Legend of the Galactic Heroes

Space operas play a large part in defining what the sci-fi genre is all about; whether it be Star Wars, Star Trek, Dune, Gundam or Babylon 5. Legend of the Galactic Heroes, despite not garnering the same amount of popularity and notoriety, especially here in the west, deserves to be placed among said series that define the space opera and sci-fi genre. LotGH is an award-winning Sci-Fi epic that fits within 10 books, in what many would consider as one of the greatest stories ever told in anime and in all of media, and it’s a series that holds a place in my heart asone of my most highly regarded and beloved series that I have ever seen. LotGH takes place in the 36th century within our own galaxy where technology has reached a level that allows for interstellar travel, warp drives, FTL communication, terraforming, and many other possibilities that aren’t feasible with our current level of technology and understanding. In this universe, humans were able to colonize a portion of our galaxy, living around thousands of star systems. The galaxy’s human population is split into three main groups; the democratic Free Planets Alliance (FPA), the autocratic Galactic Empire, and the Phezzan Dominion, who are a neutral group. For 150 years, the FPA and Galactic Empire have been at war against each other, with Phezzan sitting on the sidelines taking full advantage of the spoils of war and manipulating both sides into continuous fighting. The three sides are based on real historical locations; where the Galactic Empire is based on 19th century Prussia, and Phezzan and the FPA are based on a more modern democratic nation. Their cultures, their architecture, and their societal structuring and hierarchy are unique, and if you’ve seen the OVA, then you’ll know exactly what I mean by that. The story focuses on the rise of two characters: Reinhard von Lohengramm and Yang Wen-li. Both characters have different visions for the future, one wants to rule the galaxy with an iron fist, whilst the other wants to carve a path towards peace. Both characters intentionally and unintentionally rise up to the top ranks of their respective militaries, leading giant space fleets into battle and fighting on behalf of their interstellar states. The journey towards the characters' goals, the way the story was written, and how the author presented the themes throughout the novels are one of the reasons why this tale of two legends is of course, legendary. The series takes a much different approach when it comes to warfare and it’s story-telling. The series focuses more on the use of tactics and what occurs in and around the chain of command from the commanders’ point of view, rather than what happens to an individual on the front lines like most other series do; think of Star Wars but mainly from the perspectives of the commanders rather than the Jedi and Stormtroopers. There are quite a few themes within LotGH, each of them dealing with different aspects of society, warfare, and terrorism; some of them playing into each other. But the main overarching theme of the series is whether or not a corrupt democracy is preferable to a fair and efficient leader in an autocracy; the debate of autocracy versus democracy. The theme of autocracy versus democracy was able to work so well because the author portrayed the characters in such a way where there are no good guys or bad guys, there’s no need for a protagonist or an antagonist in every battle, especially when you think about the number of people in each battle; they are mostly made up of normal civilians, with some good and bad individuals mixed in. When war involves tens of millions of people and hundreds of thousands of spacecraft, they are merely seen as conglomerates, merely numbers and pixels on a screen. To quote Yang Wen-li on the topic of good versus evil, "There are few wars between good and evil; most are between one good and another good." Both sides consider the other as the bad guys; it’s no different to what history books in one country portray about another country in our world. The 150-year war is like most wars that humanity has gone through in the past, which are mostly about ideals and principles. The goals of the Galactic Empire is to defeat the FPA and to take full control of the universe and rule it with an iron fist, whereas the goals of the FPA is to liberate the Empire’s people from the oppressive and tyrannical rule of the autocracy and have them live freely under democratic rule, but another issue that’s explored within LotGH is competency of leadership and governance, you have to think twice when considering the options, otherwise it could lead to disaster. The series dives in and explore these ideas as we see the changes in the governments and leadership as the series progresses and as the characters debate/talk about these issues against one another. Both the main characters, Yang and Reinhard, strongly embody their own beliefs up to the point of them holding an actual meeting and having a discussion about politics over a cup of coffee (which is the high-point of the series IMO). Since they were born on different sides, they grew up “liking the taste of their own water”, which Yang described about his preference of political systems and his love for democracy when asked by Reinhard to switch sides to the Galactic Empire, he even told Reinhard that he would gladly join him if he were born in the Empire, but that it was unfortunate that he couldn’t. There is no right or wrong answer that’s being portrayed in LotGH, which is another strong point of the series, as it’s up to us as readers to decide which set of ideals and beliefs are right and which one is wrong, or you can reject both views and choose a third option, it's entirely up to you. The series was able to accurately depict the effects a long-lasting