Yamato 2205 Report 1, part 2
June 11: Yamato 2205 Revealed!
The first physical product anyone could get was this flyer, given away free in theaters. If all goes to plan, Chapter 1 TAKE OFF, will arrive in 36 theaters on October 8.
Advance tickets went on sale that same day, and preorders for the standard-edition Blu-ray were opened up online. It is scheduled for release November 26, and the preorder deadline within Japan is August 19. There will also be a limited edition theater version, and if you act RIGHT NOW you can reserve one through CD Japan’s proxy service. Click here to make it happen. (And in case it’s not clear yet, do not expect it to be subtitled.)
The most substantial information available on that day was to be found on the official website. Let’s dive right in, shall we?
Space Battleship Yamato 2205: The New Voyage, Chapter 1: TAKE OFF
Premieres October 8, limited-time theatrical screening at 36 theaters nationwide!
Depicted in two chapters, it is based on the TV special Space Battleship Yamato: The New Voyage, which was broadcast in 1979 and garnered high ratings.
Even so, “To live”?
Space Battleship Yamato continues to advance. In order to protect the future of humanity…
After the fierce battle with the Gatlantis Empire, Yamato and Susumu Kodai have returned from a difficult, high-dimensional realm in exchange for a great price. However, a new war awaits them in space.
This film brings together elements since the highly-rated 1979 TV special Space Battleship Yamato, The New Voyage! “Yamato‘s next generation crew” and “interstellar war on a galactic level” are at its core. We’re going to try to rebuild it thoroughly.
With the participation of new crew members such as Tasuke Tokugawa and Ryusuke Domon, and the unexpected boarding of old crew members, the fate of humanity is literally at stake. With Susumu Kodai’s anguish at having to carry the fate of humanity on his shoulders, the depth of the story becomes even more profound.
Tragedy befalls the binary planets Garmillas and Iscandar, igniting a war between the Bolar Federation, the mysterious Black Fleet, and Dessler’s forces. A great space epic unfolds.
This is the beginning of a new voyage in the pursuit of human hope and dignity!
Text by Ryusuke Hikawa (anime & tokusatsu researcher)
Center text: Even so, “To Live”?
Left side: In an age of anxiety and sorrow, Yamato flies again.
To an unimaginable new universe.
About that line: Harutoshi Fukui has a penchant for “soredemo,”
using it to flip a premise. Like, “this is really hard…but even so…”
Coupled with the pale lighting and the contemplative look at the
pistol, the line is like “to be or not to be” crossed with, “you
call this living?” Dessler has reached a point where he questions
whether it’s worth going on living. That’s a lot to pack into
such a short phrase.
MESSAGES
Executive Producer / General Supervisor Shoji Nishizaki
In the new interpretation of Farewell to Yamato, which many fans were enthusiastic about, 2202 is followed by 2205, depicting love and justice. Harutoshi Fukui is a master of delving into the hearts of characters, developing them, and depicting their spiritual growth. I can’t wait to see the previews, and for some reason I find myself a little nervous and excited.
Director Kenji Yasuda
Although I am from a generation that did not experience Yamato in real time, I have decided to participate in this project as a new director. The more I see and learn about the old series and the remake series, the more I feel the depth of Yamato and the passion of its fans.
In this series, I’m trying to capture the essence for the fans, while at the same time there are also some surprises in store. In addition, the activities and growth of the new crew, the generation under Kodai, is also a major pillar of the series. It’s truly a “new voyage,” and you can look forward to new developments and new characters!
Series Composition / Scriptwriter Harutoshi Fukui
Not in this day and age, but precisely because of this day and age, Yamato sets off on a new voyage.
While it seems to follow a similar path to the original story, it is heavier, more painful, and more poignant. This is the result of taking what was depicted up to 2202 and raising the resolution of the story to withstand modern scrutiny. But that’s not the only reason. The characters face a harsh fate, their emotions torn apart by the dichotomy, and individual stories emerge.
We are living in such a time that Yamato‘s current voyage is heavy, and cannot help but overlap our own pain and suffering. Exhilarating fiction is needed to relieve the anxieties of reality, but there is also a need for fiction that objectifies reality, reexamines it, and becomes an edge for living. Based on my conviction that Space Battleship Yamato was originally a pioneer of the latter, I have created a new Yamato that is different from the former.
