Here we conclude the interview with Bandai’s Hirofumi Kishiyama by online hobby shop Ami Ami. This portion was published on April 5, 2013. See the original post here.

“Beyond buying multiple plamo yourself, please tell a friend ‘our beloved Yamato is reviving’.”

Kishiyama: There is also a generation gap within the Bandai office. For example, if a younger employee were to say Mobile Suit V Gundam was his first, I was already doing Gunpla work at that time. (Laughs) The generation that watched Yamato in the early days from the TV broadcast through Be Forever and Final Yamato is the same that initially saw Mobile Suit Gundam, now in their late 30s and early 40s. Since reruns weren’t necessarily frequent, there were few opportunities for people younger than that to readily experience Yamato.

Interviewer: New Gundam works are made regularly, but during the childhood of those now in their 20s and 30s, the chance for them to see Yamato on TV was absent. In fact, I only came into contact with Yamato for the first time on DVD after growing up.

Kishiyama: The feature film version of the first Space Battleship Yamato series drew about 2.3 million people to theaters at the time, which was the highest record for an anime movie before Ghibli works appeared. [Translator’s note: films from Studio Ghibli, chiefly pioneered by Hayao Miyazaki.] When I went to see it, even adults were weeping at it. (Laughs) Anime, which was “just for children” had moved adults. Yamato is a work of such mysterious power, but regrettably a blank period followed after that, and I know that a lot of people who stayed away from anime and models in the meantime are coming forward and saying “a remake of my favorite ‘first Yamato‘ started in 2012.”

At the Shizuoka hobby show, supportive visitors come by the booth and say “I’ll buy more than one if you put this out,” or “I’ll buy a whole carton.” And every time, I say, “That’s not the right way. Do it differently.”

Interviewer: If a generous customer takes a look and says they want to buy more than one, you don’t want that?

Kishiyama: I ask those people, “Even if you buy that much as an individual, will you continue to buy cartons of products even if they come out bang-bang after that? Please tell your friends who liked Yamato once upon a time that ‘Yamato has revived now’.” That mysterious thing that was thought of as “good” in the old days hasn’t changed; it’s still good if you see it now. The point is that 2199 doesn’t shake off the impression of the original Yamato one bit.

It is a recorded historical fact that 2.3 million people got that impression, and the point is to connect them with information about 2199 and the plamodels. At the moment, the biggest problem is that the Yamato generation now in their 40s and 50s don’t use the internet much. Needless to say, the generation that has already seen 2199 and who buy the plamodels are those whose antennae are set at highest sensitivity. Compared to Gunpla, which is supported by the younger generation that makes full use of the net, it’s hard to spread information. To be sure, Yamato doesn’t have as many plamo users as Gundam. Since Yamato also needs to have people buying out the inventory, I like to hear people making a fuss about it on the Internet a bit more.

So I explain to the visitors that it’s their duty to spread the word that “a remake of our beloved Yamato started in 2012, and both the film and plamodels are amazing.” It is more important than anything to propagate the information.

Interviewer: I see‚Ķ! Rather than just boosting the number of products sold, the most important thing is raise everyone’s feelings for Space Battleship Yamato.

“We just want to increase the numbers of our juniors who will be thanking us for Yamato 2199 decades from now.”

Kishiyama: At the start of this project, I told the business members of Bandai that I want to commercialize the ships that appear in 2199 by all means, and, “You’re still selling products from about 30 years ago, but the 2199 plamodel series consists of items that didn’t exist before, so we just want to increase the numbers of our juniors who will be thanking us for Yamato 2199 decades from now.

For example, with Gunpla there is a concern about what will happen to the standing of “Version 1” of a certain project if a “Version 2” comes out, but a situation like that doesn’t occur with Yamato. This 2199 product line referred to as a “unified scale plamodel series of First Yamato” is a first in the history of Bandai. Since this will become a future property for Bandai and the mold cost can be amortized in a year, I told them many times not to think of this from a short-term branding perspective.

2199 production is currently in progress, and I’m allowed to develop products with successive volumes. If all the users react in unison, the market can continue even after the films are all released, and my feeling is that we can expect to have Yamato plamodels for a while yet. Even after the 2199 films are done, I want to make a new product or two per year. That’s what I said in my first presentation for the 2199 commercialization project.

