From Yamato Fan Club magazine #39, December 1984
Sighs and applause mingled with each scene!!
Report on the Farewell to Yamato screening and fan club gathering
Two hours before the doors opened, a considerably long line had formed for the event. Chairman Nishizaki was also in attendance, and the fans cheered loudly! The venue became a melting pot of excitement during the Q&A session and screening. Let’s re-create the fascinating events of that day here in this magazine!
It’s one of the most popular works…
On Monday, August 27, as summer vacation was nearing its end, a screening of Farewell to Yamato and a fan meeting, which Chairman Nishizaki attended, were held at the Toshima public hall in Tokyo.
First, what really made us think, “This is definitely for Yamato!” Was the scene in front of the venue on the day. Two hours before the doors opened, there was a very long line that surprised even the staff. After all, we hadn’t made much of a fuss about the announcement, so to be honest, we were worried about how many fans would actually show up – a shocking confession that I can only say now!
However, seeing the long line of fans, I was reminded once again that this is truly Yamato. Among them were veteran fans who had been with the fan club since its inception, showing just how long this work has been loved.
While waiting for the show to start, people gathered in small groups, browsing Yamato merchandise and chatting about anime.
There was a lot of anticipation for this screening, especially since it was for Farewell to Yamato. After all, this is one of the most popular films in the series. Some of the audience were second and third generation fans, seeing it on the big screen for the first time, which really brought a sense of history to the event.
“I’m working on three films…”
As the clock hands aligned perfectly, the meeting began with a greeting from Chairman Nishizaki.
“In terms of Yamato, which has been running since 1974, we released The Final Chapter last March, The Final Chapter 70mm version in the fall, and then took it to the Cannes Film Festival for three screenings starting around May 6. Also, I finally got to create a four-movement symphony, something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, on May 3 and fourth of this year. As a producer, I feel like I’ve done everything I wanted to do.”
“Also, while working on those projects, around October of last year I started seriously thinking about what kind of things I wanted to create in the future, and now I’m completely absorbed and making three films: one for next summer, one for the spring of the year after, and one for two years from now.”
The content of Dessler’s War…
Thus, Chairman Nishizaki‘s remarks, describing the events after Final Yamato moved onto “Part 2 Birth Chapter.” Here, as expected, questions arose, such as, “Why are you making a Part 2 Birth Chapter?” And “Hasn’t Yamato already ended?”
“Raise your hand if you’re in favor of making a Part 2. There are some who are against it, as expected. Well, I have a question for you. Wouldn’t you like to see what happens if I made a Part 2 Birth Chapter episode?”
In response to his question, voices from all over the venue shouted, “We want to see it!” The cheers went up.
“That’s right. Works of art are interesting things. You make them because you think it’s OK to make them, or you stop them because you think it’s time to finish. If next summer comes and I don’t feel like making it, I probably won’t. However, if by next summer, I still feel like I want to create something using Space Battleship Yamato, then I probably will.”
“Also, while there are several versions of Yamato, including movies and TV series, I wonder if people of your age, five or ten years from now, will view this work in the same way you do now. Kodai and Yuki Mori come together, their path cross, and a child is born. You too will surely find a wonderful partner in the future and live your life in the same way. You’re not teenagers forever, are you? I feel like the movie, too, will become something that is connected by blood in some way.”
“Yamato has always valued ethnic meanings, or perhaps family and human connections. In that sense, Yamato is a drama that connects people, for the young people of that era. Would it be wrong to write about the fundamental aspects that resonate with your generation and others?”
“The drama of the two main characters, Kodai and Yuki, has ended, but I thought that there might be a story that continues the drama for the next generation after them, and that was a major factor in creating Space Battleship Yamato Part 2, Birth Chapter.”
“After that, depicting Yamato traveling through outer space is truly a lifelong passion for me. It’s simply because I want to see that form again. For those two reasons, I’m thinking of making it.”
The audience was completely silent as they listened to the speech, but when he said, “Do you want to hear about the content of Dessler‘s War?” It caused a stir! With just that one sentence, the commotion began.
“You know, I can easily come up with stories like that,” he laughed.
“The beginning was written in the fan club magazine, right? Do you want to know what happens next? (Applause) Do you know that they’re going to build a battleship called Starsha? From a design perspective, the old Dessler ship is outdated. It would be fine if we were using it for nostalgia, but that’s not really an option. Anyway, Dessler will be building the Starsha. Then, look forward to the appearance of Domel Jr., General Domel’s son!”
The venue was once again in an uproar.
“So, you know, when we made the first series in 1974, there was originally supposed to be a forward base in the Small Magellanic Cloud, and the TV series was planned to be 39 episodes long. So does anyone know that the story was supposed to go from the Small Magellanic Cloud to the binary star system of Gamilas and Iscandar in the Large Magellanic Cloud?”
