Yamato 2199 Bibliography, continued

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Real-World Books

One of the interesting story elements in Yamato 2199 is the inclusion of genuine literature, which plays as important a role in the future as it does today. The Heart of Agent 9 was an SF tale written specifically for the show (the framing device for Episode 9), echoed by The Lonely Witch in Ark of the Stars. But there are plenty of real books as well. Captain Okita’s bookshelf shows such classic titles such as Crime and Punishment, but there are two others that play more prominent roles.

Chuya Nakahara (1907-1937) is not well-known outside Japan, but is one of the nation’s most revered poets. He worked in many formats from haiku to symbolist and many of his works are considered household classics. One of his poems, Sorrow Already Spoiled, is favored in Yamato 2199 by Mamoru Kodai and Shiro Sanada. They pass a real edition of Chuya Nakahara Collection of Poems back and forth in their flashback episode (#17) and Sanada carries it with him as a keepsake on the voyage. He quotes lines from Sorrow in Episode 26:

The sadness of being defiled causes snow to fall once more.
The sadness of being tainted longs for nothing.
The sun sets helplessly with the sadness of being tainted.

More about Chuya Nakahara:

Wikipedia entry | Dedicated website | Sorrow Already Spoiled reading on Youtube (Japanese)

Alternate translation of Sorrow Already Spoiled by Christian Nable | Chuya Nakahara poetry books at Amazon.com


A real edition of Chuya Nakahara Collection of Poems and Japanese biographies of Helen Keller.

The Second of the two books is known the world over: The Miracle Worker, the famed biography of America author Helen Keller. It appears very briefly in Ark of the Stars as the mechanism to foster communication between Mikage Kiryu and the non-human characters in the film. It is unknown if the book cover shown on screen is from an actual Japanese edition, but it makes use of a portrait that appears on related books as shown above.


Manga

The exquisite manga adaptation for the series is done single-handedly by artist/writer Michio Murakawa, who first made a name for himself in the fan community by publishing Yamato doujinshi. This ultimately earned him a place on the 2199 staff as an illustrator for special projects. The manga began serialization in New Type Ace magazine until it ceased publication. Now it continues online at Nico Nico Ace and Comic Walker. The individual chapters can be seen in our 2199 reports.

Each of these collected volumes contains content roughly equivalent to two TV episodes. Cover illustrations are by mecha designer Junichiro Tamamori.

Volume 1

Kadokawa Publishing, July 7, 2012

Adapts episodes 1 and 2. Order it from Amazon.co.jp

Volume 2

Kadokawa Publishing, January 12, 2013

Adapts episodes 3 and 4. Limited edition dustjacket shown at far right (available only through the Yamato Crew website).

Order it from Amazon.co.jp

Volume 3

Kadokawa Publishing, June 24, 2013

Adapts episodes 5 and 6. Order it from Amazon.co.jp

Volume 4

Kadokawa Publishing, January 25, 2014

Adapts episodes 7 and 8. Order it from Amazon.co.jp

Volume 5

Kadokawa Publishing, July 25, 2014

Adapts episodes 10 and 11. (Episode 9 was not adapted.) Order it from Amazon.co.jp

Volume 6

Kadokawa Publishing, January 23, 2015

Adapts Episode 14 (with expansions). Order it from Amazon.co.jp

Volume 7

Kadokawa Publishing, October 10, 2015

Adapts episodes 13 and 15. Amazon.co.jp

Volume 8

Kadokawa Publishing, March 23, 2016

Adapts episode 16. Amazon.co.jp

Reflections of Yamato 2199

Doujinshi, two volumes

In our 2012 interview with Michio Murakawa, we got a privileged look at the intricate thumbnail drawings he does prior to his finished art. On December 31, 2012, he published all the thumbnails for the first 10 chapters in doujinshi form, titled Reflections of Yamato 2199, Volume 1. On January 25, 2014, he followed up with Volume 2, which covers chapters 11-21. Like Volume 1, it contains color pieces, liner notes, and outtakes.

The first volume was sold only at the Winter 2012 Comiket, and the second only through the Yamato Crew website. A third volume was published in October 2015.

Red-eyed Ace

Mag Garden, June 10, 2014

The first-ever professional Yamato manga by a female (Mayumi Azuma) sports the English title Ace With Scarlet Eyes. Adapting the 2199 story from Akira Yamamoto’s POV, this collected edition is slightly enhanced from the original serialization in Comic Blade magazine. Chapter 1, originally cut short because the artist was ill at the time, has six restored pages and a handful of upgrades. Also included are several pages of character design sketches and a color foldout by Azuma that originally appeared as a poster in the magazine. The pages that originally appeared in color are reprinted in color. If there is only one complaint, it is that the story obviously finished prematurely.

Order it from Amazon.co.jp


Novels

Volume 1

Mag Garden, October 31, 2013

This volume covers the first half of the series in 344 pages, adapted by author Takumi Toyoda. It is all text, but everyone can enjoy the wraparound cover painting by Naoyuki Katoh. According to reviews on Japanese blogs, the writing gives more attention to the characters’ inner feelings (which is more suitable for a novel) and the story stays entirely on the Yamato side with Melda Deitz as the sole Garmillas character.

Order it from Amazon.co.jp


Interesting things happen when you combine both of Naoyuki Katoh’s cover paintings.

Volume 2

Mag Garden, December 27, 2013

The followup runs about 20 pages longer than the first and goes all the way to the end of the series.

Order it from Amazon.co.jp.

