Yayabol's Small World

Yayabol’s Small World

Manga Chapter 13-3

TV Episodes 94 - 95

Manga Chapter Summary:

The narrator explains how Andromeda is a large nebula with an approximate 100,000 light year diameter. The 999 heads through an area with a variety of oddly shaped asteroids. Maetel describes it as Andromeda’s version of the Grand Canyon. The 999’s locomotive makes a report to the Galaxy Express Administration; some outside force is modifying the space orbit in the area and the rails have been twisted. The Administration bureau thinks some sort of sabotage has been involved. Maetel, Tetsuro and the Conductor head to the locomotive to ask where they’re heading. The Conductor was expecting “Marzaboya”, but the Locomotive says they are instead heading to “Yayabol’s Small World”. Maetel says she knows Yayabol, he is a very famous person who built his own station. The Conductor seems nervous.

The 999 makes its way to the planet, which looks like a smaller version of Earth. Its resemblance gets Tetsuro upset as his feelings go back to his time on the real Earth. He swears he’ll get eternal life and fight against those who were killed by those with mechanical bodies. The 999 heads into the atmosphere and the planet continues to look like a miniature version of Earth. In fact the planet is so small that the surface itself is round as they step out of the station. The narrator explains that Yayabol’s small world resembles the old Earth. Everyone lives in the southern hemisphere, with the exception of Yayabol, who lives in a house in the northern hemisphere. Tetsuro and Maetel head to Yayabol’s designated hotel. When they step inside the hotel there are 2 women waiting for them, carrying a message from Yayabol to Maetel. The message is actually an invitation to Tetsuro to meet Yayabol.

Maetel instructs Tetsuro to take a bath first. Tetsuro doesn’t want to go if he has to take a bath. Maetel says he’ll have to walk there as she can’t arrange a car. It’s about a 10 kilometer walk. Tetsuro heads out, following the path towards Yayabol’s house. Suddenly a shot rings out and hits Tetsuro in the head. A large flying craft passes over his passed out body. Meanwhile, the Conductor and the 999’s Locomotive talk about there being a fake signal leading them to this location. The Locomotive wants to leave immediately, but the Conductor tells it Maetel and Tetsuro are still at the hotel. The Locomotive reveals there are no designated hotels here, it must belong to Yayabol. The Locomotive blames the Conductor for Maetel and Tetsuro being here and is going to leave to catch up with its designated travel schedule.

Meanwhile back at the hotel, a woman shows up at the door telling Maetel she’s here to pick her up and bring her to Yayabol. Maetel is brought before Yayabol, a small dark haired man with glasses in a business suit. The 999 departs the planet right above them, surprising Maetel, but Yayabol seems unfazed by it. Tetsuro wakes up in an old fashioned room with some food laid out before him. The 999 meanwhile continues its journey into space. The Locomotive is looking for the Conductor, who isn’t present. At that moment, the Conductor is laying down in one of the train cars; feeling de-motivated and doesn’t mind getting reported. He feels passenger safety is the first principle of the Galaxy Express. The Locomotive makes loud noise, shaking him up. He goes to the Locomotive and still wants to do something about Tetsuro and Maetel.

Meanwhile, Maetel and Tetsuro sit down for a meal with Yayabol, who makes up an excuse about how he brought Tetsuro here. Yayabol says he is impressed by how strong Tetsuro is despite having a bad face and small body. He reminds him of himself when he was young. They spot the 999, which is returning to the planet! The Locomotive and Conductor talk about it on the 999, and how they are avoiding the rules. Yayabol says Tetsuro’s future is rosy and questions if he will be a scientist, philosopher, novelist or politician. He invites them to eat more, as mechanical robot arms bring them more food. Tetsuro is impressed by the food. Yayabol says he just remembered something and leaves the room. Tetsuro likes sweets, but finds what Yayabol has given them is too much. Suddenly a trap door underneath Tetsuro opens and he falls into a pit below. Maetel says he won’t die, but asks if he has his gun. Maetel tells Tetsuro she’ll be going back to the 999 and says he’ll be able to come back safely.

Maetel heads back to the hall where Yayabol is waiting and tells him Tetsuro is in his basement, and possesses one of only 4 warrior guns in space. Maetel departs and heads back to the station. Yayabol heads to right above the pit where Tetsuro is and taunts him, saying he’s jealous of Tetsuro’s ability to have experiences he hasn’t been able to, and is especially angry at the prospect of Tetsuro obtaining a newer machine body and living longer than him. Yayabol tells Tetsuro he’s got no future and is going to die now.

Suddenly there is a large explosion at Yayabol’s house. We see Tetsuro fleeing from it on a vehicle, shooting back at a vehicle pursuing him. Tetsuro says he was able to blow it up via the fuel tank, which was underground. Those at Yayabol’s home were weak, so he didn’t have much trouble. Maetel says this is a world of one who is jealous of young people growing up, a merciless and unsalvageable man. Yayabol refused to recognize the future and life of others. We see the 999 take off while Yayabol screams at it out of the wreckage of his home. On the 999, the Locomotive proclaims that because Yayabol’s Small World doesn’t exist as a station, it will act as if the stop never existed and they just got delayed.

