J'Taime
Ginga Tetsudo 999
programme notes for stage musical
version of Reiji Matsumoto's GALAXY EXPRESS 999, Japan,
1997
While Japanese animation is becoming more popular and widely
appreciated in the West, manga does not enjoy this status.
Due to printing costs, distribution factors and undefined
markets, it is a risky business to repackage a manga and
effectively sell it to a Western audience. Cultural differences
render translation difficult, and - regrettably - comics
are still marginalized. Simply, they are not as respected
as they are in Japan.
For
those in the West who wish to know more about the Japanese
style of story-telling and image-making, this is most unfortunate.
There are many manga artists in Japan who would dearly love
their work to be read by people around the world, and there
are many manga artists whose work deserves international
regard.
Reiji
Matsumoto is one such artist. From the sardonic observations
of a ronin student in Otoko Oidon, to the blunted impact
of war upon soldiers in the South Pacific in the Senjo stories,
to the densely layered romanticism that weaves throughout
Captain Harlock, Sennen Joo and Ginga Tetsudo 999, Reiji
Matsumoto has successfully covered a wide range of styles
and themes.
While
some of the television series based on his manga have enjoyed
success on American TV in the late 70s, the depth of these
dubbed versions fall well short of conveying the scope and
power of Matsumoto's vision. Nonetheless, dubbed TV series
like Captain Harlock, Star Blazers (condensed from Uchu
Senkan Yamato) and Force Five (condensed and complied from
Wakusei Robo Dangard A & SF Saiyuki Starzinger) are
fondly remembered by the Star Wars generation.
Yet
the true artistry of Reiji Matsumoto lies in his original
manga, and in subtitled films like Be Forever Yamato and
Arcadia Of My Youth, and in Rin Taro's beautiful realizations
of Galaxy Express 999 and Adieu Galaxy Express 999.
The
Galaxy Express saga is for me one of the most captivating
and engrossing of Reiji Matsumoto's work. The story of young
Tetsuro and his quest for a mechanical body, accompanied
by the haunting yet gorgeous Maitre recalls the calming,
existential tone of Kenji Miyazawa's famous novel Ginga
Tetsudo No Yoru and the heady, passionate romance of some
of Osamu Tezuka's great manga. Of course there is humour
and action in the story's many unfolding chapters, but I
cannot fail to be impressed by emotional intensity of what
is ultimately a tragedy.
Clearly
at the heart of Ginga Tetsudo 999's space opera is a pulsating
heart of romance, fuelled by lost love, familial fracture
and regretful remorse. The fateful legacy of Maitre, the
unrequited love of Claire, the self-effacement of Ryuzu,
the lost soul of Shadow - these are captivating and inspired
moments which move one beyond the spectacle of Reiji Matsumoto's
mechanized marvels. Pure humanism and imperfect machines
span the breadth of Reiji Matsumoto's world.
Many
Westerners who see Ginga Tetsudo No Yoru for the first time
notice the bizarre mix of futuristic technology, WWII military
design, Italian westerns and imperial Russian costume design.
Part Doctor Zhivago, part A Fistful Of Dollars, part Metropolis
- this is a potent example of how Japanese style promotes
a daring and unique blend of elements which we in the West
would never think of attempting. Most importantly, this
bizarre blend is always emotionally resolved and dramatically
integrated, indicating the controlled and assured vision
of Reiji Matsumoto.
The
multi-faceted style that breathes through every frame of
both the manga and film of Ginga Tetsudo 999 makes it not
only a story with universal appeal, but also a postmodern
celebration of transnational culture and retro-future imagining.
As the West becomes more attuned to this contemporary approach
to inventing worlds and peopling them with complex characters,
then both Japanese style and the artistry of masters like
Reiji Matsumoto will be widely appreciated and - I hope
- critically respected by broad-minded readers.
