From Hobby Japan No. 633, published January 2022: modelers recreate mecha and scenes from Yamato 2205, and Harutoshi Fukui talks about what’s coming in Chapter 2 – and comments for the first time on what’s to come a thousand years later!
Yamato 2205, The New Voyage Chapter 2, Starsha
Pre-release interview with Harutoshi Fukui, series composition/writer
“I never wanted to be an adult.” Please come to the theater and see the meaning of these words.
A new Yamato, a new crew, and the fate of Garmillas. Finally, the second chapter of Space Battleship Yamato, The New Voyage will premiere on February 4. In addition, the production of a new film beyond that has been announced. We talked about this work, which marks the start of a new journey for the remake series, with writer Harutoshi Fukui.
Interview by Koji Shimada (Tarkus)
Interviewer: In making Yamato 2205, in what way did you plan to reincarnate the original New Voyage?
Fukui: Rather than The New Voyage, I thought of it as a sequel to Yamato 2202. At the end of that story, Susumu Kodai was given life again, as if he was carrying the entire fate of Earth. The harshness with which he’ll have to live in the future is a story of tremendous scale, but it’s the same kind of suffocation and anguish we feel every day in this age. I thought that if I could focus on that, I would be able to create a story that people could sympathize with. I wondered what would happen to Kodai after he came back to Earth.
Earth is like Japan right after breaking the isolation. Moreover, it is an extremely small country (from the perspective of space). With that in mind, I was thinking about how I could use the original story of The New Voyage as part of a bigger flow. That’s how it all started.
Interviewer: Was there a possibility that the story would be different from The New Voyage?
Fukui: First of all, the biggest event was the disappearance of the planet Gamilas. There was a suggestion that we shouldn’t do that, because it would be a huge problem if we adapted it to the world of the remake series, but we decided to go ahead with it. The planet that the Dessler clan had worked so hard to protect and save would be easily destroyed. It’s such an atrocious development that I’d say the dramaturgy has collapsed under its own weight.
But this is a real thing now, isn’t it? We’re living in an age where once-in-a-century or once-in-a-thousand-year disasters like the Corona pandemic come around every day. I put aside for a moment the fact that it would be very difficult to depict such a thing. I made up my mind to do it. It felt like the outline had already been written. We basically decided to do The New Voyage event.
Interviewer: However, between the original work and the remake series, the situation surrounding the Garmillans is very different, isn’t it?
Fukui: In the original work, their number was dwindling, but in the remake series, there are still hundreds of millions left. Another thing I wanted to depict was Iscandar, which they worship. Since 2199, Garmillas has been properly depicted as a legitimate culture. Why do they think of Iscandar as an unconditionally sacred planet? What is the reason for this? In the original story, it was portrayed as a fantasy, but this time, I’m pursuing it in the second chapter. With the help of Yuka Minagawa and the staff, I came up with a very shocking story.
Interviewer: Dessler’s background was fleshed out in 2202. Were you conscious of 2205 at the time?
Fukui: No matter how small a role is, as long as I’m writing it, I have to think of it as a human being. I can’t just depict atmosphere. In addition, the path of the original story is fixed to some extent. What I struggled to depict was Dessler’s past. At that point, I hadn’t thought about the future (2205) at all. I had a vague idea that he would never be completely happy, and that his destiny was to live with this fate. If you put him in the remake storyline, a lot of outrageous things must happen to him. (Laughs)
Interviewer: On the Yamato side, the new crew member Domon has also become an essential part of the story.
Fukui: In the real world, young people are against adults. They feel like, “What have they done to the world?” In the first chapter, Domon, a young man like that, penetrates into the adult world and says, “What’s wrong with you? Why aren’t you doing anything?” In the second chapter, Domon is finally incorporated onto the First Bridge, a place where there are only adults. Will he be able to say that what sees is wrong, or will he say that it can’t be helped and adapt to it? I think that will be a big highlight of the second chapter.
Interviewer: In the first chapter, Susumu Kodai seemed to be still getting used to the position of the captain.
Fukui: As Susumu Kodai, he says, “I’m an experienced captain,” but he hasn’t yet been exposed to the choices a captain must make.
Interviewer: Is he not like Captain Okita or Captain Hijikata?
Fukui: Okita and Hijikata, Yamato‘s previous captains were “absolutely reliable adults.” How do we understand them, and inherit their qualities without mistakes? This was the basis of the original Space Battleship Yamato. However, today we live in a world where that is no longer the case at all. If we listen to what our predecessors said, we will lose our way.
