Space Battleship Yamato 2202 Report 15

Yamato 2202 exploded in the month of October 2017 with activity nearly every day surrounding the premiere of Chapter 3 on the 14th. Just about every box was ticked, from publishing to publicity to music to models and more. It was a perfect month to be a fan and a tough one to be a news-gatherer. Nevertheless, he persisted…

October 1: The Truth of Space Battleship Yamato by Aritsune Toyota

Out of nowhere came this new 224-page paperback book by one of the original authors of the Yamato series documenting the genesis of the story from earliest concepts through to broadcast. Published by Shodensha, it is described as “the hidden story of the huge hit work revealed through priceless records and testimony.” Since it is 100% text, it will have to wait for future translation. Meanwhile, you can learn much from our Yamato Origins series right here at Cosmo DNA.

October 2: Display models

At last, they meet! The 3-meter Yamato and 3-meter Andromeda were finally brought together. The MOVIX Hashimoto theater (located near Osaka) was the lucky recipient for a full month. They went up October 2 and came down November 3, the last day Chapter 3 played in theaters.

Many fans posted photos of the pair on Twitter. See a gallery here.

October 2: Magazine coverage

The media campaign for Chapter 3 started here with Kodai’s voice actor Daisuke Ono giving a stylish interview in J Movie Magazine. Read it here

At about this same time, a new collage of images from Chapter 3 began to appear across the broad spectrum of entertainment magazines (above right).

October 4: Tamashii Nations blog

Bandai’s high-end Tamashii Nations division rolled out a big online promotional campaign in September for the forthcoming Yuki Mori figure in the “Armor Girls Project” line.

Find the home page for the figure here.

In October, the official Tamashii blog posted development prototype photos here.

See a promotional video for the figure here.

October 5: Cosmo Fleet Special Andromeda announced

Megahouse announced the next item in their line of CFSP miniatures: a 7.5” Andromeda, one full inch longer than the CFSP Yamato with moving gun turrets and a bonus Cosmo Tiger 1.

A large collection of prototype photos was published at this blog on October 16. Preorders opened on October 27 for a December 31 release.

October 5: Hyper Hobby magazine Vol. 5

Composer Akira Miyagawa has been silent since 2202 began, but that silence was finally broken in a seemingly non-stop series of interviews during the runup to Chapter 3. The first was to be found in Tokuma Shoten’s Hyper Hobby magazine, in which he recounted his entry into the production of Yamato 2199 and the new experiences of his work on 2202.

Read the interview here.

October 5: Promotional Meeting of Love Episode 0

This informative series of videos was part of the campaign for previous chapters, and this “prologue” episode for Chapter 3 found our heroes at the Yakitori Yamato restaurant. Perennial host Osama Kobayashi discussed current affairs with Writer Harutoshi Fukui and Director Nobuyoshi Habara as they tucked into some delicious skewered chicken. They were joined by surprised guest Atsuki Sato, who has the unusual job of cutting together 2202’s trailers and commercials.

See it on Youtube here.

October 6: Theater announcements

It has become standard practice in a 2202 premiere for theaters to sell advance tickets for the next chapter. On this date, it was announced that the same would be true for Chapter 4, with the bonus poster of the stunning key art. This is the first depiction of Yamato’s new exo-suits in action, presumably in planetfall over Telezart. See a larger version at the end of this report.

It was also announced that free “lobby cards” would again be given to moviegoers while supplies lasted. Since Chapter 3 was the first to play for three weeks, three separate sets would be available, one per week.

October 7: World of Yama-Chan collaboration

World of Yama-Chan is a restaurant chain founded by a former Maritime SDF cook who creates beloved curry recipes. Yamato 2199 had a temporary collaboration with Yama-Chan, and the bond was renewed with a 2202 tie-in menu that was available through October 31.

Scriptwriter Hideki Oka did his part for the cause, appearing at a restaurant October 15. The photo at right was posted on Twitter by fledgling fan Takeshi Nakazawa.

October 7: Bandai Visual commercial

An exciting 15-second commercial for Chapter 3 debuted on this date, and can be seen on Youtube here.

October 7: Chapter 3 10-minute preview

One week before the premiere, we were given a big look at Chapter 3 when the first half of Episode 7 was released on Youtube. It has since been deleted, but it gave viewers a look at how Yamato survived the seemingly-unsurvivable cliffhanger at the end of Chapter 2 while Gatlantis rallied for their next assault.

The footage was incorporated into an episode of Promotional Meeting of Love, so keep reading for a link.

October 7: Doro Off VII

Founded by modelmaker Doro Hige, this annual exhibition brings amateurs and professional modelers together in Tokyo to show off their latest projects, and Yamato always makes a respectable showing.

See a gallery of photos from the event here.

Visit Doro Hige’s Twitter page here and his blog here.

October 7-9: Online coverage

The rush of online interviews began on this day.

Read Mantan Web’s interview with composer Akira Miyagawa here.
Read Akiba Souken’s interview with him here
Read Mantan Web’s interview with the main production staff here.


