Star Trek practically bears no introduction as a sci-fi staple. Its optimistic vision of a future where humanity can grow past its differences is frequently challenged in the present, yet its successive shows demonstrate hopeful, idealistic portrayals of humanity at its best. While there’s a Star Trek for everyone, there’s also even an anime for Star Trek fans.
Based on Leiji Matsumoto’s 1977 manga of the same name, Galaxy Express 999’s 1978 anime perfectly exemplifies the optimism alongside its own nuances that Star Trek fans sometimes miss. While its anime future may include one of the medium’s more infamous victims of development hell, its emotionally-driven, philosophical sci-fi journey is adored by fans across its multiple projects.
Galaxy Express 999 Is the Star Trek Successor Anime the Fans Deserve
Galaxy Express 999 brought viewers in 1978 on an interplanetary journey in which protagonist Tetsuro Hoshino is shown the deeper components of his humanity he once took for granted. After Tetsuro’s mother was murdered by Count Mecha, he vowed revenge, wishing to empower himself to fight the villainous cyborg, while protecting himself from the fate of his mother.
In pursuit of this goal, Tetsuro was rescued by Maetel, and granted passage on the steam-powered, interstellar steam locomotive known as the 999. While Tetsuro quickly gets his revenge, it’s on his quest to permanently alter his body that he sees its darker implications, and what’s lost in the pursuit of immortality, as the 999 journeys across strange new planets.
While Tetsuro quickly gets his revenge, it’s on his quest to permanently alter his body that he sees its darker implications.
Galaxy Express 999 is a fundamental classic for sci-fi anime fans (by Toei Animation!), and is strongly acclaimed to the point of a glowing 92% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Its elegant guide Maetel is arguably its most iconic character, fitting in well into the Leijiverse alongside Space Pirate Captain Harlock and more.
Galaxy Express 999’s Themes Fit in Well Alongside Star Trek
While Star Trek is arguably cranking out plenty of content for all tastes, from the excellent Strange New Worlds to the oddly controversial Starfleet Academy, its low points rarely last long. Aside from darker stints like Star Trek: Picard season 1 and the disappointing Section 31 movie, the general consensus is that there’s a Star Trek for everyone.
Where Galaxy Express 999 fits in is rather interesting to consider. Its episodic narrative from the original anime, other projects notwithstanding, lines up with Star Trek’s storytelling up to and including the mid-’90s. While Star Trek broadly explores the implications and ideals of coexistence, 999 explores humanity, mortality, and the downsides of extreme technological progress.
Despite diverging themes, Galaxy Express 999 fits in more with more melancholic Star Trek shows like Deep Space Nine. At their respective cores, Star Trek and Matsumoto’s 999 series put humanism at the core; not prioritizing humanity, per se, but the compassion and personal growth that accompanies being human. These last points are occasionally lost on modern Star Trek fans.
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Galaxy Express 999
- Release Date
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1978 – 1981-00-00
- Network
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Fuji TV, Kansai TV, Tokai Television Broadcasting, Fuji News Network, Fukui TV, Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting, Sendai Television, SAGA TV, TNC, Ishikawa TV, TV Shizuoka, Television Shin Hiroshima System, NBS, TSK, NIB, AKT, Toyama Television, Okinawa Television Broadcasting
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Hitoshi Takagi
Narrator (voice)
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Masako Ikeda
Maetel (voice)
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Masako Nozawa
Tetsuro Hoshino (voice)
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Kaneta Kimotsuki
Conductor (voice)
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- Created by
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Gene Roddenberry
- First Film
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Star Trek: The Motion Picture
- First TV Show
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Star Trek: The Original Series
- First Episode Air Date
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September 8, 1966
- Cast
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William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Deforest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Wil Wheaton, Avery Brooks, Nana Visitor, Rene Auberjonois, Alexander Siddig, Cirroc Lofton, Armin Shimerman, Colm Meaney, Terry Farrell, Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Roxann Dawson, Jeri Ryan, Robert Duncan McNeill, Robert Picardo, Ethan Phillips, Garrett Wang, Jolene Blalock, Connor Trinneer, Dominic Keating, Scott Bakula, Linda Park, John Billingsley, Anthony Montgomery, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho, Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anton Yelchin, Idris Elba, Sonequa Martin-Green, Mary Wiseman, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Wilson Cruz, Oyin Oladejo, Emily Coutts, Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Rebecca Romijn, Michelle Yeoh
- TV Show(s)
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Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Animated Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Short Treks, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek Lower Decks, Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy
Star Trek is one of pop culture’s biggest multimedia franchises, spanning multiple movies, TV shows, books, comics, video games, and various other media. The franchise was created by Gene Roddenberry and started with the 1960s TV series starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. Over the decades, several equally popular series have come out since as Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Discovery.
