#logh is not a yaoi

[bakabishonen]

my ai no kusabi shelf :3 (plus logh adlib doujin...cuz logh is basically ai no kusabi anyways)

[vitos-ordination-song]

Me: I want a BL that’s intense and dramatic and has good character dynamics and power struggles and—

Honest part of me: just admit you want Yang/Reinhard doujin

[mimmixerenard]

A silly Logh request: Mecklinger drawing yaoi

I wasn't sure if I wanted to actually draw a logh ship for said yaoi, so I ended up making two random guys instead-

That being said, as a bonus, here's a version with a transparent page, if anyone wants to put something funnier on there ;)

[rose-reads-visualnovels]

Politics? Yaoi? Space!

I've been eyeing Legend of the Galactic Heroes (or LOGH for short) for a few years now. Its art style is comfortable to look at and the (probable) main character's flowing beautiful locks have whispered to me at night.

All I know of this series is what can be found in this video (very funny) and this one (peak context free amv). So I am open for yaoi undertones in the middle of this Space Empire (?)

Since my brain is currently suffering from acute Umineko rejection, I felt like I should give this one a go.

I'll start with the "My Conquest Is The Sea of Stars" movie and see where it goes

All my LOGH posts will be tagged with both "logh liveblog" and "rose watches anime" + whatever characters are relevant in each post.

Thanks for never giving up on me,

-- Rose, the Revolutionary Witch

[blueiight]

logh leaning heavy on the melodramatics of space opera aside ur very right abt kinnaka and I always think about their brand of feminine interpersonal relationship when I remember one of logh’s earliest adaptions being a shoujo manga and it’s subsequent movie lol

omg yea they do lean on the melodramatics heavy.. it makes it a slog to recommend to people cuz after s1 that narrator wont stfu like stop with the demagogy in-universe historians/tanaka!! but thankfully, yang wenli exists, and hes at least like ‘idk about that narrator’ i like to think? passive lib-leftism meets revanchist demagogery. thank god for our good friend yang. but somehow multiple ppl ik r watching it cuz of my empty little blogging. 🤣 yo and the fact that the earliest lotgh adaptations was a shoujo manga and the mangaka who drew that also being most known for her role in drawing ai no kusabi (canon yaoi). good stuff man. & i know, they occupy suuuch a fascinating role in their interpersonal relationships! the fact that reinhard’s likened to the mythical druid brunhilde with the flagship name, and the fact that kircheis’s first name is the siegfried that died for brunhilde.. kircheis while living both the militaristic obligations with reinhard + this quasi feminized labor emotionally .. taking care of reinhard for annerose becomes taking care of reinhard bc he cares about him. him being the emotional loss in reinhard’s arc that motivates him to continue conquest isnt really ‘bury ur gay’ trope bc it perpetually darkens reinhard’s whole side of the conflict. like how the villain in most space shows has a dead wife that spurned him into darkness but this is lotgh so the villain in most stories is considered one ‘historical hero’. and the dead wife is his sic. how many times do we hear reinhard seeking to fulfill the ‘quench in his heart’ and failing to do so? bc nothing can replace kircheis to him. reinhard’s conclusion from kircheis’s death& its aftermath is that ‘kindness and good will is not enough for those i love [so i must conquer to fulfill our last promise]. and die. of special boy disease. reinhard keeps the locket of kircheis’s hair with annerose + kircheis bc they were all sisters. theres also this post about how kircheis’s dad grows flowers calls baldur’s orchids (fictional flower in lotgh verse) + theyre in the pov mental scene where annerose tries to imagine kircheis’s love and the imagination goes nowhere. theyre also in ep4 i think?. also not even 5 eps later from annerose’s mental scene that reinhard on his deathbed says ‘i return kircheis to you, sister’ nanna was baldur’s wife in the myths who sets herself aflame after losing baldur.. like. omg kircheis starts calling him lord reinhard so early on and thats their ‘private nobody’s around this is our best attempt at being equals’ name. theyre so insane.

