Space Battleship Yamato 2202 Report 49

July 2020 held the line in terms of Yamato activity in Japan, about the same going back to spring. Quarantined fans had plenty of output to share online, the Hachette model and Star Blazers Lambda continued, and unexpected gems turned up as they always do. Here’s how it unspooled as COVID summer lumbered on…

June leftovers: Yamato Crew products

This one slipped under the radar last month, but it’s never too late. A fresh collection of new products popped up in the Yamato Crew online store in late Jane: a trio of hand towels…

…a pair of umbrellas, and a set of four patches, all of which made heavy use of Star Blazers branding.

We’ve said it before, but it always bears repeating: Yamato Crew only ships to Japanese addresses. So you’ll need a friend in Japan to order from them.


Photos posted on Twitter by Peneloperx104 and Take Channel 36

July 1: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model Vol. 75

Construction of the third bridge continued as the month of July began. This volume from Hachette contained parts needed to build the boarding ramp, all the way down to its TEEEENY TIIIINY hand rails. The package also contained support rails to strengthen the stand for what is becoming a very heavy model.


Photo posted on Twitter by Haru0425

See Hachette’s instruction video here

See an unboxing video here

See a modeler’s blog here

July 4: Michio Murakawa on Instagram

It’s been a good long time since we revisited the Yamato 2199 manga. Not the English-language Star Blazers 2199 edition (currently suspended due to pandemic slowdowns), but the original published in Japan (suspended for undisclosed reasons). But it floated to the surface on July 4 when artist Michio Murakawa posted this page on Instagram saying, “This illustration is from the color portion of Chapter 46. It will be at the beginning of Volume 9.”

Those who have been keeping track know that the Japanese volumes only go up to 8, concluding with Chapter 45. Three more chapters were published online before the series stopped in June 2016, in the midst of anime episode 17. There can’t be a Volume 9 until more chapters are created to fill it up, so…does this mean more chapters are on the way?

Murakawa didn’t elaborate, but he also didn’t shoot down any of the comments on his post that looked forward to the manga resuming. Either way, it’s the first time since 2016 that Murakawa has had anything to say about the 2199 manga and it belongs on the map for future reference.

July 4: Radio news

If you were unlucky enough to miss Radio Suite Yamato: The New Voyage when it was streamed in May by internet station Clover Radio, they announced an opportunity to hear a 1-hour “extra edition” in August, both on the 12th and the 19th. If you’re reading this before the 19th, there is still hope for you! scan the Cosmo DNA Facebook page for details on how to tune in!

July 7: Susumu Kodai’s birthday

Anime fans do love to mark the birthdays of their favorite characters. A batch of birthday fan art appeared online today to mark the ever-ageless Susumu Kodai (you’ll find it in this month’s character art gallery).

July 7: Akiba Souken character popularity contest

Kodai’s birthday present was well-timed: in a Yamato character popularity contest conducted by Akiba Souken, he took the number one position, ahead of even Yuki Mori. The contest ran for a full month and the rankings changed more than once, but when the dust settled and the votes were counted, 50 characters found their spots – some of which were quite unexpected.

See the final tally here.

Immediately after this contest concluded, a mecha popularity contest took its place with a voting deadline of August 15. See that tally here and look for the English version in our next report.


Photo above right posted on Twitter by Take Channel 36

July 8: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model Vol. 76

All the parts in this volume were internal: wires, bolts, and another motor to make the interior an even more confusing jumble than it already is.

See Hachette’s instruction video here

See an unboxing video here

See a modeler’s blog here

July 10: Star Blazers Lambda manga, Chapter 3

The new chapter of Space Battleship Yamato NEXT was published at WebNewType for free. Chapter 3 is titled Catcher in the Jupiter.

The day after their first battle with the invading Seireness, the members of Topness recover on the space station Vaimana and we learn more about who they are as they mix it up with each other. Meanwhile, a shocking discovery is made after Seireness remnants are analyzed.

See the complete chapter with description here.


