We continue across the sea of stars, where Gee and Iro watch the seminal 1988-1997 Legend of the Galactic Heroes OVA a few episodes at a time. Keep an eye out for this podcast between main installments of The GLORIO Chat as we work our way through the history books.
Opening Song: Sea of Stars
Ending Song: Crossing the Bridge of Light (Orchestral Version)
Show Notes
This installment covers episodes:
- 33. Fortress vs Fortress
- 34. The Return
- 35. Determination and Ambition
00:18 – Happy Holidays from the Earth Cult
02:19 – Episode 33
03:05 – Yang definitely has the entire fleet right everyone
05:31 – Rosenritter baby!!
08:18 – POWs in Space
09:27 – Yang Wenli’s running commentary
10:21 – Kempf’s Master Plan
13:52 – Yang’s thoughts on government
17:17 – If only Kircheis were here…
18:39 – Sage advice from Yang Wenli
19:26 – Olivier Poplan is havin’ a fun time
21:18 – Schenkopp’s coffee order
21:52 – Merkatz shows his stuff
24:04 – Muller psyches himself out
24:58 – The possibilities of science fiction
26:02 – Differences in Command between FPA and Empire
30:01 – The Patented Gee Rant™ about Siege Warfare
34:55 – Even Matches
37:39 – Episode 34
38:55 – Schrödinger’s Yang and his Dreadful Power
39:54 – Mittermeyer and Reuenthal on their way
40:45 – Ramming Speed is probably the best strategy here
42:15 – Meanwhile, FPA is still a bunch of idiots
44:39 – Yang’s Reinforcements
46:26 – Julian Minci is the MVP
50:04 – Is Julian secretly the protagonist of his own harem anime?
55:28 – Pincer attack
56:26 – Formation D
58:34 – Admiral Gustav Kempf Is Getting Pounded in the Butt By The Iserlohn Fleet
1:00:00 – Ramming Speed!
1:01:00 – Put some spin on the ball and then shoot it with a lot of guns
1:03:12 – RIP Kempf; Muller swears vengeance upon Yang Wenli
1:05:00 – Episode 35
1:06:07 – Phezzan gonna Phezzan… WAIT, WHAT?
1:10:11 – Reinhard’s thoughts on the transfer of power
1:11:49 – If only Kircheis were here…
1:14:00 – Muller and the Empire are so over the top
1:17:50 – Swearing vengeance upon Yang Wenli
1:18:24 – Oberstein still up to his tricks
1:19:54 – Hilda’s choice
1:21:11 – The Cynic Reuenthal and the Optimist Mittermeyer
1:23:31 – What’s Yang Wenli up to?
1:26:45 – Good Violence, Bad Violence, and the power of History
1:30:52 – The Subjectivity of History
1:35:01 – More FPA goons
1:36:32 – Baron Kunmel is up to something
1:40:21 – Housekeeping and please check out our Very GLORIO 2018 content
And don’t forget that Legend of the Galactic Heroes is available for streaming on HIDIVE!
The Glorio Blog 
The fortress battle is one of the better arcs in the series because people other than Yang or Reinhard got to strut their stuff.
When the first part ended I thought that crashing would make sense because I saw how effective it was when Yang used it to destroy the necklace plus the whole fleet disparity but since Kempf didn’t do it I thought there must be some reason why not. Imagine to my surprise in the next episode where Reinhard and Yang both advocated for crashing the fortress.
I did like how Reinhard and Oberstein were candid in agreeing that putting Kempf in charge was ultimately their fault for recommending him and being the guy ultimately responsible in the empire. It’s a shame Kircheis and Oberstein never got to have a proper argument where they try to persuade Reinhard.
Kircheis apart from being the most moral man in the Empire was really good at being the number two at Reinhard’s camp. It wasn’t just in achievements or ability but he knows how to keep the admirals working together. Like how he intervened to save Bittenfield’s bacon. Someone less capable and good as Kircheis would have ignored that in favor of enhancing his achievements and let discord happen between Reinhard and his admirals.
A future where Kircheis was still alive might have meant a better atmosphere where rank and achievement hunting weren’t as emphasized although that could just be because Kircheis was so high that there was no way the other admirals were going to catch up. Instead the Empire got Oberstein who despite being very smart and suited as an advisor can’t for the life of him command the respect of the admirals and actually keep them in line. That might not have matter though if Kircheis advocated for peace and Reinhard listened. Kircheis being the Agrippa to Reinhard’s Octavian means his loss was also as incalculable.
I think the Muller bowing scene was a nice contrast to the old empire. While on the surface they are the same, Muller and the new empire he represents seem to be legit in their theatrics to show his undying loyalty to Reinhard while the old empire seems to be going through the motions without any spirit.
The vengeance swearing is foreboding though. Respect for each other would have been a good basis for peace such as Kempf actually saying the words FPA but if the war gets bloodier, Reinhard’s admirals will develop actual hatred for Yang. Reinhard being the boss means this hate amounts to little but if all the admirals get on the hate Yang bandwagon Reinhard might actually have to listen if he doesn’t lead it himself, he is still salty Yang keeps him from winning 100%.
This arc probably is a good example of Rubinsky’s plan working. Use Shaft and the tech to tempt the empire not just attack but attack with piece meal forces and let Yang claim more glory. Given that we know Reinhard would have crashed the fortress into each other if he lead the invasion then that would have been it for the war but like Hilda said Reinhard is needed at the home front and Oberstein with his no number two doctrine gave the invasion to a commander that wasn’t good enough to seal the deal. We don’t know if Ruenthal or Mittermeyer would have fared better but they were considered better admirals. Although Yang unknowingly messed up his plans by not capitalizing on it. Question is can Rubinsky get Reinhard to sacrifice more of his fleet into Yang in the future?
Its fair to fault the anime for being ehh on female characters. Although to be fair Hilda and Fredrica are pretty cool but there are so few scenes where they get to shine.
Good catch on Baron Kunmel never even heard the cult words.
I forgot to add FPA Bittenfield was one of the commanders that died when they chased after Muller.