As of summer 2019, the amount of ink and paper devoted to Yamato 2202 falls significantly short of Yamato 2199. There is as yet no manga, no hobby manuals, and much less in terms of dedicated books. As a result, what we do have is more focused and more precious due to its comparative rarity. Here is the 2202 library as of July 2019.
Yamato 2202 Complete Works, Vol. 1
Kadokawa, February 2019
This was the first honest-to-Zordar art book for Yamato 2202. And it’s a beauty, 160 pages that correspond to Yamato 2199’s “Earth” book, covering all of the mecha and characters from the Earth side of the story. 30 pages of color images are followed by over 100 in black & white, filled with production art that fleshes everything out. A 15-page story digest covers the first thirteen episodes.
Order it from Amazon.co.jp or CD Japan.
Yamato 2202 Complete Works Vol. 2
Kadokawa, March 2019
At 176 pages, this is slightly longer than Volume 1 and picks up where it left off, covering the Gatlantis and Garmillas factions. But there’s still plenty of Yamato/Earth material as well, collecting everything that was seen in the last two chapters. Since Volume 1 appeared in stores on the eve of Chapter 7, including this material there would have been spoileriffic, so the delay made perfect sense.
A few story pages cover Episodes 14-26 with staff interviews and promo art filling the remaining space.
Yamato 2202 Complete Works Vol. 3
Kadokawa, June 2019
Following the format established by Yamato 2199 Complete Works, this volume contains all the scripts for the series. That obviously limits their appeal to non-Japanese readers, but an occasional nugget that didn’t make it to the screen can come to light thanks to books like this. At 352 pages, it is the thickest of the three volumes.
Order it from Amazon here.
OUT magazine special issue
Kadokawa, February 2019
This 176-page extravaganza is a simultaneous love letter to 2202 and the original OUT magazine, which single-handedly brought the original series back to public consciousness at a key moment in the saga’s history (read all about that watershed event here). Roughly a quarter of the page count is given to color coverage of the anime, and the rest is a treasure trove of light-hearted features: short stories, fan art, parody manga, character rankings, articles on the history of OUT and fan-generated media, some amazing tribute art, and much more.
Complete Works storage box
In July 2019, Yamato Crew offered (via mail order) a storage box for all three volumes of Complete Works with new wraparound art by Kia Asamiya.
Yamato 2202 Storyboard Collection
Yamato Crew, September 2019
This 2-volume set is definitely a first in Yamato history. Movie storyboards for Be Forever and Resurrection have made their way into print, and selected episodes of 2199 were released in booklet form, but until now we’ve never seen storyboards for an entire series.
Each of the two volumes runs about 400 pages with the 26 episodes and opening/end titles split between them. The set is only available from Yamato Crew, and only ships to addresses in Japan, so you’ll need a Japanese friend to aquire it for you.
As with Complete Works, Kia Asamiya created wraparound art for an optional storage box that was offered with the set.
Anime Graph Ultimate Edition
March 2019
One of the Chapter 7 products sold in theaters was the “Anime Graph,” a collection of 20 2-sided posters (featuring characters and mecha) sized at about 12” x 17.” Two weeks later, Yamato Crew offered the “Ultimate Edition” for online sale. Packaged in a thin cardboard box, it contained everything from the theater edition and an additional 10 pieces.
See the entire set here.
Yamato 2202 Nobuteru Yuuki Retouch a Picture Collection
December 2019
Character Designer Nobuteru Yuuki wowed Yamato fans when he pioneered a new category of book in 2014, extensive collections of animation layouts that he personally drew for 2199. Since they came from his hand, they maintain the highest level of fidelity to his original vision. He did it again for Ark of the Stars in 2017 and continued with this full color, 112-page volume that covers his work from 2202 Episodes 17-26. The book is currently available on from Yamato Crew (and ships only to Japanese addresses).
Yamato 2202 Original Picture Collection Vol. 1
December 2019
This serves as a worthy companion to Yuuki’s book, but is organized by character rather than by episode and brings together layouts by multiple artists from across the entire series. A few images cross over, but are all presented larger in this book. Containing 96 full-color pages, it was initially sold only to Gold-level members of the Yamato Crew Premium Fan Club in the 2020 renewal package. It was offered again to Silver members in July 2020.
