What kind of hero is required in the age of “human extinction”?
Tsutomu Gotoh, The Great Prophecy of Nostradamus (Shodensha,
1973). It is no exaggeration to say that it is one of the most
influential books on postwar Japan’s social thought.
“In the seventh month of 1999, the human race will perish.”
With these shocking words, Tsutomu Gotoh’s The Prophecy of Nostradamus was published in 1973 and attracted a great deal of attention. Nostradamus was a French physician who lived in the 16th century and was known as a prophet within his own lifetime. He wrote abstract four-line “poems” in Centuries (“Hundred Psalms” is a more accurate description) and other works.
It has long been said that these are not mere poems, but prophesies. There is a poem that predicts the death of mankind:
The year 1999, seventh month
from Heaven will come a great king of terror
to bring back to life the great King of Angolmois.
Before and after Mars to reign by good luck
(Tsutomu Gotoh, The Great Prophecy of Nostradamus, Shodensha, 1973)
If the 1960s felt like the birth of something new out of destruction and chaos, many felt a sense of stagnation in the 1970s, that everything was going to get worse. Trust in science, which until then had been unquestioned, was fading, and a mood of indulgence in the mystical and irrational was born. The psychic boom, the revival of mystery author Seishi Yokomizo, and a horror film boom were part of this mood of the times. In such a climate, the prophecy of Nostradamus grabbed the hearts of many people.
Tsutomu Gotoh did not assert that the human race would perish. There is hesitation in this book. Another prophecy of Nostradamus said, “In seven thousand years another will establish his kingdom. Then all my prophecies will come to an end.” In that passage, he entrusted a line of hope for the transformation of mankind.
At the end of the book, Gotoh wrote, “I live in a rather quiet part of Tokyo. Even so, there is a huge amount of exhaust gas being emitted, the sirens of smog alarms blare eerily, and radios emotionlessly report on new pollution, military buildups, material shortages, big corporate egos, undersea volcanoes, and a spate of earthquakes. Whether or not you believe in Nostradamus’ prophecy, and whether or not I have erred in my explanations, it seems clear to me that the present human civilization is not going to last much longer.”
In retrospect, although the human race did not perish in 1999, this document vividly conveys a sense of the times. Urban development gradually deprived children of playgrounds. Smog warnings cast a harsh shadow, preventing people from going outside in daily life. Some children saw the promise of the growing era at the Osaka Expo, while others were tied up at home with warnings and felt overshadowed by uncertainty about the future.
Was it possible that there was a power hidden within you that surpassed common experience? Some children, encouraged by the “ESP boom,” became obsessed with spoon bending and dreamed of endless transformation of their daily lives. The end of the human race was a mental image for many of them.
What kind of hero is needed in these times?
“Every time Susumu Kodai fails, Captain Okita drops a bomb on him. But the good thing about him is that he doesn’t get discouraged. Fans call him the ‘sloppy hero of the century’ and love him while making fun of him. Now, let me explain the trend of the times that created such a hero image. The economy, which had been in a buoyant state, tightened up a bit right around the time Space Battleship Yamato was released. It was a time when so-called “academic backgrounds” were gaining ground and deviation values came to be respected. I felt repulsion against such a trend and dared to let heroes stumble, to show their human side.”
(Keisuke Fujikawa, Birth of the Anime & Tokusatsu Hero, Nesco, 1998)
Among subculture heroes, there is no one with as many different faces as Susumu Kodai. In a sense, this is because he was a hero in a transitional period, and therefore needed to have many different aspects. On the other hand, in retrospect, I think that he developed a personality with depth and breadth that goes beyond his role in the storytelling process. Thus, he has remained human in both good and bad ways throughout the sequels.
The Mistaken Choices of Susumu Kodai
The “hot-blooded space warrior” is one of the faces of Susumu Kodai.
In Episode 4, Yamato‘s first warp experiment is depicted. Kodai leads the Black Tiger squadron to intercept and defeat a formation of Gamilas planes that attacks them. However, Yamamoto’s aircraft is hit and he is unable to make a successful landing. This warp test is the first and most important step in Yamato‘s planned voyage, and it cannot be cancelled.
Susumu Kodai leaves his post and attempts to guide Yamamoto directly from the hangar. Yamamoto says, “Don’t worry about me, don’t interrupt the warp test.”
But his words are ignored. When Yamamoto’s plane manages to crash-land, Kodai rushes to the cockpit to help him out, then hurriedly returns to his post. This moment is symbolic of Kodai’s compassionate and dynamic nature.
On the other hand, Kodai’s actions sometimes backfire.
