Yamato 2202 Report 33, part 2

Back up to part 1

March 11: Valentine’s and White Day gift sets

In Japan and many other Asian countries, Valentine’s Day is typically observed by women getting gifts for men. White Day, held on March 14, is when men return the favor, usually in white chocolate form. To satisfy both sides of the equation, Yamato Crew offered two gift sets to fans. First, a reissue of the “female” edition that was previously sold at Wonder Festival in February (above).

Second, a new “male edition” was added, featuring Kodai and Keyman. Both featured character art either derived from or commissioned from the Hero’s Record mobile game.

Both consisted of an outer envelope containing a custom clear file and a set of ten miniature chocolates with character wrappers. Mission accomplished, Soldiers of Love.

March 11: Staff jackets

These 2202 jackets were first seen in public worn by Habara and Fukui at Wonder Festival in February. In response to many fan requests, Yamato Crew opened up preorders for April shipping (to Japanese addresses only, of course).

Actual jacket, posted on Twitter by Nao-chan.

March 12: Gigazine interview

The anime website Gigazine landed another gigantic interview, this time with background supervisor Yoshio Tanioka. He had been interviewed before, but nobody does it like Gigazine. They even published the first known photo of him, shown above.

Read the interview here

March 13: 1/350 Gimmick Model, Vol. 007

This volume contained intricate internal parts for the bow torpedo launchers.

See Hachette’s instruction video here.

See an unboxing video here.

It’s worth keeping in mind that though the construction of the gimmick model is slow and laborious, most volumes come with magazine pages (like these) for instant gratification. It’s entirely possible that they will end up being the most comprehensive, encyclopedic look at 2202 we could wish for.

March 14: Yamatalk night

For the first time in the long history of Yamatalks, an artist from the CG world stepped into the limelight. Sublimation studio manager and director Taichi Kimura joined Habara and Fukui at the Shinjuku Piccadilly theater for a conversation about, among other things, how the Cosmo Tiger II goes from “normal” to “Version K” before your eyes.

Photos were posted on Twitter by the Yamato Production Committee.

March 15: Anime Graph Ultimate Edition

One of the Chapter 7 products sold in theaters was the “Anime Graph,” a collection of 20 2-sided posters (featuring characters and mecha) sized at about 12” x 17.” Starting on March 15, Yamato Crew offered the “Ultimate Edition” for online sale. Packaged in a thin cardboard box, it contained everything from the theater edition and an additional 10 pieces.

See the entire set here.

March 15: Funimation box set part 1

Even mountains turn to sand if you wait long enough. Funimation managed to release the first half of Yamato 2202 to English-speaking markets while the series was still not quite over in Japan. The limited edition shown here includes episodes 1-13 (sub and dub) on DVD and Blu-ray, a reversible interior sleeve, a full color 40-page mini-hardcover art book, and a set of 8 image cards all in a slipcase with room for part 2 (release date TBD). The overall packaging lacks conviction, but gets the job done.

Get it from Funimation here or from Rightstuf here. Standard sets are also available.

March 15: Promotional Meeting of Love, part 6

The closing episode in this video talk series was titled The final battlefield requires love and an edge! This time, Zordar’s spoiler warning was answered in kind, and the panelists launched into a conversation about the decisive battle between Yamato and Gatlantis. The show also included a short message from Hideaki Tezuka, the voice of Zordar.

See it on Youtube here.

March 15: Episode 24 on TV

It’s all-out war in Yamato, conquer the Comet Empire! Yamato and the remaining Garmillas fleet mount a last-ditch effort to defend Earth and battle their way to the very heart of Gatlantis! Who will survive?

See the trailer for this episode here.

March 16: Week 3 theater handout

The second-to-last handout pack contained layouts of Saito and Nagakura with vintage 1978 headshots of Yuki Mori.

March 18: Syd Mead exhibition clear file

The first post-2202 event with a Yamato pedigree will be an art exhibition called Syd Mead Progressions TYO 2019, set to take place at a gallery in Tokyo from April 27 to May 19. A unique highlight of the event will be the first public display of artwork from his Japanese projects, including Yamato 2520.

Yamato Crew offered a clear file with 2520 artwork to fans who bought advance tickets. The event’s official website also indicated that new merchandise would be on hand, including a program book and a 2520 postcard set.


Text on back of the clear file reads: “I have always shown people in my artwork of possible future worlds. Imagination is the fuel that encourages us toward the future. A successful future happens when people believe that our combined enthusiasm and imagination will create the future we all want to enjoy.”


March 19: Yamatalk night

The last Yamatalk night of the 2202 era brought back one of the first people on the scene: anime writer and original Yamato superfan Ryusuke Hikawa. The “guest” this time was Writer Harutoshi Fukui, which meant the conversation must have delved into some deep waters indeed.

