Mecha and Music Notes

Many kinds of aircraft, ships and machinery made their way into the reboot earlier than in the original saga. Since inspiration was taken from all over the map, we’ve separated each mecha into their respective factions. This is just intended to be a gallery, but if anyone happens to have a question, feel free to leave one in the comments below.

Be Forever Yamato

WM explosives and cartridges, used from 2199 forward

Automated Battleships, adapted into 2202 Ep. 21

In 2205, mecha inspiration was extracted from Be Forever in the form of the Dezarium hammers, the series’ new tripods.

Then there were the 3-wheeled ground tanks with their iconic head shape. This feature was passed on to the new Dezarium spider mecha, who themselves seem to be heavily influenced by that very same kind of machine from the Be Forever PS2 game. You be the judge!

“Small multi-legged tank” design by Kazutaka Miyatake, 2001.


Yamato III

New Yamato maintenance robots, appeared in 2205 (New Analyzers)

EDF Helicopters: 2202

Subspace sonar, adapted into 2199

Cosmo Hound, adapted into Yamato 2205

Hydro Cosmogen, adapted into 2202 (CRS-WMG)

Dessler’s Command Cruiser from Yamato III, echoed in 2202

Dimensional Submarines from Yamato III, moved up to 2199

Dagon’s double tractor beam, adapted into Yamato 2199

Bolar Type-A Battleship, adapted into Yamato 2205

Bolar Type-B Battleship, adapted into Yamato 2205

Bolar Heavy Battleship, adapted into Yamato 2205

Bolar Tank, adapted into Yamato 2205

Bolar battleship Legendra from Yamato III, modified version in flashback scene from Age of Yamato


Final Yamato

Personnel fireboat, adapted into Yamato 2205


Yamato Resurrection

Freighter-class Yuki, adapted into 2202

Yamato’s ECI station, adapted into 2202 (Ginga)

Precision barriers: given to Yamato in 2199, Ginga in 2202, and Asuka in 2205.

Experimental WM exploration ship Musashi, adapted into 2202 (Ginga)

Fireboat, adapted into Yamato 2199


Bonus

Shape-changing Cosmo Zero (live-action movie), Cosmo Tiger 1 (2202)



Music Notes

Some vocal or instrumental tracks have been prematurely introduced or paid homage in the reboot. The list is short at face value, but relatively big when you factor in the classical works.

2199: Everything old is new again

For this project, Akira Miyagawa (the son of original composer Hiroshi Miyagawa) came onboard. The entire original score was remade to perfection. Akira dipped his toes into unfamiliar territory, creating all new leitmotifs for Iscandar and Garmillas. He also chose to adapt Meditation, one of the two Great Love variations from New Voyage’s score.

His father’s disco version of the White Comet theme made a surprise appearance as well, having only been used briefly in the Yamato 2 score. For the final episode, the production team also decided to include a re-orchestrated Hope for Tomorrow from the best-selling Symphonic Suite Yamato.

Two versions of the classic Yamato theme were remade, along with a new take on Scarlet Scarf. The first opening harkened back to the reverberating vocals of the ’83 version, initially screened as the end credits song for the Final Yamato. The second version of the opening was as close to the original TV series version you’ll get, with all its campy flair.

Ark of the Stars: A New Challenger Approaches

Ark of the Stars was a tie-in movie project that added a new story to Yamato’s return journey from Iscandar. It was planned in advance and would feature a majority of the original staff, including Akira Miyagawa. This movie would give Gatlantis a proper musical introduction, featuring a slew of iconic musical motifs from the original Farewell to Yamato. This included variations of the White Comet theme, such as Gatlantis from the Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato Symphonic Suite, and tracks related to Kodai’s landing on Telezart, including a new-ish variation of Teresa’s theme.

The movie’s score also took inspiration from The New Voyage, in which a rousing battle theme took center stage at the movie’s climax, one that included the Dessler, Yamato and Goruba motifs. For Ark, this was naturally shifted to the newly created Garmillas theme, the old Yamato theme, and the Gatlantis theme.

From Be Forever came another surprise: a redux of A New Galaxy is Born. This triumphant track capped off Be Forever’s story, the last song we hear before the end credits. It fulfilled the same purpose in Ark, this time bearing a more symbolic meaning of how good things can come out of terrible circumstances.

The ending song Great Harmony, sung by Ayaka Hirahara, was made out of goodwill with her father Makoto and Akira, revisiting the creative assembly that once was forged between Hiroshi Miyagawa, Makoto Hirahara and Yoshinobu Nishizaki. From one generation to the next, Yamato music still prevails across the boundaries of time and space, even 40+ years later.

2202: The Struggler Prevails

The entirety of Farewell and Yamato 2’s score – a gigantic catalogue of music – was too enormous to recreate for 2202. As a result, a collection of 60 or so compositions were selected by Sound Director Tomonori Yoshida as suitable for reorchestration. It was a difficult task to reject so many, he once remarked, but things didn’t end there. The score would not only add more, it would come to include re-arrangements of 2199 tracks, then rearranged and unreleased versions of the finished Farewell and Yamato II tracks by Yoshida; often tailored to sound more similar to their original versions from their respective works. Somehow, Akira would also find the time needed to create some new leitmotifs.

