2017 Begins!

January 3: Harutoshi Fukui interview, Mantan Web

The year of 2202‘s debut began with new words from writer Harutoshi Fukui, who is the voice of the franchise in more ways than one (especially since Director Nobuyoshi Habara is no doubt buried in day-to-day production work).

The following interview appeared this day on the entertainment site Mantan Web.

Writer Harutoshi Fukui on Space Battleship Yamato 2202 “Since it speaks to these times, it resonates with the heart.”

Yamato 2202, Soldiers of Love is the latest series from the popular anime Space Battleship Yamato. Using Farewell to Yamato, Soldiers of Love as its motif, it will be released on February 25. In this story, set three years after Yamato returns from iscandar, the Gatlantis Emperor rises to conquer all of space, contrary to the wishes for peace of the Goddess Teresa, and Earth starts down the road of military buildup. We spoke with novelist Harutoshi Fukui, who worked on the series composition and script.

Interviewer: When did you see Farewell to Yamato, which became the motif for this project?

Fukui: I didn’t see it in a theater, I saw it when I was a kid in elementary school when it was broadcast on TV. I remember thinking, “This anime may be trying to tell me about something important,” and I cried. Because video software wasn’t widespread at the time, there was no other way but to watch it in real time. When I was a college student and rental video was prevalent, I thought “I cried before, but I won’t cry now,” and then I wept buckets. As a college student, you’re about to be drawn into the real world, and that’s why its purity stuck out so directly. Your impression of it changes depending on what age you are when you see it.

Interviewer: The theme is “love.”

Fukui: It seems some people think, “What’s that?” (Laughs) The main slogan, “This ‘love’ will shatter the cosmos,” is not written to be something good. It’s a love that destroys the world, and a conflict happens because it comes into conflict with the love for other people. It uses the subtitle Soldiers of Love because it is based on a complex society. There is a linear progression that will not betray the people who love the old Yamato.

Interviewer: The heroic solo charge at the end became a topic at the time.

Fukui: Back then it was said that it “glorified suicide” but when I looked back at it I thought, “Doesn’t it draw from a larger perspective?” and “Well, maybe I can do that, too.” Whenever people of the present day think of the future of society, it always seems to be “Different from what I imagined. It seems to be getting worse.” I think it syncs up to the journey of Yamato now because these days are more complex.

Interviewer: You’ve recently been more active in anime than in novels.

Fukui: Literature and the general market have gone their separate ways, and novels aren’t profitable. Ordinary readers tell me they have a “favorite writer,” but if I ask, “what’s their latest work?” they can’t answer me. The reality is that even if you have a bullet of a novel, you can’t reach a closed-off layer. Anime is a medium that appeals to the public, and a suitable one to speak to the world. I have to look calmly toward that.

Interviewer: Do you have any difficulty with the differences between a novel and an anime script?

Fukui: Even when I wrote novels, there were parts that I visualized, so it’s not too much trouble. In an anime script, you have a limited time to present something, so it has the feeling of taking careful aim and shooting. It’s the difference between a machine gun and a sniper rifle. Since an anime script is one piece of a whole that combines directing and music, you don’t have to do everything with text. Isn’t that better? There are always concerns with details, but I feel like I can proceed reflexively without losing the basic route.

Interviewer: What are the differences between Yamato and Gundam UC?

Fukui: With Gundam there are already a lot of established concepts, and since you should base [the story] on those, it’s no different than writing World War II fiction. In contrast, since Yamato‘s established concepts aren’t as minutely detailed as Gundam, “What story do we tell?” is shaped more by the world of the production than by the established concepts, and in that way it differs from Gundam.

Interviewer: What are you most fixated on in this production?

Fukui: While answering to the leftover homework of 2199, I thought about present-day Japan. As a result of the [2011] earthquake, we experienced a situation similar to losing our country. In that sense, it’s similar to the position Earth was in during the Garmillas war, so I thought it could be depicted with a similar distant feeling. What kind of choices would a human make on the brink of extinction? Therefore, choosing the atmosphere for Yamato wasn’t too hard. The original Yamato story touched people because it spoke to its time.

