Legend of Galactic Heroes (LoGH) is one of my favorite shows in any genre. There can be a tendency for fans of certain anime to overly praise things that aren’t that great as some kind of “too deep for you to get it” masterpiece of writing, so I was a little wary heading in to this one. It turns out that in this instance, the brigades singing a show’s praises are (for the most part) absolutely right.

Shows like this are a balm for anyone tired of the endless parade of cute girls doing cute thing shows; or tired of watching shows where the protagonist ends up being a lazy, whiny, good for nothing who just has things in life handed to him or her for no discernable reason. This is a show about galactic history being made and unmade by great men and women and the difficult decisions that accompany all such struggles.

LoGH, when approached with the right mindset, is one of the best space operas that has been put on film. While it’s not perfect (what is?), it is one of the best animated fiction stories that I’ve had the pleasure of sitting through.

There are some problems and challenges with the show, and these may end up making the show tough for some to watch, so I figure I’ll get these listed and out of the way.

1.) The artwork and animation are dated. While I don’t think that this is a show that needs to rely on flashy visuals to tell its story, this is a 30-year-old anime and shows its age.
2.) This is a dialogue heavy anime. There are a great many scenes where major characters sit around drinking, philosophizing, scheming, and occasionally bullshitting around. LoGH tells its story to you through these conversations and doesn’t rely heavily on narrative recaps or other exposition. Exposition is there at points, but this is a show that you have to pay attention to in order to understand what characters are thinking and doing. With the dated visuals and animations, this isn’t going to be a flashy style over substance show.
3.) This show demands a lot from the viewer. While I think that anyone can enjoy the show if they enjoy a space opera, the more historically educated the viewer is, the more they will get out of the discussions. (Knowing a bit of Prussian history helps a LOT with understanding the Galactic Empire for example). You aren’t going to be pandered to with nonstop flashy action sequences (see problem 2) so it’s a little tough to turn your mind off if that’s what you want to do.
4.) At 110 episodes, this show is an investment of time. While there are a lot of shows out there that go longer than this, those looking for something quick and light to watch aren’t going to find that here. This series takes its time to build up the characters, factions, history, and battles. I feel that this show is worth the investment, but some people aren’t going to like the fact that it’s going to take quite a few sessions to get through this one.

That out of the way, regardless of one’s preconceptions, if you have any serious interest in history, political philosophy, space opera fiction, music and its role in narrative, or heroic character studies, then you owe it to yourself to watch this show. As I said, this show isn’t perfect, but it’s a tour de force that becomes greater than the sum of its parts the more you dive in and invest your time. There are other shows that can do certain of the themes I mentioned earlier in this paragraph better than the way that LoGH does, but it’s very rare to find a show so well rounded and constructed that it ends up doing all of these things at such a consistently high level.

Without spoiling anything major, at a broad stroke the series is about the political and military confrontation of an autocratic Galactic Empire and a democratic oriented Free Planetary Alliance group in the major arc. There are other minor political/economic interests that have their own loyalties and diplomatic ties, specifically a nominally neutral trading alliance based between the two major factions, as well as a religious cult that operates behind the scenes and has its own agenda and goals.

What makes the show as compelling to watch as it is has a lot to do with the fact that we’re watching case studies of great men who struggle against their factions decaying political institutions. It feels like you are observing great history in the making, being along for the ride if you will, following interesting characters who very much become heroes in the classic sense of forging their own destiny and trying to remake their world and their place in the universe. There’s a bit of Joseph Campbell in here, as well as Machiavelli and the other greats of politics to deal with as well, but it’s up to the viewer to discover the themes themselves.

I think that the beauty of LoGH is that it doesn’t come right out and tell you that one faction or way of doing things is “the correct way”. Much dialogue is spent debating the merits of democracy vs. autocracy and the major players in this historical drama each have their own opinions and are well versed enough to engage in the ramifications of each system and its strengths and weaknesses.

