I am talking of course of "Legend of the Galactic Heroes" or in its japanese title, "Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu", which is by far one of the best series I have watched so far, from all different mediums. It is a magnificent military space opera anime with drama and sci-fi, enriched with military warfare, intricate political strive, marvelous characters and fantastic dialogue. It is a tale that ultimately proposes a vision society often pondered about, and that is the validity of democracy and autocracy. Many people may have assumed that this anime is purely narrative driven, being its main focus dialogue, which is partially true, yet it has so much more to offer; naturally, it has its flaws as well, which I will try to depict below in addition to its strengths.
~Story~
The story of Legend of the Galactic Heroes focuses on the 6 year period in which the two main political factions of the galaxy clash, the Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance, with Reinhard von Lohengramm and Yang Wenli as the most important figures respectively. However, this interstellar war has been waging for over 150 years, with casualties over the millions, marked by the crumbling Goldenbaum dynasty which rules the Empire, and the dysfunctional democratic state of the Alliance. Both Yang and Reinhard, have a reason for being engrossed in military affairs: one to finance his university education, while the other to save his sister from the Emperor. Both being the geniuses they are, they clash with each other in accordance to the pursuit of their goals. As they gain fame and deal with their superiors, people, scheming, political and military warfare, those are the aspects that will dominate these men's life.
The premise may seem simple as first, which may appear as a struggle of good, democracy, against evil, autocracy; however, this is absolutely not the case. The anime portrays magnificently both sides, the first at its worst, while the other at its best respectively through the numerous advantages and flaws of both political ideologies. For example, democracy being a huge impediment for drastic changes, as opposed to autocracy. This makes it for the viewer impossible to root for a specific system, as in addition each side has its own charming/interesting characters. Furthermore, it leaves audiences pondering which is actually favourable, besides making the story unpredictable and exciting.
As mentioned earlier, the story expands greatly on both ideologies with intricate political disputes that are well presented as it is realistically displayed to the viewer, with different things such as Nationalism, exploitation of the weak, oppression, you name it. Then there is another faction in the story, and that is "Terraism", which represents religious belief. This party was of significant importance in the anime, yet its motives and background was weak and never really expanded on; besides, its enormous influence would have many viewers raise their eyebrows whether this should be believable or not. Another lacking aspect was the fact that it didn't expand on the advantages of a religion, rather only focusing on the worst of it. Being an atheist myself, I still find this a lacking aspect. It should be mentioned that there is at times an external narrator to explain the situations to the viewer, including future events, which in the eyes of some may be a hindrance.
The vast amount of episodes may deem viewers to think that the pacing is way too slow for its own good, yet this is not the case; contrary, in my humble opinion, its pacing is flawlessly done, befitting of the narrative. Detailed, rational and straight to the point dialogues are present, which are necessary for character exploration, as well as leaving viewers absorbed in it. Some audiences suggests that the first grand arc is slow, yet I tend to disagree with this; from the very first few episodes, it foreshadows on the big events that are to come, instantly leaving anyone interested, be it the story or the characters itself. In addition, LotGH does a fantastic job in world building, by exploring the characters and explaining the history of how human race developed since leaving Earth, as well as political events relatable to real historical data. However, speaking of the world, or in this case the universe, its map layout is oversimplified to a 2 dimensional plane, which is naturally not the case in space. Besides, the lone planet of Phezzan is supposedly of great economic influence, yet how or why it is, was never fully explored in the anime.
Naturally, it is not all politics: war is waged to achieve afore-mentioned stances and goals. The various battles that take place throughout its duration are no simple "asspulls": these are all well-coordinated through the cunning of the different commanders of each fleet, and their tactical strategies and knowledge. However, it must be mentioned that said strategies are simplified in order for audiences to easily grasp and understand said tactics, which can be lacking in the eyes of some, in addition to display to viewers that not everyone in high positions are smart. These battles are in addition of big scale: people die in the ten's of thousands, if not millions, easily discerning the damage and scale of each confrontation. Neither it is a one-sided war: through intrigue, political corruption, conspiracies and civil wars, the outcomes of battles are often unpredictable generating a lot of tension for the viewer, in addition to appreciate the cunning of different individuals.
There is a downside with the show though, even when it shows the ugly sides of warfare, it is slightly romanticized version, with subjects such as glory and honor, which not always blend in well realistically speaking - this doesn't mean that the fights are tensionless. Hand-to-hand battles are present as well, and these are done with battle axes most of the time, which is strange considering the advanced technology available. Another thing to point out would be the different strategies used: the majority is based on true historical recordings of medieval times, yet there is the problem that these are meant for ground battles, not three-dimensional warfare. Finally, some may indicate that the knowledge of the different commanders of each faction have too much influence in the battles, while at times acting a bit too convenient for plot progression, yet this was a small drawback.
LotGH is not all death and mayhem, it also has its share of slice of life moments, as well as humor to relieve the tension of the situation at times. These are well done, explored though the characters personalities and conceptions of each situation. For example, taken from a conversation in the anime: Soldier: "Your left leg has been crushed" Commander: "Your reports has always been effective vice-admiral" - through the personalities of the characters, such situations and dialogues are easily either humerous or inspiring for the audience.
~Characters~
The cast of characters in Legend of the Galactic Heroes is huge to say least: each has a role to play, and are of importance, being evenly distributed between the different factions in the anime. Most of the character development is rather small, which may be a drawback for some, yet it could be said that it is crucial, as their beliefs are not easily bended to accommodate sudden plot changes, which adds to the intrigue and credibility of the story. Another strong point of the series is the fact that these are not your typical heroes, they're aware of their actions and the consequences, constantly thinking whether their actions are right or not, pondering if it is justifiable with their beliefs, and with society. Furthermore, these need support soldiers to be able to operate and execute their ideas.