TV Episode Summary:

This storyline is adapted across two episodes. The first episode begins with Yayabol going in a room to talk to his mother, who tells him about a boy coming on the 999, Tetsuro. She considers Yayabol to be the best boy in the universe, but Tetsuro has a characteristic superior to his and he should kill him. Yayabol initially hesitates but his mother starts glowing and he says he’ll do it.

We have a little more footage with the Galaxy Express administration offices having trouble investigating where they are. Once they hear they are going to Yayabol’s world, Maetel and the Conductor are a bit more worried about it than they are in the manga. When they reach Yayabol’s world Tetsuro flashes back to times with his mother and her death. As they walk out of the station Tetsuro says he likes feeling big and important. Maetel realizes a camera is recording them and tells Tetsuro to be quiet about what he says. We then see cameras all over the place. Once at the hotel, the dialogue about Tetsuro taking a bath is cut. Maetel gets nervous when Tetsuro leaves and quickly heads after him, but the elevator traps her in. The elevator door reflects the laser she blasts from a ring on her finger. She then is able to blast a hole through the floor though and escape.

Tetsuro sees 2 farmers passing by as he heads to Yayabol’s house. They are in fact robots who start shooting at him, so he takes them both down. Tetsuro then spots and fires at a camera in a tree. This gets Yayabol upset and he fires at Tetsuro via several automated guns in the area which Tetsuro attacks. Tetsuro eventually is taken down as he is in the manga. Yayabol hesitates to kill Tetsuro, angering his mother. He wants Tetsuro to see how great he is. She relents, but still demands he eventually be killed. Maetel finds Tetsuro’s hat just as he’s taken away be a vehicle to Yayabol’s house. Maetel makes her way there where he is pleased to see her. While Tetsuro lies in bed, Yayabol’s mother comes by and stares at him through the doorway.  Tetsuro heads out in the hall and finds her gone, but he does see Yayabol and Tetsuro walking through.

Maetel is very pleased to see Tetsuro is okay. Tetsuro grabs Yayabol but Maetel tells him to stop. Yayabol says dinner is ready for them. The women from the hotel are in the room with them as they eat. Maetel asks about the woman who was checking on him and Yayabol says that was his mother. Yayabol says his mother is the greatest person in the universe. Maetel says she thought his mother died in an accident last summer. He says that is absurd and his mother can’t die; she was just badly injured and nursed back to health here. Maetel asks why he doesn’t invite her to join them, but he claims she has become very shy. Yayabol reveals to them that the 999 has already departed. Tetsuro gets angry as this will cost him the chance to get a mechanical body Tetsuro runs outside and sees it flying away. He runs after it, asking for it to wait and not leave without him and Maetel. Yayabol watches from outside and thinks to himself of Tetsuro’s quest and still plots to kill him. The first episode ends here.

In the second episode, Maetel tells Tetsuro to cheer up about the 999’s departure and asks him if he thinks the Conductor and 999 will really abandon them. She tells Tetsuro to investigate the mansion as she distracts Yayabol. Maetel doesn’t believe his mother really lives here. She goes to Yayabol, telling him Tetsuro wanted to be left alone. She proposes they dance when he tries to go, exciting him. Meanwhile Tetsuro tries to sneak in from outside, realizing the best way to do so is via the chimney. Tetsuro slips off the roof, but is able to hold the edge and make it back up, then go down the chimney. Tetsuro spots Yayabol and Maetel dancing as he passes by the room they’re in. Tetsuro continues down the hall, but is spotted by Yayabol’s servants. Maetel tells Yayabol a year ago his mother would have stopped him from dancing with a girl. Yayabol says she’s an exception and his ideal woman. Yayabol moves closer to her but then his head starts hurting. He says his mother attacks his brain with supersonic waves when he does something she doesn’t like.

Tetsuro spots a room with a glow coming out of it. He heads inside, finding Yayabol’s mother sitting in a chair with her back to him. She demands he sit down and he sits in a chair. Her chair turns and a pit opens up underneath Tetsuro. Maetel tries to help Yayabol and he struggles with her. He says she should go and he’ll send out Tetsuro too. Maetel is forced to go at gunpoint and warns Yayabol of Tetsuro’s gun as she does in the manga. Yaybol is told of what has happened to Tetsuro and laughs. The Conductor argues with the Locomotive about their duties to the passengers as we see in the manga and it starts heading back. We also see Yayabol speaking to Tetsuro while he’s in the pit as we see in the manga. Beyond just getting to experience things he can’t, Yayabol says Tetsuro has a different heart than him. Yayabol gets upset when Tetsuro talks about his mother and starts flooding the basement. Maetel fakes putting makeup on while in the car and is able to blast the 2 servants of Yayabol holding her, then turn around back to Yayabol’s home. She encounters and kills the last of Yayabol’s servants.

