Ghost Station No. 13

Ghost Station No. 13

Manga Chapters 14-5 and 15-1

TV Episode 106

Manga Chapter Summary:

The 999 continues its journey through space. Tetsuro tells Maetel that he’s deathly bored by the same star view outside for so many hours. Maetel tells him it’s at least another 100 hours until their next station and Tetsuro feels like he’s going to die of boredom. She tells him this is a part of space where there’s no planets, asteroids or built stations. Maetel tells Tetsuro he passed the test of boredom long ago, but he feels it wasn’t that long a time then. She suggests talking to the Conductor, but Tetsuro says he’s busy in his room. Suddenly the Conductor floats into the train car, telling them because of the boredom he’s turned off the gravity device and they can swim around the 999 as if they were in a pool.

The two have fun doing this for a while, but suddenly the gravity turns back on and they both slam to the ground. Maetel claims it wasn’t her and they wonder who could have pulled the switch. They hear the sound of footsteps from the next train car approaching, but then they stop and go in the other direction. They head to the next train car but don’t find anything there. They wonder if it was due to their imagination, but then who turned on the gravity? The Conductor asks the Locomotive, but it claims the only life forms found on the train are that of the passengers. The Locomotive says they are stopping at a station in 2 minutes which surprises the Conductor as there is no scheduled stop in this part of space! In fact the Locomotive tells them it is already in the premises of a station. The Conductor heads back to Tetsuro and Maetel, saying the Locomotive must be wrong; there is no station here. However upon looking in front, they seen a large spherical station, labeled “Station No. 13” on the outside.

The Locomotive stops in Station No. 13, and the Conductor complains that the Locomotive is being irresponsible, stopping at a station it doesn’t know. The 999 shakes and the Locomotive says this station has a different type of control system, and it can’t stop safely. It tells the Conductor to manually send them back in reverse. The Conductor struggles with this, but ultimately the train is able to stop. Tetsuro looks outside and finds the station to be completely empty, although it feels really warm. A voice rings out, telling the passengers to get off. Maetel gets off, but the voice then tells Tetsuro she’s the only one allowed off and he must stay on board the 999. The Conductor holds Tetsuro from getting off and says he has an unpleasant feeling. The Locomotive says to be careful, as there is a life reaction here. It is as if they have been swallowed up by the station.

Maetel is instructed to go down an escalator into the center of the station. Maetel asks the voice if it is the prankster who turned the gravity back on. The voice claims that the one who did that was its sister. Maetel asks where its sister is now and it says on the train; she wants someone to play with. The Locomotive identifies that this station is effectively a mechanized person. We hear the voice of the station and its little sister, which plan on each having their own person to deal with. Tetsuro and the Conductor start hearing giggles from the other train car. The footsteps resume and the door opens, revealing a tiny, ghost-like little machine girl. She says her name is Crosalis and that Tetsuro has a funny face. Tetsuro starts making funny faces for her, causing her to laugh really hard.

The Locomotive meanwhile claims the life reaction can only be felt by Tetsuro and the Conductor; whatever is on the 999 isn’t really a living thing. It is a soul that is lost, without a body. The Conductor becomes frightened of there being a ghost on board. Meanwhile Tetsuro continues to make Crosalis laugh, by pulling off his clothes and proclaiming himself an underwear monkey. The Conductor worries as Maetel is still inside the station. The Locomotive tells the Conductor that a destruction order has been issued. The Central Administration of the Galaxy Express has decided to blow up the station.

Beams of light start heading through space towards the station. The Locomotive says they must leave here. Crosalis says she has to leave; her brother is calling her. Maetel appears again and the 999 takes off from the station. The beam blasts are coming, and the 999 doesn’t have the time to get out of the way. The station moves itself in front of the 999 and is struck, blowing up. Afterwards, Tetsuro asks Maetel if that was a machine person or a ghost. Maetel claims they were a brother and sister; their lives had come to an end but they longed for the 999 to come so she’d have a friend. Tetsuro wonders if the station protected them because he played with Crosalis, and Maetel thinks that was the case.

TV Episode Summary:

The TV episode is mostly faithful to the manga chapter, just adding in a few more details. The episode begins with the brother and sister talking to each other about how no one comes to where they are and how she wants a friend to play with. They spot a space train in the distance and wished it would stop here. The big brother, called Aron in the episode, tells Crosalis that he’ll stop the next train that comes by. After seeing Tetsuro and Maetel we again see Aron and Crosalis talk to each other. Aron has now become Station No. 13. Crosalis transfers herself into the station, it then travels through space.

Aron is represented by a glowing light within the station once the 999 makes it there and teleports Maetel away rather than having her go down an escalator. Maetel is kept captive at the center of the station by Aron. Aron requests Maetel help his sister. Aron needs the psycho-magnetic waves within Maetel’s body in order to enable Crosalis to have a physical form.

From here things proceed similarly to the manga chapter. While Tetsuro is goofing around, the Conductor worries that he’s been possessed by a ghost! We have more time with Tetsuro and Crosalis together; in particular we see Tetsuro and Crosalis eating with each other in the dining car; Crosalis also asks him to read her a book. When it decides to blow up the station, we see the Galaxy Express Administration fire its shot. The Conductor tells Tetsuro about the incoming destruction of the station, and Crosalis starts crying. Maetel is told by Aron that she’ll be released and is transported back to the 999. Crosalis’ physical form also disappears at this time.

