Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Waga Yuku wa Hoshi no Taikai
Video não disponivél
Duração: 59 min
Gênero: Action, Sci-Fi
Estudio: Kitty Film Mitaka Studio
Sinopse:
Four months before Count von Lohengramm of the Galactic Empire faced Yang Wen-li of the Free Planets Alliance at the Battle of Astarte, he was still just Reinhard von Müsel. The youngest admiral in the Empire's history, Reinhard was disdained and dismissed by his peers as the brother of the Kaiser's concubine.
Upon arriving at Iserlohn Fortress with his expeditionary fleet, Reinhard immediately receives an order from the ambitious and cunning Fleet Admiral Gregor von Mückenberger: to intercept an Alliance fleet in a neighboring starzone. Despite recognizing this as a veiled attempt to get him killed in combat, Reinhard nevertheless orders his tired and weary men to engage the enemy in the atmosphere of the gas giant Legnica. But unbeknownst to him, this will mark the first of his many historic encounters with the Hero of El Facil.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
Beatnik
"Perhaps man is a creature that must fight until the last one is dead." The antithesis of George Lucas's Star Wars, Legend of the Galactic Heroes: My Conquest is the Sea of Stars begins with a lengthy credit crawl that doesn't treat the space opera genre as a joke and doesn't talk down to the viewer, but instead invites you along to a gentleman's philosophical pondering on the nature of man and war. Afterwards a brilliant white ship approaches a spherical fortress in space and a character quips, "but damn it’s small," again in direct opposition to Lucas's own trite: "look at the size of that thing!"The character who gives us the more restrained quote is none other than Reinhard von Museal of the autocratic Empire, and this quote in a way reflects his entire character succinctly. The universe is something to grasp in his hand and wrest control of, to eradicate others perception of him and to end a war.
In polar opposite to Reinhard, his rival's appearance is with a pacifistic "don’t we want to avoid the enemy fleet?" to his commander who's itching for a conflict while on a mission that is primarily a sneak attack. You can't have an epic rivalry without having mirroring aspects, and these two men are joined by the fact that they dont so much want to win the war as they want to end it. A key distinction that seperates them from their superiors and provides them with the aptitude to win battles because they are not blinded by patriotism.
Yang Wen-Li, of the Republic is like Irresponsible Captain Tylor except he has a heartbeat, doesn’t have a slack-jawed zombie way about him, and doesn't rely on blind luck to pull him through life. In short, he is a relatable character written well, and the fact that he's charming to boot, to the point that his office is stuffed with fan-mail, is a comedic plus. His character arc is about shedding that Tylor-esque lackadaisical attitude and to exert more force to his ideals, to essentially take responsibility for the lives of the men around him because he knows he has what it takes.
This movie is also a contrast to the Gundam franchise, with two sides equally explored and developed, no predictable allusions to World War 2 ala "Sieg Zeon!" For a show based on the premise of a 150 year galactic war you'd expect endless dry preachy and predictable dialogue and although sometimes it feels like it veers into that territory, LotGH avoids it with panache. Or humour to be more precise.
It inserts a cynical Joseph Heller Catch-22 type humour into the characters' mindset, making the show that much more enjoyable to experience. There are many quotable lines of characters lambasting their superiors or the state of war in general. It makes it that much more compelling to see so many people on both sides of the conflict speak out their minds on the futility of what they're embroiled in, making you the viewer, empathise with them all.
The battles consist of more than just bashing into each other, unrealistic power ups or reliance on military hardware from Anaheim Electronics, etc. They are aided by music that is all classical bombast, giving the show a timeless quality, no matter how dated the aesthetics may appear at times, and honestly it's hardly noticeable at all if you're captivated by the narrative itself.
The direction and editing are excellent, and I drool at the idea of this brought to live action with skill and care. A fantasy dream maybe but you can't help but dream up a cinematic form for such a tale as this. I give a high score for the animation as it's not technological innovation alone that deserves the highest ranking, but the usage of art as well as its aesthetic quality, and though LotGH isnt going to stand up next to whatever's humping our eyeballs these days, its still full of amazing space-scapes and visual wonder.
