As expected, activity dropped quite a bit after the giant premiere month for Yamato 2205, but the ripples were still strong. And any month that culminates with a new issue of the fan club magazine is a good one. Here’s what we saw in November 2021…

Photo posted on Twitter by ayakaze617

November 2: Yamatalk

Always one of the best ways to start a month: screening the latest chapter and hearing the creators talk about it live on stage afterward. Here’s what they had to say…

Yamatalk official report released!

Published at the official website (see the original post here)

To celebrate the screening of Yamato 2205, a “Yamatalk” event was held at the Shinjuku Piccadilly theater on Tuesday, November 2. In this session, Kenji Yasuda (director), Harutoshi Fukui (writer), Hideki Oka (screenplay), and Mika Akitaka (mecha design), took the stage.

Akitaka has been involved in many anime works for nearly 35 years, a popular designer known for his work on Martian Successor Nadesico, Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ and The Legend of Yuna. He also worked on the Armor Girls Project Yamato Armor X Yuki Mori action figure, but this was his first time designing for a full-length Space Battleship Yamato anime.

“Yamato was the work that inspired me to like anime,” he said. “I had no idea that I would be able to participate in it. Yoshihiro Nozaki, the president of Shindosha, where I first worked, was involved in Yamato, but I’ve never been a part of the anime before. A friend of mine worked on direction and planning for the Yamato PC engine game. I drew a few images for him. But that script disappeared.”

Mecha Designer Mika Akitaka and Writer Harutoshi Fukui

Fukui said, “I just happened to meet Mr. Akitaka by chance. He said, ‘I’m the one who loves the Dark Nebula Empire mecha the most in Japan.’ I thought, ‘I’ve found a great person,’ and immediately consulted with the staff.”

Akitaka continued: “For 2205, I designed the Great Pleiades, the battleship commanded by Deda, the new Dezarium character. The style of the Dark Nebula Empire was different from what came before. I was surprised that it looked like a saucer, and the design seemed to go back to the starting point of science fiction. The fact that it was completely black was also a bold move. I liked the Pleiades.”

The talk continued with a look at Akitaka’s actual design drawings. Regarding Dezarium’s battleship Great Pleiades, Fukui was surprised at the difference from the original, but adopted the powerful design.

Regarding the design of its bridge, Akitaka said, “I tried to keep the charm of the original design, but with a dark atmosphere.” As for the Auto-Planet Goruba, which will make a major appearance in Part 2, he talked about the difficulty of preserving its impact. “The impact of that design was amazing. How would I remake it now? I was very worried about that.”

Next, he introduced scenes that he was particular about during the production and scenes with impressive music. In addition to mechanical design, Akitaka took on the task of adding details to battleships as the mecha animation director. He said that he was very particular about the way his designs were shown right to the end.

Scriptwriter Hideki Oka and Director Kenji Yasuda

Yasuda talked about the characters on the Dezarium ships looking in a specific direction, even though there are no windows or monitors. “To emphasize the flow of the story and the emotions of the character, I used a false representation so that you can understand it intuitively.” Oka also commented, “It’s a scene with presence.”

As for scenes with impressive music, they discussed the scene that includes Yamato!! The New Voyage sung by Isao Sasaki. Fukui explained why he chose to reuse the original soundtrack instead of a new recording: “I wanted to make a scene that would fill in the gaps between then and now for those who had seen the original work,” he said,

In the scene where the Dezarium army warps out, the Garmillas space carrier Lambea turns and shoots at the enemy, commonly known as the “Lambea turn.” Akitaka said, “I got goosebumps.” Yasuda described the challenge of its visual aspect. “I wanted to show the ship in a new way, so I imagined a car chase in Hollywood movies. Combined with the music, it created a sense of speed.”

Photo posted on Twitter by the Yamato Production Committee

Finally, Harutoshi Fukui announced the catchphrase for Part 2: Starsha: “I didn’t want to become an adult…” He said we would understand when we see it. Director Yasuda said, “It’s a surprising scene.” Fukui added, “It might confuse you.”

We wondered what these words would mean, connecting to our expectations for Part 2. With that, the event came to a close.

November 3: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model Vol. 145

Hachette’s first November volume signaled the approach of Andromeda‘s bridge section with the second of the main gun turrets, though it did not yet have a deck ready to receive it. (The first main gun turret was delivered in Vol. 120, and now it had a mate.)

See Hachette’s instruction video here

See an unboxing video here

See a modeler’s blog here

November 6: Mecha Collection model kit #2

The second mini-kit for Yamato 2205 was a Garmillas Guipellon-class three-deck carrier in green, sporting the new name Balmes.

Finished kit, photos posted on Yahoo Japan by ipfpk05308

It looks very similar to 2199‘s Lambea, but the upper deck is slightly reshaped and the striping is quite different. Compare it to the earlier kit here.

