March 30: 50th anniversary news

At the end of March, Hideaki Anno and his company Studio Khara announced a raft of plans that would unfold over the coming months. Interestingly, the date of this announcement marked the 49th anniversary of Yamato‘s last episode in 1975.

Director/Producer/O.G. Yamato fan Hideaki Anno

Multiple websites picked up the story…

Space Battleship Yamato 50th Anniversary Commemoration
Hideaki Anno to plan and produce special projects

Under Hideaki Anno’s direction, several book projects are planned, as well as a commemorative TV series screening event on the date of the first TV broadcast (Sunday October 6), and an exhibition featuring valuable related materials.

Illustrations by Junichiro Tamamori

Illustration by Michio Murakawa

Publication plan (tentative):

[Plan 1] Space Battleship Yamato Art Collection by Michio Murakawa
[Plan 2] Space Battleship Yamato Design Art Collection by Junichiro Tamamori
[Plan 3] Space Battleship Yamato 1974 Complete Record Collection, 50th Anniversary Edition
(Note: this is the famous 3-volume hardcover trilogy also referred to as the “silver set”)
[Plan 4] Ongoing manga publication project (Plans 3 and 4 to be published by Khara)
production is underway to coincide with the 50th anniversary!

Other 50th anniversary projects:

[1] Space Battleship Yamato TV series commemorative event screening
Scheduled to be held on October 6, 2024 (Sunday)
[2] Space Battleship Yamato Exhibition (tentative title) is being planned to tour various locations in Japan.

For more information on future anniversary projects, please visit the official Space Battleship Yamato 50th anniversary project page on Twitter here. A 50th anniversary logo will also be unveiled in the future.

Visit the Khara website here

Photo posted on Twitter by Moyoco Anno

May 21: Hideaki Anno’s birthday

Filmmaker/anime auteur/Yamato superfan Hideaki Anno got some extra attention when his wife Moyoco posted this birthday photo on Twitter with the following caption:

“The director turned 64 today. He looks like he’s having fun.”

A nice enough post, but not one you’d expect to be newsworthy, right? In a world where only the slightest tweak gets fans gossiping, you’d be wrong.

Click here to find out what happened next.

August 6: Studio Khara lantern

The annual Bonbori (paper lantern) Festival takes place at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine in Kamakura to mark the end of summer. Each year, hundreds of paper lanterns are donated by artists and celebrities from all over the nation.

This year, Hideaki Anno of Studio Khara did his part to remind everyone what year it is as we still eagerly await news of the 50th anniversary projects he has underway.

September 6: Studio Khara announcement

This special date did not escape the attention of Hideaki Anno’s Studio Khara. With one month to go until the 50th anniversary, they released the following news…

The first project to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the broadcast of Space Battleship Yamato!

A one-night special screening event planned and produced by Hideaki Anno will be held on Sunday, October 6th! The 50th anniversary logo of “Space Battleship Yamato” has also been unveiled!

A special project to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the TV broadcast of “Space Battleship Yamato” has been launched. Today, September 6th, is the special day when Space Battleship Yamato returned to Earth from the planet Iscandar. Here we deliver special information to coincide with this.

As the first project to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the broadcast, it has been decided to hold an anniversary day screening. And the 50th anniversary logo has finally been completed! This special commemorative logo was created by Hideaki Anno, who worked on the overall design and the handwritten lettering, and by Yutaka Izubuchi, who worked on the rocket anchor-style emblem and the number “50.”

Exactly 50 years after the TV broadcast began at 7:30 p.m. on October 6, 1974, the special one-night screening event will be held at Shinjuku Piccadilly on the same day and time in 2024. There will also be a special talk event! Hideaki Anno will act as the host, and the event will feature Yutaka Izubuchi, general director of Yamato 2199, and anime/tokusatsu researcher Ryusuke Hikawa. This event will also be broadcast live to movie theaters nationwide (further information will be announced soon).

September 20: Studio Khara announcement

The next big news flash clued everyone in on the plan for October 6. First, the anniversary screening got its very own poster design, created by Hideaki Anno. Next, this description was posted on the Khara website:

Space Battleship Yamato: The long-lost 8mm film version will be shown in theaters for the first time

Screening event to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the broadcast, planned and produced by Hideaki Anno

Published at Mantan Web on September 20. See the original article here.