war has on society; from worker shortage and reduced skill levels to debt, anti-war groups, POWs, and psychological effects on soldiers. Having something that frequently occurs in today’s society can allow us to quickly relate the series to real-world events and key talking issues in politics and the public. The series does an excellent job of reminding us of the horrors that comes from war. The amount of characters in this series is as immense as the OVA itself. In the OVA, there were over 300 characters that were officially voiced, forcing the producers to add subtitles bearing their names for every appearance on camera they make. In the novels there are even more characters, and a good portion of them either have a small or decent amount of development, and around 50-60 of the characters have their backstories fully fleshed out. The author took his time to create unique yet real and believable characters throughout the series. As I mentioned previously, there are no good guys or bad guys. What each character thinks of their opponents and the people living in different regions of space is entirely subjective in this series. Their views are based on their upbringings, their beliefs, and their mentality when fighting in battles. There are a wide range of characters with different morals and beliefs, ranging from nobility, their position within the political world, all the way to normal working-class citizens and those living in poverty, which reflects back to what we see all over the world. I’m a bit of a sucker for character-driven series, and it was obvious that having large amount of well-developed characters would keep me drawn in when reading the novels, and to fall in love with the series. The main cast of characters are all very well-developed, as the series took its time in diving into each character’s history and their importance to the plot and their roles and relationships among one another. They all have their own separate dreams, aspirations and motives. Reinhard von Lohengramm, also referred to as “Golden Brat” by the other nobles, was born into an impoverished aristocratic family where his father sold his sister, and by using his intelligence and abilities and help from his friend Siegfried, he was able to quickly rise up the ranks of the military as part of a vengeance-fueled vendetta. And by using his charms as a caring and charismatic leader, he was able to rally the support among the young generals, who played a key part in his goals to overthrow the monarchy, take control, and reform the Empire’s society from the top down, in order to improve the lives and welfare for the good of the Empire’s population. Yang Wen-li, also known as “Miracle Yang” and “the magician”, is an amateur historian and a pacifist who had to join the military in a scholarship in order to keep his hopes of studying and reading about history alive. Due to the incompetence of his leaders and after evacuating a planet’s population from the Empire, added with his strength of recalling historical events made him a feared and intelligent tactician that allowed him to rise up to the top of the military, despite not wanting to. His goal is to retire with a pension and read books and study history all day long, with a glass of brandy at hand. Other notable characters that I enjoyed thoroughly throughout the series would include: Reuenthal, Oberstein, Mittermeyer, Attenborough, Julian, Schonkopf, Cazelnes, Poplin and Rubinsky. LotGH’s cast of colourful and intelligent characters makes the series what it is, there are no clichés or plot twists out of nowhere, and once a character is dead, they stay dead, no matter their importance. They have dreams and goals, and when they reach the top and succeed, that is when they are considered heroes. Having seen these characters grow up as children, work their way up, form relationships and get married, we become very attached to them, which make choosing a side even more difficult, as it’s hard to hate on not just the main two characters, but everyone that works around them. I love both characters, as well as their companions and subordinates, equally. Reading the novels is comparable to reading a history book, as each event, from when humanity left earth, to the foundation of planet Heinessen, and up to current day events, is recorded down with a date and time and is presented to us as if it’s being read and narrated by an actual historian. Reading the novels is like getting an uppercut full of information by Mike Tyson, it’s that intensive and immersive of a read, and I love it. The info-dumping throughout the series was handled really well which allowed the story to smoothly flow from one chapter to the next, no detail or character’s emotion are left out that explains the current events of the story or how they feel, we are bombarded with fact after fact. Even the prologue of volume 1 is crucial to read as it provides a lot of information about the history of humanity within LotGH, which can explain why the Earth isn’t the galaxy’s center of commerce/focus of attention (which is important) and proves that the author was able to creatively think far ahead with his highly-detailed world building, which made it easier to follow the story and understand what’s going on, rather than leaving the lore of the galaxy as unknown to the reader. I’d be lying if I said the series didn’t have a flaw or two. One thing that stood out a little bit was that the series didn’t pick up that quickly until after volume 2 (or episode 26 of the OVA). However, if the series did have any flaws, it would be equivalent to a spec of sand on a long stretch of beach – that’s how much the positive aspects overshadow and drown out the negatives. This series isn’t for everyone. If you like a slow but well-paced, meticulous and very detailed Sci-Fi series, then LotGH is for you, this isn’t your typical run-of-the-mill shounen action series. I know everyone likes using this phrase but Legend of the Galactic Heroes is a series you don’t just read, it’s something you experience. This series is a masterpiece as deserves to be placed among the all-time greats of classic literature; it’s definitely worth your time reading and investing into. If you loved the OVA, you’ll love this just as much. Overall score: 10/10