TV Episode Cast:

Tetsuro Hoshino – Masako Nozawa

Maetel – Masako Ikeda

Conductor – Kaneta Kimotsuki

Crosalis – Fuyumi Shiraishi

Brother – Toru Furuya

Mechanical Car Voice – Kouji Totani

Narrator – Hitoshi Takagi

Fuyumi Shiraishi previously appeared as Suru in episode 11. Toru Furuya previously appeared as Zeda in episodes 47 – 48 and Tetsuo in episode 86. Beyond the 999 Locomotive, Kouji Totani has played a variety of minor characters in the show.

Non-Spoiler Analysis:

This chapter begins with an extended period on the 999 with nothing to do. Tetsuro finds himself incredibly bored and Maetel makes a reference back to the boredom test she had Tetsuro undergo back in the “C6248’s Rebellion” chapter. This leads to a rather funny scene where the Conductor turns off the gravity and he and Tetsuro compete by swimming throughout the 999. From here we go to the heart of the chapter, which involves the spirits of a deceased brother and sister. The brother, Aron, has become a space station somehow (or maybe he was always that in the manga; the TV episode explains that he became the station but wasn’t always in that form) and is able to force the 999 to land inside it. By drawing upon Maetel’s energy (at least in the TV episode, her purpose of going in the station is unexplained in the manga), the sister, Crosalis is able to appear in a physical form.

Crosalis is very cute, coming off as a 4 or 5 year old girl and its fun to see her spending some time playing with Tetsuro. This is especially the case in the episode where they spend some more time together and get to do more things like eating in the dining car and reading a book. The episode also gives us some really bizarre and funny faces from Tetsuro. It is rare for Tetsuro to have another kid to play with, so it was nice to spend some time with this in this storyline. I wish it had lasted longer!

Alas, all good things must come to an end. The Galaxy Express administration decides to destroy the station, although does so rather impatiently while the 999 is still inside it. This could have resulted in the end of the 999, and even with it escaping, there isn’t enough time to get off the path of the oncoming blasts. Aron decides to sacrifice himself in order to save the 999, being thankful towards Tetsuro for spending time playing with his sister. Overall this was a pretty fun and light hearted storyline that I enjoyed a lot.

The Legend of the Young Warriors

The Legend of the Young Warriors

TV Episode 105

TV Episode Summary:

Tetsuro comments on their destination of Andromeda as coming closer. Maetel senses that Tetsuro doesn’t have as much enthusiasm at the moment about obtaining a mechanical body. The Conductor announces their next stop as “Legend”, where they’ll be stopping for 21 hours. The Conductor also seems to be quite glum. Maetel says that those who approach this planet start feeling glum and that he’ll understand more once they get there. Tetsuro and Maetel depart at the station, which they find to be a mess. Maetel claims it is this way because they could repair it whenever they want. They find many people sitting in the streets being quite lifeless. Maetel says they’re all mechanical people and she’ll tell him what’s going on when they make it to the hotel.

The hotel is revealed to be in the shape of a castle. Tetsuro trips over one of the staff and complains about what a poor hotel it is. Maetel tells Tetsuro to take whatever hotel room he likes and that she has some business to take care of. Maetel steps in a phone booth and pulls out a small circular device from which the mysterious voice starts speaking. He asks Maetel why she stopped at Legend and tells her she cannot digress from her orders. He recommends that she return to the 999. Tetsuro looks at the fog outside and feels rather down. He gets on the bed in his hotel room only for it to collapse underneath him! The stubborn Tetsuro decides to sleep here anyway.

That night voices shout out asking for Tetsuro. A young man, Meimu, and girl, Saki come and approach Tetsuro, asking him to come with them, and that they can only come out like this when the fog is out. Several knight-like humanoids watch them go. Tetsuro is brought to the entrance of several caves where a number of other teens come out. One of them, Kil, tries to stab Tetsuro. Meimu tells some others to throw Tetsuro in a prison, and they throw him into a caged cave. Tetsuro hears laughing in the cave and finds that Maetel is there as well!

Tetsuro wants to shoot off the lock on the cage, but Maetel says he’ll be caught and killed if he does so. Meimu and Saki approach the caged entrance. Meimu says this is the only way Tetsuro will live. The two of them want to stop Tetsuro from getting a mechanical body and ask him to join them in fighting mechanical people, who are trying to exterminate human life from this planet. Tetsuro says he swore to his mother that he’d get a mechanical body and they tell him a mechanical man killed his mother. Meimu tries to convince him that obtaining an eternal life is not worth it; flesh and blood humans live their life to the fullest while mechanical people live like those Tetsuro found out in the street doing nothing. Tetsuro is insistent that living as a human is living like a worm.

Meimu and Saki say they are going to launch a full assault on Cyborg Castle. Maetel asks Tetsuro what he is going to do and Tetsuro still wants to fulfill his mother’s dream. More approach the cage, led by Kil, who says they are going to kill them. Several vehicles piloted by mechanical knights detect life in the valley and head there. Tetsuro and Maetel are chained up against the mountain wall. Meimu asks Tetsuro one last time to join them and he says no. Several approach with guns in their hands and prepare to fire. Just as they are about to do so, the mechanical knights arrive and fire at them. All the humans run off. The head knight comes up and breaks Tetsuro’s chains. Meimu and several of his colleagues meet up. Meimu still wants to recruit Tetsuro to their side.

Later, we see that Tetsuro has been brought to the castle where the knight, the Cyborg Lord of the Castle is pleased that Tetsuro resisted the threats and still wants to become a mechanical human. Tetsuro asks him why they have to fight each other and he says to make this entire planet exclusively mechanical people. Tetsuro is puzzled why they can’t live together. Maetel tells Tetsuro he must be tired and to rest for a while. Later that night, Tetsuro heads out to the balcony and Tetsuro thinks of the Cyborg Lord calling the humans inferior. Tetsuro thinks of Meimu and Saki and struggles with what decision to make. Maetel thinks to herself that there is still time and Tetsuro should think carefully.

