Japan Synopsis
銀河鉄道の夜
“Japan's most beloved children's book is now a hauntingly beautiful feature film.”
Giovanni currently lives a dreary life of near non-stop work. At school, his peers ridicule him incessantly, and his employer at work is distant and cold. As his isolation from society becomes unbearable, he suddenly finds himself on a train heading far away from his miserable home. Accompanied by Campanella, an acquaintance from school, Giovanni embarks on a journey that will define the rest of his life.
Titles With Overlapping Themes
Films and series that share thematic tags with Night on the Galactic Railroad. Number on each card indicates how many keywords overlap.
Other Titles From Nippon Herald Films
Animation + Fantasy in Japan
1095 Japan titles in our catalog blend the Animation and Fantasy genres. Below: the top-rated of them (excluding Night on the Galactic Railroad itself).
The 1984–1986 Japan Window
Night on the Galactic Railroad holds position #38 of 91 Japan films in the 1984–1986 window, below highlighted by audience rating.
The 1980s Japan Landscape
Catalog density by release year across the 1980s in Japan, 280 titles in total. Highlighted year (yellow) is when Night on the Galactic Railroad premiered alongside 33 others.
Position in Catalog
Released alongside 33 other Japan films in 1985.
The 644th Japan title from Japan we index (earliest catalogued entry: 1899).
Our Japan catalog contains 4,579 titles in total (2,908 films).
Audience Engagement
68 audience reviews — more than 69% of Japan films in our index.
Popularity sits at the 75th percentile among Japan films.
Thematic Fingerprint
Tags on Night on the Galactic Railroad, grouped by how common each theme is across the full Asian catalog. Rare tags are more distinctive signals.
- another dimension · 4
- innocence · 2
- literature · 1
- buddhism · 22
- cat · 21
- anthropomorphism · 20
- philosophy · 11
- japan · 454
- based on novel or book · 288
- friendship · 134
- surrealism · 34
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #1,772 of 4,579 Japan films indexed here (61st percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is +0.3 points above the Japan average of 6.9/10.
Among Japan Animation productions specifically: #1,277 of 2,532 (top 50%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | Japan |
|---|---|
| Original Language | Japanese |
| Production Companies | Nippon Herald Films, The Asahi Shimbun, Group TAC |
| Runtime | 1h 48m |
| Release Date | July 13, 1985 |
| IMDb | tt0089206 |