The Editorial Department Speaks! The Charm of "Galaxy Express 999," Loved for Over 40 Years

When I suddenly look back on my life, I remember the manga I was into at different times.
Manga is a black-and-white, two-dimensional form of entertainment, but it is like magic content that shakes your emotions, encourages you, and makes you laugh until your sides ache. And among them, there are manga with a mysterious charm that continue to be loved across generations.

This time, Yama, a manga-loving editorial staff member, will introduce one of them: "Galaxy Express 999."

There are scenes I cannot forget.
The school building I looked back at from the main gate on graduation day, or the starry sky I looked up at while traveling.
One of them is the gentle applause that erupted in the movie theater after the screening.

"Adieu Galaxy Express 999"

The theatrical version of Leiji Matsumoto's masterpiece "Galaxy Express 999," which was re-released last year.
Most of the audience was over 50, and there were gentlemen slowly taking their seats while being supported by their grandchildren, and ladies buying pamphlets while gripping the handles of their walkers. Everyone had come to the movie theater to meet Galaxy Express 999. Before the screening started, everyone was firmly in their seats, no one left until the end credits finished, and applause naturally erupted. And even after the lights in the theater came on, the applause continued.
What elegant fans. And what a work, so loved by its fans.

However, sadly, I have never talked about Galaxy Express 999 with friends of my generation.
"I've heard of it, but what kind of story is it?"
"I only know that there's a person named Maetel and that a train runs in space."
These are the realistic reactions I got from a fellow 26-year-old manga geek. The words that follow "I'm interested, but..." are: it seems a bit long, I don't see it in bookstores, and no one owns it.
Yeah, yeah, I guess that can't be helped. If my parents didn't have it, I'm sure I would have been the same.

But wait a minute!
Galaxy Express 999 is too precious a work to only know the title.
Honestly, I find it strange why it isn't included in compulsory education.

So, this time, I would like to introduce the rare masterpiece "Galaxy Express 999" to those of you who have not yet taken the journey.

What is "Galaxy Express 999"?

That is the synopsis in a nutshell.
As for the manga, there is the "Andromeda Arc," which depicts the journey from Earth to the final station, Planet Andromeda, and the sequel, the "Eternal Arc" (*unfinished), but for now, just read the "Andromeda Arc" without saying anything. If you don't see it in bookstores, you can read it on Kindle, so please read it. Hmm, what a great era.

Charm 1: A monumental work of space sci-fi that is grand yet easy to read!

In Galaxy Express 999, it is decided that the train will stop at various planets on the way to the final station, Planet Andromeda, and stay for one day (depending on the rotation period) on that planet.
And it is an episodic story, with one episode per planet.
As long as you grasp the general framework that "Tetsuro is traveling with the mysterious beauty Maetel in search of a mechanical body," you can enjoy the story of any planet. I first encountered Galaxy Express 999 when I was in the lower grades of elementary school, and I think the reason I was able to read it happily was because it was easy to read as an episodic series.

The environment and the way people think change from planet to planet. We are drawn into the excitement of a space train journey and Tetsuro, who grows through his encounters on various planets. Before I knew it, I felt like I was riding the Galaxy Express 999 and traveling through the vast universe with Tetsuro. I always think that a masterpiece is something that doesn't leave the reader behind outside the book.
You can board the Galaxy Express 999 from anywhere. Once you ride it, there is a mysterious charm that makes you want to go to the final station.

▼ Recommended planets (stops) are here
Pluto, the planet where mechanical humans discard their living bodies (stop time: 6.39 days)
Planet of Tomorrow, a planet that doesn't know of the existence of the Galaxy Express 999 (stop time: 2 weeks)
Yami-Yami, a planet with no light at all (stop time: 2 hours)
Complete Mechanization, a planet with only mechanical humans (stop time: 1 day, 3 hours, 40 minutes)
Mii-kun's House of Life, a planet where the souls of animals gather (38 hours, 15 seconds)
City of Flowers, a planet where poisonous flowers bloom and you cannot live on the ground (11 hours, 24 minutes, 32 seconds)
Kuima, a planet that forces mechanization (stop time: 22 hours, 6 minutes, 3 seconds)
Planet Great Andromeda, the final station (stop time: 100 hours)
(As for episodes on the train, the story of Claire, a beautiful woman who regrets having a mechanical body, and the story of looking at a catalog of mechanical bodies are also recommended!)

