General activity slowed down in August, but a new trailer, a movie tie-in, several product announcements, and some live events were among the highlights as another month peeled off the calendar in the countdown to Chapter 4. And we even heard a nostalgic message from Earth orbit!
When September arrived, the premiere of Final Yamato was six months away. All the meters that measured its progress ticked forward with production milestones, media coverage, a historic live event, and more. Here’s what dropped along with the autumn leaves…
Complete storyboards from a Yamato production are surprisingly elusive for a series with such a rich publishing history, but only a few have emerged in print media over the decades. Final Yamato is not one of them, which makes this collection unique indeed. Parts B & C added September 15.
O.G. superfan Ryusuke Hikawa has been writing about Yamato ever since he visited the production studio as a high school student and it set the course for the rest of his life. In the first part of a book he published in 2019, he talks about how the first TV series made such an impact.
Eiichi Yamamoto, one of the first writers to get involved with Space Battleship Yamato, recounted his years at Osamu Tezuka’s Mushi Productions in a 1989 autobiography. In this emotional excerpt from the pivotal year 1973, he tells of the end of one dream and the first step toward another.
July 2025 was jammed solid with Yamato action. The Osaka exhibition, concerts, a major hobby show, music, publishing, and a nice big wave of new products would have been enough, but a new teaser for 3199 Chapter 4 came along to get us over the halfway point of the long wait. Here’s the roundup of all that and more…
The first round of the Yamato 50th Anniversary Exhibition was a smash success in Tokyo, and reopened in Osaka from July 19 to August 3. As before, cameras were given all-area access, so fans shared what they saw generously online. Presented here is a photo walk-through of the event space and surrounding points of interest.
As the second half of 1982 began, Final Yamato preproduction went into its next stage with the completion of the script and the first delivery of storyboards. Meanwhile, media coverage amped up anticipation as the summer anime season reached its peak. Here’s the timeline for these two eventful months…
Whenever new TV series were announced by a network, a presentation package was distributed to affiliate stations and media sources for publicity. Shown here is the original package for the first Yamato TV series, distributed in September 1974.
From the pages of Figure King magazine, December 2024: a comprehensive look at the evolution of Yamato models from the original series from the perspective of an industry expert, plus a rare interview with the first kit designer who ever produced a Yamato model!
The second month of our 6-month wait for 3199 Chapter 4 eased into a holding pattern with news flashes, a few live events, and the home video release of Chapter 3. As always, fans did their part to fill the gaps. Here is everything June 2025 had to offer…
In observance of Yamato‘s 50th anniversary, Figure King magazine No. 323 (published December 2024 by World Photo Press) ran a spectacular cover story containing art, interviews, and product history. Here we review all 40 pages with translations of its unique special features.
“Mamor” is a Japanese word meaning “protect.” It’s where Mamoru Kodai gets his name, and it’s the title of a monthly magazine about military matters from Fusosha Publishing. It enters the Yamato record books because of a unique article all about rank; not just IRL, but also in pop culture such as anime and movies.
During this three-month period, Final Yamato preproduction took a huge leap forward when all the story concepts were finally woven into a script, the first round of the “music assault” arrived, and media coverage went into full swing. Here’s what happened from April to June…
A pair of weekly magazines, published just six days apart, each took a snapshot of the rapidly evolving youth culture that was boosting anime to unprecedented popularity. Space Battleship Yamato was the engine that drove these articles, giving us a revealing analysis of both the observers and the observed.
Chapter 3 closed in theaters after a successful run as the first month of the 6-month wait for Chapter 4 continued the rolling wave of news flashes and online coverage. Drop in a major hobby show and the Radio Suite for 2025 and you’ve got yourself a Yamato party.
Interviews for Chapter 3 began almost a month before the April 11 premiere and brought back all the familiar faces. Keep an eye on this collection as more get added. UPDATED JUNE 2025!
From the pages of the 3199 Chapter 3 program book: Mecha Designer Mika Akitaka connects the past to the present with a discussion of how Dezarium’s mecha design evolved from its original 1980 forms to what we see in the remake series.
When the new year began, all the strategizing for this phase of Yamato history was in full effect. While new music was being written, the story draft for Final Yamato was dusted off and returned to development. In this report, we examine the first three months of 1982.
In part 1, Hikawa discussed the birth of Yamato fandom in Japan. Here, he recounts the media he absorbed as a child, the impact it had on subsequent generations, and the birth of fan clubs that laid the groundwork for everything we see today.
April 2025 didn’t just bring us the premiere of Chapter 3, it turned into one of the biggest months in Yamato history with new merch, live events, online publishing, and much more, something for every single day! Get comfortable and we’ll dig through ALL of it. [3 pages]
“Miroku” is a Japanese blogger and Yamato fan who works in America as a business consultant. This unique convergence provided the basis to ask what lessons Yamato has for people in the business world. A detailed investigation in this blog series digs into the series and delivers advice just about everyone can use.
With Final Yamato development on hold, attention turned to methods for keeping Yamato in the public eye rather than letting it go dormant. While these plans were being made, a slow but steady patter of new products closed out the year. Here’s what the conclusion of 1981 looked like…
March 2025 did not deliver a movie premiere, but was still the biggest month we’ve seen since 3199‘s debut. Centered around the 50th Anniversary Exhibition in Tokyo, there was Yamato action to be found every day for the entire month, making for a big report. [2 pages]
It’s hard to imagine a more comprehensive, more inspired, more lovingly curated presentation than what fans in Tokyo got to see from March 15 to 31. Presented here is a simulated walkthrough of the entire exhibition, made possible by the many fans who shared their photos on social media.
While the creative minds at West Cape Corporation continued building Final Yamato, word of its development worked its way beyond the borders of the official fan club. Be Forever got its first TV broadcast, and new voices were heard from distant Osaka that would later shake and shape the world of anime.
A little over a year after Star Blazers premiered in America, it burst onto TV screens in Italy with a different theme song, a localized dub, and a wave of unique merchandising seen nowhere else. Fortunately, it’s been preserved for posterity.
A photo journal of my experience building this model with spicy commentary. If you’re in a position to build it yourself, there will be tips and tricks. If you’re not, this can simply be a vicarious experience. And at the end, unlike me, you won’t have to figure out where to put the thing. Completion posted March 15.
