Artemis of the Transparent Sea
Manga Chapter 9-6 and 10-1
TV Episodes 51 - 52
Manga Chapter Summary:
A sleeping Tetsuro
wakes up to find that the 999 has come to a stop. Maetel says there is some
sort of obstacle up ahead. A giant missile passes by, which Maetel claims was
sent by the Track Maintenance Ward which is responsible for destroying
obstacles. Tetsuro notices that some small, amoeba-like creatures are starting
to float past the 999. Maetel says the missile has reached the obstacle and
there is a large explosion off in the distance. We see a large splatter erupt
and spread out towards the 999.
Now there are
hundreds of the amoeba-like creatures floating past the 999. Some start getting
stuck to the window and talk! They say to not come. The Conductor also hears
them saying the same thing. Suddenly one of the amoebas comes into the 999! It
says to please change the course. Tetsuro wonders if it is cold, and it says
no. It claims their mother is ahead and they should change course to avoid her.
The Conductor decides to ask the Locomotive, which refuses to change course;
the Galaxy Express’s orbit is absolute. That said, the 999, senses a reaction
in front. The Conductor doesn’t see anything and says it must be invisible to
the naked eye.
Eventually the 999
approaches what looks to be a far larger, amoeba-like planet. The 999 says it
won’t be able to break in time and they will collide with it. The 999 crashes
right into the planet, although Tetsuro says the shock wasn’t that big. Tetsuro
and Maetel get out of the 999, which is sinking into what they claim looks like
a sea. They are able to walk on the sea, with its surface not sinking below
their weight, but can notice many objects such as different ships and trains sunk
underneath. The 999 continues to sink into it and the Conductor says going in
reverse will do no good. The Galaxy Express Administration says no obstacle in
the 999’s orbit can be confirmed, but they do sense a strong life reaction at
the distress point. They consider it to be a new type of lifeform that can’t be
classified based on those on record. A more powerful weapon may be needed to
rescue the 999.
Tetsuro hears what
sound like babies’ cries, and some of the small amoeba-like creatures detach from
the planet and ascend into space. It’s as if babies are jumping off from the
ground. Tetsuro says these creatures must have a mother. Tetsuro realizes the
creature that got on the 999 was the child of this planet, which is a mother.
The Conductor tells Tetsuro and Maetel that they should get on the 999 as soon
as possible. A tremor wave is going to be sent to destroy the planet. This gets
Tetsuro upset and says they can’t destroy it; the planet is alive and is a
mother! They sense a spaceship approaching and the planet changes its form, as
if to catch it. Maetel and Tetsuro notice that the space ship is an old
fashioned design. Suddenly the hatch opens and a transparent-looking woman
crawls out of the ship, saying she is Artemis and has returned to her mother.
Tetsuro and Maetel
tell the Conductor to get the first aid kit. The Galaxy Express Administration,
sensing the crash, stops the launch of its tremor wave, sensing the life
reaction from the planet getting stronger. They bring Artemis on board the 999
and Maetel senses her heart’s beat is becoming quieter and weaker. The
Conductor notices that she no longer appears as transparent, but is now more
like a normal human. Artemis asks if she’s here and Maetel tells her she’s on a
planet that is transparent like her. Artemis says it’s her mother. Tetsuro
tells her to be firm and not die and tells her who she is.
Artemis says it was
a painful, long and miserable journey, but her mother softened the landing for
her. She claims this planet is her mother and gave birth to her. When it was
time for her to die, her desire was to be put down on this planet’s surface and
she has come back here to sleep, forever. Artemis passes away. They bring her
outside and rest her on the surface, and she sinks into the planet. The Galaxy
Express Administration notices the planet has stopped moving and launches its tremor
wave attack.
Tetsuro cries,
saying he thinks Artemis still had things she wanted to do. The Conductor calls
for the two of them to return. Tetsuro cries out to not destroy the planet as
it’s a living being, but the Conductor says they can’t move the 999 without
doing this. He also says there is no way to stop the incoming attack, which is
arriving in 3 minutes. Maetel tells Tetsuro it’s alright, this planet won’t be
destroyed so easily. The planet feels danger and has a protective screen around
it as if it’s a dimensional barrier. She doesn’t think the tremor wave will
destroy it. The Conductor says they won’t be able to escape then, and fears the
999 being completely swallowed up by the planet, along with them.
Suddenly a voice
rings out; it is the voice of the planet. It thanks Tetsuro for shedding tears
for her daughter. She is an organism that can’t move her body by her own will.
Someday the children she gave birth to will grow to be like her. She wants
Tetsuro to think of a way to ensure the Galaxy Express’ rails aren’t in the
path of her children. She says goodbye. Maetel says the protective barrier has
disappeared. The blast approaches and hits the planet, destroying it. Later, as
the 999 continues through space, Tetsuro tells Maetel that was a really kind
planet. Maetel says it was a mother to a lot of children and knew the hearts of
children well. Maybe it thought of Tetsuro like one of her own children.
Tetsuro talks about how his mother protected him and was killed by Count Mecha.
It is a sad thing to say goodbye.
TV Episode Summary:
The first episode is
really faithful to the original manga chapter, one of the most faithful I’ve
seen in a very long time. The dialogue may be a little longer, but I don’t see
any major plot changes or cuts until very late in the episode, when after the
spaceship crashes into the planet Tetsuro flashes back to his mother’s death.
