Emeraldas

Emeraldas (エメラルダス) is the captain of the Queen Emeraldas of which she shares her title with. She is a space pirate with a great infamy throughout the known galaxy. Emeraldas is a wanderer looking for something to make her feel alive again after losing her purpose in life at several points in her journey across the cosmos. She is the older daughter of Queen Promethium of the Machine Empire, sister of Maetel, wife of Tochiro Oyama, and the mother of Mayu.

Appearance
Emeraldas bears the common appearance of women designed by Leiji Matsumoto; a lean and willowy body, a beautiful face, with long hair. She has lavender eyes, and her hair has either been ginger (as per Captain Harlock) or blonde depending on her appearances. She has a scar on her left cheek after receiving it in a brawl. Emeraldas is commonly seen dressed in clothing showing a jolly roger including a bodysuit and black hooded cloak. At times she is even wearing a skirt. Her clothes are normally colored red with white accessories including gloves, boots, and tights. She is also always armed with a handgun and Gravity Saber on her belt.

Personality
Emeraldas is independent and strives to be in charge of her own life without being tied down to anyone or anything. She has a terrifying reputation as a professional killer and is feared by many. Emeraldas however only kills those who are cruel and unjust, believing in a personal code of conduct, much like her friend Captain Harlock. However, in spite of all of this, she is very lonely as she cannot find anyone to stay with her for various reasons including her wish to continue journeying through the sea of stars.

Emeraldas however has a lot of pride in herself including her flaws, as shown when she keeps the scar on her face as a reminder to herself to not take her vulnerabilities for granted. Because of this, she refuses to get a Machine Body at every chance she had; although partly it was so that she would not end up like her mother and the intense hate she has for the Machine Empire. Even when bedridden and near death, Emeraldas would rather have an android command her ship than live forever as a soulless machine.

Emeraldas is interested in people who dream especially when hope seems impossible for them. As such she secretly supports these people such as Hiroshi Umino. Respecting Umino's desires and wishes, she even gives him the Cosmo Dragoon once owned by Tochiro.

Family
Emeraldas has a very strained relationship with her family, particularly with her mother Queen Promethium. She strongly disagreed with the idea to convert all of La Metal's civilians into Machine Men in spite of the benefits as it was also a means to control the population. As a result Emeraldas almost wanted nothing to do with her, and when Promethium gained her Machine Body, Emeraldas could only see her as an enemy. She is somewhat indifferent to her father, Dr. Ban, holding no conversations or concerns with each other.

Emeraldas has somewhat of a rivalry with her younger twin Maetel, who compared to the more aggressive Emeraldas is more compassionate. When they were younger, they were once very close but after their mother's conversion they grew apart as they had different opinions on how to deal with her. When Maetel had been transporting people through the Galaxy Express 999, Emeraldas knew about the secret behind the free Machine Body and would be more than ready to kill that person to prevent another catastrophe from taking place. However, Emeraldas does not see Maetel as an enemy as she never directly attacks her but does not always agree with how she does things. Emeraldas still cares about Maetel, given that they appeared together in more recent photographs and does not want to hurt her.

Emeraldas almost never sees her daughter Mayu, having left her on Earth, and for the most part being unable to contact her. Emeraldas still loves Mayu but keeps her distance from her due to the complicated memories she has of Mayu's father, Tochiro.

Captain Harlock
Emeraldas has known Captain Harlock from untraceable times. They have often been compared to each other in terms of their roles as pirates and personalities. Emeraldas sees Harlock as a close and reliable friend from the times they shared with Tochiro. He is also one of the few people Emeraldas feels comfortable with, particularly about Tochiro and Mayu. This respect is also shown where she refuses to let anyone else bear the skull and crossbones on their ships.

Tochiro Oyama
When they first met, Emeraldas was not very impressed with Tochiro for different reasons. But after they saw each other's dedication and hopes, they began to grow closer and later fell in love. Tochiro was noted to be one of the only people to grow close to the then withdrawn Emeraldas, noticing how lonely she really was. It was after meeting Tochiro that Emeraldas gained a greater perspective of life and how people can make all the difference in it. However, it was because of their respective dreams that they could not stay together. After Tochiro died, Emeraldas once again felt alone, even distancing herself from her daughter as she lacked the courage to tell Mayu about her father. Even so, Tochiro's memory keeps Emeraldas going, giving her the needed hopes she desires.

Others
Emeraldas hardly ever speaks to anyone due in part of her reputation and her normally aggressive demeanor. However, the ones she does speak to is either out of interest or aggression. When first meeting Tetsuro Hoshino, they were hostile towards each other due to different reasons and would have killed each other without intervention. However, seeing Tetsuro determined to fulfill his mother's wish of getting a Machine Body after her murder, left her admiring Tetsuro's determination while seeing Tochiro in him. They also share a keen dislike of people who take Machine Bodies for selfish reasons. Still, Emeraldas was worried about what it meant if Tetsuro reached his destination. Similarly, upon seeing Hiroshi Umino determined to leave Earth by any incorrupt ways and establish a new life for himself in spite of all the hardships he must face granted him Emeraldas' respect, enough to grant him a keepsake of Tochiro, the Cosmo Dragoon.

Abilities
As a La Metalian, Emeraldas is assumed to have a long lifespan that can last at least a millennium. Emeraldas has been well known as a powerful combatant, especially with the sword function of the Gravity Saber, with very few people able to best her. Her aggressive style was well known amongst her many opponents. Even after she contracted a disease that may kill her, her prowess is enough to defeat some of the best in a duel. In addition, she is an excellent shot, both with Gravity Saber's rifle function that she rarely uses as well as her Cosmo Dragoon, using a quick draw technique that is able to kill an opponent instantly. Emeraldas with help with her ship's computer is an excellent navigator, being one of the few people who know the route of Count Mecha's Time Castle. When bedridden, she showed an ability to control androids that looked like her.

Etymology
Emeraldas' name comes from the gemstone Emerald, which is best known for being colored green, ironic considering Emeraldas is mostly identified in red clothing. This is due to a misunderstanding of the coloration by Matsumoto, however a gem stone called Red Beryl exists. Her title of Queen is actually just a name she shares with her ship and is not meant to imply royalty or superiority in spite of her origins.

Appearences

 * Galaxy Express 999
 * Episode 22: The Pirateship Queen Emeraldas


 * Captain Harlock
 * Episode 30: My Friend, My Youth
 * Episode 31: The Arcadia's Secret Origin.

Trivia

 * On August 4, 2018 the Tokyo Cruise Ship company made use of a waterbus ship as a counterpart to the Himiko called the Emeraldas. Complete with both ships designed by Matsumoto.