English Dub Review: Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These; “Ignition Point”

 

 

 

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Reinhard and the nobles of the Empire continue to make their moves against each other as the precipice of war draws closer.

Our Take

Shifting back to the Empire, we see they are quickly inching ever closer to civil war. 

We are introduced to a new character, Hilda, the young daughter of an imperial noble. Questioning her father’s allegiance, she espouses the same contempt for the antiquated nobility we’ve seen from Reinhard and Oberstein.  Eventually, she persuades him to allow her control over their family’s affairs. Unsurprisingly, she then goes right to Reinhard’s doorstep and pledges her family’s complete support for the upcoming conflict. 

Hilda is a fascinating character for several different reasons. As aforementioned, we witness yet another young imperial citizen who despises the Empire’s past policies and shows discontent with the current ones. She also has a similar youthful eagerness to participate in matters of state. 

But at the same time, she is different. The other characters are doing this for measures of distinct personal gain. Hilda seems to be doing this for unclear, more nebulous reasons. Her ardent passion for Reinhard’s cause may speak of something akin to fanaticism. However, after Reinhard accepts her support and she gains his favor, Hilda requests hard evidence of the exchange in writing. This may be indicative of her having side dealings or some sort of backup plan. Her intent is not entirely clear, but she has firmly established her position in this conflict. 

The rest of the episode deals with the dissenting nobility who wishes to assert control over the Empire. They form a coalition and begin maneuvering their pieces. They attempt to bring high-ranking military personnel over to their side with very mixed results. There are even attempts to assassinate Reinhard and kidnap his sister, both of which fail. Eventually, their missteps force them to flee the capital and Reinhard assumes control of it. 

The noble coalition’s incompetency largely stems from their arrogance. Their actions prove their opponents’ claims are true; their privilege has blinded them and they overestimate their abilities. Though Reinhard and his cohorts may not have virtuous intentions themselves, their assessment that the nobility has grown too conceited is true. 

The noble coalition also makes the error in underestimating Reinhard’s tactical genius. We’ve seen plenty of examples of this in the previous episodes, but in this one, we see something a bit different. When Reinhard captures the noble who suggested assassinating him, Reinhard allows him to flee back to the coalition to tell them what he did. This is a big ego move that asserts dominance, a type of move we seldom see from Reinhard. Perhaps at this point, after easily gaining so much control of the Empire, it may be going to his head.

There are clear parallels between the Alliance and the Empire right now. Both factions are sitting at the edge of potential revolutions; a coup, and a civil war. The positions of our main characters are clear. Reinhard, the active aggressor, is pulling strings in both conflicts. Yang, the passive defender, is part of the only group espousing peace. The schemes Reinhard put into motion are bearing fruit. Yang may soon be forced to make his move.