As you can tell from this review, this movie, and by extension the franchise itself, is an antithesis to many other anime or films out there. It's a marvel, a precious gift from the past, and we as anime viewers should cherish it and herald it. "The battle of these two heroes has begun!" the end credits declare, and so onto the mammoth 110 episode series you must go!
defunctmaluser
Thanks to the constant nagging of my friend razortongue, I've finally decided to give Legend of the Galactic Heroes another shot with its prequel film: My Conquest is the Sea of Stars. To my understanding, this was actually the pilot for the entire franchise and as far as pilots go, this was definitely a strong start. At the same time, I feel like I should provide a fair warning to anyone who's interested in tackling this massive beast. I'll say this right now: Legend of the Galactic Heroes is NOT an accessible franchise in the slightest. There are no scantily-clad princesses held hostage by giantslug aliens, no fast-paced giant robot battles, no mystical superpowers, no space stations that destroy planets, or anything of the sort.
Legend of the Galactic Heroes is a franchise which requires large reserves of patience from the viewer. This is a war drama through and through, told not from the perspective of the soldiers but rather from the perspectives of the commanders in charge. The focus of this franchise is not on fast-paced battles and the rule of cool, but rather on politics and the human condition. No entry of the franchise was ever released outside of Japan and as such, watching the series subtitled is the only way to go which may very well be to its detriment because there is NO shortage of dialogue. If you come into this franchise expecting Star Wars, Code Geass, or Fate/Zero on steroids like some of the OTHER reviews on this site make it out to be, you're going to be thrown for quite the loop when you find out just how much of a stark contrast the franchise is to its comparisons.
Now if you read all of this, you understand all of that, and you STILL want to keep going, I highly encourage you to watch this film prior to watching the rest of the franchise as it's the perfect introduction to the situation at hand. Legend of the Galactic Heroes takes place in the distant future, where there's been a long and protracted war going down between two factions: the Galactic Empire (which isn't ruled by Emperor Palpatine... oddly enough) and the Free Planets' Alliance and we're treated to a long opening narration which essentially tells us that LOGH is the tale of two people whose actions have managed to leave their marks on history forever.
The driving force behind Legend of the Galactic Heroes as a whole are Reinhard von Musel of the Galactic Empire and Yang Wenli of the Free Planets' Alliance. So... the two men who changed the course of history forever happen to be on opposing sides of the battlefield. Gee, ain't that subtle? Despite all the praise that LOGH as a whole receives and my slowly-changing views of the franchise, there are some things about it that I can never suspend my disbelief for. Oh well, c'est la vie as the old adage goes. Thank GOD there aren't any Yang/Reinhard slash fics in existence... that I know of, anyway.
When it comes down to the storytelling, I can safely say that the narrative is mostly sound but one problem that I have with it is the fact that this film basically paints out the Free Planets' Alliance to be nothing more than a bunch of bumbling buffoons who can't take advantage of conditions which will easily lead to victory whilst portraying the Empire as a faction that more or less has its shit together. Now this is partially forgiveable since My Conquest is the Sea of Stars IS a pilot film, but it's just that one minor detail which doesn't really sit right with me. Beatnik's review of this film says that LOGH isn't like Gundam because it doesn't portray one side as inherently superior to the other and vice-versa, but this film does exactly that.
That brings me over to my next biggest problem: the characters... or rather, how Yang was handled. To put it short: Yang wasn't given as much time in the spotlight as Reinhard was so we don't know much about Yang to begin with. Don't get me wrong: Yang has a sense of characterisation about him, but I know absolutely nothing about this guy and have no reason to root for him OR his faction. Meanwhile, the exact opposite can be said about Reinhard. I mean, I don't support autocracies whatsoever, but I can actually find myself wanting to side with Reinhard more than I do with Yang because well... I got to see more of him! I got to see why he's even in this war in the first place, executing strategies that would ordinarily be HUGE gambles succeeding, etc.
Now with that said, there is another problem I have with the characters and that's the fact that Yang and Reinhard are damn near infallible. Seriously, Reinhard got away with pulling one of the most insanely risky tactics I've ever seen in war drama and managed to actually get the high ground on the opponent whilst everything that Yang predicted came true, and were it not for Yang's timely intervention, the Free Planets' Alliance's military may very well be handled by a bunch of screeching monkeys throwing faeces at each other. Why is this a problem? Well... LOGH is hailed for its supposed realism and yet I don't find Yang and Reinhard realistic in the slightest. Well... moreso Yang than Reinhard because once again: we spent more time with him and we ended up learning more about him than we did with Yang. Oh well, enough of that babble.
