History Embodied in Anime
In all honesty, I can't help but like this guy. Reinhard von Lohengramm.
No other show really comes to mind when I watch Legend of the Galactic Heroes. Of course, it’s a space opera. Along with the likes of hit series Space Battleship Yamato and the original Mobile Suit Gundam, LOGH is arguably a powerhouse in terms of its influence and fame. But if there’s one thing that’s truly admirable about the series, it’s that it makes the platform of a history documentary more epic than ever seen before. The animators create a fantastic sense of objectivity and distance when the plot contains so much drama; indeed, the very animation of the series holds true to the very philosophy of history that its characters are so often engrossed in discussing.
Warning: Spoilers for Legend of the Galactic Heroes and one tiny spoiler from Nabokov’s Lolita. Proceed at your own risk.
It’s a shame that I hadn’t known about Legend of the Galactic Heroes until earlier this year. An exchange student from Japan at my university who had heard of my interest in anime asked if I had ever watched LOGH, and when I replied that I hadn’t, he said it was unfortunate. It was one of his favorite shows from his childhood, he had said, and definitely suits people who like science fiction or history. Seeing as how summer vacation had started, I took this chance to take a look at this monster. Eighty-five episodes in, I still can’t get enough.
The first thing I noticed after doing some quick research was that the author of the original novels that the show was based on, Tanaka Yoshiki, was also the writer of the novels the recent 2008 anime Tytania was based off of. Having watched Tytania as it aired, I was thoroughly impressed by the way the series. It held my interest until the very end. Although I’m unsure of what people thought of the series back then (seeing as I didn’t read blogs at that time), it was an enjoyable experience at a personal level, nonetheless.
In my opinion there’s one thing that Tytania does which outshines its predecessor: drama. I don’t mean to say that LOGH isn’t dramatic, but so much that it has a very muted feel. Perhaps part of the reason has to do with LOGH’s soundtrack, which might not be as effective as the backgrounds for Tytania is. For a military scifi, Tytania’s opening theme song あの宇宙、征け (romaji: ano sora, yuke) has the power deserving of such an epic story, but both opening and closing of LOGH are a bit less grand. Or perhaps it is simply that, two years ago, I was far more impressionable when Tytania was airing compared to now, when I try to watch anime with an even more critical eye. Aorii wrote a post earlier this year comparing LOGH with Crest/Banner of the Stars, and I agree with her points. Later series, such as the Stars Chronicles, Tytania, or even one of my personal favorites Starship Operators, certainly do instill a more edge-of-your-seat action sensation than LOGH does. Certainly, the majority of battles are seen from a tactical standpoint rather than a personal one as befitting of military science fiction.
But that’s not necessarily a point against the 110 episode epic, in my opinion. LOGH is an extremely interesting piece of work because of a combination of things, and its style simply doesn’t require it to do the same things that Crest/Banner of the Stars did. First, the series uses some of what must be the most obvious form of foreshadowing I have ever seen in an anime. We know exactly when an important character is going to die. From Kircheis’ early death to the passing away of Admiral Yang Wenli towards the end of the series, the viewer knows exactly what to expect. Arguably, this should make the series incredibly boring, considering with every episode we have a narrator at the end telling us about how this character was unaware of this, or that character was unaware of that, but the charm of LOGH is that it does this and yet still keeps the viewer interested.
Despite the fact that we’re almost 99% sure about what comes next, we keep watching because we want to see how everything unfolds. With the setting of an entire galaxy and a cast large enough to stretch across thousands of stars, LOGH is a carefully orchestrated work in which tapers to the viewers’ basic intuitions. It’s quite obvious that, Kircheis, the brilliant young second-in-command of his best friend and emperor-to-be Reinhard von Lohengramm, would soon meet an early death when, in the very beginning of the series Reinhard’s sister Annerose declared that “the moment Reinhard stops listening to Kircheis, then he would walk a path of destruction”. Lo and behold, after a quarrel between the two friends, Kircheis gives up his life to save Reinhard, with the consequence of Reinhard blaming himself for the rest of the series for his beloved partner’s passing.
Space battles are pretty cool.
This first technique works unbelievably well with a second aspect; Legend of the Galatic Heroes contains several interesting points that are embodied through this very use of foreshadowing. Indeed, we are rewarded (if such a word is appropriate) with the predictable death of Kircheis partially because he is the temperate moral compass which continued to guide the powerful Reinhard. With his exit from the stage, Reinhard is then left to the whims of his subordinates, and any failures will be taken by viewers as part of the weakness of a despot. To have such a powerful character as Reinhard become fallible, Kircheis’s death can be considered necessary.
