Spoilers ahead for Legend of the Galactic Heroes up to episode fifty-four.

Yang's defeat at Vermilion was cruel and unfair; perhaps this is similar to the feeling of the Dolchstoßlegende, though in Yang's case it's less a myth, more a reality. If this was not, so far, an exquisitely balanced and many-faceted story I'd be throwing it - figuratively - at the wall right now, but, because it is an exquisitely balanced and many-faceted story, Yang's cruel defeat was the result of prompt and heroic action on the part of Hildegard von Mariendorf.

I think her decision to disobey Reinhard by intervening to save his life boils down to a recognition that, from the point of view of history and also his friends (if he has friends), Reinhard's capable of acting like a perfect idiot for the sake of personal satisfaction. (Insert sentence describing Yang's tendency to act, from the point of view of history and his friends, like a perfect idiot for the sake of democratic ideals here.) Anyhow she (and my inner characterisation fiend 'shipper) are rewarded with the sight of Reinhard not being entirely sure what to say! admitting personal failings! asking for time to compose himself! It's just like watching Itazura na Kiss, I tell you.

I notice that Reinhard gets to put the crown on himself. Who, if anyone, gets to crown an emperor is something of a vexed in European history. Popes are, however, nowhere to be seen in Legend of the Galactic Heroes.

So far, the priests we have seen have spent most of their time planning nefarious things, though the show hasn't revealed quite what things. I'm rather amused by the unambiguously evil portrayal of the Terraist cult: whenever they appear on screen they make things worse (as with their protection of Job Truniht when Bucock was about to kill him) and the cult leaders take style tips from Palpatine. But then the Legend does have characters for whom we're meant to feel little or no sympathy - Truniht's a good example, as are the reactionary aristocrats defeated earlier in the story by Reinhard - so this is really par for the course.

Siegfried Kircheis

Siegfried Kircheis

Kircheis is an officer serving in the Imperial Fleet. He is a close friend to Reinhard von Lohengramm. During the Astate encounter he serves on Lohengramms flagship, the Brünhild.

Loyalty is about Deep Love.
Just what is loyalty?

Fred Reichheld in his book, The Loyalty Effect, defines loyalty as the willingness to make an investment or personal sacrifice to strengthen a relationship.

Loyalty and Ethics

Plato originally said that only a man who is just can be loyal, and that loyalty is a condition of genuine philosophy. The philosopher Josiah Royce said it was the supreme moral good, and that one's devotion to an object mattered more than the merits of the object itself.

Lao Tzu's take on loyalty:
"When people lost sight of the way to live
Came codes of love and honesty,
Learning came, charity came,
Hypocrisy took charge;
When differences weakened family ties
Came benevolent fathers and dutiful sons;
And when lands were disrupted and misgoverned
Came ministers commended as loyal."

In a functioning democracy a majority of people can change the leader after some interval of time. If that majority is stupid or malevolent, well, you're fucked.*

Someone did do something about bad leaders, as soon as someone with the balls appeared. Reinhard usurped the throne. Reinhard acknowledged that it was the duty of his subjects to rebel against his dynasty if the they thought they could lead better, whereas Yang took incompetent orders because he was too much of a coward to take responsibility for the galaxy's destiny.

Anonymous 06/25/08 @4chan

* (for example : Think B.U.S.H.)

Statue of Emperor Rudolf von Goldenbaum ~ Golden Wings

Kaiser Reinhard, leading creator of Imperial Hip Hop wave

:D

Legend of the Galactic Heroes's opening two episodes of space warfare made it clear how the series' military confrontations look and broadly function: fleets line up and manoeuvre, space fighters are sent in and beam weapons are fired en masse. Interestingly, because both sides' spaceships are submarine-shaped, they're much easier to hit from the side than from head on, so whenever we see a fleet taken in the flank the results are literally explosive.

Given the show's compelling heroes and the gripping political upheavals, I did not expect much variation on this theme. Writing about the show before I remarked on how gently the spaceships were introduced and established, so I gave up hoping for eye-popping spaceborne action. Trust the Legend, then, to blow me away with a multi-episode battle-stravaganza, only enhanced by the usual liberal helpings of human drama and political machination.

How awesome is the Death Star? Very awesome. I know that, you know that and indeed your mother knows that too (I asked her yesternight). The Legend (and the original novels were written in the early Eighties) takes the Death Star concept of a big, spherical fortress with a huge laser and - true to form - gives it its own unique spin (ah-ha). The sea of liquid metal as an outer shell allowing friendly ships to pass through and carrying floating gun turrets isn't just a cool concept: it also makes for wierdly beautiful spheres of shining metal in space. That's not the best thing, though.

