We have our second batch of LOGH episodes and while the previous batch focused on the stirring of rebellions within both civilizations, this batch has the focus of those coup d’etats being executed and the consequences therein. I find the contrast between the two to be fascinating as both governments are undergoing the same problem but the perspectives are quite different. The Lippstadt alliance being the former privileged upper class attempting to reclaim their status all the while preparing to backstab each other if they succeed. Meanwhile the National Salvation Military Council are the very definition of the saying “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” as they certainly have the best interests of the people at heart but their methods are more or less a repeat of the very thing that birthed the Goldenblum dynasty in the first place. It’s hard to claim that you are here to provide salvation while pointing guns at the people you claim to save.
I truly feel sorry for Merkatz in the Lippstadt alliance. He’s a man that clearly doesn’t want to be there and sees exactly how the whole thing is going to turn out. He wouldn’t even be there if he wasn’t blackmailed into participation yet he still tries to do his job to the best of his ability. Yet despite this the nobles of the alliance pretty much seem determined to rush into their own demise. Merkatz is the sensible man trying to herd a bunch of entitled selfish brats into saving themselves. He let them lose a battle on purpose hoping that would teach them some humility and get them to finally take Reinhard seriously. But instead they double down on their pride and fall straight for Reinhard’s traps, congratulating themselves all the while. Merkatz pain and frustration is all too visible when having the leader of the alliance walk straight into a trap, having to save said dumbass and then have that dumbass yell at him for not coming sooner. It’s a sad fact that this very thing echos current times far too well with people forced to make stupid moves all because of some incompetent man-child at the top of the command chain. The nobles of the Lippstadt alliance are a cautionary tale of just what is produced when someone is fostered under a social class of unearned privilege. Truly it’s almost a joke with how the Lippstadt Alliance more or less falls apart due to its own incompetence. Reinhard almost doesn’t have to do anything, the nobles do all the damage for him. From shooting their own ships to make an escape to killing one of their most loyal generals due to suspected treachery orchestrated by Reinhard.
The nail in the coffin is the leader dropping a nuclear bomb on his own territory to quell a rebellion. Now here is an interesting thing as there are two different versions of how this event went down in the novels and the old OVA. In the novels things happen as they do here with Oberstein putting the plan to Reinhard to let the nukes being dropped so that they can film it and get the people on their side. In the OVA however they made it that Oberstein never told Reinhard about this plan and carried it out under his own volition. Hereby exempting Reinhard from the blame. Personally I find the events of the novel and the current series make Reinhard more interesting as he has always been someone for extreme measures and this is a point where he takes it one step too far. A point where even Kircheis may not be able to forgive or justify him on. It is this point that differentiates Yang and Reinhard as Reinhard will go to any lengths to achieve his objectives while Yang generally acts with morality in mind and no ambition. Even when Walter was very much hinting that Yang should take on the mantle of dictator and take over the free planets alliance Yang admits that while he could do the job well, there is no telling if his successors could continue that legacy. Yang is a man who knows history and thus has the knowledge to not repeat it.
It’s a shame though as the free planets alliance is truly a mess and it really does require capable people in the lead. Thanks to Flaks assasination attempt seems someone pretty terrible got the top job which was originally offered to Bewcock who refused due to the conflict of interest of him being in two positions. So now even if Yang stops the Coup it’s just gonna result in some asshole being put back in power. The coup is certainly the worse situation at the moment but it’s clear that this new leader is going to cause serious problems later down the line. With the developments in the past few episodes it’s becoming clear that the National Salvation Military Council will fail and the leader, Lieutenant Greenhills father, most likely knows it. The turning point was the stadium massacre which is truly a heartrending example of just what pure ignorance can cause. Jessica Edwards was pretty much the last voice of reason within the free planets alliance and the very thing keeping it all from running out of control. She stood up for what she believed in and fought with reason to the very end only to have her head cracked open by a captain who was too stubborn to admit that she was right. The death of Jessica Edwards marks the death of reason, so it is appropriate that upon her demise to have everything brake down into a fight to the death between protestors and the military. The National Salvation Military Council can never claim to be fighting for the salvation of people ever again, after all they just went into a stadium and killed 20000 of them. It is true that the higher ups never planned for such a thing but frankly the failure was letting such an individual have so much power within their own ranks. A soldier that held a gun to Bewcock head and claimed that they wouldn’t be corrupt like the Free Planets Alliance is proven wrong with this incident which shows that they are just as susceptible to corruption as them. Really I have no real complaints to how these episodes turned out, besides one small thing about Yangs reaction to Jessica’s death. I do appreciate them trying to show how distraught Yang was over it, considering that he was most definitely in love with her, but the way that they decided to show it was unfortunately very silly. Namely making it that Yang wore sunglasses to hide his expression from his subordinates. I get the intent but it’s just far too silly for me.
LOGH still continues to be a great show that is a rarity in the current anime climate. Thankfully due to the short time it took to get this next batch of episodes I was able to engage with it much faster and with that get sucked into the political drama. It’s unfortunate though that there is little to no promotion for these episodes with even I being completely unaware of them until informed by the chat box on this site. So LOGH remains that show that everyone has heard of yet no one has actually watched.
I just wanted to comment that I don’t know about batches, but I’ve been watching this series weekly. They come out on Friday (already watched the 21st).
Said that, I like your reviews. Edwards’ death and the massacre at the stadium was pretty shocking, showing how easily demonstrations can go south. I even felt sorry for that bloody noble and how all of his soldiers were executed (offscreen) and him humiliated. It is funny too how Merkatz keeps winning all his battles, while the nobles keep messing up and wasting their resources and manpower.
I call them batches mainly cause they were originally “movies” but were broken up into episodes of four each. I do know the show has been airing weekly on crunchyroll. I have decided to review them 4 at a time.
Man, I love the new series dub. I like it, though obviously the difference in the length with the OVA is that many characters do get less development which makes me sad (Mittamiyer, Ruenthal, Kircheis).
I also felt the battle had more depth in the OVA. I remember that the Battle of Armirstar was climax of the early arc of the series. A truly epic moment. It just did not fell the same here.
I like the much more “human” Reinhardt though he lacks the raw magnetism of the OVA Reinhardt (I said once on the OVA, that I would love to have a drink with Yang, but love watching Reinhard act out in the OVA. This is not the case with him here. He is a bit more diminished imho, but more human).
I generally like the music with two exceptions. The Empire Anthem and FPA anthem in the OVA were so much better than the versions in this series.
That said I still say this rendition can stand on its own,
Thank you for reviewing it man!