Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu (Legend of the Galactic Heroes)

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: LoGH, LotGH, Gin'eiden, GinEiDen, Heldensagen Vom Kosmosinsel

Japanese: 銀河英雄伝説

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Information

Type: OVA

Episodes: 110

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Jan 8, 1988 to Mar 17, 1997

Producers: TV Tokyo, Kitty Films, Tokuma Shoten, Tokuma Japan Communications, Wright Staff

Licensors: Sentai Filmworks

Studios: K-Factory, Kitty Film Mitaka Studio

Source: Novel

Genres: Drama, Sci-Fi

Themes: Adult Cast, Military, Space

Duration: 26 min. per ep.

Rating: R - 17+ (violence & profanity)

Statistics

Score: 9.02¹ (scored by 75,381 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #13²

² based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #728

Members: 304,587

Favorites: 15,595

Available At

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AniDB

ANN

Synopsis

The 150-year-long stalemate between the two interstellar superpowers, the Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance, comes to an end when a new generation of leaders arises: the idealistic military genius Reinhard von Lohengramm, and the FPA's reserved historian, Yang Wenli.

While Reinhard climbs the ranks of the Empire with the aid of his childhood friend, Siegfried Kircheis, he must fight not only the war, but also the remnants of the crumbling Goldenbaum Dynasty in order to free his sister from the Kaiser and unify humanity under one genuine ruler. Meanwhile, on the other side of the galaxy, Yang—a strong supporter of democratic ideals—has to stand firm in his beliefs, despite the struggles of the FPA, and show his pupil, Julian Mintz, that autocracy is not the solution.

As ideologies clash amidst the war's many casualties, the two strategic masterminds must ask themselves what the real reason behind their battle is.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Legend of the Galactic Heroes was adapted from a series of ten novels, published 1982–87, by Yoshiki Tanaka. The novels won the Seiun Award for the best long-form Japanese science fiction in 1988.

At the start of its production the anime was distributed through a subscription system in which episodes were mailed to existing fans of the novels. It was made in four separate tranches over nearly a decade, with the production of side-stories continuing for several further years. The main series has the largest voice cast of any anime, with well over 300 voice actors, and it is the longest OVA series ever made.

The novels have also been adapted into a manga, a stage musical by the Takarazuka Revue and a number of games.

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu, Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu
Prequel:	Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Arata naru Tatakai no Overture
Side story:	Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu Gaiden, Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu Gaiden (1999)
Alternative version:	Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These - Kaikou, Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These - Seiran 1, Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These - Seiran 2, Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These - Seiran 3, Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These - Gekitotsu, Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These - Sakubou

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Yang, Wen-li

Main

Tomiyama, Kei
Japanese

von Lohengramm, Reinhard

Main

Horikawa, Ryo
Japanese

von Reuenthal, Oskar

Main

Wakamoto, Norio
Japanese

von Oberstein, Paul

Main

Shiozawa, Kaneto
Japanese

Kircheis, Siegfried

Main

Hironaka, Masashi
Japanese

von Schönkopf, Walter

Main

Hazama, Michio
Japanese

Mittermeyer, Wolfgang

Main

Mori, Katsuji
Japanese

von Mariendorf, Hildegard

Main

Katsuki, Masako
Japanese

Minci, Julian

Main

Sasaki, Nozomu
Japanese

Attenborough, Dusty

Main

Inoue, Kazuhiko
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Ishiguro, Noboru

Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Aketagawa, Susumu

Sound Director

Motonaga, Keitarou

Episode Director, Storyboard

Imaizumi, Kenichi

Episode Director, Key Animation, In-Between Animation, Animation Director

Edit

Opening Theme

	1: "Skies of Love" by Michiru Akiyoshi (eps 1-22,24-26)
	2: "I am waiting for you" by Michiru Akiyoshi (eps 27-30,32,34-35,37-38,40,43,45,49,51-52)
	3: "Sea of the Stars" by LISA (eps 55-81,86)
	4: "Must Be Something" by Hitomi Konno (eps 87-106,108-110)

Edit

Ending Theme

	1: "Hikari no Hashi wo koete" by Kei Ogura (eps 1-5,7-13,16-17,19-21,24-26,84)
	2: "Tabidachi no Jyokyoku" by Kei Ogura (eps 27-30,32,35,37-38,40,42-43,45,49,51)
	3: "Kansou no Uta" by Kei Ogura (eps 55-56,58-69,71-81,83,85)
	4: "Uchuu no Kakehashi" by Kei Ogura (eps 87-106,108-110)

More reviews

Reviews

May 27, 2008

santetjan

Recommended

This series is overrated on this site. That is to say, with 110 episodes, your vote only counts after you've seen 22 episodes, almost a full season, and those who don't like this show probably won't wait for 22 episodes to decide.
Which is a shame, as it's only after about 20 episodes that this series progresses from something that is slow, somewhat overly bombastic, and hinting at more to come to show itself to be one of the most intelligent pieces of anime that's been made to date.