Photos posted on Twitter by Hachi Kuji and CorgiStar52

July 15: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model Vol. 77

Construction of the third bridge came to a finish this week when builders were given the LED lighting package and the means to test it out.

See Hachette’s instruction video here

See an unboxing video here

See a modeler’s blog here


Photo at right posted on Twitter by Take Channel 36

July 22: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model Vol. 78

The parts in this volume assembled into what seems like abstract art until you notice that the configuration of the shafts lines up exactly with the pulse laser batteries. Thus, we’re returning to the top of the midsection.

See Hachette’s instruction video here

See an unboxing video here

See a modeler’s blog here

July 23: Game news

We got another reminder that there’s a Yamato 2202 mobile game called A Distant Journey, which is off the radar most of the time (though it was soon to become the ONLY 2202 mobile game). It’s a card-style game, so it doesn’t have the action component of Hero’s Record, but it does have a lot of custom artwork that never fails to impress.

The reason it came to the surface in July was the announcement of a crossover with another game called Vivid Army. Managed by CTW Co., it operates on a game service platform called G123 that allows players to participate without downloads or registration. Little information was given about how the two games will mesh, other than to indicate the Comet Empire as the boss. Because of course.

Click here to see larger versions of the character art shown above.


Photo above right posted on Twitter by Take Channel 36

July 29: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model Vol. 79

The final volume of the month made good on the previous one by providing all the fiddly bits for the pulse laser turrets. Their intricate complexity have always made them a particular challenge in regular model kits. They don’t exactly look like a breeze at this large scale, but they certainly look easier to handle.

See Hachette’s instruction video here

See an unboxing video here

See a modeler’s blog here

July 31: Farewell, Hero’s Record

This was the final day for the Hero’s Record mobile game, and fans marked the occasion by sharing as much of the slick character art they could find for eternal preservation. See an absolutely enormous final gallery here.


Also spotted in July

Yamato 2199 French box set

The Dybex company has released what must be the most comprehensive version of Yamato 2199, even moreso than the Japanese edition. What makes it special is a set of five art books adding up to a very substantial 344 pages. The following description comes from Cosmo DNA contributor Luis Cotovio:

This is worth every cent, even if it is stuff we’ve already got in one form or another. Remember how so many of the images in the Complete Works books were so tiny we could hardly make out any detail in them? Quite a good number of them are used here, each one as a full-page image with perfectly smooth lines. This increase in size makes them feel like new material, and you can actually appreciate what’s in the image.

These books give us quite a lot of art and info. Of course they don’t go as far as Complete Works in terms of content, but they go as far as featuring even secondary characters. The book dedicated to the Solar System has full page images of each of the planets visited in the first half of the series, minus Balan and Garmillas, which I assume will be featured in the 2nd set. They used the actual photo of Pluto instead of the show’s rendering, and we also get the painted Magellanic Cloud next to a photo of the real thing.

In usual Dybex fashion, the series is presented in both DVD and Blu-Ray in a digipack featuring clean art from the original covers of volumes 1, 2 and 4. All this is packed inside a sturdy box that stores all content securely.

Order the set here (inside the EU) or here (outside the EU).

See an unboxing video here and a photo gallery of the book highlights here.

Fan art

Kodai’s birthday energized another month of fan art in the character category, and there was plenty to see on the mecha side too. See the character gallery here and the mecha gallery here.

Fan models

Models poured out of Japanese workshops in another non-stop flood, enough to require two photo galleries of old, new, modded, and scratch-built creations. See the first here and the second here.

Yamato Guitar

Facebook user Tony Carducci is a double threat: O.G. Star Blazers fan and professional guitar builder. He shared this amazing creation online, which ought to belt out a mean Yamato theme in the right hands.

TV comedy sketch

Okan & Ma-kun is a comedy series about a fussy Japanese mother (Okan) and her hapless son (Ma-kun), performed by comedy duo named Downtown. In this vintage sketch titled “Nap,” Ma-kun dreams himself into the role of Kodai and his mother tags along. See it on Youtube here.


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