Galaxy Express 999
Encyclopedia
is a manga
written and drawn by Leiji Matsumoto
, as well as various anime
films and TV series based on it. It is set in a space-faring, high-tech future in which humans have learned how to transfer their minds (but not their emotions) into mechanical bodies, thus achieving practical immortality.
The manga won the Shogakukan Manga Award
for shōnen
in 1978. The anime series won the Animage
Anime Grand Prix prize in 1981. http://74.125.93.104/translate_c?hl=en&sl=ja&tl=en&u=http://animage.jp/gp/gp_1982.html&usg=ALkJrhiYi5s5CULKbTMIx38LsP1_tth8ig
The number, "999", in the title is pronounced "Three-Nine", as opposed to "Nine-Nine-Nine", "Nine Ninety Nine or "Nine Hundred Ninety Nine".
Matsumoto was inspired to create Galaxy Express 999 by the idea of a steam train running through the stars in the novel
Night on the Galactic Railroad
by Kenji Miyazawa
.
The series begins with Tetsuro and his mother making their way to Megalopolis where they hope to get jobs to pay for passes for the 999. Along the way however, Count Mecha and a gang of "human hunters" kill Tetsuro's mother. Before she dies, she tells him to continue the journey they started, and to get a machine body to live the eternal life she couldn't.
Intent on killing Count Mecha to avenge his mother, Tetsuro meets up with a beautiful woman, Maetel, who is the spitting image of his dead mother. Maetel offers him an unlimited use pass for the 999 if he will be her travelling companion to which Tetsuro agrees. Along the way, Tetsuro has many adventures on many different and exotic planets and meets many kinds of people, both human and alien, living and machine. Increasingly, Tetsuro realizes that a machine body won't fix all of his problems. In fact, most of the machine people he meets regret the decision to give up their humanity.
Eventually, Tetsuro and Maetel reach the Planet Prometheum, the final stop for the 999, but Tetsuro learns that it is ruled by the Queen of the Mechanization Empire, also named Prometheum. She is Maetel's mother, and controls the planet by entirely mechanized human components. Maetel's mission was to bring young humans for that purpose. Queen Prometheum plans on transferring Tetsuro's consciousness to a bolt for the heart of the planet.
Tetsuro doesn't understand why he has been betrayed by Maetel, but Maetel has plans of her own, and seeks to destroy the mechanized civilization. With the help of her father, Dr. Ban (who was only named in the film), whose consciousness resides in a pendant she carries over her neck, Maetel destroys her mother and the planet. Afterwards, Maetel and Tetsuro return to the Planet of Bats where Tetsuro tells Maetel his intention to return to Earth and lead it toward a new future. Maetel, proud of Tetsuro for his decision tells him she has something to take care of and should board first. However, Tetsuro finds a letter from Maetel telling him that it was time for them to part ways. Maetel had secretly boarded the 777 (three-seven), a nearby train, with the intention of "leading another boy to his future". However, it is unclear as to whether or not this means that the Mechanization Empire still exists elsewhere, or if Maetel will lead the boy to some other "future". The series ends as the trains both depart the Bat Planet.
Many of the most popular characters in the manga and television series such as Claire, Antares, Emeraldas, and Captain Harlock made cameo appearances. Rather than kill Count Mecha immediately on Earth as it had happened in the manga and television series, Tetsuro confronts him in the Time Castle on the planet Heavy Melder, with the assistance of Antares. Tetsuro is able to get his revenge on the cruel count, who had the body of Tetsuro's mother stuffed and hung on his wall. The movie concludes as Maetel rebels against her mother, Queen Prometheum, and with the help of Emeraldas and Harlock destroys Planet Maetel. The movie also delves into the true nature of Maetel which is only hinted at in the television series. The body she visited on Pluto had been her original human body. Her consciousness was transferred to a succession of human bodies—including, most recently, one cloned from Tetsuro's mother—thus allowing her to live in human form forever and, in a sense, travel in time. Also, while Maetel's pendant only contains the consciousness of her father, in the movie it contains his consciousness, as well as the consciousnesses of the countless brave young people whom she had likewise led as saboteurs.
Maetel and the 999 bring Tetsuro back to Earth. After a farewell kiss, she and the train head back into space, presumably never to return.
Notable about the movie is that it came out while the television series was still airing, and as a result the ending of the television series was spoiled for anyone who had seen the movie. The footage on Heavy Melder and the Time Castle, which had appeared in the movie before the television series, were revised in the television series in a 3 part sequence where a fake Captain Harlock, not Count Mecha (who was already dead by this point in the television series) ruled the Time Castle.
Godiego
performed the film's theme song "The Galaxy Express 999
".