When I say 'intelligent', I don't mean it to be cunning, surprising the viewer with unsuspected plot ... lines or new angles to view something. Nor does it delve deeply into some obscure theory of science or arts, bombarding the viewer with ideas he couldn't have come up with himself. In fact, there's absolutely nothing in this series that is wholly unexpected or very deep. What it has, though, is a sense of scale that's unsurpassed in any anime - or, for that matter, any television show - I've seen.
Legend of the Galactic Heroes centers around - you guessed it - a bunch of people who, according to populace at large that inhabits the fictional future this series plays in, are of heroic proportions. That is to say, heroic in a very classical sense, being possibly a negative thing as well as a positive.
The series is set in a future wherein the universe known to man is divided into two camps, the aristocratic and absolutist Galactic Empire, and the democratic Free Planets' Alliance, who have been embroiled in a war for some time, seemingly
being evenly matched. This balance is shattered when a military genius with a far-reaching ambition rises on the Imperial side, prompting the Alliance to, somewhat grudgingly, give ever greater backing to the most capable officer on their own side. Both men surround themselves with able staff, who become legends in their own right.
It sounds like your average hero of freedom-versus-tyrant story, but it turns out to be anything but. First of all, the heroes do have a sense of their own importance, but also the sense to question whether they are all that special, or whether the circumstances of their times have just brought them to a spotlight which people equal to them could never have aimed at. More importantly, the main question on which the whole series hinges remains an open one. This question is the age-old one of which is better, autocracy or democracy, the problem being that a good autocracy is usually better than a good democracy, but a bad autocracy being worse than a bad democracy. Within the happenings of the show, it becomes apparent that, militarily speaking, at least, a good autocracy has an edge over democracy in terms of speed and decisiveness, and this shows in how the series progresses.
A large part of the series is devoted to showing the war and its subsequent smaller-scale rumblings. The war is fully shown from the side of the commanding officers - one of only a very few shows to do so - and does show an appropriate sense of scale. With battles involving thousands of battleships and millions of men, simple depictions of large-scale tactics take the place of views of the battlefield itself, and a considerable part of the show is, laudable, devoted to discussions on logistics and military intelligence.
A larger part still, though, is devoted to discussions on politics, all within the greater autocracy versus democracy question. Again, these thoughts never go very deep, but what strikes one is that so very many possible variables are brought up. Almost any motive of rulers or the general populace that might affect a political decision is included at some point in the show, making me at least think to myself: 'They even thought of thát one.' The show does tend, here and there, to lean toward the old 'good soldier, bad politician' cliché, but, overall, it really lacks a clear villain, instead showing each possible side (apart, perhaps, from religious fanatics) from every possible angle. Moreover, all this is shown within a future universe that is highly consistent over the full 110 episodes, even if differences between the warring sides tend to be somewhat exaggerated: in many cases whole societies seem to act a bit too much according to a somewhat radical ideology, only to make their following actions be true to form.

This being true to form applies also to most of the actions that, at first glance, seem to be overly dramatical, in the first place many of the actions of the dozen or so main protagonists. However, when thinking about the how and why of their actions, it usually becomes clear that they cannot have but acted as they did, according to cultural mores and individual character. A case in point would be the reliance of many Imperial officers on the character of some military commander to predict his battlefield tactics. This would seem lunacy, until it is remembered that the Imperial commanders are a tight-knit group, mostly of noble birth, and known to each other: each commander would know the peculiarities of all others, which become all the more predictable as the importance of gaining personal glory and honour in battle are taken into the equation.
This reliance on known characteristics of all personalities is also possible because the characters don't evolve all that much. Now, I've never understood why 'character progression' in general seems to mean having characters make a full volte-face, and I am, in fact, happy with a series that shows all characters as being fully grown, and fixed in their ways. Each has a specific role to play, and a mind-set that might be predictable, but is, again, true to form. This doesn't make the character shallow. Far from it: their characteristics mean that each takes a single position to a fitting extreme, making for interesting differences between the characters, and accompanying differences in outlook.
That said, it is indeed true that the characters may be somewhat flat, and quite a few seem to be included only to show a different point of view toward a specific situation or theory, but it is exactly this relative flatness that makes it possible for them to discuss so many situations.

As for the art, it is old and outdated, but that can't be held against the show. It is a shame that, mainly in the first season, the series is at times simply bad: persons walk in an awkward way, scenes are recycled, and even relative positions of facial structures change from frame to frame. There's no excuse for that. Technically, though, the art definitely gets better during the course of the show.
In fact, the show being old might be a boon. The creators have opted to make the drawing style relatively realistic, which fits the series splendidly. One has only to look at the manga to see how different it could have been: the style of the manga doesn't fit the show at all.
Real points have to go to the design. Again, nothing is really innovative, from the spaceships to the almost 19th century looking setting to the uniforms of the soldiers. It is, however, solid, and consistent, and really brings the world to life.

The music is outstanding. It mainly consists of generally well-known classical compositions, which, granted, have been often used before, but never have they been used to such splendid effect: especially the use of pieces during battle sequences, fitting the individual scenes to the music, is a joy to watch.

