is a Japanese

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series written and illustrated by

Leiji Matsumoto was a Japanese manga artist, and creator of several anime and manga series. His widow Miyako Maki is also a manga artist. Matsumoto was famous for his works such as ''Space Battleship Yamato'' and ''Galaxy Express 999''. His style was chara ...

which was serialized from 28 January 1980 through 11 May 1983 in both the ''

Sankei Shimbun The , name short for , is a daily national newspaper in Japan published by the Sankei Shimbun Co., Ltd, ranking amongst the top five most circulated newspapers in Japan. Together with its English-language paper ''Japan Forward'', the ''Sankei ...

'' and '' Nishinippon Sports'' newspapers. The manga series was adapted into a 42-episode

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television series by Toei Dōga and broadcast on the

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...

network from 16 April 1981 through 25 March 1982. An anime film was released on 13 March 1982 shortly before the TV series ended. The anime series was combined by Harmony Gold and Carl Macek with episodes from the 1978 Matsumoto series, ''

Space Pirate Captain Harlock , also titled Captain Harlock, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Leiji Matsumoto. It was serialized in Akita Shoten's ''Play Comic'' from January 1977 to June 1979, with the chapters collected into five volumes. The ser ...

'', and shown from 1985 to 1986 in the United States as the 65-episode ''

Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years ''Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years'' is an animated science fiction television series produced by Harmony Gold USA. The series was created by Carl Macek by combining footage from Leiji Matsumoto's ''Captain Harlock'' and '' ...

''. The series was broadcast in Germany on

Tele 5 TELE 5 is a German free-to-air television channel that primarily broadcasts classic American films, science fiction series and anime. It is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA, which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery International. ...

during 1992,Alt URL
/ref> on New Channel in Greece in 1997 and on Mangas in France in 2004.

Plot

The series takes place in the (then) futuristic year 1999. Professor Amamori discovers a 10th planet in the Earth's solar system, which he names La-Metal, while at his

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. Its diameter is 9 times that of Earth. Amamori notes the planet has a highly

eccentric orbit In astrodynamics, the orbital eccentricity of an astronomical object is a dimensionless quantity, dimensionless parameter that determines the amount by which its orbit around another body deviates from a perfect circle. A value of 0 is a circu ...

and, as it emerges behind the distant

Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of Trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Su ...

, Amamori realizes that La-Metal is on a collision course with Earth. He calculates that the planet will impact Earth on 9 September 1999, at 9 o'clock, 9 minutes and 9 seconds. It turns out that La-Metal orbits the Solar System every 1,000 years, but only this time it is fated to come dangerously close to Earth. While damage to the giant ice-covered La-Metal would be minimal, Earth would be destroyed by the planet's massive gravitational pull. La-Metal is inhabited by a subterranean humanoid species ruled by a mysterious Holy Queen, Larela. She plans to abduct a large number of humans before the destruction of Earth, and enslave them with the help of her operatives already on Earth. These operatives are led by Andromeda Promethium, a woman known as a Millennial Queen who goes by the Earth name, Yukino Yayoi. She has been living on Earth for almost 1,000 years, like many such Millennial Queens before her, with the intention of establishing a colony for her home planet. Promethium, who comes to care for her Earthling foster parents and friends, begins to question the La-Metalians' plans. As Yayoi, she begins working for Professor Amamori and decides to offer her help when Amamori discovers that La-Metal is heading for Earth. The professor's young nephew Hajime, whose parents are killed while designing a spaceship to help a small group of humans escape from Earth, also joins their fight to save the planet. They are soon confronted by a sabotage campaign initiated by a group of La-Metal generals against Earth. As the two planets come closer to colliding, Yukino finds out that a

black hole A black hole is a massive, compact astronomical object so dense that its gravity prevents anything from escaping, even light. Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will form a black hole. Th ...

is to blame for La-Metal's orbital deviation. A desperate plan is undertaken to destroy the black hole and save both their worlds. Sources:

Characters

;
: :Every 1000 years, a woman called a Millennial Queen is sent from the planet La-Metal to secretly rule over the Earth and lead an underground organization that secretly controls the entire planet. Promethium, known to Earthlings as Yukino Yayoi, is the current Millennial Queen. Some early film promotional material identified her as Promethium ''II'', and indicated that she was the daughter of the Queen Promethium of the Machine Empire of ''

Galaxy Express 999 is a Japanese manga series. It is written and illustrated by Leiji Matsumoto, later adapted into a number of anime films and television series. It is set in a spacefaring, high-tech future in which humans have learned how to transfer ...