Interviewer: Is it hard to understand without seeing the previous work?

Fukui: As expected, it would be better if you know Yamato from the previous work, 2199. However, for those who haven’t seen it, I think there’s a video you can watch on the official website called Understanding Yamato 2199 in 4 Minutes with Aya Uchida. It isn’t difficult, so please go see it in a theater and enjoy yourself.

January 4: Ship’s Log issue 16

A copy of this issue arrived at the Cosmo DNA nerve center after this report was published, but it will appear in the next. The cover story was an interview with the voice actors for Kodai and Yuki.

January 5: ZIP! Report

ZIP! Is an early-morning entertainment show on Japanese TV. It was also the sound of Yamato fans rushing up to their screens when all-new images popped up one by one. A continuous caption announced that voice actor Sayaka Kanda had been cast in the part of Teresa.

This turned out to be the prelude to a busy news day for 2202. For starters, the new footage was soon made available to everyone around the world…

January 5: Teaser trailer 3

The arrival of a third teaser so soon surprised everyone, and it was so packed with lightning-fast images it was hard to pick them all out in one viewing (see it on Youtube here). Lucky for us, the large number of shots in this 30-second montage seem to have enough connectivity to piece some plot together.

Harutoshi Fukui has already stated that the action starts up very quickly in Chapter 1 (as opposed to the slow build of the original story), and the abundance of battle scenes suggests that we’ll be seeing an Earth/Garmillas vs. Gatlantis scenario right from the start. Some elements in this battle are a Kongo-class Earth ship named Sugarloaf (some use mountains for nomenclature), a Megaluda-type Gatlantis ship, and a solid shield that seemingly offers zero protection from it.

We get a full-face reveal of Zordar and a shot of Sabela back in action, probably commanding the battle in progress.

Twin Wave-Motion Guns lash out from the dark, perhaps bringing this battle to a close. Even Kodai is surprised at the result. As we all know, they can only come from one source.

Unmistakable images from the reunion at Hero’s Hill.

Shima, Sanada, and Kodai witness something unexpected. A cry for help? A desperate plight?

A tense moment between Kodai and Klaus Keyman. Is Kodai hiding something?

And finally, flight trials over the moon involving a Type-100 recon plane, an elaborate new fighter (later identified as the Cosmo Tiger 1), our first look at the Cosmo Tiger II, and Yamato taking a shot at what could be the ceiling of an underground dock. From this we can assume that Chapter 1 will likely end with the breakout launch. We won’t have long to wait for confirmation.

January 5: Harutoshi Fukui interview, V-Storage

In Report 4, we got another Fukui interview from V-Storage, the monthly promotional magazine of Bandai Visual. The V-Storage website reprinted part of that interview on January 5 and supplemented it with this additional content:

People who see this work will surely think, “This is indeed Soldiers of Love!”

Interviewer: Space Battleship Yamato caused a big boom in those days (late 1970s), but how was it different from other anime works? What did you like about it?

Fukui: To be honest, there weren’t any other anime works I wanted to watch besides Yamato. Generally speaking, I think people part ways with things from their childhood in the 4th or 5th grade of elementary school and we start to grow up little by little. That was the heyday of Kadokawa movies, and it seemed that seeing Wild Proof (Eng. title Never Give Up, released in 1978) earned status among the boys in my class. In that kind of atmosphere, there was no anime any more. Nobody could have imagined standing in line to buy plamodel robots two years later. (Laughs) At that time, Yamato was the only anime work I wanted to see. Most of the other anime was made for children, and Yamato was the first pioneer that targeted teens and adults. That was the only one until Mobile Suit Gundam came out.

Interviewer: Please tell us how you decided to take on the series composition and screenplay.

Fukui: I first heard from Voyager Holdings around the time Yamato 2199 ended (the 2013 broadcast). However, I was still working on Mobile Suit Gundam UC (Unicorn) at the time, and it would have been tough indeed to do both. By that, I mean on my mental side rather than the work side. (Laughs) So when UC ended and was settled for the time being, I was contacted again. Since UC was over, I was looking around for what I would do next, and when I heard about this story I thought I’d like to try it.

