Vintage Report 7: October 1977

The explosion of diverse media coverage continued well after the August premiere of the Yamato movie brought anime into Japan’s mainstream entertainment culture. October 1977 felt like a collective breath of air after the avalanche of September, but the next wave was coming.

October 1: Roadshow magazine, November issue

Space Battleship Yamato vs Star Wars read the cover blurb at the bottom right. Unless you personally lived through 1977, it’s difficult to understand how truly revolutionary Star Wars was. It brought us a new flavor, a new tone, a new feeling never felt before. In Japan, it was further intensified by breathless magazine coverage for over a year before the film itself arrived in June 1978. Yamato happened along at just the right time to capitalize on that anticipation.

This was only the second issue of Roadshow to cover Yamato, but it was obvious that they were enamored with it. This cover story ran 15 pages with a strong graphic presentation that was unique for the magazine. And there was plenty more to come.

Read the article here

October 1: Treasure Island magazine

It’s difficult at a glance to pinpoint the target audience for Treasure Island; it’s a digest-size magazine that seems to have content for teens, but advertising for adults. Either way, it became the second mainstream magazine to interview Leiji Matsumoto. Unlike the Sept. 21 Screen magazine, this one stuck to Yamato and started with a single provocative question: why did the movie feel so different from the TV series?

Matsumoto took the question head-on, describing at length what he wanted to avoid most in the TV version, namely any connection to militarism.

Yamato is very dangerous material and it bears a fateful quality that can be easily misinterpreted. Based on my beliefs and ideas, it could only be made as ‘Spaceship Yamato.’ If we let go of this, we’d end up with the Battleship Yamato.”

Read the article here

October 1: Manga Shonen October issue

It was time to start a serious conversation about the emerging anime trend, and an article titled Animation World Part 1 presented the top ten anime titles chosen by readers. Space Battleship Yamato clocked in at number 1, occupying the first page of this 7-page feature. The other titles that made the top ten were (in order) Cyborg 009, Triton of the Sea, Lupin III, Gatchaman, Raideen, Mighty Atom (Astro Boy), Kimba, Danguard A, and Babel II.

The text was a simple staff and cast listing, but the illustration was completely new, drawn by director Toyoo Ashida.

October 1: Middle Third Age magazine

First, an explanation of the name. This is one of many Japanese magazines tailored to a specific school grade. As you graduate from grade to grade, there is another magazine ready to replace the one you just graduated from. This one was tailored to the third year of middle school, hence Middle Third Age. Since its readership was dead center in Yamato‘s target audience, this issue ran a 2-page primer on what the movie had to offer.

Read the article here

October 15: Movie Arts magazine No. 319

Glancing through the pages of Movie Arts, filled with coverage of adult movies and grindhouse cinema from both East and West, the words “high-minded” do not spring to mind. But it’s descriptive of the Yamato movie review found in this issue, written by an author who was decidedly NOT in the target audience. It’s also quite a payoff to Leiji Matsumoto’s conversation in Treasure Island about the dangers of misinterpretation, as this excerpt illustrates:

Space Battleship Yamato did not even tickle the nostalgia of a middle-aged man like me. The film is about the remodeling of Yamato, which is the main point. I am not sure what to make of it, but it was a bit of a mess. Even for me, it had complicated repercussions.”

Read the article here

October 15: Parody Edition Space Battleship Yamato doujinshis

This 2-volume set from a fan club called Character Class Lab was quite an achievement. Both were published on the same day and delivered a whopping 144 pages of parody comics that must have been in the works for quite a while.

See both issues from cover to cover here (volume 1) and here (volume 2)

October 25: Hobby Japan No. 100 (December issue)

Hobby Japan magazine has long been a source for Yamato news in the world of models and toys with countless pages of coverage over the decades and prodigious articles that can be found elsewhere at Cosmo DNA. Founded in 1969, its very first Yamato coverage came in the December 1977 issue (published in October) just two months after the feature film worked its magic.

At this time, only the first round of Bandai kits had been released (which included the notorious spring motors), but the explosion was coming. Click here to read that vintage article in full, which also provided a rare glimpse into Yamato fandom, a roundup of current products, and the delightful bonus of a future star sighting.

October 25: Iscandar Vol. 5 doujinshi

The Cosmo Battleship Yamato Connection fan group killed it again with this 52-page ‘zine that offered more production art and commentary on the intricacies of the ship and crew, and the complete voice recording script for TV Episode 26.

See it from cover to cover here.


Also spotted in October

Music talk

Pictured at right is the October 1977 issue of Music Guide, a 100-yen pamphlet that must have had something to say about the Yamato drama LP, since it landed on the front cover. Of greater interest, however, was an article from the October issue of Monthly Dollar, which discussed the early stage of Yamato‘s musical success and was the first to announce that a Symphonic Suite was being planned.

Physical copies of Monthly Dollar magazine seem to be beyond reach, but thanks to the curatorial efforts of Japanese fans, the text of that article is still available.

Read it here

OUT magazine, December issue

The main article this month was a huge feature on Locke the Superman, but the cover also promoted a Space Battleship Yamato Corner inside. It was part of a section consisting of fan mail and art submissions, mainly parody manga.

See it all here

What’s next

The record nobody asked for, the model kit nobody knew they wanted, more media attention, and the first steps toward the Yamato sequel! See all that and more in Vintage Report 8!


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