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Galaxy Express 999 (1996 series) #1
Galaxy Express 999, Vol. 1
In this epic space opera, set in the far future, a young hero hitches a ride on the Galaxy Express 999, an intergalactic "train" that connects distant planets -- and battles a ruling class of mechanized beings determined to stamp out all life.
236 pages, Paperback
First published April 30, 1997
4 people are currently reading
188 people want to read
About the author
Leiji Matsumoto
189 books75 followersFrom the Wikipedia page:
Leiji Matsumoto (松本零士) is famous for his space operas such as Space Battleship Yamato. His style is characterized by tragic heroes; tall, slender, fragile-looking heroines with strong wills and in some cases, god-like powers; and a love of analog gauges and dials in his spacecraft.
Leiji Matsumoto (松本零士) is famous for his space operas such as Space Battleship Yamato. His style is characterized by tragic heroes; tall, slender, fragile-looking heroines with strong wills and in some cases, god-like powers; and a love of analog gauges and dials in his spacecraft.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
February 27, 2024
A gunslinging orphan boy and mysterious be-furred woman travel the solar-system in a futuristic steam locomotive, hoping to find immortality. While not for everyone, but this is the kind of episodic whimsical weirdness I enjoy.
The author Leiji Matsumoto was a known dreamer, spent a large portion of his life constantly fine-tuning his own personal universe defined by certain key characters amongst a huge cast. The big themes on these journeys you always see the key questions; is technological advancement something positive or negative; Will increased comfort eventually lead to our ambitious and creative decay; Is it possible to live on without inventing a purpose of existence and, what is it that makes you human?
The art style is amazing and beautiful as could be, holding up despite being from the 70s. It's also one of the chief manga that created the foundation for the space opera genre in anime.
Note: Could be reading my recently reading up on African and Russian history making everything else feel happy. But this is likely one of the sadder mangas out there. Galaxy express 999 sets out to paint universal truths of, well, the universe. and by the show’s definition, the universe is a drab, terrible, sad place. Most episodes end in melancholy. whether it’s due to the death of a newly introduced character, the extinction of a race, the destruction of a planet, the dousing of a fervent dream, there is rarely an episode that ends positively.
The author Leiji Matsumoto was a known dreamer, spent a large portion of his life constantly fine-tuning his own personal universe defined by certain key characters amongst a huge cast. The big themes on these journeys you always see the key questions; is technological advancement something positive or negative; Will increased comfort eventually lead to our ambitious and creative decay; Is it possible to live on without inventing a purpose of existence and, what is it that makes you human?
The art style is amazing and beautiful as could be, holding up despite being from the 70s. It's also one of the chief manga that created the foundation for the space opera genre in anime.
Note: Could be reading my recently reading up on African and Russian history making everything else feel happy. But this is likely one of the sadder mangas out there. Galaxy express 999 sets out to paint universal truths of, well, the universe. and by the show’s definition, the universe is a drab, terrible, sad place. Most episodes end in melancholy. whether it’s due to the death of a newly introduced character, the extinction of a race, the destruction of a planet, the dousing of a fervent dream, there is rarely an episode that ends positively.
July 29, 2020
I've always liked the concept of space railways. They're absurd and (probably, sadly) physically impossible, but there's a lot of flavour to them. Too bad so many of the stops of this particular train are too absurd, to the point I have a difficult time suspending my disbelief. The character art is pretty lacking, too: from what I've seen, this is a common problem in the older manga. And the train's much too empty - I'd have enjoyed seeing a bigger ensemble cast, a whole full train car or something maybe.
Still, there's a bunch of good science fiction ideas here, exciting action, and a nice relationship going on between the two main characters. I'll keep up with this.
Still, there's a bunch of good science fiction ideas here, exciting action, and a nice relationship going on between the two main characters. I'll keep up with this.
November 3, 2018
One of my favorite Manga. Full of big cosmic ideas, small human moments, and one of the coolest space ships this side of Doctor Who's Tardis.
In the future, a young orphan boy is rescued from the slum that earth has become by a mysterious woman to travel aboard a space ship that looks like a steam locomotive. There are hints that he has a great destiny ahead of him and that the 'machine people' that are the new super power in the galaxy may be more than just a bunch of arrogant jerks.
Short stand alone stories are mixed in with several continuing story threads. The story reads like a sci-fi fairy tale and while it deals with some big issues/ideas it has a nice quiet feel to it that captures the wonder of going out among the stars or of just going to new places and seeing the bigger outside world a piece at a time.