As a whole, Legend of the Galactic Heroes never tries to be overly deep, and, though it tends to be somewhat bombastic, never loses itself to any glorification. It is slow and quite meticulous, focusing on a lot of details, and consists for the largest part of dialogue, not action. The story progresses slowly, and only after about a season's worth of episodes the real story starts to evolve.
And this show never, ever tries to evoke an emotional response. The whole series is based on having the viewer have an intellectual understanding of what happens, not an emotional one. There are, thus, no cheap tricks to elicit emotional response, nothing overly dramatic (barring a few strokes of bombast), and no characteristics that make a main protagonist or villain.
I can only applaud this, considering it a feat to produce such a good series without relying on drama. Legend of the Galactic Heroes is, in this sense, the absolute antithesis of my other personal favourite, Le Portrait de Petit Cossette, appealing to the rational side of the viewer, even when the protagonists act with all their vaunted 'foppery and whim'.

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Mar 8, 2009

Beatnik

Recommended

This is Star Wars. Lucas's franchise should be renamed to something else.

If any work of entertainment in our history deserves the title of 'Star Wars' then it is this anime, and not George Lucas's franchise. This is more star wars than Star Wars ever was, is, or will be. This is star wars. Epic wars among the stars, grand vision with something to say, something to show, all the while consistent narratively, thematically and audially, never pandering to a clamouring fan base, this is 110 episodes of pure sci-fi operatic drama of the highest quality. This is star wars.

Preferably experienced after watching the prequel movie ...

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Dec 6, 2008

noteDhero

Recommended

Legend of the Galactic Heroes is an epic tale of the rise to power of two men born at the right time on opposite sides, leading to a clash of brilliant spectacle that could only be executed with care in as an animated original.

Animation- 9/10
Though Legend of Galactic Heroes is 20 years old the visual quality and care is quite priceless. As a viewer who is reluctant to watch series over 40 episodes or over 10 years old, I was taken aback by the engaging art ranging from Ancient Rome, to Victorian England, to Blade Runner-esque futuristic set-pieces and costuming. Both factions, The Free ... Planets' Alliance and the Galactic Empire, had its own distinctive look, engaging the eye in nearly every direction. Add to these looks, the numerous space battles waging between the two factions and you have a piece of art that is timeless.

Sound - 10/10
Legend of Galactic Heroes boasts over 100 individual voice actors with, I believe only one person, doubling up. This show is a veritable "who's who" of the time's voice talent, and many of these talents are still working today. The quality of performance from this cast is overwhelmingly great. The actors take to both comedy and drama with a meticulous sense of intelligence, and there are few, if any times I found an actor to have either over or under-played a scene. Musically, this anime uses very well-placed classical music as the aural backdrop for the series, and perhaps the only flaw musically are the opening themes, rife with pitchy, technically abominable singing, but because it is so little of the sound content, then I can personally overlook it.

Characters - 10/10
In this show you would be hard-pressed to find a character that does not serve a definite purpose. There is a large cast of characters ranging from princes and generals to whores and religious fanatics. Each character plays his part in the machine of this show, all believably true to their actions. The only flaw with the characters I suppose is names. While the show is good on giving viewers subtitles to serve as a reminder, because these are German names and those of nobility (which also includes titles) there is a double edged sword that both breeds authenticity and becomes mnemonically troublesome.

Story - 9/10
LoGH is a magnificent space opera that delves into philosophy and politics with an unmatched ease. It is clear where shows like Death Note, Code Geass and creators such as Clamp get their influence from when watching this show. While the writing suffers a bit in the final 15-20 episodes, the slack is picked up by the extraordinary momentum the writers and voice cast from the previous 90 episodes created. Even with those flaws, there are no instances of stagnation in the narrative. The show is always distinctively going somewhere, elegantly leading the viewer with excellently written narration to help with suspense. LoGH also manages to integrate fictional technology into the story with out it overwhelming the viewer, or being an excuse for trite deus ex machina.

Enjoyment - 10/10
For someone who is very picky about show length and characters, I was truly stunned by the way this show was tightly managed as a narrative. The pace is a very consistent and mild to help go back and forth between raising questions and finding resolution. LoGH was a highly satisfying experience, and its a shame it was never brought to English so that it could find a bigger audience. I think it's the type of show that Adult Swim, or G4 (when it was TechTV with Anime Unleashed) would have eagerly consumed at the beginning of their respective launches.

Overall- 10/10

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Poll: Legend of the Galactic Heroes Episode 51 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) tainteddonut - May 30, 2008	115 replies	by LightNoragami1 »» 25 minutes ago
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Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu

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Yang, Wen-li

von Lohengramm, Reinhard

von Reuenthal, Oskar

von Oberstein, Paul

Kircheis, Siegfried

von Schönkopf, Walter

Mittermeyer, Wolfgang

von Mariendorf, Hildegard

Minci, Julian

Attenborough, Dusty

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Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu

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Synopsis

Background

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Ending Theme

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