Nothing much to say about me, I'm just a guy that anyone spends most of his time reading manga at home. But it was precisely by getting reading manga, I found perfection. This perfection is a manga and an amazing manga, something that surpasses perfection itself, something that makes me bow down and worships it.
Favorite Manga: The Ravages of Time
This manga is called The Ravages of Time, the most formidable work I've ever read in my whole life, a complete masterpiece. Sometimes I stop, think, and wonder if Mou Chen is even one human, or is someone who has been blessed by some divine force that is not human, but someone with such great talent that makes him a complete genius, superior to all other humans who abita this earth.
The Ravages of Time is an adaptation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, showing the fortunes of Liu Bei, Cao Cao, the Sun family, and the Sima family. The Simas are a successful and rich merchant family, led by the young Sima Yi, who has shown a flair for spotting profitable business venture ever since a young age. The Sima family, however, possesses a sinister side as they command the Handicapped Warriors a group of mercenary assassins reputed to be infallible.
As a manga based on the Three-Kingdoms era, I thought this was another one of those unoriginal Chinese attempts on making money off the hugely popular historical epic Romance of the Three Kingdoms...
Boy was I ever more wrong... because not only are the details of this manga original, it is an absolute masterpiece. For once I have to bow down to the author and declare that I'm not even worthy of being a critic of his work.
Basically, we're talking about a manga that perfectly combines the genres of martial action, epic battlefield combat, political/factional scheming, military strategy, detailed character development, and a very complex but highly intriguing plot; compiling all the finest elements of Three-Kingdoms literature under one cover:
Generals that dominate the battlefield, unmatched in sheer awesomeness that exemplifies the Chinese saying "Taking the head of the enemy commander from amongst the million, is as easy as taking items from a bag".
Tacticians with multi-layered chain strategies so complex it would make Lelouch (or any other military tactician from anime) look like a preschooler.
Politicians and warlords embedded in a free-for-all fight for dominance as the Han dynasty, an era so powerful it contributed to the Fall of the Roman Empire from across the globe, comes to a collapse.
Heroes stuck between all of it trying to decide just what defines morality when everything is lost in shades of gray and flames of anarchy.
The story is spread into numerous perspectives in order to cover all the major sides of the conflict, to the point it's hard to grasp whom the main character is/will-be. Although it does seem like Sima Yi, a prodigious merchant who'd eventually become the Chief Military Strategist of Wei; and Lianyuan Huo, a fictional name who'd eventually 'earn' his true name as one of the most famous generals of the Three-Kingdoms era.
While the author sticks to most of the major plot points defined by the original novel, he changed MOST of the underlying details - the character histories, the events that led up to each checkpoint, the character personalities, all of that. What's even more awesome is that he gave perfect reasons on WHY the character is known differently thru folklore, so even those who hold the original novel to heart like I do can enjoy this different version.
I only have a few things somewhat negative to say about the manga:
It's written in a tradition Chinese grammar, meaning the language is so beautiful it's like poetry in every line. However, not only is this completely lost in the translation process, it also makes it far harder TO translate. All the proverbs, idioms, famous strategems that any real Chinese would understand can be especially confusing to English readers, despite the notes the translations put out.
The plot of Three Kingdoms is epic and renowned throughout Asia, but is also extremely complex and CAN be somewhat confusing, especially for those who know nothing of the era (yes Dynasty Warriors can help a lot, as much as I dislike that game). There's also a HUGE cast, thankfully, a lot of the generals/warlords/tacticians die off fast
The drawing style is more western than anime-esque. I don't care about this, but some of you might...
Favorite characters: 1. Cao,Cao - Cao Cao is by far one of the greatest leaders in the Three Kingdoms Era. One might question his methods or call him "cruel", but even so his cold tactics allow him to fully utilize his armies and accomplish his objectives.
2. Lü, Bu - Courtesy name Fengxian. Lü Bu started in the series as a prominent general under the service of Dong Zhuo. Ambitious and treacherous he is willing to do anything for power and even betrays his foster father for power. Known for his physical prowess he is often called "God of war" and is often hailed as the strongest character in the series. He is however not only strong but also cunning as he manages to plan devious schemes to raise him higher in the ranks.
3. Liu, Bei - Courtesy name Xuande. Liu Bei is an oath brother of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, him being the oldest of the three. Liu Bei started off as a small-scale vigilante with a lofty aspiration. But for the longest time he could not bring himself to play the pretend game in order to restore peace to the world. After getting tricked, cajoled, betrayed, and nearly killed, he has finally risen above his pride to reach for a grander goal. Liu Bei also learns how to play the game well.
4. Zhang, Liao - Courtesy name Wenyuan. Zhang Liao was Lu Bu's loyal follower.His explicit skill in swordsmanship was noticed on many battlefields.
(Spoiler Below):
After Lu Bu's death, he accepts his destiny and follows Cao Cao.
