Legend of the Galactic Heroes - Vol. 7 Ch. 65 - Rear Admiral Yang Wen-li: Iserlohn Corridor - The Capture of Iserlohn Fortress (Part I)

[MangaDex]

 

[zanonyn]

Thanks for continuing with this adaption! Some noticeable changes in approach and details here vs the old one and I'm interested to see how it plays out.

But seeing the lead admirals here vs the old makes me think again the author is making a mistake with some of the character visual changes vs the original. I think it's good that everything is much more visually distinct and easier to tell apart. But when it comes to the actual people at this point it's clearly a pattern, on both the alliance and empire sides, for the author to indulge in the "internal evil = external evil appearance" trope. Bad characters are frequently shown as being extremely visually warped and twisted. But it's genuinely an important theme that evil people can look strong and noble and handsome too. The original strikes a better balance on both sides, yeah there are some weirdos and clearly self-indulgent peak aristocrat types, but plenty of nobles also are in good shape even as they perform atrocious actions, and on the alliance side major players like Trunicht have the Roman Emperor/honest strong jawed look, you can visually get the sense of how they might play to populist sentiment to turn a republic into a dictatorship just like how the Empire itself came about in the first place. Yes, Reinhard still stands out, but it's not to a comical degree either. The Emperor before his passing seems old, worn, and fairly cynical, an actor going through the motions expected of him while waiting for the final curtain call, but with some self awareness as well.

Not gonna detract from enjoying both takes all over again, but I think the original does better in that regard.

 

[Gambio]

Yeah, in general I feel this adaptation is having a tough time capturing the spirit of the novel, starting out with all the backstory was imho a mistake as sure it's nice to see Reinhard's and Yang's rise but there really isn't much beyond that.

Personally I'm pretty sure I would have dropped this a long time ago, if that would have been my introduction to the franchise, and the generally low engagement this manga gets seems to agree with that sentiment.

I still very much appreciate the translation and the effort put into it.

 

[melkor2022]

Thanks for continuing with this adaption! Some noticeable changes in approach and details here vs the old one and I'm interested to see how it plays out.

But seeing the lead admirals here vs the old makes me think again the author is making a mistake with some of the character visual changes vs the original. I think it's good that everything is much more visually distinct and easier to tell apart. But when it comes to the actual people at this point it's clearly a pattern, on both the alliance and empire sides, for the author to indulge in the "internal evil = external evil appearance" trope. Bad characters are frequently shown as being extremely visually warped and twisted. But it's genuinely an important theme that evil people can look strong and noble and handsome too. The original strikes a better balance on both sides, yeah there are some weirdos and clearly self-indulgent peak aristocrat types, but plenty of nobles also are in good shape even as they perform atrocious actions, and on the alliance side major players like Trunicht have the Roman Emperor/honest strong jawed look, you can visually get the sense of how they might play to populist sentiment to turn a republic into a dictatorship just like how the Empire itself came about in the first place. Yes, Reinhard still stands out, but it's not to a comical degree either. The Emperor before his passing seems old, worn, and fairly cynical, an actor going through the motions expected of him while waiting for the final curtain call, but with some self awareness as well.

Not gonna detract from enjoying both takes all over again, but I think the original does better in that regard.

This was very well thought out, thank you for sharing. I would just like to add that more than it just being a case of the

"internal evil = external evil appearance" trope

the author is actually trying to capture through the visual depictions of the characters the malaise that is afflicting both the Empire and the Alliance as a whole. The Alliance is experiencing corruption on a grand scale and so Job Trunicht is depicted as weasel looking, Sithole looks like a wholesome grandpa who can do no wrong, which is symbolic of there being good people but they aren't doing anything to combat the problem in the Alliance.

The Empire on the other hand is experiencing stagnation and lack of growth, so the nobles are depicted as fat and 'stupid' looking. The Emperor is depicted as sickly looking because the Empire is sick. So, personally I think the author does a good job of capturing the essence of each character as well as the essence of each faction which they represent and that is not a very easy thing to do.

 

[melkor2022]

Yeah, in general I feel this adaptation is having a tough time capturing the spirit of the novel, starting out with all the backstory was imho a mistake as sure it's nice to see Reinhard's and Yang's rise but there really isn't much beyond that.

Personally I'm pretty sure I would have dropped this a long time ago, if that would have been my introduction to the franchise, and the generally low engagement this manga gets seems to agree with that sentiment.

I still very much appreciate the translation and the effort put into it.

I've never read the novels. Are they better than the anime or manga? I always thought that the anime was supposed to be a very faithful adaptation of the novels hence why I followed it as opposed to reading the novels. I only started reading the manga because some of the space battles in the anime and OVAs as well as the explanation for how each side conducted themselves in those battles on some occasions was absurd. Example, Yang using 6 robot ships to trick the Empire to withdraw or when Yang placed his ship under Reinhard's to stop his advance.

I started reading the manga in the hopes it would offer a better explanation on how things happened in battles as well as an explanation of the political environment inside each faction's government vs the anime which primarily focused on the characters, their development and interactions with one another. The manga has not disappointed so far when it comes to the battles.

As for the low engagement, it's probably because others, like me, thought the anime was a faithful adaptation and were satisfied to just watch that and assume that they knew all that they needed to know about the franchise or they are suffering from franchise fatigue i.e there's just too much to follow. I think there's two version of the series, lots of OVAs, the novels and like 2-3 manga. Unless you are a die hard fan, no one is going to follow all of it.

 

[Gambio]

I've never read the novels. Are they better than the anime or manga? I always thought that the anime was supposed to be a very faithful adaptation of the novels hence why I followed it as opposed to reading the novels. I only started reading the manga because some of the space battles in the anime and OVAs as well as the explanation for how each side conducted themselves in those battles on some occasions was absurd. Example, Yang using 6 robot ships to trick the Empire to withdraw or when Yang placed his ship under Reinhard's to stop his advance.

I started reading the manga in the hopes it would offer a better explanation on how things happened in battles as well as an explanation of the political environment inside each faction's government vs the anime which primarily focused on the characters, their development and interactions with one another. The manga has not disappointed so far when it comes to the battles.

As for the low engagement, it's probably because others, like me, thought the anime was a faithful adaptation and were satisfied to just watch that and assume that they knew all that they needed to know about the franchise or they are suffering from franchise fatigue i.e there's just too much to follow. I think there's two version of the series, lots of OVAs, the novels and like 2-3 manga. Unless you are a die hard fan, no one is going to follow all of it.

The Novel certainly goes into more depth and also explains a few concepts a bit better. Some battles are indeed OVA original, particular in the first half of the first season

The Novel are also a great bit more gruesome then any of it's adaptations, but that is to be expected.

Point in case, this novel exclusive fellow:

https://gineipaedia.com/wiki/August_II


Sadly, the English translation of the Novel is very rough so I can't really recommend it.

From what I watched of DNT, it does a bit of a better job explaining things but I also felt it was very dry as a result. I stopped watching that one after the first season.

All in all the OVA is still my favored way of experiencing the story.

Also the Novel has genetically engineered dogs with horns on their heads. I have yet to read a single adaptation that includes them which saddens me greatly.