Leiji Matsumoto was inspired by Kenji Miyazawa's novel "Night on the Galactic Railroad," about a steam train flying through space.
Maetel has a certain resemblance to Cynthia of anime Pokémon (1997) and the video games of Poketto Monsutâ Daiyamondo (2006), Poketto Monsutâ Pâru (2006), Poketto monsutâ: Purachina (2008), Poketto monsutâ Buririanto daiyamondo (2021) and Poketto monsutâ Shainingu pâru (2021).