Apparently, the Lord of Mordor sees all.

'The best thing, and the thing that clearly distinguishes the Legend from Star Wars, is the very fact that there isn't just one of these fortresses. They're evidently unusual but not unknown, as the previous siege of Geiersberg during the Lipstadt conflict established (I now realise it was setting us up for this larger battle). Furthermore, as one of the Empire's admirals points out, Schaft's plan isn't an out-of-the-blue technological development but a logical progression: with a fortress like Iserlohn in your way, it makes a kind of sense to bolt lots of engines onto your own fortress and try to fight fire with fire.

The Legend can go for episode after episode without any violence - on a human scale - at all, but when the axes are handed out things get quite bloody, quite fast. This is the mark of violence which is graphic yet not gratuitous. (Black Lagoon's violence is both, while Seirei no Moribito's is neither; Bleach is bloody but not especially graphic, yet extremely gratuitous - it's heartily enjoyable sword-porn.) Or, to put it another way, the violence is bloody because real violence is really bloody, rather than because the animators wanted a sanguinary money-shot every episode. I said 'quite bloody, quite fast', because 'speed' and 'red' are the two key words to describe the Legend's martial encounters. The impact of speed imparts shock - and this is where it is similar to Seirei no Moribito - and so does the flow of blood.

Of course, a viewer such as myself is perfectly capable of enjoying the violence as though it is gratuitous.

This particular battle's own close-combat encounter, between everyone's favourite bred-from-the-genes-of-Chirico-Cuvie shock troops, the Rosenritter, and enemy boarders, is especially speedy because both sides are mounted on what can only be described as space-bikes. The sudden clashes between the two sides as they raced over the molten surface of Iserlohn reminded me of the way Malory describes (in a rather stylised way) tournaments - which is fitting, given that these are the Rosenritter. Then there's the way the gouts of blood from the casualties freeze as they spill out into the cold, unfeeling vacuum of space. (I apologise; I must be feeling poetic today.) These guys always bring me the best violence. (Poetic and geekily referential.)

Moving up in scale somewhat, these fortresses' presence in this battle also allows for some exciting fleet tactics, with fleets sallying in and out of Iserlohn and at one point chasing each other around its surface. The siege as a whole reminded me rather of the Battle of Alesia, although Kempf is certainly no Caesar, which may be why he loses. Iserlohn is Yang's home, and this was really Yang's battle: it's sway was decided by his absence and then his presence. It was also his pupil Julian who made the crucial suggestion which lead to victory, and his 'Guest Admiral' Merkatz who executed Julian's plan, vindicating Yang's work as an adoptive father and his decision to trust the Imperial defector. And it was (yet) another telling comment on the series' two governments that Yang was absent because he'd been hauled home by politicians who feared his power (perhaps rightly - I have yet to watch beyond Episode 34), while Reinhard was absent because he didn't want to be associated with the campaign if it failed. Lohengramm's advantage indeed.

Anime, in my experience, is not exactly bursting with massive battles. It could be the effort required to animate them, or the competing attractions of personal, heroic violence, or some reason beyond my comprehension. At any rate, I consequently treasure those moments - frequently when a long show is drawing to a close - that action on a vast scale erupts. Hence, in part, my affection for Char's Counter Attack, which gets down at the very beginning to the kind of battles which usually appear only once per fifty episodes of Gundam (hooray for feature film budgets). Hence, too, my ecstatic reaction to the clash between Iserlohn and Geiersberg: it doesn't get much better than this.

Fanatic Terraism

Terraism is a fanatic cult, which claims that humans should go back to Earth (Terra).

The Earth cult was a diabolical secret society which emphasized that humans should all return, by all means necessary, to their home planet of Earth and reestablish its fame as the capital of the universe.

Terraists are adept at sneaking members of the cult in both armies to plot assassinations, in particular into the Imperial Navy. The most famous and successful attempt was the assassination of Admiral Yang Wen-li :( , who was the Commander-in-Chief of the remained republican forces of the Iserlohn fortress. They would also make numerous attempts on the life of Kaiser Reinhard von Lohengramm :(, although these would be foiled by various means :). In retribution, Kaiser Reinhard would order the destruction of their temple on Earth, which was unknowingly aided by a group of undercover Alliance officers.