What awaits us at the end of this journey is an “infinitely expanding universe” that contains the same unknowns, hardships, and possibilities as the reality in which we live.
Animation & Tokusatsu Researcher Ryusuke Hikawa
No regrets!
First of all, I was impressed by the enthusiasm of the staff, who seem hungry. They have inspected and picked up all the elements of the sequels made after Farewell to Yamato and Yamato 2 in 1979. At the same time, without ignoring the new elements that were depicted in 2199 and 2202, I think they are trying to be sincere about the “third work” of the reboots.
Rather than turning away in the face of difficulties, everyone is seeking hope in a vague universe with no foreseeable future, working hand in hand to move forward one step at a time. Each of us should bring what we can to the challenge.
I believe that there is a universal attitude in the “stories” that have been welcomed by people since the new virus caused worldwide damage. I am very happy and proud that the characters and staff of the Space Battleship Yamato series share this attitude.
Three years have passed since the battle against the White Comet Empire.
In order to save the dying Garmillas people, Leader Dessler has been searching for a new home planet. He finds one in the Milky Way Galaxy that meets his requirements. But it is within the territory of a powerful interstellar nation. A territorial dispute erupts in the galaxy, and Earth, which has a security treaty with Garmillas, becomes involved.
The magic of the Time Fault, which gave Earth military and economic superiority, was extinguished in exchange for their lives…
Susumu Kodai, the new captain of the Yamato, is driven by remorse. He and his new crew set out on a training voyage to prepare for the coming emergency. He is unaware that someone is trying to kill him.
Yamato is about to embark on a new journey in a time of unprecedented uncertainty. Along the way, an unimaginable new enemy awaits…
MAIN STAFF
Original Story: Yoshinobu Nishizaki
Executive Producer, General Supervisor: Shoji Nishizaki
Director: Kenji Yasuda
Series composition/Scriptwriter: Harutoshi Fukui
Screenplay: Hideki Oka
Character Design: Nobuteru Yuki
Mechanical Design: Junichiro Tamamori, Yasushi Ishizu, Mika Akitaka
Music: Akira Miyagawa
Sound Director: Tomohiro Yoshida
CG Director: Hiroyuki Goto
Animation Production: Satelight
Distributor in Japan : Shochiku ODS Business Office
Susumu Kodai (Voice: Daisuke Ono), Mori Yuki (Voice: Houko Kuwashima),Shiro Sanada (Voice: Yoshitada Otsuka), Abert Dessler (Voice: Koichi Yamadera), Starsha (Voice: Kikuko Inoue)
New crewmembers: Ryusuke Domon (Voice: Tasuku Hatanaka), Miyako Kyoduka (Voice: Tomo Muranaka), Shigeru Sakamoto (Voice: Kent Ito), Heiji Bando (Voice: Wataru Hatano), Tasuke Tokugawa (Voice: Nobuhiko Okamoto)
Domon, Kyoduka, and Bando are all characters from Yamato III. Sakamoto and Tokugawa were originally introduced in 1979’s The New Voyage.
Top: Yamato, Deusuler III. Bottom: Supply Carrier Asuka [Aska], Combat Aircraft Carrier Hyuga.
June 15: Yamato 2205 teaser trailer
Another thing that made June 11 special: after you watched Age of Yamato on the big screen, you got to see the first teaser trailer for Yamato 2205. Four days later, a shorter version of it appeared on Youtube. It was only 30 seconds, but it gave us a big taste of what is to come. Familiar faces are seen throughout, and we have strong evidence that this will be a merging of The New Voyage with Yamato III. The music is a slow version of the Goruba theme.
See it for yourself here!
Highlights:
Mother Shalbart and her worshippers (probably).
Ryusuke Domon (Yamato III) and Tasuke Tokugawa (New Voyage).
Miyako Kyoduka (Yamato III) and more new crewmembers. We would learn more about the blonde in a few more days.
Melda Dietz and Yabu
Dezarium drill on the surface of Garmillas, Bolar ships in orbit over Iscandar (probably).
June 21: Movie news
On this day, everyone got two reasons to see Age of Yamato again when it was announced that more preview footage from Yamato 2205 would soon be added (details coming up). As if anyone needed more incentive, seven stills from said footage were published online at official sites . See them at full size here and here.
Commander Deda and the battleship Great Pleiades
June 24: Yamato 2205 extended teaser trailer
When the online teaser was released on June 15, it was already known that it was shorter than the one attached to Age of Yamato in theaters. Well on THIS day, we got to see THAT one. It’s just 12 seconds longer, but it gave us a whole bunch of new surprises.