Although Tetsuro finds that Maetel isn't present on the 999, he does meet Metalmena, a machine woman who has replaced the waitress Claire. Also, a mysterious Ghost Train has been traveling the universe and nearly crashes into the 999. The 999 (which now has its own mind) then pouts about the humiliation of being overtaken by the Ghost Train. The 999 heads to the planet La Metal, portrayed here as the birthplace of Prometheum and Maetel (it is presumed that Prometheum and Maetel were born on Planet Prometheum in the manga and television series). Here Tetsuro helps in the resistance, befriending a cat-like man named Meowdar. While exploring the ruins of an old castle, Tetsuro discovers a portrait of a beautiful, blonde queen who looks very much like Maetel. He learns that it is, in fact, La Metal's Queen Prometheum, even though she looks nothing like she did at their last confrontation. As the 999 departs, Maetel finally makes her appearance.
Shortly after leaving La Metal, the 999 is forced to dock at a station where Tetsuro meets the mysterious Faust. When Tetsuro attacks him, Faust causes Tetsuro to drop into a flashback where he must relive his mother's death (which had occurred in the Time Castle in the original manga and television series storyline). The 999 continues on to the planet Mosaic, the last stop before Great Andromeda, capital of the mechanized empire. Here Tetsuro finds the Ghost Train and is nearly killed.
The 999 finally makes its way to Great Andromeda where Faust greets Tetsuro once more. Maetel meanwhile travels down to the center of the planet where Prometheum's consciousness still exists. Despite her betrayal in the first movie, Maetel is put in charge of the mechanized empire, just as the rumors said. But, again, she intends to put an end to the operations, and attempts to shut Prometheum's machinery down. She reveals the horrible truth to Tetsuro and the others, that the energy the machine people use is actually drained from living human beings. Tetsuro is shocked to find his old friend Meowdar among a pile of dead, drained bodies.
Prometheum proves that she cannot be killed with just the flip of a switch, and all seems hopeless. At about that time, a space anomaly called Siren the Witch approaches Great Andromeda, absorbing all machine energy. With Great Andromeda collapsing, the 999 is set to depart, but Tetsuro must face Faust one last time. After dealing Faust a fatal blow, it is revealed to Tetsuro that Faust is actually Tetsuro's father (In the manga and television series, it is never made clear what became of Tetsuro's father). The 999 heads back to La Metal where Maetel and Tetsuro separate for the last time.
The movie is notable for having two songs written and performed by Mary MacGregor
, 'Love Light' and the ending theme 'Sayonara' of which her version, sung in English, was used for the film. Kumiko Kaori, recorded a Japanese version of the ending song.
The movie Galaxy Express 999: Eternal Fantasy was released in 1998. This movie takes place one year after the events of the TV show, where Maetal and Tetsuro reunite to save the universe again from another evil. It is the shortest of the three Galaxy Express 999 movies, based on a portion of the recent series of Galaxy Express manga.
The Alfee
performed the theme song "Brave Love: Galaxy Express 999 / Beyond the Win".
This manga has been partially published in English
by Viz
.
), a wandering planet, and one of the first groups of civilization that mechanized their bodies. As Queen Promethium became fearful of the natural decline of her people's lifespan on their freezing, orbit-less world, she decided to mechanize everything, believing the process to be beneficial and enabling the planet's citizens to survive the harsh climate. The complete series was released on DVD by Central Park Media
.
In this series, Captain Harlock and Emeraldas (Maetel's sister) also appear, and work together to assassinate Prometheum, along with Maetel. Parallels with Galaxy Express 999 are prevalent. Instead of a boy who wants a mechanized body meeting her, she met a boy who has a grudge against Prometheum and detests being mechanized. This series remains unlicensed in English.
For unknown reasons, this series started production earlier than Galaxy Railways: Crossroad to Eternity, but was aired much later.
and : Famous space pirates who are idolized by Tetsuro. Both have only minor cameos in the original manga and television series, but have significantly larger roles in the movies and assist in defeating the machine empire.
produced an English-language
dub of the first Galaxy Express 999 movie. The movie changed the character names (for example changing Tetsuro to Joey and Harlock to Warlock), and removed approximately 30 minutes of content. Antonia Levi, the author of "Samurai From Outer Space" said that the edited film, released by New World Pictures, was "heavily edited" and that "many otaku
consider it too damaged to watch."
In 1986, Harmony Gold
produced rarely-seen dubs of two of the GE999 TV specials, Galaxy Express 999: Can You Live Like A Warrior? and Galaxy Express 999: Can You Love Like A Mother?
The first movie was dubbed again in 1996 by Viz
, titled Galaxy Express 999: The Signature Edition. Released on VHS, this dub was more true to the source material. Viz also released Adieu, Galaxy Express 999 subbed and dubbed on VHS, although having lost the licenses for the two films, they were never released on R1 DVD. The only current official English-language release of Galaxy Express 999 material on DVD are a Korean release of the two movies which utilize Viz's subtitle scripts. The Dubs of both films were run quite regularly on the Canadian channel, Space the Imagination Station, when the station first launched. They were also run in a very heavily edited form on the Sci-Fi Channel.