See Also : For people who still don't know Heldensagen Vom Kosmosinsel : LoGH Episodes 1-15: Spoiler-Free Commentary by Animanachronism

Walter von Schenkopp defeating Death.

Legend of the Galactic Heroes is too long to write neatly tied-together essays on while you're still watching the early episodes. In fact, so much happens in just the first fifteen that for the first time in my (admittedly short) blogging life, I could actually use some episode summaries - and there aren't any, of course. I should write some, but it would be boring and I wouldn't be very good at it. In lieu of that, I offer you some sweeping commentary which is generally spoiler-free since I hope that I might persuade others to give this classic a try, and because anything I write further into the series will probably be spoiler-laden.

I: Legendary Binary Stars

The remark which gets into the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.
[Note also the use of shadow to make Reinhard's face look like a mask here - the mask of rhetoric?]

An opposed pair of characters is nothing new for storytelling, just as binary stars are surprisingly common in the visible universe. Aeneas has his Turnus, Amuro has his Char, Lelouch has his Suzaku - for that matter, Kouchi has his Kazuki. Contrasts are a great way to make a point (they may also be how language is built, but time presses). But, leaving Kimikiss aside, Aeneas, Amuro and Lelouch are the heroes - big stars - while Turnus, Char and Suzaku are smaller celestial beings. This is not to say that the bigger star is always in the right, or even always more popular, but the story does focus on him or her. Legend of the Galactic Heroes stands out not simply because it has stars orbiting each other, but because it has two stars of almost equal mass, even if they they look very different.

Even better, the ninth and tenth episodes of the Legend, while good on their own, seem to be set up as a binary pair too. Each episode is a vignette in the life of one of our stars, laying groundwork and filling detail about their respective worlds. The subtle touches that I noted previously are still operating - so, for example, Yang can hail a generic, unmanned auto-taxi with a contactless credit card while Reinhard's friend and aide Kircheis operates a tricked-out baroque laptop inside a chaffeured car (apply this contrast to their respective societies) - but we also have some broad brushstrokes added to our understanding. We learn about the political factions within the Empire and the Alliance, and the way that both nations function. We also learn more about our heroes' histories; I must say I love the mournful irony of a man who wished to study history being forced to make it.

It's a rare and rarefied pleasure to be presented with two episodes of anime which almost demand that you read each one through the lens of the other.

II: Legendary SF

The remark which doesn't get into the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.

While the Legend has the politics and intricacy which you might associate with 'hard' science fiction, its technology is actually rather soft. Tanaka (the original novelist) evidently knows how to construct a world (he does, after all, have a doctorate in literature from a rather prestigious university) and he seems to have chosen to avoid focusing too closely on the technology. So the Legend has thus far been careful to avoid revealing hard facts and figures about, for example, the mechanics of its space travel: we can deduce that faster-than-light travel exists but - in the best traditions of space opera - the story simply says 'they move fast, deal with it and listen to what I'm about to tell you about this battle'.

[While we're on the subject, allow me to recommend this 'Scale of Sci Fi Hardness'. Not only does it give a good approximation of the whole 'hard vs. soft' spectrum, but it's an anime (guess which) which is the hardest thing on the list at the moment.]

Hard sf can be quite convincing if you read it (or watch it) at the time it's produced. The irony is, of course, that because it's rooted firmly in Science^(tm) it frequently ages faster than soft sf and winds up looking quite dated, quite quickly. Soft sf tends to be fairly future-proof by virtue of the very wildness of its premises, unless the creators tie it to some definite date (doing so in the title, as in Space: 1999, doesn't help - while we're on the subject, I'll note that said show must be one of Otaku no Video's most obscure allusions). I'm beginning to think it's unfair to pigeonhole the Legend as simple space opera (and not all space operas are especially soft sf: Firefly), but it has a strong streak of space opera in its makeup, perhaps especially in the way that it draws very overtly on present and past societies for inspiration. I'm reminded that Ishiguro also directed SDF Macross.

III: Legendary Spaceships

This plays out in Kato's design work, which is (I suspect) aimed at achieving a certain 'look' rather than anything too realistic. (The closing episodes of Gurren-Lagann are a deliciously extreme example of this sort of decision: apparently, the action sequences happen on such a large scale that - light travelling at the speed it does - it would be impossible to actually see them.) We're firmly in telegenic Space Is An Ocean territory, so spaceships have bridges with what appear to be panoramic windows, and rows of missile tubes mounted at the bow. Besides these tubes, there's also something submarine-like in the general cast of the spaceships as long, thin containers for travelling in a hostile environment. (Although from reading The Ship I know that surface warships have been built with torpedo tubes in the past.)

