is an
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
television film created for the
Nippon Television Network's annual 24-hour charity program, ''Ai wa Chikyū o Suku'', which roughly translates to "Love Saves the Earth". The movie contained a veritable "Who's Who" of Tezuka's
notable characters. Each one had an important role, and many of them had individual, intertwining stories which would overlap with the ones of others. To coincide with the central theme of the charity program, the movie emphasized on the dangers of environmental destruction, and that such disasters can be overcome by banding together.
For the previous charity special in 1978,
Osamu Tezuka
Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu''; – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such ...
and
Tezuka Productions
is a Japanese animation studio founded by Osamu Tezuka in 1968. It is known for animating notable works such as '' Marvelous Melmo'', the 1980 and 2003 ''Astro Boy'' series, and '' Black Jack''. It is also the holder of the intellectual propert ...
created ''
One Million-Year Trip: Bander Book''. The year after, when the special was held again in 1980, Tezuka and Tezuka Productions created another film, ''
Fumoon
Next may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Next'' (1990 film), an animated short about William Shakespeare
* ''Next'' (2007 film), a sci-fi film starring Nicolas Cage
* '' Next: A Primer on Urban Painting'', a 2005 documentary film
Lit ...
'', based on Tezuka's manga ''
Nextworld
Next may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Next'' (1990 film), an animated short about William Shakespeare
* ''Next'' (2007 film), a sci-fi film starring Nicolas Cage
* '' Next: A Primer on Urban Painting'', a 2005 documentary film
Lit ...
''.
Plot
The plot of ''Marine Express'' can be described in two parts. The first and longer part focuses on the people boarding the train and the problems they encounter on it. The second part takes place after the train has stopped at its half-way point, an island that used to be home to an ancient civilization millennia ago and has its fair share of secrets.
Trouble on the Train
The story takes place in the year 2002.
Construction has finished on an amazing piece of engineering and technology: the Marine Express. Traveling on a rail through large glass tunnels, the train is capable of taking passengers from
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
to
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. To celebrate its completion, a test-run has been arranged with many of the train's founders and family on board. The train was designed by Doctor Narzenkopf, whose oldest, and adopted, son,
Rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
, is the train's pilot. Also with Doctor Narzonkopf is his youngest son,
Adam
Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
. Funding the train's construction is Director Credit, who is on the train with his daughter Milly.
In addition to the train's staff, others have boarded the train without permission. One of them is
Shunsaku Ban
is the name given to the recurring characters in manga created by manga artist Osamu Tezuka. Throughout his career, Tezuka frequently re-used the same characters in different roles across series; for example, the character Shunsaku Ban appears as ...
, a detective on the trail of a criminal who he suspects is on board the train. Originally, he had been hired by the Chief Engineer of the Marine Express to investigate a possibility that someone was going to try and use the train for illicit means. Upon arriving at the engineer's home, Shunsaku was shocked to find his client murdered. Furthermore, the murderer hadn't left the premises yet, and when Shunsaku caught a glimpse of the culprit's face, he was shot. After recovering and seeing TV coverage of the train's test-run, Shunsaku now has reason to believe the man he's after is on the train.
In addition to Shunsaku, others who had boarded the train without position include
Black Jack
Blackjack is a popular casino-gambling card game.
Black Jack or Blackjack may also refer to:
Places
Australia
* Black Jack, Queensland, a locality in Queensland
* Black Jack, a civil parish of Pottinger County, New South Wales
* Black Jack H ...
, a surgeon who treated Shunsaku Ban and has followed him onto the train in order to receive payment for his medical bill, and also Skunk Kusai, a criminal who intends to use the train as a means to smuggle illegal weapons and is the one responsible for murdering Shunsaku's client and shooting Shunsaku.
On the train, many disastrous situations arise forcing the passengers to work together to overcome their obstacles.
When Shunsaku Ban confronts Skunk, he and his cohorts fight back, forcing Shunsaku and a few other passengers to band together to keep the criminals from taking over the train. In the firefight, Doctor Narzenkopf is critically wounded, forcing Black Jack to do immediate brain surgery. However, Doctor Narzenkopf's son, Adam, is actually a robot designed to override the train's systems and
explode
An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known ...
the train when it reaches the
Mariana Trench. The Doctor created Adam to do this because he feared what the Marine Express would do to the ocean ecology and couldn't stand to see its results.