Ark of the Stars

Mag Garden, December 5, 2014

Takumi Toyota returned as the author and Naoyuki Katoh returned as the cover painter for this one. The chapter titles are as follows: (1) A New Threat, (2) Homeward Voyage, (3), Planet of Silver, (4) Battleship Yamato, (5) Planet of Peace, (6) War with Gatlantis, and (7) Farewell Friend.

Order it from Amazon.co.jp


Calendars

Yearly calendars were a Yamato tradition from 1978 through 1983 (and beyond), released exclusively by the original fan club. Yamato Crew picked up that tradition for 2199 and has published three as of this writing.

2013 Digest Calendar: November 20, 2012

2014 Digest Calendar: December 20, 2013

2015 Wall Calendar: October 2, 2014

The first two are called “Digest Calendars” in that they summarize the TV episodes. The third is filled with spectacular paintings by Kia Asamiya.

Ark of the Stars 2016 calendars

November 23, 2015

Two editions were published for 2016: a wall calendar (above left and center) and a 31-day “tear off” calendar with quotes and character art for each day of a given month. The idea is that you either tear off a page a day or recycle it at the start of a new month.


Movie Program Books

Most movies released in Japan (including those made elsewhere) come with a souvenir program book sold in theaters. This was true of each of the original Yamato feature films and every 2199 release as well. They are full color from cover to cover, typically run between 30 and 40 pages, and add up to a very substantial body of work on the series.

All seven of the programs devoted to the series were sold in a collection with slipcase with the premiere of Chapter 7, and both movies had books of their own. Each can be seen from cover to cover at the links below.

Chapter 1: April 7, 2012
See content here

Chapter 2: June 30, 2012
See content here

Chapter 3: October 13, 2012
See content here

Chapter 4: January 12, 2013
See content here

Chapter 5: April 13, 2013
See content here

Chapter 6: June 15, 2013
See content here

Chapter 7: August 24, 2013
See content here

A Voyage to Remember:
October 11, 2014
See content here

Ark of the Stars:
December 6, 2014
See content here

Concert 2015 program book: February 28, 2015
See it from cover to cover here


Storyboard Books

Each theatrical release of the seven 2199 chapters came with its own limited edition Blu-ray. In most cases, these could be purchased in theaters on the day of their premiere. To sweeten the deal, they came bundled with booklets containing the complete storyboard of a selected episode. This was true of the 2014 movies as well, which offered massively thick books containing the complete storyboard of the film.

As of this writing, the Ark of the Stars Blu-ray is the only one still commercially available with its storyboard book. All others are out of print. See larger cover images in a gallery here.

Opening Title
(Offered with Chapter 1)
April 7, 2012
Episode 1
(Offered with Chapter 1)
April 7, 2012
Episode 3
(Offered with Chapter 2)
July 12, 2012
Episode 10
(Offered with Chapter 3)
October 13, 2012


Episode 13
(Offered with Chapter 4)
January 12, 2013
Episode 15
(Offered with Chapter 5)
April 13, 2013
Episode 20
(Offered with Chapter 6)
June 15, 2013
Episode 26
(Offered with Chapter 7)
October 10, 2013


A Voyage to Remember: October 11, 2014
Ark of the Stars: May 27, 2015



Afreco [AR] Scripts

Those who purchased their Blu-rays through the Yamato Crew website had another bonus item available to them: facsimiles of the voice actor recording scripts from each episode. (“Afreco” is slang for “After Recording,” since actors speak their lines to match finished anime footage.)

The covers for each episode script were identical, and Yamato Crew later offered a slipcase to contain all 26 volumes.

Release dates:

Chapter 1 (eps 1 & 2) May 25, 2012. Chapter 2 (eps 3-6) July 27, 2012. Chapter 3 (eps 7-10) November 22, 2012.
Chapter 4 (eps 11-14) February 22, 2013. Chapter 5 (eps 15-18) May 27, 2013. Chapter 6 (eps 19-22) July 27, 2013.
Chapter 7 (eps 23-26) October 25, 2013.

The 2014 movies got the same treatment from Yamato Crew with different cover art and smaller slipcases of their own. A Voyage to Remember was released November 21, 2014 and Ark of the Stars on May 27, 2015.


Ship’s Log fan club magazines

The Yamato Crew Premium Fan Club (or “fun club” as they spell it on the covers) is open to anyone with a Japanese address and bank account. The chief benefit for members is this quarterly magazine, a high-quality publication that averages 36 pages and contains material direct from Yamato headquarters, found nowhere else.

They are not shown in full here at Cosmo DNA, but descriptions of each issue are linked below.

Issue 0: April 25, 2012
Click here for description

Issue 1: October 1, 2012
Click here for description

Issue 2: December 28, 2012
Click here for description

Issue 3: April 8, 2013
Click here for description

Issue 3.5: June 10, 2013
Click here for description

Issue 4: August 22, 2013
Click here for description

Issue 5: November 28, 2013
Click here for description

Issue 6: February 28, 2014
Click here for description

Issue 7: May 27, 2014
Click here for description

Issue 8: August 31, 2014
Click here for description

Issue 9: December 2, 2014
Click here for description

Issue 10: April 8, 2015
Click here for description

Issue 11: July 27, 2015
Click here for description

Ship’s Log binder, Yamato Crew

Issue 12: November 27, 2015
Click here for description

Issue 13: March 28, 2016
Click here for description

Issue 14: June 30, 2016
Click here for description

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