In fact, as with the mechnics of the show's faster-than-light travel, the spaceships have so far been kept at arm's length. Spaceship design is one of the ways to quickly tell the viewers things they need to know about your factions: compare Zeon's spindly, futuristic Musai-class light cruiser with the Federation's Magellan-class battleship, which is a twentieth-century naval ship given a touch of the Escher treatment. In the Legend, however, the two sides' warships resemble each other quite closely from the outside.

Where the Legend's two fleets differ is not so much in their external details but in the internal layout and decor of their ships - the places where the humans are. The Alliance has recognisably modern-day bridges to go with its modern-day uniforms, while the Empire has startlingly wide open spaces, neo-classical columns and circular daïses, so that its bridges are a cross between a throne room and Delphi's famous Tholos.

IV: Legendary Relevance?

The twelfth episode of the Legend consists mostly of conversation. About the most visually exciting thing that happens is, if my memory serves me correctly, a brief helicopter ride. This episode was thrilling, however. After ruminating about this for a little while, I decided that the key factor might be that tricky word, relevance. The twelfth episode revolves around the Alliance's decision to launch a massive offensive, a decision which is politically motivated and decided by a majority vote of the Alliance's cabinet. It's then revealed that the plan for the invasion was itself drawn up by an ambitious and eloquent staff officer, Fork, who has his eyes on promotion. Much of the military is unhappy with the plan, but they feel that there's little they can do, beyond voicing their doubts in private planning meetings, because they are dutiful.

As someone who spends (possibly too much of) his time worrying about democracy, politics and the military, this kind of thing is where the Legend clubs me on the back of the head and drags me away to its lair. The study of honourable and dishonourable political campaigning in the tenth episode was similiarly fascinating. I didn't originally have a question mark after 'Relevance', but thinking about this has lead me to decide that relevance is very much in the eye of the beholder. It must be: after all, while the intersection of political and military power is a perennial problem of crushing importance, the number of words written (even in jest) on loneliness, and the amount of anime devoted to profiting from it, suggest that said state of being is a bigger concern.

[Yes, I am trying to persuade you to watch it by hinting that it's the preserve of anime fans who have managed to grow up. Underhand, positively Machiavellian tactics, and probably useless now I've pointed it them to you, but in this case the ends justify the means.]

Comment about Heldensagen vom Kosmosinsel (Ginga Eiyu Densetsu/Legend of the Galactic Heroes)

I watched it just recently. It was literally epic.

It was incredibly believable. there were no cheap plot devices, even the terraists and the phezzan leadership were never reduced to deus ex machina "just as planned"-elements. all political, strategical and tactical decisions made by the multifaceted characters had coherent and believable consequences. It was really refreshing (and it's quite sad that i have to use attributes like "refreshing" when talking about anime from the 80s) to see such a realistic depiction of warfare in a visual medium. There was no beamspam jesus or lightsaber swinging ubersoldiers single-handedly winning wars and weapons weren't reduced to being mere plot devices. I could go on here.. anyway, I was really surprised. I expected a japanese star wars clone and got something so fucking epic. I won't be able to enjoy other science-fiction anime as much after having seen this gem, but I still thank you, anonymous, for showing me the light.

Anonymous 03/25/08 @4chan

Judging by the few episodes I've seen (how's this for rushing to conclusions?) Legend of the Galactic Heroes is epic in scope and subject - and title: in its English rendering, 'Legend', 'Galactic' and 'Heroes' all convey the scale of the show. This isn't the debased 'epic' bandied around on imageboards. This is the real deal. It may be the first time I've encountered an anime which has seemed truly Virgilian - I'd say Homeric, but I think in its awareness of war's victims, its solemn stateliness and its focus on empire(s) the Legend is much closer to the Aeneid than the Iliad.

One of the interesting things about epic is that, despite the massive size of their canvas, epic poets don't usually lose the poetic eye for detail which we're accustomed to in the lyric tradition of shorter poetry. Take, for example, this description of two extremely minor characters defending the Trojan camp in the tenth book of the Aeneid:

Pandarus and Bitias, sons of Alcanor of Mount Ida, had been brought up by the wood nymph Iaera in the grove of Jupiter and they were built like the pines and mountains of their fatherland. So sure were they of their weapons that they now flung open the gate that had been entrusted to them by their leader's commands, and took it upon themselves to invite the enemy to come within the walls. . . . They were like a pair of tall oaks by a flowing river, on the banks of the Po or by the lovely Adige, holding their unshorn heads up to the sky with their high tops nodding in the breeze.