November 10: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model Vol. 146

And once again with feeling! This volume delivered the first of two secondary gun turrets, ready to take position above and behind the first main turret.

See Hachette’s instruction video here

See an unboxing video here

See a modeler’s blog here

November 12: Prize campaign payoff

A franchise of Japanese recreation centers called Jiqoo (short for Jiyukukan, which means “Self-Play Space”) embarked on a 2205 collaboration campaign from October 8 to 31. Fans who participated by applying and retweeting on Jiqoo’s behalf were entered in one of two prize lotteries, and November 12 was the payoff date.

One lottery gave away 30 tickets for 2205 Part 2. The other lottery was much more alluring; 20 copies of the elusive “press sheet” that was never officially published. This item is already on its way to becoming the rarest 2205 collectible on record. Photos of the press sheet above were posted on Twitter by lottery winner maverick1963 who said simply: “Not for sale. Thank you very much.”

November 12: Star Blazers Lambda Chapter 19

This chapter of the Space Battleship Yamato NEXT manga finds the Topness pilots newly arrived at a moonbase after their devastating losses at Jupiter. Those losses threaten to mount rapidly as they fend off a new Seireness attack, and then something very unexpected happens. To find out what, click here to see the chapter with a full description!

Photo at right posted on Twitter by aoi2199

November 13: Yokosuka Sea Anime Carnival

Originally scheduled for July, this event got knocked off the calendar by Covid and finally re-emerged from the 13th to the 28th. Set on board the museum Battleship Mikasa, it featured displays from three disparate anime shows, including Yamato 2205.

Bookmarks obtained by aoi2199, ticket and brochure photographed by friend-of-the-website Minoru Itgaki

To keep fans busy, a stamp rally was arranged with some local merchants in Yokosuka. Players were given cards to fill up with stamps obtained by spending a minimum of 500 yen. Five stamps qualified you to receive prizes. The Yamato prize was a pair of clear bookmarks.

But most of the effort went into the shipboard displays, which were photographed extensively by visitors.
See a comprehensive gallery here.

November 14 & 21: Reruns

Fans got two nice presents from national TV network BS12 when both 2199 movies were broadcast on consecutive Sunday nights; A Voyage to Remember on the 14th and Ark of the Stars on the 21st. Some of us can remember spending hundreds of dollars to travel to Japan and see them ourselves, but that’s fiiiiiiiine.

November 17: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model Vol. 147

Week three gave us another secondary gun turret, identical in every way to the first one. With this, all four turrets were present and accounted for, awaiting a deck to sit on.

See Hachette’s instruction video here

See a modeler’s blog here

November 19: 2205 Part 2 advance tickets

The second round of advance ticket vouchers for Part 2 went on sale today, this time featuring the blood red artwork seen on the flyer released in October. As an incentive, it came with a poster of the same art.

Photo posted on Twitter by Snk22V007

November 20: Model exhibition

Another month, another local model exhibition. Many of these same kits turned up in an October event, and would be seen again in early December. Hats off to the dedicated fans who go to the trouble of carting them around and defying all the inherent risks to share them with everyone else. The location of this show was not found, but several photos were posted on Twitter. See a gallery here.

November 22: Nobuteru Yuuki on Twitter

We can always count on Character Designer Nobuteru Yuuki for unexpected delights. On the 22nd, he posted this image on Twitter with the following caption:

Finally finished checking the layout for the last episode of Yamato 2205! It was hard…

I’m two months behind schedule (sweat) and still have some retakes to do, but I think I’ll manage to get this done in time for the premiere.

I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll show you a past picture.
I think it was for [pachinko game] CR Yamato 2199.

November 23: Tokyo Shimbun article

The following article appeared in Tokyo Shimbun‘s weekly Subculture World column, and the generational affiliation of its author should be very clear.

Space Battleship Yamato: Battleship of peace, still shining

See the original post here

When I see the words Space Battleship Yamato, I can’t help but feel excited. There’s the massive mecha gimmick, the tremendous power of the Wave-Motion Gun, and the drama that unfolds while battling against a sense of urgency that humanity is doomed.

At right: a complete list of every Yamato production (except Ark of the Stars for some reason) and an entry for the still-unmade Hollywood version at the bottom.

The latest anime film in the series, Yamato 2205 recently closed in theaters. I asked a younger member of the culture and entertainment department to write an article about it.

“No, I don’t know anything about it…” was the disappointing reply. How rude to this monument of the golden age of Japanese anime! Driven by righteous indignation, a reporter in his 50s (Noritake Misawa) went to see the movie…

I haven’t seen the anime version of Yamato since the 1980s. I was completely captivated by the first TV anime, and went to the movie theater as well. However, as Captain Juzo Okita died or came back to life, I felt that I was getting bored with it. Still, I saw the live-action version released in 2010, and it was pretty good. When I told people about it, they were surprised in some weird way, like “are you a Kimtak fan?” Compared to Gundam, Yamato seems to be lacking in the public’s respect.

