Yamato 2202 Chapter 1 synopsis

Cosmo DNA steps up to its role of Yamato repository and provides synopses with support information. This article covers Episodes 1 and 2 with material published at the time of original release.

Episode 1: The year 2202, Revive Space Battleship Yamato

What is the new threat that approaches the reconstructed Earth? The words of the late Captain Okita invite Kodai on a new journey…

A deep male voice booms out of the cosmos and we hear the famous opening lines: The infinite universe. A world filled with serene light. For each star that dies, another is born. And thus, the universe is alive. But then we hear something new: It’s alive…alive…and that is why…love is needed…

The voice is that of Great Emperor Zordar, tyrannical ruler of Gatlantis

Some time in the year 2202. A massive Gatlantis task force attacks the planet Telezart and brutally slaughters an army of monks protecting a secret within. Great Emperor Zordar rises from his throne.

Zordar: Useless. So useless. What meaning did their lives have? To reward all this pain, what value should a human life have? That is why love is needed. A great love that completely eradicates all suffering from the cosmos. Do you not agree, Teresa?

Teresa emerges and her call goes out to the universe.

Teresa: Everything has been decided. But that’s not all. Oh, soldiers from a faraway planet, I entrust everything to you…

Milky Way Galaxy
December 2, 2202

Three years have passed since the voyage of Space Battleship Yamato. A special combined fleet of the Earth Defense Force teams up with a task force of the 38th Garmillas Frontier Task Force for military action. Their objective is to recapture the 8th floating continent base, which is occupied by a vanguard of the mysterious nation Gatlantis, which was once entangled with the fate of Yamato. Gatlantis has occupied the base for 60 days, and until now Garmillas has not been able to break their grip.

Susumu Kodai, who formerly served as Yamato’s tactical chief, participates in the operation as the captain of Yuunagi, ship number 47 in the Second Escort Destroyer Fleet. Nanbu and Aihara are members of his crew. Aihara makes light of the Garmillas ships, but Kodai points out that they are allies deserving of respect. And then, battle erupts.

While the battle is fairly even to begin with, Kodai takes the fight to the Gatlanteans, Yuunagi weaving its way through the enemy formation and destroying several ships and fighters, including one of the two Megaludas in the fleet.

Despite Kodai’s efforts, the battle still remains fairly even, but becomes more and more brutal over time. Suddenly the Gatlanteans unexpectedly begin to retreat toward the continent, and allied forces begin pursuit. Suddenly, a gigantic cross-shaped asteroid approaches the advancing vessels. It begins to break up, revealing a Calaklum-class super battleship, which unleashes torrents of firepower on the Earth-Garmillas fleet, destroying numerous craft.

Back at Earth Defense Headquarters, it becomes apparent that the combined task force is in over their heads. General Serizawa tells Commander Todo it is time to issue the order: “Plan A.” The screens shift to a new mode, deleting data from the view of controllers Yuki Mori and Mikage Kiryu. The combined fleet is ordered to withdraw as a new player prepares to enter the game. Two streaks of light break up into countless lines, instantly annihilating most of the Gatlantis fleet and disabling the Calaklum-class ship. It is the light of the Dispersion Wave-Motion Gun, released by the new battleship Andromeda.

The combined fleet has been rescued, but Kodai is shocked. Witnessing the overwhelming destructive power of a Wave-Motion Gun, the “promise” to Starsha of Iscandar floats through his mind…

Starsha: Please promise me you won’t repeat our folly.

Okita: I promise.

Sanada: Kodai, see the reality. Earth suffered a heavy blow in the last great war. In order to survive…

Captain Yamanami reports in from the bridge of Andromeda: the 8th floating continent base has been completely destroyed.

On Earth, Yuki casts a desperate, betrayed look toward Commander Todo. “This is the solution Earth came up with in these three years?”

The officers at Earth headquarters gloat over their instant victory, certain that even the hostile factions of Garmillas must now reckon with them as superiors.

Then the Calaklum revives despite significant hull damage. It rushes past Andromeda and warps into the orbit of Earth’s moon, on a direct collision course with Earth Defense HQ. Kodai chases it with an urgent warp of Yuunagi, but is no match for the giant. With Kodai at the end of his line, a communication comes in from Shiro Sanada, the former XO of Yamato.

“Send me the trajectory data.”

