Space Battleship Yamato 2202 Report 35

Activity in May dropped off from April as Yamato 2202 receded into legacy territory, but fandom took center stage again to keep the ship in flight. A new radio program, the start of hobby show season, and news of things to come made it another interesting month.

May 1: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model, Vol. 14

Hachette continued with weekly parts (and magazines) for the largest Yamato model to date, having overcome early production delays and gotten everything on schedule for shops and subscribers alike.

This volume contained another portion of upper hull (which is divided by its natural seams) and fiber optics for the first bridge. Photo at right posted on Twitter by ncc1701refit.

See Hachette’s instruction video here.

See an unboxing video here.


Photo at right posted on Twitter by JL6PQY.

May 1: Boat Race Omura collaboration announcement

If you’ve ever wondered what the Indianapolis 500 might look like on water, Boat Race Omura is your destination. It has been a Nagasaki tradition since 1952, and this year Space Battleship Yamato is getting in on the action. Not the actual Space Battleship Yamato, alas, but a new collaboration positions the ship as the “PR ambassador” for the event with promo videos, tie-in products, and room for one of the displays that premiered at Hiroshima’s Yamato World in April.


Photos posted on Twitter by akizo3906 and kinobuta2018414.

When the event itself is underway from August 16-22, it will include the first-ever Space Battleship Yamato 2202 Cup. Meanwhile, you can visit the event’s website, announcement page, Twitter page, and Facebook page.

May 4: Radio Suite Farewell to Yamato

Clover Radio, an internet station in Saitama Prefecture, made Yamato history a year earlier with Radio Suite Space Battleship Yamato, a revival of the famed 4-hour late night Yamato broadcasts of yesteryear. Their initial announcement earned the highest-trending Twitter hashtag in Japan at the time.

One year later, they revived their revival with a new 4-hour show devoted to Farewell (and the obvious 2202 tie-in). Host Andro Umeda was reunited with co-host (and manga artist) Michio Murakawa and two very special guests: Director Nobuyoshi Habara and Composer Akira Miyagawa. Together, they explored the world of Yamato music with personal anecdotes as both fans and professionals.


Autograph boards from both last year’s show and this year’s show, posted on Twitter by Cyuniapplelove.

The first hour consisted of songs from across the saga, all the way up to 2199. The second hour was devoted to music from Farewell, including remix comparisons and album trivia. The third hour brought Habara and Miyagawa to the microphone for conversation, and the fourth hour got through as many listener requests as they could while discussion continued.

The show was curated by the author of the intricate Yamato Music fansite, who published a complete playlist here.

May 5: Yamato Lecture 18

This fan-led talkshow event returned to its home base in Shinjuku, Tokyo to review and discuss Yamato 2202. MC/host Osamu Kobayashi and two of his voice actor friends (not involved in Yamato) held court while fans sampled items from the themed menu:

Alcohol drinks: Yaminami special (Walker & tomato juice), Two maidens (White Russian), Yuki Mori’s Thoughts (Fuzzy Navel), and A Cup for Dr. Sado (Japanese sake).

Non-alcohol drinks: Great Emperor (Blue Sweat & sesame drink), Serizawa (matcha milk tea), Dimensional Submarine (cider, mint, cherries), and Teresa’s Prayer (Calpis, nectar)


Photos posted on Twitter by Yasumi Aseranai.

Food items (L to R): Keyman Rice (egg, rice, curry), Great Sum (pineapple, spinach), Higher-dimensional Yamato (fried pasta), and Saito’s Determination (potatoes in butter). Not pictured: How many times we rescued the Earth! (chocolate, mint, ice)

May 6: Carnival Yamato Osaka

One week after appearing at Super Comic City in Tokyo, Yamato fans came together again at another Super Comic City event in Osaka. This doujinshi [fanzine]-based event brought 11 Yamato fan circles together under the Carnival Yamato banner to sell their homemade works of art.

Visit the Carnival Yamato website here and the Twitter page here.

