Ginga Tetsudou 999 (Galaxy Express 999)

In the distant future, humanity has found a way to live forever by purchasing mechanical bodies, but this way to immortality is extraordinarily expensive. An impoverished boy, Tetsurou Hoshino, desires to purchase a pass on the Galaxy Express 999—a train that travels throughout the universe—because it is said that at the end of the line, those aboard can obtain a mechanical body for free. When Tetsurou's mother is gunned down by the villainous machine-man hybrid Count Mecha, however, all seems lost.

Tetsurou is then saved from certain death by the mysterious Maetel, a tall woman with blonde hair and a striking resemblance to his mother. She gives him a pass to the Galaxy Express under one condition: that they travel together. Thus, Tetsurou begins his journey across the universe to many unique planets and thrilling adventures, in hopes of being able to attain that which he most desires.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Adaptation:	Ginga Tetsudou 999
Alternative version:	Ginga Tetsudou 999 (Movie), Ginga Tetsudou 999: Glass no Clair, Ginga Tetsudou 999: Kimi wa Senshi no You ni Ikirareru ka?, Ginga Tetsudou 999: Eien no Tabibito Emeraldas, Ginga Tetsudou 999: Kimi wa Haha no You ni Aiseru ka!!, Ginga Tetsudou 999: Diamond Ring no Kanata e, Ginga Tetsudou 999 (ONA)
Sequel:	Sayonara Ginga Tetsudou 999: Andromeda Shuuchakueki
Prequel:	Uchuu Koukyoushi Maetel: Ginga Tetsudou 999 Gaiden, Maetel Legend, DNA Sights 999.9
Alternative setting:	Ginga Tetsudou Monogatari
Other:	Ginga Tetsudou 999: Jikuu wo Koeta Energy no Tabi, Ginga Tetsudou 999: Hoshizora wa Time Machine, Ginga Tetsudou 999: Niji no Michishirube, Ginga Tetsudou 999 for Planetarium, Ginga Tetsudou 999: Akai Hoshi Betelgeuze - Inochi no Kagayaki, Ginga Tetsudou 999 Music Video Seisaku Project
Summary:	Ginga Tetsudou 999: Shounen no Tabidachi to Wakare
Side story:	Ginga Tetsudou 999: Kieta Taiyoukei

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Maetel

Main

Ikeda, Masako
Japanese

Hoshino, Tetsurou

Main

Nozawa, Masako
Japanese

Captain Herlock

Supporting

Inoue, Makio
Japanese

Emeraldas

Supporting

Tani, Ikuko
Japanese

Promethium II, La Andromeda

Supporting

Kinomiya, Ryouko
Japanese

The Conductor

Supporting

Kimotsuki, Kaneta
Japanese

Claire

Supporting

Kawashima, Chiyoko
Japanese

Horohoro

Supporting

Miyauchi, Kouhei
Japanese

Count Mecha

Supporting

Shibata, Hidekatsu
Japanese

Ryuzu

Supporting

Kitahama, Haruko
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Nishizawa, Nobutaka

Director

Yuyama, Kunihiko

Episode Director, Storyboard

Iuchi, Shuji

Episode Director

Kasai, Osamu

Episode Director

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Opening Theme

"Ginga Tetsudou 999" by Isao Sasaki and the Suginami Children's Choir

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Ending Theme

"Aoi Chikyuu" by Isao Sasaki and the Suginami Children's Choir

Reviews

Nov 5, 2022

SCLFI

Recommended

It might have taken me over two years to finish, but despite the major time commitment that Galaxy Express 999 demands, it is one well worth pursuing and finishing, as its episodic and varied nature means that even when accounting for its (arguably excessive) length, it never ends up feeling particularly repetitive or overdone.

The format of each episode of Galaxy Express is fairly basic. After Tetsuro’s mother is killed by cyborgs, he sets out to travel on the 999, an old-timey steam train that flies across space, to go to the planet Andromeda, where he can get a mechanical body for free, and by extension, ... immortality. Long before works like Robocop and Cowboy Bebop decided to merge the motifs and conventions of the Western and sci-fi genre, there was Galaxy Express. For that matter, Tetsuro’s hat and cloak are right out of a Clint Eastwood film, and the typical episode setup of Tetsuro finding his way onto a hostile new planet and finding himself having to sort out the local conflict is almost a direct pastiche of Eastwood’s own High Plains Drifter, but with less rape.

