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.