May 8: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model, Vol. 15

This volume delivered key pieces of both the first bridge and the forward deck. Photo at right posted on Twitter by Hachi Kuji.

With the completion of the forward deck, builders could finally get a clear sense of just how big this model will be when completed. Photos posted on Twitter by ncc1701refit.

See Hachette’s instruction video here.

See an unboxing video here.

May 9: Naoto Otomo interview

On this day, the music-oriented website Real Sound published a new interview with Conductor Naoto Otomo. The occasion was the April release of the newly-recorded Yamato Grand Symphony, with which Otomo has been intimately involved since its first performance in 1984 (when he was in his 20s). He discussed the context of its creation and evolution through its 2009 and 2018 revivals.

Read the interview here.

May 9-12: Shizuoka Hobby Show

The annual hobby event in Bandai’s home town of Shizuoka lured Yamato fans in to see the latest in plastic creations of both professionals and fans alike. Bandai unveiled newly-released kits and prototypes in their Yamato booth, including an orange-colored “higher-dimensional” Yamato with no release date.

There was a lot to see at Shizuoka, and fans got it all on film for the rest of us. See a photo gallery here.

May 10: Boat Race Omura promo video 1

The first of five promo videos came out on Youtube on this day, a 1-minute long setup in which the crew of Yamato takes off for the race and Kodai fills them with excitement. But Dessler is waiting…

The video uses retimed 2202 animation with new dialogue by replacement voice actors. See it here.


Photo posted on Twitter by C Rogia.

May 13: Syd Mead exhibition news

The Syd Mead art exhibition Progressions, which opened in Tokyo in April, far exceeded its expected number of visitors, and was extended to June 2. It was announced on this day that the exhibit will not reopen elsewhere, but the catalog (which sold out quickly) will be reprinted and made available online. Of course, we’ll keep an eye on that.

May 13: Yamato Crew goods announced

Yamato Crew announced a third set of acrylic figures on this day to follow the set released in theaters with Chapter 7 and another that followed in April. As before, they stand about 6″ tall and reuse art from the Hero’s Record mobile game.

Also on offer were two of the three clear files previously listed as incentive items for the pricey Art Collection prints from April. All these products are scheduled to ship in June (to Japanese addresses only).

May 15: Cosmogun preorders opened

If, like many fans, you’ve been asking “Where the guns at?” for decades now, your wish is finally being granted by a company named Daiki. In collaboration with Model Works Grenade, they’ve created a 1/1 scale Cosmogun in the classic Leiji Matsumoto design. It’s an all-plastic squirt gun and comes with one of four nameplates on the grip: Mamoru Kodai, Susumu Kodai, Yuki Mori, and Juzo Okita.

Though these guns are listed for sale at Hobbylink Japan, US postal restrictions prohibit them from shipping to America. On the other hand, there is no such restriction from Hobbysearch or Cat Hands Agent. If you decide to use the services of the latter (Cosmo DNA has benefitted tremendously from his help since 2006), click on the “Inquiry” button at his website to send a message. Refer to the Cosmogun from Daiki, which can be found on the company’s product page.

Preorders will be accepted through June 26. The guns are scheduled to be released on August 4.

(Note: Captain Harlock’s Cosmo Dragoon is also available from Daiki in squirt gun form.)

May 15: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model, Vol. 16

This volume allowed builders to install the interior lighting for the first bridge (and the window shutters, if they wanted that option). Advanced builders (like Konsukesan1) took the opportunity to add their own characters and share the photos on Twitter.

It served as a general reminder that, while Bandai’s previous 1/350 model kit was based on smaller measurements, the tiny characters that came with it are still in scale with this one. (Photo at left posted by Indiana Tochiro.)

See Hachette’s Instruction video here.

See an unboxing video here.