Big and cosmic meet sweet and peaceful and somehow it all fits to create the kind of fantasy world that after you read about you want to visit.
In the future, a young orphan boy is rescued from the slum that earth has become by a mysterious woman to travel aboard a space ship that looks like a steam locomotive. There are hints that he has a great destiny ahead of him and that the 'machine people' that are the new super power in the galaxy may be more than just a bunch of arrogant jerks.
Short stand alone stories are mixed in with several continuing story threads. The story reads like a sci-fi fairy tale and while it deals with some big issues/ideas it has a nice quiet feel to it that captures the wonder of going out among the stars or of just going to new places and seeing the bigger outside world a piece at a time.
Big and cosmic meet sweet and peaceful and somehow it all fits to create the kind of fantasy world that after you read about you want to visit.
February 14, 2021
Ricorda in qualche modo Il piccolo principe di Antoine de Saint-Exupérie ma molto più dinamico e stimolante, uno strano universo in cui accadono tantissime cose e in ogni capitolo si trova una piccola lezione da imparare.
May 12, 2022
This is not a 'volume 1' at all to me. So much action has already taken place that I wasn't fully caught up on / understood which was disappointing. Visuals are amazing. Translation also felt a little clunky at times
October 24, 2023
機械の体を手に入れるために旅する星野哲郎とそれをナビゲートする メーテルの2人の アンドロメダへまでの旅。
アンドロメダルの終着駅 惑星メーテルへ到着した 。
その時 メーテルは 哲郎を機械化して その星の地下に組み入れようと 企む。
しかし メーテルは鉄道との愛情を捨てることができず 結論を機械化することを断念し 惑星メーテルを破壊する そっから 地球へ帰還する。
SF と 鉄道旅を両方 満喫できる素晴らしい SF です そして メーテル は 松本が創造した最高のアニメキャラクターです
アンドロメダルの終着駅 惑星メーテルへ到着した 。
その時 メーテルは 哲郎を機械化して その星の地下に組み入れようと 企む。
しかし メーテルは鉄道との愛情を捨てることができず 結論を機械化することを断念し 惑星メーテルを破壊する そっから 地球へ帰還する。
SF と 鉄道旅を両方 満喫できる素晴らしい SF です そして メーテル は 松本が創造した最高のアニメキャラクターです
May 16, 2017
Une ballade galactique très originale !
August 31, 2022
I’ve loved this manga series since I was a kid.
I have yet to run across another writer and artist since that has captured was is printed out on these pages.
I have yet to run across another writer and artist since that has captured was is printed out on these pages.
March 24, 2016
Spoiler Alert
(Review for WSU English Teachers group)
Galaxy Express 999 Volume 1 by well-known anime and manga artist Leiji Matsumoto was my first experience with reading a graphic novel or manga. If not for the assurances of classmates whose opinions I trust, it would probably be my last. I haven’t yet decided if I will keep the book for my classroom library, but I definitely do not think there is any way for me to teach it in class. There is some possibility of it working as the bottom rung of a reading ladder for a student who enjoys manga or stories about space travel. I can picture The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a book I enjoyed, being part of that reading ladder.
Some of the problems I had with this book may stem from the fact that, despite it being the first volume, another manga and a movie based on the manga actually preceded it, making this a sequel. The character descriptions and some plot summaries throughout this volume aim to give new readers any relevant information from the first manga, but it is still a little bit difficult to follow at times. In addition, the reader is expected, through brief character sketches or explanations, to understand the significance of referenced characters who do not actually appear. It is possible that I would have liked this book more if I had read the first story, but I doubt that.
The back cover of the book drew me in with the promise of the story of a young boy traveling through space on a steam engine that is “also a metaphor for life itself, with passengers constantly boarding, debarking, and dreaming along the way.” In the original story, Tetsuro Hoshino travels the Sea of Stars on the GE 999 train seeking revenge for his mother’s death and a machine body that will allow him to live forever. His companion is the beautiful Maetel, who looks exactly like Tetsuro’s dead mother. Maetel is charged with bringing young people to Planet Maetel to be transferred to machine bodies and serve the Machine Empire ruled by her mother. When she meets Tetsuro, however, Maetel rebels and together they destroy both the planet and empire. Volume 1 picks up one year later when Maetel returns to Earth to rescue Tetsuro, who has been imprisoned in the frozen underground world where a new evil ruler has banished dissidents to live and die.
