REBEL 3199 Chapter 2 dominated theaters in December with new things constantly popping up. When the Studio Khara screenings took over, it meant Yamato was on the big screen literally every day for the entire month. Here’s how you bring an already banger Yamato year to a close…

Photos posted on Twitter by the Yamato Production Committee and S Meijin

December 1: Osaka & Kyoto stage greetings

The month began just after the start of Chapter 2’s second week in theaters and the continuation of stage greetings by Directors Harutoshi Fukui and Naomichi Yamato and their MC, a comedian named “Taichi.” They hit two theaters in a single day, Osaka in the morning (above) and Kyoto in the evening (below). This was not difficult, since the two cities are only 30 minutes apart.

Photos posted on Twitter by the Yamato Production Committee and kishiro26

Twitter user aoi2199 attended the Osaka screening and posted that the timeline presented in Chapter 2 was created by Yamato novelist Yuki Minagawa. aoi2199 also posted this photo of an unprecedented theatrical lineup.

On December 5, Director Naomichi Yamato posted these photos from all three of the weekend stops with this message:

Thank you everyone in Nagoya, Osaka, and Kyoto. I hope you’re glad you went this time. I will work hard on the next few episodes, so please continue to support me.

Follow him on Twitter here

December 1: Kia Asamiya interview

It’s well known that the artists and writers responsible for the Yamato remakes were “baptized” as kids by watching the original on TV, and Kia Asamiya (also known by the name Michitaka Kikuchi) was absolutely one of them. Mantan Web kicked off the month with an interview that explored his dual role as a fan and a creator.

Read it here

December 1: Blogs by Hoshi Suzu

Don’t let this screenshot throw you; Japanese Yamato fans skew older, so crossover with baseball fandom and other sports is common. Anyway, a blogger named Hoshi Suzu actively writes about both MLB and Yamato, and had a lot to say about REBEL 3199 throughout the month. Suzu’s Yamato fandom goes way back and is very well-informed.

Read all of Suzu’s December Yamato blogs here

December 2: Video comments

REBEL 3199 voice actors continued to deliver their endorsements via video clips on Twitter. Today we heard from Houko Kuwashima (Yuki) and Makoto Furukawa (Alphon). Click on their names to watch.

Photos posted on Twitter by elfriede

December 4: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model Vol. 284

Hachette’s first December volume of the Patrol Ship model was a simple one. It contained the barrel-shaped coupling that connects the main hull to the aft section. The operation this week was simply to attach 16 triangular modules all the way around it.

See Hachette’s instruction video here

See a modeler’s blog here

Photos posted on Twitter by Edakio and Androw_Umeda

December 5: Calendar shot

One of the perks of being associated with a big studio like Bandai Namco is getting the company calendar every December, which is not available to the public. This year’s calendar included an exclusive REBEL 3199 illustration by Michio Murukawa.

Get a better look at it here

Michio Murukawa took note of this and posted his rough version on Bluesky the next day with this caption:

Apparently, my picture was leaked onto the internet yesterday, so here is a rough draft of it for the 2025 calendar from Bandai Namco Filmworks.

I was in charge of February, and the client specified the characters. It would be winter, so at first I had planned to make clothes gray, but the colors were lacking in vibrancy. I felt that it would be a shame to include my rather plain coloring among the other bright and colorful pictures that represent the Bandai Group’s anime works, so I changed it all to light blue.

Apparently, this calendar is not for sale.

I wonder if I was the right person to be in charge of the official illustration for 3199. I’m not involved with the characters in the work, I’m not an animator, and I’m only in charge of the monitor designs! In terms of pictures that aren’t drawn in the anime style, I think I may have been able to make Yamato stand out, but I’m very embarrassed.

December 5: More Yamato on Crunchyroll

For fans outside of Japan, the vote for “best news of the month” was an easy one. On this day, both Age of Yamato and Yamato 2205 were added to Crunchyroll, finally filling the gap between 2202 and 3199.

You’ll find CR’s Yamato home page here; just click through the “seasons” to find them. Age of Yamato goes by the name Star Blazers Chronicle 2202.

December 5: Official Tweets

The Twitter account for the Yamato Production Committee was a real hotbed in December. They started with the image at left, revealing the prize for a hashtag campaign that started in November. An illustration board will be awarded randomly to 1,000 winners, picturing two Sashas at different ages. What does it mean? We’ll undoubtedly find out when Chapter 3 arrives in April 2025. Meanwhile, get a better look at it here.

Their other post on this day was of a rotating Yamato CG model, rendered by the animation studio. It was the first of many such models posted throughout the month. They’ll all be gathered up at the end of this report.

