Ark of the Stars article collection

The December 2014 release of Ark of the Stars was probably the busiest month in Space Battleship Yamato history, especially in the area of print media coverage. Here is a comprehensive collection of articles from multiple sources. Each description contains a link to the translated text of the article. Each article is linked to the next for continuous reading.

See Yamato 2199 reports 39, 40, and 41 for the full picture of what else went on in December 2014.

Children’s Science

November 10, Seibundo-Shinkosha

The full Japanese name of this magazine is Kodomo no Kagaku, which they shorten to KoKa (which could roughly translate to “KidSci”). Yamato 2199 got one of the cover stories for this issue, an article about the science behind making anime, with comments from Production IG Producer Mikio Gunji.

Read the article here.

Yamato 2199 Pia

November 26, Pia publishing

This was the first book dedicated to Ark of the Stars, a generous collection of character and mecha design art with staff and cast interviews and an overview of Yamato 2199. Read two of the staff interviews here:

Director Yutaka Izubuchi interview
Character designer Nobuteru Yuuki interview

Weekly Playboy #50

December 1, Shueisha

Playboy exists in Japan, but it bears little resemblance to the famed US version. A handful of pages contain “glamor photography” with all the rest being a basic men’s magazine. In contrast to the dour cover, it contained a cheerful 4-page Yamato article that introduced the all-new lineup of Yamato Girls and interviewed Director Yutaka Izubuchi.

Read the article here.

TV Station magazine #26

December 3, Diamond Publishing

This biweekly magazine was the first to publish a voice actor interview on the new film, spotlighting Daisuke Ono (Kodai). He talked about the moment he first heard there would be a movie and gave fans a hint of what was to come.

Read the interview here.

Kinema Junpo #1678

December 5, Kinema Junpo Co.

The magazine formerly known as Kinejun has had a long history with Space Battleship Yamato, distinguishing itself as the first mainstream publication to give it a cover story way back in 1978. Behind the chilling Gone Girl cover was a 4-page interview with Director Yutaka Izubuchi titled The 21st Century Yamato that Pioneered Possibilities.

Read the interview here.

Star Navi magazine

December 5, Kadokawa / Ascii Media Works

This monthly astronomy publication featured a two-page essay by 2199 science advisor Toshihiro Handa titled Space Battleship Yamato Astronomical Research II. It was the followup to a previous article from the October 2013 issue (read it here), which covered the journey to the Magellanic Cloud.

This article picks up where that one left off, and can be read here.

Ark of the Stars program book

December 6

The “pamphlet” for Ark of the Stars was a real beauty, 48 full-color pages of solid Yamato goodness: introduction and story synopsis, character design, mecha design, location design, cast and staff interviews, two paintings, and 15 pages of product ads. As usual, it opened with a short essay by Yamato superfan Ryusuki Hikawa, which can be seen here.

See the program book from cover to cover here.

Read the translated interviews here.

Voice Actor Grand Prix

December 10, Shufunotomo Co.

The January 2015 issue of this magazine featured a one-page interview with voice actor Aya Uchida (Yuria Misaki) in which she talked about Ark of the Stars, her involvement with YRA Radio Yamato, and the special episode that ties into the 40th Anniversary Best Track Image Album.

Read the article here.

Yomiuri Shimbun

December 11, Newspaper

Director Yutaka Izubuchi popped up again in a single-page article (with an ad promoting Ark of the Stars as a “Big Hit Release!!”) in which he shared his thoughts about the relationship of human beings and outer space.

Read the article here.

Great Mechanics DX #31

December 15, Futaba Co

This quarterly magazine for fans of anime mecha devoted six pages to Ark of the Stars. Two of the movie’s producers were interviewed, and it featured the first of four interviews that would appear this month with mecha designer Junichiro Tamamori.

Read the article here.

Hobby Japan and Dengeki Hobby magazines

December 25, February 2015 issues

Both of these magazines printed their own interviews with 2199 mecha designer Junichiro Tamamori. Read them here.

Hyper Hobby #197

December 29, Tokuma Shoten

Hyper Hobby delivered the fourth interview of the month with mecha designer Junichiro Tamamori. In case you’re wondering, each of the four interviews has something of its own to offer, so it’s worth reading them all.

The Hyper Hobby interview can be found here.

Secret Files

November and December 2014

Freebies are common in Japanese cinema as incentives to pack the house on opening weekend. For both A Voyage to Remember and Ark of the Stars, the freebies were a series of foldout cards with extra story information.

Read the entire series here.

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