Viz later released five volumes of the second Galaxy Express manga, which was the basis for the third film, Galaxy Express 999: Eternal Fantasy. The original manga has yet to be translated into English.
Recently, a subtitled version has been released on IGN's Direct2Drive service. Currently, all 113 episodes are available. The streaming website Crunchyroll
began streaming a subtitled version on January 9, 2009.
In the Latin American dub of the 1979 film version, Planet Prometheum's name is changed for Cybertron
, the name of the home planet of the Transformers
.
DVD versions of both Galaxy Express 999 and Adieu, Galaxy Express 999 were released in the US June 28, 2011 by Discotek Media. Both DVD's feature the subbed and dubbed (Viz dub) versions of the movies.
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
written and drawn by 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...
, as well as various 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....
films and TV series based on it. It is set in a space-faring, high-tech future in which humans have learned how to transfer their minds (but not their emotions) into mechanical bodies, thus achieving practical immortality.
The manga won the Shogakukan Manga Award
Shogakukan Manga Award
The is one of Japan's major manga awards, sponsored by Shogakukan Publishing. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga since 1955 and features candidates from a number of publishers.The current award categories are:...
for shōnen
Shonen
The term refers to manga marketed to a male audience aged roughly 10 and up. The Kanji characters literally mean "few" and "year", respectively, where the characters generally mean "comic"...
in 1978. The anime series won the Animage
Animage
is a Japanese anime and entertainment magazine which Tokuma Shoten began publishing in July 1978. Hayao Miyazaki's internationally renowned manga, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, was serialized in Animage from 1982 through 1994...
Anime Grand Prix prize in 1981. http://74.125.93.104/translate_c?hl=en&sl=ja&tl=en&u=http://animage.jp/gp/gp_1982.html&usg=ALkJrhiYi5s5CULKbTMIx38LsP1_tth8ig
The number, "999", in the title is pronounced "Three-Nine", as opposed to "Nine-Nine-Nine", "Nine Ninety Nine or "Nine Hundred Ninety Nine".
Matsumoto was inspired to create Galaxy Express 999 by the idea of a steam train running through the stars in the novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
Night on the Galactic Railroad
Night on the Galactic Railroad
, sometimes translated as Milky Way Railroad, Night Train to the Stars, or Fantasy Railroad In The Stars, is a classic Japanese novel by Kenji Miyazawa written around 1927. The nine-chapter novel was posthumously published in 1934 as part of published by...
by Kenji Miyazawa
Kenji Miyazawa
was a Japanese poet and author of children's literature in the early Shōwa period of Japan. He was also known as a devout Buddhist, vegetarian and social activist.-Early life:...
.
Plot
A twelve year-old street urchin named Tetsuro Hoshino desperately wants an indestructible machine body, giving him the ability to live forever and have the freedom that the unmechanized don't have. While machine bodies are impossibly expensive, they are supposedly given away for free in the Andromeda galaxy, the end of the line for the Galaxy Express 999, a space train that only comes to Earth once a year.The series begins with Tetsuro and his mother making their way to Megalopolis where they hope to get jobs to pay for passes for the 999. Along the way however, Count Mecha and a gang of "human hunters" kill Tetsuro's mother. Before she dies, she tells him to continue the journey they started, and to get a machine body to live the eternal life she couldn't.
Intent on killing Count Mecha to avenge his mother, Tetsuro meets up with a beautiful woman, Maetel, who is the spitting image of his dead mother. Maetel offers him an unlimited use pass for the 999 if he will be her travelling companion to which Tetsuro agrees. Along the way, Tetsuro has many adventures on many different and exotic planets and meets many kinds of people, both human and alien, living and machine. Increasingly, Tetsuro realizes that a machine body won't fix all of his problems. In fact, most of the machine people he meets regret the decision to give up their humanity.
Eventually, Tetsuro and Maetel reach the Planet Prometheum, the final stop for the 999, but Tetsuro learns that it is ruled by the Queen of the Mechanization Empire, also named Prometheum. She is Maetel's mother, and controls the planet by entirely mechanized human components. Maetel's mission was to bring young humans for that purpose. Queen Prometheum plans on transferring Tetsuro's consciousness to a bolt for the heart of the planet.
Tetsuro doesn't understand why he has been betrayed by Maetel, but Maetel has plans of her own, and seeks to destroy the mechanized civilization. With the help of her father, Dr. Ban (who was only named in the film), whose consciousness resides in a pendant she carries over her neck, Maetel destroys her mother and the planet. Afterwards, Maetel and Tetsuro return to the Planet of Bats where Tetsuro tells Maetel his intention to return to Earth and lead it toward a new future. Maetel, proud of Tetsuro for his decision tells him she has something to take care of and should board first. However, Tetsuro finds a letter from Maetel telling him that it was time for them to part ways. Maetel had secretly boarded the 777 (three-seven), a nearby train, with the intention of "leading another boy to his future". However, it is unclear as to whether or not this means that the Mechanization Empire still exists elsewhere, or if Maetel will lead the boy to some other "future". The series ends as the trains both depart the Bat Planet.
