Milky Subway: The Galactic Limited Express

Milky Subway: The Galactic Limited Express (銀河特急 ミルキー☆サブウェイ, Ginga Tokkyū: Mirukī Sabuwei, stylized as Milky☆Subway) is a Japanese animated short series directed, written, and self-produced by Yōhei Kameyama. It is a sequel to Milky Highway (ミルキー☆ハイウェイ, Mirukī Haiwei, stylized as Milky☆Highway), a 2022 original net animation also created by Kameyama. The series aired from July to September 2025, broadcast simultaneously on television and YouTube. A theatrical edit of the series was released in February 2026.

Premise

Arrested for violating space traffic laws, the genetically enhanced "super human" Chiharu and cyborg Makina are sentenced to perform community service alongside four other convicts aboard the Milky Subway, a train used for interplanetary travel. When the train is suddenly activated, the group must scramble together to resolve the situation.

Characters

Chiharu Kujo (九条 千春, Kujō Chiharu, usually written as)

A 23-year old super human gyaru. She is cheerful and easygoing, but also careless and prone to being taken advantage of by others.

Makina Kurusu (来栖 真希奈, Kurusu Makina, usually written as)

A 23-year old cyborg gyaru who is childhood friends with Chiharu. She has a violent and impulsive temperament, which has resulted in multiple assault convictions.

Ryoko Kanzaki (勘崎 両子, Kanzaki Ryōko, usually written as)

A human parole officer at the Ginkyo Prefecture Police Department.

Akane Daidoji (大道寺 朱音, Daidōji Akane, usually written as)

The super human boss of a bōsōzoku motorcycle gang. She has a quiet but fierce personality, and is overprotective of her subordinate Kanata.

Kanata Iwao (岩男 鉄多, Iwao Kanata, usually written as)

A super human mechanic in Akane's gang. He is aggressive but physically lacking, suffering humiliating pratfalls as a result.

Kurt Cramer (カート・クレイマー, Kāto Kureimā)

A cyborg who works for a legally questionable protection service. He is impassive and has powerful mechanical arms suited for combat.

Max MacCallister (マックス・マカリスター, Makkusu Makarisutā)

Kurt's cyborg co-worker. He is upbeat and specializes in computer hacking.

O.T.A.M.

The Milky Subway's deprecated animatronic train attendant, whose artificial intelligence is linked to the train's mainframe computer.

Minami Minase (水無瀬 ミナミ, Minase Minami)

A popular human idol singer who is beloved by Chiharu and Makina.

Production

Milky Subway: The Galactic Limited Express is created by Yōhei Kameyama as sequel of Milky Highway (ミルキー☆ハイウェイ), an original net animation he produced as a graduation project and was first published in 2022.^[1] Much of the series' production is handled by Kameyama; he serves as director, writer, producer, character designer, modeler, animator, and editor. He used Blender to create the 3DCG, which he learned on his own.^[2][3]

On March 19, 2025, it was announced that Milky Subway: The Galactic Limited Express would be developed as a sequel series to Milky Highway.^[3][4] The series premiered on July 3, 2025 on Tokyo MX, with simultaneous streaming on YouTube, including dubs in English, Portuguese, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Thai, Indonesian, French, Hindi and Russian.^[5] "Gingakei made Tonde Ike!" by Candies is used as the series' theme song.^[5][6] The final episode also features an insert song, "Tokimeki Meteostrike" (ときめき★メテオストライク, Tokimeki Meteosutoraiku), performed by Yukari Tamura in-character as Minami Miyase.^[7]

Other media

Manga

On September 19, 2025, a comic adaption of the series with the same title by Don Kouya, in supervision by Yōhei Kameyama, began serialization in Shōnen Ace Plus.^[8]

Film

On September 18, 2025, it was announced that the series would receive a re-edit with additional content. The film, titled Ginga Tokkyū Milky Subway: Kakueki Teisha Gekijō Iki (銀河特急 ミルキー☆サブウェイ 各駅停車劇場行き, "Milky Subway: The Galactic Limited Express: Local Train to the Theater"), was theatrically released in Japan on February 6, 2026.^[9][10] On May 19, 2026, Netflix announced that it will stream the film version of the series beginning June 1.^[11]

Reception

Kara Dennison of Otaku USA Magazine wrote positively about the series. On the setting, which she describes as "at once futuristic and retro", she noted that "We can believe that the characters have lived, worked, and commuted within this world for all their lives and consider it 'normal,'" adding that the use of "Gingakei made Tonde Ike!" as the theme song "brings some honest-to-goodness Showa era feel to this Reiwa-era production". She also praised the "natural feel" of the dialog, writing that the main characters "sound like real people, less beholden to the conventions of anime voice acting".^[12]

References

1. ^ "『銀河特急 ミルキー☆サブウェイ』完結。実制作のほとんどを担当した亀山陽平監督に制作秘話を聞く | CINRA" (in Japanese). www.cinra.net. Retrieved 2026-02-07.
2. ^ "【Blender】1枚のイメージから3DCGアニメーション作品へ。『ミルキー☆ハイウェイ』メイキング" (in Japanese). Vook(ヴック). Retrieved 2026-02-07.
3. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (March 19, 2025). "Yōhei Kameyama's Milky☆Highway CG Anime Short Gets Sequel in July". Anime News Network. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
4. ^ "ja:「ミルキー☆ハイウェイ」の続編アニメが7月に放送・配信　寺澤百花＆永瀬アンナが出演" (in Japanese). Comic Natalie. March 19, 2025. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
5. ^ Cayanan, Joanna (June 25, 2025). "Milky☆Subway: The Galactic Limited Express CG Anime Short's 2nd Trailer Reveals More Cast, Theme Song, July 3 Debut". Anime News Network. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
6. ^ "ja:「ミルキー☆サブウェイ」に小松未可子、内山昂輝ら　キャンディーズの主題歌流れるPV" (in Japanese). Comic Natalie. June 25, 2025. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
7. ^ Cayanan, Joanna (July 1, 2025). "Milky☆Subway: The Galactic Limited Express CG Anime Casts Yukari Tamura". Anime News Network. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
8. ^ "『銀河特急 ミルキーサブウェイ』コミカライズ版が少年エースplusで連載開始。大人気のリョーコちゃんがアニメの5倍はイライラしている…… | ゲーム・エンタメ最新情報のファミ通.com" (in Japanese). ファミ通.com. Retrieved 2025-11-26.
9. ^ Mateo, Alex (September 18, 2025). "Milky☆Subway: The Galactic Limited Express CG Anime Gets Theatrical Edit With New Content". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
10. ^ Cayanan, Joanna (December 3, 2025). "Milky☆Subway: The Galactic Limited Express Films's Teaser Unveils Title, February 6 Opening". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
11. ^ Mateo, Alex (May 19, 2026). "Netflix Streams Milky☆Subway: The Galactic Limited Express Film on June 1". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 22, 2026.
12. ^ Dennison, Kara (July 17, 2025). "Milky Subway: Your New Favorite Bite-Sized Anime". Otaku USA. Retrieved July 18, 2025.

External links

• Official website (in Japanese)