1984-1988 Timeline


About this list: this is a work-in-progress with the goal of assembling as complete a timeline as possible of the entire Yamato/Star Blazers phenomenon. Data will be added and revised as new information becomes available. As the entries on this list receive coverage elsewhere on this site, links will be added to help you find them. If you notice missing, incorrect, or incomplete items on this list, please contact us and make noise!

No-class 1984
Event 10th Anniversary year of first Yamato TV series
No-class FEB
Cinema 11-17 Final Yamato 70mm version screens in Osaka
BOOK 15 Yamato content in Anime Miscellaneous Interesting Encyclopedia (Hakusensha)
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #39
Video ? VHS: first Yamato TV series released in a 9-volume set (VAP)
BOOK ? Star Blazers film comics Volumes 1-5 available in US (WCC animation comics)
No-class MAR
Event 16-18 Star Blazers room at the New York Science Fiction Society’s Luna Con ’84 (Hasbrouck Heights, NJ)
Event 22-25 Be Forever and Final Yamato screened at Norwescon ’84 (Seattle, WA)
Publication ? Space Battleship Yamato manga article in Comics Collector No. 3 (Krause Publications)
No-class APR
Production 21 Development begins for Odin: Photon Space Sailor Starlight
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #40
No-class MAY
Event 4 Yamato Grand Symphony concert performed by NHK Symphony Orchestra
Event 10 Final Yamato 70mm edition exhibited at Cannes Film Festival
Publication 10 Final Yamato promo kit, Cannes Film Festival
No-class JUNE
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #41
Video ? LD: The New Voyage (Nippon Columbia)
Video ? LD: Final Yamato (Nippon Columbia)
Publication ? Space Battleship Yamato manga article in Comics Collector No. 4 (Krause Publications)
No-class JULY
Video 1 LD & VHS: Space Battleship Yamato Music Video (Nippon Columbia)
Event 6-8 Star Blazers video room at Empiricon 5 (New York City)
No-class AUG
Video 1 LD & VHS: Arrivederci Yamato Music Video (Nippon Columbia)
Event 5 Yamato Party ’84 (first fan-run Yamato convention in Japan)
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #42
Event 27 Fan club meeting & Arrivederci Yamato screening in Tokyo
Event 30 Star Blazers fan club meeting, video track at LA Con II/through Sept 3 (42nd World Science Fiction Convention, Los Angeles CA)
publication ? Epic Illustrated magazine publishes an article about Yamato/Star Blazers (Marvel Comics Group)
No-class SEP
Video 21 LD & VHS: Final Yamato Music Video (Nippon Columbia)
Music 21 LP & Cassette: Yamato Grand Symphony (Nippon Columbia)
No-class OCT
Event 12 Yoshinobu Nishizaki announces his intention to create two new Yamato film projects: Dessler’s War I: Battleship Starsha in 1985, and Space Battleship Yamato: Resurrection for release in 1987.
No-class NOV
Event ? Yoshinobu Nishizaki founds a new company: JAVN (Japan Audio Visual Network) to produce and distribute movies and videos. His business partners include Nippon Columbia, Bandai, and Shochiku Co.
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #43
No-class DEC
On Air 25 Yamato 2 compilation movie broadcast on Fuji Television
On Air 26 Yamato III compilation movie broadcast on Fuji Television
No-class
Music 25 LP: Popular Anime Main title theme Collection features Yamato theme (Victor)
No-class
publication ? Star Blazers Fandom Report concludes with issue #16
Video ? VHS: Space Battleship Yamato (Japan Victor)
Video ? VHS: Arrivederci Yamato (Japan Victor)
Video ? VHS: Be Forever Yamato (Japan Victor)
Video ? VHS: Final Yamato 70mm version (VAP)
music ? LP: The Seventeen’s legend features choral performances of Yamato music (Athene Record)
No-class
No-class 1985
On Air ? Yamato III is added to the Star Blazers syndication package, increasing the number of episodes to 77
Video ? VHD: The New Voyage (Japan Victor)
Video ? VHD: Final Yamato (Japan Victor)
Game ? Laserdisc game based on Final Yamato appears in Taito Game Centers, Japan
No-class JAN
models 1 20th Century Imports begins distributing Bandai model kits in US under the Star Blazers name
Video 21 VHS & Beta: Yamato 2 compilation movie (Nippon Columbia)
Video 21 VHS & Beta: Yamato III compilation movie (Nippon Columbia)
No-class FEB
Publication 19 First press conference for Odin: Photon Space Sailor Starlight
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #44/45 (double issue)
No-class MAR
Video 21 LD & VHS: The New Voyage Music Video (Nippon Columbia)
Video 21 VHS: Be Forever Music Video (Nippon Columbia)
No-class APR
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #46
No-class JUN
Music 21 CD: Symphonic Suite Yamato (Nippon Columbia)
Music 21 CD: Arrivederci Yamato symphonic album (Nippon Columbia)
Music 21 CD: Yamato Grand Symphony concert album (Nippon Columbia)
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #47
No-class JUL
On air 27 Summer Vacation Special Concert “The ship takes off for space” broadcast on NTV, includes Yamato music
Event 30 Summer Vacation Anime Seminar previews Odin at Shibuya Pantheon Theatre, Tokyo
No-class AUG
On Air 3 Yamato Grand Symphony is broadcast on NHK
Event 4 Yamato Party ’85 convention
On Air 6 Odin radio special is broadcast on Radio Japan
On Air 6 Odin TV special is broadcast on Nippon Broadcasting
Cinema 10 Odin: Photon Space Sailor Starlight movie premiere
Cinema 17 Double feature roadshow screenings begin: Odin and Final Yamato
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #48
On Air 31 Be Forever Yamato is rebroadcast on Fuji Television
No-class OCT
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #49
No-class DEC
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #50
No-class
Video ? LD: Space Battleship Yamato (Nippon Columbia)
Video ? LD: Arrivederci Yamato (Nippon Columbia)
Video ? LD: Be Forever Yamato (Nippon Columbia)
Video ? LD & VHS: Yamato Grand Symphony (Nippon Columbia)
No-class
No-class 1986
No-class JAN
Event 12 Fan Club meeting and screening of Space Battleship Yamato movie in Tokyo
No-class FEB
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #51
Publication 25 Four model sheet portfolios and ‘Final Yamato Super Drawing’ portfolio by Yoshinori Kaneda (West Cape Corporation)
No-class MAR
event ? YamatoCon II convention held in Dallas, Texas
No-class APR
Publication ? Cover story in Anime Zine #1 (Minstrel Press)
No-class JUN
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #52/53 (double issue)
No-class AUG
Event 23 Fan Club meeting and screening of Final Yamato (35mm version) in Meguro Public Hall, Tokyo
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #54
No-class OCT
Event 5 Leiji Matsumoto delivers a lecture at an Arrivederci Yamato screening at Oscar Theatre in Yokohama
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #55
Music 25 CD: Final Yamato 2-disc ‘Best Collection’ (Animage)
No-class NOV
ON AIR ? Desslok’s Revenge, the first Star Blazers fan film is completed and screened
No-class DEC
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #56
No-class
No-class 1987
No-class JAN
Production ? Production on live-action movie begins, titled A Passenger (West Cape Corporation/JAVN)
No-class FEB
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #57
No-class APR
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #58
publication ? Star Blazers comic book #1 (Comico)
No-class MAY
Video ? Limited edition Yamato release with Japanese subtitles for the hearing-impaired (JAVN)
publication ? Star Blazers comic book #2 (Comico)
No-class JUN
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #59
publication ? Star Blazers comic book #3 (Comico)
No-class JUL
Book 15 Cosmoship Yamato manga reissue vol. 1 by Leiji Matsumoto (Akita Comics Select/Akita Shoten)
publication ? Star Blazers comic book #4 (Comico)
No-class AUG
Cinema 3-7 Summer Vacation Anime theatre exhibition includes Yamato exhibit, screens Space Battleship Yamato, Arrivederci, Be Forever and Final Yamato in Shibuya, Tokyo
Book 15 Cosmoship Yamato manga reissue vol. 2 by Leiji Matsumoto (Akita Comics Select/Akita Shoten)
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #60
Event 21 Yamato Party ’87 convention
No-class OCT
Cinema 3 A Passenger live-action movie premieres, produced by Yoshinobu Nishizaki
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #61
Publication ? Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer magazine publishes Star Blazers Fleet Simulator game (Diverse Talents, Inc.)
No-class DEC
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #62
On Air 28 Space Battleship Yamato movie rebroadcast on Hiroshima Television
On Air 29 Yamato 2 compilation movie rebroadcast on Hiroshima Television
On Air 30 Yamato III compilation movie rebroadcast on Hiroshima Television
On Air 31 Arrivederci Yamato rebroadcast on Hiroshima Television
No-class
Publication ? Japanimation #2 publishes a Star Blazers cover story (Eclectic Press)

