The second month of our 6-month wait for 3199 Chapter 4 eased into a holding pattern with news flashes, a few live events, and the home video release of Chapter 3. As always, fans did their part to fill the gaps. Here is everything June 2025 had to offer…
Photo posted on Twitter by sousui
June 1: Newspaper ad
Does that get your attention? LaKeel is an IT company that specializes in “digitalization,” the process of evolving business models into the digital realm. The text in this full-page ad from the Chugoka Shimbun [newspaper] explains why Captain Okita is yelling at you:
Prepare for departure. All hands on deck!
LaKeel is a publicly-listed IT company headquartered in Tokyo. Its group company, LaKeel Kure Co., Ltd., will be established in Kure, the city where the battleship Yamato — the inspiration for Space Battleship Yamato — was born. The first mission is to gather the engineers needed for departure. We are waiting for your application!
Interested? Visit Lakeel’s website here
Photo at right posted on Twitter by fwks7841
June 1: Yamato in Concert
Saga City in Kyushu Prefecture was the site of the summer’s first live Yamato music performance by the Elysion Philharmonic Orchestra at the Saga Prefectural Center. Now in its 23th year, Elysion is dedicated to themes from anime, games, and pop music. The concert featured pieces from various historical dramas and video games with Hiroshi Miyagawa’s 4-part Yamato Suite “anchoring the set” so to speak.
See a video clip of Elysion playing the Yamato theme here
June 2: Music history
Posted this day on Twitter by an account named “Retro youth • Showa-era Shou-chan”:
This is a rare sight! We discovered a video of historical drama star Kotaro Satomi singing the famous anime song Space Battleship Yamato. I always thought of Satomi as someone who sings enka and period drama songs, so I was surprised to see this. As expected of a big star, he’s good at anime songs too!
As it turns out, Satomi isn’t the only “big star” in the video; the piano is being played by none other than Hiroshi Miyagawa.
Watch the 1-minute clip here
June 4: 50th Anniversary Exhibition promotion
The exhibition that sold out its entire 2-week run in Tokyo is heading for Osaka, scheduled to open July 19. Starting today, the event’s Twitter page published a series of posts featuring a new wave of merchandise that will be sold at the venue.
Posts appeared throughout the month and into July; see them all here
June 9: Game news
Space Battleship Yamato: Path to the Future is a web-browser game from G123, also known as Voyagers of Tomorrow (play it in English here). June 9 marked the game’s second anniversary, and G123 celebrated with limited-edition images of Kodai, Yuki, and Analyzer in formal party mode. The images could only be obtained for one week each during gameplay.
See the images here
Photo posted on Twitter by Ponsuke
June 13-19: Space Battleship Yamato on the big screen
As of this writing, Toei’s historic Marunouchi theater is counting down its final days before closing, and the “historic” theme of their last days was upheld with the return of the first Yamato movie for one full week of screenings.
Photos posted on Twitter by TOM2199
Fans turned out and reported the experience on Twitter. TOM2199 wrote:
No matter how many times I watch it, I’m drawn to it. No matter how many times I watch it, it’s interesting. No matter how many times I watch it, I cry at the captain’s death. No matter how many times I watch it, my heart is moved by the joy of achievement and the difficulties it faces, and I resolve to move forward.
Photo posted on Twitter by karapon2199
I was very happy to see so many young people there. I think the 4K remaster, which is a reference that goes back to the original, has made it easier to pass on and spread the culture. The contribution is immeasurable. I hope this will continue into the future.
June 19: Book news
Studio Khara’s next 50th anniversary publishing event now has a date. The official press release for it reads as follows:
Produced by Hideaki Anno, a long-awaited manga adaptation of Space Battleship Yamato is finally being published as a single volume after 50 years!
This work is a manga adaptation created by Yuki Hijiri Yuki, known for SF works such as Locke the Superman. It was published simultaneously with the broadcast in Terebiland magazine and became a memorable work for many fans. However, due to circumstances such as the loss of the original manuscripts, it remained unpublished despite long-standing requests for a single-volume edition.
Now, with the cooperation of various parties, missing original art was collected, and the parts that could not be found were restored by manga artist Masato Hayase using the published versions. The complete six-episode series, including the five main episodes and the one-episode side story published in a special issue, will be released for the first time in a single volume.
At the end of the book, there is a special interview between Hideaki Anno and Yutaka Izubuchi, who are both passionate fans of Yamato and this adaptation. Additionally, there is an introduction to an unpublished Yamato manga project by Hijiri, which is being revealed for the first time. We hope you look forward to it.
