Legends of Galactic Heroes (The Second Series) a review by Walter Amos "Zu jeder Zeit, an jeder Ort, bleibt das Tun der Menschen das gleiche." With the above quote in flowing script does the second Galactic Heroes series begin. It means (neglecting the minor grammatical error that the second jeder should be jedem) "In every time, and every place, the deeds of men remain the same." A telling and apt quote, indeed. Basic Opinion (general statements on show quality, no spoilers): ========================================================= Quality-wise, Legend of Galactic Heroes II is every bit as good as the first series. Same art and character designs and quality of animation. The series further explores the ramifications of Rheinhard's increasing power and (well, kinda-sorta) resolves the ongoing war between the Free Planets Alliance and the Galactic Empire. We also begin to see growing relationships between Yang Wen-Li and Frederica Greenhill, and to a lesser degree between Rheinhard and Hildegard von Mariendorf. Some new and unexpected elements are introduced as well, mostly concerning the underground "restore Earth as the center of the human Universe" movement, and various bureaucratic elements Yang has to deal with on Heinessen. But, since I promised no spoilers in here I won't discuss these until the next section, so those who want to see everything fresh can skip it. In short, if you enjoyed the first series, you should certainly enjoy this as well. The only major down sides of LoGH II are (1) that there are to my knowledge no film comics of the series being produced, which means that Sue Shambaugh, who generated scripts for the first series by translating the film comics of it, will not be able to do so for the second series, and (2) this series doesn't resolve everything (I believe there are 2 more series coming, a total of another 54 episodes!). Series Review (Warning: contains spoilers!): ======================================= Please note that the below information is gleaned by my watching the series only, and since LoGH involves so much politics (which is mostly talking) there are, to be sure, huge gaps in my understanding considering I don't know Japanese. I've tried only to hit the major events that I can understand and also to expound a bit on some of my own theories (but these should not be construed as fact in any way whatsoever!) Here I mostly want to present salient points that develop the plot. The series opens with a brief recap of events from the first series (in case any of you forgot). It is now Imperial Year 798, Alliance Year 489. Julian Minci, Yang's ward, has joined the military and is now a fighter pilot along with the rakish Oliver Poplan and crew. We see scenes indicating that the Imperial citizens like Rheinhard, who seems to be acting as "Lord Protector" of the brattish boy Emperor, Erwin Josef. This probably comes as little surprise, seeing how most of the old nobility he overthrew at the end of the first series were almost entirely big-headed jerks. The N Iserlohn Fortress is still in Alliance hands, with Yang on board, aided by Frederica Greenhill. The Fortress is the guardian of the main gateway between Alliance and Imperial space (the only other known gateway being through the independent territory of Phezzan Land). It is worth noting that we get a bit more of a hint in the series as to *why* there are only these gateways; I'll expound on that and my theories on the unstated background physics of this universe shortly. And, as usual, to paraphrase Shakespeare, something's rotten in Phezzan. Lex Luthor, er, Landesherr Adrian Rubinsky, seems to be dispatching agents to do various things in both the Alliance and the Empire. Not all of what their plan is is clear to me. But in one interesting scene we see him, along with aide Rupert Kesselink, studying a sort of "pie" chart showing the various factions of humanity, with the Alliance piece looking to be about 3/8 of the pie, the Imperial piece about 1/2, and Phezzan at 1/8. Then he apparently runs a projection, extrapolating the result of current events (meaning mostly Yang and Rheinhard). We see the Empire projected to swallow up both the Alliance and the Phezzan and create a "Neu Reich", or New Empire. Oddly he seems pleased by this. Some of the later events may explain this, but I would like to know more in detail of what is going on here. Perhaps to further his plans or to act as a spy, he dispatches Anton Hilmer von Schaft (whom I like to refer to as "General Oom-Pah" because he looks like the stereotypical fat Bavarian beer- swiller) to the Empire and Rheinhard's command. Side note: One pleasant aspect of this series is that we see the young military officers really have advancing careers as the series progresses. Unlike in Star Trek: The Next Generation, where everybody seems willing to turn down career advances to remain on the Enterprise, here good commanders are seen to advance in rank and develop their own separate commands. One such is Dusty Attenborough, who seems now to be in command of his own fleet wing. He does get caught in a pinch, though, and is subsequently saved by the timely arrival of Yang's fleet. Back on Odin, Rheinhard invents a scheme to take Iserlohn back, or at