Due to engine trouble in the sixth episode, Yamato stops at Saturn’s moon Titan to mine cosmonite, a special metal needed to repair the conduction pipe. At the same time, a Gamilas patrol approaches. Kodai ignores Yamato‘s warnings of the approaching enemy and continues his exploration work. As a result, he and his companions Yuki Mori and Analyzer are taken prisoner by Gamilas.
As he is being marched away, he notices a frozen Cosmogun under his feet. Ignoring Analyzer’s words, “It’s dangerous,” he picks up the Cosmogun and shoots at the enemy soldiers, narrowly defeating them.
It is frequently pointed out that Susumu Kodai’s behavior is erratic. He often puts his allies in a tight spot. When Kodai sees an enemy, he insists on attacking. Daisuke Shima moderates him, which becomes his standard role. Sometimes Captain Okita overrules him.
In Episode 15, Yamato encounters a space destroyer in an inter-dimensional fault and Kodai insists on attacking it. Shima berates him severely: “To engage the enemy in such an unknown space, without the use of a Wave-Motion Engine, is completely foolhardy.”
When Kodai learns that a fleet of 3,000 enemy ships was waiting behind the space destroyer, he says, “Oh my God, we can’t hang around. Hey, Shima, get us out of here.”
In Episode 14, Yamato is stranded in the Octopus proto-cluster. Kodai tries to go on a reconnaissance mission without permission, and his Cosmo Zero is damaged by the strong winds. He is barely rescued and ordered by Okita to clean the hangar. When the storm clears up, he goes out for another reconnaissance mission, then returns to the ship prematurely without checking whether the channel is passable or not.
Only part of his childishness and coarseness are inherited in the sequels, but they are some of his important elements.
Space Battleship Yamato takes the form of a bildungsroman (growth story) in which Susumu Kodai grows up through his voyage to Iscandar. This was unusual for the anime of the time. He was not the kind of hero boys and girls look up to, but a common, relatable, life-size human being. This was also a reason it became a hit. In other words, his flaws indicated that he was in the process of developing in order to grow.
In the midst of urban development and consumer culture, customs such as festivals and neighborhood interaction were being lost. With the disappearance of these rites of passage (initiation), even the stories of boys and girls “growing up” were disappearing. In this situation, it could be said that the virtual reality of Kodai’s story filled the void, so to speak.
If Kodai is a kind of spokesperson for many people, then his flaws cannot be written off as “sloppiness.” He is a complex figure with shades. In fact, many were drawn to this part of his personality.
A gentle pacifist turns belligerent; Susumu Kodai’s trauma
“No one can understand. No one understands me.”
Kodai decided this and built a wall between himself and others.
Leiji Matsumoto’s works are filled with boys and young men who have this sense of loneliness. The boy does not have many friends. He is the type who gazes up at the sky or the universe, and feels that there is no proof of his existence. This sentiment is common not only to Susumu Kodai, but also to Tetsuro Hoshino (Galaxy Express 999), Diver Zero, and Takuma Ichimonji (Danguard A), among others.
Screenwriter Keisuke Fujikawa has commented, “I hate dark people.” Could Kodai’s shadowy side have been more strongly shaped by Matsumoto than any other staff member?
Matsumoto’s protagonists are either lacking something or come from unfavorable circumstances. Before Space Battleship Yamato, his works were dominated by a sense of impermanence. The destruction of stars and human beings in great cosmic time is depicted from a broad perspective.
In his early works, he emphasized the view of impermanence as “the desperation of the prosperous.” In later years, however, the viewer is reminded of the positive direction of eternal recurrence; “Let’s meet again in the distant ring of time.” In any case, “Time has neither beginning nor end.”
(Leiji Matsumoto, The Four-Dimensional World, Akita Shoten, 1977)
It is a view of the universe that runs through Matsumoto’s world. The greatest feature of his work is that the negative aspects of the protagonist’s circumstances and emotions are perfectly in sync with the harshness of the universe.
The rough design of Susumu Kodai, drawn by Matsumoto, looks three to five years younger than the final form that we know. Nobuhiro Okasako’s design modification (cleanup) transformed the image into that of a robust young man. However, the somewhat unreliable and lonely look of Matsumoto’s design remains as a hidden tone, and it continues to dominate Kodai.
At the beginning, Kodai is not an outgoing and active person. In the words of his older brother, “He’s a pacifist who hates fighting.” He is an introverted boy who likes butterfly specimens. When Mamoru returns home for the first time in a long while between his duties as a space soldier, Susumu is a meek boy who sulks and cries to his mother when his brother monopolizes their parents’ attention.
