Jan 10, 2021
I'll start by saying I didn't choose this date at random to finish this series. At the moment I'm polishing this review, it's 3:10 AM (EST) of January 10th, 2021. 2070 years ago, a man called Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon river, starting one of the most important politico-military confrontations in what would be recorded by History as one, if not the most greatest empire that was ever stablished in the existence of mankind. 101 years ago, a peace treaty known as the Treaty of Versailles went into full effect, a peace treaty that would mark the definitive final point for the most brutal war
...
that men had ever fought to that point of history. An act of war, an act of peace; no more, no less. As I'm writing this, I cannot help but remember the words "In every age, in every place, the deeds of men remain the same".
Indeed, milennia later than the time I'm writing this it's told to us that mankind hasn't essentially changed, and we are still resolving our problems by brute force. It's in these circumstances that we are honoured to attend this wonderful play, the Legend of the Galactic Heroes. As in the major conflicts throughout human history, we witness the eternal struggle between autocracy and democracy, between order and freedom, between firmness and liberty, the rule of force and the rule of law.
We attend the story of two men, Reinhard von Lohengramm and Yang Wenli, who are the embodiment of these two systems of rule, of law, of thought. We observe their pursuit of their dreams, of love, of peace, of victory. We must bear in mind it's a story carried out by humans. There aren't any green weird little men running around in this show, there are only people like anyone else. People who start a war in order to take revenge on someone who wronged his sister and against the system that made him able to do so, people who engage in conflict in order to secure his pension for his latter life, even people who do it out of pure foppery and whim.
Alongside them we find many characters, some endearing, others worthy of contempt. In any way, they all take part in a story where each one of them feels like a person of their own, and not exclusively as someone designed to move the plot around. We see how their actions have consequences, some unharmful, some fatal. We see their joy, their sorrow, their excitement, their despair, their lives.
We are presented with the most glorious and most gruesome aspects of war. As there are men who fought for supposedly menial motives, there are others who do so for reasons they upheld in the upmost esteem. For glory, whether it's national or personal; for people, whether they must protect them or honour them; for ideologies they think are worth to give their blood for.
This is the story that is presented to us, sprinkled with the most beautiful soundtrack that could ever be used, composed by the most brilliant minds of their time. If I weren't a classical music lover to begin with, this series would surely have given birth to that love. Beethoven, Wagner, Mahler, Dvorak and many other are also stars in this show. Whether it is a romantic scene, a glorious fight, a villainous scheme or the most tragic death, there is always a perfect piece to support it. The art, though, while it's overall good, it isn't a masterpiece on its own. It's normal, kind of average for it's time, but in general it does well at portraying what it must portray. My score for it would be a 7.5, rounded up to 8 for MAL's scoring settings.
Indeed, brilliancy is everywhere to be found in this series. It can be found on the remarks of the characters, lecturing others about their motives for their war, in the astonishing tactics used in the countless battles or skirmishes present in the show, in the overall conducting of this marvellous play. This is a story that makes you salute the characters even unconsciously, out of the love, admiration or respect you end up having for them.
This is, in fact, a story that makes you give it an standing ovation once the curtain falls.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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