Suddenly there is an explosion below; it is an attack from the humans. Meimu and Saki are among those heading in, shouting out for Tetsuro. Maetel says that they’ve come to rescue him despite the threat to the lives of their colleagues. Several of Meimu’s colleagues are shot down. Tetsuro runs down the hall and runs into the Cyborg Lord who tells him not to worry. Tetsuro asks him if he sees him as a worm, and he says yes, a smart worm. Tetsuro angrily pulls out his gun and the Cyborg Lord has him taken at gunpoint by one of his men. Meanwhile Kil is shot and killed as he, Meimu and Saki head up a spiral staircase shouting out for Tetsuro. At the top of the tower, the Cyborg Lord steps out, holding Tetsuro at gunpoint.

Tetsuro says to Meimu and Saki that they need to create a world where humans aren’t considered worms. Meimu and Saki drop their guns. The Cyborg Lord fires at Meimu and Saki steps in the way, taking the bullet and dying. Meimu angrily grabs his gun and shoots at the Cyborg Lord but misses. The Cyborg Lord shoots and kills him too. He then says it’s now Tetsuro’s turn and throws him off the edge of the tower. Tetsuro is able to grab a hold of a flag. Maetel steps behind the Cyborg Lord and shoots him several times, causing him to fall off the tower to his death. Maetel sternly asks Tetsuro if he still wants a mechanical body. The flag rips and Tetsuro falls.

Tetsuro wakes up, after some shaking from Maetel. He’s still in the hotel room; everything has been a dream. Maetel tells him it could the souls of those who fought here. Tetsuro looks at one of the statues by the wall which looks like the Cyborg Lord, with the same bullet holes from when Tetsuro dreamed Maetel shot him. Back on the 999 Tetsuro asks if it really was a dream. Maetel says those who fought to leave behind flesh and blood people wanted to leave him something. She asks Tetsuro how he will live once he has his mechanical body.

TV Episode Cast:

Tetsuro Hoshino – Masako Nozawa

Maetel – Masako Ikeda

Conductor – Kaneta Kimotsuki

Meimu – Kaneto Shiozawa

Saki – Keiko Han

Kil – Hirotaka Suzuoki

Castle Lord – Hiroshi Masuoka

Narrator – Hitoshi Takagi

Kaneta Shiozawa previously appeared as Sirius in episode 47, Takeshi in episode 53 and Bina in episode 85. Keiko Han previously appeared as Yuki (episode 27), Miru (episode 63), Toto (episode 66), Kureha (episode 82) and Kumiko (episode 92). Hirotaka Suzuoki previously appeared in episode 93 as Futoshi. Hiroshi Masuoka previously appeared as a policeman (episode 40), Gudara (episode 59), Gandel (episode 69), Chaward (episodes 75 – 76) and an old man (episode 88).

Non-Spoiler Analysis:

For most of its way this was quite a good episode. The question of whether Tetsuro should really get his mechanical body is brought to the forefront. Tetsuro encounters a group of young boys and girls, probably only a few years older than he is, fighting against the mechanical rulers of the planet. They desire to retain their humanity because human life is valuable and worth living. Those who become mechanical, at least on this planet are displayed as having no real value or purpose in their life anymore, most of them simply living on the street not doing anything. The one outlier is the Cyborg Lord, the main villain of the episode. Tetsuro is conflicted in several ways. He views living as a human like being a worm. Those who have mechanical bodies are able to basically stomp all over them, with no concern for their life. Beyond that, the dying wish of Tetsuro’s mother was for him to get a mechanical body and he feels he can’t go back on that.

Tetsuro has strong convictions even though Meimu and the others plan to execute him since he won’t join their side, At the same time, Tetsuro’s convictions would make him a strong ally to have and Meimu and the others come to rescue Tetsuro later. While the Cyborg Lord initially comes off as a friend to Tetsuro, even having a lavish dinner with him, Tetsuro can’t get over the feeling of being like a worm to him and the other mechanical people. Meimu and his friends are willing to put their lives on the line to free Tetsuro and unfortunately every single one of them dies as a result. It looks like it may be the end for Tetsuro as well as the Cyborg Lord throws him off a tower. Maetel, who has been very uncharacteristically cold to Tetsuro the whole episode asks him once more what his decision will be over his mechanical body.

Unfortunately the wheels fall off at this point when it’s all revealed to be a dream, which is incredibly disappointing. Based on Maetel’s dialogue it seems like events like this took place many years in the past (and the body of the Cyborg Lord is in Tetsuro’s room as a statue), so much of what Tetsuro dreamed about really did happen.

As we get closer and closer to the end of the show this is a good time to forego having the typical stand alone episode on some strange planet but to instead do an in depth look at Tetsuro’s conflicted decision over obtaining a mechanical body. I’m glad to see them using this episode, which was a TV original, for that purpose rather than just coming up with something that would be just a rehash of something we’ve seen in the past 100 plus episodes.

