Age of Yamato Koichi Yamadera x Harutoshi Fukui official interview!
(See the original article here)
A special compilation film titled Age of Yamato, which reconstructs both Yamato 2199 and Yamato 2202 from a new perspective, will be screened in theaters from June 11 (Friday). This official interview with Koichi Yamadera (Abelt Dessler) and Harutoshi Fukui (composition, supervision, scriptwriting) is now available!
Interviewer: First of all, Mr. Yamadera, please tell us your impressions of Age of Yamato.
Yamadera: I’ve seen Yamato 2199 and Yamato 2202 many times, but I felt many things again. The way it was told by Sanada was just like it came from Mr. Fukui. I was very impressed with the way he brought this film together with a new approach.
Interviewer: Why did you choose Shiro Sanada as the narrator of the story?
Fukui: The core of the Yamato series is the story of a man named Susumu Kodai. What he saw, what he felt, and where he went in the end. However, if you tell the story from his point of view, it becomes somewhat biased. I chose Sanada to look at it from a different perspective. Sanada has been a famous character since the first Space Battleship Yamato. He has been carrying the role of commentator for a long time.
Interviewer: What was the intention behind the documentary structure?
Fukui: To put it bluntly, the old Yamato series was based on the idea of “new aliens invading every year.” At the time, I think some people thought it was a bit too much of a stretch. However, in this day and age, new disasters are occurring every year. I felt that the time had come when Age of Yamato could be depicted as a reflection of modern Japan. Of course, one of the biggest attractions of fiction is that it can change the way you look at reality. I wanted to portray it as a documentary with this backdrop so that everyone could feel it firsthand.
Interviewer: Please tell us about your first encounters with Space Battleship Yamato.
Fukui: I was still a little too young when the program was aired. I first saw it in a rerun when I was in the fourth grade of elementary school. I remember shedding tears at the last episode.
Yamadera: When I was in the first year of junior high school, I thought I was about to graduate from anime, and that was when the first episode aired. I thought it was amazing, and I was hooked on it every week. At that time, I fell in love with [Kodai’s voice actor] Kei Tomiyama, not to mention Kodai. I imitated everything he did. (Laughs) Naturally, I also imitated Dessler with a voice that had not yet changed. Now that I think about it, Yamato was probably the first time I became aware of voice acting as a career. It may have been the trigger.
Interviewer: I think Dessler’s background has become more profound, especially in 2202. Did it affect your acting style?
Yamadera: I was surprised, I didn’t know it was going to be like this. It was very difficult to figure out how to express my feelings for Iscandar and Starsha in my performance. The more difficult it was, the more rewarding and joyful it was for me as a voice actor.
Fukui: In the old series, the way Dessler was perceived changed drastically from a certain point onward. In the first Space Battleship Yamato, he was not a life-sized character, but a superhuman emperor. Then, in Farewell to Yamato, he saw Kodai and the others in their human form. He realized in the last five minutes of his life that he was missing something, and he died. It was at that moment that his reputation skyrocketed. He went from being an “emperor” to a “prince in exile.” The big change from 2199 to 2202 is actually a continuation of the original story.
Yamadera: Thank you for making the connection. In 2202, when the Keyman guy comes out, he’s riding Yamato. It’s really cool. “What is this?” I was so jealous. (Laughs) But when I found out that he had a connection with Dessler, I suddenly fell in love with Keyman.
Interviewer: After watching Age of Yamato, what are some of the most memorable scenes or lines?
Yamadera: They’re all great lines, aren’t they? I was able to say Kodai’s famous line, “Why didn’t we love each other…” and Miru’s presence was also impressive. When Miru was killed, I said, “How foolish.” That scene was very important to me. There are also many memorable lines in Sanada’s narration, especially when he talks about the emotions of the characters from his perspective. I got goosebumps at the scene where Sanada’s monologue leads to Keyman.
Interviewer: Lastly, please give us a message to your fans regarding your next work, Yamato 2205.
Fukui: We’ve already started the recording for 2205. After the latest recording, Mr. Yamadera said, “I’m mentally exhausted,” which made an impression on me.
Yamadera: It’s been that way from the beginning. There are things happening that make me think, “Huh?” It’s going to be amazing.
In order to enjoy this latest work, I would like you to watch Age of Yamato first. For those who have not been exposed to Yamato before, you can enjoy it as an introduction. And for those who loved Yamato, watching this film will create new emotions. I’m sure you’ll be impressed. This film can be enjoyed in a variety of ways, so I highly recommend it to everyone.
Fukui: The title of the film is Age of Yamato, and it captures the world from an overall perspective, but the root of the film is the human drama of who did what. I think that even if you have never seen Yamato before, you will be able to get into it rather easily. It is a work that confronts the current era head-on.
However, it was originally created before the current difficult situation began. So, the question of how to survive the coming age of uncertainty will be explored in the next work, 2205. It is a story that reaffirms the importance and weight of the word “hope.” I hope you will enjoy it.