Bullet Train | The Definitive Explanation

What is Bullet Train about?

Bullet Train plays out like a witty action movie a la Smokin’ Aces or Lucky Number Slevin. But it’s actually a fantasy movie. Luck isn’t just a theme, it’s an active, participating power that affects the plot from start to finish. That makes Bullet Train a little deeper than most action movies as the film asks you to think about fate and how much we make our fate versus how much our fate makes us. Ladybug is the character most often affected by luck and fate. These fantastic elements add a layer of existentialism that befits Ladybug’s musings and the Thomas labels assigned by Lemon. You could probably do a whole Jungian reading of Bullet Train—though who actually wants to do that? 

Narratively Bullet Train is a bit of a Russian nesting doll. It’s two revenge stories rolling into a redemption story. There’s The Elder’s journey to exact revenge on The White Death. There’s The Prince’s journey to prove herself to her father by dethroning her father (who is The White Death). And there’s Ladybug trying to find his footing after a run of bad luck, coming to terms with his luck and fate, and finding some peace of mind. 

Cast

The ending of Bullet Train explained

The very end of Bullet Train finds Ladybug and his handler, Maria, coming face to face after Maria traveled all the way to Kyoto to make sure Ladybug is okay. He’s delighted. She’s charmed. And you may wonder if there’s something between them. Like maybe they’ve had crushes on one another for a while but haven’t ever been together like this before. As they begin to walk to the car, Ladybug stops to comment on a cat. Just then, part of the crashed bullet train falls. It would have crushed the pair if they hadn’t stopped to look at the cat. Instead, they’re perfectly placed under the open window. So they’re completely safe. Untouched. How lucky. 

What’s that mean?

For most of the movie, Ladybug believed he had bad luck. But it becomes pretty obvious early on that he’s actually quite lucky. That things going wrong are actually, unbeknownst to him, working in his favor. By the end, he’s changed his mind. And the piece of the train missing him and Maria only reinforces this newfound sense that fate is on his side. So just in terms of character arc the very end allows Ladybug an explicit reaction that shows his growth. 

But if fate is on Ladybug’s side, why couldn’t he just get off the train in the first place? Why didn’t fate just make the job easy on him rather than forcing him into all the crazy things he went through? I’d argue we’re supposed to appreciate this was fate’s elaborate way of getting Ladybug and Maria to get together. That they’ve been crushing on each other from a distance but now are finally face to face. The situation was so dire it caused her to close the distance and be there with Ladybug in person.

The themes and meaning of Bullet Train

Luck and fate are the two most obvious themes. But luck is so explicitly an active force in the film that Bullet Train becomes more of a fantasy movie than a traditional action thriller like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. That luck and fate have such major impacts on characters raises a lot of questions. Especially as it seems that Ladybug’s perception of his own unluckiness is actually incorrect, as we see that he’s in fact incredibly lucky. That most of the bad things that happen around him happen to protect him. That begs the question: why him? What made him so lucky? Is it just his fate? Is it good karma? Is it something he could eventually lose? What’s the limit to his luck? We don’t really get satisfying answers to really any of the questions regarding luck and fate aside from simply accepting fate is a thing and is out of our hands. That’s the journey we see Ladybug go on. 

Less explicit is a theme about relationships and companionship. Almost every character is defined by a relationship they have, have lost, or want. Characters who feel alone are in darker places. Characters who have someone are in better places. For an example, take The Father. He’s in trouble because he was being a bad father. His lack of duty allowed The Prince to push The Father’s son off a roof. Which led to The Prince manipulating The Father and eventually potentially mortally wounding him. What saves The Father? His father, The Elder. The Elder shows up and does all the good father stuff The Father should have been doing. And thus The Elder ensures his son and grandson survive. 

The support of others is the biggest difference-maker in Bullet Train. And is probably more the true theme than all the stuff regarding luck. I guess you can start to make a connection between the two themes. Those who are alone, have less luck on their side. While those who have people supporting them or working with them have more opportunities for luck to turn in their favor? Nothing is ever stated so explicitly but the movie comes down to Ladybug, The Elder, The Father, and Lemon fighting White Death and henchmen. The only reason the heroes survive is because of how they work together. 

Ultimately, I think Bullet Train asks people to reflect on their luck and their relationships, with the understanding that one can directly impact the other. 

