Maetel Legend

Amazon.com

This OAV series brings together two of Leiji Matsumoto's most popular creations: Emeraldas, the pirate queen from Harlock Saga, and Maetel, the mysterious woman who aids Tetsuro in Galaxy Express 999. Torn from its eccentric orbit around the sun by the dark star Ra, the planet Metalle is dying. The daughters of Queen La Andromeda Prometheum defy the evil Hardgear, who has tricked their mother and many of her subjects into becoming "mechanoids" he can use in a war against humanity. Maetel and Emeraldas escape from Metalle on the Galaxy Express, knowing that destiny will eventually lead them back to destroy the cyber-hell their world has become. The rather dark Legend lacks much of the panache of Harlock Saga and the propulsive energy of Galaxy Express, but Matsumoto's many fans will want to follow his characters on their long journey. Rated 13 Up: Violence, grotesque imagery. --Charles Solomon

Description

In this prequel to the best-selling Harlock Saga, Maetel, the princess of a dying world, faces starvation and death. When an evil scientist transforms her loved ones into soulless machines, Maetel is faced with an agonizing decision which will affect her loved ones forever.

Customer Reviews:

Rise of the Machines.......2005-09-07

A planet adrift in intersteller space -- dying. This is the story of technological and social evolution gone wrong. With her world no longer able to sustain life, the Queen of the planet LA MAETAL turns to the technician named Hardgear for a way for her people to survive. His solution is a procedure that comes right out of Clarke's novel 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY -- to transform the people of the planet into machines. The Queen, believing this to be the only way, foolishly submits to the procedure and commands all her people to submit to it as well. But it is not as beneficial as she was lead to believe. His techno-conversion technique has driven Hardgear insane.

Rating 13 and up: violence, grotesque imagery

Esperaba mas epica, aunque es una hermosa historia.......2004-06-26

Hola, acabo de ver ambos OVA's de Maetel Legend, definitivamente han querido unir los universos de Queen Millenia, Galaxy Express 999 y Queen Emeraldas, en este "play" juntando a las tres protagonistas y "resolviendo" un misterio hasta ahora escondido para todos los fans de Matsumoto, la relacion entre Maetel y Yayoi Yukino, y en menos relevancia la relacion entre Maetel y Emeraldas.
La idea esta bien planteada pero es inconsistente con algunos hechos que pasaron en las series originales.

1er Hecho : Yayoi Yukino muere salvando la tierra.
2do Hecho : Emeraldas era terricola.
3er Hecho : La edad de Maetel (pues ella era clonada una y otra vez y segun Galaxy Express 999, su cuerpo original esta congelado en Pluton y cada vez q puede va y lo visita)

Creo que la idea de comenzar de 0 no ha dejado a los fans con un sabor agridulce. En la nueva historia Maetel y Emeraldas son ahora hermanas gemelas y Yayoi su madre, la historia comienza al parecer a finales del siglo XXX, pues ambas son adolescentes, pero si comienza en el siglo XXX, Yayoi Yukino tiene mas de 1000 años???. Los nuevos dibujos no me gustaron, prefiero los dibujos de la pelicula Arcadia of my Youth que es superior en trama y argumento y eso que es de 1981, no deberion hacer este OVA de una manera tan light y pasando por alto muchos de los misterios que encerraban a estos personajes, para convertirlas en familia.

Companion.......2004-03-04

This is a good companion to the Harlock Saga and the Galaxy Express 999 series. The story is typical Matsumoto fare but its a fun series to get into even as short as it is. Its for fans of Matsumoto.

Quality Anime.......2004-02-19

What can I say? Maetel is a wonderful anime with a deep theme that really makes you think. I almost cried when I watched it...it's just that touching. However,I can't say if you personally will enjoy it. Fans of Matsumoto should enjoy this,but as for others unfamiliar with Matsumoto,it depends on what you like. If you're only into action,adventure or comedy anime,you'll probably be bored by this. Otherwise,I'd say if you like different and deep anime,you'll enjoy it! I know I did. This is my second Matsumoto film,my first was Harlock Saga. Both have been amazing and highly entertaining. I've done all-text reviews on other DVDs,but for these and any others later I'll be using a 1-10 scale,10 being the best possible. Oh, and just in case you're wondering, Maetel is rated 13+ for violence and grotesque imagery.

