Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu (Legend of the Galactic Heroes)

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: LoGH, LotGH, GinEiDen

Japanese: 銀河英雄伝説

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Information

Type: Novel

Volumes: 10

Chapters: 94

Status: Finished

Published: Nov 1982 to Nov 1987

Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi

Themes: Adult Cast, Military, Space

Serialization: None

Authors: Tanaka, Yoshiki (Story), Katou, Naoyuki (Art), Kamoshita, Yukihisa (Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.61¹ (scored by 2,118 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #91²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #1995

Members: 10,329

Favorites: 310

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Wikipedia

8.61

Ranked #91Popularity #1995Members 10,329

NovelTanaka, Yoshiki (Story), Katou, Naoyuki (Art), Kamoshita, Yukihisa (Art)

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Volumes: /10

Chapters: /94

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Synopsis

In the far future, two young military leaders rise above their peers. The invincible genius Reinhard von Lohengramm is matched only by the unbeatable magician Yang Wen-li; though the two share a profound respect for each other, they meet on the battlefield not as comrades but as bitter adversaries. Commanding thousands of warships and millions of soldiers, they lead giant space fleets into battle on behalf of the two interstellar states that have wrested for control of the Milky Way for over a century and a half.

The Galactic Empire, an absolute monarchy ruled by Kaiser Friedrich von Goldenbaum IV and an entrenched nobility, seeks to suppress the rebels daring to oppose the inviolable crown. The Free Planets Alliance, a representative democracy led by a corrupt High Council, degenerates as its elected leaders⁠ use war and conflict as a way to win popular support. Reinhard is a minor noble who became a High Admiral through his strategic brilliance and his sister's position as the favored concubine of the Kaiser, while Yang is an avid historian and reluctant commodore hailed as a hero despite only using his tactical prowess to navigate around his leaders' incompetence. On opposite sides of the galaxy, the two men have wildly different visions for the future: Reinhard dreams of uniting mankind under his iron fist, while Yang wants only to carve a path to lasting peace. As the war rages on, Reinhard and Yang each strive for their ideals and secure their place among the stars as the leaders of a new era of galactic heroes.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

In 1988, Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu won the Seiun Award for Best Novel of the Year.

The series was published in English as Legend of the Galactic Heroes by VIZ Media under the Haikasoru imprint from March 8, 2016 to November 19, 2019.

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Yang, Wen-li

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von Lohengramm, Reinhard

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von Reuenthal, Oskar

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von Oberstein, Paul

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Kircheis, Siegfried

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von Schönkopf, Walter

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Mittermeyer, Wolfgang

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von Mariendorf, Hildegard

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Minci, Julian

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Attenborough, Dusty

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Reviews

Feb 16, 2020

abystoma2

Recommended

If I were ever asked if there is such thing as a light novel that could be compared to classic literature, Legend of the Galactic Heroes would be the instantaneous answer.

This isn't a book you read, this is a book you experience. And I'm not using this expression lightly. LoGH is a work that might change your view on some eternal questions and problems of humanity concerning politics and philosophy. Or at least have you rethink your current opinion really hard. It excels at bringing those themes into the story and having it feel so naturally present, almost as if the story is just ...

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Feb 24, 2020

_cjessop19_

Recommended

Space operas play a large part in defining what the sci-fi genre is all about; whether it be Star Wars, Star Trek, Dune, Gundam or Babylon 5. Legend of the Galactic Heroes, despite not garnering the same amount of popularity and notoriety, especially here in the west, deserves to be placed among said series that define the space opera and sci-fi genre. LotGH is an award-winning Sci-Fi epic that fits within 10 books, in what many would consider as one of the greatest stories ever told in anime and in all of media, and it’s a series that holds a place in my heart as ...

