Program book: Staff messages

To Eternal Love, With All My Heart

(commentary by the song staff)

Yoko Yamaguchi, lyricist

Over and over, I feel that Yamato contains the same passion as that of first love, which is an eternal dream. While participating in this project, I was frustrated by how difficult it is to express love in words. Fortunately, Ms. Hiromi Iwasaki, though young, was a capable singer who could capture and express the feeling behind the words, and it was to my great pleasure that she sang my poem.

Yoko Yamaguchi wrote the lyrics to Life of Love, the song heard while Kodai struggles with memories of Yuki (approximately 49 minutes into the film).

Isao Sasaki, vocalist

In my singing, I attempted as much as possible to express the gentleness and sweetness of a man to his beloved woman.

Sasaki, whose powerful voice made the original Yamato theme a classic, sang Pendant of Stars, the song heard after Yamato launches (approximately 41 minutes into the film).

Hiromi Iwasaki, vocalist

Through Sasha, who dedicated herself to her beloved, I found the beauty of a loving heart.

Hiromi Iwasaki sang two songs for the film, Life of Love and Galactic Legend, the piece heard in the postlude after the end credits.

Akira Fuse, composer & vocalist (ending theme)

This was my first experience composing a song for film. I think the melody is easy to remember.

Fuse’s song, Until The Day of Love, can be heard at the end of the film, leading into the closing credits.

Yamato and Me: Messages from the Main Staff

Leiji Matsumoto
Original story, director, conceptualizer

Space Battleship Yamato was my very first animated production, so when I close my eyes, every scene revives in my memory. For me, Yamato is a monumental work I will never forget. That is why I always feel that I want to take care of it until the very end.

During the creation of this film, my first question was, “why has Yamato sailed and what has Yamato fought for?” As a member of Yamato crew, I have been on a very fulfilling voyage. But I wanted to go back to basics and distinguish the very essence of Yamato itself, lest the original direction be lost.


Hiroshi Miyagawa
Composer

A film score that is not harmonized with the characters or scenes does not shine, even if the film itself is the finest work. This is an ordinary thing to say, but ever since the first Yamato series, I have been compelled by the thought.

Fortunately, my work has been enjoyed by many fans, and their support makes me realize how fortunate I am as a composer. However, whenever I compose new music, I think about how vividly the piece needs to be presented in the film, and it gives me such agony that I cannot sleep at night.

For this film, I suffered so much that it convinced me that I had no imagination left. Yet, during the process, I realized anew that Yamato‘s character personalities and the story development are very clear and original. This sets Yamato apart from most other SF and special effect films. Be Forever Yamato inspired me to ponder the depth and subtle relationship of music and drama.

Yu Aku
Lyricist

From the first voyage of Space Battleship Yamato (which was not exactly wrapped in waves of applause) to the latest work, I have participated in the long voyage as a songwriter. The lyrics as well as the melodies have continued the journey of several million light years. I wonder how many of them have become bright stars and how many have crumbled to dust.

Though the stage has become more magnificent, the story has become more eternal, and the action has become more infinite, I have kept writing music to make the original point, which should never be lost among these other things.

Is Space Battleship Yamato a story of the future? Is it a space story? Even though it appears to be, it is in fact a story of today and a story of the Earth, as long as there are people who believe in it now. Perhaps I want to prove that I, a minute particle, can rise above the gravity of a planet. This time, I once again believed that the love of a minute particle could compose the magnificent universe as part of a chain called trust.

Hideaki Yamamoto
Screenplay

Because Space Battleship Yamato was my first anime work, everything I touched was fresh. This film, compared to the previous works, is tricky and includes more unexpected twists. So I attempted to create a story that would exceed expectations. If I describe it simply, I would say it’s about the meaning and purpose of youth. Although this is a movie about war, it demonstrates how young people should respond to difficult conditions. I enjoyed describing the youth of people in Yamato, and I am glad that it was possible to do so.


Toshio Masuda
Director

The previous film developed and described love on a wide, universal scale. This work started afresh with the idea of focusing on the familiar love of human beings. That is, we wanted to appeal to young peoples’ concept of love, from ideology to practice, centering on Kodai and Yuki, who are separated from each other for the first time. This sort of story could easily be over-dramatized in live-action film, but owing to the expressionism of animation, I could direct the drama as I wished. As someone who has specialized in directing live-action, this was very interesting for me.

Of course, I am proud that I paid very careful and detailed attention to the action to make this a first-class entertainment movie. But beyond that, I really wanted the audience to experience the vibrant love between a more mature Kodai and Yuki.

Keisuke Fujikawa
Screenplay

I have been writing scripts since the first TV series, and since I met Yamato at the height of my youthful energy, it has remained the most memorable of my works. This movie is particularly unique, and as I wrote the script I hoped that the audience would enjoy its uniqueness. Also, since the previous movie was so well-known for moving the audience to tears, I took a great interest in such sentiments again. Nonetheless, since the core of this film is its unique concept, I would rather the audience freely enjoy the film than watch it with serious thoughts.


Tomoharu Katsumata
Animation Director

Under the hard social conditions that suffocate us day by day, I think Yamato is the only ark to which young people can entrust their dreams. As someone in charge of the field of production, it is my duty and my pleasure to envision the dreams of young people with the latest technology and as many ideas as possible, even if what we create is a mere moment in summertime.

This time, the image of the double galaxy was our focal point during the planning. That is, the film started from that image. This approach demanded much creativity from the crew to create a worthy film. We paid more attention to the movement of animation than in the previous work. This was a long, fulfilling project, and I am very satisfied with the result.

The End

Special thanks to Michiko Ito for translation.

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