Rating: ***
Review Date: 4/7/24
"Farewell, days of youth."
Leiji Matsumoto's epic coming of age tale is a bold science fiction spectacle that explores the virtues of being human. Tetsuro Hoshino is a brash and impetuous street urchin living on the streets in the slums of a great city. In order to avenge the death of his mother, he needs to get a mechanized body, but the only way to do that is to ride the legendary Galaxy Express 999 to Andromeda, where they give out mechanized bodies for free. A chance meeting with a mysterious woman named Matael nets him both a ticket and a traveling companion, and the two of them have several eye-opening adventures along the way. However, even as Tetsuro's experiences shape him into a man, he realizes much too late that he's simply a pawn in a much larger game.
"Galaxy Express 999" was a groundbreaking film that shook up the Japanese animation industry and paved the way for new stories that appealed to the aging and more discerning anime demographic of the 70's. One problem that the film faced was that neither the manga or the TV show were finished, so Matsumoto had to come up with a completely different ending than he originally had in mind, as to not sabotage the other ongoing series. I'm not a fan of his character designs and it can take some time to adjust to the 70's style animation, but the film is overflowing with colorful and imaginative set pieces. The anachronistic aesthetic constantly keeps the viewer off balance, and reinforces the film's theme of people wistfully longing for the past and their lost youth. The film's titular vehicle is fashioned after an early 1900's steam locomotive for just that reason, and Titan resembles an American frontier town from the Old West, albeit with robots and laser guns.
While Tetsuro is obnoxious, annoying, impulsive, immature, and not especially likable, his quest for revenge is totally relatable. However, vengeance only serves as a turning point for the story as Tetsuro finds a new cause that is bigger than himself, which shifts the film from a journey of self-discovery to a tale of sacrifice and war. The tonal shift is jarring, and even the animation style changes. But the biggest piece of emotional whiplash comes at the very end, when after a heartbreaking and tearful good-bye, the film breaks into a happy and upbeat pop song as the credits roll. Overall, I found the film to be enjoyable, but sluggish and a bit too long. Even with the low frame rate and overly recycled animation, the production values are high and the music score is excellent. Tetsuro isn't a very endearing protagonist, but the supporting characters are wonderful. The film even manages to pull in fan favorites Captain Harlock and Queen Emeraldas, who were enjoying popularity at the time.