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Jul 23, 2024

typewritermonkey

Mixed Feelings

Spoiler

LOGH is a space sci-fi set over 1500 years into the future, but is noticeably inspired by Romance of the Three Kingdoms (ROTK), set 1800 years in the past. The author Tanaka is apparently very into Chinese history and has translated a couple of classical chinese texts himself, and apropos, LOGH reads like a projection of Chinese history onto the cosmos, despite the obvious borrowing of German aesthetics.

I dug into the novels with high expectations, as I was tired of reading unambitious and gimmicky light novels, and on that front, LOGH paradoxically both delivered and disappointed. Starting with the good: the scope of active players, ... their motivations and intrigues, their interactions with each other, were indeed complex and believable. With such a large cast, Tanaka did a fine job of choreographing the actors on and off the stage. Particularly impressive were the contrasting parallels of Yang and Reinhard, whose trajectories and struggles were so unique to themselves that they did not seem to belong in the same book, much less as rivaling protagonists. Tanaka demonstrated the typical Japanese aptitude of retro-futurizing, unraveling the ROTK storyline and reweaving it with European and sci-fi elements into something aesthetically pleasing and highly original. I doubt most readers or watchers of the anime realize how much the plot rhymes with ROTK's, but even if you are aware of it, it won't negatively affect your experience. There are no issues with forced Japanese elements, which is common in Japanese writing non-Japanese settings. In fact the cosmopolitanism completely excluded Japan, minus, if I recall, one quote or historical reference. He did a good job of writing a post-national, post-racial story, and it was certainly the level of maturity I was looking for.

Before moving onto the bad, I want to mention the translation, or its inconsistency. The English translation features three different translators. Huddleston, who is credited on the volumes 1, 2, 3, and 7, was passable. I would occasionally lose focus reading longer paragraphs and have no idea what I just read, but this was not frequent, until the next translator, Grillo. With Grillo, who worked on volumes 4, 5, and 6, this became a constant struggle, which is quite unfortunate because 4-6 was in the thick of it. The last translator, Treyvaud, who did the remaining 8-10, brought a noticeable improvement to legibility, but by then, the plot was already winding down.

LOGH has several weaknesses. It doesn't offer anything new, whether to sci-fi, to its inspiration ROTK, or to the political ideologies that it so heavily depends on for the plot. Democracy, the raison d'etre of Yang's faction, felt like a cheap battle cry Tanaka was using to move the plot, and in the end, only quibbles were made about its importance and weaknesses relative to its alternatives. There were some nihilist observations, but they didn't go anywhere. The sci-fi setting was barely leveraged. Besides FTL travel, the only other progress humanity had made was in the discovery of "Seffle particles," a highly volatile gas(?) that explodes when disturbed. Aside from a few tactical uses in battles, in space, everything else was 20th century tech.

Additionally, the narration style became increasingly grating over time. It had the habit of reintroducing and repeating character descriptions every time they appeared. By the 9th volume, I was so annoyed at Tanaka for the excessive minor character chatter, as if his biggest priority was making sure I believed they truly behaved as how he had just described them, that I seriously considered reading the spoilers just to be done with it. What is worse is that most of it really did end up being unimportant. Next, the omniscient narration would frequently spoil you with what was about to happen before it actually did, slipping into documentary mode mid-action, and inserting passages from the characters' future memoirs into what was currently unfolding. It became exasperatingly self-indulgent. And once the fates decided a character was finished, they were stripped of previous agency and unceremoniously killed off. Of course, shit happens, life goes on... these motifs are lifted directly from ROTK, but LOGH's execution makes it much more insufferable. The broken record descriptions, untimely banter, and DVD commentary are entirely Tanaka's dreadful additions.

But ultimately, the real issue is LOGH took an easy way out. Once he finished writing about Yang and Reinhard, Tanaka didn't have anything left in the tank to say, except filler. Without a real thesis to all the ups and downs, and hard hitting questions that were asked but left unanswered, the narrative caved in on itself, and crippled its own legacy. Overall, LOGH was a chore to read and not interesting enough to warrant revisiting.

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