Anyways, I read the blurb on AniDB long ago. Concluded it smelled of maximum pretension and cheap drama, and certainly wasn’t interested in spending umpteen hours of my life seeing if it bucked the odds.

LOGH is SERIOUS, and at the same time there are hardly any plotholes (I rewatched it like 2 weeks ago, and I can’t think of any), this ain’t some trainwreck that runs on high octane deus ex machina (yes, I’m looking at you code geass, guilty crown and death note).

“Pretentious”? Ewww, no. It doesn’t beat you with some kind of morality stick – LOGH presents some options, opinions – but which side to take is all up to you.
And as I said earlier – two main characters are both protagonists. This ain’t some “big, nice, good lookin’ hero vs nasty, smelly, kitten-eatin’ villain” – one of them fights because he has a goal (conquer all known space and unite humanity), and the other… Doesn’t want to fight at all, but the pay is good, and he is loyal to his government (no matter how hard it’ll screw with him).

All in all, it makes SW look like a fairy tale for kids (good guys always win, redemption etc, etc) – while in LOGH, there’s good, evil and all shades of gray. Well, no matter what I say, finishing LOGH will clear all doubts.

Not that the newer ones tended to be much (or any) better, mind…

If you guys want something serious, without little girls, tentacles, etc – try Legend of the Galactic Heroes (with central anime subs, since they’re the best).

It’s OLD, so there will be pretty much no eye candy in it, but LOGH is the best of the best in terms of plot.

Two sides – Free Planet Aliance and Galactic Empire wage war for centuries, but two individuals, who double as main protagonists, rise through the ranks to take the conflict to another level. Star Wars: The Anime? Oh, please, SW sucks compared to LOGH.

Try this review if you feel like it, maybe you’ll get even more interested:
http://www.nihonreview.com/anime/legend-of-the-galactic-heroes/