It is explained that this is in the year 2192 A.D., when Susumu is in junior high school. It’s strange that he is in elementary school here when he boards Yamato at 18 years old, but his age is not explicitly stated in the story.
Kodai’s character is completely changed by the death of his parents in the war. This trauma shaped his aggressive personality. His words and actions reveal his hatred for his enemies, his self-righteousness, and the walls between him and others that sometimes appear and disappear.
In the first episode, when Kodai is told by Juzo Okita about his brother, he says, “Why didn’t you bring him home, captain?” His eyes are wide open and his gaze shakes.
Later, in the waiting room, his eyes are closed and he is slumped over with his bangs hanging down. Shima casually approaches Yuki nearby, which also emphasizes his sense of loneliness.
In Episode 2, Kodai repulses Gamilas’ fast aircraft carrier with the main guns. However, when Okita says “Make sure to do your best,” Kodai glances at Okita’s hand on his shoulder and says, “I know. I’ll do it for my brother who didn’t come back. Please watch me.” This is a dig at Captain Okita.
In Episode 3, the crew marches toward the ship and boards with great pomp and circumstance, cheered on by their families and many others. Captain Okita is told that no one dropped out during the march and simply grunts in reply.
Shima, who received a lei (garland) around his neck from his brother, is deeply moved as he takes his seat at the controls on the first bridge.
“Jiro, Father, Mother,” he says, “please wait for me. I’ll be back.”
Kodai, however, stares coldly at Shima from his seat with his arms folded.
“Is it okay to make such a cheap promise? You’d better throw away your daydreams now.”
“What?”
“Of course, I’m going to give my all and put my life into this plan. But if Yamato goes off into space, our fate is in the hands of Captain Okita.”
“Kodai, you don’t think Captain Okita can be trusted?”
“He’s made great achievements in various battles so far, but a lot of people died in his wake.”
“I understand. I got a little carried away when my family saw me off. Your brother died in the war.”
“I don’t like Captain Okita’s coldness.”
After this, Kodai confronts Tokugawa, who has fought alongside Captain Okita for many years.
“I want you to tell me the truth. What kind of person is Captain Okita? Do you think someone who couldn’t save one of his own comrades can save the Earth from crisis?”
Tokugawa tells him that Captain Okita’s only son was also killed in the same battle in which Mamoru Kodai died. He then adds, “When he sees a possibility, believes in it and acts calmly. That’s what it means to be a man.”
When Kodai learns about Captain Okita’s ability to take action and what lies behind it, his initial suspicions are dissolved. However, he is still unable to shake off the rancor that has built up in the depths of his heart.
Indulgence in solitude seeks union with the universe and the machine
In Episode 10, the spotlight shines on the void in Kodai’s heart. As Yamato is leaving the solar system, Captain Okita holds a farewell party. In consideration of the crew’s feelings as they travel 148,000 light-years to a place never been reached by humans before, he allows private communication between the crew and their families.
Shima, Yuki, and Tokugawa have heartfelt conversations with each of their family members. But for Kodai, who has no relatives, this is an uncomfortable time. He wanders around the ship aimlessly. He mercilessly scolds the scramble personnel who are standing around talking on the phone, “What are you doing?”
Yuki begs him to enter the communications room. He does not say, “I don’t have a family, so I don’t need it.” He is miserable with his situation and does not want others to understand. The way he stares at the empty screen with a defiant look in his eyes separates him from the rest of the crew. The image of him silently doing sit-ups is melancholy, but up to this point, he may not be so different from the stereotypical loner hero.
“It has already been ten years since my father disappeared in the starry sky. The only time I can feel at peace is when I’m flying alone like this.”
(Leiji Matsumoto, Planet Robot Danguard A, Akita Shoten, first published in 1977)
Takuma Ichimonji, the protagonist of Danguard A, grew up being bullied because his father was maligned as a criminal. He has no relatives and has no choice but to take shelter with his father’s friend, Dr. Oedo. Takuma’s sense of loneliness makes him squeeze himself into the cramped cockpit of a fighter jet and immerse himself into the universe that fills the window. Takuma’s mind, which is so vague and empty, can only be soothed by becoming one with a machine and the universe. His loneliness cannot be healed.
Like Yamato, Danguard A was originally conceived as an anime series, and Leiji Matsumoto was asked to participate. Although he did not have a strong passion for a giant robot work, the manga version, which breaks the rule by only featuring the robot in one last shot, is filled with Leiji Matsumoto’s flavor.
Kodai also shared Takuma’s feelings. Kodai buries himself in an empty seat on the first bridge, stretches out his legs, and whistles to himself (to the tune of The Scarlet Scarf). The walls are a solid, textured steel, filled with analog meters like decorations, and the floor is a warm dark red. There is a sense of security here, as if one were enveloped in a giant womb. Or perhaps he kneels in the cockpit of the Cosmo Zero in the hangar, his eyes dark and vacant.