When we finally become the hard-staring generation like Kodai, we’ll understand how they feel. Have we done everything that we really need to do as adults? I have to admit that we haven’t. While feeling this way, we still have to make decisions every day. You have to decide which way to go. I think that image of a person fits well with the current times.
Interviewer: In terms of timeliness, Yuki’s activities are also remarkable.
Fukui: In this case, the motif for Yuki is a double-income family. Since we set sail, she has never referred to Kodai as “Kodai-kun” because it’s not always appropriate when the two of them are together. The truth is that Yuki was rescued along with Kodai. She feels many things, but she’s made up her mind not to worry about it and instead provide him with a way to vent. I think women are better at organizing their feelings in this way.
Interviewer: Which came first, the idea of making Yuki a captain or the idea of the Yamato fleet?
Fukui: The merchandise-type idea of a fleet came first, I guess. However, they were almost simultaneous. When I was thinking about who I wanted to be the captains of the Yamato fleet, I basically thought Yuki and Sanada would be the only ones. These two, Kodai’s biggest protectors, have always been close at hand. So I decided to keep them away from each other physically.
Interviewer: Do you feel that the role of the supply carrier Asuka overlaps with the character of Yuki?
Fukui: At first, I didn’t have the idea of having two different ships. I was thinking that if we had the same shape and just changed the color, we could easily create model kits. I was planning to do that. But then Junichiro Tamamori suggested that we should separate the ship types. So the shape of the Asuka and Hyuga changed. (Laughs)
Interviewer: Please tell us about your thoughts on the catch phrase, “I never wanted to be an adult.”
Fukui: This may sound backward, but this is the thought of both Kodai and Dessler. How did they come to feel this way? I think that the thought “I have to grow up…” might actually be the greatest act of compassion. Please come to the theater and see what I mean.
Interviewer: Now that you’ve finished 2205, did you notice any difference in your consciousness from your previous work 2202?
Fukui: At the time of 2202, I wasn’t thinking at all about what would come next. When I first heard that there was going to be a sequel, I thought about what would happen to Kodai. I instantly realized what a horrible situation I had left him in. In the last episode of 2202, that moment ended with a sense of euphoria. But when I thought about it, I realized nothing good is going to happen to Susumu Kodai. (Laughs) In this sense, I created 2205 with “the future” in mind.
By the time this magazine comes out, the next work will have been announced, so I’ll just say it outright; the next one will be Be Forever. However, the title is Yamato Be Forever REBEL 3199. As for the meaning of this number, which is suddenly 1000 years in the future, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a while to find out. The word REBEL is a combination of rebel, meaning “resist” and level, meaning “a stage.” I’m sure you can guess what this title means, and I don’t think it will betray either of them. (Laughs) Please see 2205 for a hint of the story that follows.
Interviewer: Finally, please give us a fan message.
Fukui: Yamato is built on the values of the Showa era, but it is easy to depict the present day. There is nothing certain to be inherited from our predecessors. We don’t know where to go. But the rugged shape of the battleship is still there. The details have been updated in a modern way, but at the root of it all, the spirit of the past has been maintained. It’s just a matter of depicting that ambivalent part.
I feel that I can create as many stories as I want now. If you’re trying to portray the people of the time period properly, the thing that really stands out is sadness. This remake series is not as bright as the old Yamato series. There is one person holding a flashlight, and as long as that person has the light, he can still see the future. That’s probably the extent of the hope. It doesn’t really solve anything.
But in the end, it seems that human beings are not so bad. That’s what life is like. That’s what Space Battleship Yamato is about. That’s the difference between it and a Mobile Suit. (Laughs) In fact, the first chapter was full of sad events, but what will happen with them? I’d like you to check out the second chapter and see for yourself.
Recorded in Akasaka, December 2021
MODELING PAGES
Two days after this issue of Hobby Japan was published on January 25, the lead photo was posted on Hobby Japan Web with the following description:
Yamato 2205 Scratch Sample
Semi-scratch build of the Combat Aircraft Carrier Hyuga, one of the Space Battleship Yamato flagships!
EFCF Combat Aircraft Carrier DCV-01 HYUGA
Based on the 1/1000 Asuka
From Yamato 2205 comes the wave-mounted combat aircraft carrier Hyuga, the left wing of the 65th Escort Squadron with Yamato as its flagship, under Captain Shiro Sanada. Its systems are linked to the AU-19 Analyzers for efficient operation. The model is based on the 1/1000 Dreadnought-class supply carrier Asuka, and has been sculpted almost from scratch. Shinichiro Sawatake, who was also in charge of the Asuka, completed this large-scale work with electronics for the Wave-Motion gun ports, Wave-Motion engines, and bridge.