The Conductor reports to the 999 Locomotive about the spaceship crash and is
granted time to investigate before the tremor wave blast is sent. The first
episode ends shortly after Artemis exits the spaceship.
In the second
episode, Artemis isn’t laid on a train car seat but rather in the medical room
of the 999. As Artemis talks to Tetsuro and Maetel the Conductor senses the 999
shake and heads outside briefly, realizing the 999 is continuing to sink.
Artemis tells Tetsuro and Maetel of her time being away, saying she’s lived a
hard life the last few years. We flashback to her departing the planet in her
amoeba-form, against her mother’s will as she desired a mechanical body. We see
Artemis land on a civilized planet and go get a machine body. Artemis leaves
with great joy, but explains she had to work to pay for the surgery and is
shown working in a factory.
At first things
were good. Artemis happily looks at her body’s reflection in a pond. Artemis
continues to work every day, all day, fearing to stop. Eventually she felt like
she couldn’t go on. Artemis passes out while working on the assembly line and
is thrown into an area she describes as the scrap room. While being there she
desired to see her mother again and plotted her escape every day after that. We
see Artemis sneak her way to the spaceship. She eventually is spotted, but by
that point it is too late and the spaceship blasts off. A cannon aims at the spaceship
and hits a part of it.
Things return to
the present and Artemis passes away as she does in the manga. When they bring
Artemis outside to lay her to rest, part of the surface glows, as it to show
them where to leave her. Beyond just going to the Conductor, Tetsuro rushes to
the 999’s Locomotive to beg they not destroy the planet. He runs outside and
falls to the ground sobbing, upset over his inability to save it. The planet
starts talking to him here, rather than while he is in the 999 as in the manga.
TV Episode Cast:
Tetsuro Hoshino – Masako Nozawa
Maetel – Masako Ikeda
Conductor – Kaneta Kimotsuki
Artemis – Yoshiko Matsuo
Lifeform A – Tomiko Suzuki (Episode 51 only)
Lifeform B – Kazuko Matsuzawa (Episode 51 only)
Headquarters Member (A) – Shigeru Chiba
Mechanical Car Voice – Kouji Totani (Episode 51 only)
Headquarters Member B – Seiji Satou (Episode 52 only)
Headquarters Member C – Kouji Totani (Episode 52 only)
Artemis’ Mother – Akiko Tsuboi (Episode 52 only)
Narrator – Hitoshi Takagi
Of special note is that Artemis’ Mother/the planet shares the same voice actress as Tetsuro’s mother, which I felt was quite fitting. Kouji Totani and Seiji Satou have voiced a variety of minor characters in past episodes.
Non-Spoiler Analysis:
A fairly good pair
of manga chapters/episodes this time as the 999 approaches a planet that is a
living lifeform! This concept itself isn’t unique; certainly we saw something
similar like this earlier in the manga with “A Star Named Curiosity” (chapters
2-12/3-1), although the planet was mechanical rather than organic as it is here.
I liked the idea here though, and rather than solely use it to comedic effect
as was done in that prior chapter, we have a longer and more powerful storyline.
The 999 encounters the planet through sheer accident as it is unexpectedly in
their way as the 999 continues its journey. We see a whole bunch of the
planet’s children come by, either because they were knocked loose during the
first attack on the planet, or because she purposely sent them out to try and
keep the 999 from crashing into it. Unfortunately the 999 stubbornly stays on
course and ends up getting stuck. The planet of this episode is like a giant
amoeba or gelatinous lifeform, kind of similar to the types of lifeforms we saw
back in “Nuruba, Planet Without Form” (chapter 2-9).
This pair of
episodes was eventually turned into the third and final Galaxy Express 999 TV
special, “Can You Love Like a Mother”, which aired between the 89th
and 90th episodes. Motherhood is the core part of the storyline
here. While the planet certainly is an unconventional type of mother, at least
for us humans, it nonetheless is one and has sent probably thousands, perhaps
millions of its children out into the galaxy. It takes extra care to soften the
blow from the crash landing for both the 999 and Artemis’ spaceship. Artemis’
return to the planet is specifically to see her mother one last time before she
dies, something I’m sure many would desire if they passed away before their
parent did. For Tetsuro this has quite an effect. Obviously he is already
someone who is very sympathetic to the plights of others, but here the fact
that the planet, a mother, is going to be destroyed him troubles his greatly.
And why wouldn’t it? The death of Tetsuro’s mother was the most upsetting event
in his life and his desire to honor her memory is what spurns him on this
journey. To see another mother killed would naturally be something he’d
strongly object to.
Artemis’ role is
expanded greatly within the TV episode. As usual, helping to pad out the length
of the storyline I’m sure was a big factor, but I think it absolutely helps the
storyline more. In the manga we never get an explanation why Artemis, despite being
the daughter of this planet, has the form of a human. In the episode we see
that she desired a mechanical body and eventually obtained one, which is why
she looks this way. In the manga she is described as having a kind of
translucent look to her (which is hard to come across); the episode handles
this pretty effectively by having a blue tone to her skin. As with many side
characters in the show her flashback is somewhat melancholy; she has a happy
beginning and is very happy to attain her mechanical body, but has to go in a
lot of debt to obtain it. I think back to someone like Spiral in the “Ulatores’
Mountain of Screws” episode (33). Unfortunately for Artemis her life seems a
lot worse than Spiral’s was as she is forced to do never ending work in a factory
and even with a mechanical body she starts breaking down because of it.
Overall it’s a fine storyline, one I always look forward to revisiting.
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