'' (another of Matsumoto's works). This idea (and the suffix, II) was later dropped, however, and Millennial Queen Promethium/Yayoi was considered to be the person who would eventually ''become'' the Machine Queen (as seen in '' Maetel Legend''). :While shown with rounder eyes in the anime television series, she is shown with almond-shaped eyes in both the manga and the anime film and looks just like Maetel from ''

''. :While Yayoi is Professor Amamori's private secretary in all three versions of the story, there are the following differences: :* In the anime television series and manga, Yayoi lives on the second floor of a ramen shop run by an older couple who have adopted her as their daughter. She has a tiger-striped cat. :* In the anime film, in addition to being Professor Amamori's private secretary, she also teaches at a school and lives in a high-class apartment. ; : :Hajime is the main character in the manga and is in junior high school. He looks just like the character Tetsurō Hoshino from ''Galaxy Express 999'', only wearing a

gakuran The majority of Japan's junior high and high schools require students to wear Japanese school uniforms. Female Japanese school uniforms are noted for their sailor aesthetics, a characteristic adopted in the early 20th century to imitate the pop ...

. He has a keen interest in

space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

, and is somewhat infatuated with Yayoi. While he doesn't get good grades in school, he is a very honest and kind person. At first he wants revenge on the people who are responsible for his parents' deaths, but he decides it is fruitless to hold a grudge and abandons that plan. :There are a few differences between the various versions of the story: :* In the anime film, he is introduced as a student of Yayoi. In order to protect the Earth from La-Metal's troops, he uses a

Zero 0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. Adding (or subtracting) 0 to any number leaves that number unchanged; in mathematical terminology, 0 is the additive identity of the integers, rational numbers, real numbers, and compl ...

from a museum. :* In the anime television series, he tries to act as a peacemaker between La-Metal and the people of Earth, and tries to work out a compromise between them. In the end, he tries to help people escape from the approaching La-Metal by using a helicopter. :* In the manga, he receives a cybernetic implant which increases his intelligence and allows him to fly space ships extremely well. ; : :Professor Amamori is the head scientist at the

Tsukuba is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. As of January 1, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 256,526 in 121,001 households and a population density of 900 persons per km2. The percentage of the population aged over 65 wa ...

Observatory. He is Hajime's uncle, though Hajime's father is his younger brother in the TV series and his older brother in the film. He became Hajime's guardian after his parents were both killed in an explosion. Amamori discovered the 10th planet, La-Metal, and determined it would collide with the Earth. At first, he had plenty of hair, but the discovery caused him to begin losing hair (though in the TV series, he keeps all his hair). ; :Larela is the Holy Queen and absolute ruler of planet La-Metal. She appears in the film as a small girl with glowing body and eyes, and energy halos at her head and feet. She is cold-hearted, and it is her plan to allow Earth to be destroyed when her planet passes it for its final time. Sources:

Media

Manga

The manga was originally serialized in from 28 January 1980 through 11 May 1983 in both the ''

'' and ''Nishinippon Sports'' newspapers. There have been multiple releases in book form. A planned ten volume B5-sized ' set released under Sankei Shuppan's "Wakuwaku Comics" label had the first 10 pages of each volume in color, and an appendix with cel images from the TV series and interviews with Matsumoto and the creators of the TV series. The series was only published through volume 5, however. * Volume 1, 203 pages, August 1981 * Volume 2 * Volume 3, 205 pages, April 1982 * Volume 4 * Volume 5, 205 pages, November 1982 A series of five volumes was released by Sankei Shuppan. Each volume had approximately 200 pages.

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...

released the series in both B6-sized hardcover and formats under the shorter title. They also released the series in two volumes under their "My First Wideban" label, marketed to convenience stores. Shogakukan bunkoban reprints: * Volume 1, 346 pages, , June 1991 * Volume 2, 340 pages, , August 1991 * Volume 3, 330 pages, , August 1991

Novels

A two volume novelization by Kaeko Iguchi and

was released by Sankei Shuppan under their "Junior Shōsetsu" label: * , 181 pages, December 1980 * , 180 pages, August 1981

Light novel A is a type of Genre fiction, popular literature novel from Japan usually classified as young adult fiction, generally targeting Adolescence, teens to Young adult, twenties or older. The definition is very vague, and wide-ranging. The abbr ...

adaptations were written by Keisuke Fujikawa, who also wrote many of the

teleplay A teleplay is a screenplay or script used in the production of a scripted television program or series. In general usage, the term is most commonly seen in reference to a standalone production, such as a television film, a television play, or a ...

s for the anime television series as well as the

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

for the anime film adaptation. A film adaptation was also written. They were published by

Shueisha is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Shueisha is the largest publishing company in Japan. It was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The ...

under their

Cobalt Cobalt is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. ...

