Mists of the Fog Capital

Mists of the Fog Capital

Manga Chapter 8-1

TV Episode 39

Manga Chapter Summary:

As the 999 travels through space, Tetsuro comments on how they can hear the train’s whistle. Maetel explains it’s due to the miniscule particles in this space; they also obstruct the passage of light in this area. They won’t know they’re arriving at their next stop until a moment before they arrive. The Conductor announces their next stop as The Fog Capital, with a layover time of nearly 6 days. He claims he can’t stand this planet, but won’t say any more. 

 

The 999 approaches its stop, which appears as two planets bound together, with a mist around them. Tetsuro complains about his ears hurting due to the barrier of the train shielding them. Maetel says this stop has a reputation as “The Prison of Shadows” and the Conductor admits there are those who are terrible here. When they arrive the Conductor says he’ll be taking a sleeping pill and resting until their departure. He reacts negatively to Maetel mentioning a bath.

As they depart the station, Tetsuro finds the area desolate. Maetel says the locals don’t tolerate sunlight and only come out when it’s nighttime or raining, even though the sunlight is faint here.  As they enter the hotel, Tetsuro slips through the floor. Maetel claims one can fall through the floors if they don’t walk carefully enough. They find merely an android caretaker minding the front desk and are told they can choose any room they want. Maetel has them go to the lowest level so they don’t have to worry about falling.

Even jumping around at this level causes Tetsuro to sink through the floor. He looks outside and sees that while its now evening, still no one has come out. Later, due to it being a quiet night, Tetsuro takes a bath. Suddenly there is an explosion and Tetsuro and Maetel’s things are stolen. Tetsuro tries to chase after the thieves, despite being naked, and Maetel tells him it’s not necessary. One of the thieves shoots Tetsuro, and he falls over, but he realizes he has suffered no actual wound despite the entire clip being emptied into him. Maetel claims this planet’s guns are only as powerful as a mosquito bite.

The thieves have both collapsed on the street due to being exhausted. Tetsuro grabs at his things and they shoot him. It has no effect, and he grabs back the suitcase. Maetel tells him to stop; he is like a god on this planet. She tells Tetsuro that because of always living under fog and meager sunlight on a planet meant to be two, those people here are a hundred times weaker than them. She says that if they tried to take the train, merely the jolt of departure would knock them out and they could die.

Night falls and Tetsuro sees many people come out, all of them quite beautiful. Maetel says some say these are the most beautiful people in the Galaxy. One of the women, spotting Tetsuro, thinks he’s an animal or monster. Tetsuro gets frustrated and says the Conductor was right about this place. Upon opening the suitcase and looking at their passes, Tetsuro realizes they are counterfeits. Maetel tells him to relax; the thieves will have to show up at the station so they won’t have to search. She wants to find them before departure though as she fears they will die by riding the train.

At that moment the thieves, Kagero and Kasumi, hiding in a tunnel, gleefully talk about how they’ll be able to escape this planet, obtain mechanical bodies and live in the expanses of space. They say they will go by the names of Tetsuro and Maetel. Later, Tetsuro complains to Maetel about how taking a bath and elegantly sitting at a table is no way to live. This is no place for him.

Upon arriving at the station, Maetel is told that Tetsuro and Maetel have already boarded. She is able to obtain two platform tickets so they are able to go there. Maetel asks the Conductor about those who boarded in their names, but he claims no one has boarded at this station yet. Tetsuro and Maetel get on the 999, despite the penalty of execution for riding it without legitimate passes. Despite that, the 999 takes off and they aren’t stopped. Suddenly the Conductor comes by and hands them their passes back. He shows them a compartment underneath the floor of the dining car where the bodies of Kagero and Kasumi are. Their bodies were unable to take the jolt of the train leaving and they both died. Maetel sheds a tear over them. Tetsuro asks the Conductor if he would refrain from throwing him off the train if he hadn’t obtained his ticket back and the Conductor simply laughs and leaves. Maetel feels as if Tetsuro doesn’t understand.

TV Episode Summary:

This episode is largely faithful to the original manga chapter with only a few additions. We have a new scene with Kagero and Kasumi watching as the 999 approaches. We also see them watching Tetsuro and Maetel as they head to the hotel. When we see Kagero and Kasumi under the bridge they imagine their life living in the woods, creating a log cabin to live in.

Tetsuro sees people walk the streets prior to the theft instead of after as in the manga. Also, the line where someone calls him an animal is cut. After they board the 999, Maetel anxiously looks around the train for Kagero and Kasumi, to no success. The 999 shoots the two of them out into space via a small coffin.

TV Episode Cast:

Tetsuro Hoshino – Masako Nozawa

Maetel – Masako Ikeda

Conductor – Kaneta Kimotsuki

Kasumi – Harumi Ichiryusai

Kagero – Koichi Hashimoto

Android – Banjou Ginga

Ticket Gate – Yonehiko Kitagawa

Narrator – Hitoshi Takagi

Non-Spoiler Analysis:

This chapter returns us yet again to this manga/series’ most overused plotline, Tetsuro and Maetel having their passes stolen. Matsumoto just can’t help himself, going back to this well over and over again. Sigh. Anyway, this chapter takes place on a planet called the Fog Capital, which is actually two planets fused together, looking a lot like the duel planets we saw back in chapters 4-7/5-1, “Laura of the Dual Planets”.  The fact that its two planets fused together, plus the faint sunlight and intense fog has resulted in its inhabitants being quite weak. Merely running down the street with some luggage is enough to knock out the thieves, and as much as they shoot Tetsuro, it has no effect on him. Maetel speaks of how people don’t come out when there’s sunlight, so I’m assuming even basic sunlight would be enough to kill them. If you think about it, it effectively makes Tetsuro the equivalent of a superhero on this planet. He could physically outdo anyone and perhaps show great feats of strength. Merely him walking too harshly on the floor is enough for him to practically fall through it multiple times. Although maybe he wouldn’t be that successful from a P.R. standpoint; compared to the beauty of those on this planet Tetsuro isn’t even viewed as a fellow human being (another callback to the Laura of the Dual Planets chapter, where Tetsuro was mistaken for an animal!). To be a successful superhero one has to be both strong and popular. Beyond just Laura of the Dual Planets, I feel that this chapter calls back to the “Kingdom of Atonement” (chapter 4-4), with the Conductor’s fear of taking a bath, and the city reminds me of that on Pluto.

Anyway, the chapter is another in a long line of chapters in this series that do a good job at showing how different life could be if you just make slight tweaks to our living situation. It’s rather unfortunate for those living on this planet, being so weak they probably could be taken over pretty easily if an alien planet decided to do so, and it seems that no one can leave the planet. Kagero and Kasumi try to do it, only to both die as a result. I did like this aspect of the chapter, although I really hope Matsumoto can eventually put the pass stealing storyline to rest.

Translator’s Note: This is the final chapter of the manga which is available via fan translation in English online. Starting with the next chapter everything will be based on my own translation.