Breakdown and commentary by Anton Mei Brandt

Dezarium bureaucrat Maxim, Lt. Alphon’s close friend who was introduced in chapter 2, sits down on a beach with his artificially grown Dezarium foster child Fleur. Stopping dead in her tracks in front of the school gates, emotion seems to well up in her eyes. We hear Tsubasa’s teacher Yoshiro speak over the scene.

Yoshiro Kosaka: At ‘Ichigyo Elementary School,’ we’ll also have twenty new friends joining us…

Yoshiro Kosaka is the new teacher character introduced in Chapter 1. His profile notes how inclusionary his teaching practices are, no doubt a primary reason why Kato’s widow Makoto, who’s seen humanity in other races like the Garmillans, chose to enroll her son there. It’s possible that the name “Ichigyo” (which is written in hiragana to potentially obfuscate what it’s supposed to mean at this point) could use the kanji “一玉,” a name meaning “One Globe,” a fitting name. It’s an inclusionary school which will soon see many kids from different corners of the galaxy enrolled, including the young Fleur.

In these shots, it looks like Maxim is having a heart-to-heart with her on the beach, followed by her first day in school. Is she experiencing her first case of bullying or perhaps human compassion? Or is the blinking Communications Medal on her neck receiving directives from the Dezarium AI, Mother Dezarium?

You may be saying, “hold on, I don’t remember ANY of these characters from ANY of the originals!” and you’d be correct! Just like the completely new, original composition/music playing in the background of this teaser, the tone Chapter 3 is trying to set from the getgo is that what’s coming up next will be at least in part all-new content.

Inside High Priest Skaldart’s empty throne room, ‘Nanbu Industry’ heir Yasuo, who is fully decked out in Cosmo Marine armor, confronts his father, making not-so-ambivalent threats.

Yasuo Nanbu: You must be aware of the father-killing paradox, right?

Also called the “Grandfather paradox,” it refers to the time travel paradox created when a human being goes back in the past and kills their own ancestor in their youth, undoing their own future birth as a consequence. The implications are very clear in the visuals chosen, but we shouldn’t discount the possibility of deceptive editing. There are three major possibilities:

(1) Yasuo is threatening to kill his father, in whom he’s lost his faith since learning of Nanbu Industry’s involvement in the Dezarium takeover.

(2) Kozo, his father, is actually one of Yasuo’s descendants from the future, who’s been in contact with Dezarium from the very beginning of 2199. Kozo’s apparent estrangement from his son, which has caused Yasuo emotional pain, could then be his way of not wanting to mess with the timeline. According to Dezarium, they hail from the year 3199. The current space-time rift near the center of the universe allegedly takes you 1000 years into the future…which would be 3207. You see where I’m going? IF Skaldart’s telling the truth…they’ve been in our timeline since 2199. Unlikely, but not impossible.

(3) Yasuo has figured out their ace in the hole: Dezarium is afraid of causing major damage to the timeline’s set order of events, something Mother Dezarium confirms in episode 6 can only be safely done once they have Sasha in their hands. In Episode 3, we see Dezarium’s proposed timeline of human history, in which Andromeda-class Aldebaran is depicted as still kicking several centuries into the future, participating in an operation to recover Gatlantean weapons tech from the Kalaklum Belt near the 11th planet. Why does that ship matter? Aldebaran is shown to be Nanbu Industry’s crown jewel in Episode 1, which makes sense since it’s likely the last of the original five Andromeda ships to survive the post-Gatlantis-war reconstruction period.

What Yasuo could then be proposing is that if one kills one of the heads of the hydra that’s set to give rise to Dezarium (Kozo and Nanbu Industry, among others), it’s possible to undo Dezarium’s existence itself, purging them from our time and space. As heir to Nanbu Industry, Yasuo could seize the company following his father’s death, leading a rebellion instead of a policy of non-interventionist compliance, removing Aldebaran from the metaphysical chess-board. There are also hints in the second chapter that Nanbu Industry is in charge of building the Arizona-class battleship, which I can totally see Yasuo seizing for the sake of their rebellion.

Yuki seemingly catches a glimpse of one of Alphon’s bodies, followed by someone cloaked in black raising a dagger in the air.

Yuki Mori: So this is what you’d call the ‘main body.’ What happens if it’s lost during transmission…?