Although Tetsuro going to a new planet and sorting out other people’s problems is a common story route, it is not the only one present throughout the series, as there are some episodes in which Tetsuro has a rather minor effect on the overall events, and it’s not uncommon for an episode’s most poignant moments to happen without him. But despite its sci-fi setting, the individual planets are able to take on just about any theme the writers could come up with: the futuristic urban metropolis is expectedly there, but also planets that didn’t evolve beyond prehistory, jungles, deserts, underwater cities, there was clear creativity on display, as the locales across each episode manage to all feel different, and even if the general premise still remains, it manages to avoid ever feeling like a rerun of an idea they’d already covered. This feeling of originality within each individual episode is further accentuated by the superb visual design, which manages to always feel imaginative yet believable. The landscapes are something to behold, not only for their impressive scale and use of architecture, but because the placement of characters within these landscapes manages to be just as evocative as the places themselves. Just like the desolate towns on the American frontier, most these planets are harsh places to live, if not because most the residents left for somewhere better, then because an oppressive regime is forcing them to stay. In all of its aspects, the stylistic use of cinematography is undoubtedly excellent, but the one area that stands out more than any other is the use of shadows and lighting, which manages to reinforce the ideas that were previously conveyed through the architecture in a manner that makes it a lot more engaging. The level of significance and attention to detail that Galaxy Express attaches to its visuals is almost comparable to a neo-noir, very few anime even begin to use lighting to this effect, and even fewer manage to make it work as seamlessly.

The storytelling in Galaxy Express is remarkably nuanced, and manages to make good use of its episodic format, as while its stories are often parabolic, they are still given enough layers to acknowledge the different perspectives on the issues created, and the closing minute of each episode typically ends with either Tetsuro or the narrator contemplating and asking questions about what is right, rather than outright telling the viewer what they are supposed to think. The issues it tackles are certainly varied, the issue of cyborgs is undoubtedly a central part of the series, and the one point that comes up more than any other is the loss of humanity that comes when cyborgs are deprived of their original body, but the series is far from one-note. It might have come out during the height of détente, but that didn’t stop them from doing an episode on mutually assured destruction and nuclear paranoia, plus other issues that don’t concern cyborgs, such as an episode that takes place in an actual Western-style town, stories involving social outcast bibliophiles or struggling artists, some of whom just so happen to be fans of series creator Leiji Matsumoto, a crossover episode with Captain Harlock, an episode that takes place in a post-scarcity society, and plenty of other cases that don't fit the stereotypical notions of a sci-fi story. Perhaps the most important of all, not only did Galaxy Express come up with the sci-fi Western 15 years before Robocop, they came up with the idea of having a golden irradiant briefcase whose contents are never revealed but manage to subdue anyone who looks inside it, 20 years before Pulp Fiction.

Galaxy Express is a damn fine series, in some ways its episodic format makes it a jack of all trades, it does not focus intensely on a single aspect, but being this scattershot is not a negative point when it never manages to falter, nor does it ever feel like it would have been a much better series had it been a 13-episode character drama focusing on just one of these planets. The number of planets and different societies they are able to create feel limitless, and the visual design is a masterclass in visual design, which is only exemplified by great cinematography and use of lighting that make Galaxy Express a worthy successor to its Western origins. Samuel Johnson may have said “he who is tired of London, is tired of life”, but he wouldn’t have said that if he got to fly a train into space and talk to a robot skeleton.

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Jul 29, 2015

BowlingJD

Mixed Feelings

This has been a long time coming and the series is finally completed. Truly, Galaxy Express is an epic at heart and the first watched on this quest.
Another original creation of Leiji Matsumoto, if the art style didn’t give it away already, this is a series coming in at 113 episodes. How did it live up to the legacy?

It is long and episodic at its core. Now, this may sound like a total turn off right away, but the series sets a universe of mystery and true imagination that captivates the viewer. Each world our two main characters travel to has its’ own unique reason ...