1001 Nights in Andromeda

1001 Nights in Andromeda

Manga Chapter 14-4

TV Episodes 103 - 104

Manga Chapter Summary:

Many shots pass by the 999 as it travels through space. It seems that someone is shooting at them from behind! Several of the shots end up hitting the 999 and it starts descending towards a nearby planet. The Conductor announces their next stop as “Alibaba”, with a layover of 40 hours. The 999 crashes into the sand on the planet. The Conductor says they are 10 kilometers away from the station. He feels it is his duty to contact the station. Tetsuro volunteers to go with him and they start walking through the desert. They eventually come across some skeletons! The Conductor claims there is a monstrous bird, Roc, that lurks in this area. Suddenly the ground around them becomes dark, and they realize Roc is above them!

The two of them flee and hide under a small tunnel in the ground. The Roc has a hard time landing and crashes into the ground. Looking in the other direction, Tetsuro and the Conductor spot a woman who lies in the sand, passed out. They believe she must have been seized by the bird and pull her under the tunnel with them. The Roc starts getting angry, with its food having gotten away. They wait until it is night time and Tetsuro spots an oasis in the distance. Tetsuro heads over there and scoops up some water with his hat, and realizes there are number of smaller birds of the same species as the Roc. The Roc approaches Tetsuro and grabs him with its beak, as if it’s about the feed him to the smaller birds, which may be its children.

Suddenly, the Roc is startled. The birds start shrieking “Alibaba” and start flying off. With the birds gone, Tetsuro and the Conductor start carrying the passed out woman with them to the station, noticing that she is quite heavy. They eventually make their way to the station, which appears to be in ruins, as if it was hit by bandits. They decide to head back to the 999, carrying the woman with them. As they approach it, they see an explosion! One of the train cars has burst aflame. Tetsuro rushes in and finds just Maetel’s hat, realizing she was kidnapped. We see a group of bandits carrying Maetel off with them. Tetsuro and the Conductor start walking away from the train and are hit by an explosion! They are held tied up with Maetel that night, as the bandits are grouped around a campfire. Suddenly some shots are fired, similar to those that struck the 999 near the start of the chapter. The bandits recognize them as coming from Alibaba and there is a big explosion.

Tetsuro, Maetel and the Conductor are now seized by a new group of bandits as the original group is wiped out. Maetel claims this is the real Alibaba as they are seized by several mechanical vehicles with long arms. Suddenly a large group of the birds show up and start eating the bandits and their vehicles while Tetsuro, Maetel and the Conductor hide. They wait and eventually the birds fly off. They climb back up to the surface and see a lot of bird poop all over the place. Within the poop are numerous remains of mechanical bodies, those that had belonged to the bandits. Maetel talks about how on this planet thieves attack thieves and the cycle continues on and on. One final bandit, the one Tetsuro and the Conductor had found earlier reveals herself. She says her name is Crescent and she wants to exchange bodies with Maetel. She is no longer interested in this planet and wants to go to other worlds. She thinks there’s nothing she can’t get without stealing. Suddenly the Roc flies by and grabs her with its beak, flying away with her! Cries of the mechanical bodies call out from the bird poop. The 999 makes its way back out to space.

TV Episode Summary:

This storyline is arguably the most changed we’ve had thus far in the TV adaption, especially in the first episode. The second episode predominantly covers what we got in the manga chapter although there are still major changes.

In the first episode, we see Tetsuro and Maetel on the train, reading the book 1001 Nights. The Conductor announces their next stop as he does in the manga, and Tetsuro realizes this must have been why Maetel had him read this book. The 999 then starts getting shot at as it had been in the manga. Maetel claims its bandits from this planet. After the 999 crashes, the Conductor departs for a bit to apologize to the other passengers. Maetel warns Tetsuro that they may be attacked by bandits. Tetsuro thinks back to Antares. Maetel tells Tetsuro to get his luggage and that they should step off the train. The Conductor tries to stop them, but they depart anyway. Maetel tells Tetsuro there are no police on this planet. The Conductor catches up with them, wanting to make contact with the station as in the manga. After spotting the skeletons on the ground, a giant whirlwind approaches them. Once they get up from it, it is daytime. A group of bandits are there on camels, demanding they hand over everything. Maetel tosses them her luggage and they demand their clothes too. They find the Conductor is gone, with just his clothes there.

The bandits are about to leave when a woman, their leader, Alibaba, appears and demands they take them with them. They eventually make it past an oasis and to a temple. While they head there we see another woman, with blue earrings, watching. Maetel and Tetsuro are thrown before Alibaba in a large hall, with her eating some food. Alibaba asks them if they can entertain her, as she’s bored. If they can satisfy her, she’ll set them free and return their things. If they fail, they will be fed to the Roc. Maetel claims Tetsuro is an accomplished swindler. Tetsuro is surprised at first and she tells him to think of the 16^th night in the book they read. Maetel claims she lost her fortune. She had saved her money for a long time, but Tetsuro had spotted it. We head to a fantasy sequence where we see Tetsuro watching her from the window when she counts her coins, 40 in total. Maetel heads out to hide it. She makes her way to a cave while Tetsuro follows and she digs a hole to hide it in. Once she’s gone, Tetsuro digs it up.

Maetel says she realized the thief was Tetsuro, the famous swindler. She looked around for him and eventually spots him and walks by, talking out loud to herself about how she has 20 more coins such that he can hear her. Tetsuro realizes this isn’t good. He stops by her home and gives her some fruit for them to eat, then claims he forgot about something and heads out. Tetsuro rushes back to the cave and puts back the 40 coins, thinking she’s going to put 20 more in. Tetsuro returns to Maetel’s home where she’s finished eating, and he declines to eat and heads off, anxious to get more coins that night. That night Tetsuro digs up the pot in the cave and now finds all the coins are gone. Maetel approaches him from behind. We return to the present. Maetel claims Tetsuro then had a change of heart and they now travel together.