If you want to throw your beret in the air and have a toast to democracy, watching the anime is a great idea, but how about reading the novel as well? As you may know, LotGH is best known for its lengthy plot that focuses on politics and war, as well as its intense focus on political philosophy, such as democratic theory, legitimacy of government, and theories involving various ideologies. The philosophy and the plot go closely hand in hand, with the latter demonstrating the importance of the former. The world-building is like an encyclopedia and the cast of characters is like a phone book. Itis a big world out there, kind of like our own in many respects. Well, probably not the part with the unrealistic space battles and all that, but you get the idea. And it is not the clear-cut Good Republic vs Evil Empire situation that you often see in space operas. Instead, both sides are portrayed in a nuanced way and developed in a manner that overturns some of the Republic vs Empire clichés as the story goes on. So you might be asking, "How is this different than the anime (or the animes)?" The main story in the OVA is almost entirely the same as in the novel, though there are some slight changes. Some scenes here and there were cut from the OVA, while a few were added from side stories or simply as anime originals. There are also lines of dialogue that were cut. For instance, some of the dialogue involving organized religion comes to mind. The newer Die Neue These is more loyal to the novel, but they still had to cut some of the narration for understandable reasons. The novel is the most comprehensive version and I feel that it conveys the intended substance in the most accurate way. What I find impressive is that the author finished this massive space opera in 10 volumes, about 200 to 300 pages each. That was enough for the entire plot, with all its twists and developments, as well as all the introspection, philosophical debates, and infodumps. How did he do it? By focusing on the relevant parts. While the plot consists of a great number of different story threads that criss-cross the galaxy, it almost never meanders into filler territory. Practically everything is relevant to the main plot in some way. Also, while the infodumps contain all sorts of useful background info and interesting context for the events, they still go through it fairly quickly. There are a few moments of exposition that were unnecessary, but for the most part the novel focuses on the relevant facts and keeps it relatively brief. For instance, it does not dwell too long on the technobabble aspects of sci-fi technology. The dialogue and narration flow smoothly and can be fairly eloquent sometimes. The novel tries to avoid the most obscure and archaic words, so it is entirely comprehensible. It isn't trying to be fully formal but not fully casual either. Sometimes it cracks jokes at the expense of authority figures and deeply-held philosophical beliefs, while sometimes it talks light-heartedly about the everyday lives of the characters. The latter still doesn't eat up too much of the pages though, and the plot can move on quickly. Well, sometimes the everyday events still manage to bring up philosophical points, so maybe it isn't quite so light-hearted. By philosophy, I mean it in the sense of explicit analytical argumentation. When people talk about fiction or life in general, they sometimes throw the word "philosophy" around with various meanings that can refer to all sorts of things. Here I mean something that is closer to academic philosophy. It isn't quite the same as in academic papers, but it is surprisingly close as far as fiction goes. This makes a big difference because it allows the characters to be more precise in their arguments. I actually think that the main point that sets this novel apart the most is the philosophy. There are many political novels out there, but most of them do not try to argue so explicitly or try to take on topics as controversial as this. LotGH does not even try to restrain itself when it comes to the flaws of democracy, loyalty to the state, adherence to tradition, or organized religion. It goes in with guns blazing. Of course, there are some problems. For instance, the space battles tactics can be unrealistic, as one might expect of a space opera. In fact, sometimes it can be a bit unclear what kinds of plans might work because we don't know all that much about some of the finer technical details. Consequently, some battle results may feel a bit arbitrary, and we end up wondering whether the winners deserve all the praise. But those are really standard problems with sci-fi space battles. In addition, some of the side characters only get limited characterization because there are only so many pages to go around. The Church of Terra gets the short end of the stick, as do some of the Imperial nobles in the first few volumes. As a result, some of them end up as somewhat generic villains. Oh, and I should probably mention that there are no illustrations aside from the front pages of the volumes, so don't expect any more of that. The political philosophy and world-building are very legit though, and many of the characters are likeable enough to be invested in. The realism is not grounded in technology but in society and the people. Despite the space fleets and lasers, many of the political developments are eerily close to what we are experiencing today.