5. Zhang, Fei - Courtesy name Yide. Zhang Fei is an oath brother to Liu Bei and Guan Yu, him being the youngest of the three. He is among the most powerful warriors of his era, and is more sneaky than people would assume. When not overshadowed by the Eight Geniuses, he takes on the role of a capable military advisor.
Zhang Fei is more Machiavellian than his second oath brother Guan Yu. He's not afraid to play the fool, make deals under the table, injure or manipulate his oath brothers if it means accomplishing the goal, which is to help Liu Bei rise to power.
Another point is also important to be mentioned, are the drawings of Mou Chen. Which actually are not simple "drawings" And yes works of art that deserve to be more admired and beloved than the actual works of Pablo Picasso. Below are some examples of this illustrious works of art that contains this masterpiece that is The Ravages of Time.
This part gives up chills, true work of art, with a still more formidable scene.
I think I mentioned everything I wanted o'que about this magnificent masterpiece that is The Ravages of Time. Now I'll mention some things about my favorite anime.
Favorite Anime: Legend of the Galactic Heroes
For decades, the Galactic Empire has been locked in an interstellar war with the Free Planets Alliance, a conflict that involves thousands of spaceships and millions of soldiers on both sides. Two new commanders enter the conflict with great hopes: Imperial Admiral Reinhard von Lohengramm and the FPA's Yang Wen-Li. As they deal with superiors and subordinates, maneuver through complicated political arrangements, plot strategies, and win battles, each will be tested, and ultimately, changed, by the reality of war.
This series is overrated on this site. That is to say, with 110 episodes, your vote only counts after you've seen 22 episodes, almost a full season, and those who don't like this show probably won't wait for 22 episodes to decide.
Which is a shame, as it's only after about 20 episodes that this series progresses from something that is slow, somewhat overly bombastic, and hinting at more to come to show itself to be one of the most intelligent pieces of anime that's been made to date.
When I say 'intelligent', I don't mean it to be cunning, surprising the viewer with unsuspected plot lines or new angles to view something. Nor does it delve deeply into some obscure theory of science or arts, bombarding the viewer with ideas he couldn't have come up with himself. In fact, there's absolutely nothing in this series that is wholly unexpected or very deep. What it has, though, is a sense of scale that's unsurpassed in any anime - or, for that matter, any television show - I've seen.
Legend of the Galactic Heroes centers around - you guessed it - a bunch of people who, according to populace at large that inhabits the fictional future this series plays in, are of heroic proportions. That is to say, heroic in a very classical sense, being possibly a negative thing as well as a positive.
The series is set in a future wherein the universe known to man is divided into two camps, the aristocratic and absolutist Galactic Empire, and the democratic Free Planets' Alliance, who have been embroiled in a war for some time, seemingly
being evenly matched. This balance is shattered when a military genius with a far-reaching ambition rises on the Imperial side, prompting the Alliance to, somewhat grudgingly, give ever greater backing to the most capable officer on their own side. Both men surround themselves with able staff, who become legends in their own right.
It sounds like your average hero of freedom-versus-tyrant story, but it turns out to be anything but. First of all, the heroes do have a sense of their own importance, but also the sense to question whether they are all that special, or whether the circumstances of their times have just brought them to a spotlight which people equal to them could never have aimed at. More importantly, the main question on which the whole series hinges remains an open one. This question is the age-old one of which is better, autocracy or democracy, the problem being that a good autocracy is usually better than a good democracy, but a bad autocracy being worse than a bad democracy. Within the happenings of the show, it becomes apparent that, militarily speaking, at least, a good autocracy has an edge over democracy in terms of speed and decisiveness, and this shows in how the series progresses.
A large part of the series is devoted to showing the war and its subsequent smaller-scale rumblings. The war is fully shown from the side of the commanding officers - one of only a very few shows to do so - and does show an appropriate sense of scale. With battles involving thousands of battleships and millions of men, simple depictions of large-scale tactics take the place of views of the battlefield itself, and a considerable part of the show is, laudable, devoted to discussions on logistics and military intelligence.
A larger part still, though, is devoted to discussions on politics, all within the greater autocracy versus democracy question. Again, these thoughts never go very deep, but what strikes one is that so very many possible variables are brought up. Almost any motive of rulers or the general populace that might affect a political decision is included at some point in the show, making me at least think to myself: 'They even thought of thát one.' The show does tend, here and there, to lean toward the old 'good soldier, bad politician' cliché, but, overall, it really lacks a clear villain, instead showing each possible side (apart, perhaps, from religious fanatics) from every possible angle. Moreover, all this is shown within a future universe that is highly consistent over the full 110 episodes, even if differences between the warring sides tend to be somewhat exaggerated: in many cases whole societies seem to act a bit too much according to a somewhat radical ideology, only to make their following actions be true to form.
