Captain Harlock

Now that I’ve finally completed all 113 episodes of Galaxy Express 999 (1978) I can understand creator Leiji Matsumoto’s ideal of heroism. Matsumoto anime has been entertaining audiences for thirty years now and I can understand the appeal. Matsumoto’s stories are full of strong heroes fighting against impossible odds but that’s not the whole of the stories’ appeal. Matsumoto is a person who tries to get to the bottom of the concept of heroism. What motivates a hero? What does a hero give up when he faces evil?

Hoshino Tetsuro, hero of Galaxy Express 999

Most of Matsumoto’s heroes are lonely, quiet souls who wander the stars tirelessly carrying out their vows to help those in need. Although these stories have a timeless appeal Tetsuro, the hero of Galaxy Express 999, shows us a different kind of hero that helps us see Matsumoto’s true ideals of heroism.

Every hero needs a villain but a hero that holds to his ideals for a lifetime needs more. A lasting hero needs a rugged frontier – a place where danger is the order of the day and people in need are numerous. Matsumoto grew up watching American Westerns on Japanese television. Wild west themes are constantly cropping up in all of Matsumoto’s science-fiction adventures but the cowboy hats and six shooters aren’t the only thing Matsumoto borrowed from the genre. Matsumoto understood that the stories he took in as a youth took place in a wild frontier. A less civilized place where society’s order was difficult to enforce and strong-willed people could have their way. Matsumoto decided space would be that frontier for his stories. Whether it’s Galaxy Express 999, Captain Harlock or any other Matsumoto science-fiction story space is where adventure is to be found.

Young Tetsuro soon learns that only the tough survive the 999′s journey through a vast and lawless frontier that lies between the few civilized planets of the galaxies. Forged in the furnace of mankind’s last frontier, Tetsuro develops into a hero that can stand tall next to Captain Harlock and others. But a ten year old boy such as Tetsuro could never hold his own in any kind of fight with Captain Harlock. If the ability to mop the floor with enemy troops doesn’t make one a hero what does?

For Matsumoto, the two qualities every hero must possess are compassion and determination. Determination enables a hero to develop the qualities needed to save others. Compassion is necessary to motivate a hero.

Thoughout the episodes of Galaxy Express 999 we see how misguided people can become if they fail to develop both of Matsumoto’s cardinal virtues. Those who have determination but lack compassion become tyrants. Pursuing their dreams without concern for others makes them into dictators that oppress whole planets or schemers that travel between the stars ruining people’s lives. Those with compassion but without determination are sacrificed thoughlessly by tyrants or manipulated by schemers. Though their hearts may be right, people who lack determination can never attain their dreams and have to watch as their lives go nowhere.

Captain Harlock didn’t start out as an unstoppable warrior. He was a man with compassion in his heart who saw others suffering. His determination allowed him to set his mind on gaining the skills needed to become the person other people needed – a warrior. His great determination allowed him to develop great skill in combat, stategy, leadership and all the other qualities he brought to bear on the Mazones and other villains.

Hoshino Tetsuro from Galaxy Express 999 may seem like a different sort of person than Captain Harlock but to Matsumoto he was equally a hero. Tetsuro had a big heart and simply couldn’t stand still when he saw people suffering. Constantly throughout the show Maetel is telling Tetsuro to mind his own business and stay out of trouble but Tetsuro doesn’t listen. He just can’t ignore people in need. Tetsuro discovers during his journey between the stars that the determination needed to stand up to evil was in his heart. Although a boy of only ten years he acquires a warrior’s pistol and uses it fearlessly along with his wits. His courage never falters in the face of danger. He stands by those who need him and always finds the solution needed to save the day.

It isn’t being tough that defeats evil. It isn’t a desire for adventure that leads people to bravery. Compassion for others and the determination to never give in makes a person into a hero. That’s what Matsumoto was really trying to say in his stories. It’s a lesson I hope we all take to heart.

The main characters of Galaxy Express 999

Galaxy Express 999 ran from September 1978 to April 1981 and comprises 113 episodes. It is based on Leiji Matsumoto’s manga of the same name that ran in Shonen King from January 1977 to November 1981. Many consider Galaxy Express 999 to be Matsumoto’s greatest work (though I prefer Captain Harlock).

The story takes place in a future very different from our own. Hoshino Tetsuro is a ten year old boy born into a very poor family. Earth society has statified into the rich who take on mechanical bodies and live in high-tech cities surrounded by comforts and the poor who must remain in their flesh-and-blood bodies and eke out a miserable living in vast, sprawling slums. One of the primary modes of transport between planets in this future world are high-tech space ships that are built to resemble trains of past eras. The most famous of these is the Galaxy Express 999 which resembles a steam locomotive from the 1800′s. The poor people of many planets believe that the Galaxy Express will take passengers to a planet far away in the Adromeda Galaxy where mechanical bodies are free. A mechanical body is a passport to the upper levels of society and a better life. However, tickets for the 999 (commonly called “the Three Nine”) are very expensive.

