Captain Harlock

[Captain Harlock]

Alot of people have been asking me just who Captain Harlock is. The character is the focal point of an entire "universe" created Leji Matsumoto, who is a legend in the world of anime. In the film Arcadia of My Youth (which tells Harlock's back story) Earth has been conquered by an alien race known as Illumidas and Harlock has been exiled to the Sea of Stars. He's amassed a crew of over forty, mostly misfits who have no other place but have found one with Harlock and his ship, The Arcadia and his best friend Tochiro. The ship the Arcadia in itself is a character as it is "alive" and later is the vessel that contains Tochiro's spirit within the ship's systems.

What appealed most about the character is there's a great nobility to him. To him ALL life has value, no matter how big or small that life may be. He firmly believes in what he fights for and he lives, as he puts it, in ultimate freedom. When someone becomes part of his crew he doesn't swear allegiance to Harlock, he swears allegiance to himself and what he believes in. To me that's the overall message, it's what you believe in that matters the most.

For more info here's a link to the Wikipedia entry;

Captain Harlock Info Page

This is the opening title sequence from the most recent series Endless Odyssey/Outside Lengend.

Endless Oddyssey/Outside Legend Opening

This is also the official Japanese site for the Endless Odyssey series. The page is in Japanese but there's a great opening flash movie.

Endless Oddyssey Japanese Page

And last but not least, a great fan page The Voice of Free Arcadia.

The Voice of Free Arcadia

[darlene]

I always wondered where you got the name. I love the whole thing! You definitely personify "Captain Harlock," now that I've met you twice! To quote Walt Whitman, "O Captain, My Captain!"

--Darlene