Film version
The film version of Galaxy Express 999, released in 1979, serves as a compression of the storyline told in the manga and television series with some modifications. Maetel and Tetsuro again set out for the home planet of the Mechanized Empire, but rather than visiting over a hundred planets, as in the original manga/TV series, Tetsuro only visits four—Titan, Pluto, Heavy Melder, and Planet Maetel. Like Planet Prometheum, Planet Maetel is a mechanized world where machine bodies are made. It is implied that Planet Maetel had once been Maetel's machine body—just as the planet Great Andromeda serves as the machine body of her mother's consciousness in the sequel film, Adieu Galaxy Express 999 -- and is still somehow linked to her. Maetel says of the planet, "This planet is also me. It is half of my own heart. We're different, but both are myself."Many of the most popular characters in the manga and television series such as Claire, Antares, Emeraldas, and Captain Harlock made cameo appearances. Rather than kill Count Mecha immediately on Earth as it had happened in the manga and television series, Tetsuro confronts him in the Time Castle on the planet Heavy Melder, with the assistance of Antares. Tetsuro is able to get his revenge on the cruel count, who had the body of Tetsuro's mother stuffed and hung on his wall. The movie concludes as Maetel rebels against her mother, Queen Prometheum, and with the help of Emeraldas and Harlock destroys Planet Maetel. The movie also delves into the true nature of Maetel which is only hinted at in the television series. The body she visited on Pluto had been her original human body. Her consciousness was transferred to a succession of human bodies—including, most recently, one cloned from Tetsuro's mother—thus allowing her to live in human form forever and, in a sense, travel in time. Also, while Maetel's pendant only contains the consciousness of her father, in the movie it contains his consciousness, as well as the consciousnesses of the countless brave young people whom she had likewise led as saboteurs.
Maetel and the 999 bring Tetsuro back to Earth. After a farewell kiss, she and the train head back into space, presumably never to return.
Notable about the movie is that it came out while the television series was still airing, and as a result the ending of the television series was spoiled for anyone who had seen the movie. The footage on Heavy Melder and the Time Castle, which had appeared in the movie before the television series, were revised in the television series in a 3 part sequence where a fake Captain Harlock, not Count Mecha (who was already dead by this point in the television series) ruled the Time Castle.
Godiego
Godiego
is a popular band from Japan, consisting of the Mickie Yoshino, Yukihide Takekawa, Takami Asano, Steve Fox, and Tommy Snyder...
performed the film's theme song "The Galaxy Express 999
The Galaxy Express 999
is the 11th single by Japanese rock band Godiego. The song was used as the theme song for the 1979 film adaptation of the manga of the same name. The song was composed by Godiego vocalist Yukihide Takekawa and arranged by Godiego keyboardist Mickie Yoshino...
".
Adieu Galaxy Express 999
Adieu Galaxy Express 999 is the sequel to the movie version, and was released in 1981. Adieu presents an entirely new storyline (not based on the manga or television series), which takes place three years after the destruction of Planet Maetel. The Machine Empire now has even more of a stranglehold over the Galaxy. Rumors are afoot of Maetel being its new Queen. Tetsuro, now a fifteen year-old freedom fighter, is shocked when a messenger brings him news that the 999 is returning. Tetsuro narrowly makes his way to the 999 and departs Earth, now a battlefield.Although Tetsuro finds that Maetel isn't present on the 999, he does meet Metalmena, a machine woman who has replaced the waitress Claire. Also, a mysterious Ghost Train has been traveling the universe and nearly crashes into the 999. The 999 (which now has its own mind) then pouts about the humiliation of being overtaken by the Ghost Train. The 999 heads to the planet La Metal, portrayed here as the birthplace of Prometheum and Maetel (it is presumed that Prometheum and Maetel were born on Planet Prometheum in the manga and television series). Here Tetsuro helps in the resistance, befriending a cat-like man named Meowdar. While exploring the ruins of an old castle, Tetsuro discovers a portrait of a beautiful, blonde queen who looks very much like Maetel. He learns that it is, in fact, La Metal's Queen Prometheum, even though she looks nothing like she did at their last confrontation. As the 999 departs, Maetel finally makes her appearance.
Shortly after leaving La Metal, the 999 is forced to dock at a station where Tetsuro meets the mysterious Faust. When Tetsuro attacks him, Faust causes Tetsuro to drop into a flashback where he must relive his mother's death (which had occurred in the Time Castle in the original manga and television series storyline). The 999 continues on to the planet Mosaic, the last stop before Great Andromeda, capital of the mechanized empire. Here Tetsuro finds the Ghost Train and is nearly killed.