Alibaba claims this is the most interesting story she’s heard from tourists thus far and orders her underlings to return their things. Tetsuro and Maetel leave the temple. Alibaba’s underlings are upset at her letting them go. She thinks their story is rarer than the things they could steal. That said, she orders the bandits to head out and this time seize just Maetel. Tetsuro drinks some water at an oasis and they decide to split up, with Maetel heading back to find the Conductor and Tetsuro heading off to the nearest town. It is Tetsuro though that finds the Conductor, sans his clothes, and tells him that Maetel has it, so he heads off. Suddenly the monster bird Roc appears above Tetsuro! It is here where the first episode ends.

In the second episode, the Conductor catches up with Tetsuro after the Roc crashes into the ground as it does in the manga. They decide to head to the station. At the 999, Maetel sees a woman approach, the one who had been watching them earlier. She shoots at Maetel, ordering her to come with her. We see the original group of bandits arrive at the 999 and find Maetel gone, claiming the real Alibaba must have taken her. Alibaba sees the Roc, then finds the bandits chasing her so she flees on her camel. She fights the bandits with her scimitar, but is eventually knocked off her camel and the thieves take Maetel with them. Tetsuro and the Conductor come across the passed out Alibaba. The sequence in the manga where we see an oasis and there are children of the Roc bird is cut.

Tetsuro and the Conductor make their way to the station, finding it destroyed as in the manga. Alibaba wakes up. She talks rather nonsensically and claims to be the real Alibaba, then leaves. Tetsuro and the Conductor make their way back to the 999 as in the manga, finding Maetel gone. We see Maetel being held in a room by the imposter Alibaba and her bandits. The real Alibaba goes to the bandit’s hideout and kills many of them, storming her way in. Eventually she makes her way to the imposter, who is holding Maetel in her arms. The imposter leaves while the real Alibaba has to fight more bandits. Tetsuro comes in and shoots a bandit, then goes after the imposter. He finds her in a room, hooking herself and Maetel to a machine, trying to exchange bodies with her. She claims she’s grown tired of living here. Tetsuro shoots at the device and the imposter falls over in pain.

Tetsuro and Maetel head out, while the real Alibaba is still fighting a bandit. Tetsuro and Maetel make their way back out into the desert. Eventually, the next morning, the real Alibaba approaches, once again trying to capture Maetel. She successfully ties up both Tetsuro and Maetel and drags them with her. She brings them to a tent in an oasis, claiming she has taken her pray back. The imposter shows up with her bandits and they again fight each other. The Roc birds then show up and start grabbing the bandits with their beaks while Tetsuro and Maetel hide in the tent. The real Alibaba makes her way back into the tent.

After the Rocs fly away we still see the remains of the mechanical bodies of the bandits on the ground, although they are no longer in the poop of the Rocs. Alibaba is now the last bandit left. Tetsuro and Maetel want to leave, but Alibaba claims she wants Maetel’s body too. She argues with Tetsuro, believing stealing is the way to go about things rather than working hard and buying a pass. Maetel shoots her, knocking her down, and the Roc shows up and flies away with her in its beak. Tetsuro and Maetel talk on the 999 about how the thieves lived the wrong way; that all that are left are the Rocs now and they too will consume each other.

Not included in the episode is the character of Crescent, although the real Alibaba for all intents and purposes takes her role in the story. We also don’t see the large mechanical vehicles that grab Tetsuro and Maetel, nor the bandits using the beam blasts that they originally shot at the 999 while on the planet itself.

TV Episode Cast:

Tetsuro Hoshino – Masako Nozawa

Maetel – Masako Ikeda

Conductor – Kaneta Kimotsuki

Alibaba – Kazuko Yanaga

Bandit A – Banjou Ginga

Bandit B – Seiji Sato

Bandit C – Kouji Totani

Head Family Alibaba – Sumi Shimamoto (episode 104 only)

Narrator – Hitoshi Takagi

Kazuko Yanaga previously appeared as Emilia in episodes 44 – 45, Lelan in episode 63 and Secret Agent in episode 86. Banjou Ginga, Seiji Sato and Kouji Totani have all played a variety of minor characters throughout the show. Ginga also plays the recurring Mysterious Voice character while Totani voices the 999 Locomotive. Sumi Shimamoto voiced Suzie in episodes 75 – 76.

Non-Spoiler Analysis:

Both the manga chapter and episode this time draw inspiration from “One Thousand and One Nights” a famous collection of Middle Eastern folk tales, also known as “Arabian Nights”. The collection includes various stories gathered over centuries by various authors and scholars. The giant monstrous bird, Roc, is also a Middle Eastern mythology and appears within One Thousand and One Nights. Alibaba is a character from the story “Alibaba and the Forty Thieves” which also appears in One Thousand and One Nights. I haven’t personally read it, but I’d assume the story Maetel tells in the first episode is also influenced based on it.

Despite its long length (64 pages) the manga chapter doesn’t have much of a plot to it for most of it, featuring lengthy walks through the desert and scenes with the Roc, before becoming more plot focused as it approaches its end. I can kind of understand, as a result, why the TV adaption is so different than the manga chapter, as much so as any adaption we’ve seen in the series thus far. The design of the Roc is a design we’ve seen used by Matsumoto before, such as one used for another bird in the Galaxy Express 999 movie for the sequences on the planet Heavy Melder. We’ve seen Tetsuro, Maetel and the Conductor kidnapped numerous times by now, so this time wasn’t all that different. The appearance of the Rocs to essentially save the day at the end fits a lot better in the manga chapter, as a lot of the scenes with them from the manga were cut from the TV episode. Literally showing us the poop of the Rocs in the manga was rather disgusting and a logical cut for the TV episode.

