Also considered the second season to Die Neue These Legend of the Galactic Heroes Seiran 1 is overall a much better paced follow up to the 2018 remake. Its almost as if everything began to slow down for the better. I began to take in the plot and characters just a little more than before. As much as I enjoyed the first seasons huge space battles it was often overshadowed by heavy exposition and a hardtofollow political plotline. For a newcomer to the series who hasnt read the books or watched the OVA like myself it was a bit of a bumpy ride getting to this point. After covering so much ground before its as if the director wanted to slow down to actually build up the story and plot. The first film or second series looks and feels much better in general. Im getting a grasp for the world and some of the characters involved with the politics. The narrator helps to put each scene into perspective by filling in the blanks when necessary. Die Neue Theses double edge sword is that it feeds the viewer info for the sake of time. With every character card the shows up I try to recall their involvement with everything else. It can be really hard to keep track of everyone in the show outside Lohengramm or Oberstein mostly based on appearances. I still have a hard time remembering key plot points or characters names. A lot of the show boils down to reasons to care and not reasons why I should care. I still am trying my best to find out why things are relevant. In most cases the plot just holds my attention more than the characters. Its the causeandeffect of the cast thats keeping me watching this show. Of course there are still small nitpicks that carry over from the first season that are still present. I still think that the soundtrack is a hit or miss and it all depends on how its used within the scene. The series is supposed to pride itself on being an epic space opera and yet I rarely hear it. Ironic because it has a killer opening and ending song by the legend Hiroyuki Sawano himself. Why is that level of musical awe missing here? Often the genericness brings down the level of connection I might have to the scene. Moments can do its damnedest to look cool yet I get this shaking feeling that everything is just a cheaper version of what should be. The art style also takes me out of the moment at times though thats more something from the first season than anything. Its just hard to gauge its seriousness as a space opera when everyone looks like they belong in Kurokos Basket instead of this. I will admit that everyone looks attractive but thats the last thing I want to be thinking about in a show about a galactic struggle. That being said I can see the real Production IG shining through here in certain characters mainly the background ones. Its just a shame our main cast wasnt presented with that level of detail or finesse. Seiran 1 doesnt fall into anime trope territory all too much even if the dialogue is a bit heavyhanded. Really its the biggest fault is in its coherent presentation. I applaud an original and unique anime story but the more I watch this show the more I think I could be watching the original OVA series instead. To enjoy this show fully approach Die Neue These as an anime rather than highbrow entertainment. A majority of this movie is simply just planning and recovery. At this point I expect my newfound investment to have a much bigger payoff later on because Im still salty about the first seasons dull finale. Review taken from my Letterboxdhttps://letterboxd.com/rileymarini/film/thelegendofthegalacticheroesdieneuetheseseiran1/