Legend of the Galactic Heroes

In AD 2801, the Galactic Federation is formed, which results in political power moving away from the planet Earth (now named Terra) and the Space Era calendar replacing the Gregorian calendar, with 2801 AD now being SE 1.[3]^:9 Rudolf von Goldenbaum, an ex-admiral turned dictatorial politician is elected to power, makes himself Emperor Rudolf I, absolute monarch of the renamed Galactic Empire, and restarts the calendar again, starting the Imperial Calendar on SE 310/AD 3110. Rudolf adopts extremist policies including the suppression of any opposition and the extermination of anyone perceived too weak, such as the disabled and those in poverty, which he carried out until his death in IC 42/SE 351/AD 3151.[3]^:14–17 He also moves the capital of the Empire to the planet Odin, third planet in the Valhalla system.[3]^:25

In IC 164/SE 473/AD 3273, a group of serfs in the Altair star system manage to escape captivity and make "the Long March of 10,000 Light-Years" into the Sagittarius Arm to escape the Galactic Empire, which is located within the Orion Arm. These people set up the Free Planets Alliance, a democratic republic, using the Space Era calendar, founding the Alliance in SE 527/IC 218/AD 3327 on the planet Heinessen. In SE 640/IC 331/AD 3440 the first battle between the Empire and Alliance occurs, resulting in a major Alliance victory. The two realms have been at war ever since.[3]^:19–31

A third realm is also set up, the Dominion of Phezzan, a planet-state (city-state on a galactic scale) with connections to Terra. It technically remains a part of the Empire and pays tribute, but it also maintains a relationship with the Alliance. Ruled by a domain lord called the "landsherr" Phezzan gains power by acting as both paragon and trickster, providing the only link between the Empire and Alliance whilst simultaneously playing the two sides against one another.[3]^:23

The story is staged in the distant future within our own Milky Way Galaxy, starting in SE 796/IC 487/AD 3596.[3]^:26 A portion of the galaxy is filled with terraformed worlds inhabited by interstellar traveling human beings. For 150 years two mighty space powers have intermittently warred with each other: the Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance.

Within the Galactic Empire, based on mid 19th century Prussia, an ambitious military genius, Reinhard von Müsel, later conferred Reinhard von Lohengramm, is rising to power. He is driven by the desire to free his sister Annerose, who was taken by the Kaiser as a concubine. Later, he wants not only to end the corrupt Goldenbaum dynasty but also to defeat the Free Planets Alliance and to unify the whole galaxy under his rule.

In the Free Planets Alliance Star Fleet is another genius, Yang Wen-li. He originally aspired to become a historian through a military academy, and joined the tactical division only out of need for tuition money. He was rapidly promoted to an admiral because he demonstrated excellence in military strategy in a number of decisive battles and conflicts. He becomes the archrival of Reinhard, though they highly respect one another. Unlike Reinhard he is better known for his underdog victories and accomplishments in overcoming seemingly impossible odds and mitigating casualties and damages due to military operations.

As a historian, Yang often predicts the motives behind his enemies and narrates the rich history of his world and comments on it. One of his famous quotes is: "There are few wars between good and evil; most are between one good and another good."

Besides the two main heroes, the story is full of vivid characters and intricate politics. All types of characters, from high nobility, admirals and politicians, to common soldiers and farmers, are interwoven into the story. The story frequently switches away from the main heroes to the Unknown Soldier fighting for his life on the battlefield.

There is a third neutral power nominally attached to the Galactic Empire called the Phezzan Dominion, a planet-state which trades with both warring powers. There is also a Terraism cult, which claims that humans should go back to Earth, gaining popularity throughout the galaxy. Throughout the story executive political figures of Phezzan in concert with the upper-hierarchy of the Terraism cult orchestrate a number of conspiracies to shift the tide of the galactic war so that it may favor their objectives. The name Phezzan is a reference to Fezzan, a region that in the past played an analogous role to the one in the anime.

Christopher Farris of the Anime News Network wrote that the novels focus on "personal matters of the main players" instead of being "rote historical accounts", while the 1988-1997 anime series focuses on "the big picture of the war" with multiple characters chronicled, and the 2018 series focuses "only on the major plays by our two main actors to fit within its shorter, more focused format."[4]

The series received several reviews in English media years or even decades before its official release.[24]

The English debut of the novel series in 2016 was described as long awaited and overdue.[25][26][27] Publishers Weekly criticized the David Huddleston's translation of the first novel, Dawn, stating it was "a slog". The novel as-a-whole was criticized for the "shallow" female characters.[28] Also that year, reviewing the same book for the Forbes portal, Ollie Barder, was much more positive, noting that the series is "an epic space opera that needs to be read" and "a fascinating novel and essential reading for anyone that enjoys immaculately complex fiction".[26] Rachel S. Cordasco reviewing the novel series in the Locus Magazine in 2020 praised the work as "a remarkable series... a multi-layered, multi-textual work [that] tells different stories on multiple levels", also observing that it is not just a space opera, but also, an "in-depth historiography" of the future military conflict, comparing it to the 18th century historical work The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.[27]

The year 2017 when the 1988-1997 anime finally saw the official English release saw a number of reviews in the English media. Anne Laurenroth of the Anime News Network gave a positive review, stating that despite its length, it has, arranged well in advance, "one of the most satisfying anime endings ever written".[2] Daryl Surat writing for the Otaku Magazine called the series "anime's greatest sci-fi epic".[29]

Takumi Sato noted that the character of Reinhard von Lohengramm as depicted in the anime could be placed within a broader trend of the "aestheticization of Hitler's image" in Japanese popular media.[30]

The series has been described as "highly influential" in the development of the Chinese online literature.[31]

The historiographical aspects of the show have been analyzed by a Polish scholar Arkadiusz Bożejewicz.[32]

• Official website
• Legend of the Galactic Heroes at IMDb
• Legend of the Galactic Heroes at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Legend of the Galactic Heroes series listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database