Exactly 50 years after the TV broadcast began at 7:30 pm on October 6, 1974, a one-night-only screening event will be held at Shinjuku Piccadilly (Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo) on the same day and at the same time in 2024. It is planned and produced by Director Hideaki Anno, known for the Evangelion series, among others. This is the first event in the project to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the broadcast of the popular anime Space Battleship Yamato.

The first episode of the TV series will be screened, along with different versions of the opening title including one without captions and another described as the “phantom 5th version.” A special talk event will be held, with Anno as the host. Joining him will be Yamato 2199 Director Yutaka Izubuchi and anime and tokusatsu researcher Ryusuke Hikawa. The event will be viewed live at cinemas nationwide.

It has been revealed that all three parts of the legendary 8mm film version of Space Battleship Yamato will also be shown. This is a re-edited version of the 26 episodes of the TV series. The 8mm film version, with 3 volumes totaling about 36 minutes of footage, was released in 1977-78. At the time, video tape recorders had just started to be sold, and 8mm film was released in which movies were edited into short versions or recorded in several volumes. Unlike the edit of the 1977 Yamato movie, it uses new narration, making it a “hidden gem.” It will be shown in theaters for the first time.

Comment by Hideaki Anno

Japanese “anime” began 50 years ago on October 6, 1974. The appearance of the TV series Space Battleship Yamato, produced half a century ago, shocked us at the time. It later created and established the word “anime,” influencing and changing the flow of Japanese anime and the values of the world. I hope that this screening event will leave a lasting impression of the greatness and fun of Yamato in the hearts of people living in the present 50 years later. I hope that this event will be a success. To all fans, past and future, I ask for your support.

– Hideaki Anno, fan of Yamato for 50 years since junior high

Comment by Ryusuke Hikawa

When I first encountered Space Battleship Yamato 50 years ago, I felt as if a veil was lifted from my eyes. “TV manga” was reborn as “anime” and was no longer aimed at children. It was as if Space Battleship Yamato had appeared from the rusted battleship Yamato and set off on a journey…

The second shock came when I immediately tracked down the production studio, talked to the creators, and witnessed the original drawings and concept materials in their raw form. During my second year of high school, I felt deeply that “there is a reason why great works become great.”

As I shared that excitement with others and transformed it into action to spread it farther, it felt like 50 years passed in the blink of an eye as I resonated with the enthusiasm of the people I met through Yamato. I hope that even greater leaps will come from here.

Comment by Yutaka Izubuchi

This is a singularity of the era, a work that became a paradigm shift in the history of Japanese anime. Space Battleship Yamato evolved Japanese animation into what it is today. At this time, Japanese anime certainly, definitely changed before and after Yamato.

It was 1974, 50 years ago, when Space Battleship Yamato was born. People born in that year are now 50 years old! And 50 years is half a century! It’s amazing! With this work, we can celebrate the 50th anniversary of the show with the people whose lives were enriched in a good way, and I would like to express my gratitude for this moment. “Yamato, launch!”

Fans were overjoyed at the prospect of getting to see the long-lost 8mm version of Yamato on the big screen. Released in November 1977, they have a special place in history as the first on-demand version anyone could get. It consisted of three reels sold separately by Asahi Sonorama, each running 10-12 minutes with newly-written narration and re-edited music.

Longtime fan Popoki Cat posted the photos at right on Twitter with this message:

The elusive 8mm film for Yamato‘s 50th anniversary event! I never thought I’d be able to watch this movie I have at home for the first time in decades! And not on a sliding screen, but on the big screen in a theater! Thank you!

Yamato Music FE added this backgrounder:

The 8mm film version was a three-volume set released at the end of 1977, re-edited based on all 26 episodes. While the new narration tends to get the most attention, the music was also newly edited, and in fact has a piece only used in this work for the first time!

The price for one volume was about 12,000 yen. It would easily cost 30,000 yen to collect all the volumes, and you also needed a projector, so just watching the movies was a considerable hurdle. However, this was the only video media available for sale at the time.

September 26: Studio Khara goods announced

Since no Yamato theater experience is complete without some swag, Studio Khara announced a handful of items to be sold in theaters for the one-night-only 50th anniversary screening. They consist of a clear acrylic stand (featuring the poster art), an acrylic keyholder, a clear file, a button, and a coffee mug. A diecut sticker of the logo would be given out for free to ticket holders at the screening on October 6.

