My appreciation for the movie has only grown after sitting on it for a little while. The opening speech about the history of man is intriguing, I’m interested to see how this same theme, also mentioned by Yang, is explored more later. Related is how the Empire seem generally disinterested in the possible resolution of the war we’re thrust in the middle of, in favour of mainly concerning themselves with their own internal politics. Reinhard seems to be concerned by a sense of futility in the battles he is made to fight in this war, commenting on how insignificant the heavily contested fortress seems in comparison to the vastness of space around it. I imagine this concern comes from a desire to conquer more of this vast space, and a frustration with his inability to do so in his current position.

Yang appears to be the only character who is actively considering a way to win the overall war presented here. Although in general we get very little background on the Alliance in this film, Yang seems frustrated by the Alliance’s inability to achieve more than small victories, and wonders why no one else seems concerned with the overall outcome of the war. I’m sure this is why his mind is apparently often on humanity’s tendency towards war, as he believes that his leaders should have ended this war a long time ago.

On that note, Yang’s character traits are immediately compelling to me, notably his seemingly cavalier and easygoing attitude. This masks what seems to be a strong dedication to ensuring the survival of his allies, as he clearly feels guilt and responsibility for the allied ships he feels he could saved in battle, even when this was completely out of his control under a stubborn commander. I like this contrast with Reinhard, who is clearly frustrated by his lack of control over the Empire’s forces. He does not, however, seem indignant or bitter at his unfair treatment by older Imperial officers, who are trying their best to prevent Reinhard’s rise to power, which they ascribe purely to nepotism. Reinhard appears to have full confidence in his ability to prove himself to these people through his actions in battle, even when he uses strategies normally too dangerous to his fleet than he would be comfortable with.

I’m excited to see the progression of these two in their respective positions. This movie provides significant background for them both, who are each shown to have significant talent in battle, and have earned the respect of their peers and subordinates, but both lack influence within the systems they work under. The climactic battle in this movie is a lot of fun to watch from a tactical perspective, and, as previously mentioned, is enhanced by the very apt soundtrack choice of Maurice Ravel’s Bolero, a piece written as a one-movement dance, which consists, for most of the piece, of different instruments playing the melody solo over the top of a militaristic marching percussion and brass section. The solo instruments play much louder over the march in the background during this section, driving the whole piece forward, and the melody they play is often desperate, and tense, as if these solo instruments are anticipating something big, and want to break free from the rest of the ensemble, but are locked into place by the steady march they play over. Towards the end of the piece, other instruments start to gradually join in with the melody as the orchestra dramatically crescendoes, up until the whole ensemble is finally playing the melody together, and the piece reaches a loud, abrupt, and somewhat unsatisfying conclusion.

Maurice Ravel - Bolero
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I hope I made clear with this description that Bolero seems to have been very deliberately chosen as the soundtrack for this battle, as it mirrors perfectly the struggles of both Reinhard and Yang during the conflict. They each understand the other’s strategy well before the rest of their fleets and superiors do, and try to counteract the impending disastrous loss, but cannot seem to make everyone else understand the traps they’re walking into. By the time everyone is on the same page, the battle is almost over, and is brought to an abrupt stalemate, with both sides sustaining major losses.

With all these things considered, I enjoyed this movie a lot, I think it’s a brilliant introduction to these characters, and I await seeing more of this world, and the progression of their conflict.