(trans. David West)

As you can see, I actually had to cut some of that, but what we have left serves my purpose. Pandarus and Bitias aren't just 'like oaks'. Virgil's simile conveys oakiness, playing on their origins (brought up by a wood nymph), but also a sense of movement in the 'high tops nodding in the breeze' and a hint of the brash hubris that leads them to disregard orders and throw open the gates in the image of oaks 'holding their unshorn heads up to the sky'. Furthermore, 'unshorn' hints at the possiblity that they may become 'shorn' oaks - and indeed their rashness in letting the enemy in doesn't work out very well for Pandarus and Bitias.

That is, as they say, another story. You're here to read about the Legend, not me meandering on the subject of Virgil's truly epic win. But what I wanted to demonstrate is the power of detail, even within something as vast as a one-hundred-and-ten episode OVA. And, although detail works very differently in anime (for an epic poet, it's a case of taking a simile and extending it - forever), the Legend contains subtle touches which are equally powerful.

Consider the two scenes featuring Jessica Edwards in the second episode. The first one, in which she learns of her fiancé's death, is a very fine scene all round - the use of the piano is downright brilliant (and the piano is used again in connection with loss in the fourth episode) - but I'd like to highlight one tiny and significant detail. When Jessica walks to the telephone, we've guessed that she's going to try to find out whether her fiancé's alive, and we expect her to dial a long number. But she dials 0 twice. Why is this so significant?

Well, this drives home just how used to war - built around war - the state she's living in is. If you want the Official Military News Bureau, you just press 0 twice. It's that central to the communications system. Just for contrast's sake, I have to dial a button three times to get the emergency services. On Heinessen, it's easier to get hold of the people who tell you that your loved one is dead than it is for me to get hold of a fire engine in real life. (As it turns out, you get Heinessen's fire service by operating your personal fire hose, but that too is another story.)

As for the second scene? Very simply, Yang's quiet observation that the graves we see don't have 'anyone's remains in them'. We're left to fill in the gap he leaves unfilled because it's obvious (to him): the graves are empty because most people who die in this conflict die in the uncaring and utterly lonely vacuum of space. It hits you with the same force as Virgil's matter-of-fact description of Andromache

pouring a libation to the ashes of her husband Hector, calling on his shade to come to the empty tomb, a mound of green grass on which she had consecrated two altars. There she used to go and weep.

Why are there two altars? Virgil doesn't bother to say at this point - his audience already knows - but it's because Andromache's son is dead without a grave too.

Here's another nice, if unoriginal, touch: perhaps playing on Jessica's appearance at sunset in the previous episode, the third episode puts the sun behind the PKC thugs, thus outlining them in blood(red). As with the telephone call scene, this whole sequence is handled brilliantly, from the way that the PKC are only gradually revealed (first just the noise of their steps, then their feet, then their skull-masks) to the cutting of the music which accompanies their arrival to be replaced by their humming of the national anthem. All this pomp is undermined later in the episode, when they're driven away from Yang's house, his quick thinking leaving them looking like buffoons. (One thinks of the thin line dividing farce and horror in the rise to power of certain famous leaders: you can see the Beer Hall Putsch reflected in the Reichstag Fire Decree, and vice versa.)

There is so much more to say about the Legend, a series so good that you can forget you're watching low-quality VHS-ripped fansubs. I've focused on little elements, but there are broader 'looks' or aesthetics to be tracked too. On the largest scale, the opulence of the Empire and the austerity of the Alliance are a sharp contrast, but there are different kinds of austerity and opulence (contrast Yang's house with the room where Truniht made his Periclean funeral oration). There's the mechanical designs too, and the characters, the plot, the . . . yeah, I'd better stop now.

Blogiography

• Iniksbane used the Legend as a starting point for some thoughts on anime adaptions of novels.
• Here's Bateszi's 'Isn't the Legend awesome?' entry, complete with me being inspired in the comments.
• You can read KT Kore's 5/5 review of the Legend here.

And it's KT Kore's review where I found this 'glorious spoiler-free trailer'. Turn up your speakers for the full impact of its bombastic classical music . . .

Logh - ep 40

Legend of the Galactic Haruhi 2nd season OP

:D

Well, many many months ago (August 2007, perhaps) I watched the first episode of this series.  I've finally decided to try another episode.  I'm really hoping that this is just some sort of crash course into the series and that they don't plan on every episode being like the opening two, or this is going to be one heck of a long 110 episodes.