The Small Magellanic Cloud was supposed to be a major Gamilas front line base that would be a significant obstacle, but it remained intact because it wasn’t destroyed in the movie. So, the story begins with the premise that the Small Magellanic Cloud contains a territory of Gamilas.”
Top line: Watching it together with a large group of people creates a sense of unity through Yamato
“After Dessler silently witnesses Yamato’s final moments, he retrieves Okita’s remains and the bridge where he died, and heads toward the Small Magellanic Cloud. That’s how Dessler’s War begins. Did you know that much?”
Voices answered, “Yes, we know.”
“However, there’s something you don’t know. Since today is for fan club members, I’ll tell you. Of course, a cute baby has been born between Kodai and Yuki. The two of them are living a happy life on Earth. When Dessler returns to the Small Magellanic Cloud, he finds that a formidable interstellar nation has been formed, and even he cannot possibly stand against it without taking a very strong counter measure. In order to deal with this, he abandons his battleship, which is severely damaged along the way, and constructs the Battleship Starship, which will become his stronghold. The enemy is not stupid, so they calculate with all their computers that once the battleship is completed, their own interstellar alliance will not stand a chance against Dessler.”
“So, what exactly is Dessler’s greatest weakness? Upon investigation, it turns out he has only one flaw: his friendship with a man name named Susumu Kodai. With this knowledge, they attack Earth in the midst of the battle of Magellan. Dessler, who is deeply loyal and considerate of friendship, is faced with the dilemma of whether to fight for the fate of his nation or to save his friend Kodai. That is, to save Earth, and so the battleship Starship turns around and heads toward Earth.”
“The story gets more interesting from here, but I’ll stop for today. I’ve already written the whole thing in my head, but I will leave that for you to see another time.”
“Now, this is something I won’t do in a movie. If I were to write it as a movie, it would inevitably be limited to a 2-hour or 2-hour and 10-minute timeframe, so I wouldn’t be able to express subtle emotions. So, it will be a one hour video series, with a total of six video volumes, released every two months over the course of a year.”
“Wow, that’s expensive!” Said a voice. Chairman Nishizaki smiled. “You don’t have the money? Laugh well, how about we have a screening then?” (Loud applause)
“OK, once it’s finished, we’ll have a screening. We’ll use that as a basis for a fan club get-together. Which means we’ll have to hold regular fan club meetings starting next October.” (Laughs, applause)
“However, there’s one thing I want you to understand: it’s very difficult to write a human story in depth without compromising the quality of the work, due to various constraints in TV and film. That being said, I don’t want to neglect any of them. So we decided to release Dessler’s War as a 6-hour video, and then broadcast an additional two hours or so of featured content on television.”
After hearing about chairman Nishizaki‘s approach to creating the work, even those who initially said it was too expensive to buy seemed convinced. Given his long held admiration for Dessler, this will likely be Japan’s first original 6-hour video, showcasing a wealth of new aspects of Dessler‘s appeal. It’s a work we are eagerly anticipating
This journal serves as a primary platform for information
“I’d like to mention that I have a request for you. I must apologize for the inconvenience caused by the fan club suspending publication of its magazine for such a long period of time. However, looking ahead, I want to continue the fan club as a platform for providing information about the things I will be creating, whether it be Photon Sailor Starlight or Yoseiden, while focusing on what will continue in 1987 as Part 2, Birth Chapter.”
“Furthermore, rather than us specifically creating the fan club headquarters, we believe that it has continued in its current form as a result of the fact that you all cherish Yamato within your own hearts
Currently, we’re only really announcing what kind of projects Producer Nishizaki is working on through the fan club magazine. In the future, we will be publishing some information in anime magazines as well, but our policy is to clearly state that the Yamato Fan Club magazine should be the top priority source of information, and with that in mind, we want to expand the circle of our fan club even farther. So So if you have a copy of the magazine, please show it to your friends. We’d like you to tell them what Producer Nishizaki is working on now, what Dessler’s War is, and what Part 2 Birth Chapter is all about.
“At the very least, in terms of my own strength, my ideas, and my attitude toward creation, I can say with certainty that no matter what project I’m working on, I always strive to create the best possible work. I have never once considered taking a lazy or easy approach to creation, and I have no intention of doing so in the future. With that in mind, I sincerely hope that we can continue this kind of relationship in the future.”
Q&A session between Chairman Nishizaki and fans
At this point, Chairman Nishizaki proposed a question and answer session
Q: is it possible to reveal the name of Kodai and Yuki’s child that appears in Birth Chapter?
Nishizaki: The child’s name? I can’t say that.
Voices yelled out, “Stingy! Tell us!”
Nishizaki: (Laughs) You think about a baby’s name after they’re born, right? They haven’t been born yet.
Q: I have a question about Dessler’s War and Birth Chapter. Will Leiji Matsumoto be participating?