The 999 finally makes its way to Great Andromeda where Faust greets Tetsuro once more. Maetel meanwhile travels down to the center of the planet where Prometheum's consciousness still exists. Despite her betrayal in the first movie, Maetel is put in charge of the mechanized empire, just as the rumors said. But, again, she intends to put an end to the operations, and attempts to shut Prometheum's machinery down. She reveals the horrible truth to Tetsuro and the others, that the energy the machine people use is actually drained from living human beings. Tetsuro is shocked to find his old friend Meowdar among a pile of dead, drained bodies.
Prometheum proves that she cannot be killed with just the flip of a switch, and all seems hopeless. At about that time, a space anomaly called Siren the Witch approaches Great Andromeda, absorbing all machine energy. With Great Andromeda collapsing, the 999 is set to depart, but Tetsuro must face Faust one last time. After dealing Faust a fatal blow, it is revealed to Tetsuro that Faust is actually Tetsuro's father (In the manga and television series, it is never made clear what became of Tetsuro's father). The 999 heads back to La Metal where Maetel and Tetsuro separate for the last time.
The movie is notable for having two songs written and performed by Mary MacGregor
Mary MacGregor
Mary MacGregor is an American singer, best known for singing the 1976 song "Torn Between Two Lovers", which topped the Billboard charts for two weeks.-Career:...
, 'Love Light' and the ending theme 'Sayonara' of which her version, sung in English, was used for the film. Kumiko Kaori, recorded a Japanese version of the ending song.
New manga series and Eternal Fantasy
In 1996, Matsumoto began a new GE999 series, set a year after the original, in which the Earth is destroyed and Tetsuro sets out to discover the source of the "darkness" that threatens all life in the universe.The movie Galaxy Express 999: Eternal Fantasy was released in 1998. This movie takes place one year after the events of the TV show, where Maetal and Tetsuro reunite to save the universe again from another evil. It is the shortest of the three Galaxy Express 999 movies, based on a portion of the recent series of Galaxy Express manga.
The Alfee
The Alfee
The Alfee is a popular Japanese musical group composed of Masaru Sakurai , Kōnosuke Sakazaki and Toshihiko Takamizawa...
performed the theme song "Brave Love: Galaxy Express 999 / Beyond the Win".
This manga has been partially published in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
by Viz
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
.
Maetel Legend
This two-part OVA from 2000 serves as a prelude for Galaxy Express 999, explaining a lot of the series' backstory. Maetel (the protagonist) is actually the daughter of Queen Prometheum of the Planet La Metal (both from Queen MillenniaQueen 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...
), a wandering planet, and one of the first groups of civilization that mechanized their bodies. As Queen Promethium became fearful of the natural decline of her people's lifespan on their freezing, orbit-less world, she decided to mechanize everything, believing the process to be beneficial and enabling the planet's citizens to survive the harsh climate. The complete series was released on DVD by Central Park Media
Central Park Media
Central Park Media was an American multimedia entertainment company based in New York City, New York, that was active in the distribution of East Asian cinema, television series, anime, manga and manhwa titles in North America prior to its bankruptcy in 2009...
.
Space Symphony Maetel
Following on from Maetel Legend, this 13-part OVA from 2004 reveals that the newly-created machine people of La Metal began to mechanise galaxy after galaxy against the will of many humans, and ended up creating rebellions and revolutions. Maetel is asked to return to La Metal to succeed her mother, only to discover the many hardships her mother has inflicted on the humans.In this series, Captain Harlock and Emeraldas (Maetel's sister) also appear, and work together to assassinate Prometheum, along with Maetel. Parallels with Galaxy Express 999 are prevalent. Instead of a boy who wants a mechanized body meeting her, she met a boy who has a grudge against Prometheum and detests being mechanized. This series remains unlicensed in English.
Galaxy Railways: Letter From An Abandoned Planet
This OVA series is also not licensed for USA but, was released in 2006-12-30 to 2007-01-05 (on SKY PerfectTV!) in Japan. The story takes place between Seasons 1 and 2 of Galaxy Railways: Crossroad to Eternity, and presumably after the events of Galaxy Express 999: Eternal Fantasy, where the Earth has since been destroyed. The OVAs featured Maetel, Tetsuro and the Conductor, with their original voice actors from the Galaxy Express 999 TV series.For unknown reasons, this series started production earlier than Galaxy Railways: Crossroad to Eternity, but was aired much later.
Characters
: The main character of Galaxy Express 999, Tetsuro is a poor Earth boy who witnessed his mother die at the hands of Count Mecha. With his mother's dying wish being for him to obtain a machine body, Tetsuro embarks on the Galaxy Express with Maetel.- The mysterious blonde woman who accompanies Tetsuro on the Galaxy Express 999. Maetel is in actuality the daughter of Queen Prometheum, ruler of the mechanized empire. Maetel is responsible for bringing youths from around the universe to the mechanized homeworld where they are turned into mechanized human components to serve the mechanized empire. Maetel is secretly plotting with her father, Dr. Ban (who is contained within the pendant around her neck) to destroy the machine empire, and finally does so when it is Tetsuro's turn to be turned into a bolt. Maetel's soul exists in the body of a human copy, which she occupies until it grows old and she exchanges it for a new one. It is explained in the movie version that she occupies a clone of the body of Tetsuro's mother, which explains the resemblance between the two.