[sorairoknife]

💌 hiiiiiii

hiii hiii Berry <3 I don't think we've ever talked much but I love your sense of humor and your presence on the dash! Also when I see a LoGH yaoi post it's normally being reblogged by you so. based <3

[lu-lox]

silly question. but why do you like oberstein from logh? and not hubert, his black eagles counterpart?

did i ever say i dislike hubert? so so sorry 😭😭😭😭 he is legit the single reason i enjoy crimson flower 😭😭😭😭 the evilest wife-guy rubbing his greasy hands together.... he is on my top five houses characters because he is outright vile and doesn't even try to hide it...

the only reason i'm not a "hubert apologist" is bc he doesn't have to manipulate edelgard and is actually loved by her and she appreciates his sliminess and understands that it is needed for her to rise as emperor and keep the power as the war she started demolishes the continent.

meanwhile, oberstein has to lie and cheat and literally manipulate reinhard into letting a nuke kill an entire plantet and everyone he works with hopes he dies... bc literally no one likes him.

the ideological different between edelgard and reinhard also makes their dynamic with huberet and oberstein so different; and it is that extremely fucked up relationship that reinhard and oberstein have bc of kircheiss & his more uhhh pacifist (lol) approach to usurping power and doing a coup that makes me be obsessed with oberstein 🤷‍♀️

so it isn't that i don't care, or worse, dislike hubert, bc i do adore him... sadly it all comes down to "how can i torture this man further" and hubert enjoys his life too much for the fucked up yaoi synapses to happen in my brain (oberstein/bittenfeld means so much to me... hubert/ferdinand is just not fucked up enough to give me what i need 😔)

[writerobscura]

ARTICLE DATE: 10.7.2022

[marxism-leninism-utenaism]

if they have a logh pfp theyre usually either a radical leftist or a girl who likes yaoi but watch out! because sometimes theyre nazis so you gotta be careful

[bakabishonen]

bestfriends 4ever💗💗💗

[vitos-ordination-song]

I didn’t go into LOGH trying to ship anyone… I don’t care about shipping in a fandom sense. It makes me so annoyed with myself that my interest in Reinhard and Yang as narrative foils eventually morphed into wanting them to fuck nasty.

It’s like… okay yeah on a narrative level I’m obsessed with them. And so into the tension and drama of their parallel stories. And the unlimited potential of their relationship which never came to be but was relentlessly teased. I don’t necessarily care about the fanfic angle of them becoming lovers. At first I was actively resisting, like, clearly Reinhard is in love with Kircheis, and Yang is such a rare kind of character, he really doesn’t fit with dramatic romance and would be incredibly out of place in yaoi.

And yet… it happened. ‘Cause for one thing GOD the power struggles were so hot lol. Yes my intellectual brain was thinking about LOGH’s deep themes or whatever but also I was slobbering over every escalating conflict. At first it’s like, oh they’re just Rivals on the Battlefield or whatever. They respect each other but that’s it. But then… BUT THEN.

Reinhard is actually an extremely hot character. I’m more into Yang but Reinhard has that ultimate erotic power, and he’s so passionate and possessive. I liked that part of him in general. But the story kept portraying him as wanting Yang so bad. Again it’s fine with me if it’s platonic, just as good to me that way, if it’s just a matter of Reinhard’s dominator personality, desire to collect talent, desire to have Yang as a subordinate and friend, etc. But that’s what pushed me over the edge into full blown insanity. The scene where he fantasizes how about he’s gonna make Yang the governor of the Alliance once he subdues him???? HELP IT’S SO HOT. And his reaction when Yang died, like, god he just wanted Yang so badly as both a friend and enemy, which an incredibly great and compelling dynamic. I really couldn’t take how sexual I found it all.

But the flip side of that is Yang himself ‘cause he has absolutely none of Reinhard’s drama. I think that contrast is another reason I like their dynamic (or potential dynamic)—it’s hilarious. It’s fun to watch. It’s interesting. Like, Yang’s sloth nature negates Reinhard’s epic romantic emperor shtick. What made it hot is how Yang always eluded him!!!!!! Like, he kept winning. Reinhard’s yang energy kept expanding, but Yang’s yin was never caught by it. Super hot, made me quake in my boots.

This dynamic is so neglected in the fandom tho 😭 Who cares about Schönkopf, get him outta here!!! And Reinhard/Kircheis is more interesting with Kircheis dead. The only people who get me on this front are the Chinese, Reinhard/Yang is popular with Chinese fandom. Most of the fic is porny, ‘cause like me, they have domination kinks. But what the best ones understand is that it’s hotter if Reinhard can never actually dominate Yang. Yang is so good because he’s passive yet unyielding. It’s so hot to have that erotic lack of fulfillment, there’s always something more just out of grasp… Also one particular fic is actually about negating the power struggle between them and it has a lot of good political writing in it too. It basically used the BL genre to further elaborate on LOGH’s themes, in ways I found more interesting than the work’s actual ending. And its portrayal of Reinhard and Yang’s relationship is so romantic and funny and compelling. Anyway I’ve thoroughly embarrassed myself with this post but I must speak my truth. I’m thinking I’m going to do two video essays on LOGH ultimately, one on its flaws and one on the excellent Reinhard/Yang foiling. And maybe in that second video, I’ll subliminally flash images of them making out to win people over to my side.

