Adieu Galaxy Express 999

Two years later, the Machines, angered by the death of their Queen, have struck hard at humanity.  Among those fighting to save the planet is Tetsuro Hoshino.  His days of fighting are cut short when Tetsuro receives a mysterious message from Maetel, telling him to board the 999 once again.  Tetsuro barely makes it off the planet alive aboard the train.  But the road to Maetel is fraught with new dangers and worse revelations in an ever changing universe.  A new journey awaits Tetsuro, Maetel and their allies aboard the 999 and the end may be the last place they ever want to reach; not because it ends their journey but because of what horrors wait for their arrival.

I was ready for more.  Galaxy Express 999 left such a mark on my Anime watching history, a journey I wasn’t ready to see come to a close.  So when I heard there was a sequel, I was set (especially having procured it alongside the first film at Otakon 2012).  Much like my all time favorite movie, Blade Runner, some classics are best left to one entry and one story alone (I write this knowing Blade Runner 2 has been greenlit but have a bad feeling about it).

The setup is probably the best part of this movie.  A sequel should strive to be bigger, a little darker and with more at stake for the main characters.  A universe is at war thanks to the efforts of Tetsuro and Maetel to destroy Queen Prometheum.  That such a conflict should reunite these two is cool.  The escape from Earth is pretty intense.  Seeing the Earth railway collapse as 999 escapes is chilling and adds a sense of dread to the film.  Consequences will be felt and it’s likely Tetsuro will never see home again once he’s gone.  The ride is a little smooth after that with the Conductor getting more of a role as Tetsuro’s companion before Maetel returns.  We’ve also got the chilly Metal Minna helping around with her own secret agenda.  Also, this film looks great.  Two years later, the animation that brought the 1979 classic to life looks improved and feature quality for sure.  The characters, the ships and battles, even the backdrops look so great and 999 looks freaking gorgeous.

Sadly, that’s kind of where my praise for the movie kind of ends.  Once Tetsuro is off Earth, Adieu begins to become almost a beat for beat retread of the original film, especially when Maetel comes back.  There’s an attempt to add new mystery with the introduction of the Machine Knight Faust and the 999 rival, the Ghost Train.  I thought the Ghost Train revelations were a bit unsettling but Faust…oh man Faust.  There are several clear nods to another popular space age adventure in Adieu and some are more forced than others.  Faust is case in point.  The second you see him, you never realize they were going to go a certain route with his big reveal…but it seems obvious in retrospect given his character design.

The films finale tries to go big and chaotic but ends up being a poor, pale imitation of it’s predecessor.  Even the brief returns of Harlock and Emeraldas seem forced and unneeded.  If you’re going to bring these two back for more adventure, bring them back for more than just their ships and their much needed fire power.  Emeraldas gets the shorter end of this deal, being in the film for under 2-3 minutes probably.  Idk, I just cant stand when a film has to shoe horn in returning cast members just to get them in rather than giving them something pivotal to do besides being a deus ex machina device.  By the time the final battle is FINALLY over with, youre relieved; not because of the outcome but because the movie is almost over.

And that’s a shame.  I said the original Galaxy Express film worked as a good stand alone.  Truthfully though, this is a universe that could be explored in much greater detail and would allow for some potential sequels, either as movies or as a series (and yes there is a TV series with a separate storyline from the movies).  Adieu Galaxy Express 999 was the wrong way to proceed with things.  The darker story had potential.  It ends up being wasted on familiar mysteries, action and nothing unique to make it stand out besides how bad it ends up being.  There is a third film in this series apparently, 1998’s Galaxy Express 999 Eternal Fantasy.  If I ever finally get the chance to watch it, I only hope it’s far better than Adieu Galaxy Express 999.  I still want to travel on this train, just on a different, more original direction.

5/10

Note:

Still working on what series im going to review to close out 2015.  Right now the choice is tight between Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn and Ghost in the Shell: Arise but it depends on if I can get the final episode of Arise before Christmas.  So I will leave next weeks review a surprise for all.  See ya then.