- The Conductor is the main crew member of the Galaxy Express 999. He is an alien being with an invisible body; only his eyes can be seen while he is wearing his conductor uniform. The Conductor prefers to go 'strictly by the book' and frequently cites the Galaxy Express rule book, but occasionally ends up bending the rules and getting into adventures with Tetsuro and Maetel.
- The dining car waitress on the 999, Claire has a machine body made of clear crystal glass. Unlike others who gave up their humanity by choice, Claire was forced into this existence by her vain mother. She works on the 999 in order to save up enough money to buy back her human body, which is stored on Pluto. Claire quickly befriends Tetsuro and sacrifices herself for him when a hallucination taking the guise of his mother tries to pull him out of the train. Her body is shattered, all that remains is a single glass tear which Tetsuro holds with him as a memento. In the movie version, Claire has a somewhat larger role, but suffers the same fate, sacrificing herself for Tetsuro when Prometheum tries to kill him (a machine girl named "Mirai" ("Future") has this role in the television series). Claire returns to life in both Eternal Fantasy and the new Galaxy Express manga published by Matsumoto in the 1990s.
and : Famous space pirates who are idolized by Tetsuro. Both have only minor cameos in the original manga and television series, but have significantly larger roles in the movies and assist in defeating the machine empire.
- A well known bandit who sneaks aboard the 999 after their stop on the planet Titan. Antares despises machine people for the death of his wife and has many unexploded bullets lodged within his abdomen. He warns Tetsuro to "shoot first, ask questions later". In the manga and television series he lives in a large home with his many children; in the movie he lives on Titan with other bandits and many children orphaned by Count Mecha. In the movie version he assists Tetsuro in his quest to kill Count Mecha at the Time Castle, and is killed when the bullets in his body explode after taking multiple shots from the Count.
- The wealthy machine man who murdered Tetsuro's mother. In the manga and television series, he is a minor aristocrat, and is killed by Tetsuro before he leaves Earth. In the movie version he appears to have considerably more power, and rules the Time Castle. Acquiring a machine body to get revenge on Count Mecha is Tetsuro's primary motivation in the movie version, and he accomplishes his goal with the assistance of Antares while on the planet Heavy Melder.
- Maetel's mother, and ruler of the mechanized empire. Once a gentle woman, Prometheum created the machine empire believing it would be good for humanity. Prometheum has considerably difference physical characteristics in each of her appearances, appearing as a humanoid in the television series and movie, and a two-faced head in the manga. Prometheum is destroyed with the destruction of Andromeda in the manga and television series, and killed by Claire in the movie version. Her spirit occupies the planet Great Andromeda in Adieu Galaxy Express 999 but perishes when that planet is destroyed by Siren the Witch.
English versions
In 1980, Roger CormanRoger Corman
Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...
produced an English-language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
dub of the first Galaxy Express 999 movie. The movie changed the character names (for example changing Tetsuro to Joey and Harlock to Warlock), and removed approximately 30 minutes of content. Antonia Levi, the author of "Samurai From Outer Space" said that the edited film, released by New World Pictures, was "heavily edited" and that "many otaku
Otaku
is a Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime, manga or video games.- Etymology :Otaku is derived from a Japanese term for another's house or family , which is also used as an honorific second-person pronoun...
consider it too damaged to watch."
In 1986, Harmony Gold
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....
produced rarely-seen dubs of two of the GE999 TV specials, Galaxy Express 999: Can You Live Like A Warrior? and Galaxy Express 999: Can You Love Like A Mother?
The first movie was dubbed again in 1996 by Viz
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
, titled Galaxy Express 999: The Signature Edition. Released on VHS, this dub was more true to the source material. Viz also released Adieu, Galaxy Express 999 subbed and dubbed on VHS, although having lost the licenses for the two films, they were never released on R1 DVD. The only current official English-language release of Galaxy Express 999 material on DVD are a Korean release of the two movies which utilize Viz's subtitle scripts. The Dubs of both films were run quite regularly on the Canadian channel, Space the Imagination Station, when the station first launched. They were also run in a very heavily edited form on the Sci-Fi Channel.
Viz later released five volumes of the second Galaxy Express manga, which was the basis for the third film, Galaxy Express 999: Eternal Fantasy. The original manga has yet to be translated into English.
Recently, a subtitled version has been released on IGN's Direct2Drive service. Currently, all 113 episodes are available. The streaming website Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll is an American website and international online community focused on streaming East Asian media including anime, manga, drama, music, electronic entertainment, and auto racing content...
began streaming a subtitled version on January 9, 2009.