Nishizaki: I think he’ll participate in some form or another. Whether it will be as a director or something like that, as in the past, is another matter.
Q: I was thinking, how about creating Dessler’s War following world history, starting with the great migration of the Gamilans, and then showing Dessler’s origin?
Nishizaki: Yes, that’s exactly right. I was thinking of writing from an even earlier point than the first Yamato, so I started thinking from there. But rather than going back in time, I thought we should move forward. By moving forward, we can get involved with Earth, Susumu Kodai, Yuki, or their children. We can’t go back to the past, after all. Is that all right? Let’s move onto the next thing.
Q: I’d like to ask about Yamato Part 2. Will the main character be the child of Kodai and their siblings?
Nishizaki: think of them as children who are related by blood in some way.
Q: Will the story primarily focus on Kodai and his friends?
Nishizaki: at least on that point, I don’t think Susumu Kodai will be there. (Voices of surprise) In other words, I won’t be writing a story about Kodai and Yuki. To write a new story, there may be some remnants in some form, but dead people cannot be brought back to life. (Laughs) I promise you that I will absolutely not bring back to life anyone who has died in the series, even if The Final Chapter was the very last one. (Laughs) in that sense, Kodai will not exist at that point.
Well, anyway, I’ll do my best, so please continue to support me.
Due to time constraints, not all questions could be answered, but the fans in the audience seemed satisfied. The next step was the screening of Farewell. Excitement was at its peak!
Masterpieces continue to touch our hearts, no matter how many years pass
The theater darkened and the long awaited Farewell began. Each memorable scene – the inspiring sight of the White Comet traversing the vast universe, the launch ceremony of the new battleship Andromeda, the reunion of Kodai and Yuki at the airport – elicited sighs and applause. As the second half progressed and the fight scenes increased, some people even started leaning forward. Unlike TV, it was on a big screen. Moreover, watching with a large group of people meant experiencing a sense of unity through Yamato.
Even we, who were covering the event, were actually glued to the screen just like the fans, and completely forgot about our work.
(Editor’s note: What? Was it a lie when you said you were diligently covering the event?)
Eventually, as the scene progressed to Kodai and Yuki heading toward the enemy’s giant battleship with Yamato, some people could be seen wiping away tears. “Farewell…”
We’re pretty sure it was the same when it was first released, but a masterpiece continues to touch people’s hearts, no matter how many years pass. Let’s ask one fan, whose eyes were red with tears:
“I still ended up crying during that last scene. I’ve seen it three times already, so I should be used to it, but I was still moved.”
That was probably the most representative opinion. Now let’s hear from a young boy in elementary school who saw Farewell for the first time:
“It was amazing. The battle scenes were on a whole other level compared to any robot show on TV. I never realized Yamato was this incredible.”
This is also very understandable. After all, when Yamato was first broadcast in 1974, those who quickly became fans were captivated by visuals they had never even imagined before. Some have remained fans for 10 years.
(Editor’s note: Is that you? Staff: That’s right. Haha!)
For that reason, older fans have their own image of Yamato. That’s why some have somewhat mixed feelings about Part 2.
“I really want to believe that it ended with Farewell. But I’ve also seen Be Forever and Final Yamato. They were both really interesting. Then, after a while, I started thinking that it didn’t end with Farewell. It’s really complicated. So regarding Part 2, I have both opposing and enthusiastic aspects.”
“I think those who are opposed our afraid that their image of Yamato and Kodai will be shattered.”
“I personally view each work as a complete story in itself, so I don’t think about things like whether there will be a sequel or what happened to the characters. Especially this upcoming Part 2, you could even call it a completely separate series. And that case, I can look forward to seeing a new work.”
Those are some pretty divided opinions. They became fans after watching the first movie, so they’re considered longtime fans.
“Earlier, I said I was against Part 2, but after hearing what Chairman Nishizaki had to say, my reasons for opposing it disappeared. When I think about it carefully, I realize that my opposition was basically just jealousy, because something different from my own image of the project was being created. To be honest, my feelings are complicated.”
F-kun, who matched my own feelings, is indeed a veteran with five years of experience in the fan club. On the other hand, there were many more people who were in favor. They all shared almost the same opinion.
“With Dessler’s War, I really want to see a new Yamato. I’m especially looking forward to it being something different from the previous series. I was just talking with a friend about whether Kodai and Yuki’s child might even make an appearance.”
“I’ve watched all of Yamato, both the TV series and the movies. Every time I watch them, I’m deeply moved. That’s why I think they should make a Part 2. I don’t think there’s any other anime that has made me feel the word ‘deeply moved’ as much as this one.”
Fans shared their opinions on Part 2 from various perspectives. From now on, we plan to include that information and the opinions of our fans in this magazine. We hope it will be reflected in the new work, even just a little, and that it will make the new work even better!