With all of that nastiness out of the way, let's talk about what I really did like about this film. As an introduction to a two-sided conflict, Conquest doesn't quite do the best of jobs but it provides us with more than enough information to actually get the general idea of what's going on and it's quite evident that what we're clearly missing from the pilot movie will be further explained in what's to come later so if this film really did leave that good of an impression on you, it would be a good idea to follow up this film with the main OVA series (which I may or may not do in the near future, but that's a different story).
On another note, and this pertains more to the franchise as a whole rather than the movie specifically but honestly... it's nice to see a space story which focuses on the political side of things rather than just giving us epic starship battles with plenty of lasers and exotic alien women who become masturbation material for overweight, basement-dwelling comic book geeks who tout the supremacy of the original Star Wars movies over the prequels. I mean, I'm not the biggest fan of political dramas, but then again... I love the everliving Christ out of crime procedural shows and I've been getting a taste for stuff like Law and Order, so Legend of the Galactic Heroes isn't really THAT much of a stretch for me.
Moving over to the visual side of the spectrum, My Conquest is the Sea of Stars is the fourth (I think) anime I've ever watched that came out of the 1980s (the other 3 being Fist of the North Star, Akira, and the first season of the main LOGH OVA series). I'll say this right now: I absolutely love the art direction in this movie. If you were to ask me what a space opera *should* look like, I'm more likely to point you over to Legend of the Galactic Heroes than Star Wars. Everything is beautifully designed and I actually love how the character models stay fairly close to reality and don't have huge eyes or bizarre bodily proportioning. Hooray for an anime series that actually has humans that look like humans that AREN'T suffering from severe radiation poisoning!
Animation is a different story however. I get that this came out in the late 80s and more importantly, it was given the budget of a film so it's definitely a cut above most of the other stuff that came out around the time period. At the same time, there are parts where the animation looks a bit choppy/stilted that just don't sit right with me. Don't get me wrong, the animation in this film is actually pretty damn good but it's just those moments where character movements are stilted or there's a frame or two re-used which just stick out more to my eyes than the good parts. Get what I mean?
On the audio side of things, this film gets a solid 10/10 from me. The musical score of this film makes the score that John Williams composed for the entire Star Wars franchise look like discordant drivel. I don't think anyone who's ever watched LOGH can disagree with me on this one. THIS is how a space opera should sound like. The music carries each scene that it's played in exceptionally well and as far as I could tell, there was no repetition of tracks or anything that felt inappropriate for whatever moment was on-screen and that shit always nets a few points in my book. I can't really speak much for the voice acting since I'm not Japanese but to my understanding, there are a few high-profile Japanese VAs on-board with this project so there's always that to look forward to.
Final thoughts? My Conquest is the Sea of Stars can be likened to the prologue/foreword chapter of every novel that most people tend to skip over. Whilst the main OVA series (from what I understand) is capable of standing on its own, this film provides a fair amount of context which can help the prospective viewer better understand what's going on. Also, this film provides a relatively accurate benchmark of what you're in for if you're planning on watching the main OVA series so if you really didn't like this film all that much, chances are that you should stay the fuck away from LOGH in its entirety. Conversely, if you found yourself enjoying this film, you should definitely give the main OVA series a shot... which again, I may or may not do in the near future.
Optigisa
“A slight glimpse into the vast ocean.” This is what this movie feels like, taking a slight glimpse into a vast ocean full of wonders awaiting you. If the gigantic ocean spanning more than one hundred episodes that is called Legend of the Galactic Heroes represented said ocean, then this particular movie would represent the shore before the galactic wave hits the viewer. It is a small, but intriguing introduction for the viewer to get a taste of what high caliber class the Anime medium could pull off. To put it simply, this movie is a touch of classy; it may not be as classy asthe main series, nor is it as gigantic of course, but it still gives off this sense of formality and dependence that the main series would still give off nonetheless. Well thought out tactics, such as the helium incident, are tactics which begin to show themselves early on during this movie, and in turn, they slowly introduce said viewer to what well thought out arcs, tactics, world building and character development this gigantic franchise could pull off.
