Cosmo Wine

Cosmo Wine

Manga Chapter 18-1

Manga Chapter Summary:

The narrator explains that mankind hasn’t reached the point of being able to control nature on most planets yet. People must live under the tide of nature. We see a rainy planet with a sign saying that those who go out during the rain will be sentenced to death. As the 999 approaches the planet, Tetsuro and the Conductor claim the scene of the rain is rather good, irresistible in fact. A lively looking Conductor says this planet’s name is “Cosmo Wine” and they will be stopped here for 24 hours. The Conductor spots some of the rain coming through under the door and drinks it. The 999 heads to the station, which is included within a pipe. Maetel says they do this due to the troublesome rain. The Conductor sings and Tetsuro and Maetel comment on how he likes this place a lot.

We cut to Tetsuro and Maetel at their hotel, called Hotel Umbrella (which is shaped like one). They had entered the hotel directly through the underground station. Tetsuro says despite the rain, it smells nice here. Maetel says the rain can be both poison and medicine and people aren’t allowed to go out during the rainy season. Tetsuro talks about the stupidity of it and is yelled at by someone from the wall. Maetel claims the entire hotel has a surveillance monitor. If Tetsuro says something he shouldn’t he may get warned, or the police may arrive. Tetsuro wonders what he can do and Maetel tells him to take a bath and sleep. Tetsuro wants to wander around and Maetel says he can go around the hotel but to not go outside, as she steps into the bath. Tetsuro heads down to the lobby, wondering where he can get something to eat. He finds the hotel gloomy, with few people around and mold present. He also spots some spiderwebs as he makes his way to the hotel restaurant, saying it is more like a haunted house!

Tetsuro sits down and is tended to by a waitress. He orders clams, shrimp, tempura and rice. The waitress also asks him about what type of wine he’d like, claiming it is like water here. Tetsuro has some and likes it. Some time goes by and Tetsuro, now feeling the effect of the alcohol, says wine isn’t water after all. He wanders his way out of the restaurant and we next see Tetsuro outside in the rain. Tetsuro soon realizes the rain coming down is wine as well! He gets worried that he is going to die of alcohol poisoning. Suddenly a number of swords are held out at Tetsuro and he is told he’s being arrested for violating the curfew. Tetsuro doesn’t mind it as long as he can get out of this rain.

Some time passes by and we see Maetel walking outside with an umbrella. A device demands her to stop going out in violation of the rain decree. Maetel, who is wearing some sort of mask, flashes a card at the device which apologizes to her. Maetel continues her way through the rain and finds Tetsuro’s hat on the ground, with a stab through it via an electronic bayonet. She realizes it was just recently stabbed. Maetel is suddenly shot at and collapses. Maetel wakes up later in a room with a lot of dials on the walls. She is told she’s not injured and is asked if she will cooperate. Two men in lab coats walk in, one of which says he is Minato, a representative from the Anti-Alcohol Society, “Water”. He tells Maetel their goal is to ban alcohol from this planet and make it a refreshing planet flowing with pure water.

Maetel realizes they do not have mechanical bodies and they confirm this. They admit they are using the power of machines but desire for living humans to control machines here rather than the other way around. Minato says the mechanical people tried to drown living humans in the rain of alcohol here and they are resisting it. We cut to the police station where Tetsuro is being interrogated. He says he is Tetsuro Hoshino, traveling on the 999, but without his ID on him the police don’t believe him. They also question why he left the hotel and if he knew about the curfew. He is told the punishment for violating the curfew is death! Tetsuro begs for some water but is told he doesn’t need it. Tetsuro is ordered to be executed.

A bell rings which Maetel hears and is told by Minato that it is a “death bell” signaling that execution of the criminal is over. We hear Tetsuro’s voice as we see some shots in space and Tetsuro gets frustrated. Is he dead? We cut to Tetsuro waking up in the hotel room. Tetsuro says he wasn’t dreaming. The waitress from the restaurant hands Tetsuro his pass, saying she picked it up. Minato is standing there and introduces himself. The waitress claims the death bell had actually been rung for the Prime Minister of the planet. Cosmo Wine has abandoned its policy and he was executed under the orders of the Great Mother Planet due to violation of the mechanization law. Minato says according to the mechanization law, one cannot threaten a human or force them to attain a mechanical body. Minato says that according to the law, those becoming mechanized must do so voluntarily.

Minato says he does not pledge to mechanized society and doesn’t believe there is a reason to cooperate. Tetsuro asks who contacted the Great Mother Planet about this situation and Minato says it was Maetel! Minato claims the government of this planet forces living humans to drink alcohol. He thought it would create a revolution. We cut to a shot of the prime minster, who has been hung, as the 999 departs the planet. On the 999, Tetsuro and Maetel talk about if a planet like this is paradise or hell. Tetsuro asks about the planet they are going to in order for him to obtain a free mechanical body and Maetel says it is the great mother planet, the capital of the mechanized world. It’s known as Great Andromeda, and is located in the center of the Andromeda galaxy. It is a utopia for mechanized people and the home of the mechanical civilization. Tetsuro asks what the name of the planet is that gives a free mechanical body and she says it would be better for him to not ask. Tetsuro looks at his pass and thinks of how they have passed Orion and Pleiades and are advancing towards Great Andromeda. The Conductor says the terminal station is coming soon, hanging down his head.

Non-Spoiler Analysis:

This chapter returns us to a world with a rather absurd concept, this time the fact that wine is the equivalent of water on this planet. We soon realize something odd is going on with the rain due to the nice smell of it and the fact that the Conductor happily drinks some of the rain seeping through below the train door. Tetsuro eventually realizes what is going on after going to the restaurant and being served some. Of course, being a kid, Tetsuro quickly becomes drunk and wanders outside in violation of the curfew. Tetsuro getting in trouble with the local authorities is a very common theme, seen in previous chapters such as “The Holy Planet of Silence” or “City Without Night” and this chapter is no exception. Although this time Tetsuro finds himself nearly dying of alcohol poisoning out in the rain and has at least a little relief at being arrested. That relief quickly goes away as Tetsuro is interrogated and sentenced to death! Why this planet has such a harsh penalty is unfortunately never explained.

Meanwhile Maetel finds herself involved with a revolutionary group “Water” that is rebelling against the alcohol entrenched nature of this planet. It got me thinking back to the era of prohibition in real life, a period of time during the 1920s where alcohol was illegal in the United States. “Water” seeks something similar to prohibition and is made up of living humans rather than mechanized ones. Through Maetel’s help they are eventually able to overthrow the Prime Minister of the planet. Through simply a phone call to the Great Mother Planet of Andromeda, Maetel is able to get him executed for violation of a law that prohibits living humans from being threatened or forcibly made into mechanized people. It’s rather odd that this is the justification for his execution as we never actually see that threat made to anyone in this chapter. I also found it interesting as we have had several past chapters when Tetsuro was threatened with a mechanical body but no one got in trouble over it. Most of those chapters occurred before the 999 arrived in Andromeda, but we did see a character, Snowlock, trick people into getting mechanized to pay a big debt to him in the chapter “Snow Woman of Andromeda”. Maetel has often displayed feats of great power and we see that yet again here as it is just a phone call that enables the leader of the planet to be overthrown. Now that we’re close to the end, the secrets behind Maetel are soon to be revealed.

Spoiler Analysis:

I would presume that the reason that Maetel doesn’t want Tetsuro to know the name of the planet where he can get a free mechanical body is because it is named Maetel, as seen in the movie version of Galaxy Express 999. Oddly enough though, this never actually comes up in the final series of manga chapters.