In a dark submarine dock, Sanada and other workers activate “it,” which is being rebuilt. Its huge hull leans to one side, aiming its guns toward the sky, and the light of a shock cannon bursts up through the water, evaporating it instantly and smashing the Calaklum to pieces. In that moment, Space Battleship Yamato saves Earth once again.

Kodai is relieved, and then a light flashes through his mind. A vision appears before his eyes and delivers words full of conviction. “Kodai, get on Yamato.” It is the voice of he whose life ended with finish of a 336,000-light-year journey. The voice of Space Battleship Yamato‘s first captain, Juuzo Okita…

Episode 1 notes

(from the video booklet)

In the surprising start of this work, the enemy Zordar talks about “love.” The up-tilted angle is the hallmark of Tomonori Kogawa, who was the art director of Farewell to Yamato, and he was actually in charge of this sequence of shots.

The situation of Earth having an alliance with Garmillas was inherited from 2199, which makes it unique to this work and was not possible in Farewell. This difference can be confirmed with the appearance of Garmillas characters at key points in the Earth Federal Government. What kinds of changes will this bring to the story? The relationship between these two forces will be a highlight of the series.

By the way, the ship named Yuunagi, which is captained by Kodai, was originally Hijikata’s ship in Farewell. And when the remodeled Yamato starts up again, the lines are the same as those of the workers in Episode 2 of the Space Battleship Yamato TV series. It is a situation that was daringly picked up after being omitted from 2199.


Episode 2: Tension – go to the secret underground moon base

Who is in the vision with a message calling for help? Kodai, who is the target of government monitoring, heads alone for the moon…

In an investigation by Kaoru Niimi of the science bureau, a Gatlantis soldier wase recovered alive from the Calaklum. He wakes up in a science lab, convulses, and suddenly explodes. (Soldiers from that nation are built to self-destruct if their bodies don’t receive a predetermined treatment.)

At the Garmillas embassy on the moon, Klaus Keyman reports to Ambassador Loren Burrel that the Terrans have captured Gatlanteans. Loren realizes the danger, but too late to inform anyone. Later, an injured Niimi wakes up in hospital, with Sanada waiting nearby.

During the launch ceremony for four new ships of the Andromeda class, two battleships (Aldebaran and Achilles) and two carriers (Apollo Norm and Antares), General Kotetsu Serizawa questions Burrel, the Garmillas ambassador to Earth, about the exploding Gatlantean soldier issue. Since the Garmillas knew about this and did not inform them in advance, tensions are high. Burrel speaks of the perils of distrust, pointing out that Earth was quick to break its anti-WMG promise to Iscandar. Serizawa responds that the captain of a single space battleship did not speak for all of Earth.

The ceremony ends with the four ships launching and then warping. Afterward, Keyman obtains a briefing from Burrel about the Yamato crew, with special focus on Kodai. Burrel is aware that the entire crew heard the voice of Teresa. He wants to speak with them personally before rumors of this reach Garmillas.

Yuki Mori, who now works at the headquarters, welcomes Kodai after he concludes a hearing about the matter of starting Yamato without permission. They drive through the recovering landscape of Earth. Kodai grumbles about his grilling by the military council, so she shouts: “Susumu Kodai saved the Earth! That’s the second time, maybe you should thank him!” Kodai shouts “I, Susumu Kodai, just looked into my own conscience!” They both laugh.

Yuki drives them into a town where we see an AU scrubbing graffiti off a building: “Go home, you dirty Garmillans.” They settle in a cafe. Yuki is wearing Kodai’s engagement ring, but still suffers from the memory loss previously explained in 2199: due to an unexplained accident, she has no memory earlier than her last four years. Kodai is determined to do everything in his power to make her happy, and she answers that she already is.

The day is December 8, and the former Yamato crew gathers at Hero’s Hill to observe the anniversary of Captain Okita’s death. But their hearts are heavy. Earth seems to have been reborn from the Cosmo Reverse System, but they can’t help but be troubled by a culture that seems to have forgotten its own past. More troubling is the government’s rush toward military expansion with Andromeda as a symbol of reconstruction. Sanada mentions to Kodai that the comm system for the entire solar system was disrupted shortly after Yamato took its shot. Everyone saw a phantom at that moment; Shima saw his own father. All were told to board Yamato. Yuki claims not to have seen anyone in her vision.

Yamato didn’t return from Iscandar to build a world like this,” Nanbu complains. “It’s almost as if Yamato is warning us about Earth’s sad future.”

Nearby, Klaus Keyman studies his subjects.