Speaking of the characters, if you had seen the main series, missed them after completing it and wanted to see more of them yet again after the OVA had ended, then they are all present here. From the egotistical blonde brat Reinhard Von Lohengramm, to his immortal nemesis Yang Wenli. Both of these admirals are shown as the tactical geniuses that they are throughout this movie, exhibiting how experienced and inherently tactical they are when it comes to military warfare and battles. Yang also exhibits some of his pessimistic ways of thinking of himself here, such as his denial of praise when receiving it from his mates, which is also a trait Yang outwardly shows throughout the main series. Unfortunately, the roaster is not that full, because some prevalent LoGH characters are missing in this movie. Julian Minci is the main culprit, but so are other characters missing as well, such as Schenkopp, Frederica Greenhill, the Phezzan cult and Annerose. However, even if some minor fan favorites are not to be found in this movie, the viewer should take note that this wasn’t the intention anyways. This movie was not really aiming to introduce a large cast of characters, since as I said, it was trying to be the sandy shore before a colossal wave hits. It succeeded in fleshing out the two central characters, Reinhard and Yang, and that is all it wanted to achieve in the first place.
Other characters such as Oberstein show up, but barely does Oberstein get any screen time. The scene with him could have been cut out from the movie all together and it would have made no difference, since it didn’t serve to characterize him. We also get a glimpse into the actions of the imperials for a bit, but they barely show any character growth as much as the two central characters. As for Reuenthal and Mittermeyer, they show us the brotherly love they developed for each other during the run of the original series, and how loyal they are to their new Kaiser Reinhard. Finally, as for Kercheis, he follows the Kaiser’s orders to a tee without any hesitation whatsoever, and his loyalty and strict behavior and sense of responsibility are as prevalent here as they are throughout the original series’ run. Even if some characters were not developed, this movie never wanted to do that anyways, it just wanted to show an introduction to one of the greatest rivalries in Anime, and that is what it accomplished.
Regarding the audiovisuals, they are dated more than the series if you take a closer look, but that shouldn’t hinder the enjoyment of the viewer whatsoever, since the art style and the music are both timeless. Even then, the viewer should excuse the Anime since it is so old, and some viewers may choose to watch this after the long series, so it really shouldn’t be much of a problem since the expectations for exquisite animation should not be too high. The length of this movie is quite perfect, and just like the original OVA, it did not need any filler moments in between. It is short and down to the point, which serves as a great introduction to the series.
This movie is so important because it serves as both an introduction for the newcomers and as a short and enjoyable movie for people who so dearly missed our dear Kaiser and his eternal rival. It serves two functions excellently, even though it may be a bit iffy at times, and that is what makes it so important.
kekekeKaj
"Legend of the Galactic Heroes: My Conquest is the Sea of Stars" is the prelude to the "Legend of the Galactic Heroes" main series. It focuses on the fateful first encounters on the battlfield between Yang Wenli and Reinhard von Lohengramm. Lohengramm, with his vast ambitions and Yang the reluctant soldier form an interesting contrast. They're almost the polar opposite of each other, but in many ways they are similar. There's a sense that the two men are destined to become great rivals, and what makes the movie fascinating is the anticipation it creates for the future. Yang and Lohengramm aren't the only characters seeded in thisprelude who have future significance. If you come back to this after watching a portion of the series, you'll find plenty of other important characters lurking around, but most of them don't have much of a role to play, so it's unlikely that you'll have taken too much notice of them first time round.
As a movie from the 80's, it shows its age quite clearly. Everything about the movie less than polished. Yang's initial characterisation feels a little heavy handed. In their attempt to portray him as an easy going fellow, they went too far and ended up dehumanising him a little. His overly nonchalant demeanor means that he seems less than bothered by the loss of so many lives during one of the battles in the movie, and it feels like he barely regretted his lack of effort towards its prevention (being marked out only by a single casually delivered line).
