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.
Photos posted on Twitter by shaberukinoko and M.T
December 28: REBEL 3199 wristwatch
First announced in July, this handsome watch from Super Groupies finally started turning up in the mailboxes of fans who preordered theirs. Click here to revisit the July report for more info.
December 29: TV news
Star Channel BS10 restarted the clock once again with a Yamato movie marathon to flow into the new year. This time it began with the live-action movie on December 29 and would continue daily all the way through the Yamato Resurrection Director’s Cut on January 5.
See a TV commercial for the marathon here
December 29 & 30: Comiket 105
Yamato doujinshis appeared as usual, but this time there was some real star power on the field. First, Michio Murukawa released his 4th volume of Reflections of Yamato 2199 (above). Each page includes rough art and commentary on his 2199 manga, often with panel by panel breakdowns.
Also on hand was Kia Asamiya, who published two new volumes in his “Characters Collection Book” series. Volume 23 is dedicated to Yuki Mori…
…and Volume 24 is dedicated to Sasha. Both run 16 pages. Follow Asamiya on Twitter here.
And finally, the ever-reliable Takeshi Oka released the latest volumes in his Galaxy Navy series, which goes all the way back to 1992.
December 31: Shinya Ogura on Twitter
Shinya Ogura’s name has come up many times before; he serves as a science advisor for many anime productions with titles such as Planetes, Gundam UC, and Gargantia on his resume. He’s been with the Yamato team since 2202 and posted about his happiest achievement as the year came to an end.
His caption read simply, “Yamato 3199 Chapter 1, an original civilian spaceship design.”
From the Chapter 1 program book:
Shikishima-class self-supporting floating dock ship Shikishima
Eight Shikishima vessels participate in the repair fleet as general-purpose work ships. It is a dock ship that can be used both inside and outside an atmosphere.
Sakigake-class research ship Sakigake
A type 4 mobile space research vessel that functions as both a base and a dock. This large ship was built using parts sold off as part of a project to reuse damaged ships after the war. The eight engines that make up the catamaran hull are Dreadnought-class engines that have been detuned for civilian use.
This is a research and exploration mission spec for the Saturn Repair Project. As the base for the project, the upper part is equipped with research and accommodation facilities for workers.
Read more about Ogura’s 3199 contributions here
Follow him on Twitter here
December 31: Official Tweet
The last official gesture of 2024 came from the Production Committee. After posting one rotating CG model after another, they ganged them all up to deliver a Happy New Year message. See it on Twitter here, then check out all the individual clips that were posted throughout the month:
Yamato | Ginga | Hyuga | Alpheratz | Dreadnought, Mars camouflage | Mobile Space Armor
Gladiator | Ajax | Cosmo Tiger II | Grand Reverse | Goruba | Galiades | Grodez
Inspired by this, fans also got in on the game and showed off their own homemade CG models. Take a look at them here:
Yamato 2520 | Aldebaran | Yamato‘s third bridge |
Also spotted in December
Fan art
One last round before the ball drops! See the December character gallery here and mecha gallery here.
Fan models
Even with Yamato on the big screen for an entire month, some modelers were not distracted from their latest masterworks. See the gallery here.
Game art roundup
The Yamato mobile games don’t get a lot of attention in these reports, since their manufacturers don’t have a large presence on social media. But new art appears from time to time, and the end of a calendar year provides a good opportunity for a roundup.
Click here for a gallery of promo art posted in 2023 and 2024
Speculative art
Fan artist EB67, who has been the subject of one of our fan profiles, took an interesting departure in December. He describes it thus: “What if there was a sequel to the live-action version of Space Battleship Yamato?” This led him to imagine what Gatlantis mecha and characters might look like when channeled through that design style.
See the results here
Whose house was that?
Many of us (who have been in Yamato world for a loooong time) will remember this still from the first episode showing the Gamilas planet bomb attack on Earth. Seeing it again in the 50th anniversary screenings made a couple fans wonder if there was something behind the choice to show this particular house in the montage of destruction. Some have observed that it looks an awful lot like the house seen in Heidi, the infamous rival program on TV at the time (co-directed by Hayao Miyazaki).
Fan artist 94ragunso11 posted these cartoons on Twitter, saying, “That house was in Moomin Valley. Yamato had no interest in the rival program Heidi. (Pouring on the oil.)” The cartoon at right depicts Miyazaki being driven mad by Yamato in a pose lifted right out of Episode 24.
In response to this, another fan with the handle kerota3 posted a very interesting reply:
The storyboard and the script say “Moomin Valley,” but no matter how you look at it, it looks like the house on Alm mountain (from Heidi, above right). There’s a fir tree, too. Art Director Hachiro Tsukushima was in charge of the backgrounds for the first episode of Heidi, so I’m sure he had the materials on hand.
Don’t expect this dispute to be settled in our lifetime. Just enjoy it.
Yamatunes for December
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Happy 2025! 2024 was a PHENOMENAL year for Yamato News. Infinity times better than 2023. It was the 50th anniversary, they officially announced Rebel 3199, Hideaki Anno announced his own version will be happening, Rebel 3199, 2202 Chronicle and 2205 all have been released in Crunchyroll (I still hope they dub it) etc. I’ve been viewing your site since Summer of 2023 around. I love Space Battleship Yamato/Star Blazers.I watched both the remake and original (I prefer the remake but I still LOVE the original). My favorite character in the whole franchise is Akira Yamamoto (Remake version). I’ve been loving Rebel 3199 so far and it’s definitely better than 2202 and 2205 so far! The one thing I really hope they don’t do is kill off Akira. She has so much to offer. What i would love to see more than Anno’s version of Yamato (don’t get me wrong I’m still very excited for it), is a spin off sequel to Rebel 3199 with Akira as the main character with Melda Dietz in it as her partner. I hope you take good care and happy new year! Space Battleship Yamato 4 life!
So much more to offer*