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Galaxy Express 999 Stage Play Gets Sequel in April-May 2019
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
The website for the 40th anniversary of Leiji Matsumoto's Galaxy Express 999 manga and anime franchise revealed on Tuesday that a stage play sequel for this year's Ginga Tetsudo 999 Galaxy Opera stage play has been green-lit. The new stage play is titled Ginga Tetsudo 999 Sayonara Maetel ~ Boku no Eien (Galaxy Express 999 Goodbye Maetel ~ My Eternity), and it will run in Tokyo's Meiji-za Theater from April 20 to 29, and in Osaka's Umeda Arts Theater on May 10 to 12 next year.
The cast includes:
- Akinori Nakagawa as Tetsurō Hoshino
- Kaname Ouki as Queen Emeraldas
- Tokihisa Maeyama as Count Mecha
- Yōko Yazawa as Ryuzu
- Haruka Kinoshita/Anju Inami as Maetel
- Karen Miyama as Claire
- Omiya no Matsu as Conductor
- Daisuke Tsukahara as Doctor Ban (voice only)
- Atsuko Asano as Queen Prometheum (special performance)
- Genki Hirakata as Captain Harlock
Matsumoto is credited with the original work. Sachiko Ishimaru is writing the script and the lyrics, Akinori Ochiishi is the director, and Mucho Muramatsu is credited with video production.
The story of the anime and manga follows a young orphan named Tetsurō as he travels with a mysterious woman named Maetel through the galaxy on a space train, in the hopes of obtaining a cybernetic body. The train stops at many planets along the way, often leading to adventures for the two.
The original 18-volume manga ran from 1977-1981 and the 113-episode television anime series aired from 1978-1981. An anime film alternate retelling premiered in 1979. The franchise then spawned multiple other movies, specials, and OVAs.
Sources: Galaxy Express 999 40th anniversary website, Animate Times
