Customer Reviews

Galaxy Express 999 - Signature Edition (English Subtitles) [VHS]

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Galaxy Express was my first exposure to anime. I was about 9 when I saw it in 1981 in a double feature with Popeye. I was amazed by this "cartoon," and it started a life-long love affair with anime. The story is very powerful with very stirring visual images. I was always very taken by the young boy trying so hard to be a man, and the beautiful android who misses her human body. The moment that stuck with me the longest is the stop on Pluto, where all the frozen bodies are kept in a massive grave. Very haunting imagery.

By the by, I am so happy that they released the signature edition. As a 9 year old, I didn't mind that Captain Harlock spoke with a bad John Wayne impersonation, but it sure distracted from the film when I saw it years later. Yay for subtitled! Now if they would only release this on DVD...

This, to my opinion, is the "Star Wars" of sci-fi anime. The brainchild of manga artist Leiji Matsumoto, who brought us the venerable "Star Blazers" TV series, GE999 is, at its core, and like its "Star Wars" American counterpart, a sci-fi coming of age story. Our hero, Tetsuro Hoshino, drawn by a desire to avenge his mother's murder, wants a machine body to go up against her murderer, the villainous hunter of human trophies, Count Mecha. In order to do this, he must reach the Mechanization Homeworld. And the only way to get there is aboard the luxurious space liner the Galaxy Express 999, a spaceship designed to look like a 19th Century steam locomotive. Given a pass by a mysterious woman named Maetel, both she and Tetsuro trek across the Universe, making the various whistle-stops along the way to enigmatic planets. The GE999 is more than a spaceship, but a metaphor for life, with its passengers crossing the Sea Of Stars, their true destinies unknown. As fate would have it, young Tetsuro learns more about humanity, and his fate in specific, on his voyage across the Universe on the Three-Nine.

I've tried to buy this on Ebay. The provider told me it would be a couple of months. I hung up on him. I watched this anime when I was a child. It was edited bad for television (smudging out suggestive shower scenes)But none of that mattered. The story remained true. Tetsuo is a boy caught up in a universal war. Where the pressures of getting a robot body are as bad as the finals in college. In order to compete with society, one must overcome spiritual morality. Religion plays into it also.(your body is a temple,etc.)Tetsuo needs guidance, he lost his mother, who was his last remaining member of his family, to a group of hunters. Hunters with robot bodies. Maitel is a woman whom Tetsuo finds one day. He watches her, clothed in a long dark trench coat. Blond, hay colored hair. Sparklying eyes. Pointy nose. He see's someone whom he loved. His mother. She would tell him of the Galaxy Express 999. Tetsuo hates the war, and he hates the robots for ruining his life. But he realizes that the only way he could kill the robots is to become what he ultimatly hates. So he decides to go with the lonely plan of assimilation. To do this, he must book passage on the Galaxy Express. A sort of Orient Express. Filled with interesting people from all around the universe. One of it's stops, Along with a wonderful amount of other stops, is the homeworld of the robots. Where he hopes to reach an end to his sorrows. The movie takes you for a trip around the neighborhood galaxy. Revealing short stories along the way. This is where the power of the film is reached. In its exploration and revealing a broad creativity. Be mystified and be revealed to a surprisingly solid story. Something that so many films lack today.-jeff

When I watch an anime, I usually expect to be entertained, nothing more. What I found in Galaxy Express 999 was a good anime that remained with me after I saw it. It had a captivating story, characters I could connect with, and some serious ideas that made me think. But, it did have some flaws.

Galaxy Express 999 has a captivating story because I wanted Tetsuro, the main character, to find his mother's murderer and avenge her. I was also wondering where Maetel came from and why she was helping Tetsuro. Both of these issues kept me wanting to continue watching the film to see how they were resolved.