STORY: 10/10 - While some complain,I had no problem with the story at all. The slow pace of the plot is perfect for the "legend". I wasn't expecting much,but after watching Maetel,I was amazed and instantly a Matsumoto fan!

DVD: 9/10 - Not many special features,but the DVD itself was fine.

DUB: 7/10 - The dub was bearable,but the Japanese is far better.

OVERALL: 10/10 - If you can get it at a reasonable price,MAETEL LEGEND is an excellent addition to your anime!

Dry..... (though good for someone new to Matsumoto).......2003-09-15

Though it is really nice to finally see Emereldas and Maetel's past as siblings and the downfall of their mother Queen Promethia, I think this anime sadly fell flat on it's face.

The only thing of interest was the fact that you got to see how Galaxy Express 999 came to happen, though most of us had a pretty good idea of what happened to begin with, and even then some of this still went unanswered even with the prequel. Which sat as a bitter pill in my book.

The animation was okay enough. One of my biggest gripes was the portrayl of Maetel and Em as teenagers. I don't believe they were quite so "school girlish" in their youths. This film's biggest flaw was the blatant reuse of footage, it really ruined what interest I had in this film. It recycled it's self over and over and was over used so poorly that I just felt like this could have easily been a single 60 minute OAV. By the end of the film, I could care less about the transformation of the Queen, because they had reshowed her transformation over several times, using the SAME footage.

While I really didn't care for it, if you have the patience to sit through the repitition I think this would make a lovely starting point for someone that has never seen Galaxy Express 999 before, my best suggestion is to rent it if possible!

Average customer rating:

Two Matsumoto gems

Maetel Legend/Harlock Saga
Starring: Kôichi Yamadera , Veronica Taylor , David Brimmer , Yoshito Yasuhara , and Rachael Lillis
Director: Nobuo Takeuchi , and Kazuyoshi Yokota
Manufacturer: Central Park Media
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Central Park Media | By Studio | Anime & Manga | Genres | DVD | Video
General | Anime & Manga | Genres | DVD | Video
General | Animation | Genres | DVD | Video
( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000063K2H
Release Date: 2002-04-30

Customer Reviews:

Two Matsumoto gems.......2002-03-07

This is a 2-pack collection includes Maetel Legend and Harlock Saga. Both DVDs are available individually. It is an odd choice to bundle these two DVDs together because, other than being the creations of Matsumoto Leiji, they are not the parts of the same story.

Maetel Legend tells of the origin of Maetel and the pirate queen Emereldas. It is a nice offering by Matsumoto, and serves as a prequel to his masterpiece Galaxy Express 999. Maetel does appear very briefly in Harlock Saga, and Emereldas has a slightly larger role.

Harlock Saga is a feature piece for Matsumoto's famous Captain Harlock. Matsumoto took the story and music of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen and recast the parts with his own characters. Captain Harlock, Tochiro and Emereldas face off against Wodan and the Norse gods. It is grand space opera.

The individual DVDs are great, and worth getting. This is a nice way to get them together, although Harlock Saga has been available for some time. Just don't expect the stories to be related.

Amazon.com

Description

The most beloved and mysterious of Matsumoto's creations, Maetel, finally returns to tell her story. The princess of a dying world, young Maetel faces starvation and death. Only machines can survive in the new environment, and one by one, an evil scientist transforms her loved ones into soulless mechanoids. Once he captures Maetel and her fiery twin sister, Emeraldas, he will rule the world. Maetel must choose whether to become a machine to save her life, or to abandon her world to fight for freedom.

Customer Reviews:

Rise of the Machines.......2005-09-07

Esperaba mas epica, aunque es una hermosa historia.......2004-06-26

Companion.......2004-03-04

This is a good companion to the Harlock Saga and the Galaxy Express 999 series. The story is typical Matsumoto fare but its a fun series to get into even as short as it is. Its for fans of Matsumoto.

Quality Anime.......2004-02-19

DVD: 9/10 - Not many special features,but the DVD itself was fine.

DUB: 7/10 - The dub was bearable,but the Japanese is far better.

OVERALL: 10/10 - If you can get it at a reasonable price,MAETEL LEGEND is an excellent addition to your anime!

Dry..... (though good for someone new to Matsumoto).......2003-09-15

Though it is really nice to finally see Emereldas and Maetel's past as siblings and the downfall of their mother Queen Promethia, I think this anime sadly fell flat on it's face.

DVD:

DVD

DVD