Legend of the Galactic Heroes...
Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu...
Heldensagen vom Kosmosinsel (even though that translates to "Heroes of the Cosmos")... No matter how you say it, this is one of those anime that you've heard of, period. Whether it's because of its record as the longest OVA ever produced or simply the occasional talk of how epic & awesome it is,
LOGH is one of those animes that is nearly-100% agreed to be a "masterpiece". But when you consider that the main 1988-1997 OVA series itself is 110 episodes long, not to mention that there are two side story OVA series (1998's
A Hundred Billion Stars, A Hundred Billion Lights & 1999's
Spiral Labyrinth) that add another 52 episodes, it's natural that many anime fans might be a good bit hesitant to get into a 162-episode epic like this. If only there was a production that was short enough yet very accessible for potential newcomers to watch... Oh wait, there is! The main OVA series started in December of 1988, but on February 6 of that same year the very first
LOGH anime was released, and it's a 60-minute movie that not only makes a great entry point for newcomers but is actually the first piece of
LOGH that should be watched at all. This is
LOGH: Waga Yuku wa Hoshi no Taikai/
My Conquest is the Sea of Stars.
In the 35th Century war has spread out to the infinite vastness of space. For the past 150 years the Galactic Empire has been fighting the Free Planets Alliance for control over the galaxy, and there looks to be no end in sight yet. Within the Galactic Empire a young man by the name of Reinhardt von Musel has been promoted to the rank of Admiral, a move that many higher-ups believe only happened because his older sister is the wife of the Kaiser of the entire Empire, giving Reinhardt the nickname "The Admiral in the Skirt". Within the FPA there is a Commodore called Yang Wen-Li, the "Hero of El-Facil", who currently is the strategic adviser of a FPA admiral, though Wen-Li's unconventional strategies are usually ignored. After a battle in the gaseous planet of Legmiza resulted in the destruction of a FPA fleet at the hands of Reinhardt, save for the flagship that Wen-Li was on due to his realization of Reinhardt's plan, the FPA decides that Legmiza was a fluke Empire victory and still decides to attack Iserlohn Tower, one of the Empire's strongholds. This battle will be the first true war confrontation between Reinhardt & Wen-Li, a confrontation that is only the beginning of everything.
