Finished watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Overture to a New War

Finished watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Overture to a New War (1993, Magic Bus, 1hr 30mins) on 1/20/2018.

It's October, 795 of the Universal Calendar. Imperial and Alliance fleets return to their nations after the gruesome Fourth Battle of Tiamat. On the Imperial side, Reinhard takes a chance to visit Annerose, his beloved sister. On the other side, Yang encourages Jean Lapp, a close friend to go forth with a marriage proposal to Jessica Edwards, another close friend of theirs. But contrary to Yang's and Reinhard's assumptions, a major expedition is soon scheduled by the Empire to have Reinhard invade the Alliance with 20,000 ships.

Man... this movie. It was a gem. I don't want to say a lot because I want you to experience it for yourself. Obviously the story is great. Definitely has some top notch art quality. It just left me with a lot of emotions.

8/10 - Really awesome movie. It has more of an impact if you've familiarized yourself with the characters through the Gaiden series.

Finished watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes Gaiden: Dishonor

Finished watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes Gaiden: Dishonor (1998, Artland, JC Staff, 4 OVAs) on 1/17/2018.

November 795 of the Universal Calendar. As Reinhard von Musel's countship to Lohengram is almost upon him, he must prepare himself for the occasion. Meanwhile, promising to join him after the ceremony, he instructs Siegfried Kircheis to leave for a vacation at an artificial resort satellite called Kreuznach III. Upon check-in at a hotel however, Kircheis takes action to save Michael von Keyserling, a disgraced former Vice Admiral from a knife-wielding drug addict, turning his vacation into a police investigation.

This was a really fun arc because the story wasn't the usual Gaiden format. It didn't focus on Yang or Reinhard. This was Kircheis participating in a police investigation! There was even a crazy zero gravity knife fight! It was nuts! I almost feared for his life. I love Kircheis. I hope nothing bad happens to him. Ever. My baby.

8/10 - Long live Kircheis.

Finished watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes Gaiden 2: The Third Tiamat Battle

Finished watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes Gaiden 2: The Third Tiamat Battle (2000, JC Staff, 2 OVAs) on 1/12/2018.

December 794 of the Universal Calendar. Kaiser Friedrich IV's 30th year of reign is almost at-hand. To commemorate this, the Galactic Empire announces a large scale military campaign against the Free Planets Alliance comprising of 35,400 ships.

Man, this battle was a bit of a mess from start to finish. Specially for the Alliance forces with warships abandoning their escort missions in fear of the impeding massive Imperial fleet. And then there's the Alliance's 11th Fleet pulling a bold opening attack, ignoring tactics by-the-book.

8/10 - A short arc, this one. But the ending was so good!

Finished watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes Gaiden: a Hundred Billion Stars, a Hundred Billion Lights

Finished watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes Gaiden: A Hundred Billion Stars, a Hundred Billion Lights (1998, Artland, JC Staff, 12 OVAs) on 1/9/2018.

March 794 of the Universal Calendar. Galactic Empire forces under Gregor von Mückenberger command are stuck in a stale-mate with Alliance Forces, commanded by Lasalle Lobos in the Van-Fleet Starzone. Mückenberger orders the Grimmelshausen Fleet to reorganize at Van-Fleet 4-2, a satellite of the fourth planet orbiting Van-Fleet. But the Imperial forces biggest obstacle in Van-Fleet 4-2 might just be a group of experienced ground forces known as the Rosen Ritter.

This was a bit longer Gaiden arc than usual, but also just as entertaining. Lots of man to man battles on this one as opposed to the usual space stuff. But also a good focus on some other Alliance characters that aren't Yang's direct friends or subordinates. A liked how Grimmelshausen was a bit of a crazy old-coot. I almost lost it when he tried shooting himself in the head during a mission briefing meeting because they wanted to put his fleet in the the rear lines where he couldn't affect much of the battles. Talk about a passive-aggressive tantrum. And then there's Reinhard of course. He just couldn't stand the guy, but the way he reacted to him was funny.

8/10 - Definitely another fun arc.

Finished watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes Gaiden: Dreams of the Morning, Songs of the Night

Finished watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes Gaiden: Dreams of the Morning, Songs of the Night (1998, Artland, JC Staff, 4 OVAs) on 12/23/2017.