Tetsuro’s loses his father to the extreme physical labor so many poor men are expected to carry out to feed their families. Tetsuro’s mother decides to take him to work in the city near the 999′s station so they can work to pay for their tickets on the legendary space train. On the way to the city tragedy strikes when Count Mecha, a rich and powerful man who hunts poor people for sport, kills Tetsuro’s mother. In his attempt to escape Count Mecha’s hunting party, Tetsuro is aided by a mysterious woman dressed all in black named Maetel. Maetel offers Tetsuro a free pass for the 999 if he agrees to travel with her. Resolving to get a mechanical body and live a long, happy life for his mother’s sake, Tetsuro agrees. Thus begins the long journey through space that forever changes Testuro.

The 113 episodes of the show tell the story of this journey between Earth in the Milky Way Galaxy and Promethium in the Andromeda Galaxy. Although only ten years old, Tetsuro has the qualities a person needs to complete the dangerous and wondrous journey. Tetsuro learns many lessons that shape his character and prepare him for the nasty surprise awaiting him on Promethium.

I enjoyed Galaxy Express 999 and will show it to my two boys when they’re a little older. However, I hesitate to recommend it to many of the mecha fans I know because it isn’t the sort of science-fiction show that Westerners expect. Matsumoto places very little emphasis on technology and details in his stories. His science-fiction tales swing awfully close to the fantasy genre with their anachronistic technology, lack of detail on technologies pivotal to the story, and his capacity to take all sorts of cultural practices from bygone eras and shove them into high-tech futures. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Galaxy Express 999.

We see a distant future where technology has advanced to the point where humans have colonized countless planets and found ways to transfer themselves to mechanical bodies that enable them to live well beyond a thousand years. Yet in this future setting people travel between planets and stars mainly by way of “space trains”. These trains resemble old Earth trains in every detail. The seating is the same as commuter trains in modern Japan. Many planets have cities that exactly resemble Japanese cities of the 1970′s. Other planets have high-tech, futuristic cities while many more have cities that perfectly resemble American cities from the early 1800′s. It makes for a truly odd galactic society but Matsumoto doesn’t sweat the details.

Matsumoto is a sentimental sort of person who wants to express certain themes and when story details or futuristic technology gets in his way he doesn’t hesitate to jettison them. Although ignoring the details of technologies vital to a story (like how space flight works when the characters are constantly travelling between planets) is usually a hallmark of a bad science-fiction writer, Mastumoto’s characters are so appealing and his stories so compelling that I’m ready to put up with some silliness to enjoy the story. Japanese audiences seem willing to do the same but Western audiences rarely agree.

Galaxy Express 999 has 47 hours and 5 minutes of running time altogether. With all that time one can tell a complicated story but instead Matsumoto tells the story very slowly. The plot develops in small ways once every 12 episodes or so. Tetsuro’s long journey through space is used as a platform for Matsumoto to communicate his views on life. In each episode the 999 arrives at a station on a new planet and Tetsuro is faced with a different place. Each planet has a unique culture with its own problems. Tetsuro visits a planet where the economy has fallen apart and everyone begs for food. Tetsuro contemplates the value of hard work and how it imparts dignity to those who engage in it. Another planet shows Tetsuro a society where everyone obsesses about being the best in their profession and work so much that they lose sight of everything else. Tetsuro muses on how hard work must be balanced with leisure time and directed towards the proper goals. Hard work should help others and enrich one’s life. It should never consume a person’s every waking moment and shut them off from friends and family.

The main idea that connects these stories is Matsumoto’s desire to ask “What makes us human?” and “What really makes our lives better?” In humanity’s push to adopt mechanical bodies people seem to have forgotten the value of having a real flesh-and-blood body that is a part of the natural world. Almost endless life spans give people so much time to waste that they lose sight of what’s important. Tetsuro has many opportunities to consider whether or not he really wants a mechanical body and if a 2,000 year life span is really necessary to accomplish his dreams. Those who are concerned about too much philosophizing need not fear. The episodes have plenty of action and comedy to keep a viewer interested.

One problem with Galaxy Express 999′s lack of science-fiction details is difficult to overlook, however. The inconsistencies with how mechanical bodies are handled makes the central idea of the show suffer. In the first handful of episodes people with mechanical bodies are shown as looking very mechanical. They look like human-shaped robots with dials and bolts showing. Soon after and for most of the show, we see mechanical bodies that look so much like normal human bodies that Tetsuro is surprised to discover that people he’s met have mechanical bodies. Once Tetsuro reaches Planet Promethium mechanical bodies once again look very mechanical. Towards the beginning of the show Tetsuro slowly learns that mechanical bodies ultimately make people unhappy and have bad influences on their character. Later, Tetsuro meets good people who prove that mechanical bodies don’t have to have a negative influence on a person. But when he reaches Promethium it is once again demonstrated that mechanical bodies dramatically lower a person’s quality of life.  Matsumoto’s main theme gets damaged by these inconsistencies.

