January: Yamato/Triton EP

Before Yamato, there was an earlier Yoshinobu Nishizaki anime that inspired a similar level of devotion: Triton of the Sea. It was a 1972 TV series based on an Osamu Tezuka manga (English edition released in two volumes by Digital Manga Publishing, 2013). Due to a “clerical error,” Nishizaki wound up with animation rights after working for Tezuka, and he made good use of them.

Triton was the first known anime to spawn its own fan club and inspire fans to seek out the production studio, just as Yamato did in 1974. The show also had quite a rousing theme song, which gave Nippon Columbia a good excuse to gang up its songs with Yamato‘s onto a 4-track EP. That made this the first Yamato single since December 1974.

Read more about Triton here. Listen to the title song here.

September: Isao Sasaki, Scarlet Scarf, World of Anime Roman LP

Nippon Columbia, CS-7040

It had been a year since Isao Sasaki’s first all-anime theme album, and the Yamato boom made it high time for a followup. This disc contained some crossover, but it was the first all-Sasaki album to feature both the OP and ED themes, and the first one to put the word “anime” on its cover.

Other songs included themes from Grendaizer, Getta Robo, Dangard Ace, Casshan, and more.

Release dates unknown

TV Anime Best 10 Theme Song Collection came out from Asahi Sonorama in December, piling 15 tracks onto two 10″ records. The Yamato theme and The Scarlet Scarf shared vinyl with songs from Cyborg 009, Triton, Lupin III, Gatchaman, and many more contemporary classics.

There was also a deluxe Manga Shonen edition that came in the form of a hardcover book with pictures and story info from each show represented in the collection.

This rare find is one of those low-press run recordings from a school. Specifically, it’s the First Chorus Festival of the Metropolitan National High School, recorded some time in 1977 at Tachikawa Citizen’s Hall. Among many Japanese standards, it includes two performances of Roman classics and two anime themes: Mighty Atom and the Yamato theme. What makes it special is that it’s the only recording on LP that goes past the first two verses. There is a four-verse version of the song (learn all about it here), and the performance on this album goes through verse 3. So it certainly belongs in the Yamato hall of fame.