The Galaxy Railways

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...

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 about flying train

Train

A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...

s set in the far reaches of space

Outer space

Outer space is the void that exists between celestial bodies, including the Earth. It is not completely empty, but consists of a hard vacuum containing a low density of particles: predominantly a plasma of hydrogen and helium, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos....

. It is licensed by Funimation Production Ltd. and produced 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...

. It debuted on American TV in a syndicated FUNimation Channel

FUNimation Channel

The FUNimation Channel is a 24-hour cable network which broadcasts anime series in the United States. OlympuSAT was chosen as the exclusive distributor of the network....

programming block airing on CoLours TV

CoLours TV

Colours TV was a multicultural American TV network produced by the non-profit organization Black Star Communications. Programs focused on the cultural and educational issues of the Hispanic, Black, Asian, and Native American communities. Some examples of programming included video...

on Monday, June 19, 2006, but was replaced by Dragon Ball until the programming block was dropped. The series has also aired on the linear FUNimation Channel

FUNimation Channel

The FUNimation Channel is a 24-hour cable network which broadcasts anime series in the United States. OlympuSAT was chosen as the exclusive distributor of the network....

. Two sequels have been produced, both currently unlicensed in English regions.

A 4-part OVA series was produced that bridges both seasons of the show (production on the OVA actually began before the sequel TV series, even though it was released later).

In 2006 a sequel series, began broadcasting in Japan for a 26-episode run. Of those 26, only 24 episodes were broadcast on television, with the final two released only on DVD.

It has also been announced that on the 25-03-2009, an off take of the series called will be released as a Drama CD. The story follows the Mizar platoon and their adventures.

The story takes place in the future, where trains are capable of interplanetary travel

Interplanetary travel

Interplanetary spaceflight or interplanetary travel is travel between planets within a single planetary system. In practice, spaceflights of this type are confined to travel between the planets of the Solar System....

. The fleet of the Galaxy Railways is protected by the Space Defence Force, or SDF, against intergalactic terrorists

Terrorism

Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...

, meteor storms and malicious alien

Extraterrestrial life in popular culture

In popular cultures, "extraterrestrials" are life forms — especially intelligent life forms— that are of extraterrestrial origin .-Historical ideas:-Pre-modern:...

life.

In the series it seems that the Galaxy Railways serve as both a establishment and government presiding over a large sector of the galaxy. The railways are made up of a series of large rings that create energy shields to protect the trains that move between them, creating the tracks the trains follow. The railways are under the rule of the Supreme Commander, but seem to be more actively guided by a lower ranking official known as the Commander. The Galaxy Railways Headquarters preside over The SDF and the SPG (Space Panzer Grenadiers, an elite defense force) as well as all passenger operations.

In the beginning of the story, the main character, Manabu Yūki, has always had dreams of joining the SDF, following in the footsteps of his father and brother. Because both his brother and father died while serving in the SDF, his mother tries to stop Manabu from joining the SDF. Despite this, Manabu is determined to join, and boards the train to Destiny Station to join the force. Manabu trains hard and despite conflicts from Captain Bulge, Bruce and other characters, joins the Sirius Platoon that his father used to command.

The Sirius Platoon's train is headed up by a Steam Locomotive. The locomotive itself is based on the Union Pacific Big Boy

Union Pacific Big Boy

Big Boy was the name of the Union Pacific Railroad's 4000-class 4-8-8-4 articulated steam locomotives, built between 1941 and 1944 by American Locomotive Company...

(4-8-8-4 wheel arrangement) that was built by the American Locomotive Co. of Schenectady, New York, and is widely considered to be the most powerful Steam locomotive ever built. The Sirius Platoon is the primary focus of the Galaxy Railways, though the Spica and Vega platoons also make appearances and become more involved towards the end of the series.

A Letter from the Abandoned Planet

The Galaxy Express 999 crashes on the off-limits planet of Herise (ヒーライズ) and it's up to the SDF Sirius Platoon to assist.

Crossroads to Eternity

The series picks up after an unknown amount of time has passed after the 1st season. Manabu is on his home planet of Tobito, on vacation. Meanwhile, Sirius Platoon has an intern sitting in to observe and learn the ropes, Killian Black (the foster son of Mr. Conductor from Galaxy Express 999. As seen in "A Letter from the Abandoned Planet"). When Big One encounters trouble just outside of Tobito's orbit, Manabu "Borrows" a maintenance Locomotive and flies up to rescue his crewmates. That ends his Vacation and he returns to Planet Destiny. There is a new Platoon formed while Manabu was away, to replace Vega Platoon after they sacrificed themselves and their train, Iron Burger, during the Alfort invasion. They go by the name Cepheus Platoon, and it is led by Capitan Guy Lawrence, who served with Captain Buldge under Capitan Yūki, Manabu's Father and former captain of Big One. they seem uptight and somewhat snooty, and dislike teaming up with Sirius Platoon.