Continuity isn’t always a strong suit for Galaxy Express 999, this chapter is yet another one where we see the train itself absolutely trashed, but it is able to make it back into space, completely skipping over how that is, and I’m sure we’ll see it in prime condition again in the next chapter! Also the concept of Maetel’s body being seized has occurred several times in the past and appears once again here. The TV episode gives us the rare scenario where we see the Conductor sans clothes, although unlike being completely invisible as he has been portrayed as in the past (ex. “The Country of Atonement” chapter), his body appears to be made up of small whirlwinds. Overall this wasn’t a bad chapter, but I would have expected more of a story given its long length. While the TV adaption obviously has some padding to it, I did like it better.

The Planet of the Queen's Rebellion

The Planet of the Queen’s Rebellion

TV Episode 102

TV Episode Summary:

The Conductor announces their next stop as the “Planet of the Queen’s Rebellion”, with a layover of approximately 18 hours. Tetsuro says it sounds like a dangerous place, but the Conductor says everyone is used to it. Maetel says the planet has ancient traditions of behavior and there’s sometimes civil war. The planet used to be occupied by bees and more than one queen couldn’t exist so there would be wars. Even now, with them having evolved into humans, that hasn’t changed. Now the Queen of the Bees, Miets, and the Queen of the Hornets, Karel, are violently opposed to each other. As Tetsuro and Maetel leave the station, the Conductor says the situation here is odd and to be careful. Tetsuro isn’t concerned, holding his gun and says he won’t get involved, but the Conductor is hesitant about if this will really be the case.

Tetsuro notices a bunch of different people with various styles. Maetel points out those with good styles as being from the Honeybee Clan and those looking fierce from the Hornet clan. Those poor looking ones are from the Digger Wasp clan. The Honeybees and Hornets are the ones primarily in charge. We see two from opposite sides cross each other and draw their swords to get in a fight. One of the Digger Wasps, a young man named Damu, tries to get them to stop, as they are fighting over something trivial. He is told he wouldn’t know pride and gets tossed to the ground. The two fight each other and more fights between Honeybees and Hornets break out. Damu pulls out a camera and starts recording the fighting. Damu then tells Tetsuro and Maetel to come with him to his home. At Damu’s home Tetsuro is excited upon realizing he’s a cameraman. Damu claims he wants to show this footage to people from the future, as a documentary.

A Honeybee woman soon arrives and enters, confronting Damu, asking about someone named Maya. Tetsuro gets frustrated at her and is about to pull out his gun when Maetel warns him not to. The woman claims they need people and Maya has been lazy lately. Damu says there’s more to life than work, but she puts him down, asking what he, a Digger Wasp would know. Damu asks why making records is considered playing around. She tells him he shouldn’t associate with Maya and that Honeybees and Digger Wasps shouldn’t associate with each other. Maetel and Damu are worried there will soon be a war. Damu says they don’t care about the Digger Wasps, but thinks of Maya, a childhood friend, who is a Honeybee helping him with his movie. Maya suddenly shows up and hugs him. He tells her that Supervisor Kil has been looking for her. She claims they won’t see each other once the war begins. Maetel tells Tetsuro they should head to the hotel.

Upon going outside, Tetsuro is surprised to find the street empty. Maetel says it’s a sign war will start soon. While they look like humans, those here still live as if they were bees, following the laws of nature. Maetel tries to hold Tetsuro back, who says he doesn’t want to see them suffer. At the palace of the Honeybees Tetsuro is brought before the Queen and asks the Queen to stop the war. She is puzzled why he’s here, wondering if the Hornets sent him here. The Queen says this is the destiny of those descended from bees; the same as the Hornets. Tetsuro gets her to agree to stop the war if the Queen of the Hornets agrees to the same thing, but she says he only has until dawn. Tetsuro flees and we see the Queen laughing, calling Tetsuro a fool.

That night, Maya shows up at Damu’s home and tells him the war will start in the morning. She tells him of Tetsuro’s attempt to stop things and Damu says he’ll search for him at dawn. Maya says she can’t betray her colleagues. Damu says his film is almost done, but it’s not going to do any use. Maya feels pressured to follow the rules of their society. Damu says he’ll continue to make this film and show it for future generations. We next see the palace of the Hornets, where the Queen orders her soldiers to attack and they head out on flying crafts. Damu watches and gets into the palace, finding Tetsuro locked up in an underground cell. Tetsuro says the Queen wouldn’t even try to listen to him. Damu says the Queen of the Honeybees felt the same way and wasn’t really negotiating in good faith. Tetsuro points out his gun, laying nearby and asks Damu to shoot the bars of the cell. Damu nervously grips the gun and fires, knocking over the entire cell.

Back at Damu’s home, Tetsuro is still intent on getting them to stop the war. Damu tells him to look outside where we see explosions going off. Tetsuro swears he’ll continue to try. He pushes Damu to act, and says if he doesn’t film the war, nothing will come of it. Damu thinks of how it’s his destiny to film the war. The battle between the two sides continues. The hornets storm the Honeybee palace and Kil is killed. Damu rushes his way towards the palace where both sides are fighting each other, hoping that Maya is safe. In the throne room, the two Queens fight each other and Tetsuro rushes up to them but they won’t listen. Tetsuro is thrown down the stairs and Maetel comes in, saying it’s too late.