Following their escape, Maetel and Tetsuro board GE 999 and begin traveling the Sea of Stars once more. Where they are headed is not exactly clear, but they make several stops along the way. The first is to Pluto where the faceless woman Shadow guards the icy graves of bodies of the dead and also those that have been abandoned in favor of machine bodies. Maetel and Tetsuro also are the last to visit a resort on the lonely planet Bright Ring Firefly whose two remaining inhabitants, the lovely young Iselle and her father, are blown up along with their world once the traveling pair leave. The space pirate Harlock comes to their aid, barely saving GE 999 from a giant fireball from the exploding planet. Finally, Tetsuro and Maetel stop on the planet’s furthest moon to place a marker in memory of Iselle and her father before continuing on their journey, the rest of which will take place in future volumes and will most certainly involve fighting the Ankoku No Shihaisha who, in Maetel’s words, “challenges us by destroying every living creature in the universe, who threatens even the very heart of existence--!!” (Matsumoto 166).
One positive about this graphic novel is that it contains facts about space, a math equation, explanations of Greek root words, and meaningful use of classical mythology interwoven with the storyline. It also includes a few puns, such as the stunning glass waitress of GE 999’s dining car, Crystal Clare.
The most frustrating aspect of the story is how it dips into themes that could be developed into something wonderful only to leave them flat or abandon them abruptly. The struggle between good and evil is minimalized by random, disjointed episodes, illustrations, and limited text. One evil overlord follows another in attempting to replace nature with man’s artificial creations, first by coaxing human souls to leave their natural forms for machine bodies and then by replacing every living thing on earth other than humans with a manufactured replica. Although the book follows through more on this second theme, there are still too many gaps and distractions to allow it to stand out as it should. Vague platitudes and overly romantic sentiments replace meaningful connections and dialogue throughout. It could be that the graphic format limits the ability to develop the text or perhaps these are more obvious in the Japanese version and have only been lost in translation.
(Review for WSU English Teachers group)
Galaxy Express 999 Volume 1 by well-known anime and manga artist Leiji Matsumoto was my first experience with reading a graphic novel or manga. If not for the assurances of classmates whose opinions I trust, it would probably be my last. I haven’t yet decided if I will keep the book for my classroom library, but I definitely do not think there is any way for me to teach it in class. There is some possibility of it working as the bottom rung of a reading ladder for a student who enjoys manga or stories about space travel. I can picture The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a book I enjoyed, being part of that reading ladder.
Some of the problems I had with this book may stem from the fact that, despite it being the first volume, another manga and a movie based on the manga actually preceded it, making this a sequel. The character descriptions and some plot summaries throughout this volume aim to give new readers any relevant information from the first manga, but it is still a little bit difficult to follow at times. In addition, the reader is expected, through brief character sketches or explanations, to understand the significance of referenced characters who do not actually appear. It is possible that I would have liked this book more if I had read the first story, but I doubt that.
The back cover of the book drew me in with the promise of the story of a young boy traveling through space on a steam engine that is “also a metaphor for life itself, with passengers constantly boarding, debarking, and dreaming along the way.” In the original story, Tetsuro Hoshino travels the Sea of Stars on the GE 999 train seeking revenge for his mother’s death and a machine body that will allow him to live forever. His companion is the beautiful Maetel, who looks exactly like Tetsuro’s dead mother. Maetel is charged with bringing young people to Planet Maetel to be transferred to machine bodies and serve the Machine Empire ruled by her mother. When she meets Tetsuro, however, Maetel rebels and together they destroy both the planet and empire. Volume 1 picks up one year later when Maetel returns to Earth to rescue Tetsuro, who has been imprisoned in the frozen underground world where a new evil ruler has banished dissidents to live and die.
Following their escape, Maetel and Tetsuro board GE 999 and begin traveling the Sea of Stars once more. Where they are headed is not exactly clear, but they make several stops along the way. The first is to Pluto where the faceless woman Shadow guards the icy graves of bodies of the dead and also those that have been abandoned in favor of machine bodies. Maetel and Tetsuro also are the last to visit a resort on the lonely planet Bright Ring Firefly whose two remaining inhabitants, the lovely young Iselle and her father, are blown up along with their world once the traveling pair leave. The space pirate Harlock comes to their aid, barely saving GE 999 from a giant fireball from the exploding planet. Finally, Tetsuro and Maetel stop on the planet’s furthest moon to place a marker in memory of Iselle and her father before continuing on their journey, the rest of which will take place in future volumes and will most certainly involve fighting the Ankoku No Shihaisha who, in Maetel’s words, “challenges us by destroying every living creature in the universe, who threatens even the very heart of existence--!!” (Matsumoto 166).
