Premiere Commemoration Special Feature
Be Forever Yamato Creates Fan Frenzy! Enthusiasm Heats Up the Summer!
All Yamato Events!!
The big events that were mentioned in Yamato Fan Club Magazine special edition Vol. 17 have been completed. We are now filled with movie topics. When we published Vol. 17, the events had not finished yet, but we can bring you coverage now.
This report covers the emotional, inspiring events that went on in the month leading up to the premiere!
July 20-22: Voyage of Adventure Roman
Yamato goes to sea: a 10,000 ton ferry was remodeled in this image. It left Kawasaki harbor and drifted into the sun toward the New Galaxy.
On this day, the 500 crew members put on special caps and t-shirts, and were welcomed by Captain Nishizaki and Chief Navigator Matsumoto, both in officers’ uniforms. Some 3,000 people came for the sendoff. The normally quiet Kawasaki harbor was filled with the roiling passion of Yamato fans.
The ship passed through Tokyo Bay as dusk fell and changed course to head due west. The first challenge for this Yamato: an anticipated encounter with the enemy battleship. As expected, they saw a sailing ship, its sails glowing with the splendor of the night near Jougashima, Sagami Bay. The sea missiles blossomed into extraordinary fireworks over the sea. These fireworks alone cost 10 million yen [Editor’s note: around 100 grand] – definitely a big event!!
The ship’s port of call was Hyuga Harbor in Miyazaki Prefecture, at 3:00 pm the next day. Here it was welcomed by many people. As the Hyuga Elementary School brass band performed, Yamato was calmly anchored nearby. Ceremonies were held for the unveiling of a new port monument and a time capsule; a perfect score in the Yamato mood.
With these events completed, Yamato left safely at 7:00 pm and commenced the sea journey back to Kawasaki.
July 24: ’80 Yamato Festival in Budokan
On this day, the fans’ attention was riveted on a special event related to Be Forever Yamato. 15,000 fans attended the Yamato Festival in Budokan.
Yamato was projected on an oversize screen with accompaniment from an orchestra led by Hiroshi Miyagawa, and singers who sang all the Yamato hit songs!
Even before it started, fever filled the hall!! Sighs were heard when Voice actors gathered to perform nostalgia scenes live on the stage. Some people came all the way from Hokkaido, and recognized Yamato at a glance, as expected.
August 2: Tokyu Toyoko train line, Operation Yamato-Go
Yamato-Go ran on the Tokyu Toyoko line from Shibuya, Tokyo to Sakuragicho, Yokohama. It was a special train to commemorate the premiere of Be Forever Yamato on that day. A type 8000 train with a silvery stainless steel body, the flagship of the Tokyu line, was decorated to become the Yamato-Go.
Passengers rushed for applications to ride it! Its popularity had been on display in a lottery event held in Shibuya on July 28 in front of Tokyu Hall. It was now the premiere day of Be Forever Yamato; after arriving at Shibuya Station, the passengers would see the movie.
In the car, discussions of Yamato bloomed into shouts of excitement when the voice of conductor Leiji Matsumoto came over the PA system. As a fun quiz was carried out, Yamato-Go rode the tracks from Kanagawa to Tokyo. Before long, it crossed the Tama River and rolled into Shibuya. Shibuya was the home of arrival, and a welcoming brass band was ready!
It was just a small, one-hour trip, but it was a train of dreams for Yamato fans.
The End
Special thanks to Tsuneo Tateno for translation assistance.
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