Ginga Tetsudou 999 (Movie)

This anime has a great story and awesome cast of characters. Outside the movies, I have little to no familiarity with the other mediums this story has been told. I heard the TV series was 113 episodes!! I don’t get how you can make a story that big!! Plus, I heard the manga was also 20 volumes.

Regardless of how much is compressed in this version, you still feel the maturity of Tetsuro and how strong the bond is between him and Matel. The bond they share is something comparable to what Naked Snake and the Boss have in Metal Gear Solid 3. It’s beyond mother ... and son, brother and sister and a romantic relationship between man and woman despite Matel’s mysterious age and Tetsuro still not yet hitting puberty. There are some elements that are predictable and others that are not. Whether or not you anticipated something, you’ll still be surprised regardless. I’ll admit that every time I see this anime which is probably once every other month or so, I’ll cry at the end. Because you really feel that bond between Matel and Tetsuro and the friends he made and those who died that made their impact and you really learn the meaning of life.

Well, this anime despite being made in the late 1970s is still very acceptable by today’s standards. Even Leiji Matsumoto himself cannot even evolve his style to modern day times. You might likely associate the character designs from Daft Punk’s music video One More Time. That music video was made some number of years ago and it shows that Matsumoto stands by the way he draws. He’s a lot like the creator of Saint Seiya, Kurumada Masami in that kind of way. His style can be corresponded to a certain era of anime, but as long as he is still working, he’ll continue to do things the way he does it.

I like to talk about the use of scenery and the interpretation of the future in this anime on earth. Despite being nearly 30 years old, the interpretation of the future isn’t as retro ally exaggerated like the Jetsons or Lost in Space or the old school Star Trek series by using stupid designed robots or weird clothes. If this anime was made even today, the interpretation of the scenery of the future of the earth would probably still be the same. It has a dark look to it and you can comparably say the scenery of the city you see in the first act while still on earth is that to Cowboy Bebop and Outlaw Star. Still has tall buildings but they are not really too mechanical looking despite the lights. The clothing of the characters aren’t really spandex jump suits or weird space suits. They use clothing close to modern day standards with the exemption of the pirate characters.

Now time to talk about how the characters are designed. The male characters aren’t really portrayed as being muscular. This is a common trait I’ve seen in other 1970s anime such as Gundam, Maringer Z, and Lupin III. They got more of a skinny built but that quality is made up with quick, sharp, and clever movements if there is ever any action. Tetsuro as a kid has a huge head in his flash back scenes and there are other awkward design characters like Tochiro. Then there’s also the female characters. They tend to resemble each other too much. Like Matel, Emeraldis, and the female character at the beginning of the movie all have the same stick figure built and face, but different hair colors and Emeraldas of course has a scar on her face. Is this suppose to be the Gundam SEED of the late 1970s where there is some limited diversity to the design? Granted Matsumoto has a distinctive art style and draws some good female characters, but he really needs to work a bit on the diversity field of main female characters.

But the mecha people have great designs as well and are well distinctive which makes up for the bad quality I just mentioned. Like there are some mecha characters that still have some vague human form to them like in the bar scene. Some have 100% mech bodies like the main villain Count Mecha. And there are some that can have other material types of bodies like Claire who is made of crystal glass and can light herself. So the world of robotizing yourself in this anime gives you many choices of what you can do. And of course there is the awesome looking pirate space ships that have an intimidating look to them and the interesting design of the 999.

Now time to talk about the voice acting in both the Japanese and English version. What’s ironic is that Tetsuro happens to be played by actresses that have one trait in common. Both Masako Nozawa his Japanese voice actress and Saffron Henderson who plays him in the English version also happened to have played Goku in Dragon Ball. Well Henderson specifically played Goku in the first dub to Dragon Ball that was released in 1995, while Nozawa played Goku throughout the entire Dragon Ball saga. So I thought that was a real interesting twist. Both actresses portray the character very well. The screams really bring out the character in the Japanese version while the voice Saffron uses is well suited to his personality meaning he is a kid, but still quite mature and knows how to handle himself.

Other well known Japanese voice actors is Banjo Ginga who has a brief role in Planet Andromeda. And from what I found, the original voice actors in the Japnese versions of Harlock and Emeraldis also reprise their roles.

The English version as well as the sequel which I will also review at a later time were aired on the Sci-Fi era of Anime after Midnight. So I guarantee that you will love this anime despite the language because both offer their own great portrayals to the characters.

