Legend Of The Galactic Heroes Analysis
Tinisha
"In every age, in every place, the deeds of men remain the same."In the distant future the democratic Free Planets Alliance and the Goldenbaum Empire are fighting a war that has been going on for over one hundred and twenty years. In the midst of the violence and chaos, two heroes emerge on separate sides of the conflict. This is their story.
There are very few anime that have portrayed the nature of humanity as accurately as Legend of the Galactic Heroes. Although the action takes place in a fantastic setting the themes and analysis of civilization hit remarkably close to home. I went into this thinking it'd be a clone of Captain Harlock, but was blown away by this hidden gem that doesn't get nearly enough attention from the anime community.What really drives LoGH is a truly superb story. We're taken through a dense plot where everyone has an agenda to fulfill: some people just want to get by ... and others want to get by with everything they possibly can. An epic in every sense of the word; empires both rise and crumble, important people are lost, and our characters grow as the events unfold.Speaking of the characters, the most intriguing are our two main heroes. For the Alliance we have Yang Wenli, the obvious source material for Captain Justy Tylor. This amazing tactician joined the army so he could get free schooling - in all honesty, he would much rather see the war end so he could pursue his true dream of becoming a historian. Imagine MASH's Hawkeye in anime form and you basically get the idea. Yang is the source of most of the insight into human nature and philosophical musings of the series, and is laid-back to a fault. Oh yes, he's also the Alliance's greatest hope against the Empire somehow.Representing said Empire is Reinhard: much colder than his counterpart, but just as cunning. His insight is no less than Yang's, but his methods are certainly stricter. Reinhard's motivations, and even applications, can't be seen as evil though. His original purpose for becoming a soldier was to take back his sister who was forced into marriage with the Kaiser. Sick of the corruptness of the Goldenbaum dynasty, he wants enough power so that the people will no longer suffer from others' tyranny. To get by in a monarchy takes more than just a bit of manipulation though, and among wolves a sheep must grow fangs.That's not to say the rest of the cast is boring though - far from it. The story is conveyed through the eyes of literally hundreds, possibly thousands, of characters. From kings to normal townsfolk, head ministers and average guns men, we see how the actions of the characters affect those in the universe. Nobody is just a soldier or another face in the crowd - everyone represented has a story to tell, a background that affects his or her future decisions and LoGH does a wonderful job of painting a diverse picture of the universe.The animation is average, really nothing to write home about. Just about the only thing I can complain about is the large number of difficult to remember German names. This is no more difficult than adjusting to Japanese names for the first time though. The musical selection is decent. With the exception of the opening sequences the soundtrack is made up entirely of classical music. In many instances this can be quite dull (see the Crest of the Stars opening for an example), but they've used it very well here. The songs make appropriate accompaniment to the action instead of being the sole focus of our attention.If you want girls in skimpy clothes, giant robots, or a martial arts tournament I'd recommend looking elsewhere. If you want a well-thought-out drama with engrossing characters, stop here. Should you be lucky enough to have access to the episodes this is one you don't want to pass up.
Recommended Audience: Most younger viewers wouldn't sit through a show like this. There is occasional on-screen violence in the form of bombings, assassinations, and other actions generally associated with political intrigue as well as battles between spaceships. A swear word or two might have slipped through as well: nothing horribly graphic.
Legend of the Galactic Heroes (LOGH from now on) is a highly regarded anime series by many fans and critics alike. It has even garnered a reputation among some as being the pinnacle of elitist taste, and while I do not believe in such things I certainly understand why it would be the recipient of such an appraisal.
The first major arc of this series mainly serves to establish the main characters, the nature of government on both sides of the conflict, and to draw the audience into the story before things start to rapidly change. Said first arc mainly revolves around the capture of Iserlohn Fortress by the FPA, and the subsequent invasion of Imperial territory after that. Most of the substance of this arc comes from the careful and detailed picture the viewer is presented with of both types of government and the people who run them.
