Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years
Encyclopedia
Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years is an animated science fiction
television series produced by Harmony Gold USA
. The series was created by Carl Macek
by combining footage from Leiji Matsumoto
’s Captain Harlock
and Queen Millennia
anime
series.
This is the second time the 1978 Captain Harlock series was treated for English language distribution. The first attempt was in 1981 with the lesser known Ziv International
, who only released two volumes of two episodes each, the first (episodes 1 and 9) a relatively faithful adaptation, the second (episodes 2 and 3) retooling the approach to a more farcical one. This attempt is often confused with the Harmony Gold production, but the two productions are not related.
The plot of Macek’s creation has no relation to Matsumoto’s works.
The Mazone, a race of sentient
plants, hatch a plot to seize Earth after their own planet is destroyed. A lone scientist attempts to warn the people of Earth, but at the cost of his reputation and life. The titular Harlock is blamed for the various instances of the Mazones’ attacks upon the Earth, and, despite being an outcast amongst his own people, plans to stop the Mazone and save humanity from the alien threat with aid from Princess Olivia, next in line to throne of Millennia, the Mazones’ supposed allies in the invasion.
. The account according to Carl Macek, producer of Robotech, was that he was subsequently asked what other Japanese animated series he was interested in dubbing, and he expressed an interest in Leiji Matsumoto’s Captain Harlock.
After the rights were obtained, Macek was informed that Harmony Gold had allocated airtime for 65 episodes. Captain Harlock, however, was only 42 episodes long, prompting Harmony Gold to buy another Matsumoto series, Queen Millennia. It then fell to Macek and his team to combine the two shows into one series.
Unlike Robotech, it was decided to combine the two series simultaneously instead of simply running them one after the other with some “connecting” episodes. At the same time, it was also decided to change the timing of episodes, thus creating a situation where clips from episodes at various points in the original series would appear in a single episode in the American series. This resulted in a wildly different plot from both of the original sources. The Queen Millennia television series also ran 42 episodes, with the result that many episodes were dropped from both series (including the final episodes of the Millennia series, which therefore ended in a cliffhanger) in order to create the 65 American episodes. Additionally, despite the title of the series, the two titular characters never appeared together on-screen as the original shows took place in different continuities.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television series produced by Harmony Gold USA
Harmony Gold USA
Harmony Gold is a television production and distribution company established in 1983. It is best known as the “creator” and main distributor of the anime series Robotech. It also partially dubbed the Dragon Ball series in the late 1980s....
. The series was created by Carl Macek
Carl Macek
Carl F. Macek was an American writer and controversial anime pioneer and producer of the 1980s and 1990s.-Robotech and Harmony Gold USA:...
by combining footage from Leiji Matsumoto
Leiji Matsumoto
is a well-known creator of several anime and manga series. His wife is also known as a manga artist.-Space opera:Matsumoto is famous for his space operas such as Space Battleship Yamato...
’s Captain Harlock
Captain Harlock
is a fictional character created by manga artist Leiji Matsumoto.Harlock is the archetypical romantic hero, a space pirate with an individualist philosophy of life. He is as noble as he is taciturn, rebellious, stoically fighting against totalitarian regimes, whether they be earthborn or alien...
and Queen Millennia
Queen Millennia
is a manga series by Leiji Matsumoto which was serialized from 28 January 1980through 11 May 1983 in both the Sankei Shimbun and Nishinippon Sports newspapers. The manga series was adapted into a 42-episode anime TV series by Toei Dōga and broadcast on the Fuji TV network from 16 April 1981 through...
anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series.
This is the second time the 1978 Captain Harlock series was treated for English language distribution. The first attempt was in 1981 with the lesser known Ziv International
Ziv Television Programs
Ziv Television Programs, Inc. was an American television syndication and production company, producer of popular syndicated TV programs in the 1950s.- History :...