Furthermore on this point, the use of history within the series as a way of introducing the viewer to the lore, and how two of the most important characters, Reinhard and Yang, both rely on their historical knowledge to garner important insights, reveals to us the clairvoyance one can gain through proper wisdom and knowledge. In a sense, the foreshadowing reflects this treatment of history: the way things repeat themselves, how people never change, and how predictable people can act. To compare, I recall a particular use of foreshadowing in one of the earlier chapters of Nabokov’s Lolita where a cat is run over by a car, predicting the death of a woman in the same manner at the end of the novel. Unsuspecting and barely noticeable, this stylistic choice is the direct opposite of LOGH’s grand and open treatment of the past as a tool for divining the future.
Of course, Legend of the Galatic Heroes perhaps deserves far more thorough analysis, especially in regards to its quite voluminous amount of ethical philosophy, political philosophy, and military strategy; but, seeing as I have yet to completely finish the series, I can’t quite talk too much about those topics yet. I do hope that others have enjoyed the same aspect of this series that I have, though. In fact, as someone who has a love for history and historical trivia, I think LOGH does justice to its chosen theme of history. It can be – admittedly – slow at times (or perhaps dry for some viewers), but this is no flaw on part of the show. Sure, it’s not the same excitement that the Stars Chronicles or Tytania have brought to us in more recent years, but it’s got a different form of energy hidden underneath its quiet surface. The directing of the show is a testimony to the faithfulness in which it has kept the feel of an objective historian looking back on history. And this historical feel in narration and execution adds another layer of epicness to a grand, vast space drama that certainly deserves to be called such.
And of course, I haven’t even touched on the historical references throughout the series. That, however, is for another day.
Notes:
All images used in this post have been taken by myself.
“Using history as a mirror allows one to see the future trends.” – Tang Taizong
The way people act will never change, and LOGH made great use of it in its political and sociological philosophy approach; I think the heavy foreshadowing of all those events helps to accentuate this fact to the audience just how predictable things can be when you know the information.
The military tactics involved is seriously outdated though, it gives a very 2D feel and they’re not using third dimensional approaches to get over some of those obstacles they face (like asteroid rings), not to mention the lack of a tech race. Watching the LOGH battles feels like watching two huge masses of infantry collide seeing as they make no distinction between different ship classes and unit formations <_<
Perhaps a more comparable use of foreshadowing is that of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. In the opening chapters we see Anna with her friends and relations see the aftermath of a woman run over by a train…
Perhaps the most blatant disregard to plot revelations with respect to the consequences of spoilers is found in the manga (and para-text) of the Five Star Stories.
I find it as epic in scope as Legend of the Galactic Heroes, but more indulgent and playful in its stories, as opposed to the inexorable narrative of history moving LotGH.
I’m playing Napoleon: Total War, and in general doing a lot of reading on the Napoleonic Era to dovetail with my current watching of Legend of the Galactic Heroes.
I haven’t finished the show yet, but I find that LotGH draw’s a lot of parallels to the era. Reinhard is a lot like Napoleon: a tactical and operational genius who built his fame and reputation on military glory. His only use for peace is to prepare for more war, as he knows that his country will only love him if he gives it more victories. One of the more famous quotes from Napoleon fits Reinhard quite nicely, as a matter of fact: “I did not steal the French crown. I found it lying in the gutter, and I picked it up with the tip of my sword.” I still don’t know if Reinhard is eventually destroyed by this obsession, though.
Thing is, LotGH is probably the only anime that ever inspired me to look through a portion of history this deeply. That alone earns it major props from me.
As for the tactics used, I think the anachronistic strategies are deliberate, bringing to mind the tempo of early 18-19th century land battles, the period from which the show draws much inspiration.
One thing that I always found interesting about LOGH is that it “spoils” itself through the narrator speaking as though this is all history. There were plenty of times when something would happen and then he would say over that something like “Little did the two of them know that that would be the last time that they would meet on the same side”, rather than the traditional approach of setting up that future event as a plot twist, the surprise of which is supposed to be satisfying.
I find how the narrator speaks as an omniscient historian creates a specific sense of foreboding, building a sense of destiny that is immense and heavy and truly unstoppable.
I learned to skip next episode previews however. The extent to which they entirely spoiled the next episode was baffling.
I find this blog entry quite interesting, in a way, because Tytania itself wasn’t that exciting in my opinion and suffered from an unbalanced focus on Fan to the detriment of the more interesting parts of the story. Still, I am not necessarily expecting others to share that opinion.