March 20: 1/350 Gimmick Model, Vol. 008

This volume delivered another set of internal lighting parts for the bow.

See Hachette’s instruction video here.

See an unboxing video here.


The first pair of binders for the accumulated magazine pages also
shipped out to subscribers with volume 008. Photo posted on Twitter by Uta

This was the week Hachette started to get things back on track with subscribers. Here’s the scoop: when the company first offered this model for subscription, they vastly underestimated the interest and were overwhelmed with applications. The numbers simply outstripped their production run, so they had to make a difficult decision: who to supply first?

The answer was to keep weekly volumes shipping out to stores in order not to lose public momentum while they boosted production runs on past volumes. As a result, subscribers stopped receiving their weekly volumes after 003. Hachette did their best to keep everyone informed, and finally began to course-correct by shipping volume 008 to both stores and subscribers simultaneously.

In early April, back issues began shipping out and subscribers gradually got up to speed after waiting for over a month. That’s just one of those things that happens in Yamato world. Underestimate the devotion at your own peril.

March 21: Yamato 2202 World opens

Yamato fandom flocked to Hiroshima for an experience that hadn’t been available since the golden age of 1978: a dedicated exhibition called Yamato 2202 World.

It was held at a waterside park called Marina Hop for two and half weeks, offering the giant display models of Yamato and Andromeda along with numerous story and design panels, a new sculpture, and – among other things – a 1/1 scale Yamato bridge.

Obviously, there’s a lot to unravel. Check it all out in an extensive photo gallery here

March 22: Episode 25 on TV

Farewell, Space Battleship Yamato takes us the very brink. Gatlantis is transformed into the Ark of Destruction. Yamato is transformed into the living embodiment of love. They converge in a burst of light…and the ending of 1978’s Farewell to Yamato is achieved. But wait, there’s still one more episode to go???

See the trailer for this episode here.

March 22: V Storage interview

Closing out the era of 2202’s voice actor interviews, V Storage reran the Daisuke Ono/Koichi Yamadera conversation previously published on March 1. See a translation here.

March 23: 1/72 Cosmo Zero Blackbird model kit

This reissue of the previous Cosmo Zero brought with it some differences seen on-screen in Chapters 6 and 7.

Numerous option parts allowed modelers to reproduce either Kato’s command craft (blue nose) or one of the autonomous drones (all black) that followed him into a surgical assault on the Gatlantis fleet.

See a gallery of finished kits here.

March 23: 1/1000 Space Battleship Yamato Final Battle Version model kit

With this release, the first 1/1000 Yamato for 2202 was reissued with upgrade parts to match the rebuild seen in Episodes 22-26: wider sensors, more guns, and an additional pair of stern catapults.

Fans were quick to build their kits and post them online. See a gallery here.

March 23: Nobuyoshi Habara talk show, Fukuyama

His labors were over, but Nobuyoshi Habara was still far from finished with Yamato. On this day, he appeared at a Tsutaya department store in Fukuyama (a city in his home prefecture of Hiroshima) for a lecture and autograph session.

The photos above were posted on Twitter by Aoi2199, who attended the event. At right, Habara describes the arc of his career while holding up animation display cards that he acquired in junior high. He was delighted to rediscover his own early sketch of Captain Hijikata on the back.

March 23: Week 4 theater handout

Chapter 7’s final week in theaters began on Saturday the 23rd when theaters began distributing the last of the free genga packs. This one contained only A-listers: layouts of Shima, Kodai & Yuki, and a model sheet of the upgraded Yamato.

The final scorecard for these theater handouts went as follows…

Chapter 1: 2 packs, 2 cards each (4)
Chapter 2: 2 packs, 3 cards each (6)
Chapter 3: 3 packs, 3 cards each (9)
Chapter 4: 3 packs, 3 cards each (9)
Chapter 5: 3 packs, 3 cards each (9)
Chapter 6: 4 packs, 3 cards each (12)
Chapter 7: 4 packs, 3 cards each (12)

Total: 21 packs, 52 cards. The end.

March 24: Anime Japan 2019

For the third year in a row, a live Yamato 2202 event was part of the programming at this annual convention. A report at the official 2202 website said it all…

Event Report: Anime Japan 2019 stage event ”Yamato 2202 Award of Love”

Anime Japan is the largest anime event in the country, held at Tokyo Big Site on Sunday, March 24. This year, a special event called the ”Yamato 2202 Award of Love” was held on the Cobalt Blue stage, featuring Writer Harutoshi Fukui, Daisuke Ono (Kodai), Kenichi Suzumura (Shima), and Hiroshi Kamiya (Keyman) as guests. They talked about favorite lines chosen by fans on Twitter and shared popular dialogue. Here we deliver an overview of an event that was wrapped in warm laughter.

• Looking back at favorite lines from each character!

