Video:

Very good. The picture stuttered a little during panning shots and the were a few pixilations here and there but nothing too bad.

Audio:

Crisp and clear audio on the japanese. Didn't listen to the mandarin at all.

Subtitle:

No timing issues and subs are very good. 2 things that bugged me though are that a good part of the show shows hard subs that are kanji and phonetic (german?) whenever they go to a different location and when they introduce a new character or re-introduce that hasn't been seen in a few eps. The only subs that woud come up are the ones you could see already. I can't read kanji so I don't know if they are leaving out the person's or place's title or description. Another thing that bugged me was that they screwed up when describing the amounts of certain things. They seemed to have trouble translating differences between the terms hundred, thousand, million and billion and will have these terms oftenswitched one zero to the left or right. An example being describing a force as containing 10 fleets 5 ships and 1200 men when they are showing thousands of ships on the screen.

Comment:

I absolutely love this show.If you like massive space battles with giant fleets slugging it out (ala "Banner of The Stars") with a cast of dozens of characters then this show is for you. Unlike B.O.T.S you see both sides of the conflict and aren't just exposed to one small view. I'm almost finshed with part 2 and I would easily say that this in my Top 5 favorites shows (anime or other) of all time. This show is better animated than a lot of shows today and it's 15 years old (at least part 1 is) . As far as content, there's no sex. a little romance (very little) and lot of dialogue like "Crest/Banner o Stars" and plenty of action throughout. There's a little graphic violence like people getting shot in the head and getting swallowed by a wall of fire when their space ship is hit but it isn't overly graphic.

Video:

This set was ripped from the R2 DVD release. This means that the video on the HK's has been remastered. It also means that all of the newly reanimated scenes are included, to the joy or dismay of fans everywhere, depending on your opinion of this artistic retcon. Me, I find the new animation horribly distracting as it is noticeably different from the original LD release, especially the CG pan shots and the instances where scenes bounce between new CG shots and original cel animation. However, that's not why I knocked the video quality down a mark (that's a content judgement). I only gave this set a 4/5 because there's a little bit of pixellation and because MI's interlacing from hell strikes again, making it jarring to watch this set on a computer. There are no watermarks on this set, and the episode breakup is 8/9/9.

Audio:

While the art was retcon'ed, the sound was left as-is in its original stereo. Having seen the entire show before in Japanese, I was too comfortable with the characters' voices in that language to consider listening to the Chinese track, so I can't comment on that. The Japanese track was fine, had a nice volume, and no dropouts or other problems.

Subtitle:

A lot of people say that the subtitles for this release are great, but I honestly can't say that. Yes, the subs are mostly free of Engrish, and maybe people who watch exclusively HK don't notice it as much, but there's just too damn much that's been left out of them. LoGH is a series that relies very heavily on its dialogue to convey subtexts and intricacies, as well as tiny emotional kicks, and the grotesquely oversimplified subtitles on this release just don't do it justice. The sad thing is that the English subs were translated off the official Chinese subs, which should give people an idea of just how much Chinese subtitlers leave out. My guess is that the dub is more accurate and complete in this case. Also, there were some Engrishy moments and a lot of odd character names and misspellings (forgiveable since even the Japanese can't keep them all straight).

Comment:

Packaging: 3/5 This set came in a gatefold case (like all MI sets), and it's got a decent group picture on the cover. I don't know where the image is sourced from, but I like the LD artwork a lot better. Also, like with most gatefold cases, I found the print quality to look a little faded and ever so slightly blurry. Menus: 4/5 These are pretty straightforward, with some artwork, a moving background, and the second opening theme playing in the background. The choices are play all/chapter sub-menu (read: episode sub-menu), and language selections. All choices except the individual episode menu are up front, and make sure to get your laugh at choosing "Japaness" as your language. Extras: 0/5 While I don't really expect extras on bootlegs, it would have been nice for them to include the clean OP/ED videos that were somewhere on the Japanese releases as well as to have ripped the alternative angle segments from the episodes in which the OP and ED credits go over extended story bits. That would have been more work, though, and HK's being HK's... Content: 5/5 LoGH is my favourite anime of all time. Period. Since others have explained the plot in other reviews and on other websites before, I'll spare everybody a rehashing here. That said, it's not the kind of anime where you can put it on and turn off your brain for a while, nor is it a title which calls for watching eight or nine episodes at a time. Like a fine wine, the series is to be slowly savoured and enjoyed as the layers of complexity and subplot play out over the span of 110 episodes. This set contains episodes 1-26, or the complete first series/season. In other words, they take their sweet time getting things done, and while the first few episodes of the first (and second) series deal almost exclusively with exposition and set-up, things go crazy once they take off, so don't be put off by the slow beginnings, it's all necessary information which establishes the show's worldview and brings things forward from there. If you like politics, histories, military dramas, classical music (which makes up the entire OST short of national anthems and the OP/ED), anime that doesn't insult your intelligence. and a good sense of irony and morbid humour, or conversely are a fangirl lusting after pretty people in uniform, LoGH is the show for you. If you want a harem show, gut-busting laughs, fanservice, or other typical anime cliches, this is not what you're after. In summary: Legend of the Galactic Heroes is a cult classic on both sides of the ocean, and it's easy to see why: the story is top notch, but the pacing and low budget animation is a turn-off to those wanting fast flash. This set is a nice way to introduce people into the series, but a warning about the subtitles is in order.

Video:

Very nice. DVD rip for sure. Crystal clear with maybe just a hint of too many episodes per disc.

Audio:

Good. Nothing that made me jump up and shout. Nothing wrong with it at all.

Subtitle:

Very good! Very clear and well written. This is a very political show and the script is complex, and the subs kept up with pretty much everything. Very nice subs

Comment:

A great show and a great set. The story is a bit slow at first, but when it takes off you'll be glad you were along for the ride. The subs are good, the video is great and the sound is good too. A can't miss!