The ideologies of the characters are frustratingly cliché. It ranges from feudal autocracy to American-style classical liberalism. You will not come away with a new philosophy on life, or anything like that.
The military strategies are basic and the political maneuvering is no better. Battle sequences proceed in the same way each time: the bad guys have a huge numerical advantage, the good guys have a smart plan, the entirety of the plan succeeds, and the good guys achieve their goals against the odds. LoGH favors great-man theory far too much, and as a result comes off incredibly contrived at times. The desired outcomes happen no matter the odds against them, except for in a few heavily foreshadowed moments.
The world-building is unrealistic and malleable. Futuristic technology exists only for space travel, war, and little else. Events occur that could have been prevented using technology that has been widespread since the 1980s. The societies of LoGH are unrealistically backwards for the future, even those of the ‘democratic’ side. This social conservatism isn’t critiqued either. The anime openly approves of the patriarchal tendencies of its societies, and instead focuses on the negatives of political ills only. The main role women play is as support for their husbands/lovers, and those who show signs of independence are reigned in by the end. This is not to mention the self-evidently problematic use of imperialistic German culture. Its only purpose is to wet the whistle of those who fantasize about German militarism. The anime’s given explanation of why every name sounds like Dusseldorf von Shatingflart is ignorant of how human societies operate, and seems to have been added post-facto. Copying a pre-existing imperial society rather than inventing a new one is just plain lazy and gives rise to some unnecessary suspicions. If LoGH had given equal weight to social issues as to the political issues, it may have had the profundity that many claim.
The story flows like one set in the Napoleonic era. Rather than just being set in that time period, it copies that era’s vibes, places them in the future, and adds some fancy tech for flavor. The futuristic setting could be removed and the story would be unchanged. The only plausible reason for the future setting is the greater impact of battles that kill 20 million people rather than 20,000. Maybe this was a intended choice by the original author/creator, or maybe not. As mentioned previously, the ideologies of the protagonists and antagonists also mirror the Napoleonic era, so why not just write a Napoleonic epic? There are great anime/manga stories with political themes set in and around that period, like Rose of Versailles, which are far more compelling.
The budget limitations are noticeable and they significantly hamper many scenes. Space battles are especially dull as a result. Consolidating the series into 50 or so episodes may have been the better move budget wise. The use of classical music for the soundtrack is interesting, but feels a bit pretentious and lazy. Even most low budget OVAs have an original soundtrack. There are other anime that supplement classical music with original score and use it far better. For instance, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya’s use of Trois Gymnopedies is far more tasteful while being in an anime that takes itself far less seriously. Classical music is cool and all, but I think that its use in LoGH was a budget-minded decision rather than the intention.
The ultimate problem with Legend of the Galactic Heroes isn’t that it's bad, but that it’s only good. Beyond the issues I felt needed to be mentioned, it's above-average. There is an overarching plot that unwinds in an interesting way and it has a cast of some of the most talented voice actors ever assembled. I would even argue that there are some excellent characters in LoGH. The problem is that some people (especially MAL users considering the 9+ score) believe that it is one of the best anime. This is, in my view, not the case. Because of my high expectations, the disappointment was far too great to not leave a bad aftertaste.
Overall, I'd give Legend of the Galactic Heroes a 7/10.
