Harutoshi Fukui Essay

From the Chapter 1 program book, February 25, 2017.

It is the year 2202.
A new menace is about to sweep over the universe.

In search of the lost future

When talking about Yamato, I remember the messages of Producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki in pamphlets such as this one. The producer appeared in the front to talk about the theme of the work, which was unusual in those days of the anime industry, but at that time it was unusual for anime to have a theme.

“Love is the common theme for all of humanity.”
“Could you die for the one you love?”
“It is a time to rethink our thoughts and our daily lives, and you who will become adults in the 80s and 90s must find the right beliefs and unite to carry them out.”

This writer “became an adult in the 80s and 90s” and I have a lot of memories in common with the others. Of course, we have our own tastes, but with a feeling of hope for passing on to these young successors our awareness of the issues and mutual faith in the future. Understanding that we ourselves are children who are overreaching, I think that they have accepted these words. The romance upon which Yamato is based brings with it a vauge feeling of expectation that the future will be better.

I’m getting on board Yamato as a newcomer this time, and I’ve gone to the side that issues the words. What are we here to say? Thirty years on, we were expected to be “the future,” so what kind of words can we cast?

Far from reflecting oneself, the 1980s were a decade of debauchery and stratification, and of course the 90s sank into collapse as the natural result. The population problem was a crisis of resources brought on by an increase in people, but I never thought those words would point to an economic crisis caused by decline. Even if a warp was forced, the prediction that we’d have moon bases in the 21st century has been betrayed. Globalism, once thought to be a stepping stone toward a world federation, has only promoted concentration of wealth. Nationalism, which began to emerge in resistance, encourages divisions all over the world. We shouldn’t say a person is a product, but people continue to say they want to die for their beloved country or God, and the character of terrorism is ever present in the daily news.

What was expected thirty years ago is obviously different from the “future” in which we live. Furthermore, with that reality before us, we staff could not have the brazenness to be unconditionally positive about the future. So it could be said that the result was for us to think about Space Battleship Yamato 2202, Soldiers of Love.

It is three years since the great voyage to Iscandar. Kodai and the others on Yamato‘s crew live in a different world than what was expected. The policy of the Earth government is to break a promise with Starsha the benefactor, and behind the glory of reconstruction is a darknessā€¦a shameful, uncomfortable feeling, similar to what we face in the real world. Moreover, they are coming to know the negative aspects of the emotion called “love,” and the enemy of wisdom is waiting to pounce.

It is harsh and urgent, like the current trend of taking direct hits from the front. The Yamato that intoxicated young people thirty years ago might have originally been such a thing. In a worldview that can be a mirror image of reality, if characters are able to regain hope for the future, it may give a true cathartic experience to those of us who feel “betrayed by the future.” Based on this conviction, Yamato‘s next voyage begins.

In the first chapter, we share the mood. The next chapter lies in the groove between reality and ideals, opening the curtain on a fight with a powerful enemy that seems to ooze out of the depths of darkness. It will be a long stretch, but thank you in advance for going all the way to the end.



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