Another gripe I have with this movie is how incompetently they abused the use of classical music. Normally, making classical music work with the scenes seem trivially easy - rarely do I come across instances where people messed it up, but this movie somehow managed it, and in a manner that's comparable to "Mars of Destruction" (I've probably just landed myself in hot water with the legions of LoGH fanboys with that line, but I stand by what I said :P). The makers' idea of good music production seem to be to start playing a long, random piece of classical music (presumably one favoured by the director) when a battle begins, then just leave it to run its course, giving themselves a self congratulative pat on the back for a job well done. This shockingly lazy approach only resulted in battle scenes that are jarringly devoid of tension and excitement, and a movie where the use of classical music comes off as awfully pretentious.
The battles themselves aren't bad. There are some strokes of genius to be found - the battle at that planet being one such example - but there are also parts that seem to be reliant on the somewhat far fetched stupidity of the opposing commanders, a fault that unfortunately extends and amplifies into the main series.
But as far as preludes go, "Legend of the Galactic Heroes: My Conquest is the Sea of Stars" is a decent one. The movie may not be amazing, but it does promise far more interesting things are to come in the series it's preluding, which is its main purpose anyway.
CSRaghunandan
Most people tend to ignore this anime just because it is OLD and is a huge series but they dont know that they are missing one of the best space operas ever made. Unlike most of the space operas there isnt any aliens or any other Technologically advanced super intelligent extra-terrestrial species other than Humans and it also dosent have any super advanced technologies like we see in star trek or any other space operas.Soo if u want too see an anime which has super powered mechas blowing everything in its path then this is not the anime for you. This is a must see beforeyou start to watch the Main series of Legend Of The Galactic Heroes.This OVA explains the situation when the two main protagonists Yang Wenli and Reinhard von Müsel meet each other for the first time in the battlefield in an epic tactical between the Alliance and the Galactic empire and it shows how the heroes are born in the their respective nations. Unlike most of the animes the space battles are really unique and the tactical and strategical aspects of the space battles are really astounding and theres more depth to it than what it actually seems and the likes of which i had never seen in any other anime. Also the battles are really unpredictable at times and also very interesting.What makes LotGH soo special is the way the story unfolds and how the characters respond to the situation.The pacing of the story is slow but it rarely has any flaws.
Since it was made 1988 dont except too much CG or fluid action scenes beacause there arent any. But the animation was good considering the time it was made and every character's looks in the movie is unique and the voice actors for most of the characters have done a very good except for very few of the characters who had a very deep voice.The music is composed by famous german musicians and the movie has some really amazing classic soundtracks and its a real treat to hear them during the battles which makes it all the more exciting. This movie is really enjoyable from start to finish filled with an excellent cast and amazing tactical battles with exceptional sound tracks which will surely keep you entertained till the end.
Overall its a great introduction to the main series and really worth your time. 9/10
Ronin-dono
The story involves leadership, and exploration of collective capacity from a great mentor, and have elements "political" involved since it is an anime based on wars, as well as the introduction franchise comes to remembering with phrases like, " THE HUMAN HISTORY IS A WAR HISTORY "," PROGRESS IS SON OF WARS ". The evolution of the plot focuses in this elements and for several moments indicates that a large barrier between some great leaders like Musel and other commanders of enemy ships to come. Art has classic style characteristic of the old animes however the features are better defined and beautiful, the animation is good, justfew thing makes it a little confusing, that are the munition fired by sky-ships, it's look to be something inaccurate in details or explanations of how they work.
The songs are sometimes operas that synchronize precisely with the anime style.
About the characters, they are deep, I don't think I need to go into detail now, once it has been said that the anime involves leadership, which can youself to wait are premises of giants strategy.
All the animes I saw this was one of the few I saw again, not for lack of quality to others but the Ginga Eiyuu that has all the merits of be an anime that motivates you to get closer to the story
OminousWrex
War. War never changes. Among the sea of anime, I have searched high and low looking for the best of the best, the most original and unique stories ever exchanged among weeb-kind. Among these myriad stars that shine across Japanese animation, one franchise stands out from all of them as one worthy of respect, one anime held in higher regards than the likes of Star Wars, Star Trek, Evangelion and even Ghost in the Shell. It's considered to be the greatest tale ever told, the masterpiece that nothing could hope to surpass, not Serial Experiments Lain, not Mushishi and not even Cowboy Bebop. Its name: Legendof the Galactic Heroes. This is its pilot movie.