least eliminate it as a threat. He sends General Karl Gustav Kempf with a large fleet out to take the fortress back, but he gives them an important additional weapon. Huge warp engines are placed all around an equatorial plane of Geiersburg Fortress (the place where all the nobility hid out at the end of the first series and where Siegfried Kircheis was killed), and is sent out to take out Iserlohn! In the course of the same episode where this plan is devised, we also get some interesting background flashbacks that are presented on the lives of Wolfgang Mittermeyer and Oskar von Reuental. There is an episode where we see both of them as boys, Mittermeyer looking like he comes from a more upper middle class / landed gentry background with a happy childhood. Reuental looks like he comes from a slightly more aristocratic background, and his childhood was decidedly less happy, mostly due to his different colored eyes. His parents seem to regard him as freak, and seem ashamed that they generated an abnormal son. The pair meet as cadets and become drinking buddies. We see a quite amusing scene where they manage to get in a bar room brawl and fight together, back- to-back, with fists raised. When they are older we get a bit more insight into their personalities as we see Mittermeyer become quite smitten with the family's servant girl. He impulsively proposes and she accepts, to the apparent pleasure of his father, who is eavesdropping in the bushes nearby and grins excitedly. Reuental, however, cannot apparently sustain a relationship, as we see him rather calmly and with a scowl exiting some unknown woman's boudoir. It seems Wolfgang and Oskar are a study in opposites, and it is for this reason that they complement each other so well. In the last series we saw this was true in their tactics as well, Mittermeyer apparently specializing in high-speed attacks and Reuental in heavy fleet battles. Meanwhile the Phezzan plans appear to be proceeding apace. On planet Heinessen, the priest Degsby (of the "Terraism Religious Movement") meets with Job Truniht, the corrupt political leader of the Alliance. This apparent connection proves very important later on. Later Truniht meets with Negroponty, a council member. This is another character who becomes very important shortly. Also Rubinsky's aide Kesselink is seen shuttling between the Free Planets and the Empire, where he is seen meeting with Jorgen von Remscheid, apparently an important noble councilor. We also have an interesting flashback to the first meeting of Yang and Julian (if this series is ever translated into English I fear that to get all the necessary background material it may be necessary to chop the episodes up to put all these important flashbacks more toward the beginning!). Julian shows up bright and early one morning on Yang's bachelor pad doorstep, ever his ebullient self. Yang, when he finally gets around to opening the door, is quite the opposite. Yang is still in his bedraggled bedclothes, unshaven, and with a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. His residence, seen behind him through the door, is a nightmare, with clothes and junk strewn everywhere. Julian immediately sets to the Herculean task of putting Yang's personal effects in order. Another subplot that begins to develop of which I have no understanding whatsoever begins to take place back on Odin. We see Mecklinger, Rheinhard's mustachioed black-haired aide show up at the home of Heinrich von Kuemmel, apparently a very sickly young man. Mecklinger brings him some very valuable painting, which excites the bedridden Kuemmel. These two continue to appear throughout the series, but I have no idea what is going on with this business. But I wanted to mention since it does seem to play some nontrivial role, so maybe others more versed in Japanese than I can try to puzzle this out. While still in the Empire, Kesselink recruits Schumacher, a burly blond- haired field worker, to aide in his plans. These two manage some very important actions later on. Kesselink also works with Alfred von Landesberg, apparently another well-placed Imperial official. Rheinhard knows little of this, as he is seen out visiting the gravesite of Siegfried Kircheis in the Freuden Berge mountains. After this he and his crew observe Geiersburg take off, its modifications complete, to do battle with Iserlohn. Yang is, of course, blissfully unaware of the impending threat, and is seen composing an article on his analysis of the current situation developing in the Alliance. I was pleased to note that as he typed on his computer, the text came out in English on the display! (If only the characters here spoke the languages they are supposed to be, namely the Alliance in English and the Empire in German, I could understand much more of what's going on are present a much more concise review here!) The disturbingly penetrating text of his article states that when a society turns its military to the oppression of citizens (as has been happening a lot in the Alliance as seen in the first series) it is in downfall. This fact, coupled with the damaging civil war and the terrible losses suffered at the battle of Amlitzer (see first series) means that their society can not long continue to