Adam, however, has begun questioning his own existence, knowing that he is a robot, and designed for the sole reason of destroying the train. While in this mental quandary, he befriends the only other child on the train, Milly, daughter of the train's financial backer: Director Credit. Despite their budding friendship, Adam goes to the train's cockpit and takes over the computer systems, integrating them with his own. Overriding the system, Adam intends to force the train to crash, forcing the train to be shut down and preserving the ocean's ecosystems.
In a twist of fate, Adam finds that he is not the only robot on board, Milly is actually a robot as well. Through her kind words and persuasion, she convinces Adam to relinquish control of the train, allowing it and its passengers to reach their destination safely, an island designated as a half-way point and rest stop for the passengers of the train.
The Ancient Civilization of Mu
Arriving at the island, the surviving passengers disembark to get some rest. Shortly after getting off the train, however, does Rock see a glimpse of a beautiful woman before him. Suddenly, the Marine Express and all of its passengers are transported 30,000 years in the past.
Confused as to where they are, they are approached by
a vampire named Dondora. Taking them to his master, they are greeted by the wicked fiend that had displaced the Marine Express and its passengers:
Sharaku
Tōshūsai Sharaku ( ja, 東洲斎 写楽; active 1794–1795) was a Japanese ukiyo-e print designer, known for his portraits of kabuki actors. Neither his true name nor the dates of his birth or death are known. His active career as a woodbloc ...
. A fiendish sorcerer and master of technology, Sharaku intends to use the Marine Express and all technology on it for his own sinister purposes. As for the passengers, he intends them to become excellent slaves.
Before he can execute his fiendish scheme, the passengers are saved by a mysterious white lion that can somehow fly. Escaping from Sharaku, they follow the lion to where
a beautiful woman is being held captive. Rock immediately recognizes her as the woman from his vision, and she explains the situation to the Marine Express passengers.
Before Sharaku, she was
Empress Sapphire of the Mu Empire. The Mu Empire was a peaceful civilization until Sharaku appeared. He overthrew her, and seized control of the Empire for himself. Not satisfied with just the Mu Empire, Sharaku hopes to expand his reign of power to beyond the Mu civilization. With the Marine Express, he hopes to have total domination of time and space.
Rock swears to Sapphire that he will help her reclaim her kingdom and together with the other passengers, they devise a way to stop the sinister Sharaku. Once defeated, the passengers had to decide what to do next. They could either stay behind to try to help rebuild the Mu Empire or take the Marine Express back to the present. Some that stayed behind included Rock who was going to wed Sapphire and Black Jack who wanted to stay for a while and treat the injured. Only Shunsaku Ban returned to the present, people on an island say what happened was a dream and everyone died on the Marine Express. But a carving on a nearby rock proved the experience to be real.
Cast
Production
See also
*
Osamu Tezuka
Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu''; – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such ...
*
List of Osamu Tezuka anime
*
Osamu Tezuka's Star System
*
Astro Boy
*
Black Jack
Blackjack is a popular casino-gambling card game.
Black Jack or Blackjack may also refer to:
Places
Australia
* Black Jack, Queensland, a locality in Queensland
* Black Jack, a civil parish of Pottinger County, New South Wales
* Black Jack H ...
*
Don Dracula
*
Jungle Emperor Leo
''Jungle Emperor Leo'', known in Japan as is a 1997 Japanese animated film focusing on the last half of Osamu Tezuka's manga, ''Jungle Taitei'' (known in earlier US productions as ''Kimba the White Lion'' and '' Leo the Lion'').
Plot
At the ...
*
Metropolis
A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications.
A big c ...
*
Princess Knight
''Princess Knight'', also known as ''Ribon no Kishi'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. This manga follows the adventures of Sapphire, a girl who was born accidentally with a blue heart of a boy and a pin ...
*
The Three-Eyed One
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
*
Astro Boy: Omega Factor
*
Mu
References
External links
*
Undersea Super Train: Marine Express anime at TezukaOsamu@World
{{Tezuka Productions
1979 anime films
Anime television films
Fantasy anime and manga
Crossover anime and manga
Films set in 2002
Films set in the 2000s
Osamu Tezuka anime
Osamu Tezuka characters
Rail transport films
Science fiction anime and manga
1979 television films
1979 films