FOUR DAYS LEFT! (These countdown images were posted on Twitter)

October 10: Game news

A mobile game was announced by Yamato Crew on this day, titled Yamato 2202: Distant Journey. It is a significant update to a previous strategy card battle game named Journey to Iscandar with new features and scenarios. Characters and items of the 2199 game are still valid, and the game would be updated again in November.

A promo campaign for this update was held from October 11 to November 12 with players earning a chance to win original art by members of the production staff. (Sketch by mecha designer Junichiro Tamamori shown as an example.)

Visit a promotional website for the game here.

October 10: Newtype, November 2017 issue

With the much-anticipated return of Yuki Mori in Chapter 3, her voice actor Houko Kuwashima became an active participant in pre-release interviews starting with an appearance alongside Writer Harutoshi Fukui in Newtype magazine. Read it here.

October 10: Promotional Meeting of Love, Episode 1

The first “real” episode of this video series began a day-by-day countdown to the premiere on the 14th. Kobayashi, Fukui, and Habara were joined by frequent Yamato event participant Eriko Nakamura, the voice of Mikage Kiryu. See it on Youtube here.

October 10: Sunday Daily magazine

This news magazine from Mainichi Shimbun Publishing was the only one to sport a Yamato 2202 cover story in October, a 10-page feature reviewing Farewell to Yamato with a primer on the entire Yamato saga and another interview with Composer Akira Miyagawa.

Read the interview here


THREE DAYS LEFT!

October 11, 12: Online coverage

These two days brought us interviews from multiple sources:

Read Animate Times’ interview with Hideki Oka (scriptwriter) here.

Read Akiba Souken’s interview with Daisuke Ono (Kodai) and Harutoshi Fukui (writer) here.

Read V-Storage’s interview with Houko Kuwashima (Yuki) here.

Read the official 2202 website’s interview with Composer Akira Miyagawa here.

Read the official 2202 website’s interview with Habara, Fukui, and Oka here.

October 11: Mirror of the Moon CD single

The first official music release for 2202 was this single featuring Mirror of the Moon, Sayaka Kanda’s end title song from Chapter 2. Released by Lantis and Voyager Music, the disc contains versions of the song with and without vocals, and the instrumental Yamato theme used as the opening title.


Advertising for the single in a Japanese commuter station

In other music news, it was announced on October 16 that the first Yamato 2202 soundtrack will be released in January 2018 along with Chapter 4.

October 11: Promotional Meeting of Love, Episode 2

This was the second episode dedicated to a lookback at the first two chapters. See it on Youtube here.


TWO DAYS LEFT!

October 12: Metro Thanks screening

As mentioned in last month’s report, Tokyo Metro launched a contest for commuters to win tickets for a special 2202 screening at the Marunouchi Piccadilly theater that brought Chapters 1 and 2 together in a single evening. The “Metro Thanks” screening took place on October 12 with 700 tickets won by 350 guests.

October 12: Promotional Meeting of Love, Episode 3

This episode looked at hints of things to come as seen in the trailers. See it on Youtube here.


ONE DAY LEFT!

October 13: Newspaper advertising

The last day before the premiere brought a mini-media wave, starting with the major Tokyo newspapers carrying an ad for Chapter 3, which also announced on-demand digital streaming.

Photo posted on Twitter by Kendama 567.

October 13: Yamato 2202 Newspaper 2

The biggest find of the day was a brand new Yamato newspaper from Sankei Sports, the second edition after their Chapter 1 newspaper from February. This one contained several lookback articles, poster-sized artwork, and several new interviews including one between Houku Kuwashima (Yuki) and JAXA astronaut/Yamato fan Naoko Yamazaki. Titled “Space Girls,” it is the first of its kind and can be read here.

Read interviews with the production staff here and composer Akira Miyagawa here.

Examine Yamato 2202 Newspaper 2 from front to back here.

October 13: Yamato 2202 novelization, Vol. 1

Written by Yuka Minagawa based on the story by Harutoshi Fukui, this first volume from Kadokawa publishing covers episodes 1-5 in nine chapters, each of which starts with a new illustration by Michio Murakawa. A color foldout at the front of the book provides two extra illustrations.

The interior of the dust jacket contains English text that gives us a new reading on the famous opening lines: The universe expands infinitely. The space that was filled with quiet light. A star who goes for death. A star who is born. So yes, the universe is alive.

October 13: 1/1000 Achilles model kit announced

The third ship in the Andromeda fleet was announced for January release from Bandai, following Andromeda and Aldebaran. Sold without an optional electronics pack, it will retail for 5400yen. Next up (hopefully) will be the carrier variants, Antares and Apollo Norm.

Find more data on the Bandai website here.

October 13: Online coverage

All the big names went for one more round of interviews with multiple online sources on the last day before Chapter 3’s arrival.

Read Akiba Souken’s interview with Sayaka Kanda (Teresa) here.

Read Animate Times’ interview with Daisuke Ono (Kodai) here

Read Animate Times’ interview with Houko Kuwashima (Yuki) and Harutoshi Fukui (writer) here

October 13: Promotional Meeting of Love, Episode 4

With one day left, the topic was mysteries both explained and unexplained. Steering clear of spoilers, the crew delivered in impromptu audio commentary on the first 10 minutes of Episode 7. See it on Youtube here.

Click here to continue to premiere day and the rest of October!

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