Secondly, Galaxy Express 999 also has characters who I could empathise with. For example, at the beginning of the film, Tetsuro is introduced as a young boy who is by himself in an apathetic and materialistic Earth. Mechanized people seem to regard pure humans as low-class and expendable. Tetsuro, a fully human orphan, struggles to survive in this Sinclair-esque "jungle". From experience living in a large city in the U.S., I drew a parallel between Tetsuro and the many unskilled immigrants who come each year to the U.S. to make a living.

Thirdly Galaxy Express 999 slipped in a serious message. Even in a world full of materialism and prejudice where it's "survival of the fittest", it is still possible for humans/robots to show compassion for other humans/robots. Maetel, who is a tall attractive blonde from an aristocratic mechanoid family, nevertheless transcends class difference when she shows Tetsuro warmth and affection. In another instance, Claire, the robot waitress aboard 999, also transcends "racial" difference when she too shows affection for Tetsuro, a human boy.

Fourthly, there were flaws in this story and I'll just mention some. There are events which don't flow well with the story. For example, how does Antares manage to show up at the Time Castle right at the moment when Tetsuro is about to be shot by Count Mecha? How did Antares find out about where the Time Castle was? Another flaw was scientific. When Tetsuro fires his pistol at Queen Emeralda's ship from the 999, the laser makes a hole in the window. Wouldn't the vacuum of space suck all the air out of the train?

In conclusion, although this story has numerous shortcomings, those flaws were more than compensated for by the story's dynamic, the well-developed principal characters and the subtle messages about our human condition.

There is nothing will stop the brave young boy, Tetsurou, to reach his finally destination. His goal is to get a free android body to keep her mother's dying promise and to avenage her death. And then there is the mysterious beautiful woman, Maetel, saves and acompanies Tetsurou along the long hard journey. Forever sadness in her eyes, painful memories but possess unspeakable power... Intrigue? This tells an incredable adventure.
I grew up with the TV series and I own the entire comic book set. Ah, and the hauntingly beatiful TV sound track.
I agree that this is not for very small kids because many characters die a horrible death in this series. But never ever underestimate kids. I absolutely recommend this to any kids and adults. It does change lives in a quiet subtle ways. It is one of the best Japanese animation not because of the technical aspect. It's simple a poetry in animation.
I also watched some of the pre/sequel but they are merely money milking follow ups compare to the orignal. If you can get a hands on the TV series, you should, I assure you won't be sorry.

The plot is intense, the characters are loveable, the situation are realistic (as realistic as one can get in the Anime world). If you're a philosopher, scholar, or any of those professions, this is a movie for you. But if you prefer movies with stuff getting blown up, close-to-X-rated nude scenes, and more language than the ancient egyption alphabet, buy this movie also. You don't have to think to enjoy this.

Galaxy Express 999 is a truely wonderful story of a young man who sets out across the galaxy with a mysterious lady. The story examines good vs evil while developing moral awareness in young Tetsuro, the hero of the story. Many moral ideas are explored in the midst of a fast paced story.

Many Japanese movies have a focus which is somewhat disturbing to Western Audiences. This story is a fun movie for western and eastern audiences alike.

This video is a true classic, and it is difficult to find an honest priced dealer to sell you the correct "dubbed" copy. This is one video that is worth the money and leaves you thinking about it days after you watch it. Highly recommended!

I've had a running acquaintance with Galaxy Express 999 since the age of 10... and have always been captured by it's various aspects, including an often disturbing and haunting look at our basic humanity. This movie is no different, though I felt this movie was a bit rushed, and the plotline isn't too original. It is an original story, but with many of the elements of the original movie remixed to create a second voyage for Tetsuro, Maetal, and the 999. Very few surprises here.

Galaxy express had been one of the most successful of all time.
The story is about a train that travel trough space.The story begins with a kid whos mom got murdered by evil mechanoids,as he grows he wishes to travel through the galaxy express to get a mechanical body and get his revenge,he then meets with a woman who is very similar to his mom that turns later to be the princess of the mechanization planet.
Although the movie is old(1979) but the movie is fab and the story remains one of the best.
i recommend it to every anime fan.