[legendofthesmashedwineglasses]

So the PV for the new LotGH anime came out and there were very mixed reactions to say the least. Besides the Ginga Eiyuu no Basuke and Kircheis jokes which I enjoy myself, I’ve been seeing a lot of people acting like it is now guaranteed to be shit. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t like Kircheis’ design either and I have my fair share of concerns about the series as a whole, but I think that’s jumping the gun a bit. We have only seen a minute and a half of a hype trailer. That’s not even close enough to the material needed to make a fair judgment. Furthermore, I think that there are some good things that have been shown so far but they mostly get overshadowed by the reaction to the character designs. Because of that, I’ve decided to write about some of the potentially good things that I think Die Neue These has shown us thus far.

It’s Distinguishable from the OVA

I know some might disagree with me on this, but I was pleased to see that it looks like DNT is trying to be different from other LotGH adaptations. If it was just going to be the OVA with upgraded animation, it would be pointless. I’d rather just watch the OVA again if it was trying to be the OVA. There’s no meaning in trying to replicate something that just can’t be replicated. Since it looks like they’re working to make DNT distinct, it will have to succeed or fail on its own merits. In my opinion, that’s for the best and I respect the fact that they’re trying something different.

Cinematic Flair

Honestly, I was surprised that the PV was for a 12 episode TV series, because it sure didn’t feel like one. From the music to the lighting to the grandiose scenic shots, it seemed like a trailer for a movie. The transition from Reinhard’s raised to the title in particular was cinematic as hell. The theatrical presentation definitely fits the space opera genre. DNT might be going for a more dramatic approach which is an interesting possibility with a lot of potential. Also, some of the shot composition was just great like the shot below and the vollery fire of the Imperial ships.

Music

There’s nothing known for certain about DNT’s soundtrack at this moment, so the only thing to go on is what was heard in the PV. The new music showed promise. It had nicely timed swells and fit the space opera atmosphere of the PV quite well. 

It might be revealed later that the soundtrack will be entirely original with no classical music. As much as I love the classical music soundtrack, I think it would be an interesting opportunity to give LotGH a musical identity. Neon Genesis Evangelion makes me think of “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” and “You Say Run” always comes to my mind when I think of Boku no Hero Academia. LotGH doesn’t really have a particular piece of music like that. The closest might be Ravel’s Bolero, but even then it is not distinctly LotGH.

If it ends up being the case that the new soundtrack is entirely original, what was heard in the PV has potential at the very least.

The Scenery

The scenery was easily one of my favorite parts of the PV. Look at this.

I need to see Heinessen now.

Animation

We haven’t been shown much yet, but what has been seen of the animation looks pretty smooth. That’s a step in the right direction and could potentially help the visual storytelling in the story a lot. 

Additionally, the CG exceeded my expectations. When I first heard that the ships were CG, I started to get upset because of certain previous attempts at CG. It’s nice to be pleasantly surprised. The CG is pretty well done and could make the combat scenes more dynamic. There’s definitely potential there.

The Uniforms

Attention to detail was put into the new uniforms. You can tell. I would consider that a positive thing.

The Alliance uniforms were changed from air force-inspired outfits to a more naval uniform. It’s an interesting touch that stays in line with the spirit of the old uniforms. (Also, Yang’s little plant on his collar is really adorable).

The Empire uniforms stay in the spirit of the OVAs designs as well, as you can see with the collars of the higher-ranked officers and general look of the uniforms. I really appreciate the fact that differently ranked soldiers now have distinctly different uniforms from early on. It’s a nice detail. 

Miyano Mamoru

To be completely honest, Miyano wasn’t my first pick for Reinhard’s voice actor. That being said, it makes sense why he was chosen. He’s popular, talented, experienced, popular, oh and popular. In my opinion he’s one of the best choices for the character out of the most popular male voice actors right now. Given his track record, at the very least we’ll get a solid performance from him.

Takagi Noboru

Takagi Noboru is the person in charge of the series composition (aka scripts/the writing) and I’m cautiously somewhat positive about him being in charge. My biggest concern for someone writing the new anime is that the person has no experience writing political dramas and stories with large casts. I have more concern about the large cast aspect because that’s easy to screw up. Takagi has a good bit of experience handling large casts from being in charge of the series composition of shows like Baccano! (a personal favorite of mine) and Durarara!!. I don’t know how well he’ll actually do with LotGH but I do think that he has some of the tools needed to handle it well.

I’m not a professional in the industry, so please understand I’m only looking at this from a completely inexperienced perspective.

