In any kind of hobby, there’s nothing like earning your cred
by seeing how the movement started. Movie buffs watch Citizen Cane and Casa Blanca. Horror
buffs read Edgar Allen Poe and Lovecraft. Gamers find dusty cartridges of old school
Mario and pokemon games (or at least download a rom). Since I consider myself an anime buff,
I decided to sit down and try to watch an earlier series. I had my doubts, but
I tried to find something that seemed interesting.
And Galaxy Express 999 (that’s pronounced three 9) caught my
eye. The author of the manga is Leiji Matsumoto, one of the heavy hitters in
early anime. His main genre was space operas, working on such titles as Space
Battleship Yamato and Captain Harlock. His work is thought of as the precursor
to modern anime mecha shows with long overarching plots, such as the Gundam shows. If
you’re into older style sci fi shows, this is the guy to watch for. Oh, and he
worked on that Daft Punk animated music video/movie Interstella 5555: The 5tory
of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem. I would say that’s more of a space rock show than
space opera, but I digress.
The plot is what drew me in to GE 999. In the future,
old style steam engines can travel through space from one end of the galaxy to another.
Tetsuro begins traveling on the titular train so that he can get a robot body
so he can become immortal. He’s accompanied by a mysterious woman named Maetel,
who tells him about the different planets they visit and protects him. The premise
seemed cool, if a little strange! I thought having the old train as the space
ship was a quirky touch, with steam coming out the stack on the outside, but
the inside containing a huge bank of computer screens. Seeing new planets every
episode, with opportunities for new aliens and foreign customs, would hopefully
keep the plot fresh. It’s a show that got me excited for an intergalactic romp,
something like Star Trek for kids with the classic anime style.
But I have to say… Galaxy Express 999 kind of a mediocre
anime. I do like the main characters. Tetsuo is portrayed well as just an
average boy. He can be brave when he needs to, but also throws the occasional
temper tantrum or acts rashly. Maetel Is personally my favorite in the show. I
absolutely love her character design (even if the women in this anime kind of have a case of same-face going on). I also like that she can be kind and sweet,
almost acting like a mother to Tetsuro, but can switch over to badass mode and
whip out her gun in a heartbeat. Even though the premise of the show is interesting,
I think I keep watching to see how these two get along with one another and how
they play off the characters they meet on the different planets.
But the plots of each episode are so… meh. I’ve only watched
23 episodes so far, but I’m already sensing a pattern. The two main episode
arcs go like this: Oh there’s a new planet! Tetsuro either a) does something
stupid and gets in trouble or b) someone on the planet now loves him and wants
to keep him as a companion forever, Maetel saves him, they leave. And at the
end of every episode there’s a narrator going over the questions of universal
truths that Tetsuro ponders as they sail off into space. Most of the time it
feels rushed, like they have a significant lesson to impart with each planet. But
they just couldn’t fit action, comedy, and a poignant moment all in 20 minutes.
Sometimes they even put visiting two planets into one episode which makes the
pacing even worse. I found myself beginning to flag around this point. How many
more episodes are there in this series anyway?
113 episodes!?! I
can barely watch that many episodes of a show I like! Maybe I’ll just switch to
the manga or stick to the movies. If
anyone else feels the urge for some older anime, maybe check out Captain
Harlock. But I wouldn’t suggest Galaxy Express 999.
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