October 1: Studio Khara countdown begins

With Studio Khara set to host one of the two signature events on October 6, they began a daily countdown on Twitter in authentic Yamato fashion, using images from Series 1.

One image each day took us from the wreckage of the battleship to the first shots fired by the space battleship, finishing on October 5.

October 6: 50th Anniversary screening event

Three of the most famous Yamato fans in Japan took the wheel for this special event, based at the Shinjuku Piccadilly in Tokyo and live-streamed to 42 other theaters. Together they presided over a special screening and sat down for an engaging conversation that led to what had to be the most unexpected – and appropriate – announcement of the day.

Click here to read about the entire event. As for the big announcement, here is the official word from Studio Khara’s website:

Khara Inc. has been granted the rights to produce a new animated film based on Space Battleship Yamato by Voyager Holdings Inc. (CEO: Shoji Nishizaki), and has also received permission from Tohokushinsha Co., Ltd. to use the copyright.

We are currently working hard on planning a new theatrical production, aiming to start in 2025, in order to contribute to the further development of the Space Battleship Yamato series, which has a glorious history as a Japanese anime, and to create a work that can be enjoyed by many fans.

This new anime film will follow a different route from the remake series that began with Yamato 2199 in 2012 and continues with REBEL 3199, the second chapter of which will be released in theaters on November 22, 2024. We pray for the safe voyage of the remake series currently in production.

If I hadn’t encountered Space Battleship Yamato 50 years ago, I don’t think I would be who I am today. Now that I am involved with Yamato, I want to spend the rest of my life creating as many interesting works as possible that combine new and old, with respect and gratitude for all the staff and cast of Yamato, and I would like to leave Space Battleship Yamato for future generations.

Thank you very much for your cooperation.

– Hideaki Anno, CEO of Khara Inc.

Studio Khara posted this followup message from Anno a week later (October 13). See the original post here.

A little about my involvement with Yamato

Fifty years ago, the world of Yamato was huge, with the original TV series, the theatrical version (with the Starsha death version), and the theatrical version that was broadcast on TV (the Starsha survival version), as well as several novels, including the Sonorama version by Arashi Ishizu, and manga by Leiji Matsumoto, Akira Hio, and Yuki Hijiri, which were developed around the same time as the TV broadcast.

For me, Yamato was a work that depicted multiple worlds existing simultaneously. Of course, I felt this same sensation with Ultraman, Ultraseven, Kamen Rider, Mazinger Z, Devilman and other works, due to differences in the way the worlds were depicted in the TV and manga versions. Even among these parallel worlds, Yamato was special. This is because the original TV series had an epoch-making worldview, and multiple authors were freely and individually drawing their own versions in various media. The remake series 2199 also has a parallel between the main story and the manga by Michio Murakawa.

The parallel world aspect of the Yamato series was confirmed with Farewell to Yamato and the Yamato 2 series. The version drawn by Mr. Matsumoto is also a parallel world, and there are two versions of Resurrection by Mr. Nishizaki. Even in the case of Japanese content such as Ultraman, Kamen Rider, and Gundam, which are representative of the genre, parallel worlds created by branching off or resetting the story continue to this day. Such worlds are now too numerous to count.

I think that resetting and creating parallel worlds is a natural phenomenon for works that are not only historically significant but also strong as content. For me, it has always been natural to have multiple versions of the same work. I think the fact that we are following in the history of Yamato created by our predecessors, while having multiple versions in existence at the same time, is a continuation of the Yamato style.

At the end of the 1970s, we also experienced the bitter history of fans clashing with each other over their differing preferences for Farewell and Yamato 2, and the emotional arguments and disputes that ensued. I think preferences for the versions that were first imprinted on us are a long-standing problem for fans of long-running works.

This time, thanks to the kindness of the various companies involved, I was given relatively free rights to create a new Yamato. That’s why, rather than aiming for the small goal of fulfilling my dream as a junior high student, I’m trying to make a new Yamato that has a high possibility of continuing to the 100th anniversary.

I don’t know how many of the works I’m involved in will set sail and reach their destination of release, but I’m doing my best anyway. Because that’s all I can do right now.

