This is a remake of a series made way back when which is one of the most highly acclaimed anime in the medium. It is of legendary status but you would be hard pressed to recommend it as to many the barrier of entry is too high to consider. A 110 episode OVA with dated animation and art is hardly an appealing show looking from the outside. Thus we have Die Neue These, a remake which takes the story of LOGH and sticks closer to the original source material of the novels. Acting as a small offering of what makes this series so highly regarded. LOGH is a story set in the future that plays out like actual history, for the stage is grand and the cast is huge. It is about a war between the Free Planets Alliance and the Goldenbaum Dynasty, one being a democracy while the other a autocracy. The series explores these two systems exposing the ideals and flaws of both as while there are large space battles, the true worth of this series is the great amount of politics that surround this war. Even though the story was made over thirty years ago, it’s messages still ring true today making it excellent food for thought.
The series mainly follows the two heroes representing each side, with Yang Wenli being the believer of democracy and a man who seeks a easier life but is pulled time and time again into historic battles due to his talent for strategic combat. Reinhard is the young upstart of the empire who wishes to rise through the ranks to reform the heavily corrupt society of the class system of the empire. The story can be a bit erratic as it jumps forward in time and it can be hard keeping track of the large cast of character which just seems to expand infinitely. The space battle remain the weaker aspect of the series and from word of mouth it appears the strategy employed is only base level tactics. There is also a common factor of highly incompetent people in high positions that gets reused time and time again as justification for the actions of the plot though not necessarily unrealistic. Also is the factor this is very much only a tenth of the full story of LOGH and when this show reaches its final minutes you may not even realize that it has concluded for the story just cuts off like someone slamming a book shut while you were in the middle of a chapter. There is plans for movies to continue the story but you will be left hanging quite a bit if you don’t intend to watch the original OVA.
Presentation wise aside from some rather odd character designs this series is leaps and bounds over it’s older counterpart. Thus I can conclude that this series is the prefect means to recommend this series to a newer fan of anime to encourage them to check out some of the older greats the medium has to offer. Even after all this time this series remains a standout tale within animation and one anime fans should at least attempt to watch in their lifetime. It loses points for being only a part of a story which has barely begun but for those seeking something that’s away from high schools and teenagers with more mature themes then LOGH is right up your alley. Perhaps even sparking an interest in shows of a bygone era.
Aidan thanks for covering the show. In general I liked it. I think it gives a fresh look to the series. I liked many of the changes. I have no idea how and if they will touch on Terranism, but I do not miss it. Yang this time shines. I liked the simple touches that made the alliance debacle more logical and drove home how costly it was leadership wise. In the earlier series most of the other commanders, beyond Ulundu and Buckok (Bewok) were not give enough time to show where they fell in the Paeta-Buckok line. But this time it was pretty clear that these were among the better alliance commanders and the whole top leadership cadres got killed a stupid campaign planned by a insane person, headed by a lazy bum. You can understand why Greenhill did what he did afterwards, and why Yang became so central to the alliance.
Other touches in the last battle. Unlike the early show that blamed incompetence for the problems Poplin had with his Spartian, here there is a better explanation which is exhaustion an fatigue (a more important cause of defeat then incompetence).
Beyond that
1) I am happy with the character art in general though some individuals look worse (Mecklinger for example).
2) I was in general happy with the music though we all know, including the creators that the old classical music soundtrack was exceptional.
3) The space battles were better at the operational level (tactical displays). But ships were way too bunched up. The spartinain sequence in the last episode was good. The ships do look good.
4) My biggest beef is with the Reinhard here. He simply does not have the passionate charisma of OVA Reinhard. The VA does a good job, but the character design was too brooding.
5) I loved the uniforms. Loved them.
I am looking forward to the movies. I also hope that they gender-bend some of the future alliance officers. In general I liked some of their treatment of female characters here, but I would like to see more.