LOGH is a gray work in its judgment. It questions and criticizes 2 main systems and discusses individual freedom and happiness in the face of this. Thus, it brings with it the selfish goals in a sea of ​​stars swallowed by the void, with several adjacent meanings, be it to perish as a supernova being the legend of the universe, to become the sun to guide the next generations, or to prove itself the pathetic black hole. who swallows the ambitions of others around him. All manifestations of selfishness that govern the laws of the universe! So, in more obvious terms, reading LOGH, it's like astory building itself as a history... This in itself explains how well detailed a worldbuilding can be. In political terms, the criticism finds itself in a controversy, as stated by chenkopff, because while the alliance demonstrates a democratic look and imposes something similar to absolutism, the empire proves to be the complete opposite of that. Of course, at first hand and without context, this seems like a very biased sort of opinion, so let me offer another counterpoint which this work also infers. After all, to support political fanaticism is to be at the mercy of feelings, ignoring logical reasoning, to a point of destruction so distant and subtle, that when looking back, carried by inertia to a park of destruction, you will no longer be able to recognize the doom, attacking those who fight for you and defending those who plan to afflict you. In this way, the exaltation of an inadequate king in the midst of his own sanctuary that he recognizes as society, there is a very great chance, even if that king who dominates him is an angel that advises life, his children will become the most fearsome imps. . LOGH represents all this in two well-designed political systems where the result of fanaticism is found in an interesting sociological study of the social strata present on each side.... A world where trusting your heart demonstrates selfish happiness, inconsistent with a member of high power who not only carries their lives with them, urgently in need of logic to protect their people And so, just talking about fanaticism, we recognize another institution that easily interferes with politics, sayings pertaining to the cult of a greater being and the gift of its omniscience, provided by its main leaders by this being. Obviously, religion Regarding the religion factor discussed here, as this work explores the mistakes of the past that were forgotten in the present and therefore are bound to be repeated, expect a more generic, or better, real political construction around the historical theme, although it should be considered that there is an absence of philosophies not about the body called church, but the poetic meaning behind its existence, is more disregarded in a world where the vastness of men and ships have already surpassed the domain of the planet to be considered the land of God Although it ends up diminishing the textual value a little, the way in which the writing intertwines cold and gray to address the political aspects of the social and religious system, manage to fill in the gaps and obtain the necessary lack of essence. In between, we have pheezan, which is similar to a conspiracy tool for the other sides of the game. In political terms that match the story, we have a good play on words that adapt to each situation faced. When sides are threatened, a subtle and diligent approach that demonstrates respect and insecurity, when sides that plan to threaten, more aggressive and disrespectful approaches with the individual in question overwhelmed by the greater mass of criticism. Obviously, this is just referring to the human complexity and great writing that intercedes with it, because if we're going to take this wordplay for negotiation terms, logh, while not a failure, is still far from success.... . By the flow of understanding the story in this story, we as readers are often put at a very high level of information, where we know almost everything and we have to test how much of the talk and bargains can deceive us... Well, at least I think this was the theory, but in addition to the exchange of information ending up being exhausting because of pleonasms, the word games are even more superficial in the question of "speak" and fallacies, there is a point that proves difficult to believe that a " messenger" really was convinced to such an obvious strategy of negotiations (Even considering desperation as a keyword, it is nowhere near enough to explain shallow negotiations, as under some subordinates of the empire in control of other lands and their fake negotiations) However, these obvious and poorly made gaps are fortunately the minority (30% error and 70% success? Also considering the ship strategies), as the flow of information is built pre-narratively, being very similar to a history book. and with its own rhetoric The characters that most manage to bring you this conspiratorial spirit are the leaders of states, where the origin narrative of the two systems found mainly in the first volume is enough for the hints present there to manifest, and only using pure logic, we can paint the disastrous scenario before it manifests itself, and probably the coolest thing about it is that we can do it