March 2021 was a month of milestones and surprises. Age of Yamato‘s new release date was announced, the Hachette Yamato gave way to the Hachette Andromeda and we even got the first 2205 teaser. Other news nuggets flew in from multiple directions to give us a nice uptick in activity.
First, a couple makeup items from earlier in the year:
January 18: Coincheck commercial
Yamato meets Bitcoin. It was bound to happen. Coincheck is a cryptocurrency manager that went into the weeds January 2018 and re-energized themselves with a new ad campaign three years later. The expressed their relaunch by combining two iconic elements in one 15-second TV commercial: the Yamato theme and Saturn V footage. Let’s wish them luck. Or whatever.
See the commercial on Youtube here.
Left: cover art by “Umegrafix.” Right: unused press sheet image for Yamato 2205.
February 25: Star Blazers/Yamato Fan Club magazine Vol. 10
This 48-page issue arrived at the Cosmo DNA nerve center after last month’s report was published, so here’s a followup. The cover image fronted for a big making-of retrospective on Aquarius Algorithm, which concluded in Vol. 9. On March 12, it was announced that the story would be revised and collected into a book, publication date TBD.
The rest of the articles in the magazine included a roundup of staff interviews for Age of Yamato (read the Kia Asamiya interview here; read the others here), a mecha design collection for Star Blazers Lambda, and the second in a series of personal essays by Shoji Nishizaki.
March 1: White Day gift set
White Day is unique to Japan, a followup to Valentine’s Day in which reciprocal gifts are given on March 14. Yamato Crew marked the occasion by following up its Yuki-themed Valentine set with a Kodai-themed White Day set. It consisted of a clear file, postcard, and bandana.
March 1: Showa Anime Card Chronicle
The Showa Era lives on! Back in the mid 70s, when on-demand viewing was inconceivable and books were fleeting, kids had few ways to preserve images from their favorite anime and tokusatsu programs. One of them was to collect mini-cards, their version of American bubblegum cards, and you have to imagine only a lucky few got to catch ’em all. For the rest, this new book from Tatsumi Publishing fills in the gaps.
It’s a thick 160-page full color catalog of over 2,700 mini-cards from 18 different 1970s anime shows, with Space Battleship Yamato represented along with Mazinger Z, Gatchaman, Getter Robo, Grendizer, and others. Order your copy from Amazon.co.jp here, along with its tokusatsu companion volume if that happens to be your jam.
March 3: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model Vol. 110
At long last, 110 weeks after launch, the unprecedented 1/350 Yamato from Hachette finally came in for a landing with its final volume. Predictably, it consisted of an impressively large (6″ x 8″) RC box that requires its own assembly and is powered by four AAAs.
See Hachette’s instruction video here
See an unboxing video here
See a modeler’s blog here
Proud builders posted their photos and videos online, demonstrating everything their new lifelong roommate could do. See one such video here and another one here.
Photo posted on Twitter by Hiro
The elite subscribers who had paid a little extra each week got a MASSIVE box in the mail at almost the same time…
Photo posted on Twitter by Mizoma 6
…containing the large acrylic display case to keep out dust. Odds of those cases getting filled with smaller models and becoming a makeshift tabletop are pretty close to 100%.
Still others shared images of what it looks like to be confronted with all 110 volumes at once. Twitter user M Nisi3 was able to buy all of them in one shot, describing it as “super expensive.” (Over $3,500!) In case you’re wondering, all 110 volumes currently reside here in the Cosmo DNA nerve center, awaiting assembly. Watch for a series of articles this year that will chronicle the process.
March 3: Judge John Hodgman Episode 507
The third time was indeed the charm. Click here to listen with your own earholes as writer/actor/humorist John Hodgman FINALLY makes good on his promise to sing the Star Blazers theme. (Jump to the 1-hour, 7-minute mark if you just can’t wait.)
March 7: Edakio on Twitter
Yamato 2202 animation artist Kio “Edakio” Edamatsu had a lot to say on Twitter this month. So much, in fact, that it’s been split off onto its own page here. Click on it now and come on back when you’re done. It’s worth it.