Charm 2: The human-like Tetsuro and the mysterious Maetel

Many charming characters appear in Galaxy Express 999. Not only the people you meet on each planet, but also the serious and delicate conductor, the space pirate Captain Harlock, and so on.
Among them, the ones who attract us are surely the protagonist Tetsuro and his travel companion Maetel, aren't they?

Although Tetsuro has a small body, he is a boy with a strong core and full of manliness. He has a cute side where he smiles while stuffing his face with his favorite beef steak or ramen, but he also has a strong side where he carries out his mother's revenge and boards the Galaxy Express 999, which says, "Once you ride it, you can never return to Earth." Furthermore, he has a human side where he struggles through his encounters on each planet, wondering, "Is it really happiness to have a mechanical body?"
It's amazing because every time we see Tetsuro struggling, the reader also thinks, "Is eternal life really good?"
And seeing Tetsuro choose his own future after his struggle, you fall completely in love with him.

On the other hand, Maetel is full of mysteries. A beauty dressed in a black hat and black coat, with a somewhat melancholy expression. She gives the expensive Galaxy Express 999 pass to Tetsuro, who collapsed on Earth, on the condition that he accompanies her on the journey, but her background and purpose are completely unknown. Even during the journey, people who see Maetel's body are frightened, or she whispers to her trunk. Maetel's purpose is revealed at the very end, but I predict you will gasp.Because that's how it was for me.
I think she is the representative of "mysterious and popular women." The more the mystery deepens, the more the reader likes Maetel. But I also know that you shouldn't imitate her. This bewitching charm is good precisely because Maetel has a dark past and is ennui.
(By the way, her visuals are also the best! Cute! I love her!)

Appeal 3: Eternal Life and Finite Life, What is Happiness?

The work "Galaxy Express 999" makes you use your head when you read it.
This is not because the story is difficult (in fact, as I mentioned in Appeal 1, it is easy to read), but rather,just by reading it, you naturally find yourself thinking about various things.
Through encounters with people who have different values and cultures that cannot be understood, Tetsuro's idea of "wanting a mechanical body (eternal life)" wavers, and that conflict spreads to us as well. In particular, the encounters with "people who regret having become mechanical bodies" are thought-provoking.

What is happiness? Having money? Having someone you love? Living a long life?
I don't really know yet, as I lack life experience, but when you consider expensive things to be valuable, in the world of Galaxy Express 999, a mechanical body—that is, eternal life—is something valuable.
But is "possessing something valuable" really happiness?
Are things that are generally considered valuable in society also valuable to me?

About ten years ago, I watched a lecture video in a high school class.
It was about whether we should wish for the revival of extinct species. It turns out that human technology has reached the point where it can revive extinct species. Personally, I think extinct species should be left in the past so that we do not forget the magnitude of what we have lost, but the technology itself is incredible. With modern science capable of reviving extinct species, a future where people who have obtained eternal life with mechanical bodies walk the streets is not just a dream.
If we could obtain eternal life, what choice would we make?

It feels like finishing a philosophy book.I don't read many philosophy books, though, hehe.
To all the philosophy and ethics teachers out there, please use Galaxy Express 999 in your classes!

The Appeal of Leiji Matsumoto's Works

The author of "Galaxy Express 999," Leiji Matsumoto, passed away this February.
I would like to express my deepest condolences.

Mr. Matsumoto loved looking up at the night sky since he was a child during the war, lived in a four-and-a-half-mat room after moving to Tokyo to draw manga, and even visited the Amazon River on a world tour.
From "Space Battleship Yamato," which dealt with space war, to "Otoko Oidon," which depicted a protagonist chasing dreams after moving to Tokyo, he continued to express what he had actually seen and experienced through his manga.
Mr. Matsumoto's works, which feature characters with strong convictions and deal with space and time, are packed with life, and among them, "Galaxy Express 999" is like his masterpiece.

Just as the people Tetsuro met and parted with on his journey on the Galaxy Express 999 became nourishment for his heart, Mr. Matsumoto's passion will likely continue to burn as a spark deep within our hearts.

I want to eat a lot, sleep a lot, meet a lot of people, think a lot, and finally walk straight down the path I believe in.
Tonight, I'll eat a beef steak and let my thoughts wander to the sea of stars.

(Text by Yama)

▼ Click here for programs related to Galaxy Express 999. The documentary commemorating Leiji Matsumoto's 80th birthday is a must-see!

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