts of the movie are the little character moments. Fahrenheit realizing Reinhard knows what he's talking about, Lap and Yang saying goodbye to Jessica, Yang thinking of Julian when he sees a heavily injured soldier, and more carry the spirit of the franchise. In such a massive story we need these tiny moments to humanize the characters, something I think is done incredibly well.

The technical aspects of the movie meet my expectations set by the original series. Even though it came out in 1993, it looks like it came out in 1988. No improvements were made whatsoever in terms of animation. It's slightly blurry, space battles were sinply done, and characters look like they were pulled directly from the first season. Golden Wings may have changed the character designs too much, but at least the animation was improved overall. I can't say that about Overture to a New War. It makes me question if this was made around the time if season one but never released for some reason. In terms of sound, the voice actors all reprised their usual roles and the music was reminiscent of Star Wars. Legend of the Galactic Heroes is obviously inspired by Star Wars, but that aside, the music sounded like it was ripped directly from its western counterpart. Brassy fanfare was used throughout the film instead of the usual classical themes. While I like the idea behind music being changing, I definitely prefer the original score. Classical music is leagues better for the beautiful tragedy playing out before us.

I enjoyed my time watching this movie. It's good for viewers new and old and is a natural addition to the franchise. Small character moments steal the show, but it's always fun to see some of the flashier battleground strategy from Reinhard and Kircheis. I'm glad Lap finally got some characterization to flesh out Yang's actions throughout season one. Animation is worse than I expected and the music is derivative of Star Wars. If you're watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes then you should definitely watch this movie. If this is your first time ever hearing about this franchise, start somewhere else.

Plot: 8/10
Characters: 8.5/10
Art: 6/10
Sound: 9/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Overall: 7.9/10

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Mar 2, 2021

Fortress_Maximus

Recommended

Story: 9
Overture to a New War is both a prequel to the OVA (doing its best to bridge the first film, My Conquest is the Sea of Stars to the OVA) and a remake of its first two episodes which depict the Battle of Astarte. The prequel parts give insight to supporting characters who were only given a few mentions/appearances and what relationships they have with the main characters. On both sides, an important message to take away from this arc of the greater story is old ideas holding the new generation back. Several times on the Imperial side, we hear talk about the theory ...

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Jun 27, 2021

ProxyLain

Not Recommended

Funny

English is not my language.

Contains minor spoilers.

-

This is very overrated.

I watched the 2018 remake and felt like it could have potential, but I remember almost nothing because it was so rushed and uninteresting. So I decided to watch this movie which is a remake of the first two episodes to motivate myself to watch the 110 OVA episodes. Guess what? This movie just made me make a point of never wasting my time watching 110 episodes of Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu, as much as Yang and Reinhard might be interesting characters (that were wasted in 01:30:00 with a war that lasts a long time and ...

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Poll: Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Overture to a New War Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Arcanus - May 29, 2009	53 replies	by User-Name »» Apr 3, 2022 4:51 PM
when do i watch this? Hystique - Nov 3, 2019	16 replies	by Strazdas »» Feb 14, 2021 5:11 AM
Can you identify the song towards the end? aaronrray - Aug 21, 2017	5 replies	by Comander-07 »» Aug 24, 2017 11:56 AM
Question moush - Oct 30, 2008	5 replies	by Alcoholicide »» May 29, 2010 12:07 PM

Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Arata naru Tatakai no Overture

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Yang, Wen-li

von Lohengramm, Reinhard

Kircheis, Siegfried

von Reuenthal, Oskar

Mittermeyer, Wolfgang

Minci, Julian

Attenborough, Dusty

Edwards, Jessica

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Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Arata naru Tatakai no Overture

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