Anime Comics

Shortly before Yamato III concluded its first run on Japanese TV in April 1981, it received special treatment from an energetic new monthly magazine published by Akita Shoten called My Anime. In a field that was already becoming crowded with magazines practically climbing over each other to bring you all the hot anime news, My Anime was a true standout. Loaded from front to back with imaginative and wide-ranging stories, it didn’t stop with just the news of the day. Older films and shows were examined, creators and actors gave in-depth access to their daily lives, pros wrote monthly columns, and fans were given numerous opportunities to participate. If the word “Otaku” had been in common parlance in the early 80s, My Anime would have been THE Otaku magazine.

Akita Shoten had already published many Yamato books and magazines, and had become well-known for their inventive approach. They were the first to bring Anime Comics to a hungry audience, filling the desire to relive a good story over and over before the days of affordable home video. They did it so well that even when said video finally arrived, Anime Comics kept on being published. (After all, they were still cheaper and much more portable.)

Akita turned the first three Yamato feature films into Anime Comics in late 1980 and early ’81, and when Yamato III arrived hot on the heels of Be Forever, they decided to keep a good thing going. Beginning with the inaugural issue of My Anime (which was dated for April but actually appeared on newsstands in March), the entire TV series was transformed, episode by episode, into an anime comic serial that lasted until June 1982. It was the only Yamato TV series to receive such treatment until series 1 became a set of five Star Blazers Animation Comics for American readers in late ’83.

Here, for the first time, we present every page of Akita Shoten’s Yamato III anime comics in English. Character names have been changed to match Star Blazers continuity, but the story itself is unaltered, and even contains scenes and dialogue you won’t find on the Bolar Wars videos. Click on one of the magazine covers below and settle in for The Bolar Wars as you’ve never seen it before! (And remember that all pages read from right to left.)

Episode 1

from My Anime
April, 1981

Episode 2

from My Anime
May, 1981

Episodes 3 & 4

from My Anime
June, 1981

Episodes 5 & 6

from My Anime
July, 1981

Episodes 7 & 8

from My Anime
August, 1981

Episodes 9 & 10

from My Anime
September, 1981

Episodes 11 & 12

from My Anime
October, 1981

Episodes 12 & 13

from My Anime
Nov, 1981

Episodes 14 & 15

from My Anime
December, 1981

Episodes 16 & 17

from My Anime
January, 1982

Webcomics Start Here

Click on the image
to begin reading

Episodes 18-20

from My Anime
February, 1982

Episodes 21 & 22

from My Anime
March, 1982

Episodes 23 & 24

from My Anime
April, 1982

Episodes 24 & 25

from My Anime
May, 1982

Episode 25 conclusion

from My Anime
June, 1982

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