As for the music, it has a lot of disco beat to it considering the time it was made. I happen to be a 1970s fan and I love the movie Saturday Night Fever so I dig the background music. Now time to talk about the lyrical music. Specifically the ending theme. It’s a very iconic music. It’s really folkish and it is a timeless classic in it’s own right. So big in Japan that it was included in versions of Guitar Freaks and Drummania and is in Karaoke Revolution. It’s really catchy and really sets the mood of the ending. The voice sounds really 70s but the way the music is played doesn’t really have the disco beat but it has more of a 1960s rock to the presentation.

Quite honestly, I have no idea how you can make a 113 episode TV series out of a story you can perfectly tell in this 2+ hour movie. You will feel the emotion of the characters and be captured by the story. The character design may not be for everyone but the action and the scenery is still up to the standards of modern day anime of the same genre. The music is incredible. The anime may be a possible interpretation of the future, but will always be a product of it’s time.

The movie, was directed by Rin Taro (Astro Boy, Captain Harlock), while the series was directed by Nobutaka Nishizawa (Slam Dunk, Zatch Bell); so it makes sense the movie was more action oriented than the series. Tetsuro gets an upgrade in his character design, which was a big boost, and the overall art gets an upgrade as well. There was even some music added that the original series really lacked, but hey, it was anime in the 70’s.

So, how do you compress a 113 episode series into two hours? Basically, you take all of the important events, planets with the best lessons, the characters that ... impacted Tetsuro the most, and take away all of the “filler” planets. Many questions are answered outright instead of wandering through space and slowly forgetting the original question, and there is even an overlap with Emeraldas and Captain Harlock that makes sense as opposed to the series. The only thing that is missing is the true mother to son sense between Tetsuro and Maetel that the original series developed.

The movie is great, plain and simple. It really captures almost everything the series has and gives the viewer more in the sense of action.

You can't buy this film in this country and I'm not even sure you can get it on import in the USA but I managed to track it down on youtube and I'm very glad I did. This is a retro golden oldie that condenses the main plot of the TV series (which was 113 episodes long) into an easy to digest feature film. It's one of those rare films that can be enjoyed by everyone regardless of age or sex. The dated visuals and music might put some off but I think it actually added to the retro charm and a low budget production ... like this was never meant to be a feast for the senses anyway. A film like this hardly needs eye melting spectacle or to bombast you with incredible sound when it's filled with so much imagination and heart.

It's no masterpiece but then it was never meant to be. What it is is a fun, engaging coming of age adventure in a sci-fi setting (though it's actually very light on any actual science in a Star Wars kinda sense) that will make you smile from start to finish and able to ignore any of its technical flaws, which again I think actually add to the charm and appeal most of the time anyway. In an age where most family entertainment is disposable, interchangeable, unoriginal, technically superb but ultimately boring it might sound cliche to say it but they really don't make family films quite like this anymore.

As always it's better to watch with the original Japanese dialogue with subtitles.

Story 9/10
The story is bery straightforward and simple. Yet it contains a lot of depth. But what's great is that all of it's deep philosophical ideas are explained in a very easy to understand way. It gets profound messages across without confusing the viewer. The story is about a young boy, determined to avenge his mother, who rides the Galaxy Express 999 on a pursuit to have a mechnical body and to kill the machine who took his mother. Without spoiling anything, he goes through a deep journey and discovers what it means to be human. He learns that the temporary nature in life makes ... it valuable.

Art 8/10
The art style is pretty good. The animation is great for 1979, and the character designs are really awesome. For the most part, the main character's eyes looks weird at times, and some characters are a little exagerated. Most of the female characters and the robots have really great designs. I think Matael, Shadow, and the glass chick were some of my favorites. But the art really shines when it comes to the world around them and all the amazing designs in the background. Each planet they visit in unique and looks great

Sound 8/10
The sound is pretty good. The overall score is kinda typical, but still well done and works well in such an emotional anime.

Characters 9/10
The characters are really great. Tetsudou, our main hero, is determined to avenge his mother as well as other goals. You see him question himself and the world around him as his journey goes on. He's a very brave character, and definitely thinks he's too big for his britches. I've heard complaints he was too brave and not very emotional. I disagree. It seems like people want non-stop sobbing and lamenting to show the characters emotion. I feel that's equally unrealistic as making them super tough. I think the character shows plenty of emotion, but just not in loud bombastic ways.
Matael on the other hand I can't talk to much about without spoiling anything. She's one of the best characters here. She has this warm motherly tone, and develops a sort of mother-son relationship with the main character. But there's also a quasi-romantic thing going on as well. Bottom line she's a very tortured and interesting character. You feel for her throughout the anime, but I can't explain why without spoiling stuff.
As for everyone else, I think each of the minor characters have awesome, funny and memorable personalities.

