“Legend of the Galactic Heroes” Week 1

Note: This post contains spoilers for episodes 1-4 of the series.

Summary: Far in the future, humanity’s reach has extended across the Milky Way galaxy. Currently, two factions are vying for control of various trade routes – The Galactic Empire, an authoritarian ruling body with incredible resources and power, and the Free Planets Alliance, descendants of humans who rebelled against the Empire’s authority. Both groups trade with Fezzan, a somewhat-independent planet that trades with either side of the conflict as it suits them.

The first couple of episodes introduce Reinhard Lohengramm, a cocksure young fleet commander of the Galactic Empire, and Yang Wen-Li, a self-deprecating but cunning tactician on the side of the Alliance. When the two opposing military fleets meet at Astarte, both of these young men prove their intelligence and command ability (despite many doubts and poor decision-making by their elders). Though the two sides are numerically unbalanced, the battle ends without either side definitively defeated (though the propaganda machines may say otherwise). This is no comfort to those affected by the many human casualties of the battle.

Yang Wen-Li returns home to planet Heinessen, avoiding what he sees as a drummed-up portrayal of his heroism. He’s forced into action when Jessica, fiancee of one of the many recent lost soldiers, calls out the Alliance leadership for their hypocrisy and becomes a target of the ultra-nationalist Patriotic Knights Corps. He manages to get her to safety, then accepts a military promotion that sends him on what seems like a fool’s errand; his orders are to guide a mere 700,000 soldiers into battle with the purpose of taking or defeating the Empire’s Iserlohn Fortress.

Reinhard also receives a hero’s welcome from the Empire, receiving a promotion giving him leadership over half of the Empire’s space fleet. Many of the longer-term military members grumble under their breath at the meteoric rise of this upstart twenty-year-old, but this is all according to Reinhard’s plan. A decade earlier, Reinhard’s destitute father sold his older sister Annerose into the Emperor’s service, and it’s been Reinhard’s intention to get her back ever since – with the help of his faithful friend Kircheis.

Thoughts: As I mentioned last week, Legend of the Galactic Heroes has been on my “to-watch” list for years. It feels a little unreal to actually have started a formal viewing of it after all this time. Even though this series has existed for around thirty years, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. I’m not the type of person who’s put-off by anime series that have a classic look and feel to them, but there’s always the nagging question of whether some elements of the story will still feel current and relevant when removed from the time of their creation.

That’s one of the benefits of the science fiction genre framework, honestly; when utilized well, its far-off settings and futuristic elements turn a mirror on the social situations that are current and familiar to us. What struck me about these episodes is that they portray two very different governments that suffer from the same sorts of corrosive and corrupting elements that can be seen in countries all over the world. The Empire glorifies war and conquest, while its richest members enjoy the privilege of safety and security far away from any actual combat. The Alliance, which feels very much based on the United States in a lot of ways, professes values of personal freedom and the ability to question leadership without consequence while simultaneously propagandizing war and allowing harmful nationalistic factions to form and fester beneath the surface. Both sides are ultimately after greater power and resources, and any idealistic goals were forgotten about long ago.

The two focal characters, despite being on different sides of the conflict, seem very similar in the way that they ill-fit their current positions. Reinhard plays things straighter on the surface, but his own goals are entirely independent of the organization he’s managed to infiltrate. His talents are well-utilized, but his actual intentions are ultimately on the small-scale and to his personal benefit. Yang’s temperament and personality lead me to believe that he’s someone whose intellectual talents just couldn’t find a home elsewhere. He isn’t buying what the Alliance government is selling, and doesn’t have high ambitions; he’d rather just lead a quiet life as a historian and put the military life behind him. Unfortunately in many cases, a person’s talents and and their desires may never intersect.

At this early point in the story, I have to say I sympathize with Yang Wen-Li a bit more, if only because he feels extremely familiar to me. He seems like someone who, through mostly coincidence, just kind of ended-up where he is now, and that really reminds me of myself (I have a Japanese degree… and I currently work in management). There’s been a push in our society for many years for people to find what they’re “passionate” about and make that their career, but the reality is that life rarely works out that way. Passions sometimes make better hobbies, and innate skills, whether expressed by chance or on purpose, are what pay the bills. In any case, as someone who seems truly uninterested in holding power, Yang is likely the perfect one to have it – so far he seems profoundly less corrupt than many people within his personal orbit.

My biggest take-away so far has been how willing the story is, through its characters, to question systems of power. Yang in particular seems very much willing to put a voice to the sorts of thoughts many of us might be having in our current world about propaganda and government posturing, as well as all the ways in which endless wars benefit a certain class and type of person while many, many more are sacrificed in pursuit abstract goals. I’ll be interested to see how Fezzan comes more into play as the story goes on, as monetary greed, the pursuit of it, and criticisms of it, are very relevant to what’s happening right now in our world.