If you think all that has been hyperbole... you would be half-right. Probably. But having re-experienced the film that started it all, I feel that such a legendary series requires a sufficient amount of dramatics. This introductory movie proudly displays the three important aspects needed for a thinking man's anime: politics, philosophy and strategy. Considering the year this film was released in, its style and animation still stand out as distinctive among other anime of its time. Its substance, on the other hand, is unquestionably amazing.
Let's start with the good points. This is not your average anime. In the 59 minutes it has to tell the story, "My Conquest is the Sea of Stars" manages to dig quite deep into both the politics and the philosophies of warfare more than any of the original SW trilogy (or even some of the most renowned war films) ever did. Rather than glorifying and romanticizing warfare, the film features a vast cast of characters who share realistic view-points on a war that's been going on for 150 years. Rather than focusing on superficial aspects like "a galaxy long time ago in somewhere far away," the movie's opening narrative talks about the history of mankind and their constant relationship with battles and warfare. Even among the allies of this short tale, the characters have small skirmishes among themselves, whether as a bar fight or bickering between the higher-ups and the soldiers forced to follow orders. Even the meaning of what a soldier is in times of war (and whether if one should just blindly follow orders) becomes an actual discussion in the movie. As another reviewer once said, "It's an antithesis of Star Wars." In short, expect very heavy analysis for the rest of the time you're spending with this franchise.
The good thing is, even though it's exactly as political and topical as the reputation had me believed, it's inaccurate to call it "dry" and "preachy". The panache and humor it has keep things from becoming unenjoyable. Most importantly, the wonderfully-written characters are the glue to hold those less interested in politics and more interested in a good story. There's rarely a black and white morality featured here and the realistic personalities easily help anyone to relate and connect with any one individual of the movie - almost anyone, but I'll get to that later.
The two protagonists are charming enough for the pilot of the OVA, but I find Yang Wen-Li more relatable than Reinhard at this point. That's not to say Reinhard is poorly written, however. He's an intelligent strategist the likes of Lelouch Lamperouge and Light Yagami, but without the ego that comes with either. Instead, Reinhard focuses on maintaining minimum casualties in his battles. And as if that isn't already an arduous task in times of war, he also has to navigate the political minefield his superior, Fleet Admiral "Gregor von Muckenberger," has set up for him. Gregor has the utmost disrespect for Reinhard due to his background as someone who (supposedly) only got promoted because of his connection with his sister. Needless to say, Reinhard is unlike any intellectual you've seen in the landscape of anime.
Wen-Li is a pacifist, but isn't afraid to take down the enemy to protect his people and allies - not out of a sense of patriotism, but more out of the obligation to cherish life. What's interesting is that he's pretty flawed for a pacifist, keeping him from becoming a one-dimensional saint. He knew that the actions of his obstinate commander would get his fleet-mates killed, but chose not to be too forceful with his superior so as to prevent any conflict.
The one hour feature is largely just two space-battles that set up the atmosphere and universe of LotGH quite well. The dialogues let you know that the writers aren't forcefully leaning against any one political view, and the discussion on men's tendency for war merely serves as a reminder of our human nature, not a lecture. However, there's one thing that hold this back from being a masterpiece, and it's ironically the best part of the movie as well - the characters.
Not all characters are morally-ambiguous; some of them are even outright cliched. You still have your drooling male perverts forced in to glorify some of the more 'morally-righteous' side characters to make them look like heroes; basically foils serving as plot-device. This first flaw is probably a product of its time, so I could at least turn a blind eye. However, there are also the antagonists of this film, the 'superiors.' Gregor has an understandable reason to disrespect Reinhard, so I have no problems with him, but Wen-Li's commander (Paeta, I think was his name) is an incompetent buffoon and thus easily stands out among the rest of the well-written characters. Scenes featuring him were obviously the least interesting parts of the movie.
Aside from that small gripe, the rest of the pilot movie works quite well for newcomers of the franchise. The soundtrack used belongs to the classical kind, featuring the likes of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 and Ravel's Boléro, very fitting pieces that set the tone for the kind of epic and poetic space opera you'll come to experience for 110 episodes. And it all ends with a promise of deeper explorations in the relationship between Reinhard and Wen-Li, one that will further intrigue audiences into checking out the highly acclaimed OVA.