Interviewer: With 2199, rather than talking about how to sell individual products, it’s a project to increase the approval rating of Space Battleship Yamato itself. The goal is to aim for “becoming a constant seller” rather than a temporary explosive hit.

Kishiyama: I want to do it because I think that approach has become a very rare pattern of product development, and if it does well it could influence sales of other works. Speed of sales and product freshness aren’t the be-all and end-all.

From anime company to plamodel maker, paint company, hobby magazine, retail and user. Passion for Space Battleship Yamato rises above the generations and boundaries of the industry.

Kishiyama: Regarding movement outside Bandai, I said to Gunze Sangyo, the maker of Mr. Paint, “I want you to make Yamato paint. Please agree to the development of the 2199 plamodel series and we’ll fight together.”

Interviewer: Bandai and Mr. Paint plamodel colors are allies, as represented by the “Gundam color” line.

Kishiyama: I watch the net, and after buying a plamo, a lot of people ask, “what color should I paint it?” Even though they built plamodels in the old days, there are probably a lot of people who stayed away from them until their passion for Yamato was revived by 2199. There is a “practice” and sometimes an “intuition” to mixing paint. Even if they had a good feel for it in the old days, they may not know it any more, and they just want the recipe. Even though it may be best to buy several colors and try them out at home, they’d rather buy only the necessary colors to mix. I’ve seen scenes like that a lot on the net. When I told that to the head of Gunze Sangyo, he said, “Actually, I like Yamato, too. I want to make that paint.” (Laughs)

A lot of people who reside in the model industry like Yamato and want to help boost Yamato if they have the chance, and I’m really happy to find those outside who share my feeling. It’s a similar story among magazine editors who love Yamato and take personal responsibility for pages. (Laughs) That sort of propagation is also demonstrated simply because Yamato has revived for the first time in 38 years.

Interviewer: The people around you respond to your passion for Yamato. Of course, AmiAmi can also help with the “propagation”!

Kishiyama: And if those reading this tell others about it, I’ll be glad if the passion for Yamato can spread widely that way.

People in their 20s and 30s buy 2199 DVDs and Blu-rays, and there seems to be a tendency for many young people who come into contact with a high-quality anime to buy a lot. I think the probability is pretty high that the younger generation will rank Space battleship Yamato alongside Gundam Unicorn in terms of high quality mecha anime. I’ll be glad if young people also come into the world of Space Battleship Yamato in the wake of 2199. I think it’s pretty addictive. Rewrites of the scripts and concepts are increased to make them better, since in the first place everyone who follows director Izubuchi likes Yamato too much! (Laughs)

Interviewer: Speaking for myself, I want people who aren’t familiar with the original to see 2199‘s quality by all means. 2199 has some original stories, such as Episode 9, A Clockwork Prisoner, but there are many other wonderful occasions and stories.

To everyone of Yamato called “AmiAmi customers”

Kishiyama: With the terrestrial broadcast of Yamato 2199, I’m applying more horsepower to the project and expanding product development, and I hope for your support in the future. We put a variety of gimmicks into the products so you can enjoy them as plamodels. I’d have you see the first one and have the fun of an “AHA” experience when you compare the following ones.

There is also the relationship of watching for future products, and I think half a year of broadcasting will make it easier for the plamodels. Please visit us in the Bandai booth at the Shizuoka hobby show in May! I’m preparing an exhibition to surprise everyone. A “Grand Yamato building corner” is also being planned that relies on volunteer modelers.

Interviewer: Everyone of Yamato! Have fun at the Shizuoka hobby show in May! Thank you very much!

[Note: the 2013 Shizuoka Hobby Show was underway on the day this article was posted to Cosmo DNA; see photos of the 2199 display here.]

Conclusion: The moment an anime you saw as a child becomes a social phenomenon. In this interview, the surge of the “Yamato Generation” came out in the concentrated thoughts applied by Mr. Kishiyama to plamodel development. To those who have read this far, I’ll also be very glad if you can communicate your love and passion for Yamato to those around you.

Read more interviews with Mr. Kishiyama here.

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