There is a very grandiose feeling to this series that's completely laughable (at least at this time.)  This also goes into the portrayal of death of characters that have only been known for the past two episodes (so the extreme attention feels weird).  I'm hoping this is supposed to make people feel the true impact of war, but the extremeness of it all (a million casualties?) makes it almost too far-fetched to really comprehend and therefore get into.

That said, I really do like the character designs.  They're well-detailed and very attractive.  I'm looking forward to seeing more of AnneRose, as she's voiced by Han Keiko (Luna!), and I'm hoping character interactions will be more important than giant chess-like battles.

For the time being I'm going to allow myself to MST the series as I watch until it turns into something I enjoy on its own merits.

Yang Wen-li:
"Sono convinto che un'ideologia, vista da un'altra prospettiva, debba suscitare una contro-ideologia."

Reinhard von Lohengramm:
"Perciò, nessuna ideologia sarebbe suprema? Nessuna ideologia esisterebbe da sola?"

Wen-li:
"Forse, in quest'universo, esiste un'unica, assoluta verità che risponde a qualsiasi domanda. Ma ciò va' al di là di queste mie piccole mani."

Lohengramm:
"Allora le mie mani sono ben più piccole delle tue. Io non credo che la verità assoluta sia necessaria. Ho soltanto bisogno del potere di realizzare liberamente i miei sogni."

I marked thee in my dream
Mein Kaiser, Reinhard von Lohengramm

In Memorial of His Majesty Reinhard von Lohengramm

Zu jeder Zeit,
an jedem Ort,
bleibt das Tun
der Menschen das gleiche.

'Heldensagen vom Kosmosinsel - Opening 2' by Michiru Akiyoshi aka Monday Michiru

Kaiser Reinhard von Lohengramm returned his evolution into style. Such a newtype walking manly on the Sea of the Stars by Lisa.

Did you know that according to St. Bernard and St. Thomas Aquinas, The Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary means the Star of the seas ?

"Mary means Star of the sea, for as mariners are guided to port by the ocean star, so Christians attain to glory through Mary's maternal intercession."
St. Thomas Aquinas

A Story Of Time

So here comes more of that Past part of the site everyone, today is another Legend of The Galactic Heroes Gaiden episode, the second of the four part Hero of El Facile series in the Spiral Labyrinth OVA's....

Summary:The episode begins as any other with an announcement of the year, this time circa 479 RC (788 UC) September 19th, and confirmation that Yang Wen-Li was promoted from Lieutenant to Captain at 10:25 AM that day and then again from Captain to Major at 16:30 that very same day.

And He Sure Seems Excited About It. Typical Yang

As should be obvious to any military buff, this is almost unheard of and Yang is now a record holder for the shortest time served as a captain before promotion to major. In a meeting with an official, Yang is annoyed at the smiling man telling him how proud he should be of himself and that he's in a better position than Al Heinessen, founder of the Free Planets Alliance was at the same age of 21 when he was exiled. Yang thinks to himself that maybe this would count if Heinessen were telling him this himself, but the smiling man has it so easy not having to work himself to death for a cause he doesn't entirely believe in. Yes Yang is very much a celebrity right now as the Hero of El Facile and he's even been given a press manager who introduces himself to Yang outside the official's room.

Yang marvel's at the fact that this man was his superior, a captain that very morning and now Yang outranks him. (It is incredible even I agree, something to think about) Anyway, Yang is introduced to his new living quarters (which I believe are the same one's he will be living in with his ward Julian. They look the same anyway). He also finds a message on the machine from a fluff piece magazine asking him to lend them an interview for a Most Desirable Bachelor's piece. He deletes this message wanting no part in that type of stuff and the next one is also for a guest appearance offering him a very large sum of money.

Biggest Frown EVER!

The third message however, talking about a reunion piece with Yang and his father's first wife get's him thinking about how life as a soldier and a hero has changed him, and he wonders what she would think.

Over the next couple of days Yang is having a very hard time adjusting to the formalities and parties he is expected to attend, it's really not at all his style. He also bumps into a distant relative of his he doesn't know, making things even more awkard and confusing for him. Yang begrudges this relative for not stepping in after his fathers death to give him the support he needed to pay for entry into history school. He seems to blame this man for the "mess" he is in and this is juxtaposed with jealous soldiers at the party talking to themselves about how Yang's life is set. (It's a very neat little scene) In the end his superor officer, a rather large gentleman comes up and congratulates Yang, which makes him feel somewhat better about the situation.

