The Beginning of the Legend of Yang Wen-li // Legend of the Galactic Heroes

Episode 2 Review

Otaku Voice Staff

With a bang we start the second episode of Legends of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue Thesis. Continuing right before we left Reinhard von Lohengramm leading the charge to victory, we jump back to right before the beginning of the Battle of Astarte.

Reinhard Vs. Yang

After almost an entire episode without Reinhard’s counter, we are finally really introduced to Yang Wen-li. Whereas Reinhard is at the top of the command chain in his fleet, Yang is much lower, albeit possibly just as talented

The first episode probably left everyone viewing the Free Planets Alliance as rather incompetent. None of the fleet commanders seem capable of warding off a rookie leader. This second episode does a great deal of countering that perception. Yang Wen-li is cautious about the potential success of the Imperials. Throughout the episode he demonstrates his innate ability to be three steps ahead. He plans out the failure of the other fleets and saves the day.

This is only the beginning of the power struggle between Reinhard von Lohengramm and Yang Wen-li. It is going to be exciting to watch the interplay between the two master tacticians.

Also in this episode is more beautiful space battles. They are mostly in CG, but for the most part do not clash with the rest of the standard animation. They truly make it feel like two colossal navies crashing against each other interspersed with the massive destruction seen from the bridge of the starships. This second episode begins to actually make the battles feel like a massive loss of life. Seeing the death inside the 6th Fleet’s bridge, and Yang’s compatriot, while short-lived in screen time, brings some humanity to the emptiness of the first episode.

The second episode continues to build on a fun space-faring series. Hopefully each episode continues to bring more tactical excitement from Legend of the Galactic Heroes.