Highly Recommended.
Kal-luto
So far, this is the only 90's anime I've watched (bar one piece and pokemon) The music is something to be astonished at as it can be uplifting during tense situations and ataractic during calmer moments. The character designs are nothing to marvel at but in a series like this, simplicity is to its benefit. The art overall is much above my expectations including ship designs, however the actual battles leave me in a state of confusion, what with bullets lines flying about all over the place, its difficult to determine which ships belong to which fleet, and hence which side is winning. The opposing factions stars are interestingeven though back-stories are yet to be shown.
This is clearly an anime able to stand on its two strongest legs... written plot + characters.
Please read the MAL page for this anime and see the top two reviews as they are what drove me to get started on this, dare I say it, MASTERPIECE.
Cayusashi
Don't make the same mistake I did and begin Legend of the Galactic Heroes without watching this movie. This is the intended start of the franchise. It's essentially my own introduction to the series, so keep this perspective in mind as you read my review. My Conquest is the Sea of Stars is the perfect start to Legends of the Galactic Heroes. When starting the TV show there are an overwhelming amount of characters thrown at you in a single episode. The movie helps by clarifying who some of the most important people are and the adversity they face within their respective militaries. Yang and Reinhardare set up as foils by being mentally on the same page and facing similar internal challenges. Both are up and coming commanders/admirals who face opposition to their promotion from the high brass; they prove themselves in the battles of this movie and learn each other's name by the end. The battles are entertaining enough but don't have the weight of other space operas like Star Wars. Both men's closest allies are given roles in this movie and demonstrate their own authority of command but the battles are what I cared about the least. The movie also prepares the social commentary obviously present in series. The corruption of the Galactic Empire and Democratic Planet's Alliance brings a level of political intrigue I can't wait to be explored. The film is mostly a prologue to the anime, so it doesn't add much depth besides introducing the characters and military powers of the universe; however, it's invaluable for a franchise of this magnitude.
The art and sound seem obviously inspired by other space operas which only adds to the joy of watching this movie. From the opening crawl to the design of certain rebel fighter pilots, Star Wars is all over it. I like the homage to the popular series, but Legend of the Galactic Heroes blazes its own path. Outside of the orange jumpsuits, the costume design is unremarkable. Both sides have similar black uniforms often making it difficult to remember who is on what side. The art style falls in line with other popular 80s anime which I personally am not a fan of. The characters look like a muddled mess without any distinct physical features besides their hair color. The designs of the ships were spectacular and the scope gave them Star Trek vibes. The soundtrack is where this movie and series really shines. Grand and classical, the music perfectly fits the epic nature. The composer chose the route of orchestral sounds primarily made up of strings. While I do prefer the large brassy sounds of Star Wars, Legend of the Galactic Heroes stands on its own as having a perfect score. The sound is subdued, not trying to be overdramatic and knock you out of your seat. The classiness of the score fits well with the European inspirations for the countries and feels like watching a high society political thriller. The art may be lacking, but the sound more than makes up for it.
I had fun with this movie. Luckily I wasn't too far into the show before learning about this, so I don't feel out of the loop and overwhelmed by the characters. The movie helps sort through the weeds and understand who and what is important for the beginning of the story. I look forward to seeing how Yang and Reinhard's stories collide. I recommend this movie for anyone attempting to start Legend of the Galactic Heroes or those who want to get into anime sci-fi epics.
Plot: 8/10
Characters: 7/10
Art: 7/10
Sound: 10/10
Enjoyment: 7.5/10
Overall: 7.9/10
CassieK
Here we go, finally beginning my expedition into the horrors of space war and governmental incompetence. This is a promising start to what will hopefully live up to all the hype surrounding the show. I like the presentation of it, including storylines involving even the grunts who probably can't effect the end result that well. It was quite a nice relaxing watch thanks to the tranquil classical music used. The battle near the end of the pilot features the song Bolero and it's used just as it should be, I always love scenes which use Bolero, always such a nice unraveling.