May 20: Captain Harlock Dimension Voyage, Vol. 10

As of this writing, the English edition of the Dimensional Voyage manga (from Seven Seas Publishing) is up to Volume 8, but Akita Shoten is now on Volume 10 in Japan. It’s been a while since a Yamato artifact has appeared in its pages, but artist Kouiti Shimaboshi gave us a nice one this time. In a meeting to discuss “persons of interest” who presumably wield power in the universe, we saw a screen image of an aged but very familiar face. There was no caption or pertinent dialogue to name him, but the cut of his jib is unmistakeable.

May 22: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model, Vol. 17

This volume came with another hull segment and more parts centered around the first gun turret on the forward deck; a rotational gear and safety rails.

See Hachette’s instruction video here.

See an unboxing video here.

May 22: WCDA single: Great Love

Pop/electronica group WCDA (Will Cinderella Dance Again) returned with a new Yamato cover song, this time two variations of Great Love. They released it on several Japanese streaming services simultaneously, but have yet to add it to their international iTunes catalog.

Until they do, you can hear different samples at AWA and Apple Music.

May 23: V Storage article

Harutoshi Fukui has been busy. In addition to Yamato 2202, he was the writer for Gundam Narrative (released November 2018) and participated in the planning of a live-action thriller called Aircraft Carrier Ibuki, which premiered in Japan May 24. (See the official site with a trailer here.)

To mark his work on all three projects, V Storage gave fandom one of the things fandom always likes best: a size comparison for the principle mecha.

Get a better look at it in the original article here.

May 24: Concert news

The fall Yamato concert gained a title this month, Sono Toki Kimi To which translates to Close to You Tonight. Ticket prices were announced at three different levels with access being granted in phases to premium fan club members. The first tickets went on sale via Yamato Crew on May 31.

May 25: Hobby Japan #601

Coverage in this issue was light, a 3-page article devoted to Bandai’s 1/1000 Dreadnaught in various paint schemes.

May 25: Model Graphix No. 416

The cover story of this remarkable issue was a generous 40-page retrospective on the work of Studio Nue. Based around the skills of mecha designers Naoyuki Katoh and Kazutaka Miyatake, this pioneering art group was instrumental in taking anime to the world stage. Their catalog includes the original Yamato, Captain Harlock, Macross, Starship Troopers, Crusher Joe, and much more. Yamato only appeared on Katoh’s cover painting and one interior page, but this giant article offered plenty more with a special focus on model kits that originated from Studio Nue designs.

Order your copy of the magazine here.


Finished cover and original cover drawing, posted on Twitter by Yamato Crew.

May 27: Yamato/Star Blazers fan club magazine vol. 3

This issue took a turn into new territory with a cover feature decidedly aimed at female fans, titled Into a Dream with Yamato Prince. This was a series of articles covering the saga’s male characters from a romantic point of view, starting with a comparison between two characters on opposite sides of the wheel: extroverted hero Susumu Kodai and introverted creep Shinya Ito. This included an interview with Ito’s voice actor and a short story titled Winter’s Messenger with Ito as the main character (written by 2202 scriptwriter Hideki Oka. The cover feature concluded with a chart to figure out which “Yamato prince is your dream date.

The rest of the magazine contained a smattering of interviews, including one with JAXA representative Hitoshi Kuninaka, Writer Harutoshi Fukui, and Exec Producer Shoji Nishizaki. Of course, anything a Nishizaki has to say goes right to the top of our priority list, so you can read that interview here.

May 29: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model, Vol. 18

This volume’s offering was the most modest so far, a simple electric motor that would ultimately power the rocket anchor gearbox. Photo at right posted on Twitter by Chicche2106.

See an unboxing video here.

May 29: Mecha Collection Neu Balgray preorders open

Previously unveiled at the Shizuoka Hobby Show, Bandai announced that this would be the next release in the mini-kit line, scheduled for August. It would include a 1/1000 version of its distinctive Garmillan antenna assembly, meant for the customizing of a larger Neu Balgray with the Andromeda DX as its base.

