When Symphonic Suite was released to the world in December 1977, it revolutionized the field of anime music by bringing it a level of respect not previously seen. The liner notes included with the album presented a conversation between the two men most responsible for making it happen. With the arrival of the Symphonic Suite 2024 Mix exactly 47 years later, those liner notes were presented again, and they’re just as relevant as they ever were. They are translated in full below to enhance your appreciation of this amazing body of work.

Romance for boys, dreams for girls, love for everything…

Yoshinobu Nishizaki

Being born in the same generation as Hiroshi Miyagawa and being able to work with him is one of the most precious things for me as a producer.

When I was making the movie Space Battleship Yamato, I decided from the beginning that Miyagawa would compose the music. He has a melody that appeals to human emotions, a modern sense of rhythm, and an understanding of drama — I thought he was the perfect person in all respects.

Mr. Miyagawa lived up to my expectations and led the movie to success, but as I got to know his talent better, my desire grew even more. I wanted to create a symphonic suite for Yamato and convey the spirit of Yamato to the younger generation through a symphonic orchestra.

Mr. Miyagawa lived up to my expectations again, and a wonderful symphonic suite was completed. Amazingly, he created exactly what I wanted, as if he had read my mind. Here, the feelings I put into Yamato – romance for boys, dreams for girls, and love for everything – are expressed in a textured symphonic flow of sound.

Thank you, Mr. Miyagawa!

It was a job that attracted me as a composer.

Hiroshi Miyagawa

When Producer Nishizaki approached me about creating a symphony arrangement for Symphonic Suite Space Battleship Yamato, I thought it would be a difficult task, but it was also a job that attracted me as a composer. It has already been three years since I created the music for Yamato. I was eager to create new music that would further deepen the theme of Yamato.

Although Mr. Nishizaki and I sometimes had fierce disagreements, his opinions, which were based on a broad perspective different from that of a musician, ended up being very positive in the end.

Many of the songs are completely new, so those who are familiar with the movie soundtrack may find it a little strange, but I think it’s a deeper version of Yamato‘s theme, so if you listen carefully, you won’t feel any strangeness.

I’m a little vain, but I think that if you just listen to the opening, you’ll understand that why this LP is cheap…

Side 1

● Overture

Miyagawa: I think that even if you just listen to the opening, you’ll be able to understand the elegance of this suite. I’m pretty confident about that.

Nishizaki: I like the scat in the opening. It contains all of the love and romance, which are part of the theme of Yamato, and the infinite expanse of the universe. Miyagawa, this is your favorite song, isn’t it?

Miyagawa: That’s right. I call it the “funeral of the universe,” and I really like it. Actually, this song was written in about two minutes. I started playing it on the piano from the beginning, and it came together without even trying. It must have been inspired by something.

Nishizaki: As soon as I heard this piece, I remembered Swan Lake. I remembered the endless dreams and sadness I felt when I first heard the overture as a boy.

Miyagawa: I see.

Nishizaki: When I look at Yamato fans’ questionnaires and letters about music, some of them say they want to listen to this opening scat over and over. So I wanted to expand this LP with a modern Swan Lake-like image…

Miyagawa: I see. This overture isn’t a copy of Swan Lake, but there’s something about it that connects to the sweetness and romance that Tchaikovsky possesses.

Nishizaki: Kids today don’t know the greatness of symphony, they’re only chasing melodies and rhythms. I want them to feel the wonderful texture and scale of symphonic sound through these songs.

Miyagawa: I think fans will probably feel that. That simple background music becomes an overture. It comes as a bang in the first track on this LP, and I think you’ll understand the richness of the content.

Nishizaki: I think this overture is a wonderful introduction. This will allow you to enter Yamato‘s world of symphony, into the universe.

