The second month of Yamato‘s 50th year on planet Earth kept the party going with a nice mixture of live music, models, news flashes, and fan activity. Here’s all the info from February 2024…

January 31: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model Vol. 246

Stepping back one day, Hachette finally broke their silence and began releasing the final five volumes of the giant 1/350 Hyuga model. Hyuga itself was completed with Volume 245 back in late November. All the remaining volumes delivered in-scale aircraft to fill out its squadron. This volume contained a Czvarke and a Cosmo Zero Blackbird type.

See Hachette’s instruction video here

See a modeler’s blog here

February 1: Shinya Takahashi auctions

Sasha’s character designer returned to the pages of Yahoo Japan’s online auctions to offer four new original pieces. Get a better look at them here.

See his originals from 2023 here

February 3: Chiko Miyagawa on Twitter

Pianist and daughter of composer Akira Miyagawa, Chiko posted this photo of her famous dad on Twitter with the following caption:

A strategy meeting is underway for the 50th anniversary concert in the summer. It’s fun to think about it, but my heart is pounding so hard I feel like I can’t do anything about it.

Follow Chiko Miyagawa on Twitter here

February 4: Soleil Pipe Organ Concert

Wherever Yuka Ishimaru goes, Gatlantis is sure to follow. She shook the world again with a pipe organ rendition of the Comet Empire theme, this time in Kitakyushi City’s Soleil Hall.

Watch a 2021 performance by Yuka Ishimaru here

February 4: Farewell to Yamato 4K broadcast debut

The 4K version of Farewell left theaters on January 25, and just over a week later it could be seen again on the Star Channel satellite network. It was shown four times in February, accompanying an ongoing revival of Yamato 2. Yamato III would follow in March.

Visit Star Channel’s Yamato page here

February 9: Yamato 2199 on demand

Imagine living in a country where you can dial up Yamato 2199 and both of its accompanying movies any time you want. That became possible in Japan on this day through multiple streaming services including Amazon Prime, Bandai Channel, Hulu, and more. One day, the rest of the world will catch up someday.

February 11: Filmscore concert

Another cool thing about Japan (like we needed one more) is the Film Score Philharmonic Orchestra, which is entirely devoted to performing music from movie and anime soundtracks. They belted out an all-anime concert on February 11 at the Muza Symphony Hall in Kawasaki in which Space Battleship Yamato was heard alongside many other classics, new and old.

Visit their website (which includes video clips) here

February 11: Wonder Festival 2024 Winter

The first big hobby show of 2024 bloomed today in Tokyo, and though it was notably bereft of any Yamato-related announcements from Bandai, plenty of garage kit makers jumped in to fill the void. J-Factory led the pack which a big fat line of 2205 kits, but many more companies were there to represent.

See an extensive photo gallery here

Photos posted on Twitter by yoshimiru_SS and Yamato Music FE

February 12: Yamato Kouza 21

Yamato Kouza (Lecture) is an ongoing, irregularly-scheduled symposium that’s like a social media page come to life with conversation between experts from different entertainment spaces. This was the first session in four years, returning to a club named Loft Plus One in Kabuki-cho Tokyo. The topics were twofold: the music of Yamato 2205 and the revived manga for Yamato 2199.

The guests were music writer Ryozo Fuwa, 2199 manga artist Michio Murakawa, voice actor Yuyoshi Toba, and animation writer Osamu Kobayashi. After this, Kouza 22 was announced for March 9 in Osaka (using the same original poster art shown above).

February 14: Blue Noah announcement

As it turns out, the 50th anniversary of Yamato is just one week off from the 45th anniversary of another Office Academy production, Space Carrier Blue Noah! Premiering in October 1979, it followed the adventures of a high-tech transforming submarine in a global battle against alien invasion (it ultimately gets rebuilt into a spaceship, hence the title). In the early 80s, a dubbed version made the rounds under the name Thundersub before vanishing into obscurity.

But no longer! On this day, the Star Channel satellite network announced that the series would join the Yamato lineup for its first revival in decades on March 25.

Read more about Blue Noah in Vintage Report 21 here

Watch the first episode on Youtube here

February 14: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model Vol. 247

The second volume in the final five contained another Cosmo Zero Blackbird type and a Cosmo Seagull, both scaled for the giant Hyuga model.

