The story of how I cried watching Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato, Soldiers of Love.
Published May 25. See the original post here
Tears for the original Yamato
The first time I encountered Yamato was in the 2010 live-action movie. I was 10 years old and deeply impressed by the existence of this super-powered space battleship called Yamato. I became completely obsessed with it, starting with model kits and then learning everything about the history of the battleship Yamato.
When I was in high school, I finally watched the original. The final scene of Farewell to Yamato was incredibly memorable. Out of the nearly 850 movies I’ve watched, including anime, that ending ranks in my top five!
I was obsessed with Yamato in junior high and high school
First came the model kits, of course. I spent countless hours assembling the 1/700 Yamato. Looking back, it was pretty unconventional for a kid born in the Heisei era. During school breaks, I would stay at my paternal grandparents’ house near my parents’ home every week, and I vividly remember begging my local model shop for battleship, aircraft carrier, and heavy cruiser waterline series kits. I was completely obsessed with these model kits, showing no interest whatsoever in Gundam or the figures that are popular today.
After that, I just drew pictures nonstop. The graphics of the Yamato series, not to mention the weapons that were used in the Pacific War, really stir the hearts of boys.
The feelings put into the story of Yamato
The story really conveys the feelings of Mr. Leiji Matsumoto. That’s why I love Yamato so much.
The protagonist, Susumu Kodai, embarks on Yamato for a mission to save the Earth, carrying his destiny on his shoulders. While fighting the invaders, the Gamilas, and on a long journey to obtain a radiation removal device for the planet Iscandar, Susumu and his crew finally defeat the Gamilas in a decisive battle on their home planet. Finally, they arrive at Iscandar and successfully deliver the radiation removal device to Earth, bringing the story to an end.
At first glance, Yamato seems to be a hero that saves Earth from invaders, but I believe that is not the case. As the protagonist Kodai himself said in the story, it was actually Yamato who invaded Gamilas. In other words, there is a reversal of roles and a reversal of values.
We are taught in school that Japan was the aggressor in the Pacific War, who started the war against the United States. Japan was the villain. Therefore, we must never repeat such actions. From the American perspective, Japan was the instigator of the war. However, the United States eventually resorted to indiscriminate air raids on Japanese civilians, followed by nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and ultimately invaded Okinawa to carry out a mainland invasion operation.
At the time, the United States, based on its experience in World War I, did not want to fight another war. The American people did not want it either. Nevertheless, by the end of the Pacific War, public opinion in the United States had shifted to “Good thing we dropped the atomic bombs on Japan” and “Thanks to the nuclear attacks, the war ended quickly and fewer lives were lost.”
I believe this reversal of perspectives was incorporated into Space Battleship Yamato. In other words, justice and evil are two sides of the same coin. As depicted in Yamato, the Gamilas, who were portrayed as evil, and Iscandar, who was seen as good, were actually twin planets. This is like the two sides of a coin. Additionally, the characters in Yamato are based on historical figures, with characters like Dessler and Domel named after Hitler and Rommel from Nazi Germany during the Pacific War.
I love history, so I was able to feel the thoughts that Leiji Matsumoto put into Yamato. The setting, the characters, the story, the music, the animation — everything is wonderful.
This year, 2025, marks the 50th anniversary. Space Battleship Yamato is a requiem for the heroic spirits who fell in the war of the past. I can’t help but think so.