Yamato 2202 Original Picture Collection Vol. 2
December 2020
The second volume followed the same format with another set of layouts that spanned the entire series. Again, it was initially offered to Gold-level members of the Yamato Crew Premium Fan Club in the 2021 renewal package. As of this writing (February 2021) it has not expanded beyond that initial print run.
THEATRICAL PROGRAM BOOKS
Chapter 1
February 25, 2017
The movie program books from Yamato 2199 remain the some of the most pleasing publications on that series, full of large color images, exclusive artwork, time capsule content, and more. The 2202 editions follow their exact format.
This volume contains material for Episodes 1 and 2. See it from cover to cover (40 pages) here with links to translated text.
Chapter 2
June 24, 2017
This contains material for Episodes 3-6 with an introduction by Harutoshi Fukui, a Chapter 1 recap, Chapter 2 synopses, character, mecha, and world guides, a new center spread by the great Naoyuki Katoh, an interview with CG Director Taichi Kimura (read it here), four pages of Junichiro Tamamori mecha design, and multiple pages of product announcements.
See it from cover to cover here.
Chapter 3
October 14, 2017
This contains material for Episodes 7-10 with an intro by Harutoshi Fukui, story guide, character and mecha pages, a centerfold by Naoyuki Katoh, an interview with scriptwriter Hideki Oka, a selection of animation layouts, and multiple ad pages for new and upcoming products.
See it from cover to cover here.
Chapter 4
January 31, 2018
This volume, covering Episodes 11-14, was the only one NOT available in theaters on opening day due to a record snowfall that interfered with shipping. It did arrive in time for Chapter 4’s second week in theaters. At 44 pages, it followed the well-established format with lavish attention paid to stills, designs, artwork, an interview with Composer Akira Miyagawa, and much more.
See it from cover to cover here
Chapter 5
May 25, 2018
This volume covered Episodes 15-18 in 44 pages with an introduction by Harutoshi Fukui, story synopses, character and mecha guides (a true highlight for this chapter), another gorgeous centerspread by Naoyuki Katoh, and a new interview with Mecha Designer Junichiro Tamamori.
See it from cover to cover here.
Chapter 6
November 2, 2018
This volume covered Episodes 19-22 in 44 pages with prodigious art and story material, interviews with cast members, and a new interview with Art Director Yoshio Tanioka.
See it from cover to cover here
Chapter 7
March 1, 2019
The last volume wrapped things up in 44 pages with a mission map, a full examination of Gatlantis, an interview with Habara and Fukui, another with Ono and Kamiya, and sendoff messages from cast and crew. The only thing missing was an ad for the next chapter, because, of course…we’re done.
See it from cover to cover here.
Storage box
Yamato Crew, June 2019
Custom storage boxes for the 2199 program books were sold with the theater goods that accompanied its finale, but with 2202 the corresponding box was only offered via mail order from Yamato Crew. Its design matched that of DVD and Blu-ray boxes they offered back in 2017.
STORYBOARD BOOKLETS
With each chapter of 2202, theater-exclusive Blu-rays were sold to ticket holders. Though identical Blu-rays were available to all a month or so later, these came with unique booklets that focused on a single episode by reproducing both the storyboard and the screenplay. Cover art on the storyboard booklets was by Character Designer Nobuteru Yuuki.
Chapter 1: storyboard for Episode 1
Chapter 2: storyboard for Episode 4
Chapter 3: storyboard for Episode 10
Chapter 4: storyboard for Episode 14
Chapter 5: storyboard for Episode 18
Chapter 6: storyboard for Episode 20
SCRIPT BOOKLETS
The script booklets were bundled with their corresponding storyboard booklets and covered the same episodes. Those who bought their Blu-rays from Yamato Crew had more to collect; each volume came with facsimiles of voice-recording scripts for all the episodes (which differed in format from the screenplays). At the end of the run, Yamato Crew offered storage boxes for all 26 of these booklets.
NEWSPAPERS
Something completely new to the world of Yamato publishing were four editions of a 2202 Newspaper published by Sankei Sports. Clocking in at 32 pages and measuring a generous 11″ x 16″, they were the largest-format 2202 publications and were released to coincide with the odd-numbered chapters.