Interviewer: Noboyoshi Habara, who has been deeply involved in Yamato until now, serves as the director. What are your impressions of him?

Fukui: When I first heard of Mr. Habara, he was an animator. The pictures he drew in those days were very expressive with a neat and clean feeling and a good sense of balance. Even when I look at Mr. Habara’s storyboards these days, the characters always have a neat and clean appearance. There’s a sense of security, like looking at your favorite painting.

Interviewer: What kind of memorable exchanges have you had with Director Habara?

Fukui: On the “give and take” front, I’d hazard to say that I got more from vice-director Makoto Kobayashi than I did from Mr. Habara. In contrast to the typical Habara thing of asking, “Could this be done?” and then me suggesting, “How about we do it this way?” and proceeding from there, his were too often, “Oh, I want to do this” and “I want to do it this way.”

Interviewer: What are some of the highlights we’ll see in Chapter 1 when it opens on February 25?

Fukui: With both Farewell and Yamato 2, there weren’t many battles in the beginning. But there are a lot of battle scenes in Chapter 1 this time, so I think anyone who goes in with their guard down, thinking of it as a remake of Farewell, will be surprised. Still, after watching it you should certainly get the feeling of, “This is where it starts from!” Of course, since it’s the story that follows 2199, there was a lot of 2199 homework to do, and since I answered all those questions one by one, I think you’ll enjoy that part as well.

January 5: Voice actor news

ZIP! was the first source to break the news of Sayaka Kanda being cast as Teresa. Other sources quickly picked it up including Yahoo News and Lisani Web. There was even a video promo (posted by Jiji Press) that started with the new trailer and featured Kanda herself delivering an on-camera message. See it on Youtube here.

The official 2202 website followed up a day later with a text interview that gave us all an introduction.

Special Interview: Sayaka Kanda

Interviewer: How did you feel when you were cast for this work?

Kanda: Of course, I knew of Space Battleship Yamato, and at first I was surprised that it was being made anew. I’m happy to have the part and I deeply appreciate getting to play the character of Teresa, who has such an important role in the work. The first time I saw Farewell to Yamato, Teresa was a very impressive character, so I’m taking the responsibility very seriously.

Interviewer: What was your impression of Farewell to Yamato, Soldiers of Love, which is the motif for this work?

Kanda: The terminology used in the work was difficult, but I watched it several times in order to understand it properly. At first there is the battleship and Yamato’s battle scenes, so it has the image of something for men. But when you see the tension in the scenes and the human drama, I could feel the suspense and very much enjoyed watching it as a woman.

Interviewer: You mentioned before that you knew of Yamato. Was that from the theme song?

Kanda: That’s right, someone was always singing it at karaoke. (Laughs) When we talked about deciding the role of Teresa in the office, everyone was pleased that it was “that Yamato!” After all, since Yamato is well known to so many in the generation around me, I think it will be the same for people around the world as well.

Interviewer: You’ve read the script, so please let us know your feelings about the voice recording.

Kanda: I’ve participated in several anime works so far, but they were always separate recordings, and I haven’t yet recorded with other voice actors. But this time the respectable cast is all on-site and recording together at the same time, so in a way I think this might be my true debut as a voice actor. I don’t want to get in anyone’s way, but since I only speak a few lines from the script at the beginning and then disappear, I get the feeling that I can’t go wrong with a start like that. (Laughs) Even though I got the part, the role is really magnificent, so I was nervous from the day before the recording.

Interviewer: What was it like for you to be recorded along with others in the cast?

Kanda: The program in the training school where I went covered a lot of practical skills, so I studied all the basics. I don’t think I could have done it if not for that. The first recording doubled as a meet-and-greet, and there were a lot of people in the staff and cast. I felt like a rookie among them, so I wanted to be paper-thin and narrowed my shoulders as much as possible when I sat down. (Laughs)

Interviewer: How was the atmosphere on-site?