Miyagawa: So much effort was put into recreating that scat voice from three years ago from the original LP. The singer’s voice had already changed, so it was really difficult…

Nishizaki: It’s really enough to make you cry when you listen to it, or when you talk about it… (Laughs)

● The Birth

Miyagawa: Maybe it’s a little long, the part where they get on board.

Nishizaki: No, not at all. It’s very powerful. I think the part where Yamato comes out solemnly is expressed with a very strong sense of heaviness. Then, after a short pause, you can feel the strong human breath of the 18-year-old boys boarding Yamato. And at the end, when Yamato‘s melody comes out, it just gives me goosebumps.

Miyagawa: That’s right. You’ve probably heard Yamato‘s melody hundreds of times. So you should be tired of it, but when you hear the finished song, it’s like, “Here it comes, here it comes, here it comes!”

Nishizaki: Exactly.

Miyagawa: That’s just how good it is.

Nishizaki: No matter how many times I listen to it, it gives me goosebumps. When that Yamato melody comes out at the end and it gets more and more powerful and exciting…

Miyagawa: I can’t get enough of it. (Laughs)

Nishizaki: First, the big texture of Yamato comes out, then the human breath is breathed in, and then the Yamato melody. It hasn’t taken off yet, but I can really feel that the Space Battleship Yamato is complete.

Miyagawa: Here, I didn’t just randomly connect the BGM that was used separately in each scene. I didn’t connect them with a narrative in the music, but the scenes that were separate ended up being beautifully connected into one. It’s strange even for me. (Laughs)

Nishizaki: I see. I thought it was connected intentionally. As I said, it’s always well connected with the story.

Miyagawa: It’s like that without any intention.

Nishizaki: It’s a great song even without the drama.

Miyagawa: The performance is also pretty good.

Nishizaki: With this much drama, it has a symphonic depth.

● Sasha

Nishizaki: This is a very short song, but it’s a good song. The background music that this is based on wasn’t used much in Yamato.

Miyagawa: Hmm, I think so.

Nishizaki: The most memorable scene was when Sasha, Starsha’s sister, flies to Earth with a message from Starsha. On the way, Gamilas finds out that Sasha has the blueprints for Yamato‘s Wave Engine and attacks her rocket. Then, Sasha’s rocket crashes into Mars just before reaching Earth and she dies while still holding the capsule. That’s when Susumu Kodai first appears.

Miyagawa: That’s right.

Nishizaki: There’s a scene where Susumu Kodai meets Sasha and picks her up while she’s holding the capsule. When we show a close-up of Sasha’s face, this music plays in the background. It’s a great, memorable scene. It’s a great song, but it didn’t really fit anywhere else, so it wasn’t used much. Why did you choose that this time?

Miyagawa: I just had the image of a fairy-like woman from another world, from some planet in space. It was vague, but I was fascinated by it…

Nishizaki: I see, but it was perfect.

Miyagawa: If you go to space, you’ll find a planet you don’t know, and there’ll be a beautiful woman there, like in a dream…

Nishizaki: So that was perfect for the sad scene.

● Trial

Nishizaki: In terms of visuals, the very first part is the music used when the missile is launched from the base on Pluto, or when Yamato is in a tense, anxious state. What is that “hyohyo” sound that comes in at the very beginning?

Miyagawa: That’s a sound made with a synthesizer, which is popular these days.

Nishizaki: That sound is extremely effective. When that goes “hyohyo” in the story, the Gamilas missile coming from Pluto rises up through the air…I’m impressed with how well thought out the use of sound was, without seeing the scene beforehand.

Miyagawa: That was by chance. I already had it in my head in the initial planning stage, before anything was done, when I had a meeting with you about the music.

Nishizaki: That kind of meeting alone wouldn’t have been enough, Miyagawa-san.

Miyagawa: So you and I have the same feelings.

Nishizaki: How could you possibly have composed music that was so perfect for the scene, even if it was just by chance? The more I listen to it, the more I feel it.