stand against the Empire. As he types, he reflects on the history of the Empire and its first Kaiser, Rudolf von Goldenbaum, and his similarity to Rheinhard. His reverie is interrupted when he is called back from Iserlohn to Heinessen by Negroponty. There Yang is placed under arrest and put in a guarded barracks. He is forced to stand trial (although for what possible crime I have no idea). While speaking in his own defense, Yang brings up his family history; apparently his father was an Admiral. It is at this point that I sadly had to give over the "Longest Name in the Series" award from its previous holder (and one of my favorite characters) Willibald Joachim von Merkatz (the Imperial general who defected to the Alliance after the loss of the nobles at the end of the first series) to one of the annoying Alliance bureaucrats at the trial -- one (wait for it!) Henrique Martino Borges De Arantes e Olibeira (!!!!!). During the trial it seems anybody associated with Yang is also in trouble. Frederica Greenhill and a friend are trapped in an elevator by the Patriotic Knights Corps (the Ku Klux Klan-like ultra-patriot organization). They are saved by the timely appearance of Alexander Bucock, one of the top Alliance commanders, and although a friend of yang, no doubt too powerful for the PKC to hassle. Surprisingly, it is revealed here that the PKC is really secretly an arm of the Terraism religion (many of the members are seen wearing headbands with the Terraism slogan "Earth is my Mother"). Yang's case at the trial seems bleak, until at last Geiersburg Fortress warps out in front of Iserlohn. The petty bureaucrats, despite their hate of Yang, know that they need his genius to defend against this threat. Yang is dispatched again to Iserlohn. As he leaves the trial he turns and says something to the council, which I of course have no idea in detail what it is, although I like to imagine it's something along the lines of "OK, I'll go save the world AGAIN, but if you hassle me or my friends when I get back I will see all of you shot!" . . . A guy can dream, can't he? We are soon treated to a *really* interesting space battle, with the two fortresses duking it out with their respective "Thor's Hammer" cannons (the Geiersburg version is das Hauptgeschuetz "Geies Haken" -- "the Main Gun Geies Hook"). The fight does drive home the point that the fortresses are covered in a liquid metal rather than a reflective forcefield as some have speculated, because when the cannon beams impact we see huge turbulence and waves being produced. There is also a fairly cool hand to hand fight when the Imperials dispense some of their space shock troops armed with axes (like the giant Ovlesser in the first series) to try and enter the fortress. The Rosen Ritter, led by Walter von Schenkopp, go out on sort of space sleds like the Imperials for some nasty fighting in which many Imperial bodies are left floating in the Iserlohn surface. Ultimately Yang figures out that rather than fire at the fortress itself, they should destroy some of its engines on one side to throw its thrust out of balance. He does this as Geiersburg is moving to ram Iserlohn, but when it goes of course it misses and rams into the Imperial support space fleet, destroying it completely and killing general Kempf. His second in command, Neihardt Mueller, is wounded, and vows revenge on Yang for this fait accompli. Back at the Imperial War Ministry, Rheinhard is informed of the loss during tea with Hildegard von Mariendorf. He gets up and goes to the next room, where we hear some rather loud shouts of irritation. On planet Odin, Neihardt Mueller apologizes profusely to Rheinhard for their loss, but Rheinhard dismisses it with a smile, and apparently invites Mueller to join his staff. He readily agrees. It is then that Rheinhard calls out one of his lesser staff commanders -- von Schaft! Apparently Rheinhard is aware of his treachery. The man is dragged from the room kicking and screaming. Later, there is another particularly interesting episode where Hildegard von Mariendorf goes to visit Rheinhard's sister Annerose von Gruenewald, who is now apparently living in a chateau in the Freuden Berge mountains, not far from where Kircheis' memorial is. They have a pleasant chat, but it seems fairly clear to me that Annerose's demeanor indicates disapproval of what Rheinhard is currently doing. Perhaps she feels that now that their enemies in the Empire are defeated, he should relax, and that he is becoming too power-hungry. At one point in Annerose's dialogue, we see a strange image (see framegrabbed picture) of Rheinhard and Kircheis in simple tunics, and suddenly Rheinhard sprouts wings and the pair go flying off to heaven! The best theory on the meaning of this is that Annerose feels that all that was good in Rheinhard died along with Kircheis. Hilde and Anne agree to call each other by their less formal names. There are two major events that precipitate the final conclusion of the series. First, Kesselink and Schumacher manage to infiltrate the Imperial palace and meet the boy Emperor, Erwin Josef, installed at the end of the first series. The boy is a righteous little brat, terrorizing most of the palace staff. The pair sneak in to his bedroom