LotGH (1988) - Review
Introduction
If you’re somewhat knowledgeable of anime you’ve probably heard of Legend of the Galactic Heroes, aka LotGH, thrown around as a joke for a show nobody really watches but elitists love. It is due to it’s premise of politics and war, plus it’s lengthened, that it’s chalked up to be such a show. While it is certainly true it is about politics and war, it is much more than just some elitist joke. If you’re not interested in politics and war then you’re not going to like a show about politics and war elitist or not, but if you are interested in such topics there is nothing that rivals LotGH.
Plot & Characters
The plot is mostly character-driven with a wide array of characters at that. It is mostly political happenings, space battles, and the lives of the characters (at times). All of the characters are able to get their time to shine in the 110 episodes. Characters that would be side characters to the protagonists in other shows are rather main characters as fleshed out people with their own thoughts and abilities. The line is blurred between main characters and side characters because there are many characters that appear often or just appear when relevant but make a big impact when they do. The cast are all people whose actions all contribute to the making of the legend. The two rising stars, Reinhard and Yang, are brilliantly written and are perhaps two of the best written characters of all time. They and by extension many others do not see in black and white. They question themselves and what they’re fighting for. If watched with attention, it will make you question yourself and your own beliefs given that you don’t see in black and white either. There are few examples of media having a more powerful influence on the person than to change their beliefs or think in depth about them. Continuing, the two have people more important to them than anything. They feel alive. Their abilities are not overdone as to be unbelievable either. It needn’t be stated but in history there are a great many people whose accomplishments could not have been predicted, or would perhaps be unbelievable on the surface level. These are two such heroes. We get a deep look as to how and why everything happens, leaving no stone unturned.
Visuals and Sound
LotGH’s visuals are beautifully detailed despite their age, or rather thanks to it’s age. Unfortunately since quite a bit of the original frames were lost, in some scenes there can be jarring changes of art style. The redrawn art is fine itself, though Yang is a bit too pink and the original is more detailed despite being of lower quality. The character designs are all extremely well done. All important or maybe all named characters have distinct designs that elevates some of the difficulty of remembering so many characters.
It was a stellar choice to have the soundtrack be mostly if not all classical music. It adds more to make it feel like an epic of history than say some electronic “future” music. Most notably, it feels timeless. Secondly, the theme songs. The openings are focused around one side of the war and the endings are the other side. They’re all pleasant and in some cases can evoke quite a bit of emotion when used elsewhere. Lastly, each character’s voice actors are absolutely perfect for their role. When I watch LotGH, I simply cannot imagine anyone else voicing any of the characters. How they managed to find the talent, I wonder.
Other
As it’s been said things are not black and white, further than that the division of time between the two sides is perfect if not equal. Each side has their pros and cons, their bad apples, outstanding achievers, and… Oberstein. There is a particular group that is portrayed in direct contrast of that. This group doesn’t really make any sense nor have any real reasons for what they do. They are almost comically evil but luckily due to the length of the show they are only a major player in a slice of the show.
One more minor gripe, there is a narrator in LotGH and he can be a bit annoying. Often he is a real help by explaining some more complicated things or pointing things out that you might have missed as well as helping you keep track of what’s happening in battles. But the issue is sometimes he will spoil the plot. Not all the time, but too much of the time. This is not without necessarily without reason. LotGH is styled almost as an in-universe documentary than an entertainment piece and there aren’t any spoilers in history. Just make sure to never watch episode previews.
The only thing I feel like we didn’t get enough of was the daily life. We saw what was happening on the inside of things, but what did these changes feel as just a citizen? Additionally, I would also have liked some more history of the galaxy. This is hardly a complaint because there are two episodes entirely dedicated to in-universe history but damn it was well done and interesting. The spin-offs touch upon such past historical events a bit but well, I’ll finish watching them someday.
Information
There are two prequel movies that should be watched beforehand. Here’s the watch guide. You can watch it legally on HiDive, and if you don’t want to you know where to go. I suggest trying to watch the first movie to see if it’s your thing. Be aware it can be easy to get burnt out if you watch too much too quickly, but then if you watch too infrequently you’ll forget the finer details. Just don’t think you can watch what you want and be able to pick right back up where you were some time later.
Secondly, there is now a new re-adaptation of the novels out. The key word here is re-adaptation. It is adapting the books, not remaking the original. I haven’t read the books myself but I’m aware that the original anime did take liberties with details, though all except one major plot points are unchanged. Without also reviewing the re-adaptation, if you don’t mind the visuals of the re-adaptation it’s pretty good otherwise. Watch whichever you like first, it won’t really matter. Keep in mind that you will be waiting a long time for the re-adaptation to finish, if ever.
Conclusion
The visuals of the show convey realism while also making distinct character designs. The music conveys a sense of timelessness and grandness. The characters shows themselves as not physical manifestations of a few personality traits or a belief, but as people with beliefs and personalities. The plot is realistically created by the actions and sum of all the characters in the galaxy. Every aspect is woven together with purpose to set the perfect stage for a galactic scale epic.
9/10