Anime Night on The galactic Railroad: The reminder of the journey we will all cross

Bakuma1997

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Don't let the poster trick you, the story is far from Animal Crossing as it gets

This is the story of a young cat, made to be an adult by cirscunstances beyond his control, only a kind soul in his life and full of tragedy, and then a special trip to a special place will make his night stranger than usual

Released in 1985 and based in a novel of the same name, this story is a "Kids" film that explores themes such as Happiness, struggles, Meaning of life and how we will react to its end, be our own as well as others... but i think this is speaking way too much, let's explore this movie that is definitively not Sanrio

The main character is a kid named Giovanni, his life isn't the best, his mom is ill, forcing him to have a job after school, and his dad is missing, he claims he made a trip for archeologism, but a bully named Zanelli spread rumors that he is in fact incarcelated over illegal fishing, In his job Giovanni barely makes some coins, just enough to get some milk and bread for him and his mom, and in school he barely can talk to anyone, Zanelli makes his life hell teasing him and the only true friend he has is a kid named Campanella, that day is informed a Fstival is going to take place, Giovanni gladly would like to go, but sadly he has work, so he can't go, his mom encourages him to be there, especially if Campanella will be there, but Giovanni simply gets away, after more teasing from Zanelli Giovanni goes to a meadow, wantign for once some alone time, however much to his surprise a train pass right near him, confused he goes there for curiosity, much to both his surprise and relief, his only friend Campanella is there, the passangers are... unusual, for starters two of them are the only humans in the entire cast, the Train's stops are less than Euclidian and at a point they even seem to be flying across the Southern Cross, the movie gives us a twist that Campanella hides something, the very first clue being he is the only one of the duo whom is asked for their ticket

THE THEMES OF THE MOVIE

TRUE HAPPINESS: Giovanni tries to look for something to keep him forward, his dad promised him a otter jacket as soon as he came back from his trip, that aside maybe his dad coming back may give him some leverage from taking care of his ill mom

LOSS OF CHILDHOOD: Giovanni has been deprived of a normal childhood due to the trip his dad made and having to be the one that cares for his mom, in his job time goes slowly, waiting for the miraclous call that his dad is coming home,

LONELINESS; Giovanni is missing both parental figures, his teacher while caring for his situation can't do much and his boss treats him fine enough, Giovanni gas only one friend in Campanella, while the rest of the class either don't care or bullies him, Zanelli being the one that bullies him the most, mocking his lack of a dad and even teasing that he will never come back due to being a criminal

PORPUSE: Within the train, every passenger has a reason to be, one of them being a Birdcatcher, he eventually finds his in a sort of Paradise where he can catch infinite of those

DEATH: The biggest theme, due to its nature this part will be blurred
The train is in fact the train that carries the souls of the departed to the afterlife, some of the stations reflect this, being either abandoned towns to one of them having the corps of a dinosaur, the two human souls are in fact passengers of the TSM Titanic, and to his horror, Campanella died, bitterly saving the life of Zanelli from drowning, most of the passengers has accepted the train's stop and the fact they will get there want it or not, some of them even enjoy the trip, but Campanella wish he could leave the train back where he joined, but sadly he has to make the trip, with his last words being the saddest lines of the film: "Goodbye Giovanni", Giovanni ends the film visiting his friend's funeral, now unable to go on, only reassured by Campanella's parents that he did everything right, now alone, but with hints his dad is indeed coming back, Giovanni's life will never be the same, but at least he can try to make it work, in a hill, the hill where his peculiar night began, he swears he will become another star in life, before being forced to join them in life

The Film is easly the saddest anime film i ever watched next to Grave of the Fireflies, Giovanni's plight is so unfair, but his tenacity to at least try to keep his face raised give us some hope, the trip on the titular Railroad is full of symbolism, both the music and the animation fulfills how surreal the deal is, that said for obvious reasons i don't reccomend getting close to the peculiar passengers our heroes meet

Life can kick you down, but is us who stay down, and even if Life just gives us a pat for getting up, that pat should be a nice reminder that you made the effort to get up, everybody will get his time too, so while we are here, we live either 100 or just ten years, make them all count
Bakuma out
 
wait.. Galaxy Express 999? i love that.. oh its not.. sorry.. check out Wings of Honneamise
 
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Isn't this referenced in Wonderful Everyday? I'm pretty sure that one of the characters reads from the book in one of the endings. There's also an old song called People Get Ready that was released in by The Impressions in 1967. Bruce Springsteen has a song inspired by it called Land of Hope and Dreams. I haven't seen the film but the theme is similar. In fact, there's more songs about this than I realised. It must have been a folksong theme that started with the creation of the railroad itself.
 
It' one of those movies you watch with zero expectations and get a very nice surprise
 
Damn, that’s rough. I thought it was gonna be some cozy cat adventure, and instead it’s this surreal, emotional spiral through grief and cosmic weirdness. Giovanni’s life sounds brutally unfair, and the train twist? That’s haunting. It’s the kind of story that just sits with you, quietly wrecking you while pretending to be a “kids” film. I respect it. Not sure I’m emotionally ready to watch it, but I kind of want to.
 

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