Newspaper 1
February, 2017
This volume came with story and character data, a report “from the year 2202” on the launch of the new Andromeda-type ships, a scientific piece on space warps, a 2-sided poster, staff & cast interviews (including an ultra-rare talk with Akira Yamamoto’s voice actress), and a look back at the original Farewell to Yamato.
Read the “launch report” here.
Read the Rie Tanaka interview here.
Read the Nobuyoshi Habara interview here.
Read the Harutoshi Fukui interview here.
See it from cover to cover here.
Newspaper 2
October, 2017
This one contained more lookback articles, poster-sized artwork, and several new interviews including one between Houku Kuwashima (Yuki) and JAXA astronaut/Yamato fan Naoko Yamazaki. Titled “Space Girls,” it is the first of its kind and can be read here.
Read interviews with the production staff here and composer Akira Miyagawa here.
See it from cover to cover here.
Newspaper 3
May, 2018
This one accompanied Chapter 5. It contained story info and interviews found nowhere else, along with a two-sided pullout centerspread.
See it from cover to cover here.
For the first time, this edition of the newspaper was available to overseas customers via Amazon.co.jp. It can be ordered here.
Newspaper 4
March 1, 2019
The final edition opened with story digest material, then a chart of story differences from Farewell to Yamato 2 to 2202, a 2-sided poster, cast and staff interviews, and a scientific examination of Analyzer.
Order it from Amazon.co.jp here.
See it from cover to cover here.
NOVELIZATIONS
Volume 1
Kadokawa, October 2017
Written by Yuka Minagawa based on the story by Harutoshi Fukui, this first volume from Kadokawa publishing covers episodes 1-5 in nine chapters, each of which starts with a new illustration by Michio Murakawa. A color foldout at the front of the book provides two extra illustrations.
The interior of the dust jacket contains English text that gives us a new reading on the famous opening lines: The universe expands infinitely. The space that was filled with quiet light. A star who goes for death. A star who is born. So yes, the universe is alive.
Order it from Amazon here or CD Japan here.
Volume 2
Kadokawa, December 2017
This second volume followed the format of the first, just over 500 pages with a color foldout and 10 chapter illustrations by Michio Murakawa. The content of this volume goes through Episode 10, though it skips the main body of that episode and only includes the appearance of Dessler at the end. This brought the story even with Chapter 3 upon publication.
Order it from Amazon here or CD Japan here.
Volume 3
Kadokawa, May 2018
This third volume had another impressive page count (just over 500) and ten chapters that take us up to the start of the Telezart landing operation (Episode 13). Michio Murakawa provided the cover and interior illustrations, which include a color foldout and a frontispiece for each chapter.
Order it from Amazon.co.jp here.
Volume 4
Kadokawa, February 2019
This volume takes us through the midpoint of the story and is set entirely on Planet Telezart. As before, cover and interior illustrations are by Michio Murakawa.
Order it from Amazon here or CD Japan here.
QUARTERLY FAN CLUB MAGAZINES
Coverage of 2202 began in issue 13 of Ship’s Log, the magazine that launched in 2012 to mark the arrival of Yamato 2199. Predictably, the new series took over the magazine as 2199 receded, to the point where it was rebranded and supersized in the summer of 2018. Here is the complete run as of the summer of 2019…
Ship’s Log Issue 13
March 2016
The first issue to break 2202 news was truly a feast with the third “Producer Speaks” interview, a long conversation with Writer Harutoshi Fukui, another fan meeting report, a discussion about the evolution of Yamato’s mecha design since 2009, a feature on classic saga press kits, Yoshinobu Nishizaki’s continuing biography, and plenty more.
Click here to read the 2202 coverage from this issue.
Ship’s Log Issue 14
June 2016
This issue brought a fresh round of news directly from the nerve center with a fourth Producer Speaks interview, a conversation with Director Nobuyoshi Habara (who created the striking cover image) and continuing features on local events and saga history.
Read the Producer’s message here.
Ship’s Log Issue 15
September 2016
This issue led with a report of the September 2016 production presentation, with the first character & mecha designs, and a lengthy interview with Assistant Director Makoto Kobayashi (which can be read here). The rest of the magazine was occupied by news of fan activities, product news, and editorial tidbits.
Ship’s Log Issue 16
January 2017
As the last issue to appear before the Chapter 1 premiere in February 2017, it delivered the most detailed look so far at the redesign of Yamato and Andromeda, and provided some character data not yet seen on the official site.