And once again, I pray for the safe voyage and safe return of the ongoing remake series REBEL 3199.

– Hideaki Anno, CEO of Khara Inc.

Studio Khara merchandise sold at theaters October 6; photos posted on Twitter by chotyo and imakenken1

Lucky Special Bonus

The next parts of the 50th anniversary project were mentioned at the event. To start with, more screenings of original TV episodes were announced for December and January (keep reading). Next, four books are in production for 2025, published dates TBD…

From the classic era: the first-ever reprint of Yuki Hijiri’s “lost” Yamato manga, originally published in Terebi Land magazine, 1974-75. (See it here)

Also, a 2-volume reprint of the Complete Collection of Records for Series 1, originally published as three volumes in 1978. (Read about it here)

From the remake era: art collections devoted to both Michio Murakawa (manga artist) and Junichiro Tamamori (mecha designer).

November 30: Movie news

At the end of November, Studio Khara announced the next phase of its Yamato plan: the 50th Anniversary Selection Screenings. Starting December 27, 9 episodes of the original TV series will be shown in 43 theaters (3 episodes per week) and each week has its own poster.

These are not new images; they were originally created by artist Toshihiro Kawamoto (based on the Leiji Matsumoto style) for video jackets released by Bandai Emotion in 1998. But they are just as attention-grabbing today as they were then.

December 27 to January 2: Episodes 2, 3, and 7
January 3 to 9: Episodes 16, 18, and 22
January 10 to 16: Episodes 23, 24, and 26

Photos posted on Twitter by AnalyzerAU09 and SameNori2199

Promotion began that same day with displays going up at participating theaters including the Shinjuku Piccadilly (left), Midland Square Cinema in Nagoya (right), and Osaka Station City Cinema (below).

Photo posted on Twitter by Aoi2199

But posters alone don’t get the job done, so Hideaki Anno personally supervised the assembly of a trailer that makes you want to teleport yourself into one of those theaters right now.

See it on Youtube here

Attendees would get a free mini poster for each week of the series with images on both sides. NOW how much would you pay?

December 7: Special Selection Screening flyer

Twenty days before the premiere of “Program 1,” this flyer appeared in theaters.

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

December 21: Yamadog

With one week to go until the 50th anniversary screenings began, theaters jumped on the promo wagon with a “Yamato hot dog” at concession stands.

OK, it was just the regular hot dog (or cheese dog) they were already selling, but now you could get it with a Yamato wrapper to remind you about the upcoming screenings.

Photos posted on Twitter by imakenken1

December 27: Special Selection Screening, Program 1

Studio Khara’s next phase of 50th anniversary celebration began today when remastered versions of TV episodes 2, 3, and 7 were shown on the big screen in 46 theaters across Japan. Like REBEL 3199, each of the three programs has its own free handout to moviegoers: an A4-size mini poster with poster images on both sides (shown above).

December 27: Theater goods

If you didn’t see THIS coming, you must be new here. Theater gift shops had fresh merch to accompany these screenings, either designed or commissioned by Studio Khara. The lineup included some safe choices (clear files and T-shirts) and some intriguing experiments as well, two of which became instant hits.

The top sellers were a tea mug decorated with quotes from Captain Okita and an acrylic stand mimicking the WMG cross gauge with multiple backdrops. These products were the first to disappear from theater shelves and sold out very quickly when offered online that same day.

Click here for a comprehensive photo gallery.

Back up to part 2

Photo posted on Twitter by Shin Sokonuke

December 27: Special Selection Screening talk show

The three luminaries who took the stage for the October 6 screening were back to launch the new series: Yutaka Izubuchi (2199 director), Hideaki Anno (head of Studio Khara) and Ryusuke Hikawa (author/superfan). Their conversation essentially mimicked what they said back in October, but Anno was able to announce some new developments.

It’s already known that Khara is planning a reprint of the original Series 1 Complete Records book set, but it was newly announced that this effort will be accompanied by a Space Battleship Yamato “Complete Records Exhibition” that will put original production materials on display. It’s scheduled to be held in Tokyo from March 15-31, then move to Osaka in the summer.

In the words of Studio Khara’s Twitter announcement, “The phantom materials will awaken from their 50-year slumber.” More news on this as it happens.

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