The Chieftan of the Spherical Housing Complex

The Chieftan of the Spherical Housing Complex

Manga Chapter 8-2

TV Episodes 40 and 41

Manga Chapter Summary:

The 999 enters a region of space filled with numerous metal spheres. Tetsuro is surprised to find that they are homes! The Conductor announces their next stop as the Spherical Housing Complex, with a layover time of 1 hour. Tetsuro wonders how the people inside the spheres determine what is the top and what is the bottom. The volume of spheres around the 999 intensifies, and the 999 eventually reaches the station, which is a more traditional looking structure floating in space. Maetel explains that this area, where the spheres are less dense, is where those of the upper class live.

Tetsuro is surprised at how large the station is. Maetel recognizes the area and tells Tetsuro she’s been here before. Suddenly there is a flash, and Maetel is seized and pulled away by two men. Tetsuro rushes outside, asking someone how he can contact an emergency phone number, but is told calling about a kidnapping is pointless as the police chief has also been kidnapped. Another woman selling manga nearby tells Tetsuro that if Maetel was kidnapped by the Great Chieftan, it is useless to search for her. She says the spherical housing complex is owned by the Great Chieftan and that any residents here are boarding in his home.

Tetsuro asks where the Great Chieftan is and she points out to him a dome that is larger than the others and has what looks like castles on it. She claims no one has seen inside it. She says in order to get there; Tetsuro would have to fly. She warns Tetsuro that he won’t come back alive if he goes there. Anyone who has been there hasn’t returned alive. Tetsuro goes anyway. Tetsuro has a hard time making it there though as the spheres in the area have a magnetic-like attraction to them.

Tetsuro is drawn into one of the sphered homes. Inside he finds someone who looks just like him, outside of having a beard!  The man, named Tetsugoro is found to have a large amount of weapons in one of his rooms. Tetsugoro feels that they need to duel because Tetsuro saw them, but Tetsuro refuses. Suddenly the sphere shakes and starts moving away from the other spheres. Tetsurgoro realizes they are being drawn into the Great Chieftan’s sphere. He wonders if the weapons he had drew sensors. His sphere crashes into the grass on the Great Chieftan’s sphere. A loud voice demands the two of them to throw away their weapons and come out.

Tetsugoro recommends Tetsuro leave his gun behind. When they go outside, Tetsuro finds Maetel, tied up on a pencil-like pole. She tells him not to come, and Tetsuro is zapped when he approaches. Tetsuro wakes up in a large hall. Maetel sits near him. Atop some steps on a throne sits the Great Chieftan, a man covered with so much hair that you can’t see his face. The Great Chieftan and Maetel reveal that it was a scarecrow of Maetel that lured him. Tetsuro grabs at his gun, but the Great Chieftan opens the curtains, revealing a number of guards outside.

The Great Chieftan claims that Maetel will stay here as a faithful doll for him and everyone here is afraid of him. Tetsuro is grabbed by a bunch of mechanical arms. The arms throw Tetsuro out the window, and due to the lack of gravity he starts floating away. Suddenly a rope thrown by Tetsugoro is tossed out and grabs him. The two hide in the bushes. The Great Chieftan takes out a fine meal for him and Maetel to have. Suddenly the entire castle explodes! Tetsuro and Tetsugoro go through the wreckage and find what remains of the Great Chieftan, his black cloak and mechanical brain. The Great Chieftan claims he’ll repair his body again.

Tetsuro and Tetsugoro find Maetel nearby, and she reveals that the guards were all scarecrows. No one was able to trust the Great Chieftan, forcing him to decorate his surroundings with them. Tetsugoro grabs the Great Chieftan’s brain and throws it out into space. Tetsugoro then heads below the ruins of the castle finding the spherical control computer enabling him to have the spheres cluster back in closer. Tetsugoro says he’s going to stay here and be the next chieftan, although Tetsuro and Maetel question how long that will last. Tetsuro wonders if there’s a part of him that wants to be the Great Chieftan, as he and Tetsugoro look so similar. Tetsuro and Maetel head back to the 999 and depart.

