Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu Gaiden (1999)

Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu Gaiden (1999) is the second of two OVA adaptations of side stories from the Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu novel series. This second adaptation follows the achievements of Yang Wen-li of the Free Planets Alliance before the fateful Battle of Astarte, and continues the tales of Reinhard von Müsel and Siegfried Kircheis of the Galactic Empire.

Spiral Labyrinth
Yang is propelled to the spotlight after his famous evacuation of civilians from El Facil. Following an unofficial double promotion and a flurry of media attention, he chronicles his research of the Year 730 Mafia—a close-knit group of Alliance military officers centered around the famed tactician Bruce Ashbey. He investigates a startling claim by Ashbey's deceased widow that may have enormous political ramifications: that the great war hero was not killed in action but murdered.

The Mutineer
Reinhard and Kircheis are posted on the destroyer Hameln II, docked at Iserlohn Fortress. After gaining the respect of the crew, Reinhard's leadership is tested when the captain is severely wounded and passes command authority to Reinhard, the next-highest ranking officer on deck.

The Duelist
While Reinhard and Kircheis are working in the Imperial capital Odin, Reinhard learns of a mining rights dispute involving Dorothea von Schaffhausen, a friend of his sister Annerose von Grünewald. Upon hearing that Count Herxheimer intends to settle the matter with a duel, Reinhard volunteers to represent the Schaffhausen family.

The Retriever
After falling out of favor with the nobility, Count Herxheimer is trying to escape to the Free Planets Alliance with a stolen Seffle particle generator prototype. Reinhard is tasked with retrieving both the prototype and the defector, but is only assigned the cruiser Hässliche Entlein due to the confidential nature of the mission.

The Third Battle of Tiamat
To commemorate the 30th year of the reign of Kaiser Friedrich IV, the Empire announces a large-scale military campaign against the Free Planets Alliance. In the ensuing clash between the Imperial expeditionary force and three Alliance fleets, Reinhard's timely intervention shapes the tides of war.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Yang, Wen-li Main

Gouda, Hozumi Japanese

von Lohengramm, Reinhard Main

Horikawa, Ryo Japanese

Kircheis, Siegfried Main

Hironaka, Masashi Japanese

Attenborough, Dusty Supporting

Inoue, Kazuhiko Japanese

Greenhill, Frederica Supporting

Kuwashima, Houko Japanese

Bucock, Alexander Supporting

Madono, Mitsuaki Japanese

Edwards, Jessica Supporting

Koyama, Mami Japanese

Narrator Supporting

Yara, Yuusaku Japanese

von Grünewald, Annerose Supporting

Cazellnu, Alex Supporting

Yamada, Keaton Japanese

Shimizu, Keizou Director

Aketagawa, Susumu Sound Director

Abe, Masashi Episode Director, Storyboard

Noshitani, Mitsutaka Episode Director

Reviews

Nov 26, 2010

eyerok

Recommended

Spiral Labyrinth is the last release related to Legend of the Galactic heroes, and, like the first prequel gaiden series ('A hundred Billion Lights; Hundred Billion stars'), is made up of various story arcs that flesh out the background of the main characters and some supporting characters of the main series as well.

These ‘side stories’ were conceived in both written and anime form after the main series, and they contain a significant amount of foreshadowing and allusions to future events and important characters from the main series that are only named or shown in passing. These references would likely not be appreciated by those ... who haven’t seen or don’t like the main series. Hence the two prequel series’ should be treated as exactly what they intend to be: A ‘side story’ collection, not unlike some of the ‘specials’ that get bundled with anime DVD’s these days. Except that there’s no filler here, and we get to witness stuff direct from the source material. For that reason, it is strongly recommended that these two prequel Series should be watched after the main series, and this review is aimed at those who have already seen the main series.

Just like the first gaiden, Spiral labyrinth takes up a relaxed pace with a tone that is quite different from the main series’ tension filled drama. It doesn’t have the epic space fights or the massive story or character exposition of the main series. Instead, it presents the highlights of the past lives (mainly the military career) of the series’ main characters i.e Reinhard, Kircheies and Yang wenli. It is quite interesting to see what kind of (shitty) assignments (and misadventures) these future legends had to put up with when they were on the lower end of the military ladder. The lack of an overarching story would normally be worrisome; but the writer(s) takes good advantage of the story arc format, and the result is a commendable variety of stories which differ from each other in nature and theme, and helps keep things fresh.


