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What is it that defines a masterpiece ? What effectively makes a show, or any work of art for that matter, so great, that it surpasses even subjective criticism at times ? First of all, I personally believe no piece of art may ever be exempt from a good critical discussion, as long as all arguments are constructive and sensible. Many series and animes have fallen victim to the sands of time and suffered greatly under how poorly they have aged, taking the original Berserk anime from 1998 as an example. This leads back to my original question: What lets a show truly withstand the ... test of time, so as to be crowned with the title of "masterpiece" ?

Legend of the galactic Heroes, which coincidentally ended airing with its nearly ten year run time when the aforementioned Berserk Anime began, has successfully proven its iron grip and rock solid foundation in the current anime community, as seen by the countless comparisons between the original OVA and "Die Neue These", be they either positive or negative.

This story is not called a "space opera" without a reason. The nearly bombastic presentation and caricature-like characters all give off the impression that they are trying to grasp their position on the stage called space, no matter how small or large that role may be. This is further emphasized by the many instances where the soldiers and admirals refer to their great battles in the galaxy as "stages of history". Another important aspect is precisely this reoccuring focus on history. It won't take a viewer to long to get the feeling that he or she is observing a chronicle of past events. The key factor for this is without a doubt the narrator. We tend to regard narrators in modern cinema as "filler content", who risk dragging out the plot or treating the audience as "dumb dumb sheep incapable of understanding anything". Nothing could be further from the truth in LotgH. Yara Yuusaku's voice superbly delivers what we need to know when we need to know it with a calm retrospective atmosphere giving off an almost analytic perspective. "The Maltese Falcon", starring Humphrey Bogart, is a confusing detective movie from 1941. Its largest issue was that it cut out an important scene in which Bogart's character gives the police a summary of his findings, which would have also brought viewers up to date with what had happened up to that point in the story. It would be easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer flood of faces and names in LotgH, nearly all of whom serve at least one key role in the plot for multiple episodes. Once again it is the narration that subtly reminds us who we are looking at and what last transpired. My thoughts while watching this constant multitude of military and political schemes taking their course was always "all killer and no filler". You might find yourself wondering how you got to this section of the story or how the last space battle was in any way relevant, however once you backtrack each character's current position in the plot, you realize it constantly leads back to the eternally intertwined web of other characters and their actions, automatically making everyone important in the story.

The grand theme of intergalactic dominion in and of itself, along with the resulting politics and military tactics are given prime importance throughout the entire show. Character progression falls victim to this focus logically. Despite this, the show does its best to push the personal development of the main characters as best it can, which it does surprisingly well. We do in fact see most of the main cast either mature or face internal conflicts. Sadly not every character was given this abundance of screen time and many others are left as two dimensional as when they started out. Their defining traits slowly become oversaturated every time they are repeatedly mentioned. These side-characters are interesting at first nonetheless and the quantity of encounters between these many different personalities makes up for their slightly superficial appearance at times.

No character is forgettable. I previously mentioned the narrator's importance in reminding the viewer of key plot points and while one may occasionally no longer recall "that one one characters face" for a second, it never takes too long for it to return. This saving grace can easily be attributed to the amazing design of each character. While the animation of LotgH may often seem stiff and poorly executed at times, the beautiful and dramatic still shots you can find within the show make everything that is supposed to be communicated clear anyway. Faces are shown in great detail, the battlefields are displayed with a tactical clarity, which lets anyone follow along with what is happening. The baroque imperial uniforms and architecture clash with the modern appearance of the alliance, yet both forces hold equal technological footing in space. This is shown in many subtle, but also obvious ways, when we see the characters interact with their surroundings. Naturally, it is the animation that presents us with what we see in those scenes.

Returning to the historical theme of the show, the soundtrack undoubtedly makes the second strongest impression in this aspect, next to the narrator. Almost all tracks with only a few exceptions are taken from the likes of Beethoven, Wagner or Tchaikovsky. Not only does their tone perfectly match each scene they are chosen for, but they never intrude on the overall viewing experience, instead opting to secretly direct the feel and emotional setting of the scene. This underlying correlation we have between the past and classical music cannot be ignored. Even though we are watching epic galactic war in the distant future, we feel as if we are retrospectively analyzing wartime tactics of the past. The music emphasizes this impression.

(Quick side note: Just excuse the anime's tendency towards ridiculous Germanic names and words and all the "Sieg Kaiser" scenes where everybody raises their hand in a very right-wing manner, I don't think we will ever stop the Japanese's infatuation with Nazis.)

So: Why is "Heldensagen vom Kosmosinsel", "Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu" or "Legend of the galactic Heroes" considered a masterpiece ? In my humble opinion, it is because it is hecking good. In no way should its classy presentation be counted as a factor of superiority. The show itself chooses to appear in such a fashion and successfully acts the role of being the ultimate "space drama / opera". Perhaps it is the idea that humanity will never change, even in the distant future, when man will no longer walk just the earth, but also other worlds, that lets this anime continue to make such an impression. The idea that even an eternity later humans will remain humans, with all their flaws but especially also all their values.