TV Episode Summary:

This storyline takes place across two episodes, 40 and 41. Early on in the first episode we are told the layover time 33 hours rather than just 1. Tetsuro goes back to the Conductor after Maetel is kidnapped to tell him about it and begs him to wait even if he’s late. The Conductor says he is unable to wait due to the 999’s policy and Tetsuro insults him. There is a policeman Tetsuro goes to, but he tells him they should give up as they just let things happen around here. The policeman simply drinks his coffee and Tetsuro angrily leaves.

We have a brief scene where Tetsuro wanders around and people aren’t able to answer anything about him. We have a new scene where Maetel is brought before the Great Chieftan and she appears to be quite frightened. The manga seller Tetsuro talks to provides him some new information, in particular  that the Great Chieftan has many women seized and when anyone tries to rescue them they are killed, which we see in a brief scene.

The scene where Tetsuro and Tetsurogo meet is a little longer and more comedic.  Tetsurugoro tells Tetsuro that several like him have been gathering weapons to rebel against the Great Chieftan and the two of them agree to help each other. After the sphere crashes and they come out of Tetsugoro’s home, the 2 men who kidnapped Maetel come and scan their bodies, finding a knife on Tetsugoro and a grenade on Tetsuro. Tetsugoro begs that they spare his life and they laugh, enabling him to throw sand in their faces and escape.

Tetsuro and Tetsugoro are able to hide from the men until they give up and depart. The two of them find a weird sign on a tree pointing towards the castle and head that way. They instead find themselves in some ruins. Tetsugoro sees a purple bird and it reminds him of Sakura, a woman who was kidnapped by the Great Chieftan. Suddenly Maetel calls out Tetsuro to save her. Tetsugoro tells him it’s a trap, but Tetsuro ignores this and heads towards Maetel as happens in the manga. In the episode this Maetel is revealed to be a fake immediately, while in the manga we find out in a later conversation that she was a scarecrow.

The second episode includes more of the aftermath of Tetsuro getting knocked out as the 2 henchmen who shot Tetsuro show up to get him. They also destroy the scarecrow, while Tetsugoro watches.Tetsuro compares the Great Chieftan to Napolean, and their conversation is longer. Also while in the manga we never see the Great Chieftan’s face due to it being covered by his hair, he does show it in the episode when Tetsuro complains about him looking the other way. The Great Chieftan also claims all of Maetel’s secrets are held in a computer that is right next to him and he’ll reveal them if she doesn’t obey him.

The Great Chieftan summons his 2 henchmen, ordering them to find Tetsugoro. Tetsugoro gets upset when Tetsuro tells him he didn’t see any other women in the castle. While hiding, he and Tetsuro find a grave with a scarf that Tetsugoro knows to belong to Sakura. We have a brief flashback to him giving it to her and he reveals they were to be married. Her kidnapping by the Great Chieftan got him involved in efforts to overthrow him. Tetsugoro reveals he has some dynamite hidden in his house, although in the confusion he lost track of where his house is.

Tetsugoro and Tetsuro are able to sneak up on and defeat the Great Chieftan’s 2 henchmen. They realize they are just cyborgs. Tetsugoro gathers the dynamite from his home and heads out despite Tetsuro wanting to rescue Maetel first. Tetsuro pulls his gun on him but Tetsugoro doesn’t care and keeps going. Tetsuro can’t bring himself to shoot. Tetsuro tries again to stop him at the castle, but isn’t able to in time.

Tetsuro climbs the castle and rushes in to try and find Maetel. When the Great Chieftan is distracted by Tetsuro knocking out the guards outside, Maetel tries to destroy the computer but is grabbed by the same mechanical arms that grabbed Tetsuro. The Great Chieftan reveals that he got bored of and killed all the other women he kidnapped. We see a flashback to them being shot, including Sakura. Tetsuro shoots down the mechanical arms and blasts the gun out of the Great Chieftan’s hand, enabling them to flee. They jump off the castle just as it blows up.