Seeing as many tracks from Ark were originally from Farewell, they would naturally fit in with 2202’s narrative, and thus were used to great effect. Akira even managed to sneak in some previously-unreleased home material from his father, such as a rearrangement of Great Love on pipe organ. Akira saw Ark as his opportunity to challenge his father from beyond the grave, and he went even farther with 2202; he rearranged the iconic Overture and Birth portions of his father’s original Symphonic Suite for 2202’s two BGM volumes. Perhaps emboldened over time, he eventually set out to orchestrate his own Symphonic Suite Yamato 2202. It even had a “secret” rearrangement of the Scarlet Scarf variation featured on the original suite.

An orchestral version of Great Harmony was heard during Sanada’s speech at the end of 2202, bringing the multigenerational collaboration to stronger cohesion.

For the songs, the staff tried something new. The first opening was an orchestral take on the Yamato Theme by the Osaka Shion Orchestra, which often works with Akira. The second opening brought back Isao Sasaki to perform a new spin on the original classic, one with a tempo and gravitas that better suited to the modern age. This song would be titled Space Battleship Yamato 2202.

The original Farewell and Yamato 2 works had their fair share of vocal tracks, split between various discs and the broadcast version. Of these, only three made it into the final product: The Rival, From Yamato With Love, and Teresa Forever. Crimson Red, a spiritual successor to the The Rival was created by S.E.N.S. Project and singer Yuya Hoshino, evoking the harsh, hidden feelings beneath Dessler’s facade.

From Yamato With Love, the original ending theme for Farewell, was brought back on a single condition from its singer Kenji Sawada: “It must be the original version.” He argued that recording a new version wouldn’t carry with it the same feelings as the original recording did, and the staff agreed. The original TV series ending song Teresa Forever by Isao Sasaki, got a spiritual successor in Mirror of the Moon, sung in character by Teresa’s voice actor Sayaka Kanda.

2205: A Different Journey

All the reboots we’ve seen so far have built on one another in terms of story, visual direction and of course Music. What is Yamato without its score? According to many of its past and current creators, music makes Yamato what it is: strong, vibrant melodies that resonate with the audience. Music that exists beyond the works they feature in. And now (early 2022) we have Yamato 2205, ready to flex its guns.

Since 2205 was announced, the staff has made it no small secret that elements from Yamato III would make their return, alongside this already anticipated New Voyage reboot. This of course extends to the score.

From the original New Voyage we saw the entire score brought back, barring some exceptions like the late Yoshio Kimura’s soothing guitar pieces and the Underwear March. The long list includes variations of Dessler’s Bolero, a fresh New Cosmo Tiger theme/Young Stellar’s Sea Eagles mashup, the SFX-nightmare that is the Autoplanet Goruba theme and a funky new take on its variation Invader named Dezarium Hammer. From Yamato II, a rarely used variation of the Yamato Meditation theme made a surprise appearance. Even more surprising was the 2205 Part 2 post-credits inclusion of The Double Nucleus Bomb Approaches from Be Forever.

With the inclusion of the Bolar Federation, planet Galman’s liberation and the new crew members from the Bolar Wars story, a whole slew of tracks from the Yamato III score were remade as well. These include the Bolar Federation theme and its variation Rebellion, Days of Love, Barnard Star Battle and Endless Voyage!

When it came to songs, the task was simple: let old and new fans re-experience what came before. Instead of re-orchestrating and recapturing the magic inherent to the iconic Isao Sasaki insert song Yamato: The New Voyage!!, it was instead brought back in its original form in the same way Kenji Sawada’s From Yamato with Love was in 2202. The new opening became the original 1974 Space Battleship Yamato! – also sung by Isao Sasaki. The biggest twist of all though was how Parting – one of the fan-written ending songs for Yamato III – was brought back to score 2205 Part 2’s hybrid take on New Voyage’s and Be Forever’s titular parting scenes. Longtime fans will know what I’m referring to.


Songs adapted into the reboots

1. Space Battleship Yamato ’83 (Final Yamato) paid homage in 2199’s first opening

2. Space Battleship Yamato original theme remade for 2199 and 2202

3. The Scarlet Scarf original end theme remade for 2199

4. From Yamato With Love reused for 2202

5. Teresa Forever (Yamato 2 end theme) paid homage in Mirror of the Moon, 2202’s 2nd ending song

6. The Rival image song from Farewell paid homage in Crimson Red, 2202’s 4th ending song

7. Yamato: The New Voyage!! reused for 2205 Part 1

8. Parting (by Mitsuko Horie) from Yamato III reused for 2205 Part 2

Instrumental tracks adapted into the reboots

1. Overture from Symphonic Suite Yamato

2. Birth from Symphonic Suite Yamato

3. Hope for Tomorrow from Symphonic Suite Yamato

4. Gatlantis from Farewell Space Battleship Yamato Symphonic Suite

5. Great Love pipe organ variation, based on unused score by Hiroshi Miyagawa

6. Great Love variation (Meditation) from The New Voyage used in 2199

7. Birth of a New Galaxy from Be Forever used in Ark of the Stars

8. The Double Nucleus Bomb from Be Forever used in 2205 Part 2

9. Dessler’s Ambition from Yamato 2/Yamato III used in 2202

10. Bolar Federation Theme and its variation Rebellion from Yamato III used in 2205 Part 1

11. Ikoi from Yamato III used in 2205

12. Barnard Star Battle from Yamato III used in 2205

13. Endless Voyage from Yamato III used in 2205

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