Top row: Akira Yamamoto, Toru Hoshina, Heiji Bando, multi-Analyzers
Middle row: Captain Yamanami, Commander Serizawa, unknown civilians, Ambassador Burrel
Bottom row: Gul Dietz, Ghader Talan, Fomto Berger, Hilde Shulz
See it on Youtube here!
June 24: Yokosuka Sea Anime Carnival announced
Set to commence on July 22 (Covid willing), a trio of outreach committees working for the port city of Yokosuka will hold a three-and-a-half week long Anime Carnival on board the memorial ship Mikasa. Talk shows, displays, live performances, and other events will take place with three anime titles front and center: Hololive, STU48, and Yamato 2205. What exactly that means we’ll find out in our next report. Meanwhile, check out the official websites here and here.
June 24: Model kit news
In May, we got the welcome news that three new 2205 model kits would be on the way from Bandai in the fall. On this day, new photos were released for each of them (more than those shown above).
See them on the Bandai website here: 1/1000 EDF Dreadnought Kai-class Supply Carrier Asuka
Mecha Collection Deusuler III • Mecha Collection Gaiperon-class multi-deck Carrier Balmes
June 25: Promotional Meeting of 2021, Part 3
With Age of Yamato starting its third week in theaters, the production committee came up with a doozy of a bonus to get butts back in seats: an actual preview of Yamato 2205 was tacked on after the movie, showing more than six minutes of footage, up to the opening title.
They also unleashed the third episode in this video series, which brought the gang back for the first extended conversation about 2205. The 25-minute program focused mainly on characters old and new with fresh artwork for each of them. It was Eriko Nakamura’s first exposure to the story, and her enthusiasm spoke for all of us. The biggest moment was the reveal of that blonde character we saw in the trailer: a new gender-swapped Space Cavalry member named Caroline Raiden.
She was added to the official site’s character page on the same day.
Mecha was also reviewed, but the only wholly new factor was a huge door on Yamato‘s flank that is almost certainly meant for the Cosmo Hound. There were also comments from 2205 Director Kenji Yasuda, Daisuke Ono (Kodai), and Koichi Yamadera (Dessler).
See all the designs here
See the video here
Photo posted on Twitter by seki690204
June 29: Yamatalk event
The last big event of an already packed month was the most interesting. It was a Tuesday night screening of Age of Yamato, followed by over nine minutes of footage from 2205 (an extension of the six-minute segment), followed by the first on-stage talk event featuring Director Kenji Yasuda. And a LOT was said. Here’s what was reported afterward…
Yamato 2205: Too much information!
Deda, Great Pleiades, Director Kenji Yasuda, Harutoshi Fukui, Hideki Oka talk event
Published by Mantan Web (see the original article here)
A talk event for Age of Yamato was held at the Shinjuku Piccadilly theater (Shinjuku, Tokyo) on June 29th, featuring Kenji Yasuda, the director of Yamato 2205, The New Voyage, Series Writer Harutoshi Fukui and Scriptwriter Hideki Oka.
In addition to the opening title and the beginning of the 2205 chapter 1, TAKE OFF, the audience was able to see a scene featuring Commander Deda and the battleship Great Pleiades. Mr. Fukui and the others then talked about 2205.
Mr. Fukui praised Mr. Yasuda, saying, “We found the right person for the job.”
Photo posted on Twitter by Planet E Amy
Director Yasuda, who had not seen Yamato in real time, said, “They dared to hire someone who didn’t know about it to create something new. But there were a lot of things I needed to know, so I learned a lot.”
Mr. Fukui said, “We have to choose people who make interesting films. It’s better not to be overly passionate about Yamato. To make up for what was lacking there, I made sure to put in everything I like about Yamato.”
Director Yasuda said that he was conscious of the following when making the film: “This is a short-term battle. The content is packed and dense. We have to do it in a slightly different tempo than before.”
Mr. Fukui said, “I made it so dense that people will want to watch it over and over again. That’s what director Yasuda focused on. I got carried away and wrote a long script, which caused me a lot of trouble.”
Mr. Oka said, “Galman-Garmillas, Earth, Iscandar, Ryusuke Domon’s thoughts on Susumu Kodai…It’s a lot of information.”