March 7: Yamato 2202 Episode 13 on Tokyo MX
March’s first “curated” episode appeared in its weekly Sunday night timeslot on Tokyo MX. This time, everyone got to relive the dramatic Telezart blockade-breaking operation.
Photo posted on Twitter by Hanamaru916
March 10: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model Vol. 111
And just like that, a new age began. The first in the 60-volume 1/350 Andromeda series delivered the tip of the iceberg, a surprisingly heavy nose piece that already gets its own fiber optics. 59 weeks to go!
See Hachette’s instruction video here
See an unboxing video here
See a modeler’s blog here
March 12: Concert announced
Another sign of normal life on the horizon! Whereas 2020 brought us a disheartening patter of cancellations and scaled-down performances, we now have a full-on Yamato concert coming at us! Unless more COVID crap gets in the way, maestro Akira Miyagawa will take the stage with the Osaka Shion Wind Orchestra June 27 for a program called Yamato & Villains!
The title describes the setlist on the flyer, which alternates between Yamato themes and villain themes, up to and including at least one from The New Voyage. Let’s hope this gets onto a CD.
March 12: Star Blazers Lambda Chapter 11
In this chapter of the Space Battleship Next manga, everyone on Vimana station recovers from the battle and loss from the last chapter, and it just happens to be Halloween. As the Topness pilots enjoy a rare moment of fun, others dig deeper into the mystery of how Seireness and Earth people are related. Meanwhile, the secret organization Nirvana takes a step forward with their as-yet-unrevealed plan for domination.
See the chapter with description here.
We also got notice this month that the first two volumes of collected manga will be published in paperback on April 26 (promo art above right).
March 14: Yamato 2202 Episode 21 on Tokyo MX
This episode – the stunning rescue of Yamato from the Comet Empire – was broadcast just ONE DAY before our Episode 21 commentary was published here. COINCIDENCE???
March 15: Game collaboration
Yamato has crossed over with many other mobile games at this point, but there’s always room for another one. This time it’s Celestial Craft Fleet, a product of KLab Games that puts seafaring ships in flight. Since Yamato pretty much cemented that subgenre into reality, this game could be a grandchild. From March 15-29, Yamato characters were added to the playable lineup. You couldn’t do much with this information if your phone didn’t run on a Japanese OS, but some terrific new character art was produced for the promo campaign. See a collected gallery here.
Visit the Craft Fleet website here and Twitter page here.
March 15: Age of Yamato premiere announced
Three months after the original premiere date, the clock was finally restarted. The new arrival for Age of Yamato is now set for June 11 with the general-release Blu-ray to follow August 27.
See the renewed/updated trailer here.
Word traveled quickly online as advance ticket sales reopened the next day. Cats & Dogs Café, where Writer Harutoshi Fukui is a frequent visitor, Tweeted an updated photo of his signature on their Age of Yamato window poster, thanking everyone for their patience.
Photos posted on Twitter by Hanamaru916
March 17: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model Vol. 112
The second Andromeda volume contained unmistakable parts for one of the ship’s signature Wave-Motion Guns, ready for wiring.
See Hachette’s instruction video here
See an unboxing video here
See a modeler’s blog here
March 21: Yamato 2202 Episode 24 on Tokyo MX
Yamato‘s head-on clash with the Comet Empire always delivers the most traumatic moments of the series, whether made in 1978, 1979, or 2017. No doubt the TV audience on March 21 was just as awestruck as previous generations.
March 24: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model Vol. 113
…and then the next one showed up. Just to give you some sense of scale, if you put both gun ports side by side, they are exactly the size of a pair of eyeglasses.
See Hachette’s instruction video here
See an unboxing video here
See a modeler’s blog here
March 25: Star Blazers documentary
Toy Galaxy surprised all of anime fandom when they launched a documentary on the history of Yamato and Star Blazers. Even more surprising was the careful research and accuracy of the presentation, which included an hat-tip to this very website.