In the Latin American dub of the 1979 film version, Planet Prometheum's name is changed for Cybertron
Cybertron
Cybertron is a fictional planet, the homeworld of the Transformers in the various fictional incarnations of the metaseries and toyline by Hasbro. In the Japanese series, the planet is referred to as "Cybertron" pronounced as セイバートロン Seibātoron...
, the name of the home planet of the Transformers
Transformers
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another by magnetic coupling.Transformer may also refer to:* ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, an Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet computer manufacturer by Asus...
.
DVD versions of both Galaxy Express 999 and Adieu, Galaxy Express 999 were released in the US June 28, 2011 by Discotek Media. Both DVD's feature the subbed and dubbed (Viz dub) versions of the movies.
Publication History
- First manga series, serialized in Shōnen King (Shōnen GahoshaShonen Gahoshais a Japanese publisher named for Shōnen Gaho one of its first magazines. Founded in 1945, it previously published driving manuals and English conversation guides. Now it is known for magazines such as biweekly seinen manga Young King, the monthly manga serials Young King OURs and Monthly Young King...
), 1977–1981 - New manga series, serialized in Big Gold (ShogakukanShogakukanis a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, manga, non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.Shogakukan founded Shueisha which founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hitotsubashi Group, one of the largest publishing groups in Japan...
), 1996-?? - TV series, 113 episodes + 4 TV specials (1978)
- Television specials, Can You Live Like A Warrior (1979), Emeraldes the Eternal Wanderer (1980) and Can You Love Like a Mother (1981)
- Film, Galaxy Express (1979)
- Featurette, Galaxy Express 999 Glass no Clair - Glass-made Claire (1980)
- Film, Adieu Galaxy Express 999 Terminus Andromeda - Sayonara Galaxy Express 999 (1981)
- Film, Galaxy Express 999 ~Eternal Fantasy~ (1998)
- TV series, Space Symphony Maetel, 13 episodes (2004–2005)
Cast
| Character | Japanese actor (TV series) | Japanese actor (film) | English actor (film) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tetsuro Hoshino | Masako Nozawa Masako Nozawa is a Japanese voice actress and actress affiliated with Office Nozawa. Her pet name is Mako. Her husband, Masa'aki Tsukada is also a voice actor.... |
Saffron Henderson Saffron Henderson Saffron Henderson is a Canadian voice actress and singer and the daughter of Bill Henderson of Chilliwack fame. She has voiced various characters from anime series... |
|
| Maetel | Masako Ikeda Masako Ikeda is a Japanese voice actress most known for the roles of Reika "Ochoufujin" Ryuuzaki in Ace wo Nerae, Nodoka Saotome in Ranma 1/2, Maetel in Galaxy Express 999 and Michiko in Harmagedon... |
Kathleen Barr Kathleen Barr Kathleen Barr is a Canadian voice actress. She is also the sister of Professor Mark Lyle Barr at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.-Filmography:... |
|
| Conductor | Kaneta Kimotsuki Kaneta Kimotsuki is a Japanese voice actor who was born in Kagoshima.He is most known for the roles of Suneo Honekawa , Dracula , Pāyan , Iyami , Tom , Benzou Karino , Horrorman , Conductor and Jiminy Cricket is a Japanese voice actor who was born in Kagoshima.He is most known for the roles of Suneo Honekawa... |
Terry Klassen Terry Klassen Terry Klassen is a Canadian voice actor and voice director in Vancouver, British Columbia. He co-created Yvon of the Yukon. He is the voice director for shows including Martha Speaks, "Johnny Test", "George of the Jungle", "Ed, Edd n Eddy", several "Barbie" movies, "Transformers", "CardCaptors",... |
|
| Engine Computer | Kōji Totani Koji Totani was a veteran seiyū born in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Totani worked at Aoni Production. His nickname was "Totani-chan". On February 6, 2006, at the age of 57, he died from acute heart failure... (ep. 8, 50~113) Keaton Yamada Keaton Yamada is a Japanese voice actor. He switched from going by his real name, Shunji Yamada, to going by Keaton Yamada in the 1980s. He is currently represented by Remax.- Voice Roles :*Attacker You! *Bonobono... (ep. 14~45) |
Hidekatsu Shibata Hidekatsu Shibata is a Japanese voice actor from Asakusa, Tokyo who is affiliated with Aoni Production. He was a classmate of Yasuo Fukuda at Azabu High School. He is married to voice actress Akiko Sekine.... |
Don Brown |
| Captain Harlock | Makio Inoue Makio Inoue is a Japanese voice actor. He began voice acting in the '60s, landing small roles in Astroboy, and was the actor of choice for deep-voiced, serious males in the '70s. These days, he rarely takes on new roles... |
