Galaxy Express 999 (1979 Movie) Review

I've checked this movie out of curiosity. I wanted to see what this popular anime title was like and how Captain Harlock was related to it...

The 1979 movie version of Galaxy Express 999 is a compression of the story of both the manga and the television series of the same title created by Leiji Matsumoto. It follows the adventure of young street kid Tetsuro Hoshino as he desires for an indestructible mechanical body to be able to live forever and to avenge his mother who was killed by Count Mecha. While the mechanical bodies are expensive on Earth, it is supposedly given away for free in the Andromeda Galaxy, the last stop for Galaxy Express 999, a space train that only comes to Earth once a year.

In the process, Tetsuro meets Maetel, a beautiful woman who resembles his mother. Maetel offers him an unlimited pass for the 999 if he will be her traveling companion which Tetsuro agrees to. Both of them boarded the 999 and went out on their journey to the Andromeda Galaxy.

My Views:

Usually, I don't watch anime, movies or TV shows that's drama-oriented. Before watching this movie I thought that I might get bored with it, turns out I was wrong. I actually liked the movie. First is because of the adventure and the sci-fi elements that was present. Tetsuro and Maetel stopped over on various planets on their way and encountered  several characters including the cameo appearances of Captain Harlock and Emeraldas who had longer roles that I have expected. Second is the very touching storyline and some breath taking moments and third is the good voice acting and the musical score. Well, something is different in the BGM's of 1970's movies which makes it cool. Also, the band Godiego performed two songs in this movie: one is the insert song "Taking Off" and the other is the ending theme "The Galaxy Express 999", both songs are fit for the movie perfectly.

Overall:

Galaxy Express 999 might've been at least 3 decades old but it can still do a good job of entertaining both young and older anime fans. It is a good summarization of a 113-episode series and It's a superb classic anime movie. No wonder it's still very popular and has spawned sequel movies, OVAs and video games. Another awesome work of Leiji Matsumoto.

...and now, the ending theme music please.

"...The Galaxy Express 999
 Will take you on a journey
 A never ending journey
 A journey to the stars..."