Do not ever tell me that Japanese animation is not capable of developing really complex stories, with highly abstract principles in a brilliant way, easy to understand by everyone, but above all, revealing before us, who are silent witnesses, the genius and fascination that we always find as a species in the struggle to obtain the Power at any cost... No matter what we do with it once we get it; what is really important is to reach it and grab it...
Within the logic that Legends of the Galactic Heroes can find, there is the despotic and dystopian future that awaits Humanity as a consequence of sterile struggles that have split the Planet and created banks that, besides being antagonists, also represent the two stories that give sense to this unquestionably beautiful and attractive anime. You see, what if I told you that Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad or The Sopranos would be small children's games compared to this anime?
Oh, yes, I know... You probably think I've gone crazy or that I'm exaggerating... And the truth is that I'm not. Within the plot of Legends of the Galactic Heroes, there is not only a fight, but also the representation of two visions that marked the epoch of an entire century in the real life of all human beings who lived during the 20th century. Not to mention the experience in Japan... Where, in less than 10 decades, every political state imaginable has transpired... From feudalism to the liberal democracy that abounds in the West...
Anyway, let's get to the point. The anime hovers in two dualities: on the one hand, we have the faction of democrats: ‘Union of Free Planets’ and on the other hand, the representation of authoritarianism... But don't be alarmed. Don't start saying that ‘these’ are the ‘good guys’ and ‘those’ are the ‘bad guys’. Nothing but nothing to see... If there is one thing in Legends of the Galactic Heroes that grabbed me from the very first chapter, it was this question, which I immediately pass on to you: ‘Which would you prefer: a corrupt and inefficient but peaceful and stable democracy, or a harsh but just autocracy (dictatorship) that guarantees order and economy? Answer it in your minds and hearts....
Personally, it touches me (this questioning) in a very sensitive fiba. But beyond the rhetoric; which is brilliant and totally meaningful and excellent, the visual aspect of Legends of the Galactic Heroes is of another level ....Chicos, we are talking here about an anime developed for television, from 1988 to 2001 and that honestly has an unsurpassable treatment of the image. It's beautiful in every detail. It is indisputable that this was done with a mastery that I have rarely seen. It has the level (I would say, even superior) to films like ‘Spirited Away’ or ‘My Neighbour Totoro’. The praise and acclaim comes from there. To have been able to make an anime series out of complex political novels and create such a beautiful visual legacy.
Replete with classical German music (because the nods to historical detail are innumerable) this anime is revolutionary in the best of ways. It's hypnotic, it grabs you from the very first episode, it's the foundation stone of what would become Evangelion, to give just one example, and it sustains the spirit of the time in which it was made... The real terror of a world divided by two ways so overwhelmingly different from each other, and in the middle, you and I, having to decide which side to serve loyally... Legends of the Galactic Heroes is the definition of art, talent but above all innovation. For this post, I re-watched the first episode (available on Amazon Prime) and I'm still in awe. You have to watch it, and you'll understand....