k-0da
My first foray into Legend of the Galactic Heroes! Gotta say, I really enjoyed it. Everything felt really calming. Atmosphere wise it's great, and that's due to the stunning cell animation and the classical music OST. Every move made by either party is deliberate, slow. The art is stunning, everything glides across the screen just as the music plays. It lacks high octane action, which I really love, as I often have a hard time following strategy in other Sci-Fis, like Gundam. Both main leads, Wenli and Reinhard, are great. They have distinct personalities that contrast each other well; the schemer, more reckless Reinhard, andthe more defensive, softer spoken Wenli. What I found interesting was how both cared deeply for their whole fleets, including Reinhard, who is at least artistically speaking flagged to be more "bad guy" (even though there's very clearly no good side in this war)
The supporting casts seem solid, and are equally as compelling as our leads. The Empire's side specifically, with all of the many fleet commanders and low rung gunners. They're all interesting to watch at least, and none of them are particularly annoying. I'm interesting in the contrast between Siegfried's attentive nature compared to Dusty's more relaxed one; but both are deeply respectful and supportive of their leads.
I'm excited to see where this series goes!
thestarsailor
I've seen the original OVA series about five years ago, and now I want to see it through start to finish. I did watch My Conquest Is the Sea of Stars at the time, and coming back to it really felt like returning to something so comforting and familiar, given how distinct it is for anime and science fiction generally. The whole look and feeling of the show is laid out here. It's an hour long with two spaceship battles but so much of the movie is discussed and framed by meaningful discussion between characters. People summarize this as political, and it gets into thatduring this movie and throughout the series, but really context and motivations are naturally brought up between different pairs. It helps expanding the scope of these armies from high command to the soldiers.
And the battles are not exciting, action-packed thrills, or even super clever plotting and tricks, but more like a chess match and each side reacts to the other. There are walls of lasers being fired at each other and ships blowing up with a distance to them while classical orchestral music plays. None of this reminds me of Star Wars or Star Trek, but I'm put more in the mind of The Bounty and Barry Lyndon. This war and these empires are not based on WWII, but more firmly set in the 1700 and 1800s. The one easily recognizable figure from the movie Yang was watching was Napoleon for example. Even from this one movie the world feels so steeped in history and how it is being played out over and over that just makes sense even with a sci-fi setting that most creatives want to gush over instead.
I found it interesting that the democratic and likely secular Alliance has their secretary of defense (lmao) stating that this a religious war and appealing to patriotism to defeat the vile empire for the good of democracy. While the Empire has a more meritocratic ceremony of honor for Reinhard's leadership in battle. Stuff like this is why I'm glad I'm rewatching.
acepepe
A stunningly beautiful piece of work. Many people unfortunately miss this movie and start with the series straightaway which imo makes the series appear overwhelmingly dense. I'd advise everyone to please start with this movie. It's only 1 hr long but it's a spectacular entry point into the series. You can go in blind and enjoy it for what it is but it also does a wonderful job of establishing the tones and conflicts of the series and genuinely feels like the beginning of a masterful story. The only little detail I felt could have been better was the politicalaspect - both the early dialogue between the Fleet Admiral and the Noble as well as the many machinations of the F.A. felt much too open and direct, could definitely have used a little subtlety here and there. However everything else was top-notch.
aynondoe
A friend told me she hasn't watched this, but heard lotgh is more "pro-war" and less "focused on the underside of things" than gundam series tend to be. From just watching the pilot, i can see where they're coming from. Usually into the start of a new Tomino Gundam, there would be a civillian or two holding dead family members in their arms and one or both sides comitting a war crime of some kind followed by the antagonist giving out hints of what ideology led them to put away their empathy. Here, we have a 150 year war with no reason why it startedand the main motivation for every single character from either side wanting their side to win isn't from any attatchment to their nation or ideals, just they don't want to die. Not saying this as an insult to lotgh, I like this being more focused on wars for what they are and space battles for what they could be.
I liked the silent and "dull" way they did laser bullets compared to gundam and star wars. Besides the realism component, the way a 1988 pilot depicted a space battle in such a "silent" way that ive never seen before is fantastic. Also i was getting kinda sick of the teenager romance drama being at the forefront in every war in Tomino's Gundams, so this is a nice change of pace.