Favorite lines in Yamato 2202 were chosen beforehand on Twitter, and the award plan was to announce the rankings in each category. The first was the award for the favorite Shima Daisuke line. Mr. Suzumura performed Shima’s “Warp” (third place) and “Be honest, it’s not embarrassing to play a supporting role, right?” (first place).

The audience was excited to hear the lines live. Talking about the ranking results, Suzumura said, “I was made fun of at the recording site as the ‘warp man,’ but this nice line was properly chosen as number one. Every supports Yamato correctly, and I’m glad that they’re not trying to push Shima aside.”

The hidden second place line was guessed by the cast. From Ono-san we get him yelling “Sheeh!”, connecting it to the chapter currently in release. And from Suzumura-san, we got him saying “There! Left!” like a voice for a car GPS. The answers came fast, so it turned into a comedy battle that drove the audience wild.


Ono, Suzumura, and Kamiya on stage. Stage lighting went to green for the Shima segment.

• The great dialogue battle of the day!

The second category was the award for favorite Klaus Keyman line, performed by Mr. Kamiya. Coming in third place was, “Take me on board. It would be good.” The first place winner was cooly delivered: “It’s no good. Those who traveled to Iscandar bear this cross equally. Unless this curse is broken, Yamato has no future.”

This time too, the hidden first place lines were guessed at. Suzumura-san delivered “You, friend”, “I eat you(?)”, for some reason giving Keyman a wildman push! Kamiya-san himself said, “Is it true that your new mother is Garmillan?” giving another surreal comic performance that brought the venue to a head.

Mr. Ono performed third in the award for favorite Susumu Kodai line. In second place was, “We entrust our hopes in this ship.” For the first place winner, Ono showed Kodai’s raw compassion: “I just want to do the right thing. I keep my word. I lend a hand if I’m asked to help. Isn’t that natural for everyone?”

In the set-up scene that anticipated the hidden second place line, Kamiya included stage directions: “(After seeing a nude Teresa) I must go there!” Suzumura appropriated a certain famous line: “The left hand is for support only” (From the manga Slam Dunk) for a perplexing reply. Ono himself took the initiative from their answers and riffed on them until the venue was engulfed with laugher.


Stage lighting switched to red for the Kodai segment.

• The most favorite line

Which character shone the brightest? The final round was to determine the most favorite line from Yamato 2202.

Based on voting by fans on Twitter, the three nominees were:

“There is no responsibility when you’re dead. Live on, Yamanami. Live on through the shame.” (Hijikata)


The cards used in the stage show were concealed in sketchpads.

“If you’re a friend, don’t embarrass me.” (Dessler)

and “Susumu Kodai saved the Earth!” (Yuki Mori)

Hijikata’s line was chosen in a viewer poll taken through the simultaneous Nico Nico live broadcast. The on-stage vote was for Yuki’s line, chosen by Mr. Ono out of fealty to Kodai. Mr. Fukui was entrusted with the final judgment. Though Hijikata was the predictable choice, he actually went with Yuki Mori! He neatly summarized it in his comment, which doubled as an advertisement:

“Yuki says this line twice throughout the series, and I think you’ll be convinced if you watch the final episode on March 29. Everyone, please watch it.”

• Captain Daisuke Ono gives thanks for two years!

This was the last event for the cast of a work that lasted more than two years, and they closed it with words from the heart.

Fukui: “There will be a small announcement in a stage greeting on the last day of Chapter 7, so please come and visit us.”

Kamiya: “We spent a period of 26 months on the voice recording. I may never be blessed with an opportunity like this one again. It was a wonderful work which has become an unforgettable part of my life. If the original 40-year-old work can live on in the hearts of those who saw it, I hope that this work will stay in your hearts, even just a little.”

Suzumura: “I’ll keep it short so Mr. Ono can say something good. WARP to the next work!”

And finally, Ono: “When I think about it again, we did this work not only to revive Yamato for the present day, but also to pass on its soul to the next generation. I would like to say to the staff, the fans, and everyone who supported Yamato: thank you so much!”

With that passionate ending, the curtain closed.

See the whole thing on Youtube here.

Yamato headquarters” at Anime Japan 2019 was the Bandai Namco booth, labeled an “animation airport.” (Photo posted on Facebook by Anton Kholodov.)

Elsewhere on the convention floor could be found a 2202 display leading you to a cutout image photo op.

The display wall covered the highlights of all seven chapters… (Photo posted on Twitter by Hattori)

…with a video screen at the far left end showing footage from Chapter 7. (Photo posted on Twitter by Giga)

Harutoshi Fukui defaced the back of the cutout image before putting himself in Kodai’s head. Text on the back says “The next captain…is you.”

Dessler stopped by to have his picture taken with Anton Kholodov. And of course Anton had to try his Kodai body on.

The final cherry on the sundae was a passport for the Bandai Namco “animation airport,” which Anton shared on Facebook.


We’re still not done! Click here to continue to part 3.

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