See Hachette’s instruction video here

See a modeler’s blog here

February 14: Next Gimmick Model announced

It took Hachette a while to tip us off to their next 1/350 model, but they finally got around to it as the final Hyuga volumes rolled out. Coming up next is the UNCF Patrol Ship, which is expected to play a role in REBEL 3199.

Supervised by Mecha Designer Junichiro Tamamori and engineered by respected toy designer Tsuyoshi Nonaka, the finished model will stretch to 54cm (just over 21 inches) with as many light and sound gimmicks as it can hold. A hangar bay in its belly will accommodate a Cosmo Seagull.

Sporting the name Pacific, the patrol ship will add 50 more volumes to the series with the first scheduled to appear on April 3. The accompanying Yamato magazine will continue with all of its exclusive features (visit the 2202 Mechanic Encyclopedia for a sample).

Since it will take about a year to release all the volumes for this ship, and REBEL 3199 is likely to take two years to come out, there’s plenty of room for another Hachette model to follow this one. We’ll just have to keep watch until then.

Visit Hachette’s product page here

See more coverage here

A promo video was released on March 1; see it here

February 16: Anime Herald article

The Anime Herald website did us all a favor on this day when they published an extensive in-depth interview with Robert Fenelon (cosplaying as Dessler in the photo). Rob was an active member of the first “anime generation” in America with a special focus on Star Blazers and Yamato. He was an organizer and a publisher, a participant in early Star Blazers projects, and even personally met Exec Producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki. He also loves telling stories, and now they’re on the permanent record.

Read the interview here

February 16: New Grand Symphony CD announced

If you’re a Yamato music fan and somehow missed out on the numerous times the Grand Symphony has been offered on CD, your excuses are getting even thinner. This magnificent orchestral performance, composed by Kentaro Haneda in 1984 as the “closing note” on the production years, will be available in a new edition on March 27 from Columbia.

The Grand Symphony was performed live on July 8 2023 by the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra under the baton of conductor Tatsuya Shimono. This CD is a recording of that performance, and can be preordered here:

Standard edition from CD Japan

Standard edition from Amazon.co.jp

“Mega jacket” edition from Amazon.co.jp

Read more about the Grand Symphony here

February 16: Music history

Starting in July 2023, music journalist and producer Toshiaki Sato devoted his monthly column (titled Adult Popular Songs) to famed songwriter Yu Aku. In case that name doesn’t ring a bell, he was the lyricist for almost every Yamato song of the production years, from the original opening theme in 1974 all the way to last of the Final Yamato single in 1983.

Sato’s 7th installment of Adult Popular Songs, which is published on the Catalog House website, reached the Yamato phase of Yu Aku’s long and storied career.

Read it here

February 16-18: Katsucon 2024

Did you happen to attend this yearly mega-event in National Harbor, Maryland? If so, did you happen to spot a very familiar (and very BIG) space battleship being wheeled around by a member of its crew? If so, you had a personal sighting of friend-of-the-website Warren Swanson, who has this to say about it:

The Yamato model is about 98 inches from bow to stern (2.49m) and weighs roughly 40lbs in total with the stand (evenly distributed, so it’s like pushing a shopping cart). The total cost to build was about $700 (a little over $300 for the ship and $300 for the pvc stand) and over 2,700 meters of filament. It also has a speaker attached to the bottom that plays Yamato tunes at high volume.

The model made its initial debut at Anime Central in May 2023 and won its first award at Anime Magic in august! Since then I’ve taken it to pretty much every midwest convention during that cycle with the most recent being UICon at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.

A little story I’d like to share with you: the venue for UICon was the Illini-Union, which not only functions as a student center but also a hotel. Two brothers were there for a funeral, not the convention. I took a break due to being on my feet for six hours. They started examining the ship for a time and then asked if it was from Star Blazers. Apparently the funeral they were attending was for a childhood friend and they watched the original run back in the 80’s. While not necessarily a groundbreaking encounter, it’s just touching to know how important the Yamato is not only myself but to other people.

See a photo gallery of Warren’s Yamato here

See video clips here and here

Visit the Katsukon website here

February 19: Anime Japan 2024 announcement

There was no new REBEL 3199 information released in February, but we found out when we’ll get some: at Anime Japan 2024 (March 24), a presentation will be made at the Bandai Namco booth to announce the new cast and characters. The event will be presented by Tasuku Hatanaka, the voice of Ryusuke Domon in Yamato 2205. More news as it happens!