This tightly-scripted 20-minute presentation contained only one flub; they credited Group TAC with development of the original series when in fact they only collaborated with Yoshinobu Nishizaki on his attempted 2004 reboot. One error in a topic this complex is certainly allowable.
See it on Youtube here.
March 26: Yamato 2205 teaser
And then we got ANOTHER nice surprise – the first teaser video for Yamato 2205! Most of it consists of on-camera comments from director Kenji Yasuda, but it ends with a very recognizable spacecraft. Yasuda’s comments are as follows:
While this is a remake of A New Voyage, there are some things like the appearance of Yamato characters from other titles that did not appear in the previous film. There are a number of things that are the pillars of the story, and I think we’ve added a lot of new surprises while incorporating the highlights of the old movie version, so please look forward to it.
See it on Youtube here.
March 26: Blu-ray box sets
As promised, new Blu-ray boxes for both 2199 and 2202 arrived on this day. Unlike the previous editions, these follow the seven-chapter theatrical format with two and four episodes stripped together exactly as they were seen in the cinema. There were animation fixes on 2199 that took place between the theatrical and Blu-ray releases, but there is no indication that the original unmodified footage is preserved here.
Of course, the first thing that strikes you is the new slipcase art, illustrations of the ships by Mecha Designer Junichiro Tamamori. Full versions were bundled with the sets on A4-size art cards:
The other significant bonus items were cards that gave us our first look at the redesigned Kodai and Yuki for 2205 by Nobuteru Yuuki:
Click here to see a commercial for these sets.
Order the 2199 box from Amazon.co.jp here or CD Japan here.
Order the 2202 box from Amazon.co.jp here or CD Japan here.
Note that cheaper sets without the art cards are also available from both sources.
March 26: Age of Yamato Twitter campaign
Starting on this day, the Yamato 2202 website offered fans a chance to express their creativity and help promote the upcoming film at the same time. This black and white “coloring book” image was offered for download (from this web page), and anyone who uploaded a custom-colored version on Twitter with the hashtag #YamatoCheeringColoringBook would be automatically entered in a contest. Five winners would get a movie poster signed by the cast and crew.
The contest continued through April 25. Here are a few entries spotted in time for this report. Click on the artist’s name to visit their Twitter page.
See all the entries on Twitter here.
March 28: Yamato 2202 Episode 25 on Tokyo MX
The stunning Episode 25 was the last selection in the Sunday night series. Anyone who hadn’t seen 2202 before this would have the unique experience of ending the story here; a strong parallel to those who saw Farewell to Yamato in 1978.
March 28: Yamaket 17
This beloved one-day mini-con returned with the bi-annual fan event Torilozi. Friend of the website Gwyn Campbell was there and had this to say about it on Facebook:
While artist attendance/output was down, it was the closest to a normal fan event we’ve had for over a year. Apart from fanzines and fanart, there were some costumes on display, a small exhibit of the Yamato radio dramas from over the years (with some playing for people to enjoy) and a really interesting display of four entire binders of notes and designs for all the monitor graphics and displays (cockpits, HQ, Planning room, bridge read outs, etc) used in 2202. Everything on every screen showed in the series had an actual meaning behind it, making the binders a fascinating read.
I spent more than I intended (as is always the way) on a bunch of fanzines and even got two unique pencil sketches from a newer fan artist which were pretty cool. Everyone appears to be hyped for the upcoming 2202 movie and, more importantly, 2205 (which already has fan art!) later in the year.
Click here for a photo gallery from Yamaket 17.
March 31: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model Vol. 114
The most distinctive part of Andromeda took another step as the Wave-Motion Gun cowlings appeared in this volume. Hachette took a slightly different approach with their 1/350 Yamato, alternating between the bow and the bridge tower in the early days before delivering parts that steadily went from front to back. With 56 volumes to go, it will only take Andromeda half the time to get there.
See Hachette’s instruction video here
See an unboxing video here
Also spotted in March
Fan art
Thanks to the discovery of some new hashtags, the amount of fan art found on Twitter took a healthy jump. See all the latest masterpieces in a character gallery here and a mecha gallery here.