December 5: Video comments

The last two video endorsements for Chapter 2 were posted today, featuring Tasuku Hatanaka (Domon) and Yuto Uemura (Ageha). Click on their names to watch.

Photo at right posted on Twitter by AnalyzerAU09

December 6: Week 3 handout

Chapter 2’s third week in theaters began with a new freebie handed out to all ticket holders. This one was a “smart phone sticker” featuring Niimi and Sasha from a very tense moment in Episode 6.

December 7: Special Selection Screening flyer

Lest anyone forget, a very special 50th anniversary event was coming up on the heels of REBEL 3199 Chapter 2. Starting on December 27, nine original TV episodes would be screened in theaters, 3 per week over three weeks. It was planned and promoted by Hideaki Anno’s Studio Khara, announced in the flyer shown above.

Superfan S Meijin posted this photo on Twitter, showing the flyer in its natural (theater lobby) habitat.

December 7: Today’s Science Beginners video 6

The last science video for Chapter 2 opened with more banter between Isidore and Tasuke Tokugawa, this time taking turns so convoluted that Doraemon was invoked. The science portion covered something that will probably play a big role in future chapters: the theory of Wave-Motion Energy itself. Which, it turns out, utilizes micro black holes and threatens the fabric of the universe. Whoopsie.

See it on Youtube here (captions and autotranslate ON)

December 7: Official Tweet

In related news, the Production Committee reported ongoing popularity poll results for a rivalry ignited by the Science Beginners videos. Who did viewers prefer, “Energy-Saver Kun” or Isidore the Dezarium boy? The trend was becoming obvious, but the vote was not yet final.

December 8: Museum piece

Today, an astonishing post appeared on Twitter from a user named Karzworks. It read as follows:

Space Battleship Yamato reminds me of this famous illustration. I have it at home. It was drawn by Toshio Sekiguchi. He gave it to me when I was close to Tatsuji Kajita through Tokuma Shoten (probably about 30 years ago) because he said he didn’t need it anymore. I was amazed and humbled. It’s quite big, about 40cm (15.75″) wide.

See the original post here

See how the art was used here

December 8: Model display

Yamato modelers in Hokkaido who come together under the name HOBAS turned up again in an exhibition on this day. It was set up at the Wing Bay Otaru shopping center, and you can find a photo gallery of their displays here.

December 8: Michio Murukawa on Bluesky

Along with many, MANY others in the anime fan community, our counterparts in Japan are joining the march to Bluesky. As indicated earlier, Michio Murukawa is one of them, and his account can be found here.

Following him will give you a look at unique images like these, accompanied by news on his forthcoming art book from Studio Khara.

Left (posted Dec 8):

The editorial department sent me the data, saying that they successfully scanned this original drawing done at Yamaket! I made some adjustments to the colors and touchup, and turned it into an image for the art book. It’s undeniable that the coloring was a little rough because it was done at the event venue, but it was fun to paint while remembering the relationship between “brush, paint, water and paper” after such a long time. Also, the textures that can’t be expressed digitally, and the boldness of the brushwork that can’t be undone, are fun to look at.

Right (posted Dec 13):

Yesterday, the editor, designer and I spent about 7 hours locked away in a publisher’s meeting room discussing the layout of the Yamato art book. We decided on the layout for 80 pages, which is about a third of the total. I also came to understand the designer’s work style. I’m a former editor and designer myself, so I was worried about how to interact with the designer without being rude, but it was good.

Director Anno’s intention is to include all the Yamato-related pictures I’ve drawn so far, so it’s going to be a unique book, even though it’s a collection of pictures. It’s due to be released in March, and I’ve been tasked with getting it ready in time for the 50th anniversary Space Battleship Yamato exhibition at the end of the same month.

December 11: Blog review

Another blogger chimed in today with their views on REBEL 3199 Chapter 2, with a particular interest in how today’s characters compare with their original counterparts.

Read it here

Photos posted on Twitter by elfriede

December 11: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model Vol. 285

The second Patrol Ship volume for December brought the second half of last week’s labor, 16 more modules to attach to the hull coupling. Seeing it in this form brings up the notion that the hull could be uncoupled and mated with other parts. Perhaps we’ll learn more about this somewhere down the road.

See Hachette’s instruction video here

See a modeler’s blog here

December 12: Music news

An unexpected Tweet from Fumi Fukakou, the webmaster of Yamato Music Collection, delivered a pleasant flashback to Yamatour 2024 in which we hunted down copies of the Yamato of Two People CD (read about it here).

According to Tower’s year-end data, that album rocketed all the way up to #4 in the ranking of best selling classical albums of 2024. We who embarked on the Yamatour were happy to help make it happen!

That’s page 1 of 3. Click here for page 2!