The highly anticipated CG anime short, Milky☆Subway: The Galactic Limited Express, a sequel to animator Yōhei Kameyama’s viral Milky☆Highway, is set to debut on July 3. The second trailer for the short has unveiled additional cast members and the nostalgic theme song, alongside a new main visual.
Expanding the Galactic Crew
The newly announced cast members who will bring the interplanetary chaos to life include:
- Hisako Kanemoto as Akane.
- Mikako Komatsu as Ryōko.
- Kōki Uchiyama as Kurt.
- Makoto Koichi as Kanata.
- Yoshitaka Yamaya as Max.
These additions join the previously announced main cast: Momoka Terasawa as Chiharu and Anna Nagase as Makina.
A Nostalgic Journey with Candies
The anime short will feature “Gingakei Made Tonde Ike!” (Fly to the Galaxy!), a 1977 song by the popular Japanese girl group Candies, as its theme song. The second trailer notably previews this classic track, adding a retro-pop charm to the futuristic setting.
The Story So Far: A Cosmic Community Service
Milky☆Subway: The Galactic Limited Express continues the zany adventures in the universe established by Milky☆Highway. The plot centers around superhuman Chiharu and cyborg Makina, who find themselves arrested for violating space traffic laws. Their punishment is community service: cleaning an interplanetary train known as the “Milky☆Subway”. What should have been a straightforward task quickly spirals into pandemonium when the train unexpectedly rockets into deep space, leaving the crew scrambling amidst unfolding chaos. The official English website describes the narrative as “No purpose! No principle! No point! A never-before-seen space-train spectacle, powered by nothing but pure momentum!”.
Yōhei Kameyama, the mastermind behind the original Milky☆Highway, returns to direct, write, and produce the sequel. He is also credited with handling the character designs, modeling, animation, and editing, largely undertaking the project himself. The original Milky☆Highway short, released in 2022 as Kameyama’s graduation project, garnered over 6.75 million combined views for its English-subtitled and original versions.
The Milky☆Subway short is scheduled to premiere on July 3, 2025, on Tokyo MX at 9:54 p.m. JST. It will also be simultaneously streamed worldwide on YouTube, with dubbed versions available in ten languages, including English, Portuguese, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Thai, Indonesian, French, Hindi, and Russian, making it accessible to a global audience.