April 793 of the Universal Calendar. Reinhard and Kircheis visit their Alma Mater in Odin during some downtime as they await their next assignment. After finally receiving their new posts in the Imperial Military Police, the two friends are summoned back to the school where they must investigate the apparent murder of Karl von Reifeisen, a student who died the night before.

Just some more bonding between the dynamic duo of LoGH as we continue on with the Gaiden series.

8/10 - D'awwww! Look at them sitting under a tree watching youthful boys play soccer and solving a case at the same time.

Finished watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes Gaiden 2: Retriever

Finished watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes Gaiden 2: Retriever (2000, JC Staff, 4 OVAs) on 12/19/2017.

December 792 of the Univeral Calendar. Half a year has passed since the Fifth War of Iserlohn. Reinhard von Müsel, now captain of the Hässliche Entlein cruiser receives a secret task to seek and apprehend Count Herxheimer, a defect of the Galactic Empire who escaped with a stolen Seffle Particle Generator prototype. However, the Count's escape has to be kept under wraps, and so Reinhard must carry on this mission with only his cruiser and no reinforcements.

Not much new to say about this arc of Gaiden 2. Though it is one of those uncommon instances where you get to see melee combat. I find the combat suits from both factions really interesting. Specially the empire ones. They're kind of creepy and remind me of the Crimson Knights from .hack//sign.

8/10 - Kircheis is an angel.

Finished watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes Gaiden 2: Duelist

Finished watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes Gaiden 2: Duelist (2000, JC Staff, 4 OVAs) on 12/13/2017.

Reinhard von Musel finds himself involved in Imperial power politics after volunteering to duel on behalf of his sister's friend, Viscountess Dorothea von Schafhausen to settle a dispute over mining rights. Upon hearing of Reinhard's participation, Sussanna von Beenemünde hires an assassin to take the place of Reinhard's original opponent.

There's no keeping Reinhard and Kircheis from finding trouble, be it in space or on land. Again, these misadventures are very fun to watch as we accompany Reinhard's climb up the Imperial ladder.

8/10 - Moooar!!!

Finished watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes Gaiden 2: Mutineer

Finished watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes Gaiden 2: Mutineer (2000, JC Staff, 4 OVAs) on 12/8/2017.

Chief Navigator Reinhard von Müsel and close-friend, Security Officer Siegfried Kircheis embark on their first Imperial Fleet assignment aboard the Hameln II Destroyer. While captain of the ship, Adenauer welcomes the two on board impressed by their achievements, the rest of the ship's crew are not so warm to new recruits. During an Iserlohn Corridor patrol later on, Hameln II and the unit its part of are ambushed by a Free Planets Alliance squadron, severely injuring Adenauer who passes command over to Reinhard.

This story almost reminds me of an episode of Macross 7 where the colony ship is headed for a collision with a sun while repairs to an engine take place outside. Either way, the dynamic duo of Legend of the Galactic Heroes keeps on entertaining the fans with their smarts and bold ideas.

8/10 - Very entertaining as usual. Let's keep watching!

Finished watching Darker than Black

Finished watching Darker than Black (2007, Bones, 25 epi.), Darker than Black: Gaiden (2010, Bones, 4 epi.) and Darker than Black: Gemini of the Meteor (2009, Bones, 12 epi.).

Ever since the the two Gates showed up in North America and Japan, the people that live in the spaces they encase have not seen the true night sky for ten years. That wasn’t the only change that took place. A select few became Contractors, people who’ve exchanged their humanity for supernatural powers. But the real question is, what exactly is outside of the Gates?

8/10 – I liked this show. I think the art and animation quality is its strongest point. The first season's plot though was a bit sluggish and more political than anything. After that I watched the surprisingly gory, 4-episode Gaiden which focused on a growing relationship between Hei and Yin and a hidden power in Yin as a "doll". Gemini of the Meteor carried on after that and was more character driven, more emotional, which kept me very engrossed. The plot twist was also good but the ending, like the first season, still left me with plenty of questions. Specially about the whole Gate thing. I still don't understand it well. I decided to review these three altogether because I gave them all the same rating.