February 19: Blu-ray box ad

Speaking of Yamato 2205, don’t forget there’s a box set on the way in Japan containing the entire 8-episode series, the Age of Yamato movie, and a host of bonus features including all the various talk shows and promo events that accompanied the series.

A 15-second promo was released on this day; see it here

Preorder it from Amazon.co.jp here or CD Japan here

Limited editions will (of course) be sold as well. The Yamato Crew edition comes with a framed “photo” of the new crew members. An Amazon edition at a higher price point will include a never-before-seen “Making of 2205” Blu-ray. No further details are available yet, but that version can be preordered here.

February 19: Daisuke Ono interview video

Today, Bandai Emotion offered a nugget from the REBEL 3199 treasure vault in the form of a 5-minute interview with Daisuke Ono, the voice of Susumu Kodai. Thanks to friend-of-the-website Minoru Itgaki, we have the following partial transcript:

How did you feel when you first read the 3199 script?

I was still confronted with the fact that Kodai and Yuki are not easily going to be happy. There’s a scene where he proposes to her. He thinks he should just move on, but he doesn’t. He’s being thoughtful about everything around him, and I thought it was both bittersweet and cute to play him.

Which character in 3199 is most interesting to you?

It would have to be Alphon. I don’t think there has ever been a character who has been a clearer love interest. Nanbu doesn’t cut it! Sorry Nanbu! (Laughs) I think Alphon will bring out feelings for Yuki that Kodai has never had the courage to show before. I’m looking forward to it in my performance.

What was a memorable moment in the recording?

I was lucky enough to be with Kenichi Suzumura (Shima), Houchou Otsuka (Sanada), and Masashi Ebara (Yamanami). I was very happy. A veteran’s voice is reassuring. Otsuka is usually aloof and relaxed, but when it comes to recording, he concentrates and gives a very convincing performance. Ebara, too. I like his style, and wish I could be like him. Kenichi Suzumura’s voice is like a tranquilizer. I think with Shima, this ship can go forward and I feel very reassured.

What do you think about the previous series, 2205?

I could say that it is the story of Kodai, Yuki and Yamato, but I think 2205 is the one where the great harmony between Dessler and Starsha was settled. I think the main characters of 2205 were Dessler and Starsha. 2205 was an epic story and a story of great love, and I am sobered to continue it. I’ll rewatch it again on the Blu-ray box.

See the interview on Youtube here

February 22: Cosmo Hound in action

Those who closely follow fan activity in Japan may be familiar with the work of “Haru,” perhaps the most accomplished CG artist and animator who isn’t yet working on the Yamato series (but should be). Haru has produced a wealth of “process films” in the past showing various fighters launching, flying, and landing. The latest of these puts the Cosmo Hound through its paces, and needs to be seen by YOU.

Watch it (and find more like it) on Haru’s video channel here

February 23-29: Namba Parks Cinema Film Festival

If you happened to be in or near Osaka during the last week of February, it would have been hard to keep yourself away from the Parks Cinema theater in Namba, where a host of classic anime movies was plugged into a can’t-miss marathon.

During this week you could not only see the 4K versions of Space Battleship Yamato and Farewell to Yamato (two screenings apiece), you could also witness Cowboy Bebop, the movie versions of Macross Plus and Macross Delta, and a little thing called Macross Do You Remember Love, all on the big screen. Not to mention the all new Gundam Seed Freedom.

Didn’t make it? You were missed.

February 28: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model Vol. 248

The last of Hachette’s volumes for February added two more craft to Hyuga‘s growing lineup: a Type 100 Recon Plane and a Ki-8 “Stork”

Read about them in the 2202 Mechanic Encyclopedia here

See Hachette’s instruction video here

See a modeler’s blog here

February 28: Space Battleship Yamato 4K Blu-ray

Now the film that amazed old and new fans alike in December can be seen on your own screen. The 4K remastering upgraded the film to its best possible condition (read about the remastering process here), and the home version comes with both a standard Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray in one package. Bonus content includes a 16-page booklet, trailer collection, and alternate footage with the original 1977 ending.

Order it from Amazon.co.jp here or from CD Japan here

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