Ask John: Will the Galaxy Express 999 TV Series Ever Get American Release?

Question:
Do you believe that the “Galaxy Express 999” television series will be licensed in America for DVD release? I am rather disappointed that Viz has yet to put the two Galaxy Express 999 movies on DVD, and I’m even more surprised that no American company has picked up the rights to the television series.

Answer:
I’m tempted to say that the 1978 Galaxy Express 999 television series has no practical chance of ever seeing an official American DVD release, but I don’t think that’s entirely truthful. The odds of an official DVD release are, I believe, extremely slim, but recent occurrences in America’s anime industry may provide a small glimmer of hope.

A number of anime titles that Viz released on American VHS have never been released on DVD. Among them are One Pound Gospel, Ogre Slayer, the Mermaid’s Forest and Mermaid’s Scar OAVs, and Grey: Digital Target. Out of all of Viz’s VHS catalog, the two Galaxy Express motion pictures are the films I’m most frequently asked about. I can only assume that the reason why Viz has not reissued the GE999 movies is because they’re not expected to be profitable. If Viz is hesitant to re-release the motion pictures, it’s logical that they’d be even more hesitant to release the 113 episode long television series.

A number of anime created by Leiji Matsumoto, or based on his work, have seen American release, including GE999, Galaxy Railways, Captain Harlock: Endless Odyssey, Harlock Saga, Maetel Legend, Space Battleship Yamato, Interstella 5555, The Cockpit, and DNASights 999.9, the latter two of which have never been released on American DVD. None of these titles has ever been much of a hit in America, signifying that any Leiji Matsumoto anime has a very limited market potential, and very limited fan interest in America. Furthermore, other equally old anime titles released in America including the original Mobile Suit Gundam TV series and the second Lupin III TV series have not been tremendously successful, either. The probable investment necessary to license, translate, and distribute a 100+ episode long anime from more than twenty years ago, compared to its American commercial potential, should make the show an unlikely candidate for American release. However, within recent memory AD Vision has licensed the 100+ episode long Gatchaman TV series, AnimEigo has revived its anime licensing with the acquisition of the 124 episode long Yawara, Discotek has released several vintage anime films, and Right Stuf has announced plans for a subtitled only, limited release DVD release. While a mainstream, mass market release of the Galaxy Express television series is highly unlikely, these aforementioned events could set a precedent for a limited edition or specialty market only domestic release of GE999.

I still don’t anticipate an American release of either the GE999 TV series or the movies. (Especially in the case of the movies, I think that if they were going to be released on American DVD, they’d already be available by now.) But I can’t entirely dismiss the possibility. America’s anime industry has lately begun looking toward older properties, perhaps because current titles are too expensive to be viable licenses. And American distribution companies including AD Vision, Right Stuf, and TOKYOPOP have resorted to exclusive, limited availability releases, which may be the only viable way to release products with a very small American market. If enough potential consumers make their interest in purchasing the Galaxy Express anime known, I’m sure that one of America’s distributors will step up to satisfy that demand.