One of the very first manga I ever read (perhaps the first), it still sticks with me today. The story is about a train called Three Nine that chugs through the universe and its mysterious passengers, including a boy named Tetsuro and a mysterious lady named Maetal. It's classic old school manga. Published in Japan in the 70s, the art is somewhat soft and dated, and the story is philosophical and ambiguous. Also somewhat confusing since the English version is actually a continuation of the series, so we're thrown into it without really knowing what it is going on -- though the notes Viz provides in the opening are helpful.

I don't know if I read this manga series today I would necessarily like it as much. I feel like my tastes now run towards stories with more action and humour. But Galaxy Express 999 is a classic, uniquely styled, and when I read it as a scrawny kid on the edge of adolescence, it opened my eyes to this fascinating world of Japanese comics that I've never left since. ( )