Miyagawa: I wonder if it was really just a coincidence, or if it worked out because we were really into it. You and I have been working together for a while now, so I know everything about your personality. I can sense what you want, and I can tell what you’re thinking.

Nishizaki: We worked together on the previous Wansa-kun as well.

Miyagawa: Plus, we’re pretty much the same generation. We think and feel alike.

Nishizaki: Yeah. I’m a bit like the older brother, though. By the way, Yamato‘s melody also comes in at the end, solo…

Miyagawa: Yeah, it comes in a bit here and there in minor.

Nishizaki: Yamato‘s melody changes and appears in various ways. This is also an important thing to listen for.

● Take off (Departure)

Miyagawa: Yamato‘s grand departure was inspired by something in the 007 movie music composed by Paul McCartney. So, there may be some similarities in some parts. The bass rises on a large scale, ta, ta, taa.

Nishizaki: Please tell us a little about the musical aspects of this.

Miyagawa: Before Yamato goes into battle, the feeling of advancing is expressed by gradually rising, dan dan daaan, while a bass instrument beats out the rhythm. Also, I didn’t use any of Yamato‘s original verses here, and I tried to give it a different feel.

Nishizaki: Yes, Yamato‘s melody isn’t included.

Miyagawa: It feels a little different, but it fits the picture very well…

Nishizaki: That’s right. So, to explain it visually, Yamato launches from the rock, defeats the missile attack, then extends its wings and rises with the Earth in the background. Then, there’s a line saying “Switch to secondary space flight.” The wings contract, the Wave Engine revs up the max, and we head off.

Miyagawa: It was quite an adventure not to use Yamato‘s melody. But it fit the picture well, so I’m glad.

Nishizaki: The second half is especially good.

● Reminiscence

Nishizaki: Have you ever played Yamato‘s Melody on guitar before?

Miyagawa: Yes, I have. It’s not just the performance, but the interpretation is different.

Nishizaki: I think it was also used as the background for the scene at the end of Episode 26, when Susumu Kodai holds Yuki Mori’s dead body and says, “I’ve loved you since the first time we met, but why did you die before I could tell you?”

Miyagawa: Yes.

Nishizaki: It’s a song that makes you feel sweet and lonely, like the heartbreak of childhood.

Miyagawa: Behind that sweetness and loneliness, there is a sense of mission to save the Earth.

Nishizaki: I really like this performance.

Miyagawa: The wonderful nuance of that guitar performance comes out.

Nishizaki: He starts off playing with a firm touch, but at the end he warmly wraps it up…so it’s really easy to get into the string section. This guitarist is amazing.

Side 2

● Scarlet Scarf

Miyagawa: The Scarlet Scarf would be boring if it was just a reproduction of the previous BGM playing with a better sound, so I tried to add something new with a special arrangement. Nishizaki-san, what do you think?

Nishizaki: I think it’s really good. To tell you the truth, We also made another song called The Scarlet Scarf.

Miyagawa: Right.

Nishizaki: That was good too, but this song has been sung a lot, so I asked you to arrange it to express it in your own way. It’s expressed beautifully, and I feel like it’s really fun to listen to. So I think young people today will feel the same way.

Miyagawa: I hope so.

Nishizaki: I like this melody.

Miyagawa: The B part is different from the A part. The arrangement is different and we’ve added something new.

Nishizaki: That’s right. So if you listen to the B part, you’ll understand that it has a different atmosphere from the A part. I don’t need to explain where this song was used.

Miyagawa: Yes, the fans may know it better.

Nishizaki: Personally, I like it better than the opening theme.

● Decisive Battle: Challenge – Sally – Victory

Miyagawa: This is Yamato going into battle, getting hurt but finally winning, and returning bravely. I tried to express that with just sound, connecting it musically without any relation to the scenes that have been used so far, but I wonder how it turned out.

Nishizaki: This also reminds me of Tchaikovsky.

Miyagawa: That’s right. This is also Tchaikovsky.