Director Yasuda said, “There is a lot of information, but we took our time. There are scenes that respect past works.”
Mr. Oka also commented, “The design of the Dezarium army and Bolar is by Mika Akitaka.”
It was a talk event with a lot of information.
[END OF ARTICLE]
A lot of information, yes. In fact, a lot more than the Mantan Web article recounted. Fortunately for all of us, there were at least two superfans in the audience who live-tweeted the whole thing. What follows is their joint account. Blue text is by aoi2199. Red text is by AnalyzerAU09. Both accounts were written separately, not in conversation with each other; they are combined for comparison.
The approximate time table for the event was as follows:
6:10 Age of Yamato screening
8:10 Mr. Fukui and Mr. Oka take the stage. Yamato 2205, first 9 minutes
8:20 Start of Yamatalk, Director Yasuda takes the stage
8:50 End (about 30 minutes)
Here are details of the Yamatalk…
Mr. Oka and Mr. Fukui took the stage without any musical accompaniment, wearing “Age” T-shirts. It was announced that Age of Yamato would be extended for an extra week in five theaters, and everyone was waiting to see the first 9 minutes of Yamato 2205! I’m not going to describe it, but you can see how Dessler comes to his new standing, and bits and pieces of his relationship with Kodai.
Mr. Fukui seemed thrilled to see all the fans in their seats, saying, “It’s been a long time. I’m glad to see you.”
After their greetings, Mr. Fukui announced some good news: Age of Yamato would be extended for an extra week in five theaters. Then the two of them sat in the front row to watch the first 9 minutes of 2205.
Oka (to Fukui): “When I look at the finished product of 2205, I see a difference in your feeling and stance toward Yamato from when we first met (at the start of 2202).”
Fukui: “I’ll talk about that after we bring in Director Yasuda.”
After this, they spoke a cue: “Which enemies will appear in this movie?” The Goruba theme started, but the curtain didn’t open and no one came out. When it finally did open, Director Kenji Yasuda took the stage, looking embarrassed and hiding his face!
Mr. Fukui and Mr. Oka were wearing “Age” T-shirts, and Director Yasuda was wearing a 2205 T-shirt (apparently made by Mr. Oka). When the other two took off their “Age” shirts, there were 2205 T-shirts underneath. (Laughs) This kind of thing is fun and unique to the stage.
Photo posted on Twitter by Popoki Cat
With the Goruba theme (synth part), Director Yasuda appeared wearing a 2205 T-shirt. Brief introduction. Oka and Fukui peeled off their shirts, and 2205 t-shirts were underneath. Director Yasuda was born in the 70s, so he’s not a member of the original Yamato generation.
Mr. Oka asked Mr. Fukui if his stance was different from six years ago.
“In terms of balance, 2202 was like taking a step backward. Conversely, the director of 2205 is not familiar with Yamato.” It sounded like Kiman coming on board the ship.
Yasuda: “I didn’t think I’d be asked to do Yamato, but when I heard that it was okay for a generation that didn’t know the old Yamato, and that they wanted to bring in a new style, I agreed. In the planning meeting, I called Garmillas “Galamis” and there were a lot of things I had to learn, but I was saved by the fact that there were many people who were willing to give me ten answers for every one question I asked.”
Oka: “It’s hard to create something with people you’ve never met before, and it starts with finding out each other’s strengths.”
Fukui: “I think we found the right person. Talking about stance, when I was working on 2202, I was surrounded by people who loved Yamato. I was more on the side of tightening the reins. If I left it alone, it would have been full of old-school fans. It was my job to adapt it to the modern world.”
Photo posted on Twitter by Aoi2199
“After reflecting on that, I thought that the next step should be to get someone who can make great stories and interesting movies, not someone who can make a great Yamato. To do that, I wanted someone who was not overly attached to Yamato. But that would be too lacking in the Yamato component. So in 2205, I spared no effort to include what I like about Yamato.”
“In any case, for me, real time Yamato started when I was around ten years old. But my parents made me go to bed early the night The New Voyage aired, because summer school started the next day, so I didn’t watch it all the way through. So when I went to see Be Forever the following year, I didn’t know what to expect.”
Mr. Fukui was in the real time generation for the broadcast of The New Voyage in 1979, but a tragedy occurred: it was the day before summer school, and his parents forced him to go to bed early (probably at 8pm). The next year, he saw Be Forever Yamato without knowing who Sasha was.
