Galaxy Express 999

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Galaxy Express 999

(Galaxy Express 999: The Signature Edition)

Length: 130 minutes

Rating: NR, parental guidance suggested

Format: English Dubbed (VHS)

Young Hoshino Tetsuro is about to embark upon an epic journey -- a journey of discovery, as he sets out to avenge the death of his beautiful mother who was killed by the hands of Count Mecha... killed only to become a trophy in Count Mecha's Time Castle.

But Tetsuro gets more than he bargained for when he finds himself accompanied by the lovely Maetel, the beautiful woman who rescues Tetsuro from the clutches of the police. A woman who bears more than a haunting resemblance to his late mother. Aided by none other than Captain Harlock and Emeraldas, the young boy sets out to obtain a mecha body, in order to kill Count Mecha. But not even this young boy imagined that his voyage would take him to GE 999's final stop... and perhaps to the key to man's apparent immortality: the mysterious mecha planet in Andromeda, where human beings can trade in their organic bodies for a metal one... one that can live forever!

This is one of the most difficult series to review -- mainly since you really need to have some background into Matsumoto's vast universe to fully appreciate the specific segment this movie portrays. The first-time viewer will immediately recognise the fact that several key pieces of information seem to be missing -- as if someone delivers a punchline without actually telling the joke. Those of you who have read Matsumoto's manga, or are familiar with his universe will find that GE 999 fills in a lot of details...

But even the most ardent Harlock fan will have a very tough time trying to resolve certain aspects of this story -- for starters, just how many co-incidences does it take to make a story completely unbelievable? As with many anime programs from this era, Galaxy Express suffers from some lousy action choreography. Once again, we see chase scenes involving our hero, in which police officers inexplicably stand around long enough for him to run away. And once again, these same police officers couldn't hit the proverbial 'broad side of a barn' with their guns. So when you add to this the incredible string of luck which sets Tetsuro with Tochiro's mother, who provides our young warrior with a gun, cape and hat so that *gasp* Emeraldas recognises his garb while travelling on a train through the middle of nowhere, only to *gasp* find the very planet on which Tetsuro is residing, arriving just in time as Tetsuro dies, which *gasp* miraculously brings Harlock onto the scene, which then... well, you get the idea. Not enough coincidences? Not to worry -- there's plenty more where they came from.

It's really quite shame, since there's a fairly decent story which goes along with all this -- as Tetsuro progresses along his journey, he also grows up to become a young man. The Galaxy Express is not only a means of physical transportation, but it's a metaphor about for life -- that life itself is a journey, punctuated by various stops along the way, people embarking and disembarking. Some interesting themes are thrown in as well -- most prominant is that of how human mortality is part of what makes life itself meaningful. Not very enlightening for today's more sophisticated audience, but remember that this film was made almost twenty years ago. The fact that this film is so old is quite obvious -- scratches on the original stock survived the video transfer process quite well.

Age does have its advantages, though. This movie was made at a time where real orchestras were used (in this case, the Columbia Symphony Orchestra) to provide the soundtrack, a luxury reserved for all but the most extravagant productions today. Even though the frame rates are very low, the animators still spent the time to do perspective motion frames, something that's pretty much left to the computers these days. The English voice-overs were pretty much a mixed bag. Both Maetel and Tetsuro's mother were acted in similar fashion -- not surprising, since both were played by the same actress. Fortunately, the low-key intonations suited both characters very well. We didn't fare so well with Tetsuro himself -- the voice is very, very annoying. The one high-point: the conductor was wonderfully played with just the right touch of humour.

Galaxy Express 999 provides some interesting ideas, but drowns under its own weight. The heavy-handedly directing and occasionally corny scripting makes it unwatchable at times. A 'classic?' About as classic as a Studebaker.

- AN, 98.10-14

(Adieu Galaxy Express 999)

Length: 137 minutes

Rating: NR, parental guidance suggested

Format: Japanese Language / English Subtitled (VHS)

Two years after the destruction of planet Maetel, Hoshino Tetsuro finds himself on Earth -- an Earth devasted by war with the mechanised worlds of Queen Prometheum. Amidst the bloodshed, Tetsuro receives a strange recording -- a recording of Maetel's voice, urging Tetsuro to board the Three-Nine once again...

