Publisher Asahi Sonorama became the very first source for Yamato anime-on-demand when they released a set of three 8mm film reels on November 1, 1977. Each included sound and color with a running time of 10-12 minutes. This was probably the most expensive way to see Yamato, given that each reel originally cost 12,500 yen. That comes to about $10 per minute in today’s dollars.
Reel 1, titled Goodbye Earth was a compilation of scenes from Episodes 1-10, concluding with the crew’s sad farewells to their families.
Reel 2, God, weep for the Gamilas, went all the way up to the end of Episode 24, which shares the same title.
Reel 3, imaginatively titled Living and Dying for Love, was a bit more generous, spending all its time on the final two episodes. The title elegantly refers to the choices made by Starsha and Yuki.
Production credits indicate that the films were manufactured by Herald Enterprise.
Magazine ad
Color flyer, front side
Color flyer, back side
The Revival
When Yamato finally came to home video for real in 1983, the 8mm films retired into obscurity. They passed from collectible to curio to trivia until the 50th anniversary when they were unexpectedly brought back to life as never before: on the big screen. This was the work of anime auteur and 1st-gen Yamato fan Hideaki Anno, who kicked off a series of anniversary screenings on October 6, 2024. The first screening included Episode 1 and all three of the 8mm films, digitized and stabilized for a one-night-only viewing that was live-streamed to participating theaters.
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.
The Films
Thanks to modern technology, the 8mm films can now be seen again here and now. These are not the versions that were screened for the 50th anniversary, so the picture is not stabilized, but it still beats pulling out the projector and praying that this isn’t the time these antiques finally break.
Special thanks to ADA TV and Luis Cotovio