At the science bureau, Sanada shows Kodai and Shima data that Yamato recorded in a garbled communication that occurred simultaneously with the visions – a highly focused signal that was clearly aimed at Earth. They see a comet in deep space that is headed toward Earth, but is not due to arrive for thousands of years. The figure of a praying girl appears.

“Oh soldiers from a faraway planet, I entrust everything to you.”

Kodai insists that they take action and head for her location immediately. The entire crew has been touched by the same message and must respond. But Sanada insists that such a mission would never be sanctioned. Shima, who is considering leaving the military, reminds Kodai that he’s not alone any more. He must think about Yuki.

An anxious Kodai returns to the former Far East District Headquarters underground. When several armed men arrive at the site, he is ushered into a hiding place by Klaus Keyman (disguising himself as an Earthman), who informs him that all the members of Yamato’s crew are being monitored. He says that Garmillas owes Yamato a debt, and to visit Burrel at the Garamillas lunar embassy, for more information about the vision.

At the moon base, Yamamoto is putting new recruits through their paces. All the while, Kato and Makoto are watching over their deathly ill son Tsubasa, who suffers from Planet Bomb Syndrome. After their latest training run, Yamamoto receives a message from Kodai. He is secretly dropped off by Kenjiro Ota’s cargo ship in his recon plane. Flying covertly, he is intercepted by automated Garmillas defenses. Yamamoto shows up and takes care of them, seeing Kodai safely off toward the Garmillan Embassy.

As Planet Telezart is “cocooned,” Zordar is made aware that Teresa has sent the message and he orders the Imperial Planet Gatlantis to advance. Their target is Earth…

Episode 2 notes

(from the video booklet)

The highlight of the first half is the launching ceremony of the Andromeda class. Along with the surprise of Andromeda being mass-produced, it’s a scene that impresses on us the current state of Earth’s military expansion.

In the Heroes Hill scene, the gathered Yamato crew is confused with the situation, and the layout of the scene is very conscious of its counterpart in Farewell. The familiar form of Yuki as she runs with Kodai is also a point of interest.

The highlight of the latter half is Yamamoto flying the Cosmo Tiger I (!), a new craft that is this work’s unique answer to the mystery of “Cosmo Tiger II.” It is reminiscent of the Cosmo Pulsar, a craft that appeared in Yamato Resurrection.

By the way, Jiro Tsurumi, who is scolded by Yamamoto while in training, was a member of the Cosmo Tiger corps in Farewell who joined Yamato from the moonbase along with Kato and Yamamoto.

As for the main plot, you should pay close attention to the mysterious Garmillas character Keyman, who is literally the “key man” of the story.


Preview

Chapter 2: Launch Chapter

(from the official 2202 website)

Invited by Keyman, the mysterious young Garmillan, Kodai meets Ambassador Burrel at the Garmillas embassy on the moon to learn the story of Planet Telezart and Teresa. He is also told of the dark legacy of the Cosmo Reverse System that was brought back to Earth.

Angry about the policy of Earth’s government, Kodai tries to convince the highest EDF officers to respond to Teresa’s message, but Yamato is not given permission to launch…

Yamato’s crew, who received the message, gathers at the dock of the sleeping Yamato. Kodai is determined to begin a voyage in a move that can be taken as “treason.” Now, Space Battleship Yamato starts again. Andromeda, the most advanced ship, is waiting.

Meanwhile, elite Gatlantis troops invade the solar system, approaching the eleventh planet…

Trailer from the end of Episode 2:

Burrel’s sharp eyes look like they are seeing everything. Kodai talks with Burrel and Keyman at the Garmillas embassy.

Burrel: You were chosen by Teresa…

Keyman: Even you were surprised by how fast Andromeda was built.

Voice of Sanada: It is re-equipped with a Wave-Motion Gun.

Kodai: And you call this reconstruction!

Thoughtful looks from the elder crewmen.

Voice of Nanbu: Are you OK with this?

Kodai: Everyone, I need your help!!

Next episode title: Confrontation – Legacy of the Cosmo Reverse


Bonus

“Future News” story from the Yamato 2202 Newspaper

A future newspaper exclusive obtained through a time warp!!
Symbols of peace in space, the four advanced sister ships of Andromeda

Festive launch ceremony

The launch ceremony of the four Andromeda-class battleships, flagships of the Earth Federation space fleet, took place on December 8, 2202. It was performed magnificently with members of the Earth Federal Government and the Garmillas Empire in attendance. Andromeda, the first ship of the Andromeda class, had already gone into actual combat and achieved great results. This launch ceremony was for Andromeda‘s four sister ships, two of which are aircraft carriers. All are equipped with Wave-Motion Guns and state-of-the-art technology is used abundantly.