There is also a distinct level of respect and decorum towards the other faction that harkens back to earlier times in our own history where opponents were treated with dignity and honor. This ends up doing the viewer a great service by not reducing the different sides to an obvious paragon of all that is good and virtuous, and their cartoonish villainous counterpoint who manifests all that is wrong and evil and probably kicks puppies for fun.

LoGH doesn’t seek to spoon feed you the answers or give you an obvious team to “root” for. LoGH respects your intelligence and lets you watch and make your own decisions as there are good and bad folks on each side. It also does this in a way that one doesn’t need to be versed in multiple languages to read the original works of the great philosophers and political thinkers to have an understanding of what’s going on either. The show’s dialogue ends up being presented in a way that those who don’t care about reading up on history or politics can easily follow along perfectly well. It can also be appreciated on a different level if one does understand these things as well. Even having a good knowledge of classical music and how the pieces tie in to the mood and what’s going on screen, while unnecessary to enjoy the show, will open up another avenue of enjoyment that one could explore as well. The show layers this complexity in a way that never reaches the heights of pretentiousness that some other pieces end up wallowing in. There’s little that’s shown that doesn’t end up building the narrative or fleshing out characters in a reasonable manner.

With regards to the great characters of this show, they are almost too many to list. Yang Wen-li and Reinhard von Lohengramm are great faction leaders. These are great men by deed and accomplishment, but also have realistic and somewhat tragic weaknesses that make them human and, in many ways, relatable to us. They are also the two premier military minds of their respective factions and watching their strategies unfold is great. That’s not to say that these two steal the show all the time, however. There are other great characters that all have their own development and strengths and weaknesses to work through. You’ll have favorites and those who are memorable as the show goes along. The voice acting is great and emotional, and in a dialogue heavy show like this, that’s a blessing. There are a ton of great voice actors in this, and they do a great job of making their characters and their personalities come to life.

LoGH doesn’t pander by having characters act in ways that are outside of their character (at least not very often) for plot convenience. Characters who succeed one show by aggressively attacking may end up being hoisted by their own petard in a later episode by acting in a similar way. Most of the characters follow their principles whether or not it actually leads them to the correct choice or not. Watching the chess games between people trying to outguess each other’s strategies plays out well and you get the feel of watching a giant chess match between great military generals at times, even if on occasion, you do wonder about the success rate of certain characters. It actually ends up making you think even more about what is and is not the right course of action to take in certain circumstances. Some decisions that seem like admirable adherence to principles or really smart at the time actually come back to haunt later in the series as well, adding another layer of depth to the overarching philosophical questions that are constantly raised.

There are other minor things that make the show great as well, such as the pacing and world building, which may seem slow at first, but actually works out really well by showing how the major players interact and what’s going on behind the scenes. Occasional episodes will fill you in on the history and direction of both factions, so you eventually become your own expert, and you are never wondering about the background details of the story or how things got to where they are. You understand how you got here, and where things are going. Coming from some other shows that simply exist as manga or light novel advertisements, where background information is sparse, sometimes nonsensical, or requires you to read novels, manga or wikis outside of the program to understand what’s really going on this is refreshing and makes you feel like you’re watching something where the author actually understood how to tell a complete story.

The soundtrack of classical works always ends up complementing what’s going on screen and captures the mood quite well. You’ll hear soaring themes during battles and major moments, and you’ll hear great pastoral music when characters are off in the countryside. Having a bit of knowledge of the great works isn’t necessary to enjoy the music, but students of music will smile at how well each piece of music’s theme goes along with its scene. A full soundtrack for this show would be deep and broad, as there are generally 6-10 pieces over each of the 110 episodes.

It’s been said by many that LoGH is Star Wars done right and while I don’t think that LoGH is trying to do quite what George Lucas’s series was trying to do, the statement has merit. There have been some great space operas over the years, but few are quite as thought provoking and entertaining as LoGH. Once again, this series is a must watch for anyone looking for a space opera that will stick with them and give them things to think about for years to come.

There is no perfect animated series out there. However, Legend of Galactic Heroes rightly deserves a spot in the upper echelons as a champion that transcends the medium. I can’t recommend it enough.