Damu comes across Maya fighting a Hornet soldier. She tells him to film their fight. Maya is able to slay the Hornet. She tells Damu to continue to film this senseless war and that he’s doing an important valuable job for this planet. She feels she must obey the laws of her people and protect the Queen, heading there and slaying several hornets along the way as Damu films. Maya is shot through the chest soon after and takes many shots from Hornets. She tells Damu to continue fighting. She takes another shot and dies. Damu tosses aside his camera and rushes to her and takes a shot to the chest as well. He reaches for her hand but dies just before reaching it. Maetel points out the camera to Tetsuro and he feels it is like their heart. Tetsuro picks up the camera and films the battle occurring around him. The narrator explains that the pointless war had finished with the Hornets winning, but wonders how long the peace would last. On the 999, Tetsuro says he couldn’t do anything useful. Maetel says he did do something good, finishing the filming and that someday it will do some good.

TV Episode Cast:

Tetsuro Hoshino – Masako Nozawa

Maetel – Masako Ikeda

Conductor – Kaneta Kimotsuki

Damu – Toshio Furukawa

Maya – Mami Koyama

Miets – Yumi Nakatani

Karel – Chiyoko Kawashima

Kil – Ai Sakuma

Narrator – Hitoshi Takagi

Toshio Furukawa previously appeared as Handsome Man (episode 6), Ikari (episode 74), Lestel (episode 85), Wester (episode 89) and Hanza (episode 98). Mami Koyama previously appeared as Spiral (episode 33) and Nami (episode 49). Yumi Nakatani previously appeared as Dentist (episode 67), Merusa (episode 84) and Handmaiden (episodes 94 – 95). Chiyoko Kawashima has had numerous previous appearances including Claire (episode 3), Chromeria (episode 25), Santana (episodes 47 – 48), Maria (episode 67), Rei (episode 83) and Aya (episode 88).

Non-Spoiler Analysis:

This episode is once again an adaption of the Leiji Matusmoto manga, Four Dimensional World, in particular the chapter “Maya of the Green Country”. The episode I feel is a bit similar to some previous ones we’ve gotten, at least in some ways. Damu’s desire to film what is going on reminds me much of the storyline in “The One Book Left in the Universe” which we just watched 4 episodes ago. The people of the planet being evolved from bees reminds me of both “A Tale of Endless Summer” as well as “Keiko of the Insect Planet” which also was a fairly recent episode. The net result for me was that I was somewhat disappointed that we didn’t go in enough of a new direction. Especially with these episodes that aren’t directly based on the Galaxy Express 999 manga, I feel like there’s some freedom to go in some unique directions, and while they often have, we didn’t get that in this episode.

This episode seems all about futility to me. This is a planet where based on their very nature, the planet will have warring factions battling each other until one side wins and there is only one Queen remaining. The fact that a battle is going to happen seems inevitable, and gets spurned by simply two men from opposite sides walking past each other on the street. The relationship between Damu and Maya also seems a bit futile as they aren’t from the same group, and Maya is a soldier, forced to fight. I figured one of them would die before episode’s end, but was surprised to see them both die. This show just doesn’t pull punches when it comes to killing off episodic characters. Most of all, Tetsuro’s attempts to stop the fighting seemed totally futile. Tetsuro has too big of a heart at times and overestimates his own power. Here he is trying to stop a war between the two sides simply all by himself. It just never was going to happen and you’d think by now that Tetsuro may not be as naïve as he came off here, but he was.

The Planet of Eternal Dream Pursuit

The Planet of Eternal Dream Pursuit

TV Episode 101

TV Episode Summary:

The Conductor announces the next stop as the “Planet of Dream Pursuit”, with a layover time of around 28 hours. Tetsuro asks Maetel if this planet will be perfect for him. Tetsuro notices a rocket blast off from the planet as they approach, which narrowly misses the 999. Maetel claims the planet is ruled by a highly logical government treasuring science above all else. They constantly launch observation rockets. We see the rocket being analyzed from a lab on the planet. One of the workers in the lab, Aaron, is called on to report on something but is actually just drawing a sketch. The launch is declared a success and people leave. Aaron’s sister, Sally, who was sitting in front of him, is told by the boss that her brother hasn’t grasped this planet’s rules and he should be taught that negligence could result in his execution.

Sally is soon surprised to find Aaron dropping some comics when he opens his locker and says she thought he gave up on them after being assigned to mission command. Aaron prefers the rocket from his comic story and she warns him some more, but he doesn’t care. Aaron spots the 999 approaching as he leaves mission command. Sally worries to herself about the prospect of her brother being executed. Tetsuro and Maetel get off at the station and Tetsuro sees it as a logical and scientific planet. Tetsuro hears a gunshot. In front of the police station a counter shows that 11 people have been executed today. We cut to Aaron heading to a used bookstore that is located between 2 giant skyscrapers. Aaron thinks of how his heart is calm here.

Tetsuro and Maetel pass by the bookstore and Tetsuro wants to go inside. Maetel asks the owner to watch her suitcase as they look around. Aaron overhears the two of them and Tetsuro talks about his quest to get a mechanical body. Aaron is jealous of the freedom Tetsuro has to do such a thing. Meanwhile someone snatches Maetel’s suitcase. Aaron claims he won’t find the book he’s looking for; it’s vanished along with his dream, although he comes here every day. He claims his desire is to be a manga artist, but here they don’t permit the freedom to choose your job. He claims to be searching for an old comic book. Realizing the time, he excuses himself. Tetsuro and Maetel head to the front and realize Maetel’s suitcase is gone. Tetsuro spots it further down on the sidewalk and Maetel finds their passes are missing. Tetsuro thinks it must have been Aaron; he’s the only one who was in there with them. Tetsuro laughs and says they’ll catch him right away.