Enjoyment 9/10
Much of the enjoyment you get is in the style. I can tell this anime came out around the same time as the movie Star Wars and it shows. The story doesn't rip off that movie, it just probably had some stylistic influence. The action is well done. It doesn't go on non-stop, which allows you to appreciate the atmosphere. There's a sense of adventure with the train stopping at all these different planets. It doesn't rush itself either, after the movie is over 2 hours. That's what's impressive about the pacing. It get's a lot done, but doesn't rush and doesn't linger on anything.
The last thing I need to point out is that this is a very emotional anime. This works for the dark tone that it has, and provides some contrast with the action and adventure. Many people call this a tear jerker. With the story and characters, I'd say that it can be that way. After seeing Tesudou and Matael bonding you get strong feelings for these characters.

Overall 9/10
Overall this is easilly one of the best anime films I've seen. You should check it out in a heartbeat.

Based on the TV anime of the same name, Ginga Tetsudou 999 plays in the distant future and follows Tetsuro, who wants to avenge his mother by killing the person responsible for her death. In order to reach this goal, he wants to ride the Galaxy Express 999, an intergalactic locomotive. What may seem like a really simple and predictable concept at the beginning, develops into a way more intriguing and complex tale as the film goes on.

At first, the story is about Tetsuro visiting several planets where he learns about various aspects of life, especially about the relationship between humans and machines. In a ... certain way, it is similar to Kino no Tabi but unlike that anime, where the stories are not connected, Ginga Tetsudou 999 has an overarching plot and a goal the protagonist is moving towards. The experiences Tetsuro makes on the different planets greatly affect how he thinks about machines and moreover create a new path the plot then follows. While the story might be slightly predictable, this film is more about the characters' relationships with one another and their respective development, which, in turn, result in some interesting twists at the anime's end.

Next to Tetsuro, there is Maetel, a mysterious woman who seems to be somehow connected to the young boy's past. While you watch the anime, you are constantly wondering about her, her motives and who she really is. At the same time, the viewer can see how her relationship to Tetsuro grows in a completely believable manner. Additionally, she does not only affect the main character's growth but also plays a central role in the anime's plot.

The antagonist has no motive to be evil other than for his own amusement but in the context of the setting, there is nothing wrong with his behaviour. There are several supporting characters who also affect where the anime is going and who all have distinguishable personalities. Unfortunately, some of them suffer from unrealistic character development, which sometimes leads to incomprehensibly awkward scenes.

Being a two-hour film rather than the 113 episodes TV anime it originally was, Ginga Tetsudou 999 has some severe pacing issues. The beginning as well as the ending are unjustifiably protracted and at the same time, there are some subplots that reach their conclusion disturbingly fast.

The animations are fluid for the most part and at no point horrible. In fact, it is better than some of Toei Animation's modern work, such as Dragon Ball Super. Moreover, the backgrounds are well-detailed and create a distinct feeling for every planet Tetsuro visits during his journey. However, the character design is laughably bad. Not only are the characters indescribably disproportionated but they moreover look different from scene to scene. You accustom yourself to it as the film goes on but this does not change the fact that the creators could have done a much better job.

The background music is not very memorable but there is also no huge issue with it. However, from time to time the music is too loud so that it is difficult to hear the characters' voices. The protagonist's voice actress is Nozawa Masako, who is famous for lending her voice to Dragon Ball's Goku as well as Digimon Tamers' Guilmon. While she does a splendid job, Maetel's voice actress, Ikeda Masako, unfortunately lacks in comparison. Her voice might be fitting but it sometimes sounds as though she would not make an effort.

As a whole, Ginga Tetsudou 999 is an enjoyable film dealing with some very interesting topics, accompanied by a good and loveable cast. If you do not have any issues with the character designs and can accept some pacing issues, you will more than likely enjoy this film.

For those who can appreciate the classics,you'll have a great time with this gem.Tetsuro seeks to go to the robot planet so he can get a robot body so he can kill the evil robot Count Mecha who killed his mother.He meets a mysterious woman who saves him from the police , she offers to take him on the condition that she goes along with him,Tetsuro agrees and the two set off on their journey.While travelling in the Galaxy Express 999 the train must make three checkstops at different planets before they reach the robot planet.along the way there is danger and adventure,and with ... each obstacle he learns about the value of human life and what it means to be alive.

This movie is very emotional because as he travells through space he meets many individuals with robot bodies, who regret their decisions and have come to learn the value of life and being human when its too late.Thats the aim of this movie, to express the value of life and what it means to be human.The animation is very dated but still really good given its age with some of the scenes especially shots from space looking very detailed and beautiful.