Slightly Awkward Indeed

A few months later Yang has settled into his new establisment, but is avoiding most phone calls and contact outside of a close circle of friends. When one of them happens to call from his academy days, Yang plans to get together and they discuss where they imagine themselves 10 years down the line. Yang hopes not to get sent to the frontlines of the war with the Reich Empire and his friend assures him that won't happen, but Yang isn't so sure that the military plans to let his talents go to use anywhere but with the war. As for where Yang sees himself ten years and further from now, either dead, or a burden on society as an old war veteran. He wonders what has turned him into this pessimistic man as another friend from the academy calls and he ultimately decides to pick up the video phone.

This man is General Alex Cacaellan, a rebel with policitical ideas differing from the FPA government and who the FPA is keeping a close eye on. He summons Yang to his office, saying he has "Heroes work" for him. Cacaellan is aware of Yang's discontent with the military, but warns him that an early discharge would mean even more of those awkard parties, ad offers and use by political candidates as a vote attractor, it won't necessarily be any less stressful a life than the military in other words. He encourages Yang to hold out at least another 5 years to entitle him to a pension for military service that Cacaellan insists he deserves. They then discuss two candidates for Yang's Lieutenant, and he chooses a man named John Lapp, who is more loyal than the other candidate Dwight Boron, but has a diffferent strategic theory than the army is used to. After that Cacaellan gives Yang a task to occupy the time between now and his next military assignment. He is to investigate the death of one Bruce Ashby, a soldier and a hero who was believed historically to have died in the 2nd Tiamat battle in UC 745 with honor and valour. However, now there are rumours reaching Cacaellan that he may have been murdered. Yang's job would be to prove for the military that Ashby did die in battle, thus verifying there records and allowing the army to save face and continue to invoke Ashby's name in speech and propaganda. Yang says this is none of his business and that the brass doesn't want the truth, but a legend to use to their own end.

The episode ends in the credits role with Cacaellan telling Yang to use this mission as an opportunity to prove his worth for the rank of Major and for the possibility that he might get further chances to conduct historical research and not be assigned to military affairs & strategy. Ultimately despite all his reluctance, Yang remembers all the people who have supported him along the way and those who believe in him as a hero, and he decides to do something to help his society.

Thoughts: I really enjoyed seeing Yang struggle with the breakneck pace at which he suddenly found himself thrust into the limelight as a national hero and celebrity for his work at El Facile. At first Yang wants no part of it and is looking for an easy way out of the army, but then he begins to see that people close to him and those not so close to him who are just average FPA citizens are all looking for a hero in this long and bloody war with the Reich Empire, and that he needs to play that part. Ultimately, Yang accepts the title of the Hero of El Facile at the end, whether he knows it or not, and so begins the Legend of One Galactic Hero. The first OVA before this one focused entirely on Reinhard Von Lohengramm's backstory, and I expect this one will focus on Yang's. These two are the Galactic Heroes of the title and their impact on the history of the galaxy is barely beginning. It will be fun to see where the Spiral Labyrinth OVA goes from here on out. Please join me for the ride if you are interested.

Rating: Ten Out Of Ten

Something Tells Me I'm Into Something Good

Their were many Prequel OVA's for Legend of The Galactic Heroes released after the groundbreaking Original OVA's that were released over the course of 10 years. This episode tells the story of how Yang Wen-Li became the hero of El-Facile.

Summary: The episode begins with a regular battle and both sides stage a retreat in the end. We see that Yang Wen-Li is on one of the FPA ships and he seems bemused at how he ended up in this situation. He says its all began 6 years ago. The scene then flashes back to a young Yang talking with his father about how he wants to study history at the Heinessen Academy. His father says he should worry more about learning things that will put money in his pocket. His father explains that money brings influence and allows one to get ahead in society. Yang doesn't quite buy it and his father says not to worry, after all there are many people who have made money through history teachings.

Goodbye Father

Suddenly the nuclear reactor on the ship they were on begins to malfuntion and his father heads off to try and solve the problem. However, as a result Yang's father contracts heavy radiation burns. These burns ultimately prove fatal and the scene flashes forward to a bank on Heinessen where Yang Wen-Li is receiving his inheritance. Unfortunately most of the heirlooms and artifacts Yang inherits turn out to be forgeries and he cannot liquidate any of them as a result. The evaluation however does cost him money and he is left all but penniless. Another flash forward shows Yang trying to apply for some sort of history course that does not require a cash advance for registration. The only option is the Alliance Commando School History Department, which means military service.