This being true to form applies also to most of the actions that, at first glance, seem to be overly dramatical, in the first place many of the actions of the dozen or so main protagonists. However, when thinking about the how and why of their actions, it usually becomes clear that they cannot have but acted as they did, according to cultural mores and individual character. A case in point would be the reliance of many Imperial officers on the character of some military commander to predict his battlefield tactics. This would seem lunacy, until it is remembered that the Imperial commanders are a tight-knit group, mostly of noble birth, and known to each other: each commander would know the peculiarities of all others, which become all the more predictable as the importance of gaining personal glory and honour in battle are taken into the equation.
This reliance on known characteristics of all personalities is also possible because the characters don't evolve all that much. Now, I've never understood why 'character progression' in general seems to mean having characters make a full volte-face, and I am, in fact, happy with a series that shows all characters as being fully grown, and fixed in their ways. Each has a specific role to play, and a mind-set that might be predictable, but is, again, true to form. This doesn't make the character shallow. Far from it: their characteristics mean that each takes a single position to a fitting extreme, making for interesting differences between the characters, and accompanying differences in outlook.
That said, it is indeed true that the characters may be somewhat flat, and quite a few seem to be included only to show a different point of view toward a specific situation or theory, but it is exactly this relative flatness that makes it possible for them to discuss so many situations.
As for the art, it is old and outdated, but that can't be held against the show. It is a shame that, mainly in the first season, the series is at times simply bad: persons walk in an awkward way, scenes are recycled, and even relative positions of facial structures change from frame to frame. There's no excuse for that. Technically, though, the art definitely gets better during the course of the show.
In fact, the show being old might be a boon. The creators have opted to make the drawing style relatively realistic, which fits the series splendidly. One has only to look at the manga to see how different it could have been: the style of the manga doesn't fit the show at all.
Real points have to go to the design. Again, nothing is really innovative, from the spaceships to the almost 19th century looking setting to the uniforms of the soldiers. It is, however, solid, and consistent, and really brings the world to life.
The music is outstanding. It mainly consists of generally well-known classical compositions, which, granted, have been often used before, but never have they been used to such splendid effect: especially the use of pieces during battle sequences, fitting the individual scenes to the music, is a joy to watch.
As a whole, Legend of the Galactic Heroes never tries to be overly deep, and, though it tends to be somewhat bombastic, never loses itself to any glorification. It is slow and quite meticulous, focusing on a lot of details, and consists for the largest part of dialogue, not action. The story progresses slowly, and only after about a season's worth of episodes the real story starts to evolve.
And this show never, ever tries to evoke an emotional response. The whole series is based on having the viewer have an intellectual understanding of what happens, not an emotional one. There are, thus, no cheap tricks to elicit emotional response, nothing overly dramatic (barring a few strokes of bombast), and no characteristics that make a main protagonist or villain.
I can only applaud this, considering it a feat to produce such a good series without relying on drama. Legend of the Galactic Heroes is, in this sense, the absolute antithesis of my other personal favourite, Le Portrait de Petit Cossette, appealing to the rational side of the viewer, even when the protagonists act with all their vaunted 'foppery and whim'.
Favorite character: Yang, Wenli - Yang Wenli is a commodore, currently serving in the 2nd fleet of the Free Planets Alliance.
The son of a merchant and a pacifist at heart, Yang never wanted to be a soldier, his dream was to become a historian, but he didn’t have the money to pay for his tuition and joined the army to get a scholarship. He barely made it through the officer’s academy due to his lack of interest, though he did make a number of friends there including Dusty Attenborough and Jean Robert Lap. He also met music student Jessica Edwards and both him and Lap developed a crush on her, Jessica eventually chose Lap, Yang accepted her decision and they remained friends.
Soon after he graduated, Yang became involved in a battle near the friendly planet El Facil, because of his superiors’ incompetence and cowardice, the planet was abandoned while a hostile imperial fleet was on its way. Yang was one of the few officers that remained behind and tried to help the population, thanks to his efforts the planet was evacuated in time. Because of this achievement he became famous as “the hero of El Facil” and “miracle Yang”, forever earning the envy of his peers and the scorn of his superiors.
It was at El Facil that Yang first became interested in tactics, but ever since that incident and although he kept rising through the ranks, his novel tactical suggestions were being arbitrarily rejected by hostile superiors. Though disappointed and increasingly cynical with the state of affairs in the Alliance, Yang never stopped trying to do at least the absolute minimum to justify his salary and the pension he was so looking forward to.
Miracle Yang, also called “the magician”, is a genius tactician, as well as a competent strategist. Unlike his often proud adversaries, Yang is more than willing to resort to trickery and his only flaw as a commander lies with his inability to go against the orders of his superiors. Yang holds democracy in an extremely high esteem and has a well-defined political philosophy, providing much insight to anyone willing to listen to him. In his personal life he appears to be quite slothful, he is notoriously incompetent with house chores, as well as in all things romantic. After serving on the Patorokolos in the start of the series, Yang eventually gets the battleship Hyperion as he his given command of the 13th fleet, and this becomes his flagship during the coming conflicts.
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