Capitão Harlock originates from Leiji Matsumoto's 1977 *Space Pirate Captain Harlock* manga. He embodies the Romantic hero archetype, characterized by individualism and rebellion against oppressive regimes, human or alien. His philosophy centers on fighting for personal convictions, encapsulated in his statement that he "fights for no one's sake... only for something deep in [his] heart". Physically, Harlock possesses a lean build, disheveled brown hair, a prominent facial scar, and an eye patch covering his right eye, lost in an accident involving unstable dark matter technology. His distinctive attire features black clothing with a Jolly Roger emblem, a long black cloak, a gravity saber, and often a bird perched on his shoulder. Harlock hails from the ancient Germanic Harlock clan of pirate-knights in Heiligenstadt. His story spans multiple continuities. In the 1978 television series *Space Pirate Captain Harlock*, set in 2977 AD, he commands the starship *Arcadia*, battling the plant-based alien Mazone to resist Earth's subjugation with a crew including the alien Miime and a robot. The 1982 film *Arcadia of My Youth* presents an alternate origin. Harlock starts as a military officer who turns to piracy after Earth's defeat by the Illumidas, acquiring the *Arcadia* and allying with his female counterpart Emeraldas, forging his identity as a resistance symbol. *Endless Orbit SSX* (1982) continues his fight against the Illumidas occupation. In *Endless Odyssey* (2002), Harlock emerges from self-imposed exile to combat the ancient evil Noo, which erases Earth, reuniting his crew against cosmic despair. The 2013 CGI film *Harlock: Space Pirate* reimagines his backstory under the Gaia Sanction's authoritarian rule. Originally a decorated admiral, he rebels after witnessing government corruption covering up an accident that killed his friend Tochiro Ōyama and cost him his eye. Using dark matter technology from Miime, Harlock inadvertently renders Earth barren and gains immortality. This fuels his century-long quest for atonement, leading to a plan to reset the universe with temporal bombs. He abandons this plan upon discovering Earth can still sustain life, ultimately passing his mantle to the younger crew member Yama. Across iterations, Harlock remains defined by stoicism, tactical brilliance in space combat, and an unwavering commitment to freedom. His legacy includes inspiring later anime characters like *Sailor Moon*'s Tuxedo Mask and *Last Exile*'s Alex Row.