Cheering and applause for the maiden voyage

A cloudless sky and blue sea spread widely. Three years had passed since the crisis of global extinction. Who could have imagined that the reddened Earth and dried up ocean would be revived for this day?

After the war between Earth and Garmillas, it was critical to rebuild the space fleet, which was almost destroyed. The achievements of Space Battleship Yamato in bringing about the reconstruction were great. As Earth’s first interstellar space ship, it not only accomplished the feat of traveling 168,000 light years to Iscandar and back, its actual combat experience during the voyage brought back valuable intelligence for rebuilding the global fleet.

The launch ceremony took place with clear skies and without incident. Approximately 50,000 spectators gathered at the venue, and the audience that couldn’t get in watched from the surrounding shores. The ships lined up from the left: the third ship, carrier Apollo Norm, the fourth ship, battleship Achilles, the second ship, battleship Aldebaran, and the fifth ship, carrier Antares, was at the far right. Their ultra-modern forms were each equipped with two Wave-Motion Guns, suitable for the next generation of battleship, and seeing all four vessels lined up was, in a word, spectacular.

In the ceremony, an ornamental bottle of champagne was broken against Aldebaran‘s hull and the dock’s injection mechanism was activated to push all four vessels forward. The roar of their hulls echoed throughout the venue and the Andromeda-class ships started down the slope. They proceeded along the injection rails installed in the sea, quickly kicking up waves. The rails curved vertically upward and the four ships immediately went into warp. At the resulting sonic boom, cheering and applause exploded from the audience.

Next, the President of the Earth Federation Government presented a congratulatory message.

“Citizens of the globe, as the first president of the Earth Federal Government, I report the completion of the state-of-the-art Andromeda-class ships here today. With their power and the alliance between Earth and Garmillas, the peace of space will be protected. We also celebrate the glorious achievements of the first ship Andromeda, a symbol bearing the heaviest responsibility, which has already engaged in military operations. The next four sister ships will surely meet our expectations as an invincible shield to protect the peace.”

The ceremony was also attended by key Garmillas resident officers Loren Burrel, the Ambassador to Earth who signed the peace treaty, and Klaus Keyman.

The five ships in the Andromeda class were built after the war with Garmillas, constructed in about three years in the new “Wave-Motion Gunboat Corps Plan” concept. They are positioned as the flagships of the Earth Federation Aerospace Fleet. Labor is saved by the promotion of automation, which largely reduces the crew requirements. Only four personnel are stationed on the bridge: the Captain, XO, and combat chief (who holds the additional post of navigation chief), and communications chief.

The greatest feature is the double Wave-Motion Gun barrels at the bow of each ship. In addition to firing concentrated beams like Yamato, it is possible to disperse the Wave Energy to strike a large number of targets simultaneously. This is the origin of the common name “Dispersion Wave-Motion Gun.”

The first ship Andromeda was launched in absolute secrecy for the 8th Floating Continent Recapture Operation, in which the Dispersion Wave-Motion Gun was test-fired against a Gatlantis fleet.

The “trial” firing of the Dispersion Wave-Motion Gun

The first ship Andromeda was secretly launched for the 8th Floating Continent Recapture Operation and achieved great military gains.

Under Captain Yamanami, participating as a member of the joint Earth/Garmillas allied force, it did not show any movement at first. But immediately after the Gatlantis fleet launched a “large battleship” near the floating continent, the Dispersion Wave-Motion Gun was used.

This also served as a test voyage and took the form of a test-firing to the end, showing its power by driving the hostile enemy fleet almost to destruction with a single blow.


Continue to Chapter 2

14 thoughts on “Yamato 2202 Chapter 1 synopsis

    • Chapter 1 can be purchased on Blu-ray or DVD now from Japanese sources (see recent 2202 reports for links). There is no release yet outside of Japan.

  1. Assuming that Hero’s Hill is in Japan, it seems awfully warm for December 8. Maybe it was a mistake on the part of the Cosmo Reverse System when it restored Earth? Or maybe Earth’s climate before the war with Garmillas was warmer than it is now?

