The New Voyage Bibliography

Like Yamato 2, The New Voyage was caught up in the wake of Farewell to Yamato, which was such a blockbuster that books for it were still popping up throughout 1979, each one stealing some thunder from the new film. On the other hand, it was a new story with plenty of new material for fans to organize and dissect, so it was still attractive to publishers with pre-existing book formats to be filled.

Not included in this bibliography are manga titles, novels, and special publications from Office Academy. Links for all of them can be found at the end of this page.

The New Voyage
Anime Cartoon Masterpiece series #18

40 pages, approx. 7.5″ x 8″
Shogakukan, November 1979

This all-color retelling of the movie was formatted with minimal text and color stills. Shogakukan utilized this format for many other children’s books based on movies and TV shows, including both anime and live-action. There was a total of 7 Yamato volumes, of which this was the last.

Monthly OUT Magazine

Approx. 7″ x 10″ (B5)
Minori Shobo, Sept. 1979

Yamato‘s third appearance on the cover of OUT added another chapter to the storied history of the two, which
began in April 1977 with its coverage of the first TV series. This time Academy Studio itself was the story with The New Voyage, Blue Noah, and Triton of the Sea to talk about (Triton was originally aired before Yamato, but a compilation movie brought
it back to life in 1979). Altogether, the three productions earned 60 pages of coverage. The Yamato material consisted of a 17-page encyclopedia and a New Voyage photostory.

The New Voyage Encyclopedia
Keibunsha No. 49

324 pages, 4″ x 5.75″ (A6)
Kodansha, Nov. 1979

The third Yamato book in the Keibunsha series matched the format of the first, starting with encyclopedic pages of stills and model sheets, then moving into a story digest that briefly revisited earlier productions before commencing with a retelling of The New Voyage with text and stills. Production notes included cast and crew profiles, followed by product and fan club info, a glossary, and mission maps. Though this volume of the Keibunsha series had far fewer color pages than its predecessors, it offered the same comprehensive coverage of its subject. It was one of the four Encyclopedias to be reprinted for a box set in 1999.


The New Voyage
Roadshow Special Edition

112 pages, approx. 8.25″ x 10″ (A4 trimmed)
Shueisha, Oct. 1979

Following the format of the previous Roadshow specials for Farewell to Yamato, Shueisha turned in another winner with this one. It contained a photostory, voice actor round table, the complete script, model sheets, character studies, and an excellent episode guide for Yamato 2.

The New Voyage
Terebi Magazine Special

88 pages, 8.25″ x 10″ (A4 trimmed)
Akita Shoten, Feb. 1980

This full-color spinoff of Terebi [TV] Magazine provided an excellent overview of The New Voyage organized by subject with original art heading up each section (see all four pieces in the bottom row of our New Voyage gallery). Section 1 was a character and mecha guide and the subsequent sections presented a complete photostory.


Space Battleship Yamato Big Compendium
Terebi-Kun Deluxe #2

112 pages, 8.25″ x 10.25″ (A4 trimmed)
Shogakukan, 1979

Terebi-Kun [Dear TV] magazine spun off two Yamato 2 specials earlier in the year, then followed up with this hefty volume from
the “Deluxe” series. It was a colorful encyclopedia of all things
Yamato, from the first TV series up to The New Voyage. It contained character profiles, Yamato/Earth/allied mecha,
character & mecha catalogs for the Dark Nebula Empire, Gamilas, and The Comet Empire. The book then switched to black and white for a TV and movie digest.

All Space Battleship Yamato
Perfect Memoir No. 4

210 pages, approx. 3.75″ x 7.25″
Leed Co., Jan. 1980

The “Perfect Memoir” series was a set of unusually-shaped books from Leed Co., each of which (like Tokuma Shoten’s Roman Albums) took on a different anime program. This was the first of four Leed publications on Yamato, and since they came into the game a bit later than others it provided a roundup of everything leading up to 1980. It contained a 34-page anime comic (notable for being the first of its kind) for The New Voyage, a short overview of characters and mecha, condensed black & white film comics for the first series and Farewell, an encyclopedic section on Yamato and its foes, and a substantial product catalog.


The World of Isao Sasaki

72 pages, 8.25″ x 11.75″ (A4)
Blue Heart Co., Sept. 1979

This was typical of books devoted to singers and actors, with Sasaki (often called Japan’s Elvis) filling both roles for film and television. He was, of course, the go-to vocalist for Yamato‘s various themes and insert songs, and this book was a cornucopia of photos, interviews, filmography and discography. Read interviews with Japan’s Elvis here and here.

TV Anime Battlefront
Personal Opinion: 17 years in Anime

By Noboru Ishiguro & Noriko Ohara
240 pages, 5.25″ x 7.5″ (B6)
Yamato Books, July 1980

Made of equal parts tell-all and how-to, this memoir of two very seasoned production experts starts at the beginning of the TV anime industry and takes it up to 1980. Ishiguro was the chief animation director on the first few Yamato productions, and contributed an entire chapter on his experiences. Heavy on text with occasional stills and illustrations.



At right: The soundtrack album for The New Voyage received the distinction of being a cover feature on the October 1979 issue of Record Monthly, the bible of music stores in Japan.

Related links:

The New Voyage manga
The New Voyage novelizations
Publications from Office Academy

Continue to the Be Forever Yamato bibliography

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