Story
Captain Harlock and his motley crew of space pirates have spent a lot of time trying to provoke Earth's lazy government, which they feel has become soft and cowardly. But when a group of aliens called the Mazone decide to invade Earth, Harlock becomes Earth's defender. The Mazone view Earth as their second homeland and their leader, Queen Lafresia, won't give up easily. The resulting galactic war will decide the fates of multiple races as well as the crew of the Arcadia.

The anime series was one of the first distributed in many countries, and is still very popular in some. In the late '70 and early '80's it was broadcast in France, Canada, Latin America and Italy. A few edited episodes were distributed in America. Not until recently was the original, unedited series available in the US, but only via online streaming.