From the October 20 issue, published on October 12
Ready for Launch! Space Battleship Yamato 2
The secret of its popularity is here!!
Saturday the 14th, 7:00pm on Nippon TV
The Earth Defense Forces, with the Space Battleship Yamato and the newly built giant battleship Andromeda, will challenge the Gatlantis Empire, which is trying to conquer the universe! The capabilities of Space Battleship Yamato 2…
In the year 2201, Earth is still scarred by the battle against Gamilas. The Space Battleship Yamato returns after completing its mission as flagship of the Third Detachment of the Outer Solar System Fleet. It seems like peaceful times will continue, but then a powerful enemy appears before Yamato once again. The entire universe is in the midst of an unprecedented crisis due to the emergence of the giant White Comet.
Susumu Kodai and other space soldiers board the modified Yamato. Overcoming the opposition of the Earth Defense Forces Command, they set off into space to once again fight the enemy.
This is the story of Space Battleship Yamato 2. Producer Osamu Hiroka, who is in charge of production, said, “The theme and story are almost the same as the theatrical movie Farewell to Yamato, but the way it is depicted is different. The film is two hours and 30 minutes long, but on TV it will be broadcast in 26 episodes, so you can get a closer look at how Yamato fights and the romance between Kodai and Yuki Mori.”
Yamato 2 is produced by a team of 30 main staff members and the total number of production staff is 400 people! They studied science-fiction movies and extensive research materials.
“In order to study the way airplanes fly, we got actual footage of the attack on Pearl Harbor and examined it carefully.” (Producer Hiroka)
The White Comet, a powerful enemy replacing Gamilas, is led by Emperor Zordar the Great of Gatlantis. It has conquered all the planets in the universe and set its sights on Earth as its next target. The White Comet shines with illumination like a city at night. It is both a city and a fortress base equipped with superweapons.
“Under Emperor Zordar’s command is General Zabaibal of the Telezart Imperial Base Assault Combat Team. He is the commander of a large tank squadron that engages in an epic battle with Kodai and other space soldiers on the planet Telezart. He’s an excellent soldier and a strong adversary for Kodai.” (Mr. Hiroka).
Dessler, the former leader of the Gamilas Empire, has defected to the White Comet to face Kodai and Yamato again. Alongside Zabaibal and Dessler is Sabera, a close aide to the emperor, and a beautiful woman who promotes the invasion of space.
On the other hand, Susumu Kodai is the acting captain of Yamato and leader of the battle group for the Earth Defense Forces. His girlfriend, Yuki Mori, is a member of the EDF headquarters. Because of her love for Kodai, she overcomes his protests and boards Yamato again to take on nursing activities.
Chief Navigator Daisuke Shima, Hikozaemon Tokugawa, who single-handedly revived the decommissioned Yamato, the ship’s doctor Sakezo Sado, and many others are still alive and well. Analyzer, the all-purpose research and analysis robot, also assists Kodai as the brain of Yamato.
Former captain Juzo Okita died after the battle with Gamilas and is now laid to rest on Hero’s Hill. Kodai replaces Okita and takes command of Yamato, and a powerful ally appears: Captain Hijikata of the newly-built battleship Andromeda. In the theatrical film, he is the captain of Yamato. In the TV version, he is the captain of Andromeda and helps Kodai. He is a calm and collected man, and Kodai gradually warms up to him.
The Gatlantis Empire is a much more formidable foe than Gamilas led by Dessler. First, there is a group of super battleships that attempts to destroy Yamato. At the head of the battleship group is a supermassive aircraft carrier. This is the ship of Admiral Baruze, Director General of the 7th Task Force. Under its command is the large aircraft carrier Naska, which is 2500 meters long, 72.2 meters wide, and displaces 51,000 tons. Naska is fast and maneuverable, and can accommodate the Deathvertator, an attack aircraft. The Deathvertator carries eight large missiles under its wings to harass Yamato.
On land, the tank corps led by General Zabaibal is a force to be reckoned with. His command tanks are 11.3 meters long and 6.2 meters wide, and run at a speed of 150 kilometers per hour. They are equipped with a 200mm three-barrel cannon and a 12.7mm anti-aircraft laser machine gun.
The Earth Defense Forces, on the other hand, have Yamato as its main force. The newly-built battleship Andromeda, led by Captain Hijikata, is very active. Andromeda is 275 meters long and 66.2 meters wide, with a displacement of 98,000 tons. Compared to Yamato‘s bow Wave-Motion Gun, Andromeda is equipped with a Dispersion Wave-Motion Gun. Compared to Yamato‘s length of 263 meters, width of 38.9 meters, and displacement of 62,000 tons, Andromeda is one size larger.
The Earth Defense Force is much stronger than before. There is an escort ship with a total length of 112 meters and a displacement of 3,600 tons. There is a cruiser 150 meters in length with a displacement of 5,900 tons. The new combat aircraft is called Cosmo Tiger II and flies at mach 12.
Incidentally, the Gatlantis Deathvertator attack aircraft has a maximum speed of mach 10, which is less than the performance of the Cosmo Tiger II.
Moto Fukuo, chief producer of Yomiuri TV, who is in charge of the production, said, “Andromeda is loaded with the latest computer-controlled mecha weapons. The confrontation with Gatlantis’ 7th Mobile Fleet will be tremendous.”
He is already predicting a fierce battle between the Earth Defense Forces and the Gatlantis Empire.
From the October 27 issue, published on October 19
Text on lower left side:
Yamato 2 Production Story
(From producer Osamu Hiroka)
The movie gained explosive popularity this summer. However, the Yamato 2 series has a total of 39 episodes, and the production team has been working hard to make the series a success. This means that the relationships and mecha can be explored more deeply than in the movie.
“We can’t just rehash the movie!” This is the motto of our staff, and they are on fire.
The creative meetings are just like a battlefield. The chiefs of each department, such as art, photography, and mecha drawing, bring their best ideas and the latest techniques from their respective standpoints, and they are all fighting like hell!
The production schedule is hard, and there are times when we work all night long, night after night, but the staff’s energy is always there to create a fresher visual. The energy of the staff is more than enough to keep up with the physical workload.
[Translator’s note: he did actually claim that there were 39 episodes in this text, but that was obviously a mistake.]