There is also the fact that the every single character is susceptible to death, and when it happens, it would hit any viewer as a train as audiences experienced and got to know the character from the beginning to the end. A positive aspect is that these are not over-glorified deaths as is frequent in other mediums: these death's are often simple and befitting of the atmosphere it was trying to portray at the time. Other thing to note is that although the presence of woman is scarce, and seem to take a back role when it comes to warfare, it never sexualizes them in any way; in fact, these are very capable and independent.
Moving on to the different characters, from the Alliance, there is Yang Wenli, who is the likable type of character, intelligent and very cunning: in fact, his genius is one of the best among the last centuries of history. In addition, he is a pacifist which is strongly engrained in his beliefs of democracy, which he firmly stands on. He could be seen as a perfect character military wise, which may be deemed by some as unrealistic, yet is clumsy in daily situations. Then there are others such as Julian Minci, who is in care of Yang, Frederica Greenhill or Attenbourgh; who will forget the likes of Walter von Schennkoppf or Bucock?
On the Galactic Empire side there are arguable more characters of interest. First you have Reinhard von Lohengramm, a strong-willed, naturally talented person. Viewers could describe him as the perfect alpha male, yet as will be apparent, Reinhard has its own weaknesses. There is certain character development presented, being affected by the various situations and character interactions. His motives may seem rather weak, yet is at the same time not overly dramatic, as is seen on his background stories. Kircheis is of sum importance as well, as he is the closest friend to Reinhard, and serves as counselor against some of his friends actions.
Then there is Oskar van Reuenthal, which at first isn't that interesting, yet as story progresses, audiences observe and learn his character, a strong-willed individual with moral, composed and wise, while at the same time stubborn. What makes him so interesting is the fact that he struggles to find his meaning in life, and on how his childhood was. In fact, he could be described as a ticking time bomb, were it not for the fact of the soothing presence of his friend Wolfgang Mittermeyer, renown for his boldness in warfare, yet kind. Other outstanding character is Paul von Oberstein, an emotionless mysterious man, who firmly believes in the better good, yet with all motives based on reason, which he is often criticised for.
The supporting cast play an important role as well, as without them, the main characters wouldn't be as well presented or fleshed out. The representation of human disputes for glory or status is likewise well relayed to the viewer, as it is a very accurate representation of human behaviour. It also introduces Maquiavellism for the justification of fights, another thing to ponder for the protagonist. Other good point of the anime is that there is racial diversity. A small drawback would be the fact that there are no alien races, only humans, which might seem odd considering a vast amount of space is already explored without encountering any other types of life forms.
~Animation~
The animation quality of Legend of the Galactic Heroes is rather lackluster, even considering it began airing in 1988: background characters were badly drawn, motions being very basic, not always fluid as desired and the likes. Nevertheless, it must be said that the quality certainly improved over the course of the story, which is rare in the medium. The character's design is something to behold as well: these are as realistically as possible designed, which enhanced the overall serious atmosphere it was trying to portray; furthermore, facial expressions are not exaggerated either, having the various personalities of said characters come over magnificently.
The animation of the different battles fulfilled its purpose, yet the motions were basic as well, and sometimes rehashed. Nonetheless, the design of the various battle ships and military tools made up for it: these are not fleshy mecha robots, but blunt quadratic structures, best suited for space warfare. In addition, there is also a lot of explosions and gore, accurately representing what war really is: ugly and cruel. Other element to remark is the use of simplified schemes on computer panels on the movement of the enemies, in order to make the viewer quickly understand the situation of the battlefield.
~Sound~
The soundtrack used in Legend of the Galactic Heroes may not have been of original material, yet the compositions used were magnificent, and never overused. Artist such as Beethoven, Wagner, Chopin, Brahms or Mahler are on the order of the day, wonderfully transmitting the atmosphere and emotions it is trying to relay to the audience. The opening and ending songs don't fall short either, yet with compositions such as "Hikari no Hashi wo koete" by Kei Ogura encapsulates truly what LotGH really is: a glorious space opera. The sound effects of the battleships themselves may have been simplified to laser beam sounds, besides of the issue with sound effects in space: though entertaining, it isn't realistic.
Where it truly shines as well are its huge cast of voice actors: with over 300 of them, each for all the different characters present in the anime: this is truly dedication to a series. The voice actor performed their role masterfully, carefully conveying the different emotions presented, as well as the different personalities each character had. People like Wakamoto Norio as Oskar von Reuenthal, Kaneto Shiozawa, Toshio Furkawa, you name it.
~Enjoyment~
Having dived in expecting a slow start, I was pleasantly surprised: the story gripped me form the very first moment with its clever dialogues, to build further up into even better story and execution of it. Legend of the Galactic Heroes falls nothing short of a masterpiece, with a fantastic narrative, complex and intricate story, a huge cast of very memorable and fantastic characters, in addition to a glorious OST, befitting of the anime. Naturally it has its flaws, such as exploration on the motives of some factions, or some oversimplified characters, yet I believe these are minor, and of all the things it executes well, it easily overshadows these. LotGH may have easily inclined me to try out other space operas.
So do I recommend Legend of the Galactic Heroes? Yes, I wholeheartedly do to anyone. Surely the mere length and outdated animation of the series may put some viewers off, yet they will find themselves pleasantly rewarded. Don't expect any fancy overpowered characters or the likes, rather a well crafted story of the universe and battles amongst the stars. This is what could be considered the true Star Wars, a true epic.
Thank you for reading.