precisely because of the similarity with reality, which, although it makes the script with a certain predictable significance, shows itself to be a schematized game between author X reader, where the first will try to amplify the superficial story with the use of his insane creativity, and the reader will have to get used to this tide before he takes the next boat and sinks into a sea of ​​surprises. From this conspiratorial tone, the writing becomes an illusion of synonyms, where the smallest gaffe becomes the main difference to resolve the question, welcome understanding and distance oneself from the war. It looks like a crazy political campaign where, apart from the gaffes, if the election is concluded for this damn democratic actor, one of the most fallacious governments of all will be concluded. And even more... Sometimes the script gathers all this flow for a logical conflict in metalinguistic function. For greater description, think of a native war between a detective and a criminal who will still carry out his terrorism..... For us, a good portion of information is revealed about the enemy's plan, while the detective's vision is precisely to use of his experience and ancient historical crimes to premeditate the catastrophe In short, it is the author demonstrating his historical inspirations for the strategy created, while leaving a small gap not included for other historical facts to fill it, sometimes creating good twists with the gap, or being predictable by the knowledge already disseminated by most And so, we return once again to the negative point of LOGH, its strategies! As I've gone on a long way, I'll try to summarize this part more......... For this reason, in general, I really think it does a decent job in this regard, but it should be noted that while pure logic, LOGH gets it wrong most of the time , however, in intersection with fiction and world construction, it turns most mistakes into successes (Kircheis' achievements with the "Zephyr particles" are a good example of this.... It would be easy too, but for the technology cheesy {I'll explain this point later}, it's an error of logic, even with the support of fiction) So, these flaws in LOGH strategies for the most part can be described as an average chess player playing with the bot in easy mode, as an opponent. In short, few strategies are complex or functional enough, as it is usually a cluster of convenience with some logical aspects there to camouflage its superficiality. If it were a simple game between chess amateurs it would make sense, but let's say the logic department reduced to a point that the lack of complexity becomes convenient enough for others to swallow The bot knows that it will get a checkmate, it should know how to avoid this, but even so, it doesn't, because of its initial configuration... This is the military pride contained in LOGH's military strategies, which take for themselves one of the lazier battle clichés, though, real one way or another (as long as they're not used too often) Miserable pride results in the underestimation of the enemy's logical field, where strategists appear completely incompetent and incongruous with their position. Some make sense because they were put there for bureaucratic and political merit, not meritocratic, but many others who should have a history of victories behave with cold and calculating eyes, when in fact it's just a bunch of bullshit who faithfully believe in convenience, because, they are hardly allowed to see correctly the geopolitical and economic side of the opposing side, even if they are often obvious (As of volume 5, these cases become VERY rare, but even so they occur, mainly for secondary strategists, and even , to Yang, Reinhard, and Reuenthal, as the example of certain pathetic and obvious trusts going wrong) It seems much more a vow of faith, than a serious dialogue between high-ranking members... This uncertain decision so surely falls much more to the sameness of the empire "VIVA TO KAISER" than the incongruities of the alliance (some perceived by the author himself, and others do not) And, to finish the strategy line and move on to the next one.... Although it's my criticism, most of LOGH's strategies are still good for their narrative creativity and historical reinterpretation in a crazy space adventure where the loredump are overloaded in a way interesting until they explode in the flow of information, like keywords that are linked in an anagram to solve the mystery of the strategic problem For the characters, I will only talk about the 5 that for me are the ones that took care of my heart...... Yang Wen-li: A contradiction machine and a powerful philosopher, mainly responsible for gray analysis and even character reinterpretation of how the story is told....... His past incongruities such as his lack of commitment and laziness in saving others, although he spoke faithfully about how he should do it, they are actually led to conclude the inconsistencies of the present, as a kind of "negative + negative = positive", where their tiredness and slowness were the result of not being able to stand their sins creeping on your back, standing still until vengeance finally comes. Sometimes, darker thoughts stemming from his "detailed laziness" even encourage