The transmission in question refers not to digital communications, but rather transfer of the soul/data that makes up a Homo Dezarium from their main body to an external one. Similar to the Akerian mind-transfer devices near Balan’s warp gate used by the Jirels in 2199, this technique is used by Alphon to transfer his ‘self’ to a separate but similar combat body aboard Ranbel’s Grodez ship in Episode 6. Since he doesn’t feel quite at home in either of his bodies, it’s possible that Alphon’s ‘main body’ is a brain-in-a-jar sort of deal, which Yuki will discover in Chapter 3. But where would such a ‘main body’ be? Maybe the sarcophagus-like server pods in larger constructs such as a Goruba fortress.

As for the dagger-holding individual standing in front of an old Winchester rifle encased behind glass? No clue. The editing and lighting suggests Yuki’s playing dress-up with the intent to kill Alphon, but it’s highly unlikely. Nowhere in Alphon’s sleek white modern mansion have we seen brick walls, nor should we expect 1800’s Winchester rifles to be set up. This could be a terrorist of some kind, sneaking into a public official’s home with the intent to slash their throat for either being too complacent with Dezarium, or kowtowing to their occupation. Or, it’s a stage play of some kind. Who knows?

The ‘Ageha Corporation’ heir Takeshi is seen towering over Domon, in a flashback set during their time together at the space military academy. He speaks.

Takeshi Ageha: Aren’t you being foolish? Come on.

Is this a defining moment in these two characters’ past? Was this the last time Domon saw Ageha before his disappearance and sudden dropout from the academy? Is Domon dreaming of the past, or is this some Jirel tomfoolery? It’s anyone’s guess! What we do know is that it’s definitely set during their academy days, as seen in the uniforms they wear.

Kodai, maybe sitting in his Cosmo Zero cockpit, flashes us an ambiguous, watery-eyed expression as Domon narrates.

Ryusuke Domon: I couldn’t forgive him.

It’s more than likely that Domon’s referring to Kodai as he speaks, as opposed to Ageha. Though it could also be both or neither. These teasers can be quite deceptive in the most entertaining ways. To Domon, these two larger-than-life faultless professionals betrayed his expectations and abandoned him; Ageha when he left the academy, and Kodai when he left Yamato in Episode 6 only to return. It’s possible Kodai’s setting out to do something reckless to regain Domon’s trust.

A Cosmo Tiger II is seen drifting lifelessly in a sea of green. Next, we cut to a distraught Ageha in the cockpit of his fighter plane as Dezarium’s Ranbel speaks.

Ranbel: This (sure) is a lousy role.

I wonder what Ageha was forced to experience here…something shocking enough to visibly affect a man who seemingly always keeps his cool. Perhaps a more-than-vivid memory, brought to life before his very eyes? Did he have to experience the death of his mother again, a woman confirmed to be dead in Chapter 2?

These moments with Ageha and Domon, as well as the focus on stark blues and vivid greens should steer Yamato III fans’ minds towards a particular arc…planet Phantom. A living planet with the innate ability to camouflage itself based on the memories of its perceivers, it housed Mother Shalbart’s heir, princess Ruda, whom the Bolar Federation had imprisoned and subsequently lost track of due to Phantom’s illusory abilities.

Domon and Ageha investigated its depths as other crew mates faced phantom apparitions of their deceased and living loved ones alike, eventually finding Ruda and, with Phantom’s assistance, release Ruda from her warm imprisonment. So far, there’s only one other character who’s been called “princess” in 3199…and that’s Alphon. Take that as you will.

A Garmillan fleet is fired upon by a massive pink beam, tearing through the hull of a Destria-class Heavy Cruiser. In the background, various green ships of indiscernible shapes scatter.

Susumu Kodai: Our opponents are deploying a fleet with Deusula as their flagship.

The Destria is beyond outdated by now. At this point in Yamato III, Galman-Gamilas had already moved from these classic ships to the new Galman ‘Heavy’ and ‘Mid Size’ Battleships, the former of which we know is already designed for 3199. Add to that the pink beam and suddenly we’re not sure anymore if it’s Ranbel’s Infinite Beta Cannon or the Dessler Cannon launching this assault. If it’s the former, it’s possible the ‘Deusula fleet’ is fired upon by Ranbel (whose IFF tags read as “Earth”) causing a forthcoming misunderstanding with Yamato.