Although the 2-part episode that wraps up the show leaves a lot of questions unanswered it did resolve many of the most important plot points. It’s easy for me to see why the manga and the television show it created became such a phenomenon in anime. Galaxy Express 999 has spawned many movies, OAVs and television shows. From the beginning until the most recent anime (2007) is a thirty year span. Not many anime franchises have that much staying power. Although it took 47 hours and 5 mintues of my time, I enjoyed Galaxy Express 999 and hope that other English-speakers discover this anime gem as I have.

The blog AltJapan has reported on a momentous find for mecha fans. Anime fan Roger Harkavy has discovered a box that belonged to Imai Company that contains artwork from Artmic Studio. The box contained black and white production drawings for Genesis Climber Mospeada and Super Dimensions Cavalry Southern Cross.  He has made the file available to mecha fans everywhere.  AltJapan has the full report. You will certainly want to download the PDF and take a look at the designs that almost made it into Mospeada. I was fascinated by the rare look into the show Southern Cross was originally meant to be.

Promotional poster outside the mall.

From October 19th through the 27th in Bangkok, Thailand a large Gundam exhibition was held in the Siam Paragon shopping mall to celebrate Gundam’s 30th anniversary. My father was on the scene to take photos. I wish I could have been there!

The RX-78-2 Gundam helps promote the event.

Gundam 00 and Gundam Unicorn were well-promoted.

A nice exhibit near the entrance gave people an overview of the Gundam anime over the years.

A huge model from Gundam 00 was on display.

It's nice to see cosplayers. However, I find it disturbing that girls look better than guys when cosplaying as the heroes of Gundam 00. Kind of says something about our latest crop of Gundam main characters, eh?

Another cosplayer poses for photos.

Gundam models were on display in large numbers.

And you thought you had a big collection!

A store was set up for the exhibit to make sure everyone had enough models to build.

Gundam fans were working on their models right at the exhibition.

There was plenty of Gundam merchandise on hand to buy. Wish I could have shopped there!

Gundam Unicorn anime

 If you’re anything like me you’re waiting anxiously to hear about the anime for Gundam Unicorn.  It’s been too long since we’ve seen new anime in Gundam’s U.C. universe.  Even longer since we’ve seen something new that happens after the One Year War.

MyAnimeList reports on a Japanese report from Anime!Anime! that indicates Gundam Unicorn won’t air on television.  Bandai Visual has decided to try movie theaters and the Internet to hook new viewers instead of the traditional boobtube.

Well, Gundam fans, it’s out. The latest edition of the Mobile Suit Encyclopedia. This time it’s called Mobile Suite Illustrated 2009. This is at least the 6th edition. The earliest edition I have is the Mobile Suit Encyclopedia which appears to have been published in 1989 and claimed to have 370 mobile suits. After that came the Mobile Suit Encyclopedia Ver. 3.0 (1992) which claimed 559 mobile suits. 1998, 2003 and 2006 saw new editions.

Now we’ve got the 2009 edition that weighs in at 472 pages (200 in color). If you’re a Gundam fan then you can’t convince yourself that this purchase isn’t worth it. It rounds up mobile suit designs from most of the Gundam franchise (certainly all the ones that were animated). Many designs from manga and video games show up too. It’s divided into chapters called Universal Century, Experimental and Event Movie, Another Century, and Games Variation.

At this point, Gundam fans are no doubt discussing how much it too much. It’s nice to have so many mobile suit designs in one place. However, the book is growing so enormous that I think it’s high time they separated out the Universal Century material from the alternate setting material. I’m not recommending this just because the book is growing so thick and heavy. In order to fit so much into one book many images are reduced in size or removed altogether. The majority of mobile suit designs have only small “front” and “back” images. The detail images showing their weapons, special parts and so on are largely discarded.

I’m enjoying the book and recommend it not just to any Gundam fan, but any mecha fan as well. I got my copy from Hobby Link Japan.

I just received my copy of a new Dougram art book called Fang of the Sun Dougram the Comprehensive. In recent years publishers in Japan have been putting out large, comprehensive art books for many 80′s anime series. I’m glad Dougram finally got its turn. In the past I’ve gone looking for Dougram art books but met with little success.

Weighing in at 240 pages (32 in color) this book gathers all art work connected with the 75 episode TV series from 1981. I can’t read the Japanese text but I can see the staff interviews, episode guide and special pieces on aspects of Dougram. The big color maps of the Dougram world are very cool. The first 7 pages are an art gallery of color illustrations but they are reproduced at a rather small size.

If you have any interest in Dougram this would be the book to get. I’ve always wanted to see the show and was excited when I recently saw the first 25 episodes subtitled on the Torrent sites. As most mecha fans know, the first incarnation of the Battletech game in the U.S. took many of its mecha designs right from Dougram (along with the Crusher Joe movie and Macross).

As a long-time mecha fan this book was definitely worth the price for me just to get all the Dougram mecha designs in one place. I got my copy from www.benippon.com.

Andrew W. K. wants to rock the Gundam - but can he?

American rocker Andrew W. K. has released an album for Gundam’s 30th anniversary.  But does it rock? View the linked videos and decide for yourself. Personally, I’m good with the Gundam soundtracks I’ve already got.