u/Legitimate-Pizza1596

Sharing my Hoyolab post because I think HSR's connection to Night on the Galactic Railroad is incredibly underdiscussed. Which is weird to me, considering how much this fandom loves to talk about this game's Buddhist cosmology. I think this is because of several reasons such as:

1. Cultural barriers. I see way more people in the CN / JP (duh) / KR fandoms talk about Himeko's connection to Night on the Galactic Railroad.
2. Age. I talked about this with a Penguindrum fan, but most of the HSR fandom trend towards being younger and aren't aware of the anime classics.
3. I'm not sure how to put this nicely but I think another major reason is that Himeko isn't very popular, and so people don't care to look into her lore and/or engage with her story.

I never cared about reason 3 all that much; if Himeko fans or someone who's interested in Night on the Galactic Railroad get something out of this, I'm perfectly content. The following text is the introduction and Table of Contents from my Hoyolab article as a preview. If you would like to read the full text, please go here! https://www.hoyolab.com/article/46262569

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What drew me to playing Honkai: Star Rail was the login screen image of a train launching into space. As a child, one of my favorite things to read was a book that explained how the universe worked in a way that’s easily digestible for children. So when I read Kenji Miyazawa’s Night on the Galactic Railroad in college, I loved it immediately. Night on the Galactic Railroad is a story about two boys who board a space train to travel to the end of the universe. There is nothing quite like it, as Miyazawa blends his knowledge of astronomy and geology to create an ethical Buddhist tale about how you should dedicate your life to helping others. His unique cosmology has served as foundational world-building blocks for many a sci-fi anime, such as Mobile Suit Gundam, Space Runaway Ideon which influenced Neon Genesis Evangelion, Galaxy Express 999, and thus subsequently, Honkai: Star Rail.

I believe Himeko’s story is inspired by Night on the Galactic Railroad for many reasons. Aside from the fact that her lore is explicitly tied to the Astral Express, her story is an examination on self-sacrifice, which is a major theme across Miyazawa’s writings. I also think there are parallels to his works in Phainon, Cyrene, and Firefly, but for brevity's sake, I'm just going to talk about Himeko. Please note that this post includes major spoilers for the 4.4 Trailblaze Mission. And if you care, there will also be spoilers for Night on the Galactic Railroad, The Nighthawk Star, and Revolutionary Girl Utena.

Table of Contents:

• Himeko’s Parallels to Kenji Miyazawa and Night on the Galactic Railroad
  • Night on the Milky Way
  • Cosmic Sandpit
  • The Train’s Journey
  • An Artist and Scientist
• Scorpio’s Fire - Even if I Burn to Ashes
• Himeko is Giovanni and Motoko is Campanella
  • Analyzing Himeko and Giovanni Through the Lens of Shōjo
  • She Knows That the Journey is Lonely
  • The Prince Who Drowned