Thursday, September 19, 2013

Galaxy Express 999: Eternal Fantasy



Almost too good to be true!
If you're a Galaxy Express 999 fan in the United States, for a while you were pretty much out of luck. Only the first two movies had seen official USA releases, and the only way to see Eternal Fantasy or the TV series you needed a good internet connection and some patience. Finally were getting what we need, Discotek has finally released Eternal Fantasy in the USA and the show is being licensed by S'more Entertainment. When I first heard about these releases I almost couldn't believe it.

As for the film itself, its pretty good. Better than Adieu Galaxy Express but nowhere near as good as the first movie. Just keep in mind that it takes place after the TV show, it does not follow Adieu. My only gripe is that its much shorter than the other two movies, its a gripe but not a big enough one to have a star removed.

EMOTIONAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, EPIC SPACE OPERA FROM 1998
Discotek aka Eastern Star has released Eternal Fantasy for the very first time in the US. Before this release, this movie was very rare outside Japan and for years, fans could only watch low quality versions without subtitles. Now at last, the final movie in Galaxy Express 999 series is available to fans and it meets expectations. It's also a standalond piece, set 1 year after the other works, so previous knowledge is not a necessity but is helpful.

Eternal Fntasy was released in 1998 and was one of the last productions to use Cel Animation. Although made in the late 90's, if you didn't know the production date, you would be forgiven for thinking it was made in the mid 80's. The animation is incredibly vivid and bright, there's not a single scratch, mark or grain on the entire print. The video is clearly using a remastered telecline print from an R2J DVD source and is in Progessive Scan and Widescreen Anamorphic. The audio is clearly remastered as well, as every sound is...

Great video, great audio for a DVD
Eternal Fantasy is the late 90s follow up to the original Galaxy Express 999 series. My understanding is that Matsumoto Leiji began a GE999 spin-off in the '90s and this was a film designed to capture that. Unfortunately it hints at a much longer journey that we were never treated to in animated form. And I believe Matsumoto actually stopped writing it, or put it on permanent hiatus.

The film takes place 1 year after the end of the TV series (or possibly the movies - it's really just academic). Maetel returns to Earth to save Tetsuro who is needed to travel the rails once again.

Video-

The show itself is an amalgamation of cel based animation, mixed in with some 3D models of the Galaxy Express. The 3D is quite laughable given it was attempted at a time when animation studios were experimenting with 3D animation.

There are no issues to be seen in the video itself. It's well encoded and the original elements must be in great shape. I have the...

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