Netflix’s Best Sci-Fi Movies Pick: Milky Subway Takes Less Than an Hour to Watch
A Short, Chaotic Space Ride
The film follows a group of young delinquents assigned to community service. They end up aboard an interplanetary train that unexpectedly races into space, leaving them to work together to escape.
The story parodies space epics such as the anime Galaxy Express 999, while drawing on the energetic style of The Amazing Digital Circus. Eccentric characters and comic moments shape its isolated setting.
An Unusual Story Structure
The film builds tension through an officer who connects the story’s pieces. Flashbacks appear as the narrative returns to an interrogation room, introducing the main characters and gradually revealing how they reached the train.
The group’s clashing personalities and overlapping conversations give their interactions a natural feel. The film balances its absurd humor with a heartfelt story about a mismatched crew forced to cooperate.
Retro Details and Sci-Fi Nods
Cyberpunk-inspired designs, bionic parts and alien-like characters sit alongside neon space scenery and older technology, including floppy disks. The characters’ looks and attitudes also nod to Japanese youth counterculture of the 1980s and 1990s, including gyaru and biker gangs.
The runaway train’s destination display names Yvaga, a planet also mentioned in Alien: Romulus, and the film’s climax has links to the Alien franchise. The movie is a compilation of short OVAs and a direct sequel to Milky Highway, Yōhei Kameyama’s graduation project.
Key points
- Milky Subway: The Galactic Limited Express runs for 46 minutes and is on Netflix.
- The story traps young delinquents aboard a runaway interplanetary train.
- Its style combines cyberpunk designs, retro technology, comedy and space-fiction references.
- The compilation film follows the short Milky Highway, Yōhei Kameyama’s graduation project.