In Episode 14, Kodai experiences a nightmare of his parents being killed by a Planet Bomb. At this time, Yamato is in the midst of a dark red storm raging in the Octopus proto-cluster. The huge battleship is rocking like a cradle. The cluster itself seems to be a giant womb of another kind.
Kodai becomes one with a machine, lost in his own solitude. At this moment, he does not see others. Through the abyss of the universe, he seeks something that transcends the loneliness of the human heart.
What Kenji Miyazawa imbued into the Magellanic Clouds
My heart is full of water.
I have no place to go.
Take me to the faraway Magellanic nebula.
(Kenji Miyazawa, Nagirosei, 1924. Spring and Asura 2nd Collection, The Complete Works of Kenji Miyazawa 1, Chikuma Shobo, 1986)
The roots of Susumu Kodai’s sorrow may be found in Leiji Matsumoto. And when Matsumoto uses the universe to tell a story, Kenji Miyazawa is one of his inspirations.
Matsumoto’s most famous work is Galaxy Express 999 (1977), but it is well known that Kenji Miyazawa’s Night on the Galactic Railroad (circa 1924 – 1931) was the inspiration for this work. One of Matsumoto’s works, also titled Night on the Galactic Railroad (1971), is a kind of homage.
A poor boy who has come to Tokyo from the countryside lies down in a field and daydreams to drown his sorrows.
“Whenever he felt lonely or sad, the boy decided to go to that field and look at the stars. There was no such thing as time. He loved that place the most in this world.”
(Leiji Matsumoto, Night on the Galactic Railroad, Yamabiko 13, Kisotengaisha, 1979)
At the bottom of the title page, a familiar Matsumoto Character is lying on a grassy field with his bangs hanging down to hide his eyes. Most of the spread is filled with a starry sky. A steam locomotive is speeding through the sky. The starry sky and the steam locomotive fill the hole in the boy’s heart.
A fantastic beauty gets off the train and appears in front of the boy, becoming his companion. She softly curtails the boy’s admiration for the Galactic Railroad.
“There are no fireflies there…there is no shadow…of course, there are no dewdrops. There are only fragments of stars, some warm, some cold…” But her lamentations do not reach the boy. He still denies reality and does not hide his longing for the “fourth order of illusion,” a world that transcends life and death, time and space. The boy asks to meet again next Saturday.
“Saturday? There are only stops at each station to the Magellanic Cloud, but it’s okay, I’ll be there…”
The Magellanic Clouds were an important motif for Kenji Miyazawa, which may be one of the reasons Matsumoto revised the original plan and made that into Yamato‘s destination. Thus, the boy became one of the prototypes of Susumu Kodai.
In Kenji Miyazawa’s Nagirosei, quoted earlier, the Magellanic Clouds are not only a place that transcend the human sorrow of the universe, but also an important place through which one can approach the truth of the world.
Giovanni, the protagonist of Miyazawa’s masterpiece Night on the Galactic Railroad, is often bullied because his father is absent. He has a friend named Campanella, but he is gradually losing touch with him. Giovanni lies in a field and turns his lonely heart to the night sky. And before long, he finds himself on a galactic train. He sets off on a cosmic journey with the Campanella.
Although it was deleted in the fourth draft, which is the final form of the story, the Magellanic clouds have had an important role since the first draft. Giovanni continues his journey on the galactic railroad, encountering different people and phenomena. He begins to abandon his own small frame of reference and wishes happiness to many people. Near the end of the story, the Magellanic Cloud shines in front of him like a beacon. He cries out to them:
“Ah, the Magellanic Cloud. Now I’m sure I will be able to make a life for myself. I will find true and real happiness for me, for my mother, for Campanella, and for everyone.”
(The First to Third Drafts of Night on the Galactic Railroad, The Complete Works of Kenji Miyazawa 7, Chikuma Shobo, 1985)
Here the Magellanic Clouds are altruistic and noble spirits, depicted as a symbol of happiness for the many. Self-sacrifice is also a major element in this story. While this self-sacrifice does not appear as a motif in Yamato Series 1, it is an important element in the sequel, Farewell to Yamato.
Night on the Galactic Railroad was not published during Miyazawa’s lifetime and does not exist in an organized manuscript form. It was a complex work of several different manuscripts, and after much work by researchers, it is now available in book form. A version with the Magellanic Clouds remaining in the manuscript was published relatively late in the history of the book. Many people are familiar with it, this author included.