Kanda: It’s a series, so a lot of cast members had appeared in the previous work, Yamato 2199, so there was a peaceful, family feeling. Rather than being nervous, I felt that the ultimate goal was to become a member of this family.

Interviewer: Were there any moments that made an impression on you?

Kanda: Of the people I’ve previously met, only Daisuke Ono (Kodai) was present at the site. I was grateful to meet him before at the voice actor awards (the ninth award ceremony in March 2015), and Mr. Ono spoke gently when we met the first time. I was very happy when he said, “I’ll see you at work next, Ms. Kanda” and it has remained in my heart. I answered, “Yes, I’ll work hard to get there.” And now I’m really happy to see Mr. Ono again on-site. I hope I can thank him properly some day.

Interviewer: Have you gotten any advice from Director Habara, Mr. Fukui, and Sound Director Yoshida about playing the iconic character of Teresa? And what do you keep in mind while playing her?

Kanda: The staff said, “Teresa is like a goddess watching over the entire universe, so you speak differently than ordinary mortals. Please speak with a divinity that is immediately apparent.” I based the part on that information and since her line is a message with the impression of a prayer, I played it with a sense of urgency in the test. But then it had a temperature that was closer to human beings. I was told to be more restrained, so performing became a matter of subtraction for me. Rather than a strength coming from emotion, it comes from a core of logic. But if I hear it like a human being I feel pressured and I wonder if it’s close enough. In order to give the sense of being in a special place, I understand that persuasive power is more important than intonation, so that’s how I perform it.

Interviewer: Is it actually a difficult role to perform?

Kanda: I didn’t want to make the other cast members wait around for me, so I thought I would be intimidated if it took more time. Anyway, I concentrate so that I can understand 100% of what is asked of me, and return it immediately.

Interviewer: Concerning your future development, what sort of things do you expect?

Kanda: There was a great work named Yamato that was made before I was born. There are many longtime fans, and I think it has an ending that they will be personally satisfied with. And beyond the existing fans, I’d like it to make an entrance for those younger than my generation who will see Yamato for the first time. Anyway, I think we can help to make it impressive to as many people as possible.

Interviewer: Please give a message to the fans.

Kanda: In the work called Yamato, the iconic Teresa is a key person, and I’m thinking more and more about the our sense of responsibility for it to succeed. When the series ends, I’ll try my hardest to naturally become a new Teresa among you. Thank you for your support.

Sayaka Kanda profile

Born in Tokyo. Actress affiliated with Fantic. She has appeared on stage and in numerous musicals. She has a reputation for clear and strong voice acting. She has appeared in various productions, and is mainly known for her role as Anna in Frozen. (Japanese title: Anna and the Snow Queen.)

See Sayaka Kanda’s entry on Anime News Network here and visit her official site here.

January 6: Website update

The Sayaka Kanda interview was just one of the new features added to the official website on January 6. The most prominent was a brand new image for the home page, presumably the key art for Chapter 1. (See a larger, pristine version at the end of this report.)

Even better was our first head-to-toe look at Zordar on the character page, which came with a newly-revised description as follows:

Zordar

Voice: Hideaki Tezuka

The great emperor who leads the Imperial Gatlantis warrior nation. An absolute ruler who indulges in silent philosophical contemplation with massive violence in his hands. Based on his own personal beliefs, he drives the huge White Comet and an enormous mobile fleet to redraw the map of space. When he captures Planet Telezart, he detects Earth after Teresa sends a Cosmo Wave there, and he dispatches a fleet.

Voice actor Hideaki Tezuka, who we presumably hear in the third teaser, has previously voiced strong characters such as Eddard Stark in Game of Thrones and Nick Fury in Madhouse’s Marvel anime productions.

January 6: Fan club medallion

Every fall, Yamato Crew puts out a renewal notice to members of the Premium Fan Club, asking everyone to purchase a subscription to Ship’s Log for the coming year. They sweeten the offer with a premium gift, which in this case was a metal medallion about 2.3 inches in diameter. Originally scheduled to ship out in late November, it was delayed to early January. But no one seemed to mind.

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