Movie
Description
Abelt Desler is the former dictator of the Great Garmillas Empire and a central figure in the events of Uchū Senkan Yamato 2199: Tsuioku no Kōkai. Born on March 19, 2166, into the aristocratic Desler family on the planet Garmillas, his early life was marked by the shadow of his older brother, Mathius, a celebrated war hero and heir apparent to their uncle, Grand Duke Erich Vam Desler. At the age of eight, Desler overheard a secret council meeting where his uncle revealed that Garmillas was approaching the end of its planetary life cycle and would soon collapse, leaving their species without a homeworld. His brother discovered him hiding and, after saving him from execution, made the young Desler swear a blood oath to find a new home for their people.
Following his brother’s death in battle and his uncle’s passing, Desler was considered unfit to rule by the aristocracy. At the age of eighteen, he leveraged the support of his uncle’s private protection service to win a civil war and unify the planet under his own faction. In 2188, he declared the Great Garmillas Empire and elevated himself to the position of Eternal Leader. His reign was characterized by a complex and often contradictory personality. He is a charismatic and cultured ruler who can be generous to loyal subjects, yet he is also a capricious and ruthless authoritarian with a low tolerance for failure or perceived weakness. He abolished the old aristocracy but created the Imperial Guard, a vast and powerful paramilitary organization that served as his secret police and enforced his doctrine of absolute control.
Desler’s primary motivations stem from his childhood promise to save his species and his deep, unrequited affection for Queen Starsha Iscandar of the neighboring, pacifist planet Iscandar. He believed that the expansion of his empire through military force was a necessary means to find a new habitable world. He articulated this goal through the Desler doctrine, a philosophy that leveraged Garmillas exceptionalism to justify conquest under the guise of spreading the principles of Iscandarism, which promised salvation to all beings in the cosmos. His love for Starsha was a constant, driving force, and he proposed a unification of their two peoples, though his methods of achieving peace through military power were rejected by her.
In the story, Desler serves as the primary antagonist to the Earth battleship Yamato. His interest is piqued when the ship survives an attack that should have destroyed it, and he becomes increasingly obsessed with eliminating this worthy opponent. Key relationships define his rule. He holds a genuine, almost paternal affection for Miezela Celestella, a member of an alien race he rescued and later appointed as his powerful Minister of Propaganda. Conversely, he disregards his official second-in-command, Vice Leader Redof Hiss. He also faces internal threats, such as a coup orchestrated by the treacherous leader Helm Zoellik, which Desler cynically allows to play out for his own amusement before crushing it.
Throughout his arc, Desler experiences significant development. Initially a seemingly invincible and arrogant dictator, his relentless pursuit of the Yamato leads to the destruction of his home planet and his own apparent death. He is later resurrected and forced to serve the Gatlantis Empire but becomes disgusted by their mindless drive for conquest. A turning point occurs when he witnesses the human emotion of love, leading him to renounce his feud with Earth and assist his former enemies. He eventually allies with the new Garmillas government and Earth to find a new home for his people, fighting alongside the Yamato to protect survivors from new threats. Desler is a master strategist and tactician, known for his elaborate and often cruel traps. He wields significant political power and commands absolute loyalty from his inner circle. He is also associated with the Desler Gun, a powerful superweapon mounted on his flagship, and the Desler Torpedo, a devastating bioweapon.
Following his brother’s death in battle and his uncle’s passing, Desler was considered unfit to rule by the aristocracy. At the age of eighteen, he leveraged the support of his uncle’s private protection service to win a civil war and unify the planet under his own faction. In 2188, he declared the Great Garmillas Empire and elevated himself to the position of Eternal Leader. His reign was characterized by a complex and often contradictory personality. He is a charismatic and cultured ruler who can be generous to loyal subjects, yet he is also a capricious and ruthless authoritarian with a low tolerance for failure or perceived weakness. He abolished the old aristocracy but created the Imperial Guard, a vast and powerful paramilitary organization that served as his secret police and enforced his doctrine of absolute control.
Desler’s primary motivations stem from his childhood promise to save his species and his deep, unrequited affection for Queen Starsha Iscandar of the neighboring, pacifist planet Iscandar. He believed that the expansion of his empire through military force was a necessary means to find a new habitable world. He articulated this goal through the Desler doctrine, a philosophy that leveraged Garmillas exceptionalism to justify conquest under the guise of spreading the principles of Iscandarism, which promised salvation to all beings in the cosmos. His love for Starsha was a constant, driving force, and he proposed a unification of their two peoples, though his methods of achieving peace through military power were rejected by her.
In the story, Desler serves as the primary antagonist to the Earth battleship Yamato. His interest is piqued when the ship survives an attack that should have destroyed it, and he becomes increasingly obsessed with eliminating this worthy opponent. Key relationships define his rule. He holds a genuine, almost paternal affection for Miezela Celestella, a member of an alien race he rescued and later appointed as his powerful Minister of Propaganda. Conversely, he disregards his official second-in-command, Vice Leader Redof Hiss. He also faces internal threats, such as a coup orchestrated by the treacherous leader Helm Zoellik, which Desler cynically allows to play out for his own amusement before crushing it.
Throughout his arc, Desler experiences significant development. Initially a seemingly invincible and arrogant dictator, his relentless pursuit of the Yamato leads to the destruction of his home planet and his own apparent death. He is later resurrected and forced to serve the Gatlantis Empire but becomes disgusted by their mindless drive for conquest. A turning point occurs when he witnesses the human emotion of love, leading him to renounce his feud with Earth and assist his former enemies. He eventually allies with the new Garmillas government and Earth to find a new home for his people, fighting alongside the Yamato to protect survivors from new threats. Desler is a master strategist and tactician, known for his elaborate and often cruel traps. He wields significant political power and commands absolute loyalty from his inner circle. He is also associated with the Desler Gun, a powerful superweapon mounted on his flagship, and the Desler Torpedo, a devastating bioweapon.