After several filler episodes, some interesting developments take place. some examples:

Manabu takes Killian under his wing, much like Bruce did with him in Season One. He feels that he should carry on Bruce's harsh training methods and attitude towards newbies, and seems to be very good at it. (throughout the series)
A prototype SPG Train, designed to be an almost exact copy of Big One is stolen by Pirates, who use it to ruin Sirius Platoon's name. after a heated showdown, they are obliterated by the Cosmo Matrix Cannon. (episodes 13-14)

Then the main part of the story starts out. during a rescue operation to pull a stranded train from a wormhole, a small ship emerges from it. a pod escapes it before it is shot down on accident, and the pod is recovered by Big One. Inside is Frell, a little girl who says she is from another universe in the wormhole, and needs to return to her home planet ASAP. She hears Manabu's last name, and says she knew his father or at least heard his name discussed before. finding this out, Big One Charges through the Wormhole, making it to the other universe. Once there, they start planet hopping using Big One's Off-Track Mode (not being anywhere near the Galaxy Railways, it would normally be impossible for a train to even move)

After making peace on several planets and helping out in different ways the various inhabitants of them, Big One is sucked in to "The Bottom of Gravity", a literal Gravity Pit. There they find SDF and Galaxy Railways Trains that have disappeared from their universe over the years. they also find various other craft that go missing. they also make the chilling discovery of bones and skeletons on some of the trains. during this time, frell starts spending periods of time in the engine room (inside the boiler, where all the glowing dials, switches, and glowing purple center are) she starts talking to Big One, and shockingly enough, Big One talks back! He explains that since there are no tracks to follow, then there is no destination for him, and he should sleep peacefully in the well with his brothers and sisters. After hearing her pleas to take her to her parents, and encouragement from Manabu, Louise, Captain Buldge, and everyone else, Big One realizes he is a member of Sirius Platoon as well, and that they never give up. So he couples all the engines of the missing trains together, and they all are powerful enough to make it out of the well. the couplers break on the engines however, and they float back to the well to sleep in peace.

Finally, they make it to Frell's planet. After speaking to the elders, they find out the horrible truth. after ramming Big One into an enemy ship when Manabu was a little boy, Wataru crash-landed in the wrecked Big One on Frell's planet. he makes peace and all is well. However, a few weeks after landing, the SDF's prototype top-secret Inter-universe Tunneler malfunctions and crashes also on the planet, wiping out a critical part of the land. Wataru arms himself and attacks the tunneler, which has an A.I. built into it. It absorbs Wataru's body, melding his spirit into the machine. It then uses his image as a puppet to speak to humans. It uses its weapon system to torment planets all over the alternate universe. On top of that, over the time that it crashed to the time Sirius Platoon arrives, it has absorbed enough machines to be as big as a moon. The Entire SDF Fleet uses the new Tunneler Machine to come to Big One's aid, and they begin their attack on the giant monster. Manabu heads inside the Tunneler Machine to confront his father to see if the story he heard was true. he finds his father's SDF Captain Hat laying in front of a hologram generator. his father's spirit appears before him in holographic form and catches up with him on what he has missed. He then tells Manabu to shoot him through the head and end all the madness. If he does, then the A.I. will be destroyed also. reluctantly, he does so, takes his hat, and makes it out to Big One and through the wormhole just in time.

The ending shows Manabu and Louise returning to Tobito together and presenting his father's cap to his mother.

Continuity with other works

It is not certain where this series fits in with the rest of the Leijiverse. Galaxy Express 999
Galaxy Express 999
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 into mechanical bodies, thus achieving practical immortality.The manga won the...

was noted for guest appearances by 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...

, Queen Emeraldas

Queen Emeraldas

is a four-episode Japanese anime OVA that continues the Harlock franchise created by Leiji Matsumoto. The anime was adapted from Matsumoto's 1978 manga of the same name. Queen Emeraldas is the story of the pirate spaceship, Queen Emeraldas, which is captained by the mysterious and beautiful...

and other connections such as 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...

. The first Galaxy Railways season had no such crossovers and appearances by other Leijiverse characters were limited to subtle visual homages, although Manabu's brother, when accepted by the SDF, boards the Galaxy Express 999 to start his new assignment. For example, Captain Harlock appears as the Joker in a deck of cards. And Queen Millenia appears on the head of coin used for currency. Their status as actual existing characters in this continuity is not known. However, Maetel, Tetsuro, and The Conductor from Galaxy Express 999 do appear in the later Galaxy Railways OAV.