The main article was an interview with the voice actors for Kodai and Yuki, which can be read here.
Ship’s Log Issue 17
March 2017
As the first to appear after the premiere of Chapter 1, this one was filled with expanded coverage on the film and feature interviews with Harutoshi Fukui (writer), Nobuyoshi Habara (director) and Sublimation (CG studio).
Ship’s Log Issue 18
June 2017
This issue arrived as Chapter 2 opened. The features this time were news updates from all fronts, five pages of character design, two of mecha design, interviews with scriptwriter Hideki Oka and voice actor Hiroshi Kamiya, animation layout art, and a fan event roundup.
Read the Hideki Oka interview here.
Ship’s Log Issue 19
September 2017
This issue included exclusive features on Chapter 3. Contained in its 32 pages were the latest product news, 10 pages of character and mecha design art, interviews with illustrator Kia Asamiya and the product development team at Megahouse, comments from the fan community, and more.
Ship’s Log Issue 20
January 2018
This issue ran 32 pages and focused primarily on Chapter 4 with the latest news and product announcements, scene highlights, large-format character/mecha/environment designs, a music interview with Isao Sasaki & Akira Miyagawa, an interview with 2202 novelist Yuka Minagawa, and more.
Read the novelist interview here.
Ship’s Log Issue 21
May 2018
This issue overflowed with Chapter 5 coverage: 3 pages of stills, 10 pages of design work, an interview with art director Yoshio Tanioka (read it here), another with Hiroshi Kamiya & Nobuyoshi Habara, and the regular features that made this a vital reference point. It was the last to be published under this name.
Star Blazers/Yamato Magazine Vol. 0
July 2018
At 108 pages, the newly-expanded magazine was squarebound and packed.
The first 40 pages echoed Ship’s Log with similar coverage: new character, mecha and production art (with the first look at Chapter 6), an interview with Mecha Designer Junichiro Tamamori (read it here), and a few backup features. The remainder of the magazine was given entirely over to production materials: design work from the end of 2199/start of 2202, and the complete script and storyboards to 2202 Episode 2.
Star Blazers/Yamato Magazine Vol. 1
October 2018
The main feature in this 100-page issue was “Melancholy of Dessler,” a 24-page collection of articles and commentaries on the complex history of everyone’s favorite dictator from the early days through to the modern era.
12 pages were devoted to the art of Chapter 6, and in addition to a few more interviews and articles, the last major feature of the issue was the complete script and storyboard for 2202 Episode 3.
Star Blazers/Yamato Magazine Vol. 2
February 2019
With this issue, the magazine settled into a more sustainable 60-page format, but production values were still as high as always. It focused entirely on “Yamato heroines” with multiple articles on female characters from across the saga.
Top ten character rankings (based on a point system) landed Yuki at the top, followed by Sabera and Yamamoto. Surprisingly, Sanada’s sister Mio (from Series 1) tied with the Queen of Aquarius at number 10. Four of the female voice actors were interviewed.
Chapter 7 coverage gave us some new character art from the final episodes, and other features filled out another satisfying issue.
Star Blazers/Yamato Magazine Vol. 3
May 2019
This issue took a turn into new territory with a cover feature decidedly aimed at female fans, titled Into a Dream with Yamato Prince. This was a series of articles covering the saga’s male characters from a romantic point of view, starting with a comparison between two characters on opposite sides of the wheel: extroverted hero Susumu Kodai and introverted creep Shinya Ito. This included an interview with Ito’s voice actor and a short story titled Winter’s Messenger with Ito as the main character (written by 2202 scriptwriter Hideki Oka. The cover feature concluded with a chart to figure out which “Yamato prince is your dream date.
The rest of the magazine contained a smattering of interviews, including one with JAXA representative Hitoshi Kuninaka, Writer Harutoshi Fukui, and Exec Producer Shoji Nishizaki. Of course, anything a Nishizaki has to say goes right to the top of our priority list, so you can read that interview here.