Fan models
March was another crazy month where the models poured out like a waterfall. See the galleries here: Characters/Yamato/Andromeda | UNCF/EDF mods | Fighters/Others
Music break
Singer Aki Misato was kind enough to post a gift for all of us on her Youtube channel: a studio performance of Those Who Know the Beautiful Earth (Yamato 2199 Chapter 2’s end title), and it’s exactly the 5-minute break you need today. Click here to take it.
Matsumoto Gallery Zero
Another gift came from Twitter user Hikari Okei, who got us this nice photo of the famous Yamato Cut Model at Leiji Matsumoto’s Gallery Zero in Kure, Japan – just a short walk from the Battleship Yamato Museum (built on the original ship’s construction site).
The photo at left was also taken inside Gallery Zero, and the photo at right came from a neighborhood lunch counter. Propped up in the foreground is a collectible card showing one of Kure City’s customized manhole covers.
Propspotting
Here’s a fun one: Twitter user Sakaman0512 found an Easter egg in the 1980 tokustatsu film Gamera, Super Monster. The character in the photo is firing a 1979 Yamato Cosmogun (by Nomura Toys) modified with a flashlight reflector. Exactly what it takes when you’re up against a kaiju.
Matsumoto Symbol Road renewal
Last month we shared some photos of the beautifully reconditioned statuary on the Matsumoto Symbol Road in Tsuruga, Japan. This month we get to see some more, courtesy of Twitter users darkages71, Shinkoro4444, and Kawato8.
See photo galleries of all the statues in our 2009 Yamatour travelogue here.
First day of work
It’s the policy of this website to keep all real-world politics at bay, but this one makes it under the wire. That’s newly-minted US Attorney General Merrick Garland on March 11, arriving to a round of applause on his first day in office, and…come on. You don’t suppose… It’s not impossible…
So is it pretty certain at this point that 2205 is just going to be a remake of the original New Voyage movie and not a new series? No parts of Be Forever attached that we know of?
Thanks again for an amazing website.
All we know for sure is that it will have elements of The New Voyage and Series 3. They have not yet been explicit about the format, but they are still crediting Harutoshi Fukui as “series writer.” My theory is that it will be a mashup of old and new. The real promo campaign should launch when Age of Yamato arrives on June 11, so we should learn a lot more then.
Well it isn’t the first time the Yamato remake series has introduced characters or ships earlier than their original counterparts. Especially after the early introduction of Yamazaki and Frakken in 2199. Nevertheless, I sincerely hope that 2205 would be a fully-fledged series so it can give more time and development to the characters of Ryusuke Domon and Sasha Kodai of Iscandar. A movie just wouldn’t work with a story that is as big as The New Voyage which might offer little time spent on new characters.
Hopefully the storytelling of this series would be a return back to the 2199 style but since Harutoshi Fukui is still the main writer, I have my doubts whether he would do justice to the material… Don’t get me wrong, he’s not a bad storyteller, far from one actually, but his writing and presentation style for some of the themes of 2202 kinda alienated half of the fanbase. Hopefully he did took some feedback into consideration in making 2205.
Yamato 2205, as the title suggests, will be a remake of the new voyage.
In Japan, it will be shown in theaters during 2021.
We don’t know yet if it will be a series of chapters like Yamato 2199 and Yamato 2202.
We’re getting ever closer to “Space Battleship Yamato 2205: Report 1”.
Also, if 2205 is a series: do you think there will be a new intro with new lyrics, lyrics from the cut 2 verses, or will it use old lyrics from 2202 or 2199? Its something that’s more speculation than anything else but its still an interesting thought none the less.
I really hope it’s a series, while I enjoyed 2202, There were basically 3 things I had issues with. Dessler, The Wave Motion Gun Spam, and Yamamoto. (Won’t post spoilers)
What, not the exploding space zombies? J/K.
I had some issues with those but what I really, really hated was the EDF carriers….