Complete storyboards from a Yamato production are surprisingly elusive for a series with such a rich publishing history, but only a few have emerged in print media over the decades. Final Yamato is not one of them, which makes this collection unique indeed. The material shown here was located over several years, obtained in online auctions and collated for posterity.

The Japanese term for storyboard is “e-conte,” which translates to “picture continuity.” The Final Yamato e-conte was produced in sections following the structure of the script; when “script part A” was concluded, “storyboard part A” could begin. The work continued in parallel until the entire script was transformed into images that were then carefully revised to serve as a guide for finished animation.

The revision process resulted in a large number of artifacts that can be seen here; technical notes, scene deletions, cut-and-paste edits, and more. These documents were never intended to be seen outside a studio, so it was not a priority to streamline them for public consumption. What we have instead is a warts-and-all snapshot of a work in progress, which is far more informative.

The voyage begins with “Part A.” Other parts will be added in future updates.