Nishizaki: In the 1812 Overture, when Napoleon advances, La Marseille resonates powerfully, but when he is hindered by snow and retreats, La Marseille gradually fades away. It reminds me of that image. Young people today don’t really accept classical music, but even in classical music, there are fun, story-like pieces in the music of Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, and other Romantic artists, so I hope they will accept those elements as modern symphonies.

Miyagawa: This was originally done as a theatrical accompaniment three years ago, with a rock beat. If you listen to the soundtrack of the Rocky theme that was released this year, it’s exactly the same. I was confident. I did this music three years ago. If you listen to the Rocky soundtrack, you’ll understand.

Nishizaki: By the way, Space Battleship Yamato was made much earlier than Star Wars. So when you watch Star Wars, you can see that a lot of Japanese character has been stolen. We we here first.

Miyagawa: Yes, we were. I think you can be proud of that.

Nishizaki: It was too early to hit the mark, though. (Laughs)

Miyagawa: That being said, we’re not doing anything particularly new. We’re just always pursuing the basics of humanity…

Nishizaki: No matter how much the times change, the essence of human beings that we have as boys and girls doesn’t really change. By the way, classical music isn’t something to listen to with intellect and education, it’s enough to feel it with your skin. I want young people today to experience the joy of a large symphony. Of course, amplifying it with an electric guitar is the rhythm and symbol of the modern era, but the power that comes from the essence of the instrument is still symphony. I think that’s where the value of this LP lies.

● Iscandar

Nishizaki: The most memorable scene is when Yamato finally breaks past the home planet of Gamilas and reaches Iscandar. At that moment, the planet of hope, Iscandar, appears in front of Yamato as we pass by Gamilas. This music overlaps with the scene where Yamato lands on the sea of Iscandar’s Mothertown, so I named this piece Iscandar.

Miyagawa: I see. I just wrote this with the vague idea that it would be fine if it had a romantic feeling when viewed from a spaceship, rather than just looking up at the transparency of space from Earth…so maybe it fits various scenes.

Nishizaki: However, the sense of transparency and cleanliness you just mentioned, of looking out at the transparency of space from a spaceship, was exactly the feeling of the whole planet of Iscandar, and it was also perfect for Starsha. That’s what I mean.

Miyagawa: This is a little more easy listening than the background music. It’s an easy listening arrangement of what you might call normal pop music, so if you take just this one track out, it’s a proper, large-scale easy listening piece, different from the background music.

● Recollection

Nishizaki: It’s wonderful, isn’t it?

Miyagawa: This is also a little different from the BGM. There was no guitar, and there was no violin solo.

Nishizaki: That’s right, there wasn’t.

Miyagawa: This was your idea, and you really wanted to use a Gatto guitar, so I arranged it like this, but it almost became a three-way brawl between you, me, and the guitar player over the guitar performance. (Laughs)

Nishizaki: Everyone was stubborn. (Laughs)

Miyagawa: Well, I’ve worked with you for a long time, but this was the first time we’ve had such a split opinion.

Nishizaki: Yeah.

Miyagawa: You never gave up on your opinion, and this is the performance that both I and the guitar player were finally satisfied with. Listening to it now, I think it was the right choice. I’m not trying to praise you, but this performance clearly shows that a producer has a broader perspective than a musician.

Nishizaki: I think you’ll understand when you listen to it in the context of the story. This song is used in the scene where Yamato Captain Juzo Okita dies. He says the famous line, “Sado-kun, will you leave me alone?” and he dies having fulfilled his mission while looking at photos of his family and longing for Earth. This music was used in a scene that was probably very memorable for fans. The guitar solo is great, but the violin solo is also great.

Miyagawa: The violin solo is by Shigeru Toyama, a soloist who is active worldwide. After six long hours, this was the last performance he did, and he gave this wonderful performance even though he was completely exhausted.

Nishizaki: It was great. The other band members were stomping their feet and clapping to the solo.

