Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am eager to hop back aboard the Galaxy Express, which most recently made its departure from the lonely dunes of Mars. Initially propped up as a tourist destination after one hundred years of atmospheric adjustments, Mars was ultimately abandoned for more exotic pastures, its soil barren and inhabitants left to waste away among the ashes of their dreams. The planet is now little more than a dust-strewn graveyard, a waystation embodying the scope and callousness of mankind’s hubris.

That’s how it seems to go within Tetsuro’s mournful odyssey. Though Galaxy Express is full of imaginative scifi wonders, each new vista comes with it a promise of societal interrogation and personal sorrow, each planet in some way reflecting how our grand ambitions often conceal a fundamental apathy to the fate of our fellows. It’s a vivid mixture, like a space-faring collection of somber fairytales, and I’m sure there are many more wonders ahead of us. Let’s see what station is up next!

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am beyond excited to be embarking on the Galaxy Express, and once more exploring the sights of Leiji Matsumoto’s fantastical adventure. The first episode proved more action-packed than I would ever have predicted, with our young hero Tetsuro responding to the death of his mother through a fit of righteously murderous fury, destroying the contemptible Count Mecha and fleeing the police with the mysterious Maetel. Escaping the earth as fugitives, the two now rest aboard the Galaxy Express itself, ready to experience the wonders of the universe.

Alongside the obvious excitement of so much immediate dramatic commotion, it’s also clear that, in spite of its fantastical embellishments, Galaxy Express is deeply concerned with the inherent injustices of modern society. Both Megalopolis’ stratified pleasures and the allure of cyborg bodies serve as clear illustrations of capitalism’s cruelties; the hope of “work hard and you’ll succeed” was immediately proven a false idol through the death of Tetsuro’s mother, emphasizing how class is for most people an inescapable life sentence. Whether Galaxy Express continues elaborating on that theme or uses its rambling structure as a vehicle for new meditations, I’m eager to experience whatever wonders are up ahead. Let’s get to it!

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m delighted to announce we’re embarking on a journey through another beloved classic of anime, the TV adaptation of Leiji Matsumoto’s Galaxy Express 999. Inspired by the fantastical Night on the Galactic Railroad (itself the recipient of a majestic anime film adaptation, to say nothing of its significance to Ikuhara’s Mawaru Penguindrum), Galaxy Express tells the story of a young boy who wishes to live forever, and boards the space train Galaxy Express 999 in the hopes of receiving the metal body that will realize his dreams. Along the way, he joins up with a beautiful, mysterious woman with her own reasons for the journey, and experiences a dazzling array of adventures as he travels to the end of the line.

Alongside Space Battleship Yamato and Captain Harlock, Galaxy Express stands as one of Matsumoto’s most consequential contributions to manga and animation, a classic whose influence can be felt in the scope and style of space operas to this day. His work is also one of my most significant remaining blind spots regarding the history of anime, and I am thus absolutely thrilled to be starting this adventure. As for the staff, chief director Nobutaka Nishizawa appears to be most notable for his significant work on this franchise itself, though I’m intrigued to see this episode’s screenwriter also wrote the harrowing Space Runaway Ideon: Be Invoked. Let’s see what’s on offer as we board the Galaxy Express!

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