Lee Thompson's Report

My primary reason for going to Anime Expo this year was specifically the Legend of the Galactic Heroes panel. I got interested in anime in the early 1980s as a source for science fiction (there was virtually none in the United States at that time) - in 1989 my search for the ultimate science fiction story ended with Legend of the Galactic Heroes.

Why a dub and not a subtitled effort? Simply put, for Galactic Heroes to succeed in the English speaking world, it pretty much has to be dubbed. There is so much dialogue in the series (and the dialogue is carrying the bulk of the storytelling) that at some moments it would not be unusual to be filling half the screen with text - and if you blink you miss a chunk of story. The English "pilot" was produced at the behest of Tokuma Shouten by Outis Productions for two purposes: as a treat for fans and to help find a (serious) buyer in the United States.

The episodes shown were from near the mid-point of the series, episodes #51 and 52 ("Death Match at Vermilion " parts 1 and 2) to be more specific. So, I hear you ask, "how was it?" it was good... as a proof of concept it was great. To put the most common fears to rest, the Galactic Empire did not have German accents and for the most part, the casting was excellent. I felt the voices of Reinhard and Schenkopp in particular were very well cast.

As for what I would change? Yang should sound a little less confident and Julian needs a younger voice actor. For some reason I didn't really like the actor chosen for Oliver Poplan but I appear to be in the minority.

The translation itself was quite good, although there were (as there often are) some rough areas.

I found being able to just watch these episodes to be an uplifting experience. I didn't have to strain to catch the few hundred Japanese words I know... I didn't have to stare at the screen trying not to blink to read all the subtitles...