anarchic thoughts, having to not only be afraid of his sins that made it difficult for him to proceed, but also afraid of where his feet really wanted to take him, the fear of oneself and finally, the search for redemption in the midst of a stellar void Julian Mintz: Initially little is thought positively about him, since he seems to be a copy of other characters about his teachings, however, later on he proves not only a translator, but a decoder. When he turns 18, he finds the coldest universe there is, space freedom without the star that guided his path, but that's exactly why his character is so interesting. Paul Von Oberstein: This man isn't exactly what you'd call unpredictable, as he doesn't seem to have given in to insanity or simply his logic isn't overly complex and planned. Even so, he carries with him a huge betrayal tension, where almost everything that happens in the empire, seems to be part of some involvement of him, although some don't even make that much sense....... Yes, those soulless gray eyes that they resounded with his cloak that was not drowned in either black or white. A man who found his love in logic, so...... "Give the chicken to the dog" Oskar von Reuenthal: Known as the proudest man in the universe, always looking to renew his limits. The same one who wanted someone else to wish for his life, that someone is really proud of his coming into the world, but already distorted and without a happy childhood played by his parents at random, he had to be proud of himself and the things that he did, because the moment he continued to take repeated steps backwards, it would no longer be pride, it would be disappointment, the possible thing to end his life right there. However, in an unequal world, defeat is mostly a form of learning, but for those proud enough to explode life stars in their hellish advance towards the sun, losing is the same as dying... What an irritating paradox, but that's probably why this man is such a good character! When he found his son and then realized that he wanted for his life, the man found the peace he despised so much, because what he always lacked was the kindness of loving. Reinhard von Lohengramm: The most ambitious man in the universe, Like a gale at the center of the world that allows others to rise, whether to decline in the face of gravity or the discovery of new lands, eliminating understanding to the next when faced with their own selfishness, eliminating your compassion to acquire domination. Your problem is in differentiating your mind from your heart, since one of them has already been killed. It's probably the character with the most wordplay, to mask the predictability of his character a bit without too much trouble figuring out early on. So, when forced to atone for his sins with those icy eyes, the heat of war, shown once again before his eyes, but without the protection of a ship or other bodies together…… A carved ice sculpture by the artistic ways of the minds of others, but only with the heat to melt himself, Reinhard will be able to mold himself with everything he has learned so far So, if I could sum up LOGH's conspiratorial plot and its philosophy in one sentence, it would be that the difference is that before the media deceived. Unfortunately, today it is people who want to be deceived, because it is the endless battle between the mind VS the heart..... Because it has always been easier to follow a group with the same ideals than yours, than to pursue the right and the Justice With the end, it was born again in me, probably one of the most empty and at the same time hopeful feelings I've ever felt, as well as all the contradictions of a war where the only winner is the god of death and iron-scented wine. A resolution that does not imply truth or lies, but simply for the convenience of the side that survived. There is no end to the war, there is only an interval until a new one begins. And yet, should we keep the faith? Not exactly, because it's not hope... It's not naivety..... It's not cruelty It's just another side of the coin There are two faces that must be considered... In the midst of despair, there is no reason in logic without faith, and in this, there is no hope in faith if there is no logic, even if it is comparative. That's why it's not running away from reality, it's facing it in the most powerful way possible, until hope and despair collide at a point that only the effort, laziness, luck and misfortune of the man on foot remain. And, amidst a whirlwind of emotions similar to a storm, a man wanders to another universe that could contain his ambitions, a pendant he would no longer need, for now, he would find the real man responsible for supporting him in the world. If it is the duty of the living to honor those who have worked for us and gone, it is the duty of the dead who have yielded to the twinkling of the stars to support the ideals of the living. Thus, a new era opens for new deeds, as they never followed a legendary dynasty because they believed in it, because a system focused on its creation in just one person, will never be more important than the one that made them triumph, and finally, heaven itself. recognized this (storm), in the midst of all the people's anguish, stealing all the sunlight and