Name: There are as many dreams as there are stars in the sky
Item: Legend of the Galactic Heroes
Rating: 100
Author: Kuropiko

Waifra

There are as many dreams as there are stars in the sky · Waifora

A young man sits at the command of a large fleet of ships, a tall red headed youth at his side, and allies who could be mistaken for friends at his beck and call. Opposing him is an older, albeit still quite young man, who surrounds himself with men he can trust, though you wouldn't be at fault for mistaking those people as his friends as well. Their battles are less an exchange of hatred or duty, but more an understanding of one another, knowing that if one had been born to the other side, they might have been good friends. This is the Legend of the Galactic Heroes.

Despite what many of the reviews may lead you to believe, this series isn't a pseudo-intellectual historical diatribe meant to appeal solely to people who want to look like they have "based taste", nor is it a 1/100 "worst thing evar" series. Simply put, it is a very good anime, though one that ultimately isn't for everyone. Even ignoring the massive cast and 110 episode barrier (and that's ignoring the movies and side anime), there are elements like the official subtitles, subtitles that present the series as much more antiquated, using more fanciful and romantic language, and don't even get me started on Reinhard's royal "We". My point is, Legend of the Galactic Heroes isn't for everybody, hell, if you were to somehow get a hold of my anime history, you'd see that I started this series just about a decade ago, though it took me till this year to actually sit down and watch all of it. It's this thing we humans do call "maturing" and "not killing our attention span with shitty youtube videos". I know someone will misconstrue this as me saying that you have to have a high IQ to even like this series, but that's not what I'm saying. What I am saying is that if you're forcing yourself to watch this anime, just don't fucking watch it.

Now, to actually talk about the show. Legend of the Galactic Heroes is a show like many other anime. In fact, it's a lot like the good ol shounen and mecha anime pseuds like to compare this to. It's a show about the dreams of men, the dreams of Reinhard von Lohengramm, the dreams of Rudolf von Goldenbaum, the dreams of Julian Mintz. There are as many dreams as there are stars in the sky, but it's a question of how many of those stars are merely the brief flashes of dying stars we see off in the distance, and how many are still burning passionately.

It's almost fitting that one of our protagonists, Yang Wenli, lacks any real dream. All he desires is to retire young and to read history, but such a simple dream is stifled by his homeland's hunger for war and further political power, he sees himself used as a figurehead, both in movements he does and does not agree with, yet all the same he wishes it could be someone other than him. He opposes Reinhard by being his complete opposite, a man with no desire for conquest or hunger for power, a man wronged time and again by his ruling government but doesn't share any ill will towards them. These qualities aren't there to show he is better Reinhard, but rather, another side of a coin. A casual viewer would get rightfully frustrated with how loyal Yang is to his military despite his protests, and many would probably get agitated, waiting for him to seize power like Reinhard, but Yang recognizes that is not a position for him to hold. Many people would disagree with him on that, and maybe he was wrong, but it makes for an interesting juxtaposition against Reinhard Von Lohengramm's conquests.

Reinhard himself is similarly a character that is almost fitting as a protagonist. A man with dreams as far as the eye can see, who pulls people into his orbit through his sheer will to see these dreams bear fruit. From someone as loyal as Kircheis, to someone more akin to a venomous snake like Oberstein, Reinhard commands his subordinates like he's the sun and the rest are merely the planets orbiting him. It's hard not to be enraptured by him, and eventually as the show keeps pushing forward, as the war keeps on going, the viewers themselves are pulled into his orbit, wanting to see his victory, yet also not wanting to see Yang lose.

It's in this way that Legend of the Galactic Heroes makes a battle of democracy and autocracy more than just propaganda or biased writing. By showing the flaws of both, while similarly showing them at their heights and the core ideas behind them, it creates a juxtaposition where it's hard to solely root for one or the other, the show almost becomes suffocating with how it makes the audience compare a man like Trunicht, a corrupt politician seeking to spread democracy, yes, but wanting to do it solely to have a large stake in history, to Reinhard, a man of morality and honour, who feels remorse for the actions he has taken in his pursuit of power and seeks understanding with Yang Wenli.

Ultimately, the show does answer that question, of which is better between a flawed democracy and a perfect autocracy. But, it is not my place to write that answer out, rather, it is the duty of the viewer to seek that answer out, to grasp the future with your own hands, and see the truth that lies within. I could not give this series what I would consider a good review if given a millennia to capture the ideas it holds, quantify them, and then espouse them for the general public to see. The best review of this show is contained within the show itself. I'm not saying it's perfect, or even that if you don't like it you're wrong, but what I am saying is that you should give this series a fair chance.

I'd like to thank @MiracleMajutsu for recommending me this series. He will be the one that writes the TRUE Legend of the Galactic Heroes review, one that stands above the rest. Maybe.

This last paragraph isn't an epilogue, it's just some spoiler tagged thoughts I had about an element that's around till the end of the series, open knowing that I very well might spoil the ending. This is a very rambly section as well, which is why I saved it for the end.

Spoiler, click to view

It's very fitting that the greatest antagonist isn't politicians thirsting for power, nor is it aristocrats clinging to family names. Ultimately, the one "core antagonist" of the series is, in a very Tomino move, Earth, or rather, cultists who still see Earth as the center of the universe. I find the topic of separating humanity from Earth to be very interesting (one of my recent reviews was on Zeta Gundam if that didn't tip you off), so I find it fitting that in this sci-fi age, the group that controls many elements from behind the scenes is one who still worships Earth, still worships that floating rock in the sky. I know many people don't like this subplot, think it's silly, I certainly thought a lot of it was silly in its presentation, but I find it really at home here. The series ends with autocracy and democracy meeting in the middle, a meeting between Julian Mintz and Reinhard von Lohengramm that reshapes the future, and with it the remaining Earth cultists are killed. They have ended this century spanning conflict, one that has claimed potentially billions of lives, and maybe humanity can move forward once more. In the novels, it is stated that humanity used to have a far higher population count, but was on the decline, so Reinhard's early death ushering in a new life, one that he doesn't want to be born into unearned power, is quite a poetic way for the series to end. No more aristocracy, no more corrupt politicians, and Earth is only as important as anywhere else humanity inhabits. It's almost certain that humanity will repeat its mistakes, but the narration falls onto a bit of hope here at the end. The presentation allows that final scene to be seen as either positive or negative, humanity endlessly reaching for things they can't reach, but similarly, Reinhard wanted for the same thing, and at the end of it all he achieved a positive outcome, one he could be satisfied with. Perhaps Felix will reach for the stars in a similar way. Perhaps not. So are, the dreams of men.