carlotta.mante - 2015-09-25 04:59:44

Critic’s Log – Earthdate: June 10, 2013. Review #49: Legend of the Galactic Heroes: My Conquest is the Sea of Stars.

If one were to say that the history of Mankind is the history of War, few would disagree. If there is such a thing as “progress” in Mankind… no one can say that “progress” was not born of war. Perhaps Man is a creature that must fight until the last one is dead. In war, great amounts of blood, tears, and knowledge are consumed and many people’s dreams and ambitions crumble. In any age, there are people that want to change the world. But only the people of that era can evaluate how such ambitions changed the world, this is because values change within the times, as do historians’ interpretations. But a few ambitious people left their mark, and their names were burned into history. These people are called “Heroes”

To be technical, this is a production by not just one, not just two, but three Studios. Those three were Kitty Films, Madhouse, and Artland. Such a collaboration like this doesn’t really come by too often. Did such a collaboration pay off in the long run, well...I can’t say for sure until I actually have sat down and watched the entirety of this anime. But for just this prelude movie, It does look very promising. The animation is late 80’s old but I don’t think it’s necessarily bad at all. In fact, certain animation effects were great for the time. Please keep in mind that there really isn’t much to be said regarding the animation in this movie because this movie after all is just the beginning of something much...much larger on a much grander scale.

The music is another interesting topic. There is no original composition for this anime. The music in this movie uses Classical compositions from Classical composers like Mahler, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Ravel, and even Mozart. Don’t worry, the use of classical compositions are used greatly and will continue on to the Main series. All I can say is...The music is fit for a king.

When it comes to voice acting, let me just say one thing. There is no English Dub to this show and that is because this series was never licensed in the U.S. Where I reside. You’re going to  have to watch this Subbed if you want to watch this anime. If you are a purist, there should be no problem. is there? I like English Dubs if they are done right. Since there is only one cast in this show, let me share what I thought of the voice acting. Ryo Horikawa is terrific as Reinhard Von Musel, The late Kei Tomiyama would prove to be just as terrific as Yang Wenli as time went by. Masashi Hironaka is also great as Siegfried Kircheis. and guess what? Expect a shit ton of famous seiyus to be mentioned when I go over the main series next. The voice cast is excellent.

When I said “expect a shit ton of seiyus to be mentioned”, There will be a lot of characters in this show as well. There’s only a small amount of characters that are introduced in this prelude, but there will be much more later on. There is slight development in the characters, but this is just a prelude to the main series and this movie is simply introducing the main characters and introducing some key players. My advice is...don’t expect too much...yet.

Which brings me to the story and the movie as a whole. This movie is both overwhelming and a bit underwhelming. It’s overwhelming with the elaborate set up in characters and plot and it’s a bit underwhelming with the amount of dialogue this movie has as well as some pacing. Is this movie necessary in the first place? That depends. This is the introductory point and the prelude to the main series after all, but I think it would have made some sense to put this in with the show as a two parter or three parter, and you wanna know something? This movie is not perfect, It does have interesting characters and nice music but there is a couple hiccups in animation that bumps this movie from getting a perfect 10. That is not to say that this will affect the main series when I review it next. I will decide what I rate that show, got it? And please keep in mind that my ratings are not meant to be fact, they are just personal opinions really... So don’t take it too seriously if what I rate something doesn’t meet your expectations. I am fair when I go over a show, really? and if you evaluate a show fairly, you might find yourself surprised that someone may have a difference in opinion. There are times when differences in opinion involve a fair evaluation and another fair evaluation regardless of score or mood. Okay, I’m obviously poking fun of the show, I’ll just get to the point. What I’m trying to say is that this movie is a nice introduction, but it isn’t perfect. If you are to watch Legend of the Galactic Heroes, I want to give you two notes of advice...

1. WATCH THIS MOVIE FIRST

2. You need to find the time to watch this show because it is really long.

I wish I could say more about this movie, but I can’t. There’s not much to say about it because this movie’s only 1 hour long, and this movie is self-aware that this is an introduction of what’s to come. I will go over the Main Series of Legend of the Galactic Heroes next. I assure you that more will be said than this…

Legend of the Galactic Heroes: My Conquest is the Sea of Stars is unlicensed. If you are to see this movie, Watching it online is the only way to experience it. If it does get licensed in the U.S. Pick this show up if you must.

With all that said, Legend of the Galactic Heroes: My Conquest is the Sea of Stars is essentially the pilot to this Epic Space Opera Anime. This movie makes great use of classical music, It has an interesting set-up, the characters may not impress much, but this movie is just the beginning. The animation looks great but isn’t perfect. If you plan on watching this Space Saga, this movie should be seen first.

I give Legend of the Galactic Heroes: My Conquest is the Sea of Stars a 9.5 out of 10. It is EXCELLENT

Feel free to leave a comment, and look above to the stars.

My next review will be my 50th and it will be another page to the history of the galaxy.

 In every age, in every place, the deeds of men...remain the same.

devante.huel - 2013-05-18 10:39:35

"Legend of the Galactic Heroes: My Conquest is the Sea of Stars" is the prelude to the "Legend of the Galactic Heroes" main series. It focuses on the fateful first encounters on the battlfield between Yang Wenli and Reinhard von Lohengramm.Lohengramm, with his vast ambitions and Yang the reluctant soldier form an interesting contrast. They're almost the polar opposite of each other, but in many ways they are similar. There's a sense that the two men are destined to become great rivals, and what makes the movie fascinating is the anticipation it creates for the future.Yang and Lohengramm aren't the only characters seeded in this prelude who have future significance. If you come back to this after watching a portion of the series, you'll find plenty of other important characters lurking around, but most of them don't have much of a role to play, so it's unlikely that you'll have taken too much notice of them first time round.As a movie from the 80's, it shows its age quite clearly. Everything about the movie less than polished. Yang's initial characterisation feels a little heavy handed. In their attempt to portray him as an easy going fellow, they went too far and ended up dehumanising him a little. His overly nonchalant demeanor means that he seems less than bothered by the loss of so many lives during one of the battles in the movie, and it feels like he barely regretted his lack of effort towards its prevention (being marked out only by a single casually delivered line).Another gripe I have with this movie is how incompetently they abused the use of classical music. Normally, making classical music work with the scenes seem trivially easy - rarely do I come across instances where people messed it up, but this movie somehow managed it, and in a manner that's comparable to "Mars of Destruction" (I've probably just landed myself in hot water with the legions of LoGH fanboys with that line, but I stand by what I said :P). The makers' idea of good music production seem to be to start playing a long, random piece of classical music (presumably one favoured by the director) when a battle begins, then just leave it to run its course, giving themselves a self congratulative pat on the back for a job well done. This shockingly lazy approach only resulted in battle scenes that are jarringly devoid of tension and excitement, and a movie where the use of classical music comes off as awfully pretentious.The battles themselves aren't bad. There are some strokes of genius to be found - the battle at that planet being one such example - but there are also parts that seem to be reliant on the somewhat far fetched stupidity of the opposing commanders, a fault that unfortunately extends and amplifies into the main series.But as far as preludes go, "Legend of the Galactic Heroes: My Conquest is the Sea of Stars" is a decent one. The movie may not be amazing, but it does promise far more interesting things are to come in the series it's preluding, which is its main purpose anyway.