Since the two prequel Gaidens were released from 1998-2000, the quality of animation is much better than in the main series. The colors are much stronger, the drawing more firm and overall the animation is more vivid. Like the main OVA, the series uses classical music and it fits perfectly well with the scenes. The infamous narrator is back again, except he doesn’t seem too keen on spoiling the story this time around (there’s not much to spoil anyway, as suspense level is much lower for the most part). The Seiyuu cast is the same, except for Kei Tomiyama, who did a perfect job as Yang wenli in the original 110 ep OVA. Due to his death by Pancreatic cancer in 1995, his role in the LOTGH franchise as Yang Wenli was taken over by Hozumi Gouda (hunter x hunter, D-gray man), who doesn’t sound as natural as Kei did in the role, but he makes for a perfect replacement.

The first half is entirely dedicated to Yang who, starting from his humble beginning as the son of a merchant ship Captain who dies in an accident on duty, is dragged into a military career by a strange twist of fate, and is then shot to fame when he saves the population of the planet ‘El Facile’ from an enemy invasion. All this we are told in the main series, but the first two episodes of SL cover the early part of Yangs life in a bit more detail.

His next assignment after El facile is a secret investigation into the death of a famous Free Planet Alliances war hero, ‘Bruce Ashby’, who supposedly died in an accident after winning the second battle of Tiamat. This investigation then takes up the better part of the next 11 or so episodes, during which we see Yang researching history, meeting historical figures, getting posted at a remote POW camp where he meets Patorichev for the first time, and comes across an old history obsessed ex-imperial soldier-turned-POW. As interesting the focus on Yang is, the long arc starts to drag towards the end. Despite that slight hiccup, the cameos on the FPA side are quite interesting. We get to see a much younger Bucock as a Turret operator. Yang’s interaction with Czellnu and Dusty Attenborough never fails to lighten up. The strict and principled Murai also makes an appearance towards the end of the arc to lend Yang a hand out of a tight situation. Overall the arc is interesting and enjoyable thanks mainly due to the history lesson and the solid cameo roles, although the plot itself starts to stagnate towards the end.

The best and the worst part of the series is in the second half; Focusing entirely on Reinhard and his trusty companion Kircheis, the last 14 eps are divided into 4 arcs, each with a unique story. Thus, we have an excellent 4 ep ‘Mutineer’ arc, which places Reinhard and Kircheis in a ship trying to save it from enemies without, while facing an internal discord within its ranks (complete with an epic Lotgh-esque death scene); the somewhat dull ‘duelist’ arc in which Reinhard faces off his would be assassin in a duel is the only blot-mark on the OVA; another 4 ep long masterpiece ‘Retriever’ sees the duo deep in enemy territory on an espionage mission as Reinhard commands a battleship officially for the first time; and finally the 2 ep long ‘third battle of Tiamat which is surprisingly the only arc with a proper lotgh-esque space battle.

While the ‘duelist’ is somewhat underwhelming (although mildly interesting), the ‘Mutineer’ and ‘Retriever’ are so good that they easily come close to the quality of some of the better episodes from the main series. These arcs also add details to LOTGH-verse, as we find out the origin of the zephyr particles, and how Reinhard gets his flagship Brunhilde. There are also some references to characters such as Merkatz; a small (random) cameo by lutz, and a somewhat larger one by Wahlen.

Overall, Spiral Labyrinth is slightly better than the first Gaiden due to a more consistent quality, a better variety of story arcs and a stronger role by Yang wenli. Definitely a must watch for LOTGH fans.

Prosit!

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jun 8, 2023

Galletita

Recommended

The fascinating Legend of the Galactic Heroes lore gets expanded upon in this first Gaiden, with five new arcs narrating events not only preceding the events of the main series but also showcasing the history of the conflict between the Free Planets Alliance and the Empire with an in universe historical war chronicle.

This Gaiden is divided into five arcs: a long arc centered on Yang Wenli conducting historical research and giving insight on his early career and four shorter arcs dedicated to Reinhard and Kircheis and their meteroic rise upon ranks of the Galactic Empire.

The Yang focused arc, named Spiral Labyrinth, is a creative narrative ... making use of Yang's deep interest in history in order to showcase an intricate murder conspiracy of a brilliant FPA admiral dating decades prior to the events of this series. The arc follows Yang's personal investigation while attending his military duties, interviewing veterans from both the FPA and Empire alike while slowly unraveling the life stories of admiral Bruce Ashbey and his talented peers. We get to know Yang better during this journey, while also encountering the familiar faces of his old friend and future allies. While Yang's character does not undergo much development during this series, his strong opinions and frequent introspections are as frequent as in the main series. Only giving a glimpse of Yang's talent as an strategist (a recollection of the events of the El Facil evacuation is in the series), Spiral Labyrinth manages to introduce him as a character, giving more basis to his ideals as seen on the main series.

The four arcs centered on Reinhard narrate some of his earliest assignments (The Mutineer and The Retrieval), a personal quarry (The Duelist) and one of his first missions as a Vice Admiral (The Third Tiamat Battle). Being on the shorter side, these fairly interesting stories show Reinhard's unmatched leadership skills even as a prodigious teen. While his talents are acknowledged, Reinhard's somehow volatile and prideful personality also comes to light, causing clashes with his older and incompetent superiors while gaining the trust and respect of talented younger personnel. Though no major events occur during these stories, some important developments prior to the main series also take place such as the first usage of directional Seffle particles and the first clash with a dangerous foe of Annerose.

On a technical aspect, due to this being the last animated work related to the OVA adaptation, the animation was almost completely made with early digital technology, making some of the character designs look slightly different from the traditional animated OVA. While the characters are expressive and retain their unique feature, the animation is definitely far more unpolished than the OVA and the other Gaiden series. With all of the wonderful original voice cast returning, Yang Wenli's second VA does a great job at emulating his paused speech and vocal quirks, a big improvement from his cameo in the other Gaiden series. On the sound and music aspect, the opening Story of Time by Akemi is a beautiful song fitting for these story arcs, the different ending themes sung by Kei Ogura are a wonderful surprise for OVA viewers.

Overall, this Gaiden series is a nice add-on to the main series. While the Spiral Labyrinth arc surpasses the other four in quality due to its longer length and plot, the series as a whole is very entertaining with well thought lore and storylines. I would definitely recommend both Gaiden series to every LoGH fan.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Mar 17, 2022

WitchFromMercury

Not Recommended

Let me preface this review by stating this is for hardcore fans only. It holds absolute no relevance except to people who want more of the show. To begin with the animation is terrible. The characters are flat and poorly detailed, as are the settings.

Some of the faces are so poorly animated they're repulsive, such as the first officer on Reinhard's first ship assignment.

And this gaiden seems to have no focus. The first one chronicles Reinhard's and Kircheis' rise to power. This one haphazardly switches from Yang to Reinhard and the time changes seem random.

It's actually something I never want to see again while there ... are parts of the second gaiden I'd watch again and the main series I could watch for the rest of my life over and over again.

It begins with Yang Wenli's military career and shows how he became the hero of El Facil. This part is good but kind of boring and rushed. In the flashbacks of the OVA main series there was a lot more tension and I felt the darker color palette suited it better.

Also this gaiden doesn't take itself seriously like the main series and how the first gaiden does. There's an annoying humorous friendly tone in all the episodes and thus there's never ever any tension.

The Bruce Ashbey prequels were kind of all right but it all seemed pointless since I don't even think Bruce Ashbey was mentioned once in the main series.

And then the conspiracy involving him and Empire defectors and a secret intelligence network that fed him information that led to his victories all seemed boring, pointless, and contrived.

When Yang became assistant to the warden of a prisoner of war prison that also seemed pointless. When it switches to Reinhard it gets much worse.

Everyone says how awful the Golden Wings OVA is but I thought it was a far better portrayal of Reinhard's first time on a ship than this series was.

Then we have the duel arc which was so boring I skipped to The Third Battle of Tiamat arc and watched this only at the very end after I already finished the show.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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	Poll: Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Spiral Labyrinth Episode 26 Discussion eyerok - Nov 4, 2010	21 replies	by KaiserVonGogureo »» Sep 12, 12:50 PM
	Poll: Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Spiral Labyrinth Episode 17 Discussion eyerok - Sep 26, 2010	17 replies	by KaiserVonGogureo »» Sep 11, 7:42 PM
	Poll: Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Spiral Labyrinth Episode 6 Discussion eyerok - Aug 19, 2010	14 replies	by KaiserVonGogureo »» Sep 11, 12:03 PM
	Poll: Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Spiral Labyrinth Episode 28 Discussion ChaosLegion - Oct 31, 2010	21 replies	by Unkrowned »» May 1, 4:42 AM
	Poll: Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Spiral Labyrinth Episode 27 Discussion eyerok - Nov 4, 2010	15 replies	by Laplace_kun »» Apr 20, 3:52 AM