Tetsugoro gets the Great Chieftan’s mechanical remains to tell him where the control center is before tossing away his brain. Tetsugoro finds the Great Chieftan’s crown and puts it on when talking about becoming the next Great Chieftan. His personality changes, with him suddenly becoming power hungry and forgetting about Sakura. There is a look of fear on his face when Maetel questions how long he’ll be able to be the new Great Chieftan. We see Tetsuro and Maetel making their way back to the 999 as it departs.  Tetsuro asks about what was on the computer; Maetel says she’ll tell him someday.

TV Episode Cast:

Tetsuro Hoshino – Masako Nozawa

Maetel – Masako Ikeda

Conductor – Kaneta Kimotsuki

Tetsugoro – Ichirou Nagai

Policeman – Hiroshi Masuoka (Episode 40 only)

Newspaper Selling Woman – Keiko Yamamoto (Episode 40 only)

Man A – Kouji Totani

Man B – Kouji Yada

Sakura – Hiroko Suzuki (Episode 41 only)

Great Chieftan – Mahito Tsujimura (Episode 41 only)

Narrator – Hitoshi Takagi

Non-Spoiler Analysis:

There are several interesting things going on in this chapter/episodes. First is the setting. Rather than take place on a traditional planet, the 999 enters an area of space filled with numerous small spheres that act as homes. It’s a unique concept and one I enjoyed, although I’ll admit some feeling that they could have done more with the concept. It is explored somewhat with Tetsuro finding Tetsugoro’s home, and the ability to fly around without gravity and be attracted by the gravity of the spheres. But it overall felt an afterthought to some of the other aspects of the chapter.

Tetsuro encounters a man who looks almost entirely like him! Tetsugoro comes off as if Tetsuro grew up, but never actually grew taller, and just grew a beard (he also is more tan and has tattoos in the episode, as if he was a sailor). While someone looking just like Tetsuro has been used as a quick gag/surprise a couple of times (chapter 1-7 the Comet Library and Chapter 2-9, Nuruba, Planet Without Form), here we have a fleshed out character who is virtually identical to Tetsuro physically. Science fiction often has concepts in it of someone who looks just like you in an alternative dimension or other universe, and Galaxy Express explores it here. It helps the 2 characters be close to each other rather quickly. Although I feel bad for Tetsuro if as an adult he stays this small size forever! The TV episode fleshes out Tetsugoro further, providing him a sad backstory where his fiancé was kidnapped and ultimately killed by the Great Chieftan.

The Great Chieftan comes off as a bit threatening of villain for much of the chapter and episodes, but eventually you realize his empire is kind of like a house of cards. This is the case especially in the manga where beyond the 2 men that grab Maetel and never appear again, we never actually see him with a living subordinate. His forces are shown to just be scarecrows. In the episode we do have the 2 men who kidnapped Maetel acting as henchmen for him for much of the episode, although they are eventually revealed to be cyborgs. Tetsugoro’s plans to blow up the castle eventually come to fruition and bring the Great Chieftan down, and we have a rather comedic end for him as Tetsugoro grabs his mechanical brain and throws it out into space.

I really like the rather unexpected ending for the story, particularly in the episode. While Tetsugoro has been a good friend and ally to Tetsuro during the story, he eagerly takes the power of Great Chieftan for himself after the original one is defeated. In the episode he even forgets about his beloved Sakura, who was the entire motivation behind what he was doing. Maetel questions how long he’d be able to hold on to such a position, leaving a bit of a doubtful look on Tetsugoro’s face, but its left there and is the last we see of him. When someone has the ability to seize power, even if they had good intentions initially, it can be something to corrupt them. Who knows if that will happen long term to Tetsugoro, but it is a possibility. Whether he will be able to even hold that role for a while is questionable, but then the original Great Chieftan seemed to do it despite having only robots and cyborgs for underlings.