Maetel overhears Yayabol talking to his mother and heads in the room with the two of them. She is quickly taken captive by two robot arms. As Tetsuro nearly drowns, he thinks back to his mother which spurns him to go on. Yayabol’s mother tells him to kill Maetel and that she’s no good for him. Tetsuro gets blocked by a set of bars and the water passes above his head so he starts firing his gun all around, which creates a hole for the water to flow through. Yayabol hesitates to shoot Maetel and says he can’t do it; he loves her! Yayabol’s mother starts glowing and he grabs his head in pain then says he’ll do what she says. Suddenly blasts ring out from the floor and Tetsuro makes his way back in. Tetsuro shoots the gun out of Yayabol’s hands then blasts the mechanical arms holding Maetel.

Tetsuro angrily pushes his way past Yayabol and heads to his mother, saying this is her fault. Her face falls off, revealing her to be a robot. Maetel says she is a defective robot copy that just sits there. His real mother had died for real in the accident she was thinking of. Tetsuro says she spoke just like a real human and Maetel starts whipping at the wall. She tells Tetsuro she’ll show him her true form. They continue on to a big computer. When Tetsuro saw his mother walking, it was an image caused by this computer. The computer admits that Maetel is correct. Yayabol brought his mother’s body here and tried to make a copy of her but it didn’t work. He then transferred her consciousness to this giant computer, and it worked. She says this is because he can’t do anything without her and she raised him this way.

Tetsuro says he came this way on his own and the computer says his mother didn’t love him. Tetsuro gets extremely upset and Maetel calls the computer the worst mother in the universe! Yayabol acts this way because of her twisted love. She says Tetsuro ws forcibly separated from his mother but grew to be a far better human than Yayabol. The computer gets angrier and angrier and shoots blasts at them, which they avoid. Yyabol tries to stop Tetsuro from shooting it, but isn’t able to and Tetsuro blasts it several times. Tetsuro and Maetel flee and the entire house explodes! Yayabol has survived, but Maetel says to let him be, so he can live without his mother. We then see the 999 returning. On the 999, Maetel asks Tetsuro if he could bring his mother back via a computer would he. Tetsuro says his mother lives inside his heart and that’s enough. Maetel hugs him.

Design-wise, Yayabol has black hair in the manga, but blonde in the anime.

TV Episode Cast:

Tetsuro Hoshino – Masako Nozawa

Maetel – Masako Ikeda

Conductor – Kaneta Kimotsuki

Yayabol – Kazue Takahashi

Mother – Mariko Mukai

Mechanical Car Voice – Kouji Totani

Handmaiden – Yumi Nakatani

Narrator – Hitoshi Takagi

Yumi Nakatani previously appeared as a dentist in episode 67 and Merusa in episode 84. Kouji Totani, beyond playing the 999 Locomotive has also previously appeared as various minor characters.

Non-Spoiler Analysis:

This chapter features the 999 being taken off course to a planet controlled by a single man, Yayabol. Yayabol has somehow become in charge of an entire planet, and has constructed it to be like a miniature Earth. By the end of the chapter it is pretty obvious to figure out why, it makes him think he is bigger than he actually is. As Tetsuro and Maetel meet Yayabol, we realize he’s got quite a bit of animosity towards Tetsuro. He doesn’t like the fact that Tetsuro has been able to have these experiences that he hasn’t had, and the prospect of Tetsuro outliving him angers him greatly! Although Tetsuro may end up fulfilling these, the fact remains that Yayabol simply could have never called the 999 to his planet in the first place. There surely are other people out there in the universe that are able to accomplish things better than Yayabol, is he summoning them all here? Ultimately Yayabol is a bit of a paper tiger. Tetsuro is captured by him, but is able to blow up his home and escape so easily that Matsumoto barely shows us any of it. The 999 leaves the planet with Yayabol angrily yelling at it in the wreckage of his home.

The other big part of the chapter is the 999 leaving Tetsuro and Maetel stranded behind on the planet. At first the Locomotive is perfectly fine with abandoning them; keeping up to the schedule is better than the well being of is passengers. But luckily, kind of through the Conductor shaming it, the Locomotive changes course and returns. It was good seeing the Conductor fight for Tetsuro and Maetel and we see him basically dismiss his duties when he thinks the 999 isn’t going to go back for them.

This is another chapter that is significantly changed in the TV adaption, with a massive amount of new content. In particular, Yayabol’s mother is featured in a major role, and is more of a villain that Yayabol is. Yayabol, who was already kind of pathetic in the manga chapter is made more so here; he acts like a kid most of the time and is quite the mama’s boy. Motivations are changed a bit from the manga with his mother driving the decision to bring Tetsuro here and try to kill him. We also have an increased element of Yayabol being in love with Maetel. Surprisingly enough despite being so beautiful we don’t tend to see many suitors for Maetel, so that was interesting to see, albeit rather short (of course Maetel is way out of Yayabol’s league). The revelation that Yayabol’s mother was actually controlled by a giant computer wasn’t much of a surprise and is kind of the cliché sci-fi story ending you would expect from a story from this era. Overall it’s not that interesting a chapter to me and Yayabol bugged the hell out of me in the TV episode, so this is one of the lesser storylines in my mind.