    • 200 years have passed – there’s no guarantee the climate then will be the same as here. Plus, we’re still unsure of what the effects of the CRS really are.

      Hero’s Hill is most probably in Kure, Japan – where the Yamato Museum stands today and where the real-world ship was built in the 1930s. One theory suggests that where Yamato sits in Episode 1 is around where the museum is.

      The historical average for Hiroshima on December 8 is a temperature range of 5-13 Celsius. It has had a recorded daytime temperature of 22.6 Celsius, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that it’s a rather warm day. I’m assuming you’re thinking of Yuki’s outfit – and let me tell you, I’ve seen women in Hokkaido in sub-zero effective temperatures (0 Celsius with -14 wind chill) in less weather-appropriate outfits than what Yuki’s wearing. If nothing else, then who knows what almost 200 years of advancement in clothing does for keeping warm.

  2. Thank you Tim. I just finished watching the English-language fansubs which are starting to show up. What a great storyline. Your synopsis answers a couple of questions I had. Shame that Voyager has dropped the ball yet again. I can’t imagine watching this without being able to understand the dialogue taking place between characters. I’m grateful to whoever is doing the fansub work, but I hope one day it will be possible to purchase official Blu-rays with English subs or dubs.

  3. In episode 2,I had noticed the racist graffiti regarding the growing alliance between Earth and Gamilus,apparently despite the new alliance and the growing hands of friendship that was born
    from the great journey to Iscandar during the Earth and Gamilus War of 2199 A.D.there are still
    some of Humanity still that still resents the idea of co-existence of other people in the universe,
    even they are a lot like us in many ways.

    Kind of shows goes to show you of just how far humanity has truly progressed from all of this.

  4. What is the Calaklum class battleships prime weapon called?
    Looks awesome and I dont understand why Andromeda didnt warp after Gatlantov

  5. Interesting, why did they put the carrier deck on the bridge of the 3rd and 5th ship of andromeda class instead of creating a new carrier class of their own?

  6. The problem I had with these episodes is that the ‘evil’ of Motion-Wave guns is revisited, and the Yamato crew take a stance of moral indignation over it. The problem with that position is:

    1) The Yamato used the weapon on many occasions, and nobody batted an eye about it.

    2) The voyage would have met with disaster at several junctures without the weapon.

    3) The weapon was used only when the combined fleet was getting wiped out, making the Yamato crew seem to be saying that the combined fleet should have died to a man rather than use Wave Motion. These are people who had few qualms about using it, as stated in (1)

    And then there’s a big deal made about Okita’s promise to Queen Starsha. This falls flat to me for two reasons, one minor and one major.

    1) Okita was an admiral. A highly-skilled, highly-respected admiral, but still an admiral. A promise from him had bearings only on his command, and on nothing else.

    2) Something that a lot of people tend to ignore, and that the anime blatantly glosses over, is that the promise, while probably sincere, was made under duress. Starsha was initially going to condemn the entire human race over using Wave-Motion (by refusing to give the Earth-restoring device). That’s pretty cruel, right there. And then, when she relents a bit, she makes not using Wave Motion a condition to giving the device.

    That’s right, she metaphorically held a gun to humanity’s head to get that promise out of humans. That’s hardly binding. In fact, I’d say a promise made under such circumstances is meaningless. And yet the thing is treated as if breaking it is entirely dishonorable.

    The fact that Kodai, who fires the Wave Motion more time than any other human, is being morally indignant and is talking as if he has the moral high ground, also really gets to me. The guy really has an hypocritical side.

    Sorry about the long rant. Had to get it out of my system.

  7. The fact that Kodai, who fires the Wave Motion more time than any other human, is being morally indignant and is talking as if he has the moral high ground, also really gets to me. The guy really has an hypocritical side.
    >
    >
    No, He’s really frightened by the thought of the Wave Motion Gun being in the hands of the people who started the Gamilus War by ordering Okita to fire on the Gamilus ships.

    Don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want such people near such a weapon either.

    • First, be certain you’re not overlapping your memories of the original saga with the remake. The original Kodai fired it lots of times. The remake Kodai has not.

      Second, have you done a review of 2199 to take an inventory of how many times the gun was used, and what its purpose was? That should be your only reference point going into 2202.

    • All I’m saying is that Kodai (and Yuki) are griping about something… yet seem to have no real alternative to the question “How do you want us to defend ourselves?”

      It’s not enough to be AGAINST something, you have to be FOR something better.

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