Coverage of these magazines continues in the regular Yamato 2202 reports: Vol. 4 | Vol. 5 | Vol. 6 | Vol. 7
1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model magazines
Hachette, January 2019 debut
Hachette is a publishing company that specializes in large-scale high-end model kits sold by parts in a weekly subscription format. At the end of the run, you have a gorgeous model kit and a collection of magazines that come with each weekly volume. Scheduled to run 110 volumes, Hachette’s 1/350 Yamato has its own dedicated magazine that splits its 12 pages between an instruction manual and coverage of the 2202 series with detailed looks at characters, mecha, and episodes.
It is similar in concept to DeAgostini’s Weekly Yamato Fact File magazine, which ran 80 issues (February 2010 to August 2011) and covered the entire original saga. When the Hachette magazine finishes in early 2021, its 2202 material should surpass 600 pages, making it the single largest resource on the series.
MAGAZINE COVERAGE
It goes without saying that magazine coverage for 2202 was both widespread and scattered with dozens of interviews and articles covering multiple aspects of production. They can all be found in the “interviews” and “articles” categories of the 2202 section of Cosmo DNA. Only the magazines that carried cover stories are collected here.
Showa 40 Otoko Vol. 41
Crete Publishing, January 2017
Show 40 Otoko [1965 Man] is a monthly men’s lifestyle magazine that has graced these pages once before. Back in January 2013, they published a Yamato cover story that fronted for some terrific legacy coverage and an enlightening interview with writer/director Eiichi Yamamoto. Read all of that content (and get an explanation for the magazine’s name) here.
Issue 41 of Showa 40 Otoko became the first magazine since 1978 to put the classic Farewell to Yamato movie poster on its cover, which fronted for extensive articles on the SF culture of 1970s Japan. Four of these articles dug into Space Battleship Yamato, leading up to an interview with 2202 writer Harutoshi Fukui.
Read that interview here.
Weekly Asahi
Asahi Shimbun, February 2017
When marketing began for Yamato 2199, the promo team’s policy was to go where their core audience (people in their 40s and 50s who grew up on the original) would see them. Thus, rather than anime magazines for kids and teenagers, they leaned toward lifestyle magazines, business magazines, etc. That policy continued with this, the first mainstream magazine to put out a 2202 cover story.
Inside were 13 pages devoted to 2202 featuring a retrospective on Farewell to Yamato, new mecha and character designs, a dual interview with Harutoshi Fukui (writer) and Daisuke Ono (Kodai), and two pages of trivia.
See all the pages here.
Great Mechanics G, 2017 spring issue
Futaba Co., March 2017
True anime mecha fans rejoice at the arrival of every issue of this quarterly magazine. Under the name Great Mechanics DX, they consistently gave us the highest-quality Yamato 2199 coverage (consult our 2199 media index to find it) and this cover art by Naochika Morishita signaled equal attention for 2202.
The article spanned 12 pages with an extended Nobuyoshi Habara interview and a conversation with the designers of the 1/1000 Andromeda model. Read it here and order your own copy here.
Hobby Japan #575
Hobby Japan Press, March 2017
Over the years, Hobby Japan has continually been the most reliable source for news of Yamato model kits and related products. This was the only issue that gave 2202 a cover, and it contained a whopper of an article – 26 pages of glorious model photography.
Model Graphix #391
Dai Nippon Kaiga, April 2017
This “Space Naval Review” issue put Andromeda on the cover and backed it up with a 14-page article. It included an interview with mecha designer Junichiro Tamamori, his first in the 2202 cycle.
See all the pages and read that interview here.
Sunday Daily magazine
Mainichi Shimbun, October 2017
This news magazine sported a Yamato 2202 cover story for Chapter 3, a 10-page feature reviewing Farewell to Yamato with a primer on the entire Yamato saga and an interview with Composer Akira Miyagawa.
Read the interview here
Okinawa Living magazine
Marine Corps Community Services, September 2018
Finally, the last thing you expected to see: a magazine…in English…published in Japan…with Yamato coverage. The magazine serves English-speaking personnel and their families at the US military base in Okinawa, and covers a wide range of topics.
This issue sported a Yamato cover (probably for the first time) to front for a 7-page interview with Okinawa resident Junichiro Tamamori, who designed Yamato and other Earth mecha for 2199 and 2202. This wasn’t his first interview in English (Cosmo DNA earned that distinction in 2011) but it’s definitely the first of its kind.
See the magazine from cover to cover here, or click here to read the interview article.