2202 action ticked downward as previously-promoted products rolled out and some new ones were announced. But fans flew their Yamato flags to make it another interesting month. Here’s what happened in July 2019…
July 3: Anime Expo
The first news of the month comes from sunny Los Angeles, where the annual Anime Expo gave fans their first look at the upcoming Yamato 2199 manga in English with these sample pages shown at a Dark Horse Comics panel. The book itself was promoted to appear July 31, but was delayed to August 14.
Photos posted on Twitter by Deb Aoki. See a few sample pages here.
July 3: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model, volume 23
Hachette’s record-breaking Yamato model continued rolling out week by week and the forward bow continued to be packed full of electronic parts; this set was for securing LEDs and fiber optics under the deck.
Photos posted on Twitter by Hachi Kuji, O Chan, and Haru.
See Hachette’s instruction video here.
See an unboxing video here.
July 10: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model, volume 24
This was a simpler volume, containing a single hull plate and a fiber optic to secure to it.
See Hachette’s instruction video here.
See an unboxing video here.
July 12: Storyboard books announced
Yamato 2202 publishing is not over yet! Yamato Crew announced this limited edition 2-volume Storyboard Collection for release in late September. Each volume will clock in at about 400 pages and contain 13 episodes of storyboards, which is a first in Yamato history. (We’ve gotten them for movies, but only a few episodes of 2199 and almost nothing for the original TV episodes.)
There will also be a slipcase with wraparound art by Kia Asamiya. See it larger at the end of this page.
The set is not currently being offered by other vendors such as Amazon.co.jp, so Yamato Crew looks to be the only source. You can place an order here, but they will only ship to Japanese addresses (such as this one).
July 17: Complete Works storage box
A few days later, Yamato Crew shipped out a similar slipcase (also with art by Kia Asamiya) to contain all three volumes of the 2202 Complete Works book set, which has been covered in previous reports.
July 17: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model, volume 25
This volume delivered the next hull plate and its fiber optic attachment, to sit right below the last one and extend the bow section farther backward. Photo above left posted on Twitter by Hachi Kuchi.
Twitter users NCC1701refit (above right) and Mamachari129 (below) gave us a better appreciation of how large and complex the overall model is becoming.
See Hachette’s instruction video here.
See an unboxing video here.
July 19 & 22: Concert news
On July 19, Hiroshi Miyagawa’s famed Space Battleship Yamato suite was performed live at the Osaka College of Music summer concert. Regrettably, no recording has emerged since.
On July 22, we got some news about the upcoming Yamato 2202 concert, specifically the impressive lineup of talent set to take the stage on October 14. Most prominently, actress/singer Ayaka Hirahara (above right) will reprise her rendition of Great Harmony, the end title song from Ark of the Stars. She is a very prolific talent in Japan with 21 albums and numerous film, TV, and stage credits.
Though the musicians are not well-known to Western audiences, they all qualify as elites at home. Top row: Jun Tsunoda (guitar), Shigeki Ippon (contrabass), Masato Kawase (percussion), Tomoe Yamamoto (violin) and Aoi Mizoguchi (cello). Bottom row: Makoto Hirahara (saxophone), Satoshi Takezawa (guitar), Tatsuro Ariki (keyboard), Yoshiro Kanamori (bass) and of course Akira Miyagawa (composer/conductor).
Everyone on the bottom row has made previous contributions to Yamato. Makoto Hirahara previously performed with Hiroshi Miyagawa’s band and collaborated with Akira on the 2005 album Acoustic Yamato. He is also the father of Ayaka Hirahara. Takezawa, Ariki, and Kanamori combine to form S.E.N.S. Project, a group that produced five of the end title songs for Yamato 2202.
Akira Miyagawa described the upcoming concert as a collection of completely new arrangements with a small number of people (as opposed to an orchestra). He said that he doesn’t yet know exactly what kind of concert it will be, but he hopes to make it something new for the Yamato audience.
July 24: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model, volume 26
This volume contained a hull panel with optics that mirrored the one released in volume 24. Photos posted on Twitter by Hachi Kuji.
See Hachette’s instruction video here.
See an unboxing video here.
July 25: GX-89 promo video
On this day, Bandai’s Tamashii Nations division released a 9-minute promotional video for the GX-89 Soul of Chogokin Garmillas Destroyer, due out in November. Built in scale with the SoC 2202 Yamato, it comes with light and sound gimmicks that allow the two to interact. Project developer Satoshi Okazaki gave an onscreen demo of the ships engaging in a sound battle.
See the video on Youtube here.
July 25: Model kit announcement
Bandai announced another mini-kit for the Mecha Collection series, a reissue of the Cosmo Tiger II with gun turret parts for the 2-seat version. This one is due out in October.
July 25: Hobby Japan #603
This issue of Hobby Japan didn’t cover any upcoming products, but did provide a 4-page article on a custom-built Aquarius.
Like its on-screen equivalent, this model combines parts from Bandai’s 1/1000 Andromeda DX with the 1/1000 Ginga and some additional customizing.
July 25: Yamato Crew goods announced
Yamato Crew finished the month with a whole new round of announcements for products that will be available in August. First up, another batch of acrylic figures…
…including several in casual summerwear to get them through the record-breaking July heat.
Next, sets of coasters and buttons with newly-designed cute versions of certain characters.
And finally, the first-ever life-size Mori Yuki tapestry (5.5 feet tall) and a new T-shirt featuring art by Makoto Kobayashi (releasing in December).
July 31: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model, volume 27
With this volume, the run reached the 25% mark (with a total of 110 volumes planned). The last volume of the month added a lower hull panel to fill out the port side. Photos posted on Twitter by NCC1701refit.
More than one modeler shared the observation that as the bow section extends backward, the hull panels no longer fit smoothly together and that no amount of reassembly fixes the problem. One would hope this factor will take care of itself when the forward deck is finally affixed…but time will tell.
See Hachette’s instruction video here.
See an unboxing video here.
Also spotted in July
Hero’s Record art
A new round of promo art was published on Twitter for the mobile game Yamato 2202 Hero’s Record. See a gallery here.
Fan art
A wealth of artwork found its way onto Twitter in July. See a character gallery here and a mecha gallery here.
Fan models
Perhaps the July heat drove all the modelers indoors? That’s as good an explanation as any for the enormous amount of models that turned up online. See a GIANT gallery here.
Cosplay
After a long hiaitus, cosplayers got back into the game in July. We were treated to a lovely Yuki Mori, a very convincing Mizela Celestera, and a true one-of-a-kind costume that debuted at the San Diego Comic Con. You have to see it in this gallery to believe it.