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Oct 25, 2023

Bidoof_PMD-EOS

Not Recommended

I would like to offer a "not recommended" review which isn't mostly about how Testsurou has an annoying voice.
I'm going to follow the format that MAL had me use last time I wrote a review, and make a note and give a score for Story, Art/Animation, Character, Music/Sound, and Enjoyment, with a final overall "why".
Art/Animation: Art is based on Leiji's manga, which has the One Piece problem of drawing women the same, except he does so for not only every women, but teenagers and old folks as well. Character design is a 2/10, then, I guess. It has basic anatomy, and pretty much nothing else. ... One could complain about this due to liking, say, Maetel's character design, but do note that it's repeated at least 25 other times in this series, just with different clothes and hair color. I have nothing to say about clothing. Now, for planet art. Gotta give a reluctant 8/10. Doesn't look very modern, but really does convey the locations they're on quite well. Now, animation. Pretty much what you would expect for a show of it's time. 9/10 if this was written 40 years ago, but 4/10 now. Better than stuff like Ex-arm, and the compositing (or whatever) and scene transition is usually good.
Music/Sound: They have 5 tracks that play often. They do fit this series, but they sound old, which is weird since the show is trying to set itself in the future. The other ones do help bring some much needed variety, but are few and far between. Like almost every other series I've seen, I've no problem with the SFXs used. Don't care about VAs, so nothing about that for me. Based no the quality of it, I'd give a 6/10, but due to it's repetitive nature, I'm going to lower it to a 4/10.
Plot: There's none. Rather, it's an episodic series with character mysteries spread throughout (I'm going to keep those for the "character" though). The plot for every episode bunch (the show is episodic, but it does have a few 2 parters and one 3 parter) is usually quite similar to every other one, except influenced by the planet's quirk, and the characters. The outcomes are rarely divergent, from each other, and the planet/worldbuilding design does not hold up to any scrutiny whatsoever. Heck, they can open the train windows in space (they do so in the first episode), to no consequence. More than anything, this show's continuity is horrible.
Example of plot: Tetsurou gets off on a planet, someone there is poor, and steals his pass. They try to get on the train, then either die or can't, Tetsurou get's the pass, then gets back on the train. End of episode.
Example of planet: 0.01% planet. Everyone on this planet is 100 times weaker than the average human, and so are the structures and the planet itself. Good concept, but this is clearly not a planet that would do well with tourists, nor would it's population be able to live anywhere else, yet the point of that episode was a couple stealing Tetsurou's pass to go elsewhere.
Example of inconsistency: In an episode, there's a barrier protecting you from boarding the train if you have a fake pass. In another, people just go into the train without any passes. I can't reasonnably give more than a 2/10. See 1 episode, you've pretty much seen them all.
Characters: Ooh, boy. Some say Tetsurou is evolving throught his journeys. I say that he's consistently inconsistently written, except for his wish to become a cyborg, which is actually properly paced. Doesn't make him an enjoyable character, though, especially with every other character praising him for being a good human. (2/10)
The conductor is seen as comic relief. I understand, but more than anything, he's just there to say "rules are rules" and "we must depart when we must depart" as well as "can't we wait for Tetsurou and Maetel to get on board?", the last one to the automated train. Yeah, the conductor is more like a travel assistant than an actual conductor. He has this thing about his body being special, which is treated as a mystery, but is never explained. (5/10; there 's nothing to hate, but next to nothing to like)
Maetel is the last major character. She's the perfect woman who's always right and does nothing wrong (per the show's POV), yet she blows up planets, kills people, and generally does what the show portrays as bad, but "not when it's Maetel doing it". Usually she has a more neutral and "do nothing" role, but that's rarely ever correct. She also always tells Tetsurou what not to do, which is always what he ignores, and sparks the conflict of the episode. Note that Tetsurour never does learn that he should listen to other people, though. Oh, and she also has a mystery. Which is also not properly explained, and makes no sense per what the show gives us as an answer. (3/10).
Every (POV) good character in this show: Praise Maetel and Tetsurou, have a tragic backstory, usually are murderers, thieves and some are even terrorists. (2/10), they're way too lazily written.
Every (POV) bad character in thi show: No depths. If ever they actually have a reason for their action, the show shifts them to a (POV) good character. (1/10)
Enjoyment: I liked the first episode. I liked one other episode, because of the comedy. I laughed and became enraged by the poor writting of this show. I was engaged, but never, past the first episode, was I actually liking the show. (3/10) (gets a +1 due to the occasional "so bad, it's good", but you'd need to watch every episodes for that. Don't.
Overall: Honestly, I don't care about Art and Music. This leaves me with 2/10 for plot, overall 2.6/10 for character and 3/10 for enjoyment; a 3 bordering a 2. However, this show is overall very bad, not horrible, so a 3. Not badly produced, just a bad everything else.
Do not watch more than 1 episode. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or whatnot about this.

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