label: * Volume 1, 241 pages, , January 1981 * Volume 2, 239 pages, August 1981 * Volume 3, 233 pages, March 1982 * Film version, 1982 Bunka Publishing Bureau published a three volume "Pocket Mates" light novel series by Ken Wakasaki: * Volume 1, 315 pages, June 1981 * Volume 2, 256 pages, September 1981 * Volume 3, 290 pages, March 1982

Film comics

Film comic A or is a Japanese manga volume illustrated with images from an anime series, film, or video release, rather than original custom art. They generally contain the full dialog from the anime from which they are adapted. While usually published ...

s based on the anime television series were released by Sankei Shuppan under their "Wakuwaku" label: * Volume 1, 156 pages, 15 June 1981 * Volume 2, 156 pages, 15 July 1981 * Volume 3, 156 pages, 15 August 1981 * Volume 4, 156 pages, 15 September 1981 * Volume 5, 156 pages, 25 October 1981 * Volume 6, 156 pages, 15 November 1981 * Volume 7, 156 pages, 1 January 1982 * Volume 8, 156 pages, 15 February 1982

Anime television series

The ''Queen Millennia'' anime television series aired on the

network from 16 April 1981 through 25 March 1982 in the 7:00pm to 7:30pm time slot. It replaced ''

'' in that time slot, and was replaced by ''

Patalliro! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mineo Maya. The comedy manga was serialized in ''Hana to Yume'' from 1978 to 1990, before switching to ''Bessatsu Hana to Yume'' in 1991, and now currently is serialized on the app M ...

'' at the end of its run. The series was animated by Toei Dōga. The series was originally scheduled to have 52 episodes, but due to having lower ratings than the previous ''Galaxy Express 999'', the series ended after 42 episodes.

Staff

* Planning: Tokio Tsuchiya, Kenji Yokoyama, Yoichi Kominato * Production supervisor: Masahisa Saeki * Teleplay writers: Keisuke Fujikawa, Shigemitsu Taguchi, Hiroyasu Yamaura, Toyohiro Andō * Chief director: Nobutaka Nishizawa * General animation director / character designer: Yoshinori Kanemori * Mechanical designer: Katsumi Itabashi * Chief designer (art direction): Isamu Tsuchida * Music: Ryudō Uzaki, Tomoyuki Asakawa * Production:

Toei Animation is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including '' Sally the Witch'', '' GeGeGe no Kitarō'', '' Mazinger Z'', '' Galaxy Express 999'', '' Cutie Honey'', '' Dr. Slu ...

Music

''Queen Millennia'' had music composed and arranged by Ryōdō Uzaki and Tomoyuki Asakawa. The opening

theme song Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

, , was sung by Masaki Takanashi. The ending theme song, , was sung by Manami Ishikawa. Both songs had lyrics by

Yoko Aki is a Japanese songwriter, actress, novelist and essayist. With her husband, Ryudo Uzaki, she has written many songs for other singers, with Aki as lyricist and Uzaki as composer. They are especially famous for a series of hit songs of Momoe Yama ...

, were composed by Ryudo Uzaki, and were arranged by Motoki Funayama. Ishikawa was selected from 1,898 applicants to work with Takanashi on the

image song In Japan, an image song or character song is a song on a tie-in single or album (often called an image album or character album) for an anime, video game, drama, manga, or other commercial product that is sometimes sung by the voice actor or a ...

. The song was performed by the Queen Millennia Grand Orchestra and arranged by Nozomi Aoki. A second image song, , was sung by

Keiko Han is a Japanese actress and voice actress. She sang the theme songs in productions, such as '' Story of the Alps: My Annette'' and '' The Swiss Family Robinson: Flone of the Mysterious Island''. She is a fortune teller of western horoscopes. She ...

and Slapstick, and was arranged by Motoki Funayama. The lyrics for both image songs were written by Yōko Aki and composed by Ryudō Uzaki.

Animated film

The 1982 film serves as a retelling of the anime series. The 1999 setting is designed as more futuristic in appearance than in the TV series. In addition, the film provides an alternate ending to the story leaving no room for the events of the '' Maetel Legend'' OVA. The music score for the film was written and performed by Kitaro, while the end-credits music was sung by American singer Dara Sedaka.

Maetel Legend

The 2001

OVA , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and special episodes of a series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the ...

'' Maetel Legend'' serves as a prelude to ''

''. It is clearly established that Maetel is the daughter of Yayoi and that Yayoi becomes the Queen Promethium of the Mechanized Empire.

References

External links

* * * {{Toei Animation films 1980s 1980 Japanese novels 1980 manga 1981 anime television series debuts 1981 Japanese novels 1982 anime films 1982 films Fiction set in 1999 Works about queens Animated space adventure television series Animated films based on manga Fuji Television original programming Japanese mythology in anime and manga Leiji Matsumoto Light novels Science fiction anime and manga Shueisha franchises Space adventure films Toei Animation television Toei Animation films