Publication ? Japanimation #3 publishes a Star Blazers article (Eclectic Press)
Publication ? Anime Zine #2 publishes a Star Blazers cover story (Minstrel Press)
No-class
No-class 1988
Video ? VHS: Star Blazers is released in the US (Kidmark)
PRODUCTION ? Arrivederci Yamato is dubbed in English by Nishizaki’s new company, Voyager Entertainment, and officially retitled Farewell to Yamato
No-class JAN
Event 9 Fan club headquarters relocates to Roppongi, Tokyo
No-class FEB
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #63
No-class APR
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #64
No-class MAY
Event 11 Yamato movies and other Westcape productions marketed at Cannes Film Festival. Arrivederci Yamato is renamed Farewell to Yamato
No-class JUN
Event 1 Nishizaki appears at ‘Departure from Earth’ program at Cannes Film Festival
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #65 publishes first information about the upcoming Yamato 2520
No-class AUG
Event 21 Yamato Party ’88 convention
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #66
Event 27, 28 Nishizaki appears at the Japan ‘SF meet #27’ convention
No-class SEP
Publication 30 B-Club magazine no. 35 covers Yamato model and toy history (Bandai Media)
No-class OCT
Event 23-30 Westcape Corporation exhibit at Milan Film Festival
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #67
No-class NOV
Publication 20 Yamato ‘graphic memorial’ appears in Comic Noizy magazine (Dai Nippon Kaiga Co.)
Music ? CD: Walking Songs by Mitsuko Horie features Yamato songs (Nippon Columbia)
No-class DEC
Publication 1 25 Years of Television Cartoons includes Yamato coverage (Tokuma Shoten)
Publication 25 Yamato fan club magazine #68

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