The police head to Aaron’s home, where he’s drawing a manga. Aaron is placed under arrest under suspicion of theft. Sally watches with worry from outside. Aaron is thrown in a cell. A policeman heads to Tetsuro and Maetel’s hotel room and tells them of Aaron’s theft. Maetel says those who commit crimes on this planet are sentenced to death. That morning Tetsuro tells Maetel he is thinking about Aaron and how he didn’t look like a bad person. Maetel explains to Tetsuro how those on this planet are forced into their jobs and Aaron isn’t allowed to be a manga artist. She says not many on this planet are able to do what they want so they secretly chase the dreams in their heart. Tetsuro says he thought this was a romantic planet, but he was wrong. The policeman returns and says their investigation failed to find proof he stole their pass and he’ll be released soon. Tetsuro says there is only 2 hours until the 999 departs, although the policeman says they will continue the search. Maetel wants to know Aaron’s address so they can apologize.

Aaron departs the police station and Sally is waiting for him outside although doesn’t say anything. Aaron heads to a bench nearby to sit down. He says he can’t return to work now and if he did would be executed for negligence of duty. Sally comes to him and says she’s glad he was released although he’s upset as the police discovered the comic he was drawing and are reporting it to the mission control center. Sally says they should run away to a planet where they can be free. She says they can ride the 999. Aaron says the cost is great but she says they’ll still be able to ride. He finds it hard to believe that it was Sally who stole the passes. She says she wanted to make his dreams come true, but he says he hates her and flees. Aaron doesn’t watch where he is going and is hit by a car.

We next cut to the hospital where Tetsuro, Maetel and Sally watch over Aaron. Tetsuro says this was all due to their passes. Aaron thinks to himself of all the manga he used to read when he was younger and it flashes to him heading to the old bookstore where he finds them on the shelves. The book store owner says they’re usually worth 300 yen but due to his desire for them he’ll charge him 50,000. Sally returns and says Aaron has finally found what he wanted in his dream. Maetel and Tetsuro also spurn him on. Aaron happily says he’s going to draw manga from now on. We return to reality. Aaron says he has found them and his heart stops. Tetsuro starts sobbing, saying this is his fault. Sally says no, it is hers and gives back the passes. She tells them of her plot to steal their passes so Aaron could flee the planet. Tetsuro says her theft is what caused his death and cries. Maetel says Tetsuro should forgive her and to look at the happy look on Aaron’s face. She claims it is the fault of this planet’s restrictions. Hearing the 999, Maetel says they must return to it. The two of them leave and Sally cries over her brother’s body. Tetsuro sadly looks out the window as they depart and more rockets are blasted off into the sky. Tetsuro says a man died because of their obsession. Those here are not free to even dream. Tetsuro thinks of how he should be thankful for the freedom he has to travel and get a mechanical body.

TV Episode Cast:

Tetsuro Hoshino – Masako Nozawa

Maetel – Masako Ikeda

Conductor – Kaneta Kimotsuki

Sally – Minori Matsushima

Aaron – Akira Murayama

Chief – Reizo Nomoto

Police – Kouji Yada

Controller – Makoto Terada

Narrator – Hitoshi Takagi

Minori Matsushima has previously appeared as Laura (episode 14), Alice (episode 44), Miiru (episode 68) and Mieko (episode 92). Akira Murayama previously appeared as Hanza in episode 82. Reizo Nomoto appeared as father characters in both episodes 86 and 93. Kouji Yada has appeared a number of times as minor characters. Makoto Terada appeared as the commander in episode 83.

Non-Spoiler Analysis:

We once again have an episode that was not based on the Galaxy Express 999 manga, but rather Leiji Matsumoto’s “Four Dimensional World”, in particular the chapter “Second Hand Bookstore”. This episode returns us to several concepts we have seen in past manga chapters or episodes. First and foremost is the very frustrating plot element of Tetsuro and Maetel’s passes being stolen yet again. I suppose the more I complain about this being used for a plot the more I jinx myself and cause it to happen even more! It’s quite heinous in this episode because Maetel carelessly leaves her suitcase at the front of the shop, and it is also quite obvious that Sally stole them, and there was no one else it could have been. The episode also has an artist as its central guest character, which we saw in previous chapters such as “The Town of Fireflies” (chapter 4-2) or “Footsteps in Footsteps Village” (chapter 10-5). It was interesting to see several real life manga being referenced when Aaron goes on about the comics he loved from when he was younger. One of said manga includes Leiji Matsumoto’s own “Infinite World”.

The planet the 999 visits this episode is somewhat dystopian. Here, people don’t have the freedom to choose their career, but are rather forced into something else. Aaron wants to be a manga artist but instead is forced to work at a rocket command center. We often feel bad for Tetsuro given the fact that he grew up poor and his mother died, but as we see in this episode, at least he has the freedom to go on his journey to get a mechanical body. Those on this planet aren’t afforded that right. Merely going against what the government or your employer wants can result in your execution! Hopefully this is a type of society that never comes to be. Aaron’s sister Sally has noble intentions to try and help her brother escape the planet by stealing the 999 passes, but in a twist of fate, that very action causes a chain reaction that results in Aaron’s death. For an episode that I thought for the most part wasn’t that special, it at least delivered a shock in killing off Aaron. In a dream sequence we see him finally getting to experience the beloved comics of his youth once again. It was a touching scene, and alas an obvious sign he wasn’t going to make it to the end of the episode alive.