Miyagawa: It was a performance with a lot of life in it.

Nishizaki: Well, I didn’t know that guitarist Kimura was such a great person, so I said whatever I wanted, but I was horrified afterwards. (laughs)

Miyagawa: He said, “You’re the loudest man in Japan.” (laughs)

● Hope for tomorrow: Dream – Romance – Adventure

Miyagawa: This is a completely new arrangement. The opening theme comes in at the beginning, and it’s the final piece, but how did everyone feel about the new theme that was never used in the accompaniment?

Nishizaki: It’s good. I can’t say anything about the music, but I feel like one of Yamato‘s themes is included in this. What does that mean? Boys, have romance and a sense of adventure. Girls, have love and dreams, and never forget them. I want you to remember the beautiful feelings you had as a boy or girl even after you become an adult…

Miyagawa: It’s a prayer.

Nishizaki: It’s something we humans must hold on to forever.

Miyagawa: I don’t want you to lose them…

Nishizaki: I think that feeling is in this song. The scat melody from the opening comes up again here. This takes everyone back to the very beginning, and tells them to never forget the feelings of boys and girls. From the creator’s point of view, I want you to take it that way.

Miyagawa: Yes, I want you to think carefully about the spirit and love that the story of Yamato appeals to. If things continue as they are, the Earth may really be destroyed by pollution, and we must save it with everyone’s help. I want the younger generation to continue to have a sense of mission as a human being.

Nishizaki: Additionally, I want people to create a better world, have wonderful love, and live wonderful lives. I think this is also great musically. Can you talk a little bit about the music?

Miyagawa: We use a relatively slow rock rhythm called sixteen beat, but that kind of rhythm is good for expressing prayer in the style of African-American spirituals.

Nishizaki: It starts with a rock melody, and as it gradually builds up, it feels like all the strength inside your body is building up. Maybe that’s what connects to the vitality of African-Americans. Anyway, I want people to feel that kind of sensibility.

● Starsha

Nishizaki: Oh, Miyagawa-san, you write really good melodies.

Miyagawa: (Laughs shyly)

Nishizaki: Seriously, I’m glad I was born in the same generation as you. No matter how much melody a producer has in his heart, he can’t express it as a song, so I think it’s very fortunate to have met a composer who can express it perfectly. I’ve been a producer for 15 years now, but it’s rare to find a partner like this.

Miyagawa: It’s a bit embarrassing to hear you say that so formally, but I made this song as a kind of lighthearted service for my fans…

Nishizaki: I feel like this song also contains everything that people today are losing, and what they should cherish the most. Starsha is fantastic, and you don’t really get a sense of humanity from it, but it’s music that is very suitable for the beauty and fantastic things that Starsha possesses. That’s why you originally titled it Sayonara, Yamato, but I think Starsha is more appropriate.

Miyagawa: Hmm. When I made it, I made it with a lowbrow feeling, like “Yamato, I want to break up with you…” as if Yamato was a woman I loved. But gradually it started to feel like Starsha…

Nishizaki: When you appear on TV, you usually show a lowbrow side, but at heart you’re very much a romanticist, and you live your life by valuing human emotions. Even if you try to make something lowbrow, it ends up being beautiful.

Miyagawa: Hmm, I guess that’s how it turns out.

Nishizaki: That’s the characteristic of Hiroshi Miyagawa’s musicality.

Miyagawa: Anyway, how satisfied will the fans be? There may be people who wish we had just reproduced the previous BGM, or who think “Hmm, this isn’t what I imagined,” but I want them to understand why I chose to make it with a symphony arrangement.

Nishizaki: If it’s too stiff and you only enhanced the musicality, I wouldn’t want people to listen to it.

Miyagawa: That’s right.

Nishizaki: Whether it’s classical or popular, it’s still music. I want you to listen to this as Miyagawa’s melody, making use of the symphonic form.