It was previously announced that there would be two parts for 2205, one for the first chapter and one for the second, but this was the first time we heard that there would be four episodes in each part.
Director Yasuda drew the storyboards for all the episodes. He thought about asking someone else to do it, but considering the time and effort it would take to explain, it was faster to do it himself. It was also better in terms of tempo and consistency. But still, that’s amazing!
A screen showing Kenji Yasuda’s major credits. Photo posted on Twitter by Mat Hama
I think the reason Mr. Yasuda was hired was because he wanted to bring in new sensibilities for people who are not familiar with Yamato. I think that’s what he meant. I, too, am a Yamato fan. I’m looking forward to seeing how Yamato will be portrayed by a director who is not a “Yamato lover” from back then!
I got the impression that they emphasized the importance of a fast tempo in a modern way. However, the director is also trying to make “scenes where you can hear the music well.” This is where the director’s skill comes in.
Yasuda: “The script for 2205 is so dense that it’s hard to fit everything in.”
Fukui: “When I first talked to director Yasuda, he said, ‘Please increase the text from 2202.’ I realized we found the right person for the job. Actually, 2202 was made with Farewell and Yamato 2 in mind, so it was made to be shown gradually. Their tempo was too slow for a 21st century anime. In order to meet the needs of modern audiences, the content needs to be richer and the tempo needs to be faster. Director Yasuda pointed this out to me before I could say it.”
Yasuda: “But I did add some music here and there.”
Fukui: “It’s traditional for Yamato to put music on top of everything. I wondered if that and the speed of the tempo would go well together, but they did.”
Oka: “At first, Fukui-san said he was going to do 6 episodes of 3+3, but I told him it was impossible, so he made it 4+4. Director Yasuda did all the storyboarding, and he worked very fast. It was great that one director was able to manage an 8-episode battle.”
After we’d already seen the first 9 minutes, Director Yasuda showed a “scene from the middle,” another minute of footage he brought along. He and Mr. Fukui were seated in the front row while Mr. Oka was seated below the stage. It was an interesting scene that raised my expectations.
Next, we got a present from Director Yasuda: a one-minute clip from another part of 2205. I won’t say what it was about, but please look forward to it.
(The Mantan Web article revealed that this extra minute involved Commander Deda and Great Pleiades.)
Photo posted on Twitter by Ulead Q
Junichiro Tamamori, Yasushi Ishizu, and Mika Akitaka make for a very interesting mecha design team. Tamamori is in charge of the Earth side and Ishizu is in charge of the Garmillas side. This was the first time we were told that Mr. Akitaka will be in charge of the new enemy, the Dezarium Army (a proper name, like Gatlantis).
For mecha design, Earth = Mr. Tamamori, Garmillas = Mr. Ishizu, and the Bolar & Dezarium army (first appearance of the name) is by Mika Akitaka. Akitaka loves Bolar. Also, the reason Domon has such a strong emotional look in his eyes will remain a secret until October.
As for the production status, the first chapter is taking shape and the second is underway. Thank you to the director who took time out of his busy production schedule to come and talk with us! After they left the stage, a new recording of New Cosmo Tiger was playing! I was able to listen to it until the end.
New Cosmo Tiger (not the “Wandaba” version) played during closing announcements and they all left the stage.
Bonus: Fan art, late June 2021
To close out Report 1, here is a collection of the first fan art found on Twitter after the new character designs were released. They were posted by the prolific Yumata Hazuki, and they’re certain not to be the last.
I always loved the Lexington Class Battleship-Carrier in the old series. I liked the concept of a hybrid battleship/carrier and I remember the back story in the Star Blazers gaming system on how it was rushed into production. I am glad to see it back as the Hyuga Class Carrier.
Funny, I know the story behind the name of it, the Hyuga and it’s sister ship Ise, were converted Ise class battleships to a battleship-carriers to meet the need of carriers due to losses after the Battle of Midway.
Only when I saw the new crew members did I realize, most of the OG crew of Yamato really are gone… no more Analyzer and Tokugawa.
They keep saying it’s been 3 years since the war with Gatlantis… and that alone shows us why they keep screwing up in terms of proper timeline continuity. Yamato 2202, dispite the title, took place in the first half of 2203 with episode 26 jumping to the end of 2203 (the final scene takes place on December 31st). Yamato 2205 starts in October 2205. So… hardly 3 years, not even 2.