The Staff of KnB isn’t Necessarily a Bad Thing

While I myself am concerned about them being the staff for DNT, there are a few potential positives about it. 

The group has worked together in the past a bunch so they’re used to each other. Having a staff that works well together generally helps the final product turn out better. 

The other thing is that they know how to handle a franchise. KnB and LotGH aren’t comparable at all, but the fact that they are both franchises remains and franchises work differently than a one-off 12 episode series.

The Ships

They’re beautiful and you can’t convince me otherwise, sorry. I love the little scifi touches they added to the Brunhild’s engines. There’s not much else I can say so have some pictures.

Before I finish this I’d like to address some complaints I’ve seen and explain why they are non-issues (at the moment at least).

“They’re pandering to women/fujoshi now! This isn’t LoGH!”

Interestingly enough, this is nothing new. Despite the reputation of the series here in America, LotGH wasn’t only for male “elitists”. In the August of 1986 which was two years before the 1988 OVA, Michihara Katsumi began her manga adaptation of the Legend of the Galactic Heroes novels. It was released in the bi-monthly magazine Chara, a magazine which printed Yaoi and Shoujo manga. And, uh, if you read through it it becomes even more clear who this was meant for.

Alternatively, LotGH is not a women-only thing either, just the idea that LotGH adaptations have never been influenced by the female demographic is completely wrong. 

“The characters don’t look like they have the same personality!”

This issue just confuses me. There are only seconds of footage of the main characters in the PV. How did you expect them to show you their entire character in seconds? This is especially odd since the PV was meant to show off the space battle side of the series. All of the characters typically look serious during the battle scenes. I’ve seen claims that Yang is now a cold-hearted person because of how he looks in a promo image meant to show his and Reinhard’s opposing paths. It’s not like that he hasn’t looked a bit harsher to illustrate the conflict in the past.

It should also be noted that Yang is an alcoholic plagued with survivor’s guilt, so yeah, he’s not going to look cute and laid back all the time. I’ve also seen similar claims like Reinhard being too cold (despite him being in battle and commanding his subordinates) and Kircheis not smiling or looking kind enough and looking sly instead. The first can easily explained with context, though I can definitely agree that Kircheis doesn’t seem as openly friendly as the OVA. However, there are subtle signs of Kircheis personality and relationship with Reinhard in the one shot we get of him.

Kircheis has a raised eyebrow and a slight smile as he speaks to Reinhard. It shows their familiarity and the fondness he has for Reinhard. This is the exact opposite of contradicting his character.

“How are they going to fit 110 episodes into 12 episodes and three movies? It’s going to be rushed.”

There’s a huge assumption here. That is, Production IG is planning to tell the entire ten-volume story in just 24 episodes. Never have they said anything to suggest that they are going to do so. I like to think that such a prominent company wouldn’t be so stupid as to attempt that and completely butcher the story in the process. I’d say it’s likely that they are planning to end with the aftermath of the Lippstadt Rebellion. 

“Why didn’t they just use the original anime designs?”

Easy, this isn’t the 80s. The OVA’s character designs are distinctly 80s and I love that about them, but that’s just not going to happen in 2018. The popular styles have changed as have the styles that animators commonly use. Sadly, curly hair is rare these days. I feel your pain.

Many people have misgivings about Die Neue These. I am one of them. I just think it’s important to remember that the PV had more than just the character designs and that the purpose of the PV was to show off the space opera-like war setting. There is nothing to indicate that the most important part of LotGH- the plot and characters- has been handled terribly yet. It’s certainly possible that it is badly written, but at this point it’s equally possible that it isn’t. Who knows how it will turn out? I certainly don’t.

[skippyandjif]

Siegfried and Reinhard!

Also known (if you’re conversing with me about Legend of the Galactic Heroes) as, variously, “anime Spock and Kirk”, “yaoi Spock and Kirk”, or “red-haired Spock and non-fat Kirk”. ...I should, perhaps, get out more.

Siegfried was originally the “Butler” Taeyang but I re-wigged him because Butler’s hair resembles a worn-out mop in both appearance and texture. Reinhard is just the “Albireo” Taeyang, no modifications there because he looks like Reinhard towards the end of the series when he was apparently trying to do his best Lady Oscar Francois de Jarjeyes impression.

And yes, Reinhard does, canonically, have a thing about playing with Siegfried’s hair. It’s...pretty damn cute.

Bonus shot with my translated LoGH novels. The fourth one can’t come out soon enough! I tried to get Reinhard to sit like Captain Kirk but the material his pants are made out of kept getting in the way. Pooh.

[acid-eater]

[writerobscura]

ARTICLE DATE: 3.29.2020

[weaseltube]