stars of the universe, man disappeared leaving darkness behind. So, who will be the new legend to ignite the galaxy's flame again? STORY: 9 (Arc 1: 7.5, arc 2: 8.5, arc 3: 9.0 and finally, arc 4: 9.5) CHARACTERS: 8 (I love the main characters, but I hate many secondary characters that boil down to the pathetic CHAD full of clichés. For more information, here is a tier list about the characters https://tiermaker.com/list/anime-and-manga/ginga-eiyuu-densetsu-125462/3249554) ART: ???? (It's going to take your ass! I ended up reading this in pdf, without the illustrations, just the covers, so I saw very little about it) ENJOYMENT: 7 (Look, it's just opinion, so damn this part) Finally, I drop to my knees in reverence for work, still questioning what is worth more? A democracy full of corrupt people, or a dictatorship in unison for good? Surrounded by pessimism, I realize that the answer is obvious, but not hopeful, because in a world of corrupt, democratic rules are the limit of respect for humanity, and similarly corrupt, absolutism is the final sentence to become a devil. With gray eyes, I see the sky, because on the whole, amidst a vastness of stars lost in history, "the deeds of men, remain the same" EXTRA: I ended up forgetting to explain about certain technological issues and about its connection with EL FACIL....... Probably something that made LOGH age very badly was the advancement of technology in our reality... Because of this, recordings of screen and audio resolution have become great means of leverage and bribery in the exchange of information, terms absent in most LOGH conflicts. Not that it would solve all the problems or most of them, but some of them certainly, mainly the more conspiratorial ones of persecution between the 3 sides of the information flow, like traitors, informers or simply a stroke of luck in finding the fanatical leader of a cult. amidst a crowd of daydreams As stated earlier, it's just a few cheesy and funny situations in the change of innovations that make a little mockery of a man's creativity, and even then, the author did very well exploring other subjects covered at the time, particularly in the broad political arena where it practically becomes a work of art in contrast to the great logic approached........... I think that, just as an afterthought, it really takes a lot of care and luck to approach a futuristic work like "star wars" " without getting lost in its own theme

It's no easy feat to make ten novels so consistent in quality, but Legend of the Galactic Heroes never seemed to dip in quality for the three years over the course of which I read through this series. The whole series is written in a way that feels like a recording of historical events with bits of commentary added in from a historian's perspective. This commentary also isn't shy about foreshadowing future events to build a sense of dread in the reader which really made things more interesting for me at least. This series also has a way of writing character deaths in a really coldand objective way that hits brutally hard. It's not shy about criticizing characters' actions and noting multiple historians' opinions on certain events which is interesting and encourages the reader to make their own opinion on the characters and their actions throughout the course of the story. The scale of the story is also huge and covers a lot of the political aspects of the various wars that occur over the course of the story. At first I had a hard time following the political aspects of the story, but I did come around and eventually found them to be extremely interesting and thought provoking. The scale of everything definitely makes it hard to follow at first because there are so many characters to keep track of at first and some have similar enough names that I found myself confusing many characters together, especially among the admiralty in the Imperial Navy. But this problem got lessened as I got further into the story and more familiar with each character as a result, so it's more a barrier to entry than a major issue if you ask me. I really like how the characters all feel human and all have their own flaws to go with their strengths, this makes them all more interesting than most other stories could hope to have. Some characters make massive mistakes and some characters die without realizing their goals and ambitions, and things like these make the plot fascinating to follow and kept me guessing what was going to happen next on top of hurting my feelings at certain parts. Legend of the Galactic Heroes has very little to fault, I'm shocked to look back on the series and realize that once I got behind the politics of the story, there was never a boring part of the series. It feels super unique and definitely earns its ten novels of length to the grand epic that is its story. The only warning I have for people interested in it is that it may take some time for them to get into it like it did for me due to my initial confusion following the politics and the massive roster of characters. It's also worth noting that the ending is one of the most satisfying endings to any story I have ever experienced, and I would like many others to get that same feeling I did when I finally finished reading the last page.