Leiji Matsumoto states on an interview included in the first DVD of the American release, that Manabu Yuuki is actually the brother of female space pirate Kei Yūki, seen in the Captain Harlock TV series and Endless Odyssey OVA, though such a relationship has never been mentioned in the anime series and seems unlikely. In the latest volume of the Galaxy Express 999 manga, however, they are brother and sister.

Themes

The narrator guides the viewers through the episodes with epilogues and prologues to each episode, introducing a specific idea in each one. There are, however, two overarching themes the prevail throughout the series.

Destiny and Fate: The series asks the age-old question of whether our choices are pre-determined, or whether we forge our own destiny. This evolves through each episode, starting with episode two, where Manabu has the chance to save his older brother from dying in the past. Despite his brother's attempt to evade his destiny to die, he is shot in the back - suggesting that fate and destiny prevail. In a later episode, "A train bound for fate", Manabu meets an old friend who has gotten on the train believing that there is no point in fighting fate. He states that no matter what you do, the outcome has already been determined. The train is attacked and Manabu has to force his friend to defend himself against what he believes is his death. By the end of the episode, his friend finally believes Manabu and takes action for his life. Later on the narrator suggests that he does not know whether or not there is such as a thing as fate, but whether or not it exists, we should still do our best. Near the end of the first Season, Manabu finally declares that his Destiny is his own to shape and is victorious.

Life and Death: From the very first episode, the series explores the ideas of life and death with the death of his father, and the death of his brother. In the beginning of the series Manabu refuses to use a gun, and does whatever he can to avoid killing people. Death is a hard thing for Manabu to deal with, as seen in episodes 6 and 7 when a little girl dies in front of him. In episode 4, Manabu has to stop a man from chasing after the ghost of his love and convince him that he still has reason to live. Manabu's underlying belief seems to be that everyone is entitled to life, good or bad. It isn't until he is forced to choose between the life of a crew mate and the life of a criminal in episode 10 that realizes that sometimes, people give up the right to life.

The Galaxy Railways: TV Series

Episode information source >

Episode	Title	\| Original air date

The Galaxy Railways: Crossroads to Eternity

Episode	Title	\| Original air date

The Galaxy Railways: A Letter from the Abandoned Planet

Episode	DVD Release Date
1	2007-01-24
2	2007-02-28
3	2007-03-28
4	2007-04-25

Changes in Season Two

One of the most obvious changes would be the uniform change from Blue to black. Almost all flashbacks show everyone in Sirius Platoon wearing the new uniforms. It is unknown why the switch was made. Flame Swallow, Spica Platoon's train, has been rebuilt and upgraded like Big One. It was destroyed through a self-destruct during Season One to slow down the Alfort Armada. There also seems to be almost no actual mentioning of Vega Platoon in the second season, with the exception of a short 5 second clip of it being destroyed.

U.S. Release

The English dub is a close translation of the original, uncensored from the original Japanese version with the DVDs being uncut and bilingual. All the onscreen Japanese hard subtitles (including the opening and ending credits) are translated to English in the Funimation Galaxy Railways Dub for its main purpose of cultural streamlining intended to make the anime understandable for an American audience even though most of the Japanese characters and Japanese culture are left out unedited. All the original Japanese music score and sound effects are kept and used. The plot, storyline and dialogue all completely match that of the original Japanese storyline, plot and dialogue. There is profanity left in. There is no extra dialogue, jokes, puns or humor added. All plot elements and dialog from the Japanese version remain intact.

As early as August 2008, it has been rumored that Funimation would bring the rights for the series to American shores, and the latest word is that they are in the process of obtaining the rights and recording an American release of Season Two.

As of July 5, 2009 it is unclear whether or not work is being done in getting the Second Season and OVA licensed and dubbed in English. Funimation has not made any official statement suggesting that it is currently working on this, or has any intentions to do so. However in April 2009 and May 2009, in two separate instances, Funimation surveyed its online fan-base with the intention of expanding their library of anime titles and many fans did express interest in the localization of Galaxy Railways season 2 and the OVA.

Musical Themes

Season One: The Galaxy Railways

Intro
Title	Artist	Episodes
Ginga Tetsudo wa Harukanari	Isao Sasaki Isao Sasaki is a Japanese seiyū, actor, and vocalist. He has had voice roles in anime such as Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Space Battleship Yamato, and Gatchaman. He has also performed the opening themes for anime such as Yamato, Star of the Giants, Getter Robo, Casshan, Grendizer, Gaiking and tokusatsu...	1-26

Ending
Ginga no Hikari	Isao Sasaki	1-26

A Letter from the Abandoned Planet & Season Two: Crossroads to Eternity

Intro
Carry the Light	JAJA	1-26

Ending
ALL OF US	Maki Goto	1-26

External links

Galaxy Railways Official Website (Japanese)
Galaxy Railways Official FUNimation Website (English)
Galaxy Railways CD drama website (Japanese)
Galaxy Railways at YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

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