, who only released two volumes of two episodes each, the first (episodes 1 and 9) a relatively faithful adaptation, the second (episodes 2 and 3) retooling the approach to a more farcical one. This attempt is often confused with the Harmony Gold production, but the two productions are not related.
The plot of Macek’s creation has no relation to Matsumoto’s works.
Plot
Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years takes place in an undisclosed point in the future (the only reference to its date being a single reference to “the eruption of Krakatoa 700 years ago,” placing its approximate date at 2583), after humankind has colonized the distant stars. But prosperity has corrupted the people of Earth, who have become corrupt and decadent.The Mazone, a race of sentient
Sentience
Sentience is the ability to feel, perceive or be conscious, or to have subjective experiences. Eighteenth century philosophers used the concept to distinguish the ability to think from the ability to feel . In modern western philosophy, sentience is the ability to have sensations or experiences...
plants, hatch a plot to seize Earth after their own planet is destroyed. A lone scientist attempts to warn the people of Earth, but at the cost of his reputation and life. The titular Harlock is blamed for the various instances of the Mazones’ attacks upon the Earth, and, despite being an outcast amongst his own people, plans to stop the Mazone and save humanity from the alien threat with aid from Princess Olivia, next in line to throne of Millennia, the Mazones’ supposed allies in the invasion.
Production
After the success of Robotech, Harmony Gold sought to expand their syndicated television production in other animation series originating in JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. The account according to Carl Macek, producer of Robotech, was that he was subsequently asked what other Japanese animated series he was interested in dubbing, and he expressed an interest in Leiji Matsumoto’s Captain Harlock.
After the rights were obtained, Macek was informed that Harmony Gold had allocated airtime for 65 episodes. Captain Harlock, however, was only 42 episodes long, prompting Harmony Gold to buy another Matsumoto series, Queen Millennia. It then fell to Macek and his team to combine the two shows into one series.
Unlike Robotech, it was decided to combine the two series simultaneously instead of simply running them one after the other with some “connecting” episodes. At the same time, it was also decided to change the timing of episodes, thus creating a situation where clips from episodes at various points in the original series would appear in a single episode in the American series. This resulted in a wildly different plot from both of the original sources. The Queen Millennia television series also ran 42 episodes, with the result that many episodes were dropped from both series (including the final episodes of the Millennia series, which therefore ended in a cliffhanger) in order to create the 65 American episodes. Additionally, despite the title of the series, the two titular characters never appeared together on-screen as the original shows took place in different continuities.
Episode list
- Genesis
- The Inferno
- Mystery of the Observatory
- Simple Diversions
- Origins
- Deadly Games
- Firefight
- Clash of Will
- The Knockout Punch
- The Hidden Land
- Life Sentence
- Zero Hour
- Revelations
- Boot Camp
- Battle Stations
- Survival Time
- Undersea Encounter
- Desert Sands
- Healing Ways
- The Abduction
- World for Ransom
- Journey Into Darkness
- Hot Seat
- Knights Without Honor
- Firing Line
- Royal Treatment
- Lone Justice
- Passion Play
- Cat and Mouse
- The Last Laugh
- The Raiding Party
- The Dark Dimensions
- Fire and Brimstone
- The White Ship
- Command Performance
- Glory Days
- The Price of Failure
- The Days of My Youth
- Chain Gang
- The Master Builder
- Return Engagement
- To Catch a Captain
- Double Jeopardy
- Danger Below
- The Deadly Duel
- Lightning Strikes Twice
- Queen’s Gambit
- Mutual Destruction
- The Shocking Truth
- The Set Up
- The Sound of Laughter
- Treason Is in the Eye of the Beholder
- Date With Destiny
- Balance of Power
- The Gauntlet
- Ray of Hope
- Phoenix Rising
- Manifest Destiny
- Friend or Foe
- Walking Wounded
- White Water
- Coast Guard
- Vengeance
- Anchors Away
- A New Beginning
External links
- Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years at Absolute Anime
- Captain Harlock in English: Captain Harlock and the Queen of 1000 Years at The Captain Harlock Archives