Sports Nippon

SIMULTANEOUS RELEASE ON THE 19th

Yamato SOS

Remote areas such as Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku

Unheard of “Late Delivery” to 47 theaters

Photo caption: It’s a story Yamato fans will relish, caused by putting so much effort into the finale

The anime Space Battleship Yamato,The Final Chapter is in the biggest pinch. It was revealed on the 16th that it would not be able to make it in time for its opening day in a wide range of areas, including Hokkaido and all of Kyushu. The film was scheduled to be released simultaneously in 100 cinemas nationwide from the 19th, but it was only completed in the afternoon of the 18th, the day before its release. As a result, prints could not be shipped in time to remote areas. This is an unprecedented situation in the film industry. Toei Pictures, the distributor, is scrambling to come up with a solution, hastily creating apology advertisements and considering ways to screen alternative films for free.

Finally Completed on the 18th

Production on Yamato began last spring, but it was only this year that it began to experience delays. Initially, it was scheduled to be released on the 12th, the same day as Harmagedon and others, but this meant that it was pushed back a week to the 19th. As of last weekend, it was clear that preview screenings would be held on the 15th and 16th, just in time to be on the safe side, and those involved were relieved.

However, the music dubbing could not be completed on the 13th, which threw off the procedures and delayed completion until the 18th. When Toei was informed of this, they quickly took measures to make additional prints at Toei Chemical and the Tokyo Development Laboratory. But it became clear that only about 50 prints could be made by the end of the 18th, and they decided to postpone production by one day in areas where transportation would take longer.

The film will be screened one day late in 41 of the 100 cinemas in Hokkaido, all of Kyushu, Toōhoku, Hokuriku, Shikoku, and the Chugoku region.

Toei will try to make the announcement by placing an apology advertisement in the newspaper, but it is considering ways to screen Farewell to Yamato for free if fans show up unaware. It is also said that once the film arrives, there may be cases where screenings will be held from the afternoon onward.

On the 16th, when the worst case scenario became clear, Toei officials worked all night long to decide how to transport the film and apologize to each theater, but they showed an understanding attitude, saying, “the reason for the delay is that producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki poured his passion into making a complex film. He must have felt a special attachment to it, as it was truly the final Yamato.“ Regarding penalties and damages, they said, “anyway, all we’re thinking about is getting the film delivered as quickly as possible,“ and they are frantically busy dealing with this unprecedented event.