The Narrator, Score & the Historical Record - Legend of the Galactic Heroes

Legend of the Galactic Heroes is a work of art that's almost seamlessly transitioned to a "Classic" even as the more antiquated aspects of its style continue to deviate from the modern style, maybe most clearly shown in the remake's decisions. But in this video I take a look at how two of the production elements - the Narrator and the use of Classical Music - help to give Legend of the Galactic Heroes a sense of contributing to the historical record.

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Music:
Free Planets Alliance Anthem - LotGH OST
Pioneering Yamato - SBY 2001
Valkyrie Ha - LotGH OST

Thumbnail Art & Logo: Drawplex

[WorthlessWinner]

Surprised you got through this without mentioning the episodes that are just history lectures on the history of the setting which are placed appropriately in the broader series to not be as dry as they sound

I love that some of the characters are cited as sources, so you can see the bias of the narration

[havocbringer]

I see a Legend of the Galactic Heroes video, I immediately watch and like. Great job articulating the uniqueness —and timelessness — of that anime, my favorite one.

[sefatsilverlake]

I LOVED Lang scene when the narrator says that. And when the wife pleads for him and kessler is like "he will be judge as a polititian not as a husband" harsh bu truth. In the end nobody is 100% evil or 100% good. Its such a realstic portrayal of human nature.

[aaronlaluzerne]

I was fortunate enough to watch all 110 episodes of Legend of the Galactic Heroes on this site before YouTube took them down. It was truly a once in a lifetime moment that I will never forget. I remember one scene when one guy said no one became famous for doing nothing where then I then replied Have you ever heard of the Kardashians? With another person replying they were erased from the pages of history, it was for the best/better that people didn't know about them.

[immortalized_onion]

"𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐞𝐬". I literally can not think of an anime title cooler than this.

[TheEnderLeader]

_Legend_ isn't an anime. _Legend_ is animated literature.

[Alan]

Amazing series. I finished it last summer and still constantly think about scenes in this show that may well be forever grained in me. The insight and wise nature of the two lead characters plus the many people around them gave this show an atmosphere unlike any before.

[ziggymcdougal]

that's one thing I love about LOGH. Aside from like a few key moments that focus on characters more than plot, the story never tries to be deeper than it is or pose abstract philosophical questions to the viewer. It feels like reading a well written history textbook or watching a documentary. It does its best to keep an objective viewpoint on both sides on the conflict partially to match the tone it's going for, but also so the viewers won't be swayed to one side or the other. It's not deep or emotional, but intelligent and focused.

This won't work for all stories, nor should it. I don't want to see all shows try for this same type of tone and story. But it's a tone that works perfectly for LOGH and it's great to see how the adaptation took advantage of the benefits of the medium to enhance that tone.

[WorthlessWinner]

Very good and restrained use of dramatic irony in the narrator especially around certain events in the show

[AlejandroSilva-mryy]

Ever since seeing Reinhard step forth as the new emperor and hear the people shout "Sieg Kaiser Reinhard(o)" I haven't been able to not get goosebumps hearing Valkyre Ha

[meow]

The narrator of the work has a close connection to the events and the sequence of the story, and extinguishes an atmosphere of drama and suspense, which makes him a skilled and capable novelist. I do not see his presence as a flaw or rudeness, as he has his place, as do other elements of the work.

[tcc]

I love LOGH, this video is excellent at explaining various reasons that it's so great.

[Nimroc]

I'm not sure how accurate this is but I remember reading somewhere that the reason they went with classical music was simply because they happened to have stack of cassettes with it and it ended up being a cost saving measure, but damn if it wasn't a fitting choice.
The lack of classical music might be the main reason I can't bring myself to watch the new version, since I have a hard time imagining the story without it.

[FarCritical]

I love the narrator in LoGH as well but sometimes he just spoils too much

[DIEGhostfish]

The fact that the LoGH separate score soundtrack tapes apparently *Fell off the damned boat* on the way back from a sadly failed dubbing project in Canada (The Ocean dub pilots are on youtube last I checked) is a tragedy.

[EthanKironus]

Good video, I just think you should have included a clip of Yara Yuusaku. You really can't get the point across without him.

Thank you--the loss of the historic narrative feel is my main peeve with Die Neue These, all its virtues notwithstanding. I never really knew how to articulate that until now.

[ariyellsalot]

When I tried to watch neu thesis, but I couldn't almost entirely because of the score and the connection I have to the score of the original.

[TheDistortion]

There's only one significant flaw I can find with LOGH, and that is entirely based on me being German: 0:11 the title screen literally says "Heldensagen vom Kosmosinsel" which would translate to "Hero Stories of Cosmos Island" and even that does not fit because they also messed up the German grammar which cannot be expressed in English. But: It features a German based Empire and fuck me, that's perfect.

[heinrichkornelius]

"We're making a revolution out of foppery and whim. Get it?"

[bachelorsensei]

Timeless classic : Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu