Absolutely Mechanical Zone

Absolutely Mechanical Zone

Manga Chapter 16-4

Manga Chapter Summary:

Aboard the 999, Maetel comments on how the number of stars they are seeing is increasing. Tetsuro compares it to a whirlpool and starts thinking about if the planet where he can get a free mechanical body is in the center. The Conductor comes in the train car and says they are entering the Absolute Mechanical Zone and to set their clocks to mechanical time. The Conductor says in this area laws are meant for mechanical people and living humans are treated like animals. Maetel tells Tetsuro that no law will protect him and he has to rely on his own strength.

A high speed mechanical bullet train approaches the 999 and the locomotive worries about them colliding.  The 999 is told to go onto a branch line, but says it can’t do so without permission from the Railroad Administration. The 999 is told the bullet train has priority in the Absolute Mechanical Zone, so it has no choice but to go onto the branch line. The bullet train nearly hits the 999, and causes all its windows to shatter. Maetel says they’ll be okay since they are still within the barrier preventing air from flowing out. The locomotive is somewhat shamed over what happened and the Conductor says this is the first time he’s been overtaken while Conductor. The Conductor tells Tetsuro their next stop is “Machine Fort”, with a layover time of 15 minutes, 30 seconds. Maetel says that 15 minutes will feel like 100 or 200 years and the Conductor says humans rarely go there and would need a lot of preparation.

The Conductor has the 999 go back on the main line and the train approaches Machine Fort. Tetsuro comments on how beautiful it looks and that it must be a paradise for mechanical people. The Conductor says it is similar to what Earth is for humans. The 999 heads into a large tunnel where the station is. Maetel says they should have a meal and they go to the dining car where Tetsuro happily eats some steak. A pair of machine people look at him from outside the train, saying he has a nasty face and thinking he’s a monkey. Tetsuro yells at them and Maetel tells him to stop; they are merely children. A bucket of oil is thrown at Tetsuro and spills all over him. He angrily rushes out of the train at them, despite Maetel and the Conductor’s pleas for him to not go. A trap door opens up underneath Tetsuro and he falls in.

Maetel wants to get off the train, but the Conductor warns her that even she shouldn’t get off here. Tetsuro wakes up to the sound of dripping water and finds himself in a sewer like area with water dripping in and a grate covering the way out.  Tetsuro realizes the water is rather unpleasant and has oil waste mixed in with it. Tetsuro notices a long haired woman and her child floating nearby.  Tetsuro rushes to them to see if they are okay. The woman claims they have the death penalty and have already faced execution. They are still technically alive in here, but there is no way out, no food and no way to drink this water. Tetsuro asks why they are being executed and she says humans are treated like annoying animals here, as if they were flies or fleas.

Tetsuro talks to himself of how at least flies or fleas could make their way through the small pipes in here and escape. He feels he is in trouble and doesn’t want to die in here, shouting through the grate. The woman claims it does him no good, he’ll just be laughed at by the mechanical humans. Meanwhile, Maetel has departed the 999, despite the Conductor’s objections. The Conductor sits down for a bit and observes that the time is clicking by, yet neither Maetel nor Tetsuro have returned. The Conductor goes to the Locomotive, asking for an extension on the departure time. The Locomotive claims no delay is allowed, especially here. Maetel, on the streets of the city says farewell to the 999 as it takes off in the sky above.

Meanwhile, Tetsuro continues to complain about the dungeon they are in and the woman tells him it won’t take long to die here. The Conductor decides to quit his job and leave the 999, packing up a suitcase. When told he can’t ride the 999 anymore, he says he’ll give himself up and throw himself out of the train. He goes to a train car and opens a window to jump out, but the 999 has come to a stop. The Conductor continues and falls out of the 999. In the dungeon, the woman starts singing a nursery rhyme to her child. We see the 999 heading towards the Conductor and the Locomotive being silent. Tetsuro falls over into the water and the woman asks what’s wrong. Tetsuro says he is hungry, cold and sleepy. She grabs him and tells him to be firm. Tetsuro wakes up and finds himself in a hotel room! Maetel is before him and says it’s the designated hotel in the area for real humans.

Tetsuro looks outside and realizes they are in the city. Maetel claims she knows someone well here and requested Tetsuro be pulled out of the dungeon. She says he was almost dead when they did so. Tetsuro asks about the mother and child and Maetel claims they are in the next room. Tetsuro goes to it but finds it empty; the food and clothes left there are untouched. He realizes the mother and child are walking out of the hotel and rushes to the lobby where they are. The woman claims Tetsuro is irritating her and calls him a dog. She asks him why he came to the dungeon and if he was there to play and have fun looking at them. She says the only humans who can live from there are those who have sold their souls to those with mechanical bodies. She calls Tetsuro a minion and a dog of the machine people.

The mother says she is leaving to go back to her home, the dungeon, to be sentenced to death. She says she’d rather die than sell her soul. Meanwhile the Conductor wakes up and realizes he’s back on the 999. He goes to the Locomotive, which says it received a request from the Directorate General to return. The Locomotive tells the Conductor to worry more about himself than other people. Even a body such as his won’t be able to be recovered after having been thrown into space for a long time. Back at the hotel, Tetsuro watches in horror as multiple shots are fired and strike the mother. Her child cries in shock over her and Tetsuro shouts out to him that it’s dangerous. It’s too late as more shots are fired and kill him as well. Dust is all that remains of the two of them.

Tetsuro is shocked that they did that to even a small child. He spots the 999 returning. Once back on the 999, the Conductor comes to congratulate Tetsuro but finds him in a somber mood. Tetsuro wonders if this planet is a sample of what those are like here in the Absolute Mechanical Zone and Andromeda galaxy. He wonders if Maetel deliberately showed him a planet like this. The Conductor says all of Andromeda isn’t like this and there are many planets where humans live. Tetsuro compare himself and his mother to the mother and child he encountered here. The Conductor tells Tetsuro to be careful and that his journey will continue for a long time. There are good things ahead. In the Locomotive, Maetel is talking through a communication device, asking why the mother and child were executed. The voice responds that it didn’t make a promise to them. The Conductor realizes Maetel was talking with the person in charge of the planet. She wonders if the child should have escaped and if he’d have been able to fight along with Tetsuro.

Non-Spoiler Analysis:

It is a rather dark chapter this time, although my favorite thus far in this stretch of manga-only storylines. The 999 as it continues through the Andromeda Galaxy makes its way to the Absolute Mechanical Zone, where flesh and blood human beings don’t have the protection of the law and are treated like animals. The 999 soon heads to the planet Machine Fort, a planet dominated by mechanical people. My thoughts went back to the previous chapter “Laura of the Dual Planets” (4-7/5-1) which was also a mechanical person dominated planet. Much like that chapter, Tetsuro is derided as being an animal and here he ends up getting oil thrown all over him while he’s eating. Tetsuro can’t control his temper and soon finds himself in a dungeon.

Tetsuro soon realizes he’s not along in the dungeon; there is a mother there with her small child, probably no older than 1 – 2 years old. The woman seems like she has lost all hope and acts as if the death penalty has already been imposed on her by being here. As part of his experience in the dungeon Tetsuro realizes that living on this planet as a human being makes one akin to a fly or a flea. Human beings don’t care when they swat a tiny bug like that, so the mechanical people on this planet feel the same way about them. Through Maetel’s influence Tetsuro is pulled out of the sewer, as is the mother and child. But here we have an interesting twist; despite being given food, clothes and a hotel room, the mother rejects them all and starts making her way to the dungeon. The mother feels as if Tetsuro has sold out to the mechanical people and calls him a dog. This is interesting to see, and it’s a bit surprising that Galaxy Express 999 hasn’t really explored this much before. Tetsuro comes from absolute poverty, but since he has been with Maetel he has had a fair amount of luxury. He gets to ride the 999, eat a lot of fancy meals, stay at nice hotels and travel throughout the galaxy. Has Tetsuro sold out? He essentially has. Usually Tetsuro’s encounters with those who are poor and destitute are good ones. Tetsuro feels kinship with said people and they with him. It is not like that at all here. The mother thinks Tetsuro has sold his soul by doing so and refuses to associate with him. Both she and her child are killed shortly after.

The chapter also had an interesting segment where the Conductor for all intents and purposes resigns his position due to the 999 departing the planet and leaving Tetsuro and Maetel behind. And since he’s no longer an employee and doesn’t have a pass, he needs to get off the 999! Rather than wait until the next stop the Conductor literally opens the window and jumps out into space! Thankfully for him the 999 comes back and gets him and ultimately goes back to Machine Fort to get Tetsuro and Maetel. Clearly the two of them are very important to the Conductor and it is good to see him standing up for them in this way.

Spoiler Analysis:

A segment very similar to the bullet train passing the 999 occurs in the movie Adieu Galaxy Express 999. In the movie, the 999 is confronted by another train, the Ghost Train, which demands it be given right of way. When the 999 Locomotive refuses, the Ghost train barrels its way past the 999, causing all the 999’s windows to shatter. The Locomotive is completely humiliated, claiming something like this has never happened before. The Conductor also sheds some tears over the embarrassment.

Rommel of the Sea of Sand

Rommel of the Sea of Sand

Manga Chapter 16-3

Manga Chapter Summary:

The Conductor announces the 999’s next stop as “Desert Fox”, but says the layover time is not decided, it is something that is very fluid. As the 999 approaches the planet Tetsuro looks at it, realizing it is filled with sand. The sand dominates the landscape as the 999 approaches land, with some pockets of civilization seen within a giant sand sea. As they enter their hotel room, Tetsuro feels as if the building is shaking and Maetel warns him to lock the glass door to the deck properly. Tetsuro is disappointed that there are no stores around and when he goes to the restaurant is served sand crab, sand shrimp, sand octopus and sand sardine, none of which he’s fond of, although he still eats them.

As they return to the hotel room, Maetel tells Tetsuro to take a shower. Tetsuro is shocked to find sand coming out of the faucet instead of water and opens the bathroom door, making a mess of their hotel room. Maetel claims sand serves the same role as water on this planet. Tetsuro and Maetel go to bed. That night Tetsuro hears singing from outside. The door to the deck opens and an electric tube goes through, grabbing one of the suitcases. Tetsuro sees a woman outside controlling it, with long blonde hair and a black body suit and mask. The woman dives into the sand and Tetsuro runs after her. Maetel warns him not to go on the sand and that it is dangerous. Suddenly the thief grabs Tetsuro by the ankle with her hand and drags him under with her.

The phone rings in the hotel room and the voice on it tells Maetel that if she wants to help Tetsuro she should put her trunk on the sand outside, including her pass with it. Maetel is told to look outside where a skull is thrown out of the sand. The voice on the phone asks her if she wants Tetsuro to become like that skull. The voice claims she is the Desert Fox’s subordinate. The Desert Fox was the name of someone on Earth, Rommel. Maetel is confident Tetsuro will return and the voice continues to insist she provide her suitcase. Maetel relents and throws the suitcase outside, with it sinking into the sand. Maetel demands Tetsuro be returned but nothing happens, and she realizes she was lied to.

Meanwhile Tetsuro finds himself drifting in a stream of sand. He tries to make his way to the shore only for some shots to nearly hit him. He sees that there are many tanks off in the distance and realizes his only choice is to continue to swim through the sand. He eventually makes his way to a fork and we see several long necked, dinosaur-like creatures off on the horizon. Suddenly a large mouth opens up underneath Tetsuro; it is a large, leviathan-like creature. Some people talk in front of a control panel and Tetsuro passes out.

Tetsuro wakes up in a room that appears to be on one of the tanks. He is told by a voice that he is inside Rommel’s battle command vehicle. Tetsuro is questioned about what he was doing in the sand, the thief and being dragged into the sand. He confirms that he is a 999 passenger. The voice refuses to show its face and claims to be a secret organization within the Desert army that cannot expose itself to the public. He is told the planet will be peaceful someday. Tetsuro is hit by another shot and passes out.

Tetsuro wakes up in the hotel room with Maetel sitting next to him. Tetsuro wonders if it was a dream at first. Maetel points out to Tetsuro outside, where the thief is crucified on an X-shaped platform. Maetel says the thief was executed by Rommel for violating the desert fox’s military rules. Both suitcases have been returned. The thief’s intent was to ride the 999 to another planet to buy weapons. They wonder why she needed to steal 2 passes, wondering if the other was intended for a family member or lover. We see a child, alone out on the sand calling for his mother. Maetel says a disciplined rebel can’t win and says on this planet Rommel is a devil fighting for the future. Tetsuro asks Maetel if Rommel’s forces can win as the 999 leaves the planet. Maetel says she’s not sure. Both sides are fighting, believing they are correct.

Non-Spoiler Analysis:

The 999’s journeys to planets with some sort of weird twist continues in this chapter, as it arrives on a planet where sand is the equivalent of water. As can probably be expected, we get some comedy from this, as Tetsuro tries to take a shower, only for sand to come out! When Maetel first mentioned it was time for Tetsuro to take a shower I knew something seemed odd, as she’s always pushing for him to take a bath instead. She must have known ahead of time what would happen! For seemingly the millionth time, we have a plot about Tetsuro and Maetel’s passes being stolen. Will the usage of this plot ever end? I suppose not. Tetsuro being grabbed by the ankles by a hand makes me think back to when the same thing happened to him in chapters 3-12/4-1, “Mud Maetel”.

Tetsuro’s journey across the sand stream features several sand sea creatures, which were interesting to see. It was especially surprising when the mouth of one comes up right underneath Tetsuro! My mind initially went to the sand worms from Frank Herbert’s novel Dune, although the creature looks more like a cross of a leviathan and dragon than Dune’s sand worms.

Eventually Tetsuro is saved, waking up in a tank possessed by one of the local military powers, although he never meets his savior. The thief has a rather gruesome end by being crucified and left out in the sand by the hotel for Tetsuro and Maetel to see. It is rather depressing to find out that she was a mother, and her child is out on the sand all alone afterwards.

The chapter contains several references to Erwin Rommel including the character name and the name of the planet, “Desert Fox” which was Rommel’s nickname. Erwin Rommel was a general for Nazi Germany during World War II and led battles in France as well as North Africa. Although it’s not part of this chapter, Matsumoto has also referenced in the past El Alamein, a location in Egypt where battles had taken place during World War II in the chapter “El Alamein’s Singing Voice” (chapter 2-3).

Great Chief of a Lot of Stars

Great Chief of a Lot of Stars

Manga Chapter 16-2

Manga Chapter Summary:

The 999 continues its way through space. Suddenly there is a large noise and a large gunshot blast can be seen through several of the train car’s doors. It is Metalmena; she has been trying out Tetsuro’s cosmo gun and mistakenly shot it after not having the safety device on. She claims its rusty and tosses it back to Tetsuro. The Conductor tells Metalmena it is a rule violation to touch a passenger’s personal belongings. She says she knows and leaves the train car.

Later, within the dining car, Tetsuro tells Maetel the trip is not as interesting these days. The Conductor asks if it is because of Metalmena and says he’ll report her to the Railway Administration Bureau. Metalmena brings by their food, which is as good as ever and Tetsuro lays himself on the train car seat with an expanded stomach. The Conductor says their next stop is “A Lot of Stars” with a layover time of 6 hours. The 999 heads to a planet that looks like a fudge covered sundae. The 999 makes its way down to the jungle-filled planet.

Upon landing Tetsuro and Maetel head towards the hotel and find themselves in front of a chief’s hut. Maetel says this is the home of Chief Kikunimo. Kikunimo, the very fat chief comes out and says hello to them, burping as well. Before them is a very large, lavish dining table. Tetsuro starts to tear up and Kikunimo tells Tetsuro it is rude if he doesn’t eat on this planet. Tetsuro eats a lot of the food and falls over on his back, with his stomach extended even more. Kikunimo flies off on a rope, Tarzan-style, with Tetsuro held between rolls of fat on his stomach. A woman, presumably Kikunimo’s wife says to not worry, he is going for a post-meal exercise. Tetsuro falls off along the way though, crashing into the jungle below.

We cut to later, at the station, where Maetel and the Conductor wait for Tetsuro. Kikunimo comes up and says he’s sorry, Tetsuro has died. We cut to the jungle right afterwards and see that Tetsuro clearly isn’t dead. He hears some odd voices from the jungle around him. Some liquid starts spilling on Tetsuro and his cloak starts melting. Tetsuro realizes the liquid is being excreted from a tree that is carnivorous! From the 999, Maetel and the Conductor hear some noises from outside. Maetel asks Kikunimo what is wrong and he says he’s thinking about Tetsuro. The Conductor sees someone coming; it is Tetsuro! He is alive, although he is now naked and his cloak has a lot of holes in it.

Tetsuro says he used his gun on the carnivorous tree and was able to escape. Kikunimo is very happy to see Tetsuro is alive. Suddenly a loud fart comes out of him! Maetel says this seems like a different type of fart, and they realize the smell is actually kind of nice. Kikunimo claims this is their sacred duty. The residents of this planet eat food and digest it in their intestines where it is fermented. Beings can’t live here without flatulence. Without it the atmosphere would become poisonous. Tetsuro compares it to the role of carbon dioxide and plants on the Earth.

Kikunimo says they understand each other and should be friends and he leaves. Tetsuro himself ends up making a big fart afterwards. Metalmena sets up a device to suck in the bad air. Tetsuro thanks Metalmena; the food she has served has toughened up his stomach so he isn’t as weak there. She says he didn’t get sick, but that didn’t stop him from being a toxic gas generator! Tetsuro lays down on the train car chair and goes to sleep.

Non-Spoiler Analysis:

We have a rather brief and comedic chapter this time. The 999 heads to a planet occupied by a very obese alien chieftan, Kikunimo. He immediately welcomes Tetsuro to a giant feast; one that Tetsuro is forced to consume a lot of food with so as not to offend him. He then takes Tetsuro into the jungle with him as part of an exercise and Tetsuro promptly falls off and finds himself in danger.

This chapter contains quite a few gags. Kikunimo is designed in quite a goofy way, and his rather warm hearted nature towards Tetsuro makes him a rather fun character. Tetsuro loses his clothes during his time in the jungle and ends up having to come back to the station largely naked! And at the end of the chapter, Matsumoto ends up going in a rather “toilet humor” direction, something I never expected to see, as Kikunimo farts and it is explained that flatulence is actually an important part of the atmosphere here. I will give credit to Matsumoto for at least providing us something unique this time although can’t say I ever thought he would go here, and hope he doesn’t again! The plotline where Tetsuro is nearly eaten by a carnivorous tree that is dripping liquid on him was also interesting to see as I don’t think we’ve come across a creature like this before.

Metalmena, introduced in the prior chapter, continues to serve her role as the 999 waitress here and causes a bit of a ruckus by shooting Tetsuro’s gun, which blasts through the doors of multiple train cars. Tetsuro and the Conductor are extremely annoyed by her, but now she’s done something dangerous too! Oddly enough, this chapter is her final appearance. She completely disappears after this, with no mention of why she is not on the train anymore. The Conductor references reporting her to the Railroad Administration, so my assumption would be she got fired, or moved to another train. But we don’t even get a brief throwaway line about that in the next chapter. She just vanishes. It makes me wonder what the point was of including her then? She was a fun character; and I liked having another recurring character added to the mix aboard the 999, where it’s Tetsuro, Maetel, the Conductor and absolutely no one else the vast majority of the time. The act would have surely gotten old eventually but I wish we had more time with her.

Shaking Station

Shaking Station

Manga Chapters 15-6 and 16-1

Manga Chapter Summary:

The chapter begins with us being told that Tetsuro had a dream. It was a dream of Maetel going on a journey alone. We see Tetsuro standing on an asteroid asking Maetel where she is going. Maetel is on another asteroid, with her back turned to him as he calls out to her. Tetsuro wakes up and realizes it was a dream. He’s still laying in the 999 train car, but doesn’t see Maetel anywhere. Tetsuro spots another train off in the distance with his binoculars; it is a train heading to another branch line. Tetsuro is shocked to see Maetel sitting on it! Tetsuro asks why Maetel is on another train and the Conductor tells him she changed at a station they were at while Tetsuro was sleeping. Tetsuro sees the other train heading off in another direction. The Conductor says it is going to “Queen of the Lake”, a legendary place where monsters and ghosts are said to live.

Tetsuro asks why Maetel is going there and the Conductor says he doesn’t know; that’s her problem. Before leaving the Conductor says their next stop is the “Shaking Planet” with a layover time of 68 hours. He says it is an unpleasant planet that shakes all year round. Tetsuro wonders why Maetel left on her own and if she’ll come back. He thinks of the promise she had him make that they would travel together. Tetsuro talks to himself about how he doesn’t mind the train being empty as long as he’s with Maetel and he’s afraid about traveling alone. Tetsuro smells something nice from the dining car and heads over there. Tetsuro finds an elaborate meal laid out in the dining car. The Conductor tells him it is a New Year’s feast and these are authentic dishes. Tetsuro thinks Maetel would have been happy to see this, but the Conductor joins him to eat instead.

A woman sitting at the table across the aisle from them tells them to be quiet. She says they should be thinking about how they are inconveniencing others and they should be polite as they eat. She questions if Tetsuro has ever been disciplined or raised by a parent. When Tetsuro doesn’t respond she asks if he’s heard her and Tetsuro collapses, choking on something he ate. The woman claims she wouldn’t mind it if he died as the Conductor tends to him. The Conductor brings Tetsuro back to the train car where he recovers. Tetsuro complains about the woman and the Conductor says she ruined the food. He says she got on the train with a ticket rather than a pass and he doesn’t know her name. As it was a ticket just to the next station he’s a bit more comfortable with it.

The woman comes into the train car, seeing that Tetsuro has survived. She says they better get along well as she’ll be riding on the train until the end point, upsetting both Tetsuro and the Conductor. She pulls out her ticket to the end which the Conductor looks at. It says the woman, named Metalmena, has passed the waitress qualification tests for the Galaxy Express and can board any train she desires as a regular crew member. She says she will be taking that role on the 999. Later, we see the 999 approaching the planet, which is shown to have a lot of cracks in it. The 999 heads into one of the cracks, where we see a city. Tetsuro and Metalmena head towards the hotel, talking about the planet’s shaking. The streets are silent, although it is midnight. They make their way towards the hotel. Metalmena says she’ll be riding the 999 for the rest of her life, which Tetsuro finds annoying. Tetsuro is shocked to find that Metalmena is staying in the same hotel room as him. She tells him machine people don’t eat humans and he doesn’t have to worry.

That night, Tetsuro can’t sleep due to Metalmena’s loud snoring. He heads out into the hallway and is suddenly struck in the head. Tetsuro wakes up on the surface of the planet, a square shaped area surrounded by cracks in the ground. Tetsuro wonders why he’s in a place like this and sees the city below him. He is told he was banished. Standing before him is a machine woman with no head! She asks him if he went out during the quiet hours while the earthquakes had stopped and he says yes. The woman says her name is Resist and that she had also gone out during that time period and is an exile. She says this planet considers it peaceful when it is trembling and an emergency when it is calm. Those who wander outside during that time violate martial law and are banished to the surface. She asks Tetsuro if he is a real human and he says yes. She says as she has a mechanical body, she doesn’t need a head. Her brain has been placed next to her artificial heart. She doesn’t care how long she stays here and says this area doesn’t have any real humans.

Resist tells Tetsuro to look around and he sees the skeletons of various bodies. She tells him she’s been here 198 years! Once one is banished here, it is impossible to leave again as there is no transportation. Tetsuro tells her he’s a 999 passenger and she says she’s been trapped here long before he was born. She says not to worry; she will make a grave for him. The ground starts shaking and the area they are on splits into many different parts. Tetsuro wonders what to do and Resist says there’s nothing they can do; there’s no way out of here. Tetsuro gets frustrated, knowing that he’s going to miss the 999 being in a place like this. A train arrives from overhead and Resist says it is from a branch line. Tetsuro wonders how he could make it to the city below. Tetsuro takes off his cloak and uses it to shade himself from the sun.

Suddenly a spear shoots up and attaches itself to the land mass Tetsuro is on. Attached to it is a rope. Tetsuro wonders who sent it. Resist tells him the gravity here is half of Earth’s and he should be okay going down it. An opportunity like this rarely comes along. Tetsuro decides to do it and starts climbing down. Resist says goodbye to Tetsuro. Tetsuro says if this works he will come to help someday. Resist tells him not to make promises he isn’t certain of being able to fulfill, although she thanks him nonetheless. Tetsuro’s hands start feeling numb as he makes his way down but he eventually makes it to the bottom. When he makes it there he finds Maetel waiting for him! Maetel says she worried he was banished. She has come here via regular train, the one Tetsuro recently saw come in and they head down to the station where the 999 is.

Maetel senses something wrong and Tetsuro says someone who shouldn’t be forgotten is trapped above. He says one experiencing that who cannot die has it harder than a human with a limited life. Maetel tells Tetsuro when the time comes she’ll tell him of her journey to the other planet. The 999 departs, with Resist watching. Tetsuro is shocked to find that it wasn’t Maetel who launched up the rope, it was in fact Metalmena! Metalmena is now wearing her formal waitress uniform and tells Tetsuro he doesn’t have to feel indebted to her. Tetsuro says that while her snoring was terrifying, she’s not a bad person. Maetel says she is masking herself and the Conductor thinks she has a purpose beyond just being a waitress. Tetsuro thinks of Resist and feels sad. The narrator explains that those who live forever may be able to conquer infinity, but may also fall into eternal hell and suffer forever.

Non-Spoiler Analysis:

We have a fairly strong storyline this time. We begin with a rarity, a dream sequence! While dream sequences weren’t that uncommon in the TV adaption, I don’t recall them coming up much within the manga, so it was interesting to see, even if only for a few pages. Tetsuro wakes up and is shocked to find that Maetel has departed the 999 and is on another train! Why Maetel has left isn’t explained, but she is back by the end of the chapter so it wasn’t a long term choice. Nonetheless, I was happy to see the mix-up and for Tetsuro to have to fend for himself for once without Maetel being there to save him.

We are soon introduced to a new crewmember on the 999, Metalmena, who has boarded to take the waitress position long abandoned by Claire. Considering Claire died all the way back in chapter 1-3, it’s surprising that it has taken this long for a replacement to arrive! And Metalmena got on via her own will, so it may have gone even longer if not for her. Metalmena is introduced as a rather annoying character to Tetsuro and the Conductor right off the bat, yelling at them for not being quiet enough while eating. This causes Tetsuro to choke on his food and nearly die! Not a good start for the 999’s new waitress! Her line of dialogue made me think back to chapter 5-3, “The Planet of Dimensional Voyage” where Tetsuro’s sloppy manners got him in big trouble. Tetsuro is far more toned down here, yet gets in trouble nonetheless! Often displaying a big grin on her face, Metalmena’s design makes me think of the Joker.

This time the 999 arrives at the Shaking Planet, a planet that is constantly undergoing an earthquake. In fact, as we eventually find out, the planet shaking is actually the norm for this planet. When it isn’t shaking people find it unusual! They have even declared martial law and punished/exiled people who don’t stay inside when it is quiet. All Tetsuro has to do is go out into the hallway, disturbed by Metalmena’s snoring, and he gets in big trouble. It was quite interesting to see Tetsuro make his travels onto the planet without Maetel, and this may be the only time it ever happens across the entire Galaxy Express 999 storyline.

Things continue to get flipped on their heads as we realize the punishment for going outside when it’s quiet is for Tetsuro to be put on the surface of the planet. You’d typically expect a pit or prison or something like that, but Tetsuro is actually placed far above where the city is for his punishment, on an area of land that keeps him there since the ground all around it has cracked up. It eventually becomes a far smaller mass of land too after another big earthquake. Up there Tetsuro encounters Resist, a machine woman with no head! This is another interesting development; after all this time we still mostly see mechanical people who mimic the standard human form. Getting one without a head was quite the unique sight. And as she says, a machine woman doesn’t really need a head; they can place their brain someplace else in their body.  Tetsuro is eventually able to be saved (surprisingly enough by Metalmena!) but Resist is forced to stay up there where she is. She’s been there nearly 200 years, which is quite a long time to suffer. Part of me wonders why she doesn’t just throw herself off. Suicide is not a route one would want to go down, but then, after 200 years of it, is there any point to living any longer? As the narrator puts it at the end of the chapter, having eternal life isn’t all great things. If you are suffering, you can suffer forever.

Spoiler Analysis:

One of my biggest surprises going through this manga for the first time was realizing that the character of Metalmena appears in the manga. The character appears in the movie Adieu Galaxy Express 999, which is largely an original story not based on the manga or TV show, but rather acts as a sequel to the first Galaxy Express 999 movie. In that movie Metalmena serves the same role as here, the 999’s waitress. She has a drastically different appearance. Within the manga, Metalmena has short blonde hair and is very human looking; you wouldn’t know she was mechanical absent her mentioning it. Movie version of Metalmena has longer, darker hair (granted hair that is still quite short for a Matsumoto female), and very obviously comes off as having a mechanical body.

While manga Metalmena comes off as very over the top annoying to Tetsuro and the Conductor, movie Metalmena is much calmer, although she also has a rather arrogant bent to her, looking down on Tetsuro and those who don’t have machine bodies. She considers the organic food Tetsuro eats to be unseemly, preferring the “clean capsule energy” that machine people consume instead. We eventually find that Metalmena’s motive is to seize the body of Maetel, whom she considers to have the most beautiful body in the entire universe. Metalmena eventually changes her tune on the planet Great Andromeda after the revelation that the capsules are actually derived from draining the life out of humans. When Maetel makes a comment that Metalmena has no friends who would shed a tear for her if she died, Metalmena decides to sacrifice herself to prevent Tetsuro and the others from being arrested. Although she survives the encounter, she is greatly injured, and then later decides to depart the 999 as an entity called “Siren the Witch” is drawing all machine energy into itself.

Manga Metalmena was released to the public first, with these manga chapters first coming out in January 1981, and Adieu Galaxy Express being released in August 1981. That said, I’m sure the movie had been in production for quite a while, so it is possible that she was thought of as a movie character first, then put into the manga. It wouldn’t be the first time that the manga drew inspiration from the movie rather than the other way around. That said I do wonder why we have the drastically different character designs. For whatever reason, manga Metalmena wasn’t kept around that long, just appearing in three chapters, two of which were covered by this entry.

Bottomless Swamp in Sargasso

Bottomless Swamp in Sargasso

Manga Chapter 15-5

Manga Chapter Summary:

The 999 enters an area that the Conductor describes as Neptune swamp. Tetsuro says the stars in this area look like stripes of running water. He says it doesn’t look like a swamp or Neptune and Maetel says while Andromeda has some areas similar to their galaxy, this is an area that is not similar. The 999 enters an area where things are completely black and Tetsuro and Maetel sense that something is wrong as noises start screeching out. The Conductor says they’re in Sargasso.

The 999 passes through an area where small plant like feelers stretch out from below, as if they are in a swamp. The 999 eventually gets stuck on them! Maetel talks about how there were stories back on Earth about a ghost ship in the sea. Tetsuro imagines a ghost train, with Maetel and him riding, as skeletons! The Conductor heads to the Locomotive who says the adhesive strength of what is grabbing them is strong and the 999 can’t move. Its shield is also broken and the train is sinking.

There’s more noise, and Maetel says the window glass of the train has been torn. With the pitch blackness around them, Tetsuro wonders if the blackness will flow in. Maetel says it’s not that which has come into the train, but rather a creature. Something approaches the door from the other train car and we see a black shape through the window. The door opens and a humanoid shape, that is entirely black and looks like it is dripping an oily-type substance comes in. The entity says bonjour, greeting them in French!

Maetel says 100 years ago a Frenchman, Monsieur de Longa came here and tried to develop the area. The entity says it has come here as a special envoy for the Neptune trip and won’t do them any harm. It will get off at the next station. We see another similar entity behind it. The entity says that is its daughter, Doa Pourada who will be going as special envoy. The Conductor mentions there’s no ticket, and Maetel says she’ll accept responsibility.

The 999 continues to sink and Tetsuro worries if they are in a bottomless swamp. They soon approach the remains of a spaceship, which Maetel says has been permanently captured in this bottomless swamp. Tetsuro feels like they are sinking even further. Suddenly the 999 exits the pitch black part of space, into a region that has stars again. Tetsuro laughs and realizes in a sea of stars there is no actual bottom. They’ve somehow made it out on the other side. They look in the other car where the two entities are and find that they are gone, with just a trace of fog there left in their place.

Maetel says that when an organism of the Sargasso exits it, it evaporates. The Sargasso will never let its inhabitants go. Doa would be unable to be a special envoy, even if she wanted to escape. Tetsuro feels sorry for them. The narrator says that Tetsuro is from Earth, an area where he was able to escape from, and he sees the world here different, like it were a prison.

Non-Spoiler Analysis:

Despite occurring so late in the manga’s run, this is actually the shortest stand-alone chapter in the entire manga, at a mere 16 pages. This chapter reminds me of the “Graveyard at the Bottom of Gravity”, all the way back in chapters 3-8 and 3-9 (episodes 7/8). The 999 here descends into what seems like a bottomless pitch dark swamp area of space. Quite scary stuff! This is one of the more effective chapters in the manga at establishing a scary atmosphere. We eventually find that there are living being here, two of which come onto the 999 and seek to travel elsewhere as a special envoy. Continuing with the chapter’s scary setting they appear like you’d expect swamp-like beings to be, completely black and as if they are dripping with oil. Yet as we’ve seen in previous chapters, things don’t go as planned as the 999 departs as they are unable to withstand a different part of space.

I think to previous storylines like “Mists of the Fog Capital”, chapter 8-1, or “Cheyenne, the Nation of Water”, 12-2 where inhabitants of the visited planets tried to escape on the 999 only to immediately die. Here the beings that come on board the 999 completely evaporate! The ending where the 999 makes it out of the Sargasso by dropping out of the bottom of it, back into regular space was a nice twist. Overall though this chapter feels like it is drawing too heavily on things that have been done before; several times before in fact. By my count this is the 79^th unique storyline from the manga. At least for this chapter, it seems like we’ve clearly hit a point where Matsumoto is starting to run out of ideas, or forgets he’s done something before, resulting in a chapter that while handling its atmosphere quite well seems a bit repetitive.

Stone Flower

Stone Flower

Manga Chapter 15-4

Manga Chapter Summary:

The chapter begins with an old man sitting by a pool of water; a young woman asks him what he’s thinking about and he claims to be thinking about the truth of all things, the past, the future, and the number of rains. By this point he has forgotten how many rains have come and even his age! She says her name is Eina and he says his is Hinemaios. He is patient sitting towards the pool, even if he stays here until he starves. She hands him something to eat and leaves. Hinemaios spots the 999 approaching in as it reflects in the pool. Tetsuro looks down at the planet and says it reminds him of the ruins of the Inca/Mayans. Maetel claims this is a planet that has a mixture of civilizations.

The Conductor announces this stop as the planet Mosaic, a flowering civilization with a layover time of 33 hours.  Despite that description, the civilization seems dominated by stone and there are no highways or skyscrapers. Upon arriving at the station, Maetel and Tetsuro find it in ruin, with no staff present, although Maetel claims there are a lot of stones. Tetsuro and Maetel wander around a template made full of stones and eventually reach the hotel. Tetsuro is shocked to find it is not a traditional hotel but made of stone and there are no walls or ceiling. Their beds and the bath are right out in the open. Maetel tells Tetsuro he won’t be allowed to walk around unless he bathes, so he reluctantly undresses to take a bath. Suddenly the part of the floor where Tetsuro is standing on breaks off and plummets.

Tetsuro eventually wakes up in a pile of rubble. He looks around and realizes he won’t be able to get out and is trapped here. Tetsuro suddenly starts hearing voices; it is the stones talking to him! They claim they are no longer lonely and can be used at his disposal. Meanwhile, Eina comes up to see Maetel and says if she can help someone they’ll be able to save Tetsuro. We see that Hinemaios has been tied up and is before a giant crowd that demands he be crushed. They throw rocks at a large stone above him, causing it to fall towards him. The stone suddenly explodes into a lot of smaller pieces and Maetel grabs him and unties him. Maetel is surprised; she thought this planet was like a paradise but Hinemaios claims it is like that for everyone but him. Eina also claims it is like hell.

Upon telling him her name, Hinemaios feels like he’s heard Maetel before but struggles with his memories. Maetel and Eina take him back to the hotel so he can help them find Tetsuro and they are nearly crushed by more falling stones. Hinemaios speaks of a control room and leads them there, through a large aluminum pipe. They eventually make their way to where Tetsuro is and find that he has arranged a lot of the stones in an odd pattern. Hinemaios tells him to stop and suddenly the ceiling start collapsing. Hinemaios is hit by a large stone so Maetel is forced to carry him as they flee. Hinemaios directs them to a higher place. It shows an arrangement of stones as if they were computer circuits.

Hinemaios claims a large circuit of stones like this covers the entire planet and was on the verge of completion with what Tetsuro was doing. Hinemaios claims the humans here couldn’t do such a thing as they were clumsy. When fully connected, the stones would become complete mineral life forms that could freely move the planet and kill all its humans. He explains that, similar to the precision of a mechanical human, if they cut off one stone they would stop them. Hinemaios shows Tetsuro a stone he can destroy with his gun to cut them off.

Tetsuro shoots at some stones which collapse and crush the stone Hinemaios had pointed him to. Hinemaios claims the humans on this planet could no longer think because the stones gave them everything. They disliked any person who thought for themselves. He explains that he used to do small things with these stone circuits but gradually made it larger; he was the one who created them. Eina wonders if this planet will now become a true paradise and Maetel says it is up to Hinemaios. Tetsuro and Maetel return to the 999 and talk about Hinemaios as it takes off.

Non-Spoiler Analysis:

“Stone Flower” is the first of 20 manga chapters (14 separate stories) that were not adapted to the TV series. My assumption is that these were chapters that either came out after the TV series concluded, or at least were made far enough along in the TV series’ run that the producers knew it was about to end and decided this was the point to stop adapting things. Given the long length of the TV series (113 episodes) I’m a bit surprised they didn’t see it to the finish line as it would have taken only 20 or so episodes to wrap things up. Although I suppose it is possible that Matsumoto made the decision to end the manga after the decision had been made to end the TV series, and at the time of the decision it wasn’t known if the manga would continue for only a short period of time, or much longer.

As a manga only chapter, this is a storyline I get to experience for the first time, a first for this blog. After the high point we just saw with the “Maetel’s Journey” storyline, this one can’t help but be a bit of a disappointment. We are back to handling stories where the 999 visits strange alien words with some sort of quirk to them. In this case it is a planet where the stone dominates. All the buildings are made of stones, and we eventually learn that stones are actually sentient life forms! This is due to the old man, Hinemaios, the central guest character of the chapter. He has essentially created stone circuitry that brought them to life, similar to a machine. By chapter’s end, with Tetsuro and Maetel’s help, he has brought it to an end.

The planet Mosaic is praised at the start of the chapter and at other times as well, but doesn’t seem that way as we spend some time on it. We eventually find that people can’t really think for themselves here with the stones providing them anything they could want. This reminds me of the earlier storyline “Idle One’s Mirror” although it was machines that caused that at that time. Probably the highlight of the chapter for me was getting to see some interesting looking stone structures, particularly early on in the chapter. From a sheer story standpoint, the chapter didn’t have much to enthrall me.

Spoiler Analysis:

The planet name of Mosaic is also used as the name of a planet in the movie Adieu Galaxy Express 999, although that movie didn’t adapt any of the look or feel of the planet that we see here in this chapter.