at night, and the Emperor's reaction is not fear, but rather shouting at one of the spies, "Why isn't that other one kneeling to me?!" While the men talk to the boy, he is busily trying to tear apart his teddy bear, and succeeds in ripping an ear off. The men grab the boy as an elderly matron comes in to check on him. She finds the torn teddy on the floor and sighs deeply, making a face that clearly shows the boy has done this before. She then turns and sees the spies with the boy and screams, but not before the pair escape, kidnapping the Emperor. Although the Imperial police mount a search, they fail to stop kidnappers. One can't help but wonder if the palace staff aren't secretly relieved. The other key event is Rheinhard's new battle plan. He decides to circumvent Iserlohn altogether, and go into Alliance space after conquering Phezzan! (This reminds me terribly of the German strategy in WWII of avoiding the French Maginot line by going through Belgium.) On Phezzan, Rubinsky seems not in the least upset by this. It becomes clear that Rubinsky has secretly been a part of the "Terraism Religious Movement" as well! He brutally shoots Kesselink, who has been keeping a representative of the Earth Religious movement prisoner for reasons I don't understand -- and escapes just before Imperial troops arrive. The Imperial landing poses a problem for Julian Minci, who had been sent to Phezzan several episodes earlier. In order to try and get off the planet and not be captured by Imperials, he poses as one of the Earth religion followers and is allowed to board a small ship with a few others of that group and escapes. Out in space, however, when their ship meets an Imperial scout ship, Julian and his comrades have the captain call the Imperials to report an alliance spy (or that's my guess). The ship docks and the Imperial captain and some guards come aboard to take Julian, but he breaks out of his unlocked handcuffs and they take the Imperials by surprise. They now have a faster Imperial scout ship with which to escape. Also, while Julian is out in space, he studies some Imperial history, I suppose to pass the time and also because Yang has always loved history. We get an important flashback episode to the early days of the Empire and its charismatic first Emperor, Rudolf von Goldenbaum. Once Goldenbaum establishes himself as leader by virtue of his fiery oratory and personal magnetism, the early Empire quickly goes on an "undesirables-hunt". It looks like one of the lesser Imperial ministers gets especially carried away with this, and roundups and exterminations get going in earnest (does all this sound familiar?) Well, it seems Auschwitz had nothing on the early Empire, because we see numerous emaciated corpses being disposed of. Despite these horrors and injustices, Rudolf lived to old age and the Empire continued. Fortunately there arose among the "undesirables" a leader, Ale Heinessen, who devised a plan to let them escape the slaughter. A large group of people manage to get some small space craft together and head out to an asteroid field, where they build what look like a small fleet of Bussard ramjet ships. After months or years, a group of about ten of these take off in search of a new home. These seem to be sublight multigeneration ships, because many of the original crew are seen to get old, and Ale Heinessen dies on the voyage. Eventually they come to a green new world, and establish planet Heinessen, capital of the Free Planets Alliance. I suppose at this point I can interject my physics theory. The above information, coupled with the galactic map that Rheinhard looks at when he is planning his attack on Phezzan, has got me fairly convinced that what follows is more or less the way warp physics works in this universe. All along we have seen these star maps of the Alliance and the Empire, showing numerous systems on both sides linked by numerous weblike lines, which I assume are existing FTL transport lines. Between the two sides there are only two lines connecting them, one going through Iserlohn, and the other through Phezzan. It has never been adequately explained why this is. One theory was that the two civilizations were on opposite sides of the galaxy, and the high density of stars and the resulting radiation would make travel through the galactic core impossible, meaning one would have to go around the core on one side or the other. But Rheinhard's map finally overlaid these lines on a picture of the galaxy and it was possible to see that the two civilizations lie in adjacent spiral arms. As a result, there is a high density of stars in one arm and the other, but a much lower density between them. This explains Heinessen's journey -- at sublight speeds the journey from the middle of one arm to another would still take many years. And as a warp mechanism, I have always felt that the existence of certain travel routes between some stars and not between others reminded me immensely of the "Crazy Eddie Point" idea from Niven & Pournelle's novel The Mote In God's Eye. In that book warp points were a naturally occurring phenomenon that existed near certain stars and not near others. They could not be artificially generated, so you had to accept what existed and go with