Why is the movie called Bullet Train

There’s a double-layer to the title. First, it’s the setting of the movie. Our characters are aboard the Japanese high-speed train known as the Shinkansen, nicknamed the “bullet train” for its amazing velocity.  Second, the title implies this is a train full of bullets, or people with weapons capable of firing bullets. It’s a clever way of letting audiences know, “This is an action film.” The literal aspects of the title makes me think of the infamous Snakes on a Plane. You can imagine the executives debating the title, “Assassins on a Train just doesn’t sound good…” And one goes, “Gun train?” Then the other hears the iconic “Thus Spake Zarathustra” from 2001: a Space Odyssey and says, “Bullet. Train.” Then they crack open a bottle and pat themselves on the back.

What’s interesting is that Bullet Train is based on a novel by Kōtarō Isaka. The novel was called マリアビートル, aka Mariabītoru, aka Maria Beetle. So the original name actually has nothing to do with a bullet train. It’s actually a reference to Ladybug’s handler: Maria. The most obvious meaning to this is thinking of “Maria Beetle” as a euphemism for a ladybug. In the story, The Elder explains the ladybug is special because it absorbs the bad luck around everyone else, allowing others to avoid those woes. So it seems the title is actually getting at more of the fantasy aspect of the story and the role of luck and fate. Especially since Maria is sort of an omniscient presence for Ladybug. She’s in his ear, guiding him, listening to him, supporting him. 

The original and film titles accomplish different things. But I think both work.

Questions & answers about Bullet Train

Differences between Bullet Train and Maria Beetle

Much is the same. The story takes place in Japan on the Shinkansen. The Prince is the child of a terrifying mob boss. Tangerine and Lemon fail to bring the mob boss’s other son back alive and lose money and are trying to figure everything out. Meanwhile, Ladybug is just supposed to grab a briefcase and get off at the next stop. 

The biggest and most controversial difference is that people assumed all the novel characters were Japanese. But the movie made a majority of the characters non-Japanese. The mob boss is Russian and his kids present as British. Ladybug is American. Lemon and Tangerine are British. In terms of the main cast, it’s only The Father and The Elder who are Japanese. The novel’s author, Isaka, wasn’t as concerned as everyone else. He said to the New York Times: “I don’t have any feeling of wanting people to understand Japanese literature or culture. It’s not like I understand that much about Japan, either.” It’s said that Isaka considered the characters “ethnically malleable.” 

The reviews for the novel are all very good. So if you liked the tone of the movie then you’d probably enjoy the humor and suspense of the novel. 

The mid-credits scene of Bullet Train

During the final conflict, Lemon realized he had been shot. It’s kind of a trope in action movies for a wounded character to sacrifice themself so the hero or someone else can survive. So Lemon seemingly embodies that trope. He tackles a mob goon off the train in order to save Ladybug. We think there’s no way the two would survive the fall to the water below. But, tropes be damned, the mid-credit scene reveals Lemon survived. And that he’s the one who drove the tangerine truck that hit The Prince and saved Ladybug, The Father, and The Elder (a moment that gets back to what I was saying about luck being tied to relationships). 

So if you were wondering why Lemon jumped off the train: he just assumed he was mortally wounded and wanted to go out like a tough guy. But then he survived because he landed in a river rather than hitting the ground. 

Was that a Godfather reference?

I feel like The Prince getting hit by a tangerine truck might be a reference to The Godfather. Famously, Godfather features oranges in multiple scenes where characters die. Whether they’re in a bowl on a table. Or a character walks by a market. Or another passes a billboard featuring an orange. The connection between oranges and the reaper has become the stuff of legend. Funny enough, it probably wasn’t even intentional by Francis Ford Coppola but just a lucky thing and someone noticed it, promoted it, and people fell in love with it. 

Maybe it’s completely unintentional that a tangerine is a type of orange and you have a truck of them roll over The Prince. Obviously, it’s the name of Lemon’s partner/brother. So Lemon driving a tangerine truck makes it this spiritual, symbolic thing where it’s like he and his brother are working together again and getting revenge on The Prince. That’s beyond doubt. 

Were Lemon and Tangerine actually brothers?

There’s no direct confirmation that they were truly related. But we have the flashback to them as children and they’re definitely close. So either they’re just best friends who have supported each other throughout their lives or they really are family. Either way, they sound like brothers to me. 

Why was the snake on the train?

The Hornet was the one who stole the boomslang snake from the Tokyo zoo and brought it on the train. It seems the use of boomslang venom is one of her calling cards. It’s what she used to poison everyone at The Wolf’s wedding. It would seem whenever she needs more venom that she procures a boomslang. Since she was hired by White Death to be in Japan, she used the opportunity to steal the boomslang. 

Now it’s your turn

Have more unanswered questions about Bullet Train? Are there themes or motifs we missed? Is there more to explain about the ending? Please post your questions and thoughts in the comments section! We’ll do our best to address every one of them. If we like what you have to say, you could become part of our movie guide!