Welcome To Your Future

Yang enters the academy as he is left with no other choice. However, he is not happy with being forced into a position to do harm. At the academy Yang begins to make a name for himself in combat simulation strategy games against other students.

Not Super Robot Wars

When he is scheduled to play against the top student in his freshman class, White Boen, he uses unfamiliar tactics and never before seen strategic ingenuity that allows him to gain the upper hand. From hear on we flash forward again to year 3 where Yang is being sent to the actual War Strategy Unit effective at the end of his Junior Year. The instructor says that because the History Department has been terminated he feels this is the best option for Yang's emerging tactical abilities and that he feels Yang will do well in the Strategy Department. Yang feels this is unfair as this was not the reason for which he came to the academy in the first place. The Director says firmly that Yang is a soldier and that he has to obey orders. He receives the rank of corporal and the face-to-face talk adjourns, but not before the instructor admiringly says that people like Yang are rare these days and the War Strategy Unit will mutually benefit from his enrollment.

You Will Be A Hero To The People Son

The flashback ends as Yang asks an image of his father if he is proud of him or not. Just then an operator announces that the Empire Navy has not in fact retreated, but has followed the Alliance in their retreat and opened fire. The Alliance admiral is advised to retreat from the El Facile Star System altogether by his Captain and Lieutenants, but he freezes in making his decision. Ultimately the Alliance calls it a loss and half the ships retreat from the system, while the other half stage a tactical retreat to the star itself, where they are likely to be sunk, but will save face in this latest war effort for the Alliances military. Ultimately those ships surrender.

Civil Unrest At It's Tamest

The people on El Facile are not happy now that the system is destined to fail under the control of the Empire and are protesting in the streets. Others have headed for the Airport in order to leave the system as quickly as possible so as not to fall under the laws of the Reich Empire. However, this is not possible and others have come to protest at the Alliances last headquarters in the system (A bit Vietnamish here almost). At the base is Yang Wen-Li who the other advisors doubt is capable in helping in the retreat do to his age and inexperience. Nonetheless he is shown giving advice and information to the populace, but this ultimately tires him out as he has also taken the brunt of the angry mobs who blame advisors like him for the inevitable fall of El Facile, and he heads for the roof of the Alliance Headquarters.

In The Future These Two Will Do Great Things

Here he is approached by Frederica Greenhill, who 6 years later will become his most trusted Adjutant. She offers him sandwiches and coffee in an attempt to comfort him and laughs at his odd mannerisms and his joke about the fact that he has so much trouble swallowing the sandwiches.

Not Saigon

The next day as Yang is attempting to pacify the populace, a wave of Alliance Army escape shuttles suddenly take of from the Airport. The people begin to panic and feel they are being abandoned, but Yang tells them not to worry and the Alliance has not forgotten about them. Yang tells them that the public ships have not left yet because they are being outfitted with stealth systems, while the army ones already have these and have left early (Somehow this seems suspect).

Bwok Bgok! Chicken!

Meanwhile, General Lynch’s fleet is shown surrendering to the Empire’s fleet and things continue to go poorly for the Alliance in space as they attempt to hold back the Empire so that the personnel can escape the planet. As the public vessels finally make their retreat the Empire is shown with a recon unit spotting them, however they determine the blips to be a meteor shower and do not pursue the matter any further.

Yang is lucky, but the people praise him as the Hero of El-Facile. The episode ends with the narrator saying that on this day a young hero was born, but the future points to this man becoming a great hero.

Thoughts: Here it is, finally, it took them till 1999, but we finally see how Yang Wen-Li earned the title “Hero of El-Facile” in coordinating the Alliance retreat nobody thought was possible, from the El Facile System. Yang never wanted to be a soldier as has been clearly established in the LOGH canon and we see that as a result of poverty he had to enroll in the History Department in the Military Academy. However, his own prodigal tactical genius was his own worst enemy and caused him to be promoted and shipped to the strategy unit. This series takes place before the LOGH TV Series and with Yang being hailed a hero and indispensable, his dream of studying history and leaving the army some day seem all to distant. It’s a sad fate overall for a man who just wants to learn, but is forced to put his genius to use in war, which he despises. It’s also interesting to see that even as a kid, before the stresses of war entered he life, he still had that head scratching nervous tick.

Rating: Eight Out of Ten