Scott McNeil Scott McNeil Scott McNeil is a Canadian actor and voice actor. He currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada... |
|
| Emeraldas | Ikuko Tani Ikuko Tani is a Japanese actress, seiyū and narrator from Tōkyō attached to Mausu Promotion. She is best known for her roles in Tanoshii Moomin Ikka , SpongeBob SquarePants and the Japanese dubs of the Harry Potter films .-Television animation:*Cowboy Bebop *Ghost Hound *Ginga... |
Reiko Tajima | Nicole Oliver Nicole Oliver -Education:She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from York University, and additional training from the British American Drama Academy in Oxford and London.-Career:... |
| Claire | Chiyoko Kawashima Chiyoko Kawashima is a former Japanese voice actress. She retired from voice-acting in 2001; her final role was that of Kusakabe Maron's mother in Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne.-Notable voice roles:*Candy Candy as Patricia O'Brien*Cat's Eye as Kazumi*Kaibutsu-kun as Utako... |
Youko Asagami | Janyse Jaud Janyse Jaud Janyse Aldis Jaud is a Canadian actress, dancer and singer/songwriter. She is of Icelandic-French descent.... |
| Antares | Masao Imanishi | Yasuo Hisamatsu | Don Brown |
| Count Mecha | Hidekatsu Shibata Hidekatsu Shibata is a Japanese voice actor from Asakusa, Tokyo who is affiliated with Aoni Production. He was a classmate of Yasuo Fukuda at Azabu High School. He is married to voice actress Akiko Sekine.... |
Paul Dobson | |
| (Le)Ryuzu | Haruko Kitahama (Ryuzu) Kumiko Kaori (Leryuzu) |
Noriko Ohara Noriko Ohara is a Japanese voice actress. She is currently represented by Production Baobab. Her son is Sunrise animator .She is most well known for the roles of Nobita Nobi , Doronjo , Conan , Peter , and Oyuki and Claudia LaSalle from Super Dimension Fortress Macross... |
Willow Johnson Willow Johnson Willow Johnson is a Canadian voice actress working for the Ocean Productions based in Vancouver. She has performed the roles of several characters for many anime series... |
| Queen Prometheum | Ryōko Kinomiya | Kathleen Barr Kathleen Barr Kathleen Barr is a Canadian voice actress. She is also the sister of Professor Mark Lyle Barr at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.-Filmography:... |
|
| Dr. Ban | Takashi Tanaka Banjo Ginga , sometimes credited as his real name , is a Japanese voice actor who was born in Kofu, Yamanashi. Ginga is currently affiliated with Aoni Production... |
Goro Naya Goro Naya is a Japanese actor, voice actor, narrator and theatre director from Hakodate, Hokkaidō. He is a drop-out of the legal education division of Ritsumeikan University. He is connected to Theatre Echo. He is the older brother of actor and seiyū Rokurō Naya. He is the husband of actress and seiyū... |
Gerard Plunkett |
| Kanae Hoshino | Akiko Tsuboi | Kathleen Barr Kathleen Barr Kathleen Barr is a Canadian voice actress. She is also the sister of Professor Mark Lyle Barr at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.-Filmography:... |
|
| Shadow | Mieko Nobusawa | Toshiko Fujita Toshiko Fujita is a Japanese seiyū. She currently works at Aoni Production.-Roles:*Bonobono in the first Bonobono film*Cross in Ginga Nagareboshi Gin*Corazón Muto in Allison & Lillia... |
Jane Perry |
| Tochiro Ōyama | N/A | Kei Tomiyama Kei Tomiyama , better known by his stage name , was a Japanese actor, voice actor, and narrator from Anshan, Manchukuo. During his life, Tomiyama was affiliated with Aoni Production and Production Baobab.... |
John Payne John Payne (voice actor) John Payne is an English-born Canadian voice actor who works for Ocean Studios in Vancouver, Canada. He has played several roles in anime, most notably Ramba Ral in Mobile Suit Gundam and Rasetsu in InuYasha.... |
| Narrator | Hitoshi Takagi Hitoshi Takagi was a Japanese voice actor. He died at age 78 due to partial ischemic heart disease.He was most well known for providing the voice of Totoro.-Anime:*Galaxy Express 999 *Gregory Horror Show... |
Tatsuya Jo | Don Brown |
External links
- Galaxy Express 999 and Space Battleship Yamato statues in Tsuruga
- asianbeat Leiji Matsumoto interview
- Galaxy Express 999 at HuluHuluHulu is a website and over-the-top subscription service offering ad-supported on-demand streaming video of TV shows, movies, webisodes and other new media, trailers, clips, and behind-the-scenes footage from NBC, Fox, ABC, and Obstacle on October 20th 2011 Nickelodeon and CBS and many other...
- All 113 Episodes of Galaxy Express 999 at CrunchyrollCrunchyrollCrunchyroll is an American website and international online community focused on streaming East Asian media including anime, manga, drama, music, electronic entertainment, and auto racing content...
- All 113 Episodes of Galaxy Express 999 at Funimation EntertainmentFunimation EntertainmentFunimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...