it. And if I recall, the warp gates, or "Crazy Eddie Points" as they were called, existed partially as a function of mass density. So one would expect few of them to occur in the rarefied space between spiral arms. One point naturally came out near Phezzan, and the other probably in some region of empty space, so the Empire built the Iserlohn fortress where it came out. It would therefore make sense that the other Imperial fortresses are constructed at the outlets of warp gates that have no major planets nearby. If something undesired came out of that gate, the fortress would then be able to deal with it. So probably Geiersburg passed through the gate that it was located at the exit of, and went through to where Iserlohn is, needing the engines to be able to maneuver in free space when it came out. See? Anyway, warp theory aside, once the Imperials conquer Phezzan, Rheinhard lands and visits the central computer room on the planet. He views in all its splendor the entire layout and defensive plans of the Alliance. The Free Planets are in trouble. Rheinhard sends Reuental's fleet to try to deal with Iserlohn, and sends Mittermeyer (I assume along the Phezzan corridor) to take Heinessen. Reuental, being an exceptional commander himself doesn't fall prey to Yang's tricks, but at the same time doesn't make much progress either. The two forces seem to be in a standoff until von Schenkopp comes to Yang and asks permission to try and get aboard Reuental's flagship and apparently take him out by hand. The Rosen Ritter manage to get aboard Reuental's ship with a ship-to-ship access tube, and they fight it out with the Imperial troops. Schenkopp manages to find his way around and gets into a side room, where he runs right into von Reuental! Schenkopp announces his true name and the two go at it in grand fashion, fighting first with knives and then hand-to-hand. The men are well matched, as Reuental dodges all of Schenkopp's blows, and lands some of his own (see below). They both tire quickly and seem stalemated, when Reuental's men burst in as Schenkopp makes his escape. The fight seem to have little effect on the overall course of the battle, but Schenkopp seems to have enjoyed himself at least, for he is smiling when he presents himself to Yang again. Back at Iserlohn, Yang, for reasons which are not at all clear to me, decides to surrender the fortress to Reuental. This is curious, because although battles are continuing, it does not seem that Yang's forces are losing badly. Nonetheless Yang decides to abandon the fortress. But before they do, his men plant what look like bombs or sabotage devices in much of the equipment. Certainly one would not expect him to make it easy for the Empire. Yet, after his fleet takes off and Reuental victoriously enters the fortress, we see the countdown on Yang's ship, ostensibly until the bombs explode, go to zero with no result. When Yang and his staff observe this null effect they breathe a sigh of relief. I must admit I don't understand this action at all. Perhaps he is following the logical conclusions espoused in his article earlier, and is trying to speed the inevitable Imperial victory without greater loss of life. Yet, he can't seem to act like a traitor or else be shot back home. Therefore bombs are planted to make it look like they made an effort to stop Reuental, but perhaps some "technical glitch" caused the plan to go awry, absolving Yang of blame. Until someone translates these episodes, or the original novels on which they're based, I can't say for sure. Anyway, after this seeming defeat of Yang's own making, he heads back to Heinessen. Mittermeyer's fleet appears above Heinessen, encountering little resistance since Yang shut down the planet's defensive "Ring of Artemis" in the first series. We see some defensive missiles being activated near the Strategic Planning Center, but Mittermeyer quickly nukes the entire place. Out in space, Yang's fleet at last encounters Rheinhard, who has much of his staff with him. On the battle maps we see Yang's fleet represented by one triangle and Rheinhard's by eight. At first single Imperial fleets come out to fight Yang, but each is beaten back. Apparently Yang realizes that continuing the fight would be hopeless, so agrees to meet Rheinhard aboard the Bruenhild. After he decides to do this, he continues to talk privately with Frederica Greenhill, who has emerged as his aide through most of the series. She seems to offer encouragement and straightens his ascot, whereupon Yang reaches up and brushes her cheek with his hand, and they acknowledge their growing attraction with a kiss. In the final episode, Yang flies over to Rheinhard's ship, and is greeted in the dock by Neihardt Mueller, who has apparently forgiven him. Mueller is apparently a bit surprised at the youth and innocence of their famed opponent. He leads Yang through the ship to Rheinhard's quarters amid a great Imperial fanfare. Yang looks slightly dumbstruck by the impressive room and looks around, finally seeing Rheinhard on a couch near the rear of the room. Rheinhard stands, and Yang tries to salute, but a lock of hair falls in his face. Yang, embarrassed, brushes it aside and offers a quick salute. Rheinhard, with typical