The book is scheduled for release on July 28.
Preorder it from Amazon.co.jp here
See sample pages at the Studio Khara website here
Read the manga in English (and find a CosmoDNA interview with Hijiri) here
Photo posted on Twitter by Aoni_official
June 20: Leiji Matsumoto Exhibition opens
Who’s that waiting to be run over by the Galaxy Express 999? It’s none other than Masako Nozawa, the voice of Tetsuro Hoshino, one of the earliest visitors to Journey of Creation, the first large-scale posthumous Leiji Matsumoto Exhibition. It opened in Tokyo on June 20 and will stick around until September, featuring over 300 pieces of original art and rare memorabilia.
Photo posted on Twitter by tabisoraumi
See MANY more photos on Twitter here | See a video walkthrough here | See a collection of event merch here
June 20: Music news
Another big number is coming up for Isao Sasaki: 65 years as a professional singer and actor! It will be commemorated by a 3-CD set from Nippon Columbia containing 65 songs (see what they did there?) representing his entire career in anime and tokusatsu themes. All of his Yamato songs are included, along with themes from Casshan, Getta Robo, Hurricane Polymer, Goranger, Grendaizer, Danguard Ace, Daimos, Galaxy Express, Gatchaman, and many more. If it was on TV in the 70s, it probably had a Sasaki song in it.
The set is scheduled for release on July 16. Order it from Amazon.co.jp here or CD Japan here.
June 22: Hobby Japan Web
Hobby Japan No. 673, published in late May, contained the 8th installment of the Yamato Mechanics series, which focused on the Deusula III. On this day, the article was reprinted on Hobby Japan Web.
See it here, and read it in English here
Photos at right posted on Twitter by KenkenZenmai and seiji2631
June 22: Zero Mecha Model Exhibition
Two days after Journey of Creation opened, fans held an exhibition of their own. “Zero Mecha” was a single-day event in which modelers assembled at a venue in Tokyo’s Chuo ward to celebrate Leiji Matsumoto with their own 3-dimensional works. Yamato kits made a strong showing, but there was much more to be seen.
Get your eyes on multiple photo galleries here
June 22: The Infinitely Expanding Universe concert
Osaka was the site of the second live concert in June, this time a fusion of performance and academic study. The study part was provided by Norihiko Asao, a writer in the pop culture field, who led conversation about the pieces that were played by violinist Sayu Yamamoto and pianist Mirai Ichikawa.
The first half of the concert focused on live-action themes from Gorath to Ultraman to Star Trek and Star Wars, and the latter half was divided between Yamato, Gundam, and Galaxy Express music with discussion throughout.
Sayu Yamamoto runs her own Youtube channel, and offers up occasional Yamato violin pieces. Click here for a sample of the New Cosmo Tiger theme. Click here for a 2199 medley duet with herself playing both parts.
June 23: Artisan tweet
In our last report, we saw promo from boutique toy manufacturer Artisan for their soft vinyl Yamato, based on a Hideaki Anno interpretation. On this day, Artisan finally announced that preorders were open. It is scheduled for release in late August, along with their Dessler and Kodai figures.
Find it at their website here, which serves overseas customers.
June 25: REBEL 3199 Chapter 3 home video
The standard video edition of Chapter 3 made its way into stores (both online and physical) all over Japan for the benefit of those who couldn’t land the limited edition when it was sold in theaters. Depending on where you bought it, you could score some new bonus items.
Photo at left posted on Twitter by Spino4200
If you got your copy from the Yamato Crew online store, for example, it came with voice actor scripts for all four episodes…
…and a bonus postcard with new original art by Michio Murakawa.
Another version came with a clear blue Deusula III Mecha Collection mini-model. Other bonus items included illustrations, a tapestry, acrylic figures, and the like.
Order Chapter 3 on Blu-ray from Amazon.co.jp here or CD Japan here
June 25: Hobby Japan No. 674
The August issue brought us the 9th installment of Yamato Mechanics, which broke new ground by investigating the battleships of the Bolar Federation.
Read the article here
June 25: Art New Trends, July issue
Five days after the opening of the Leiji Matsumoto exhibition, this magazine from Shinchosha Publishing featured a cover story that was sure to grab the eyeballs of everyone who went there. (In fact, it was almost certainly sold in the gift shop.) Almost 70 pages of Matsumoto-related articles made this issue an instant sell-out. As of this writing, it is extremely difficult to find. But if you feel like searching, here is the Amazon.co.jp link to get you started.