The sound affects is also quite good and I especially liked the music that played during the movie its very emotional and sad which goes well with the theme and feel of the anime.The character are all interesting and blend with the plot quite well.There are some nice fights in this show as well.

Overall a very intelligent and emotional anime.

Galaxy express 999 is a summary of the whole 113 eps tv series in condensed form but in better way. This is really one of the most enjoyable anime films with such cool characters such as harlock, emeraldas, maetel. I liked this film so much.

Story- the story is well written all the way from the beginning to end. the story is set in futuristic world where every people must get mechanical body to live eternal life. It focuses on tetsudo a poor orphan boy who wants to get a Mechanical body for his dead mother's wish. He was then accompanied by Maetel a mysterious ... woman.

Characters- the characters are also very well written. There some great cameos of characters such as captain harlock and emeraldas.

Art- the artstyle holds up pretty well even to this day. Even though, most of the woman look exactly same.

Sound- the music is also suited in dramatic moments. Also the song are good.

Enjoyment- i really enjoy galaxy express 999 movie. I will rewatch this movie again. I highly recommend it
Rating- 8/10

The Galaxy Express 999 movie is a piece of media that scares me. Upon this re-watch, it felt a bit intimidating as soon as the first emotional part began with Tetsurou's flashback. What scares me about this anime is that it forces the viewers to confront and think about very emotional and unpleasant topics. Still, Galaxy Express 999 forces us to confront these emotionally painful lessons for the best of us. Due to the episodic nature of the 113 episode TV series, it was easy for the staff to summarize it all in a satisfying way in a 2 hour film.

The topic of eternal life. ... Can living forever make you happy? Would it last forever? It's talked about as if it is the ideal existence, and yet no one has lived forever to tell us the results. Through Leiji Matsumoto's interpretation, eternal life can result in eternal suffering. One could lose themselves from all the modifications to their robot body. Your loved ones will all eventually die. Maybe life itself can vanish in the distant or not too distant future. And yet, you will still be there, alone forever.

The topic of death stopping you from achieving your life passions. Life is short, and many times, people die with so many ambitions left behind. Even when dying of old age, if you really think about it, is still dying young. Living 80 or so years. There really is barely anything you can do considering the grand spectrum of time and the possibilities, is there? For many people, living 80 years just wasn't enough, it felt as if life was only just beginning. This realization that one's life is about to end without all of one's dreams explored frightens me. That is why a certain death was so painful to watch. There is a lot I want to do myself. Will I have the time to do it all and be satisfied in the end? Or will I die angry and frustrated that I never really felt like I was truly alive and explored all my dreams? There are those who cherish their collections. Have they ever thought about what will happen to their beloved collections after death? It feels better at times to just not think about these things. And yet, Galaxy Express 999 shakes us to see these realities for what they are, not what we want to see, and readies us with these life lessons in advance for when it's our time to need to use them.

The topic of motherhood. Eventually, if it follows a natural path, a child or adult will have to confront the death of their mother. The person who raised you, sheltered you. That person who sacrificed so much in their life for you to be somebody. The person who did all they could to help you live a better life than they did. The person who gave you the push forward throughout all your life will one day inevitable be gone. Some may believe in a heaven or afterlife. What if it's not true? There are those who don't buy it and don't believe. Where will mother be after death? We really wouldn't know. Will that person still exist somewhere else? Their consciousness? Or has it all gone black and ceased to be? The movie tells the viewers to show their appreciation towards their mothers while they still can for all they did and continue to do for them.

Maetel is a woman who lives a melancholy life. She has existed for who knows how many hundreds of years, and crossed paths with many people who meant something to her at some point. Due to her eternal life, she had to say goodbye so many times, and still continues to do so. In the beginning, she bears witness to Tetsurou's poor struggle in the dirty city life, and eventually comes to understand him, respect his bravery, and what he is trying to do. This leads to the two becoming friends and thus their journey on the Galaxy Express 999 into space travel begins. A mysterious woman, she wouldn't be around forever, as she swaps bodies to continue to live as well. She eventually wants to part ways with Tetsurou. Maybe she will be right next to him one day, but he won't notice as she would be in a different body. All she'll be to Tetsurou could be memories of his youth.

Many of the characters introduced during the movie meet unfortunate ends or live under miserable circumstances. There is the question of Shadow. A woman that gave up her body to become an immortal robot. Despite this, she could never find an artificial body as beautiful as her natural one, and decided to have no face as a result. She lives on Pluto and watches over the bodies of the others who gave up their humanity for robots and were left frozen there. She often looks at her older body and marvels over the beauty she once had. Because she has lived there alone for so long, she becomes desperately clingy to Tetsurou when she meets him. Regardless, Maetel would split them and tell her that it was her choice to live forever and that she must deal with her loneliness on her own instead of trying to keep Tetsurou with her. Though she lives forever, she is dying of loneliness.

