This is a fantastic write up of some of the seminal moments of the series. Buckocks death I have to admit, brought out the man tears. One of my favourite characters together with the immortal Walter von Schenkopp!

Siegfried’s greatness lies not in his outstanding military talent or devotion, but in his compassion. It’s this compassion and love of life that gives him an understanding of it that somewhat transcends the minds of pretty much every other LoGH character, except possibly Yang, who also understands the value of a human life.

Oh right, and Annerose + Siegfried was awesome. They kept hinting and poking us until episode 76, when Annerose finally fessed up, and even that wasn’t enough to satisfy me.

@IKnight – There’s so much more I wanted to mention. The little things, like Bucock’s wife, how Oberstein betrayed his cold image by so clearly loving his dog, and the way everyone collapses into sleep after the Battle of the Corridor, sleeping in elevators and on the floors, etc. All these little details, they add so much personality to the story.

To be honest, I totally missed the Westerland/Hiroshima subtext, but it’s obvious now. One can’t help but wonder; had those bombs not been used in 1945, would the world have enjoyed such (relatively) peaceful times since? I mean, all-out war seems to have been avoided since then, mostly under the pretext that a nuclear conflict would spell destruction for mankind.

Anyway, it’s been a pleasure blogging LOGH alongside you and the other guys, so I’m glad this article kindled some nostalgia within you.

@kuromitsu – Ah, such a lovely comment. Thanks, kuromitsu.

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Anyway, I went back to this moment in-question between Annerose and Reinhard, and the subtitles are as follows…

Reinhard: “I had a dream, sister.”

Annerose: “Still, you haven’t had your fill of dreams, Reinhard?”

Reinhard: “No, I had plenty… the dreams that no one had ever seen before… all too many of them.”

… To me, this implies that Reinhard had ambitions for the future, outside of military conquest, a lost chance at happiness, which is reflected in Annerose’s distraught expression. She realises that her brother was never just a ’sword’, and that he has died for her happiness, which is extremely tragic. I hope the translatation is correct, because it’s a beautiful sentiment.

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I think Reuenthal is the most complex character in the story, with the possible exception of Oberstein, and I agree with a lot of what you say about him, in particular, that sense of being torn in two different directions. His personality is ambitious and cut-throat (which is noted by Oberstein, years before the rebellion), yet, he so clearly admires Reinhard too. So, while that temptation for suicide definitely plays a part in his ultimate decision to rebel (and explains his odd relationship with Elfriede; she won’t kill him because she knows that is exactly what he wants from her), his loyality to Reinhard may have something to do with it too? He rebels because he knows Reinhard needs an enemy? Ah, what an enigmatic man.

In hindsight, may be ‘careless’ was the wrong word to use after all, may be ‘nonchalent’ is better. It’s difficult, trying to describe the thought process of such a calm and collected character.

@lelangir – Oh, you should write a list. After all, the more people we can make aware of this series, the better. LOGH will never be licensed, so it’s just a case of hoping others will discover it via word of mouth.

It’s odd, I wasn’t affected much by Kircheis’ death. I was more interested in the awesome ZJWOOM sound the fire-launching gun that was used to attempt to assassinate Reinhard made.

I’d agree that Bucock’s final go at the Empire was one of the most awesome parts ever. Truly epic.

You’re making me want to (1) re-watch this, and I’m only at 32 or so, and (2) compile my list of defining moments. Will try to later…

As for the Westerland incident, I think what makes the situation even more tragic is that Reinhard doesn’t really agree to let Braunschweig nuke Westerland – yes, he vaguely agrees but decides to wait till the last moment, and eventually misses the opportunity to really decide (due to some “help” by Oberstein). I always felt that his indecisiveness over such a crucial issue wounded him more than he let on, especially that it indirectly led to Kircheis’ death.

Reuenthal’s was the one that death affected me the most in the story, and I think he’s one of the most complex characters. I don’t think his rebellion was careless in the least. The seeds of his rebellion were sown right after Kircheis’ death, when Reinhard challenged him to rebel against him. In hindsight there were signs throughout the story – sometimes we can see Reuenthal watching Reinhard like a hawk, and as the story advances we see him spiraling deeper and deeper until he reaches the point of no return. I think it’s mostly due to Mittermeier that he lasted this long at all.

I think that aside of his characteristic self-hatred, Reuenthal’s main problem is that he’s a truly brilliant man overshadowed by Reinhard’s charisma and sheer genius. Someone mentioned that his greatest tragedy was that he and Reinhard were born in the same period. I think if Reinhard hadn’t existed he would’ve taken on the same role (though obviously in a different way). However, as it is, he’s fated to play second fiddle, and to make it even worse, he honestly admires Reinhard. Yet his ambition and pride compels him to take on Reinhard’s challenge when he sees him as “weak,” even though he knows he’s doomed to fail. Also, I think unconsciously he may have realized that neither he nor Reinhard are cut out for peacetimes (Reinhard even says at one point that he needs enemies, someone he can fight against). As I see, his rebellion was, in the end, an elaborately set-up suicide.

By the way, as for Reinhard’s last words, I wonder if there’s a translation mistake in the sentence you quote or I just misunderstand it (it’s past midnight here and my reading comprehension tends to fail at this time) – in Japanese he says he’s seen more than enough (’mou juubun ni mimashita … juubunsugiru hodo’).