As the curtains rise on Legend of the Galactic Heroes, a matter-of-fact narrator guides us to an insignificant corner of the universe, where the human race is once again at war. The conflict is between an empire and a democracy, two ideological cosmic forces with no possible reconciliation, trapped in a deadlock as their frontiers remain all but silent, unmoving, inviolable. A minor skirmish is occurring as the Galactic Empire tries once again to push into the territory of the Free Planets Alliance, despite being outnumbered. What makes this battle noteworthy is not its strategic or historical value, nor the number of troops involved. What makes this battle noteworthy is two men, one the commander of the Galactic Empire’s forces, the other a commodore leading a single ship in the Free Planets Alliance’s defense. These two men have begun to draw attention, among allies and enemies alike, for their tactical prowess and their superior combat capabilities. And in the brief time we watch over the conflict in this insignificant corner of the universe, these two men at the center of our story will shape history.
Reinhard von Lohengramm was of a minor lineage until his sister found favor with the Kaiser of the Galactic Empire, prompting her departure from his life and giving him in return a chance to become a soldier who could one day rise to a reasonable rank before retiring in comfort and joining court life to live out his remaining days. Instead he swore to use that power to build an empire of his own, rising from nothing to one of the most significant commanders in the Galactic Empire, relying only on his skill, his inseparable best friend Kircheis, and his boundless ambition. Being a commander is not enough; Reinhard will not rest until both the Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance are united under his rule, and the universe is his to control.
Yang Wenli never wanted to be a soldier, but enlisted in the military to pay his way through college as a historian. Thrust into the life of the military, he found himself trapped on a planet soon to be overrun by the Galactic Empire, and as the chain of command broke down and top officials fled for their lives he was forced to take control of an entire planet of terrified civilians and soldiers. His miraculous escape, which saved them all from falling under Imperial control, catapulted him into fame and suddenly doomed him to his worst nightmare: a continued tour of service on the front lines of the war.
They are men of different stock, brought up in different environments and shaped by different circumstances, with radically different goals. For Reinhard, Yang is one of the few obstacles separating him from holding all of the many stars of the universe in the palm of his hand. Yang wants nothing but to keep the people around him alive until he can comfortably retire, regardless of what the state of the Free Planets Alliance may be. Ironically neither can fully function without the presence of the other, even when they are truly counteractive to each other’s goals. When we catch glimpses of them rid of the curse of the other, their actions convey little but undirected frustration.
But this is a true battle for the galaxy, directed not only by brilliant individuals, but by political forces, culture, history, greed, morality, and random happenstance. The narrative of Legend of the Galactic Heroes is whimsical, constantly shifting and changing based on countless forces at play, with more than a hint of randomness and human error. In the first battle alone, one of Yang’s longtime friends dies due to his ship being fired upon for reasons unrelated to him. This sets an immediate precedent for the rest of the show: the war is bigger than any individual, no matter how important they may be, and just as easily as people can survive the most unlikely of circumstances they can fall prey to the natural repercussions of war. More than just the people, even the state of a battle or the war itself can change in a matter of minutes, if the timing is right and the winds of fate change direction.
The men and women surrounding Reinhard and Yang too are colorful and unique, distinguishing themselves in both the battlefield and behind the scenes. In particular the Galactic Empire has no shortage of incredible commanders whose names etch in our minds as they resonate in the hearts of their countrymen. By the end of the show we are filled with pride and joy when we hear names such as Ironshield Muller, or the Gale Wolf Mittermeyer and his partner Oskar von Reuenthal, or even the more coldhearted and calculating Paul von Oberstein, who stands out especially to me for the way in which his absolute devotion to Reinhard’s cause transcends morality and creates a complex figure of incredible depth of character. The Free Planets Alliance has countless personnel who never rise to become national figures, but whose antics and charming personalities bring us warmth whenever we see them. No characters are lacking for depth, continuously carving out their niche in the story just by simply going about their natural lives fighting in the war.
Morality is nearly impossible to pin down in Legend of the Galactic Heroes, when both sides are receiving ample attention and validation, but also ample complication and moral ambiguity. The Galactic Empire is a monarchy led by a decrepit old man and the exclusionary court politics of older times, while the Free Planets Alliance is a bureaucratic nightmare with a worthless chain of command and empty speeches to serve as political posturing. Reinhard is forced to make difficult decisions, and sometimes chooses to assign blame and responsibility to the innocent or employ tactics involving mass civilian casualties for the sake of his personal ambition. Yang is an alcoholic with no ambition or drive, who makes life harder for those around him by unnecessarily burdening them with responsibility and offering little or no charisma or guarantee of survival in return. No one keeps their hands clean, and death is always close at hand, although more often than not it is directed by our protagonists rather than at them.
Also constantly close at hand is change on a grand scale. Despite being a full 110 episodes long, there are few if any moments that feel drawn out or stagnant, with the landscape of the war constantly changing and evolving. The war even comes to a complete end at one point nowhere near the end of the show. Characters that deserve to live die, and characters that deserve to die live, but characters who deserve to change history inevitably do, sometimes in the blink of an eye. For as insignificant as the few years of time we follow them for may seem in the course of a 150-year war, there's never a doubt that this is an era of turbulence and historical importance, one that the people present slowly grow to feel grateful for witnessing.
From writing to tactics to political science, the fundamental basis of Legend of the Galactic Heroes is flawless. Space battles that could easily be boring or unwatchable due to somewhat antiquated art are riveting and grippingly tense due to the tactical maneuvering on both sides, as if both sides were sitting at a table playing a game, but spiced up with an element of true unpredictability and chance. Elements such as the impregnable Death Star-like Iserlohn Fortress and the neutral trading planet of Phezzan force new levels of tactics and political maneuvering on both sides as they try and break the standstill these two stagnant forces hold over the war. Issues of lineage and court life are rendered perfectly alongside the more modern political quagmire of a free nation, to the point where either would seem dubious and unsustainable in light of their less favorable qualities were it not for their favorable comparison in the others.
It was recently announced that 2017 will bring a reboot of the series, possibly to upgrade the older art of this masterpiece and thus make it more accessible to modern viewers, and possibly to just see where else the narrative could go. I found that it was mere minutes into the first episode that the art dropped from my mind completely. What drew my attention more were the actual elements of the show as a story, set to a bombastic and perfectly fitting soundtrack of classical music. Possibly my favorite touch of all however, and to me a staple of all great epics, was the narrator, who impartially mediated this long-lasting conflict and announced key events in an animated but ultimately objective tone. He is the voice on which the show begins, with a reminder that war is eternal, and that this is but one of many stories to relate. But he also functions as a storyteller, and we imagine him as he brings history alive for future societies looking back on the war, whatever they may be, and however the outcome may or may not have shaped them. Through him we feel both the insignificance of this grand conflict, and the significance of these two men who struggle against one another on the galactic stage.
To call Legend of the Galactic Heroes an epic—as an extended narrated work of heroism and history—would imply that it has risen above the other works of its time, having captured in some small way the greatness of the most timeless of works such as Gilgamesh, The Divine Comedy, and Beowulf. This view is mistaken; Legend of the Galactic Heroes is no less an epic than any legendary work of old. It beautifully captures the essence of spinning man into myth, and chronicling a conflict as small as two men and as large as the universe. It is timeless, and for as long as it remains intact it will be a testament to the human spirit and its need for stories on the grandest scale. As someone who loves anime, I am moved and humbled beyond words that it exists.