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Story and Art by Matsumoto Leiji
Original Publisher: Hit Comics (Shonen Gahousha)
Re-released by: Big Comics Gold (Shogakukan)

Tetsuro and his mother enjoying the night sky.

Maetre gives Tetsuro the pass.

The Galaxy Express pass... Is it the answer?

Tetsuro and Maetre make plans to leave.
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by Eri Izawa
Matsumoto Leiji is perhaps best known in the US for the animated
series known here as STARBLAZERS, or UCHUSENKAN YAMATO to the
initiated; it's a space adventure centered around a huge space
battleship and its heroic crew. He's also known as the author of
CAPTAIN HARLOCK, whose tall handsome pirate hero flies around in (you
guessed it) a huge space ship. But perhaps his best work overall is
GINGA TETSUDOU 999 ("three-nine"), which has neither sexy
space battleship nor tall handsome protagonist. Instead, GINGA
TETSUDOU 999 features the less martial but more memorable image of a
space-faring steam locomotive and a short, squat hero with a heart of
gold.
Many of Matsumoto's other characters, such as Captain Harlock and
Emeraldas (who both appear briefly in the GINGA TETSUDOU 999 manga
series), are adults weighed down with sorrow and loneliness (e.g., the
TV Harlock's morbid fascination with finding a place to die). In
addition, they tend to be weighed down with hefty philosophies about
freedom, life and death, and the meaning of true manhood. Hoshino
Tetsuro, however, stands squarely apart with a refreshing openness and
hopefulness. And although some other of Matsumoto's less well-known
works provide other lively young characters (e.g., MILLENNIAL QUEEN,
OTOKO OIDON, and even the newer GINGA TETSUDOU 999 series), none
provide the same clear and concise impact as these classic, original
stories.
So who is Hoshino ("field of stars") Tetsuro? He starts off the
series a poor, penniless boy, living with his mother on an Earth of
the distant future. His mother, when mortally wounded by a band of
mechanized people, tells him to get on the Galaxy Express 999 and go
to a planet where he can receive a free mechanical body and thus
become immortal. Tetsuro is rescued by a mysterious, beautiful woman
named Maetre ("Mae-te-ru"). She offers him a strange deal: if he will
accompany her, she will give himfor freea pass to ride the
Galaxy Express 999. And so (after Tetsuro wreaks revenge on his
mother's killers), Tetsuro comes to the station and sees the Galaxy
Express itself: a top of the line space-traveling vehicle in the shape
of a vintage Japanese steam locomotive. There, in the plain passenger
seats of this train, Tetsuro and Maetre will travel across space and
time to the distant Andromeda Galaxy, wherein lies the planet that
gives away immortality.
And so begins the journey.
A person who has never read GINGA TETSUDOU 999 may be surprised to
hear it described as being a bit like a cross between Ray Bradbury and
a Wild West movie, but that is one way of describing it. Nearly every
episode brings Tetsuro and Maetre to a new planet and new people, and
new lessons and observations on humanity. While Tetsuro has to use
his gun a great deal, he just as often has to use his heart. Some
planets and their people are shallow and selfish; others are
unpleasant but decent at heart; some are full of despair; some are
full of life and laughter. They are caricatures of human nature,
often emphasizing the extremes that can result if people let their
vices (or virtues) hold sway. One planet, for example, is overrun by
beggars, descendants of people who were beaten by the odds and who
gave up their will to work; Tetsuro and Maetre wind up happily
surprised by a couple beggars who have the guts and determination to
do something for themselves, even if it involves robbery. Another
planet's mechanized people became so fond of eavesdropping that their
super-sensitive hearing could no longer tolerate loud noises; Tetsuro
is nearly hanged for making noise, but luckily finds that escaping can
be as simple as shouting.
But the caricatures also hold a light to an
even darker side of human nature. Another planet, one almost
completely made of water, hosted a race of aquatic people that had
brought the planet to ecological ruin; these people were now fleeing
the planet (and its angry natives) by forcing their way onto the
Galaxy Express to get to a new planet. Yet another planet has a
terrible elite who entertain galactic visitors by hosting meaningless
bloody wars just for entertainment; Tetsuro meets some of the young
soldiers and cries for them when their rebellion against their
heartless masters is defeated. There are even young planets still
wrapped in greenery, clean air and hospitality, but whose people are
sometimes restless for bright lights, fame, fortune, and longevity
the very way Earth used to be, before its transformation into a world
of cold and dreamless machinery.
There are some constants to Tetsuro's travels (aside from the
ubiquitous appearances of glowing machine dials, beautiful women, and
steaming bowls of ramen). For example: the train pass, freely given
to Tetsuro by Maetre, turns out to be coveted by just about every
unhappy or desperate soul in the universe. Maetre's mysterious past
is another frequently-glimpsed puzzle: She is in constant
communication with an unknown person; she is a revered personage known
to the Galaxy Express Headquarters and to the governments of many
planets; she is supposedly of flesh and blood but she is much more
than she appears to be; and she apparently has been and will continue
to travel with young people through space and time. But perhaps most
importantly, Tetsuro also learns about the power of his compassionate
and hopeful spirit. Though many of his adventures teach the Matsumoto
Leiji motto "Show no mercy to your enemies," Tetsuro's mercy upon his
enemies sometimes is the very thing that saves him and his friends.
And his determination and hope for the future are the elements that
remind other people of their own long-ago hopes and dreams.
But why is Tetsuro traveling? His travels teach him more and
more that immortality through mechanized bodies may not be what he
wants. Most of the mechanized people he meets have somehow lost their
souls; many of them are just as cruel as the ones who killed his
mother. The flesh-and-blood people he meet seem to be kinder, wiser,
and more alive, despite their limited life spans. Yet, here he is,
traveling to the planet where he can get a mechanized body for free.
Although the manga series, TV series, and the movies touched upon what
occurs when he arrives at his destinationof Maetre's true nature
and the terrible fate that is nearly forced upon himto an extent,
Tetsuro's journey remains unfinished even after the ending. It has
been said that Tetsuro's journey is an allegory of growing up, with
Maetre as the guide and guardian of the passage into adulthood. But
surely what Tetsuro experienceshoping, dreaming, fighting, losing,
winning, crying, rejoicingbelongs to more than just the transition
to adulthood.
Like any work, this series has its flaws: repetitive plotlines, some
loose ends, a few inconsistencies. For those unfamiliar with the
author's drawing style, the squiggly lines used to draw people may be
irritating; however, as is standard for Matsumoto, the drawings of
machines, spaceships, stars and planets are wonderful. Moreover,
the quality of the stories more than makes up for any flaws.
Although the original series ended in the early 1980's, there have
since been numerous re-printings, films, and even the beginnings of a
new series. GINGA TETSUDOU 999 is clearly a recognized classic of the
manga world. Yes, its core is a memorably romantic image of a train
traveling through the vastness of space. Thankfully, it lives up to
that powerful image through its wonderful cast of characters,
entertaining action, rich drama, and profound insights.
Note on terminology: GINGA TETSUDOU 999 literally translates to
"Milky Way Railroad 999"; however, the 999 is supposed to be an
express train. The author's own English version of the title is the
more catchy "GALAXY EXPRESS 999." Also, please see the article on the
children's classic story GINGA TETSUDOU NO
YORU . |
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