Tetsuro's voyage turns out to be much more than he bargained. Travelling from unknown destination to unknown destination, he encounters the director of Galaxy Express Railways -- the fearsome Faust, as well as the mysterious Ghost Train, which seems to always have precedence of all other express lines. As he journeys on the GE-999, Tetsuro discovers the terrible secrets haunting Faust, and even Maetel - a secret harboured on the homeworld of the mechanised people: Great Andromeda.

There's rule in Hollywood which states that a sequel can never be as good as the original. The Japanese anime industry, it seems, is not immune to this generalisation. Adieu Ginga Tetsudo 999 has all the weaknesses of its predecessor, and none of the strengths. Once again, we're prey to Matsumoto's overuse of coincidental encounters to pull our heroes out of danger, or to tie plot lines together.

Director Taro Rin was given the daunting task of making something out of this screenplay, but the his attempt to give this an epic feel merely compound the problem -- when the script itself is unbelievable, then not even the finest director nor cast can save a production. Acting was marginal, with Tetsuro (played by Nozawa Mariko) being far too annoying for my tastes. She sounds remarkably like Yamaguchi Kappei, as a matter of fact. Interestingly, I find that I prefer the dubbed character voices in Galaxy Express 999 - The Signature Edition over the Japanese cast. Again, it's because the Japanese cast plays this movie far too seriously, and the end result is much like some of the "classic" B-movies of the 1960's.

The earlier Matsumoto works had some degree of originality to them, but this one even dares to blatantly steal elements from other movies. Listen to the fanfare being played as GE-999 first takes off from Megalopolis Station. Sound familiar? The opening bars to Superman, perhaps? Or the real identity of Faust as Tetsuro's father -- is it merely coincidence that he bears a striking resemblance to Darth Vader of the Star Wars saga? Incidentally, The Empire Strikes Back was released a year prior to Adieu GE-999, and Superman a year before that. Even the ending song is not original to this production -- it's a late '70's pop music production by Mary "Torn Between Two Lovers" MacGregor.

Adieu Ginga Tetsudo 999 takes itself far too seriously. It's a depressing, self-serving drama punctuated by outrageous use of "just in the nick-of-time" plot elements to try to tie together one or two loose ends from the previous movie. Problem is, I didn't know there were any loose ends to be had.

