Sayonara Ginga Tetsudou 999: Andromeda Shuuchakueki

A couple of vague spoilers that will help you deal with this: Tetsuro does nothing to change anything. Just like the previous movie, 999 is compacted to be a Harlock spin off more than it's own thing. The strongest element in this movie is Rintaro's direction, and if we judged only by visuals this would easily be an 8/10 or above. But as a stand alone story and part of the 999 franchise it's pretty atrocious. As I mentioned before it makes the same weird decision from the previous movie of taking out everything that 999 had besides character designs. Between 2 movies we get none ofthe character development or plots of the original. Emeraldas even attacks Prometheum and at no point it's mentioned that she's shooting her mom (ep. 12 of the tv series explains that she's Maetel's sister, for the modern OVAs it's put as a given that you know this even though the movies go out of their way to ignore it). A story about travelers was turned into a story about freedom fighters. It's like taking Kino no Tabi or Mushishi and turning them into, well, weak Harlock spin offs. There are other weird pointless connections like Prometheum being made Queen Millenia, there is no attempt to connect with it or make it fit in any way. Being a frozen planet, crashing with earth or any other planet, being queens for millenia. There's nothing besides names. Just like 999. As it's own thing it meanders a lot. There are three different instances where Harlock just appears and saves everyone because he happened to be there, including the one time Maetel was trying to do something. With this plot it makes no sense to have a train since it doesn't have a set track to follow and they have no passengers to drop or pick up, it's just an aesthetic element. Everything about Maetel makes no sense, no matter if you know the original plot or not. She just says things that couldn't make sense and don't explain things she should want to explain. And final spoilers: The ending is the same thing that the series did, and the previous movie, and the OVAs, and I'm sure the planetary only shows have the same. Just watch the tv series.

Released a couple of years after the original Galaxy Express 999 movie, this sequel is an original story, not based on the original manga or television series (although there is one sequence heavily based on them). 3 years after the events of the first movie, Tetsuro is taking part in the resistance against the machine empire and once again boards the Galaxy Express, in search of Maetel. This movie is a bit darker than the original in both tone and story. Whereas the first movie had a lot of world building and exploration to it in addition to Tetsuro's main story of revenge, the plot isalmost entirely dedicated to the human vs. machine conflict. Similar to the first movie, we have appearances from both Captain Harlock and Emeraldes, although they seem much more cameo in nature and less necessary than their appearances in the first movie. Maetel's role is also heavily toned down in comparison to the first movie, and she doesn't appear until more than 45 minutes have gone by. The movie contains a massive deus ex machina towards the end of the movie and rips off one of the most popular sci-fi movies of all time in a big way (a movie that had been released not too long before this movie's release). Where I think this movie really delivers though is the design and style. The animation is noticeably better than the first movie and I would argue its still very strong today, 35 years after its release. Matsumoto's design of the machine people and their world is amazing, one of my favorite from any anime or sci-fi movie. There's a beautiful dialogue-less 4 minute sequence just over half way through the movie as the Galaxy Express heads towards the planet Great Andromeda, a type of scene I think you just don't get anymore these days. The overall theme of limited human life versus eternal machine life is also one I really enjoyed (granted, a theme done better in the first movie). Is this movie absolutely necessary to see? No. The storyline was appropriately told in the first movie and a sequel wasn't really necessary. But I still find this a very enjoyable viewing experience despite its flaws.

Severly Underrated. This Movie not only improves on the Previous Film with addition to working as a Great Sequel - it also stands as my personal favorite movie from Rintaro. All of the flaws from the Original Movie are gone in the Sequel. Probably one of the best Sequels I've seen other than Godfather Part 2 or Mamoru Oshii's Patlabor 2. It has the same themes of tackling the idea of the "so-called" transhumanist utopia, head on. The characters are far more engaging then they were in the first film, and that's not because they were bad in the first. Rather, they are developed far morein this movie. Even the settings and the way that the Plot begins is done with such mastery that pulls you in with great immersion. Maetel's character is far more nuanced in this one. Tetsuro is a lot more older and mature and grasps the concept of living in a way that builds on his character from the previous film. The pacing issues in the first movie are nowhere to be seen here. It's undeniably a great sequel. Watching both of Rintaro's two "Galaxy Express 999" movies back to back was a treat. Both are definitive classics but this one takes the cake. 9.5/10 (Best Rintaro Movie)

Coming out in 1981, the sequel, Adieu Galaxy Express 999 is a fantastic classic. Directed by Rintaro, whom also directed the first Galaxy Express movie, made another with top notch space action. This is a direct sequel of our main protagonist Tetsuro Hoshino, now, back on Earth fighting the machines for survival. Tetsuro is now older, and just as loud and reckless as before. He continues to fight, and throughout the beginning of the movie really sets the mood in how Earth and the universe are all trying to survive against human immortality by mechanization. Then, a message from the blond bombshell herself, Maetel, reaches Tetsuro.She tells him to once again board the 999 train, and the real journey begins. Much like the previous show and movie, the underlining plot is hidden in mystery, and only Maetel knows what is in store for our loud-mouth protagonist. The music consistently sets the mood perfectly and the detail in animation is breathtaking. It is also a great representation of the era this was made in, as well as a leap in animation itself. All things from the stars reflecting off of the train’s glass to the neon lights emanating throughout the cities brings nothing but pure animated beauty to the eyes. Sure this is much like the last movie in story with some good old repeated action sequences. However, do not let such small things take away from the setting and greatness that is Adieu Galaxy Express 999. This is the prettiest thing to date in 1981, with an amazingly deep story of humans, androids, and what it means to truly live.

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