Legend of the Galactic Heroes (銀河英雄伝説, Ginga Eiyū Densetsu), sometimes abbreviated as LOTGH or Gin'eiden (銀英伝) in Japanese, is a series of science fiction novels written by Yoshiki Tanaka. In humanity's distant future, two interstellar states – the monarchic Galactic Empire and the democratic Free Planets Alliance – are embroiled in a never-ending war. The story focuses on the exploits of rivals Reinhard von Lohengramm and Yang Wen-li as they rise to power and fame in the Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance respectively. An anime adaptation of the novels, produced by Kitty Films, ran from 1988 to 1997. There is also a manga based on the novels, with art by Katsumi Michihara. In addition, there are several video game adaptations with the most recent release in 2008 being a real-time strategy game. The series did not receive an official English release until 2015 when North American anime and manga distributor Viz Media announced they had acquired the license to the novels. On the same day, North American anime licensor Sentai Filmworks announced their license to the anime and the anime was later released on Hidive starting on June 20, 2017. A new anime adaptation by Production I.G ran from April to June 2018, along with a 3-part film series that was released from September to November 2019.