On the side of the FPA, it quickly becomes apparent that this democracy is not a fair one, and that in its current form it is highly corrupt and ineffective form of government. To name some examples that prove this:
On the side of the Empire, it quickly becomes apparent that the state of its autocracy is far from efficient, and suffers from layers upon layers of bloat and cruft from centuries of mismanagement. To name some examples that prove this:
And as both civil wars drew to a close, on both sides the stronger and more skillful sides of the respective civil wars won. The major difference being that Reinhard effectively became the head of government in the Empire and began to reform and strengthen it from within, whereas Yang merely restored the corrupt and inefficient regime that existed previously. What follows this in the near future would be difficult to define as unexpected, as one side had reformed, streamlined itself, and overall improved whereas the other side had weakened in its overall strength due to the civil war and restored a stagnant and corrupt government. But for the time being the situation between the Empire and FPA remains strategically the same as after the capture of Iserlohn Fortress by the FPA at the beginning of the series.
The following mini-arc mainly revolves around Yang and his subordinates defending Iserlohn Fortress and the inquiry made on Yang by the Alliance government. Yang and his subordinates are successfully defending Iserlohn Fortress from an Imperial attempt at capturing it when Yang is recalled to Heinessen for an inquiry by the heads of government. Reluctantly he does so, and begins his journey there while knowing that he is needed more than ever at Iserlohn.
This situation yet again displays the utter incompetency of the FPA government, and foreshadows its imminent downfall in the near future. Yang is allowed to return to Iserlohn Fortress just in time to save it and nearly completely annihilate the Imperial forces.
The significance of this moment cannot be understated, for Yang would not have been one to go against the terms he agreed to in the treaty ending the Alliance-Imperial war. But following his unjust and unfair interrogation and near execution on no legal grounds he had come to realize that sometimes he has to act against his ideals that he believes in in for the overall betterment of democracy in the future. This was a profound moment for Yang, and though this does not change his actions much it does show a growth of character on his part in reference to adapting to change and working within the constraints of the situation he is presented with.
The death of Reuental hit me nearly as hard of that of Yang. He was a noble man, but was a deeply flawed one. His strategic aptitude and classy charm were a brilliant combination that served him well in his career. And he spent the last days of his life doing exactly what he would have wanted to, facing his friend Mittermeyer on equal footing in a fight to the end. He died a highly respected man, which was far from the idea of a traitor that he had embraced in his final days.
Both Reinhard von Lohengramm and Yang Wenli were paragons of their ideals, and were shining examples of such during their times alive. In my mind they were the two truly legendary galactic heroes among the many, many others that exist in this story.
The above was not meant to accurately and completely summarize this story, it was merely to describe, analyze, and discuss the two greatest heroes of this legend and the complex and multifaceted story they were involved in.
The selection of famous orchestral music from the likes of Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, Holst, Chopin, Brahms, and so many more well-known classical musicians is incredible to behold, and is such a vast and fitting selection of pre-modern classical pieces all of such incredible weight and beauty. On top of this, the series does also have a small selection of original pieces, all of which I can think of are on par with and fit in well with the rest of the soundtrack. I found it equally as enjoyable as experiencing the series itself to explore the selection of classical music it uses. A small selection of such can be found here if you use spotify.
What did you think of Legend of the Galactic Heroes? What did you think of this post? Please let me know in the comments. Constructive criticism is welcome as well as writing advice or pretty much anything else.
An anime adaptation of the novels, produced by Kitty Films and animated for the most part by Artland and Magic Bus, ran from 1988 to 2000. There is also a manga based on the novels, with art by Katsumi Michihara. In addition, there are several video game adaptations with the most recent release in 2008 being a real-time strategy game. None of this content has been officially released in the English language. However, fan translations of the anime to English are available.
The story is staged in the distant future within our own Milky Way Galaxy, approximately in the late 36th century. A portion of the galaxy is filled with terraformed worlds inhabited by interstellar traveling human beings. For 150 years two mighty space powers have intermittently warred with each other: the Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance.
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