June 27: Fan film
In a month with no new Yamato anime, some people just go ahead and make their own. That’s what a fan with the online name Isuisuge did, completing a 4-minute spaceship skirmish titled The Misfit of the Inner Planets.
Watch it on NicoNico Video here
Also spotted in June
Fan art
Productivity dropped in June, but quality never does. See the latest character gallery here and mecha gallery here.
Fan models
On the other hand, modelers kept themselves very busy and turned out new works in record numbers.
See them all here: Gallery A | Gallery B
Hoshi Suzu blogs
Five more weekly blogs were posted by “Hoshi Suzu” in June, sharing impressions and speculation about REBEL 3199.
Read them here
Hideaki Anno Easter egg
One of the products offered at the 50th Anniversary Exhibition was an acrylic standee featuring Hideaki Anno’s personal illustration of Yamato (above left). These images were posted on Twitter by anime scriptwriter Hideki Mitsui, who said:
I just realized that the Yamato given as an admission gift is this one from Daicon IV.
It’s a close facsimile to Anno’s cels from the famous fan film for sure, but since they were created 42 years apart, it can’t be claimed that they are identical.
Read all about the Daicon anime films here
Fan Artist Profile
Time to meet another of the talented and dedicated Yamato fans who delivers some of the amazing artwork we see here in the character galleries month after month. (Hot tip: enter the words “character fan art” or “mecha fan art” in the search bar to bring all the galleries to the top.)
Kerometal
1. What was your first Yamato experience?
My earliest memory is watching Be Forever on TV when I was a child. Even on the small TV screen at the time, I was amazed and moved by the overwhelming power of the images.
2. What is your favorite aspect of Yamato?
There are many things I love, such as the epic story, the unique and charming characters, and the emotional music composed by an orchestra. However, my favorites are Kodai and Yuki. I love the deep bond between them. No matter how far apart they are, they always think of and believe in each other.
3. Are you a Yamato collector?
I mainly collect items from the latter half of the series after Be Forever, including books, music-related items, and more. When I was a child, I wanted Yamato merchandise but didn’t have the money or the means to get it, which made me sad. The desire to fulfill that childhood wish, even if it takes time and effort, is what drives me to collect these items.
4. What is your most treasured Yamato item?
The Final Yamato Roman Album. I love the character designs from the latter half of the series, which introduced me to the Yamato world, especially the artwork by Kazuhiko Udagawa. I used his work as a model until the Roman Album was worn out, hoping to one day be able to draw his version of Kodai-kun. This is the foundation of why I continue to draw to this day.
5. What are your favorite drawing tools?
Currently, I use Clip Studio exclusively for digital art.
6. Where can your work be seen?
My Yamato art is only on Twitter. For other works, you can see them on Pixiv.
7. Does your family share your hobby?
My older sister shares it with me. She is a great supporter of Yamato for me.
8. Please tell us something about your life outside your art.
I work 365 days a year, and it’s tough with early mornings, but I’m able to keep going thanks to the support of my superiors and colleagues, as well as the sense of fulfillment and achievement I get from my work. I try to balance work and hobbies by drawing in my spare time, but it’s not easy to lead a fulfilling life.
9. Are you involved in Yamato activities with other fans?
Unfortunately, I don’t participate in any activities.
10. What do you hope to see in a future Yamato anime?
I would like to see a new generation of Yamato that is not bound by the original, leading up to the 50th anniversary and the 100th anniversary of its creation.
11. What is your favorite anime after Yamato?
It’s not an anime, but it is cinematic scenes, so I like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. I’m captivated by the fantastical landscapes of Hyrule, painted with watercolors, and I continue to explore them endlessly.
12. What would you like to say to Yamato fans around the world?
Yamato is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. I hope that everyone will continue to sail with their favorite Yamato, whether it be the old, the new, or the future. I hope that a new Yamato will be born to connect the next generation and lead us to the 100th anniversary.
13. What should everyone know about Japan and its people?
Japan has four distinct seasons, so if you ever have the opportunity to visit, I hope you will experience the changes of each season. However, due to recent abnormal weather patterns, it has become increasingly difficult to feel the seasons.
Yamatunes for June
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Very slow month but good stuff. I really LOVE the fanart of Akira. I really hope she survives 3199.