However, the main point about what LOGH can tell us about history is welcome. I would say, nevertheless, that rather than history being a simple regurgitation of events it is tied to the same basic set of human passions and ideals, which can have very different results depending on the circumstances and specific decisions involved. In other words, there are common trends and cycles but no real instances of “repetitions” from a strict point of view. Foreshadowing, particularly in literature and fiction, can also be a bit misleading in that regard.
History plays a big part in all that we do. It gives us the knowledge that we need for the present & future. Also, in a sense, we are all historians. Dealing with minor, small events/conflicts is our “history”.
I actually wrote an entry about Lavi, a historian from the series D.Gray-Man and how his conflict with himself can be compared to us trying to make history in our lives. You can take a look at:
A BtNHRV article about LoGH? My life is now complete.
But in all seriousness, ignoring the previews (which I skipped religiously) the way the series would spoil itself almost worked to its advantage. Most memorable was a scene in season three when Julian and Yang were having an especially key heart to heart moment, which ended with a particularly telling “Little did they know.” However, two things worked to its advantage. One, it was vague enough to keep you guessing as to what the omniscient narrator meant (even if deep down we knew it was the obvious). And when you finally have to accept the reality of the situation, the dread and disbelief makes the realization so much more powerful. Much like with Gungrave, you know something has to happen, it is all a matter of how and when. There was a reason I said in the review that you may see the plot twists coming, but they will blow your mind.
@Aorii
I think they have a lot of stuff about “navigatable” or “usable” airspace in order to limit troop movement for a reason. There’s none of that advanced stuff from the Stars Chronicles in there.
I don’t necessarily think that the battles are 2D per say, but more similar to the limited movement of ships in a naval battle. A lot of the tactics they use (battle lines, dividing the enemies by cutting their lines, concentrating fire, crossing T’s) remind me of 1500-1900 stuff.
Ground battles would involve mobile units and lightly armored fighters, as well as various other types of soldiers, so I think even if we’re talking infantry there’s just too much. Duking it out between battleships is a better comparison.
@ghostlightning
You’re right. I should’ve thought Anna Karenina. I just recently read Lolita, which is perhaps why it came to mind first. I mainly wanted to contrast the different stylistic usages of foreshadowing.
I’ve never heard of Five Star Stories. I’ll check it out.
@Cokesakto
I didn’t want to dwell too deeply into the historical references, but I do certainly think Napoleon is a good contender. However, in terms of actual references in the anime, I feel like the rise of the Goldenbaum dynasty out of the Galatic Republic parallels the shift from Roman Republic to Roman Empire. Especially the way Reinhard takes power but remains a populist leader.
On the other hand, I think it’s interesting noting that one side uses English and the other uses German. I’m not too strong in terms of 19th century history, so my knowledge of German unification under Bismark and the subsequent rise of the German Empire is shallow at best, but I may have missed some of the references there. Perhaps someone can enlighten me on that.
@jpmeyer
I think that’s what gives LoGH such a grand feel, though. The viewer is in am omniscient position, as if they’re in the place of a star watching the machinations of mankind from afar. It “spoils” itself in a way that keeps people wanting more.
@kadian
Admittedly, I skipped all the episode previews. Except when I was about to go to sleep or go out. Then I watched the previews so I would think about what happens next. XD
@AH
I didn’t elaborate this point in my article, but I did say that I might simply have been a bit too impressionable the time I was watching Tytania. If I have time I’ll go back and watch it and see if I like it as much as I did.
As for your point about the nature of history and foreshadowing, I do agree that there isn’t necessarily always that “spoiling” aspect. It is somewhat misleading. But what I liked about LoGH was that it seemed to me to not tell readers that history is easily changed. Like so many anime where some brat comes out of nowhere and defies the universe, LoGH has another feel to it that rings true of history: time continues to flow. Despite the zeitgeist, the fervor by which people take in their tumulus age, in the end history continues its march forward.
@Manga Therapy
I’ll be sure to take a look at your article. Lavi wasn’t a particularly interested character in D.Gray-man for me, so I’d like to see what you have to say.
@Kavik
Yeah, I really liked that scene in LoGH too. And I do agree with you, that the show keeps people interested somehow, even though it spoils itself. It’s like the directors executed the series knowing how to play on our very intuitions. It’s not an edge-of-your-seat type thriller, but it definitely isn’t dull.
I did not read the post above since I haven’t read Lolita and I may accidentally read the spoilers related to it. Anyway, I have watched LOGH. I haven’t watched Battlestar Galactica, I wonder how does LOGH compare to Battlestar Galactica