May 29: Boat Race Omura promo video 2

Yamato‘s crew is on its way to Boat Race Omura, and so is Dessler – if he can figure out how to qualify first. See the second tie-in video here.

May 30: Sabera garage kit announced

In our last report, we saw that Hobby Japan devoted a page to a 1/8 Sabera figure that had no release date. Now it does; on this day, Yamato Crew announced that it would be released in July. It is an unpainted, unassembled resin kit that will stand just short of 9″ when completed.





May 30: Yamato 2202 Complete Works Vol. 3 announced

Following the format established by Yamato 2199 Complete Works, this volume is scheduled for release on June 28 and contains all the scripts for the series. That obviously limits their appeal to non-Japanese readers, but it will also include story development materials. As we’ve seen over the years, an occasional nugget that didn’t make it to the screen can come to light thanks to books like this. At 352 pages, it will be the thickest of the three Complete Works volumes.

Order it from Amazon here.

May 30: Yamato Crew goods

Yamato Crew closed out the month with a rush of products in their online store. First, twin “Costume Water” bottles that were previously given away at the final Chapter 7 screening in March.

Second, a lineup of the collaboration products sold at Yamato World in Hiroshima, all tie-ins with the Hiroshima Carps baseball team. Cell phone cases, a mug…

…coasters and T-shirts.

And finally, the first twelve volumes of the 1/350 Hachette model, sold in batches of four (which is how they are received by subscribers).


Also spotted in May

Fan art

Fans did an excellent job of maintaining the high quality of artwork posted to Twitter.

See a character gallery here and a mecha gallery here.

Fan models

Modelers over-achieved in the month of May, running the gamut of ideas with all restrictions removed.

See a huge photo gallery here.

Hero’s Record game art

The Hero’s Record mobile game turned in another month’s worth of campaign art with no end in sight. See a gallery here.

Yamato bicycle sighting

Whenever it pops up, we get to marvel at it all over again. The 1978 Yamato bicycle from Bridgestone is a work of art, and this one is in astonishingly good condition, as if it jumped through time to meet us here. Read about the bike here.

Photos posted on Twitter by Kazumaofo.

News from Tibet

In December 2018, mountaineer/Yamato fan Akiakiakihisa posted photos from the top of Aconcagua, and on May 28 he reached even greater heights. Here we see his Cosmo Fleet Special Yamato at 7750m altitude in Mt. Everest Camp 1, Tibet.

Yakitori Yamato Restaurant

Fans continue to keep us updated as the Yakitori Yamato restaurant in Shibuya, Tokyo takes on new décor. In May, the three gorgeous paintings from the 2202 Art Collection (sold via Yamato Crew) found their ways onto the walls.

Photos posted on Twitter by S Meijin and Counterfeiter.

Wedding party

When Yamato fans are looking for a reason to throw a party, the cruel hand of fate is no obstacle. On May 25, a fan going by the Twitter handle of Kurobeyuu threw a party with friends on the “occasion” of Yamamato and Keyman’s wedding.

These handmade party favors proved that love conquers all, even script continuity. Photos posted on Twitter by Kurobeyuu and LoneWolfMM.

Music videos on twitter

If you haven’t tuned into the Cosmo DNA Facebook page yet, you’re probably unaware that Tuesday is music day with a new find from somewhere online. Three new finds emerged in May, all with different versions of the Yamato theme.

The first was posted by H2gOscar on May 21 from a baseball game in which the theme was transformed into a fight song.

The second was a spirited keyboard performance posted on May 23 by Myujin.

And finally, the Waseda University Glee Club had their own go at Yamato on May 29, posted by Waseguri2019.

Click on each of those names and enjoy.


Continue to Report 36

One thought on “Space Battleship Yamato 2202 Report 35

  1. Love the articles! I’m a complete noob to the Yamato series so this website has provided great supplementary material for me to digest as I’ve been going along with my rewatch of 2199. I can’t wait to finish the Ark of the Stars movie and continue on to 2202 so I can go back here and read all of the stuff I’ve missed out on.

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