As for Kodai’s line, I don’t believe the Deusula ID tag they pick up belongs to the familiar, red Deusula III our timeline’s Dessler is clearly still operating based on what’s to come in this teaser. If it were, Kodai would refer to it as Deusula III. Is it perhaps a certain blue Deusula, with a pink “Hyper Dessler Cannon” as seen in Yamato III?

Yamato witnesses what could be an Infinite Beta Cannon assault in the distance, its red particles scattering to cause explosions akin to those we see enveloping Deusula III. A mysterious voice speaks.

Mysterious Voice: Garmillas will never again suffer defeat at anyone’s hands…!

Garmillas and its people have suffered loss after loss ever since Yamato first intervened at the end of 2199. After a thwarted civil war, they saw the destruction of their home and the source of religious piety in their neighbor, Iscandar. Now that they finally have a new home on Galman, other threats keep causing headaches. The Bolar Federation is for starters, but now Dezarium attacks Dessler’s fleet directly? Yamato, knowing full well that Sasha is being interned aboard Ranbel’s ship since Episode 6, is powerless to intervene without risking her life. Perhaps that’s why Dessler opts to perform another New Voyage-esque ramming charge?

Deusula III presses forward through fire and flame, Destria-class ships sinking left and right. Elsewhere (or elsewhen) Dessler’s familiar voice muses on coincidences, only for a grown-up Sasha Iscandar to seemingly respond in a way fans of old will be mighty familiar with.

Dessler: How…to think this vast universe held…such fortuity.

Teenage Sasha: Yamato is coming. Uncle…

In a strange twist of fate, it appears that we may be witnessing the emergence of a Dessler from one of the many futures Teresa mentioned at the end of 2202, with a grown-up Sasha by his side. Regardless, if this is an immediate follow-up to the previous shot of Deusula III, I think it’s clear that the possibility of this Sasha being the same as the child stuck aboard Grodez in some kind of stasis chamber…is unlikely. New art hinting at a depiction of both Sashas in the same picture (above right) further suggests this idea.

But this brings us to an elephant in the room: the Chapter 3 teaser poster, and the chapter name itself, Aquamarine Asteroid.

The poster seemingly hints at a Yamato vs. Deusula III confrontation, doesn’t it? However, if we consider what has been shown, and what this poster is doing with its visual language, a different view emerges.

Yamato, on its way to some future, is being chased by Dezarium. It’s upside down not simply for the coolness factor, but to make way for Deusula to fire its Dessler cannon at whatever is chasing, be it Dezarium or Bolar ships.

To get to the rift in time connecting to the future, Ranbel confirmed in the previous chapter that Yamato has to go through Bolar space, and by proxy, through Galman-Garmillas space. As they do, they will inevitably invite Grodez and co. to Galman waters, further complicating the already tense political situation. The “lousy role” Ranbel makes reference to earlier may be referring to this. While he does need to bring down Yamato, a ship Dezarium has no record of (for reasons yet unknown according to Meldarz in 2205) he cannot lay a finger on the likes of Dessler because of the “grandfather paradox”. This is because he must be under the same impression we are from Skaldart’s posited timeline…that Dessler isn’t set to die until the year 2268.

Until Ranbel delivers Sasha either to Mother Dezarium on Earth (or the Witch of Uralia found at the center of the universe where the time and space rift is open), Dezarium must take extra care in not messing with their own past. At least that’s what they’ve been told by the Mother A.I.

But if we entertain the idea that the Dessler and Sasha we see at the end of this teaser are alive and well, and possibly even come chasing after Dezarium from the future, we suddenly have to question more than Abelt’s death. We have to question Skaldart’s proposed timeline altogether. Which brings me to Sasha.

She looks to be her original age of around 16, possibly 20. While the infant Sasha wears an outfit much more reminiscent to the original version’s civilian dress, the adult Sasha wears something closer to her grown-up counterpart.

Her calling Kodai “Uncle” brings to mind the doomed and misunderstood love that blossomed between the pair in the original Be Forever Yamato, though it could be that Sasha’s referring to Dessler as her foster uncle of sorts. In that case, the line “Yamato is coming. Uncle..,” carries the double meaning of “Yamato is coming, uncle…” Clever writers.

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