grace, salutes back in a perfectly fluid motion. He asks Yang to join him and offers him coffee. The meeting here reminds me of nothing as much as the descriptions of the meeting between Grant and Lee at Appomattox, but according to Brad Lucido, president of the UT Anime Club, the pair do not discuss surrender terms. They speak instead in formal language about their general philosophies and how to treat underlings. (Perhaps, in line with my previous theory, Yang is trying to ascertain whether life under this new Imperial ruler will be decent or not.) Yang returns to his ship. After the break, Rheinhard's flagship descends, victorious at last, on Heinessen. He steps down the huge ramp off the ship, resplendent in purple lined cape, to the joyous shouts of "Sieg Kaiser Rheinhard!" of his troops. I must admit, there is something about this scene of the conqueror descending to happy cries of victory that really warms my heart (but then, I'm evil, after all :-> ). He proceeds in those huge Imperial limousines (I'm convinced that the reason the Empire wants to conquer the galaxy is because they need more fuel for their huge cars) to meet Oberstein, Mittermeyer and Reuental at the Alliance government offices. After the men leave, he has a discussion with Hildegard, about what I don't know, where he gets angry. Hilde goes to leave, but he quickly calls her back and apologizes, saying he is a man "with a small heart" with not much room for many people in it (according again to Brad). It seems his relationship with Hilde is not progressing as fast as Yang's with Frederica. This last point is driven home when we see Yang and Frederica in civilian clothes at Yang's home, looking at a computer terminal apparently displaying a house they are looking at. We see a schematic of a house- looking building and a street map. Are they getting married? Living together? I don't know, but they must be fairly serious. Julian is also back with them, back to his usual tea-making role. The house planning is interrupted when Yang gets a call on the terminal from another Alliance officer (whose name escapes me). After a short discussion, Yang motions him to be quiet and looks around furtively. Does Yang have a secret plan to yet free Heinessen from the Imperial grasp that was in danger of being revealed? Again, I don't know for sure. There are Imperial troops posted outside Yang's house, giving the impression he is under house arrest, but when Boris Konev comes to visit and the guards try to stop him, Yang tells them to let him in, and they nervously salute Yang. Perhaps Rheinhard is concerned for Yang's safety? Again, I don't know. Also we don't know what has become of Merkatz, who had been granted his own fleet and aided Yang in much of the Iserlohn battle. I would think if he were captured he would be shot as a traitor by the Empire, but that hasn't happened either. So there may be many Alliance ships out there for Yang yet to play with. The final events in the series proper occur on Earth, where we focus on the Terraism Religious headquarters, that look like they're in some large mountain range deep underground. Degsby, the priest that had been kept prisoner on Phezzan by Kesselink, is seen reporting to the "Grand Bishop" and they seem to be laying plans. What are they planning for our main characters? Again, I don't know. Over the final closing credits we get the event we've all been expecting -- Rheinhard returns to Odin and is crowned Kaiser (by himself -- rather like Napoleon). Hilde is there in civilian noblewoman garb, and Mittermeyer and Reuental are in full dress Field Marshal's uniforms. As Rheinhard turns to take the crown, he sees a vision of Kircheis and Annerose flanking the throne. He appears momentarily happy until the vision fades, whereupon he frowns and crowns himself Emperor, to the happy salutes of the court. Conclusion (possible new series and manga discussion): As you can see, there are still many questions to be answered here, including whether Rheinhard is going nuts or not, as well as the final fate of Erwin Josef. I look forward to the next series to find the answers. When that will come, however, I don't know. I have however seen ads in the anime magazines for a slightly different LoGH series, one centering on the lives of the young Rheinhard and Kircheis as cadets. The art style for this looks rather different however. (I will admit that when I first saw the ad and didn't know what it was I thought that would be the design for the next series, which had me quite bothered!) If I can, I will try to reproduce the ad containing this picture. It also has some art from the covers of the LoGH manga (of which I have since collected a few volumes). I should comment that the above mentioned character designs look very much more like the manga art than what we've come to expect in the series so far. It seems very shojo in style (lots of fluffy hair and dewy eyes), and the uniforms just don't look as cool. But, until any of this planned stuff arrives, what we have here will have to do. Even so, I suppose it's not so bad, going from rejected poor noble to absolute monarch in 54 episodes. So until any of this new material surfaces, I will just conclude with a hearty... SIEG KAISER RHEINHARD!!