Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Epic

When I use the word epic, I don’t cheapen it like everyone else on the internet:

Epic wasn’t meant to be some watered-down internet catch phrase. First of all, epic can only describe stories/accounts/tales/legends/recollections/etc…. The following things aren’t stories and therefore cannot be epic:

  • Maddox
  • Soundtracks by Yuki Kajiura
  • ShizNat fanart

Not epic, but awesome nonetheless

Epic was meant to describe the rare confluence of quantity and quality, not just anything that doesn’t suck. To be Epic, a show must at least contain:

  • Significant spatial scope
  • Significant temporal scope
  • Separable plots
  • Consistently high quality (absolutely no bullshit filler)
  • High stakes

Here are a few examples of shows that fall short of epic status:

  • DBZ: Too much bullshit filler
  • Naruto: Too much bullshit filler
  • Bleach: Too much bullshit filler
  • Kenshin: Too much bullshit filler
  • Inu Yasha: Too much bullshit filler
  • Death Note: Too short
  • The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: Too short
  • Strawberry Panic: Too short (needs another season or two)
  • Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Too short, no separable plots (only a few simultaneous subplots)
  • Touch: Low stakes
  • Monster: More of a saga than an epic
  • Berserk: See Monster
  • Tsubasa Chronicle: Not bad, but far from elite

Legend of the Galacted Heroes has it all:

Well developed minor characters
Simultaneous subplots
Simultaneous plots
Unforeseeable plot twists
Comical victimization
Recurring random character(s)
Badass mid-episode transitions
Soundtrack by Yuki Kajiura
Catchy dance sequence
Comically awkward dance sequence
Themes of Hatred/Suffering/Revenge
Lesbians
Hilarious ambiguously gay dude
A bad poet
Stylish visual effects
Dinosaurs
Rivalry
Graphic violence
Character vaguely resembling myself
Failed confessions
Misunderstandings
Mangled German
Pimp in a White Suit
Time Travel
Woman who can’t cook
Catch phrases
Largest voice cast in anime history
Guy who never says anything
Self-parody

This show has over 100 named characters, all of whom kick ass. I’ve already profiled my hero, Yang Wenli. Then there’s this guy named Eisenach. He gets about three total minutes of screen time and never says anything. He snaps once for coffee and twice for alcohol. You don’t get quality characters like him anymore.

There’s a real man. Sideburns. Hair slicked back. No bullshit. Unlike modern anime characters, LoGH characters realized that bangs drooping over your eyes are a liability in battle. Even pretty boy Reinhard didn’t have bangs.

I could go on, but you get the message. Legend of the Galactic Heroes is probably the best anime I’ve ever seen. It’s unlicensed and fansubbed by Central-Fansubs, one of my favorite groups. Everything about this anime rules (except the graphics, but that’s because it’s old). Watch it.

18 people love sucking up to me

  1. Baka-Raptor Says:

    “Originally the staff wanted this to be a TV series. However the novel was not well known at the time, the novel was long, and there were almost no TV anime series based on novels at the time so the TV planning division did not give LoGH the green light for TV broadcast. Thus, the staff made it into an OVA format. Only later, was it adapted into a TV format.” – Anime News Network

    [Reply]

  2. dawwe Says:

    Hmmm, I wonder if I should take the time to see this. And yay for being first?

    [Reply]

  3. Baka-Raptor » Blog Archive » Aria the Origination 08 from Athena’s POV Says:

    [...] her appreciation? By walking out on me! That’s it – I’m taking a nap. (Add the “epic banana peel slip” and broken glass for cliché [...]

  4. Baka-Raptor Says:

    Two people who get it:

    http://animanachronism.wordpress.com/2008/03/20/epic-scope-forensic-detail-the-legend-begins/

    http://searchofno9.wordpress.com/2008/03/29/parsing-the-epic-%E2%80%93-an-analysis/

    [Reply]

  5. Big and Bold: Parsing the Epic Part 2 « In Search of Number Nine Says:

    [...] story, it’ll basically run out of steam. Honestly, I think this is one of the reasons for the dreaded filler episode in most shounen anime. The scale simply isn’t large enough at the beginning of the story to [...]

  6. Baka-Raptor » Blog Archive » What ISN’T Emo? Says:

    [...] done what I could to protect the integrity of the word epic. Today I pass that baton to The Animanachronism and In Search of Number Nine, who substantiate [...]

  7. Baka-Raptor » Blog Archive » Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei: An Anime Comedy that’s actually funny Says:

    [...] I support any show that supports LoGH [...]

  8. Baka-Raptor » Blog Archive » The Baka-Raptor Awards Says:

    [...] yeah. But I’m still influential, at least enough for other bloggers to rip me off. (Epic, Categorical Comparisons, Sponsored by Pizza [...]

  9. Baka-Raptor » Blog Archive » Season 5: Sellout Says:

    [...] 3/2: I make my first official sellout-era post. [...]

  10. Speer von Oberstein Says:

    Eisenach had a line of “check mate…” and several scene time.
    In contrast, commander of Free Planet Alliance 3rd fleet Lefebvre. Only show up for about 15 second during a battle scene, and had *grasp* for line.

    Overall, a good anime that broaden the views of the viewers.

    [Reply]

  11. Baka-Raptor » Blog Archive » Tytania: Good Old-Fashioned Space Pornography Says:

    [...] the character designs in Tytania are moéified with respect to their Legend of the Galactic Heroes counterparts. I praised LotGH for not having any male characters with hair drooping over their eyes [...]

  12. Funeral Games « The Animanachronism Says:

    [...] sums it all up in his inimitable style: this anime is nothing if not an epic in the heroic [...]

  13. Hyunk Says:

    Hey Baka-Raptor, who is the character vaguely ressembling yourself?

    I just started to watch the show because Tytania takes too much time to air (one Episode a Week, thats not enought)

    [Reply]

  14. All the Lights in the Sky are Our Enemies: Reflections on Legend of the Galactic Heroes « We Remember Love Says:

    [...] Turn A Gundam). This isn’t a knock on Gundam. I’m just attempting to illustrate that as epics go, Legend of the Galactic Heroes is efficient, and [...]

  15. Baka-Raptor » Blog Archive » Season 6: Get thee to a Nunnery Says:

    [...] Legend of the Galactic Heroes [...]

  16. Filipi Nacimento Says:

    The best quote so far: “If it were a third-rate TV anime… But the world we live in is not such a convenient place. Lost lives will never return. Because of it, we live in a world where life is an irreplaceable existence”

    [Reply]

  17. Filipi Nacimento Says:

    ow ok… the complete quote: “If it were a third-rate TV anime a dead protagonist can come back fo life at the producers convenience.[Dragonball anyone?] But the world we live in is not such a convenient place. Lost lives will never return. Because of it, we live in a world where life is an irreplaceable existence”

    [Reply]

  18. Endless Eight is the Longest Epic of Virginity EVAR « notdotq Says:

    [...] “Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Epic” (To me, EPIC is just a four letter word, but so is LOGH and both are [...]

Leave a Reply

baka-raptor@baka-raptor.com

Back to how much I rule...