I was an elementary school student when the first episode was aired, which was intended to be Japan’s first full-scale SF anime. The complex firing sequence of the Wave-Motion Gun and the mechanism of warp navigation were different from the robot anime I was used to seeing.

“This is the real thing,” I said. I went to the movie theater, mumbling to myself that Yamato was the true pioneer of SF anime…

The audience consisted of men and women of the same age as this reporter, except for one man in his thirties. This film is a remake of The New Voyage. After Yamato‘s safe return, Earth’s environment has recovered and humanity has entered a time of prosperity. However, alien invasions continue unabated, and this is the basis of its worldview.

Yamato goes on a voyage to train new recruits under Captain Susumu Kodai. At the request of Dessler, the ship rushes to the rescue of the Garmillas and Iscandar, which have been attacked by a mysterious third enemy. I’m sure you’re familiar with this story, but the setting is much more detailed than the original.

I didn’t realize it was a remake at first. The visuals are overwhelmingly beautiful, as expected. Yamato is the only one that stands up to the futuristic enemy space battleship in the form of a classic warship. I was able to enjoy its bravery while tracing childhood memories that had sunk to the bottom of my mind.

On the other hand, the characters’ youthful talk about peace and humanism was still alive and well. This is an essential part of Yamato. During the last world war, Yamato, was expected to play an important role as the world’s largest battleship, but it was sunk in the waters near Japan. I believe that the main purpose of the name and form of Space Battleship Yamato is to clear up this regret through the cause of “protecting the peace of the Earth,” which is in line with the philosophy of the postwar world.

I would like to recommend this film not only to those who were enthusiastic about the original, but also to younger people.

Photo above right posted on Twitter by pipipi1014

November 24: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model Vol. 148

The last volume for November jumped up to the top of the bridge tower and gave modelers the first chunk of this signature structure. 38 volumes down, 22 to go.

See Hachette’s instruction video here

See an unboxing video here

See a modeler’s blog here

November 25: Star Blazers/Yamato Fan Club Magazine Vol. 13

This was the first issue since the release of 2205 Part 1, so it opened the door on a lot of new material.

Main articles: interviews with Daisuke Ono (Kodai), Cho (Analyzer), and AG Factory, the company that fabricated the 3-meter Yamato display model (read that one here).

2205 coverage: an interview with Dezarium Mecha Designer Mika Akitaka and a new commentary by Science Advisor Shinya Ogura (read them here).

Also included was a lookback at the script for 1979’s The New Voyage with notes on changes made for the film.

Watch for translations of this material over the coming months.

November 26: Yamato 2205 Part 1 home video release

The countdown ended, and everyone who couldn’t be in Japan to see it in theaters finally got access. It is identical to the theater-exclusive version reported on here, but does not include the extra booklets. As usual, a range of bonus items could be had depending on where you bought your copy…

The Amazon version included an exclusive CD titled Expect Nothing From Adults featuring 45 minutes of weirdness with Writer Harutoshi Fukui and the voice actors for Kodai and Domon.

The Yamato Crew version came with copies of the voice recording scripts for all four episodes…

…and a postcard with this new image painted by the great Naoyuki Katoh.

And finally, a version sold at specific stores in Japan came with a clear plastic A3-size poster version of Kia Asamiya’s slipcase art.

Order your Blu-ray now from Amazon.co.jp or CD Japan. (No English subtitles, but you’ll do just fine without them.)

November 28: Ensemble Vega concert

Yamato music could be heard live again for one performance by Ensemble Vega, conducted by Akira Miyagawa at the ornate Takarazuka Vega Hall in Takarazuka City. A Space Battleship Yamato montage was one of four suites performed in this special afternoon program, which was also live-streamed.

November 30: 2205 Part 2 teaser

The month finished with a bang when another teaser trailer was released for 2205 Part 2. It’s different from the one we saw on October 15, and was seen only in theaters and on Blu-ray until this day. Here’s what’s being said (thanks to friend-of-the-website Minoru Itgaki):

Meldars: The abominable planet Iscandar. This cursed power must be controlled by us, the Dezariam.

Domon: Give me your strength, give me your strength. There is a way to save everyone.

Kodai: There are some things that a person can never surrender. Fight to the bitter end so you can continue to be you.

Starsha: It’s time to tell the truth. The truth about the blue blood of Garmillas.

Dessler: Fire the Wave-Motion Gun at the Deusula! Kodai! Shoot me!

See it on Youtube here.

---