One character who's story haunts me is the mother of Ooyama. Now at an old age, she lives by herself on a dangerous planet with no real laws in a house in the woods. She would find Tetsurou after he was attacked, and helped him by giving him shelter and food. Tetsurou learns that she carries the pain of having been left by her son. Still, she accepts the fact that part of being a mother is to be able to let go of your child when it comes time for them to leave. Regardless, she tells Tesurou that a child should at least come back once to see their parents while they are alive, showing that deep down she still misses her son. Will she most likely end up living her last days in that house alone? As she is a very loving and caring mother, it gave me an ugly feeling that this can be a possibility.

The major realization that Tetsurou comes to is that death gives meaning to life. In the beginning he wanted to get an immortal robot body like his mother wanted him too. And yet, he sees throughout the film that many of these people are not happy. That it is a limited life that gives people the drive to live meaningfully. With only a short time to live, people are moved to give it meaning, whereas living forever made many people lazy and complacent. He feels that this limited life gives others the ability to feel for others and thus creates kindness. He tells Captain Harlock and Maetel that living forever isn't as great as it sounds as he wonders if it is really worth it.

The high production of the film made it very beautiful. It's from 1979, and features Leiji Matsumoto's iconic woman designs. You could say many of them might look too much alike. Still, I can't deny that his designs are beautiful. I do appreciate that they improved Tetsurou's character design from the TV series.

One of the best parts of this movie is the atmosphere and feeling it brings out of the viewers. One great example is the bar scene. It's a run down city, and Tetsurou walks in to a beautiful woman playing a melancholy song. Everyone around is drinking and looking down. He looks with fascination and asks the bartender why everyone is crying. The bartender says that the song reminds them of their youth, a time that's lost and that they will never get back. The song forces them to confront this reality. It's a great scene that captures that classic Galaxy Express 999 feeling. Among the highlights is also the beautiful soundtrack. It's consistently good throughout the film and greatly elevates the emotions the scenes try to show. My only real complaint is that Tetsuro, for being just a child, can achieve great things that don't seem realistic for him at all. At least they show him getting help along the way.

Considering all this, Galaxy Express 999 is a gold nugget from that peculiar 70s and 80s era in anime. It's from a time where writers were more sincere and aware of the world and themselves.

Regularly scheduled disclaimer: I don't believe in the MAL rating system, so ignore everything but the overall score if you actually want to know my opinion for some reason.

Here's the short version: Ginga Tetsudou 999 is fun and gorgeous and absolutely worth watching.

The most obvious appeal is the visuals: it's directed by Rintaro, and you can tell. Every single sequence in the movie is beautifully animated and expressive. The big action set pieces are just plain fun to watch if only to marvel at how great they all look. The opening scene is in particular a standout, especially because it (like the entire film) has ... beautiful character animation that gives you an immediate sense of the personality and attitude of every key player. Tetsuro in particular is instantly likable, even before you learn anything about his backstory, purely because the animation makes watching him move and talk and make faces so enjoyable. Once the film gets going, Rintaro uses character animation judiciously to develop Tetsuro and Maetel's relationship, which is just charming and lovely to watch. The beautiful settings and environments, especially

A contrast with the Ashita no Joe film is illustrative here: both are movie adaptations of very long classic 70s anime, with excellent (though very different) character designs by Sugino Akio (who also designed a number of other classic 70s shows and would go on to do work on Black Jack and, most famously, Legend of the Galactic Heroes.) 999 makes the smart decision to cut the majority of planets and leave behind the most powerful ones, and use character animation to fill in the gaps left behind in the key dynamic of the film. Ashita no Joe's character animation is great too, and the film similarly uses it to characterize its key players, but unlike 999 it doesn't rely on this animation to do the heavy lifting and instead adapts many of the key plot beats and details from the TV series. The resulting movie ends up feeling a bit plodding, which 999 largely avoids.

That's not to say the film is devoid of flaws: you can definitely still feel at times the limitations of adaptation, and many side characters are introduced and developed but not really tied into the conclusion, and left feeling interesting but ultimately a tad superfluous. The movie attempts to graft the core plot of the show together with episodic adventures in a way that doesn't quite manage to feel seamless, and I'd be lying if I said I was particularly interested in the core themes or came out of it feeling impacted in a way more substantial than "That was fun!" Still, fun isn't at all a bad thing to be, and Ginga Tetsudo 999 does it very well.