- AN, 98.10.18


	S.O.T.A. Revolution \| home Anime Reviews \| Ah! 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But Tetsuro gets more than he bargained for when he finds himself accompanied by the lovely Maetel, the beautiful woman who rescues Tetsuro from the clutches of the police. A woman who bears more than a haunting resemblance to his late mother. Aided by none other than Captain Harlock and Emeraldas, the young boy sets out to obtain a mecha body, in order to kill Count Mecha. But not even this young boy imagined that his voyage would take him to GE 999's final stop... and perhaps to the key to man's apparent immortality: the mysterious mecha planet in Andromeda, where human beings can trade in their organic bodies for a metal one... one that can live forever! This is one of the most difficult series to review -- mainly since you really need to have some background into Matsumoto's vast universe to fully appreciate the specific segment this movie portrays. The first-time viewer will immediately recognise the fact that several key pieces of information seem to be missing -- as if someone delivers a punchline without actually telling the joke. Those of you who have read Matsumoto's manga, or are familiar with his universe will find that GE 999 fills in a lot of details... But even the most ardent Harlock fan will have a very tough time trying to resolve certain aspects of this story -- for starters, just how many co-incidences does it take to make a story completely unbelievable? As with many anime programs from this era, Galaxy Express suffers from some lousy action choreography. Once again, we see chase scenes involving our hero, in which police officers inexplicably stand around long enough for him to run away. And once again, these same police officers couldn't hit the proverbial 'broad side of a barn' with their guns. So when you add to this the incredible string of luck which sets Tetsuro with Tochiro's mother, who provides our young warrior with a gun, cape and hat so that gasp Emeraldas recognises his garb while travelling on a train through the middle of nowhere, only to gasp find the very planet on which Tetsuro is residing, arriving just in time as Tetsuro dies, which gasp miraculously brings Harlock onto the scene, which then... well, you get the idea. Not enough coincidences? Not to worry -- there's plenty more where they came from. It's really quite shame, since there's a fairly decent story which goes along with all this -- as Tetsuro progresses along his journey, he also grows up to become a young man. The Galaxy Express is not only a means of physical transportation, but it's a metaphor about for life -- that life itself is a journey, punctuated by various stops along the way, people embarking and disembarking. Some interesting themes are thrown in as well -- most prominant is that of how human mortality is part of what makes life itself meaningful. Not very enlightening for today's more sophisticated audience, but remember that this film was made almost twenty years ago. The fact that this film is so old is quite obvious -- scratches on the original stock survived the video transfer process quite well. Age does have its advantages, though. This movie was made at a time where real orchestras were used (in this case, the Columbia Symphony Orchestra) to provide the soundtrack, a luxury reserved for all but the most extravagant productions today. Even though the frame rates are very low, the animators still spent the time to do perspective motion frames, something that's pretty much left to the computers these days. The English voice-overs were pretty much a mixed bag. Both Maetel and Tetsuro's mother were acted in similar fashion -- not surprising, since both were played by the same actress. Fortunately, the low-key intonations suited both characters very well. We didn't fare so well with Tetsuro himself -- the voice is very, very annoying. The one high-point: the conductor was wonderfully played with just the right touch of humour. Galaxy Express 999 provides some interesting ideas, but drowns under its own weight. The heavy-handedly directing and occasionally corny scripting makes it unwatchable at times. A 'classic?' About as classic as a Studebaker. - AN, 98.10-14 (Adieu Galaxy Express 999) Copyright: © 1981 Toei Animation Co., © 1997 Video Video (North America) Length: 137 minutes Rating: NR, parental guidance suggested Format: Japanese Language / English Subtitled (VHS) Two years after the destruction of planet Maetel, Hoshino Tetsuro finds himself on Earth -- an Earth devasted by war with the mechanised worlds of Queen Prometheum. Amidst the bloodshed, Tetsuro receives a strange recording -- a recording of Maetel's voice, urging Tetsuro to board the Three-Nine once again... Tetsuro's voyage turns out to be much more than he bargained. Travelling from unknown destination to unknown destination, he encounters the director of Galaxy Express Railways -- the fearsome Faust, as well as the mysterious Ghost Train, which seems to always have precedence of all other express lines. As he journeys on the GE-999, Tetsuro discovers the terrible secrets haunting Faust, and even Maetel - a secret harboured on the homeworld of the mechanised people: Great Andromeda. There's rule in Hollywood which states that a sequel can never be as good as the original. The Japanese anime industry, it seems, is not immune to this generalisation. Adieu Ginga Tetsudo 999 has all the weaknesses of its predecessor, and none of the strengths. Once again, we're prey to Matsumoto's overuse of coincidental encounters to pull our heroes out of danger, or to tie plot lines together. Director Taro Rin was given the daunting task of making something out of this screenplay, but the his attempt to give this an epic feel merely compound the problem -- when the script itself is unbelievable, then not even the finest director nor cast can save a production. Acting was marginal, with Tetsuro (played by Nozawa Mariko) being far too annoying for my tastes. She sounds remarkably like Yamaguchi Kappei, as a matter of fact. Interestingly, I find that I prefer the dubbed character voices in Galaxy Express 999 - The Signature Edition over the Japanese cast. Again, it's because the Japanese cast plays this movie far too seriously, and the end result is much like some of the "classic" B-movies of the 1960's. The earlier Matsumoto works had some degree of originality to them, but this one even dares to blatantly steal elements from other movies. Listen to the fanfare being played as GE-999 first takes off from Megalopolis Station. Sound familiar? The opening bars to Superman, perhaps? Or the real identity of Faust as Tetsuro's father -- is it merely coincidence that he bears a striking resemblance to Darth Vader of the Star Wars saga? Incidentally, The Empire Strikes Back was released a year prior to Adieu GE-999, and Superman a year before that. Even the ending song is not original to this production -- it's a late '70's pop music production by Mary "Torn Between Two Lovers" MacGregor. Adieu Ginga Tetsudo 999 takes itself far too seriously. It's a depressing, self-serving drama punctuated by outrageous use of "just in the nick-of-time" plot elements to try to tie together one or two loose ends from the previous movie. Problem is, I didn't know there were any loose ends to be had. - AN, 98.10.18