Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato Production announcement Press Conference
May 24th was a hot day, like early summer. The production announcement of the sequel to Space Battleship Yamato,” which was a big hit last summer, was held at the Imperial Hotel.
The sequel is officially titled Farewell to Yamato, Soldiers of Love. More than a hundred reporters gathered in the large hall, and in the center of the stage were many illustrated panels from the new film. The background music was, of course, “that” melody.
I wondered if anime, which had never seen the light of day before, should be so highly anticipated. I was a little bit confused.
Let’s start with the list of attendees. From the left: theme song singer Isao Sasaki, Composer Hiroshi Miyagawa, Director Toshio Masuda, Yoshinobu Nishizaki (who planned, conceived, produced, and directed the film), Toei President Shigeru Okada, Director and general supervisor Leiji Matsumoto (who attended the meeting in spite of his extremely busy schedule, thank you very much), Costume Designer Yukiko Hanai, and Animation Director Tomoharu Katsumata.
The press conference began with an address by Mr. Nishizaki: “I’ve been debating whether or not to make a sequel to Space Battleship Yamato. I didn’t want to create this work just for the sake of making money. But I also thought about the fans’ aspirations. I wanted to explore the ‘love’ depicted in the previous film from a different angle, so I decided to make a sequel.”
President Okada responded, “Last year, we were surprised that Space Battleship Yamato started screening at 6:00 a.m. This year, we are aiming for a 6:00 a.m. opening again. Our goal is to make 1.5 billion yen.”
It felt strangely refreshing to hear that he was trying to make money.
The other day, I saw a TV movie adapted and directed by Toshio Masuda from an original work by Kyuzo Kobayashi, and his fans are delighted to see him back at it. He said, “Anime has more freedom of ideas than movies, which is good and bad, (I can’t excuse the poor results). But I will do my best.”
I still wish Director Masuda would make a full-length film.
And then there was Matsumoto-Sensei.
“When I’m drawing something, I don’t know if it will make money or not. That’s why I just keep on drawing. I feel the same way about movies. I wonder how many people will collapse before the film is completed. I just keep coming up with new and strange ideas without thinking about the hard work of the people on site. This film is the fruit of everyone’s blood and sweat, so I hope it will be a hit.”
Talking about Mr. Nishizaki’s enthusiasm for Yamato, Mr. Miyagawa said, “Compared to the previous film, the new melodies did not get an easy OK from Mr. Nishizaki.” Director Masuda responded, “The hardest thing for a director is fighting with Mr. Nishizaki.”
The story this time is set in the year 2201 when the civilization of a white comet approaches Earth, causing Yamato to launch again. The “love for the universe” mentioned earlier is emphasized in the story, which seems to be more interesting than the previous one. I guess it must be difficult for them to avoid comparison with Star Wars in some way.
Finally, is this the end of Space Battleship Yamato?
“I want to stop now,” Nishizaki replied. “But if I could, I would like to make this a Takarazuka musical.”
This is an all-new film, and that alone is exciting. Production will be completed on July 28. A preview will be held only once, just like a big production, and the rest will be for your viewing pleasure on August 5.
Even so, I can’t help remembering Isao Sasaki’s words: “After 19 years of suffering, I’m finally able to sit in this seat. I want young people to know they can make it if they work hard.”