Legend of the Galactic Heroes
Legend of the Galactic Heroes (Japanese: 銀河英雄伝説, Hepburn: Ginga Eiyū Densetsu), sometimes abbreviated as LOTGH, LOGH, LGH or Gin'eiden (銀英伝) in Japanese (and also depicted as Heldensagen vom Kosmosinsel in the anime intro), is a series of epic science fiction novels written by Yoshiki Tanaka. In humanity's distant future, two interstellar states – the monarchic Galactic Empire and the democratic Free Planets Alliance – are embroiled in a never-ending war. The story focuses on the exploits of rivals Reinhard von Lohengramm and Yang Wen-li, as they rise to power and fame in the Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance, respectively.
銀河英雄伝説
(Ginga Eiyū Densetsu)
- Naoyuki Kato (vol. 1–5)
- Yukihisa Kamoshita (vol. 6–10)
November 30, 1982 – November 15, 1987
10
Yoshiki Tanaka
- Katsumi Michihara (vol. 1, 3-4)
- Akira Kasahara (vol. 2)
- Yukinobu Hoshino (vol. 5)
- Hiroshi Yokoyama (short stories)
- Tokuma Shoten (vol. 1-4)
- Tokyo Sogensha (vol. 5)
September 1, 1984 – July 31, 1989
5
Katsumi Michihara
Tokuma Shoten
August 10, 1986
1
Katsumi Michihara
Tokuma Shoten
Shōnen Captain
August 1986 – February 2000
11
- Yukio Kikukawa
- Masatoshi Tahara
- Yoshio Sugawara
Takeshi Shudō
Madhouse
February 6, 1988
60 minutes
- Yukio Kikukawa
- Hiroyuki Katō (S1)
- Akiko Odawara (S2)
- Michio Yokoo (S2)
- Yōji Suzuki (S3)
- Masatoshi Tahara (S4)
Shimao Kawanaka
- Shinsuke Kazato
- VEB Deutsche Schallplatten
Kitty Film Mitaka Studio (S1–S3)[d]
K-Factory (S4, see note)[e]
- NA: Sentai Filmworks
December 21, 1988 – March 11, 1997
24–27 minutes (each)
110
Keizō Shimizu
- Yukio Kikukawa
- Masatoshi Tahara
- Michio Yokoo
Kazumi Koide
Magic Bus
- NA: Sentai Filmworks
December 12, 1992
60 minutes
Keizō Shimizu
- Yukio Kikukawa
- Masatoshi Tahara
- Michio Yokoo
- Yōji Suzuki
Shimao Kawanaka
VEB Deutsche Schallplatten
Magic Bus
- NA: Sentai Filmworks
December 18, 1993
90 minutes
- Noboru Ishiguro[a]
- Asami Ryū (#1–8)
- Keizō Shimizu (#9–24)
- Yukio Kawamura
- Takahiro Inagaki
Shimao Kawanaka
VEB Deutsche Schallplatten
K-Factory[e]
- NA: Sentai Filmworks
February 9, 1998 – September 26, 1998
25–30 minutes (each)
24
- Noboru Ishiguro[a]
- Keizō Shimizu
- Yukio Kikukawa
- Takahiro Inagaki
Shimao Kawanaka
VEB Deutsche Schallplatten
K-Factory[f]
- NA: Sentai Filmworks
December 24, 1999 – June 27, 2000
25–30 minutes (each)
28
Katsumi Michihara
Tokuma Shoten
October 19, 2006 – September 19, 2012
4
- Weekly Young Jump
- (2015–2020)
- Ultra Jump
- (2020–present)
Seinen
October 8, 2015 – present
28
Shunsuke Tada
Hidemasa Tasaka
Noboru Takagi
- Shin Hashimoto
- Yasuhisa Inoue
April 3, 2018 – June 26, 2018
12
Shunsuke Tada
Hidemasa Tasaka
Noboru Takagi
- Shin Hashimoto
- Yasuhisa Inoue
Production I.G
- NA: Crunchyroll
- September 27, 2019 (part 1)
- October 25, 2019 (part 2)
- November 29, 2019 (part 3)
3
Shunsuke Tada
Hidemasa Tasaka
Noboru Takagi
- Shin Hashimoto
- Yasuhisa Inoue
Production I.G
- NA: Crunchyroll
- March 4, 2022 (part 1)
- April 1, 2022 (part 2)
- May 13, 2022 (part 3)
3
Shunsuke Tada
Hidemasa Tasaka
Noboru Takagi
- Shin Hashimoto
- Yasuhisa Inoue
Production I.G
- NA: Crunchyroll
- September 30, 2022 (part 1)
- October 28, 2022 (part 2)
- November 25, 2022 (part 3)
3
An anime adaptation of the novels, produced by Kitty Films, ran from 1988 to 1997. There is also a manga based on the novels, with art by Katsumi Michihara. In addition, there are several video game adaptations, with the most recent release in 2008 being a real-time strategy game. The series did not receive an official English release until 2015, when North American anime and manga distributor Viz Media announced they had acquired the license to the novels. On the same day, North American anime licensor Sentai Filmworks announced their license to the anime; the anime was later released on Hidive in 2017. A new anime adaptation by Production I.G is being released since 2018.
Setting[edit]
In AD 2801, the Galactic Federation is formed, resulting 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.[4]: 9 Rudolf von Goldenbaum, an ex-admiral turned dictatorial politician, is elected to power. After declaring himself Emperor Rudolf I, absolute monarch of the renamed Galactic Empire, he restarts the calendar again, beginning the Imperial Calendar on SE 310/AD 3110. His regime adopts extremist policies, including the suppression of any opposition and the extermination of anyone perceived too weak (such as the disabled and the poor), which is carried out until his death in IC 42/SE 351/AD 3151.[4]: 14–17 He also moves the capital of the Empire to the planet Odin, the third planet in the Valhalla system.[4]: 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, located within the Orion Arm. These people set up the Free Planets Alliance, a democratic republic which uses 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.[4]: 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 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, while simultaneously playing the two sides against one another.[4]: 23
Reception and legacy[edit]
The series received several reviews in English media, years or even decades before its official release.[29]
The English debut of the novel series in 2016 was described as long-awaited and overdue.[30][31][32] Publishers Weekly criticized the Daniel 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.[33] 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".[31] Rachel S. Cordasco, reviewing the novel series in 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.[32]
In 2017, the 1988–1997 anime's official English release received 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 Otaku Magazine, called the series "anime's greatest sci-fi epic".[34]
Takumi Sato noted that the character of Reinhard von Lohengramm as depicted in the anime could be related to the "aestheticization of Hitler's image", comparing this phenomenon to similar Japanese works, such as Space Battleship Yamato.[35]
The series has been described as "highly influential" in the development of Chinese online literature.[36]
The historiographical aspects of the show have been analyzed by a Polish scholar, Arkadiusz Bożejewicz.[37]