One positive about this graphic novel is that it contains facts about space, a math equation, explanations of Greek root words, and meaningful use of classical mythology interwoven with the storyline. It also includes a few puns, such as the stunning glass waitress of GE 999’s dining car, Crystal Clare.
The most frustrating aspect of the story is how it dips into themes that could be developed into something wonderful only to leave them flat or abandon them abruptly. The struggle between good and evil is minimalized by random, disjointed episodes, illustrations, and limited text. One evil overlord follows another in attempting to replace nature with man’s artificial creations, first by coaxing human souls to leave their natural forms for machine bodies and then by replacing every living thing on earth other than humans with a manufactured replica. Although the book follows through more on this second theme, there are still too many gaps and distractions to allow it to stand out as it should. Vague platitudes and overly romantic sentiments replace meaningful connections and dialogue throughout. It could be that the graphic format limits the ability to develop the text or perhaps these are more obvious in the Japanese version and have only been lost in translation.
September 17, 2007
I like Star Blazers, and i enjoy the visual qualities of this particular manga artist. Galaxy Express 999 was one of Matsumoto's most famous and endearing works, at least in Japan. there's some great characters here, and an interesting mix of "what the future might be like" with some zany surrealism - the Galaxy Express 999 is a train that travels the Milky Way, from port to port. So it has some romantic qualities to it, which the story exploits quite nicely. In this volume, we're being re-introduced to the characters after some time away - apparently there was a 14 volume series of the same name that came out in the late 1970s, and this is a follow-up story.
Sigh. Manga is tough to describe well. I'm sorry. It just is. A lot goes on, and characters come and go from all over the place. You know how you can read a Marvel comic book, and characters will show up from other Marvel comics and its okay, because if you read comics, you get used to seeing different characters show up over time. It's the same, or similar, with manga - the Galaxy Express 999 world has multiple series associated with it, and anime versions, and movies, and stuff like that. Plus, there's probably allusions to other manga and anime of the time, etc. etc.
If you like manga, space travel, and science fiction, then i think this would be a nice distraction for you. I'm going to try and track down the original series, too.
Sigh. Manga is tough to describe well. I'm sorry. It just is. A lot goes on, and characters come and go from all over the place. You know how you can read a Marvel comic book, and characters will show up from other Marvel comics and its okay, because if you read comics, you get used to seeing different characters show up over time. It's the same, or similar, with manga - the Galaxy Express 999 world has multiple series associated with it, and anime versions, and movies, and stuff like that. Plus, there's probably allusions to other manga and anime of the time, etc. etc.
If you like manga, space travel, and science fiction, then i think this would be a nice distraction for you. I'm going to try and track down the original series, too.
February 18, 2017
Somehow reminds me of Osamu Tezuka.
April 26, 2015
I think this series should definitely have a subtitle that clarifies the fact that it is a translated version of the follow-up series to the initial Galaxy Express 999 adventure. This series takes place about a year or two after the events in the original manga/anime series. From what I've been able to see there is no anime counterpart to this manga series. Although I have some reservations on aspects of this manga, so far it's been enjoyable. The fact that there is a lot more crossover between the other characters in the Leijiverse within the first volume alone helps me to get over some of those reservations. If all else fails it at least has the classic and aesthetically appealing Matsumoto artwork.
December 29, 2008
This series is apparently a sequel to an earlier manga series, so I wasn't sure about all of the characters, but overall it was a fun read. The central idea of it: a locomotive that travels throughout the galaxy, with the inhabitants boarding and disembarking at different planets along the route - is a wonderful one, as well as a powerful metaphor. I'm looking forward to checking out the rest of the series.
October 19, 2012
I really enjoyed this, but sad to find it is actually a sequel to an original series.
The character design is really nice, and the comic is beautifully drawn. There's lots of mystery about the character's final destination on the AI driven space train Galaxy Express 999.
I'm hoping the library has more volumes.
The character design is really nice, and the comic is beautifully drawn. There's lots of mystery about the character's final destination on the AI driven space train Galaxy Express 999.
I'm hoping the library has more volumes.
May 26, 2011
the art is what makes this series amazing
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