In the fourth version of the book, which is presumed to be the final version, the Magellanic Cloud was deleted. However, it seems this symbol of the happiness of mankind changed its form and was inherited by Matsumoto.
Incidentally, in the fourth draft, the Magellanic Cloud is transformed into something more nihilistic: a coal sack (dark nebula). This seems to have been a consideration to avoid representing the ideal as merely optimistic, as well as to avoid idealizing death or the existence of “the other side.”
Since this coal sack is described as a “hole in the sky,” it does not reflect the character of a dark nebula as a nursery for the birth of stars, a fact that was not known at the time. Rather, it would be closer to a black hole. Incidentally, it is interesting to note that Yamato Resurrection (2009) is a story about a Cascade Black Hole, part of an interdimensional consciousness that is attacking the Earth.
The Magellanic Clouds are located in a Southern Hemisphere constellation and cannot be seen from Japan. They were named after Ferdinand Magellan, an explorer who pioneered the Age of Discovery. Did Miyazawa entrust his hopes on an invisible nebula?
In the period when Night on the Galactic Railroad was written, the former Japanese Empire was expanding its power to the south, bringing many islands under its control in the form of UN mandates. The dream he had for the Magellanic Clouds could overlap with that of the former Japanese Empire in its southward expansion.
Miyazawa’s work is a fusion of complex elements, including the indigenousness of Iwate, the fantasy of space, the internationalism of Esperanto, and more. One of the components of Miyazawa’s work is his admiration for the West. Miyazawa’s life was also a path of faith in the Lotus Sutra. He was a follower of the Kokushikai, a group dedicated to the Lotus Sutra, with Chigaku Tanaka as its founder. Kanji Ishihara was a member of this group, known for conceiving Hakko Ippou, which became a pillar of nationalism.
Miyazawa was not a nationalist, but rather a devotee of the radical ideas of Buddhism. He traveled to Tenjiku and devoted himself to the further propagation of Buddhism, becoming a revered teacher. Researcher Wang Min points out that there is an homage to Sanzo Hoshi and Journey to the West in Miyazawa’s writings.
(Wang Min, Kenji Miyazawa and China, International Language and Culture Foundation, 2002)
The ground follows your footsteps
making a small distortion
from Tenjiku to the west
It was an eternal dream
(Kenji Miyazawa, Walk of the Asian Scholar, 1924. Spring and Shura Vol. 2, The Complete Works of Kenji Miyazawa 1, Chikuma Shobo, 1986)
Sanzo Hoshi travels westward to make this world a pure land. Miyazawa, who depicts a journey to seek the true happiness of people, must have seen Sanzo as the person he should be. This is where Kenji Miyazawa and Yamato, based on Journey to the West, intersect.
Takaaki Yoshimoto’s vision of cosmology that permeates Yamato and Gundam
Susumu Kodai dreamed of a world in which machines and humans would merge. Kenji Miyazawa also envisioned this as an ideal. The Milky Way is a beautiful landscape with a galactic railroad running through it.
“I saw the pretty face of an electric squirrel with a golden halo peeking out from within, standing in the mist, amidst the glowing leaves of the many walnut trees.”
(Kenji Miyazawa, Night on the Galactic Railroad, The Complete Works of Kenji Miyazawa 7, Chikuma Shobo, 1985).
The electric squirrel is a regular character not only in Night on the Galactic Railroad but also in Polano’s Piazza. In addition, in Night on the Galactic Railroad, the geese carried by the bird catcher taste like chocolate. It is an existence that is neither life nor non-life.
In Kenji Miyazawa’s virtual world of the fourth stage of fantasy, the boundary between organic and inorganic matter, life and non-life, is ambiguous. It is not merely a metaphor for death. It is clear from the technological existence of the electric squirrel. Organic matter evolves and combines with inorganic matter. In other words, when it becomes a bio-machine fused at the nanotech level, will it be possible to attain eternity and true happiness?
In Outline of Peasant Art, Kenji Miyazawa wrote, “In the new era, the world becomes one consciousness and a living being. To live righteously and strongly is to be aware of the galaxy within oneself and to respond to it.”
(The Complete Works of Kenji Miyazawa 10, Chikuma Shobo, 1995).
Humanity is evolving to become one. And it is not only mankind that is evolving. Is this a grand universe in which not only human beings but also other living creatures and their consciousness will merge together? Are electric squirrels the vanguard of such a universe?
Kenji Miyazawa’s theory of human unification is similar to Jung’s collective unconscious and Teilhard de Chardin’s noosphere. This is the same theory that was later used in the Human Complementation Plan in Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995), the C World in Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 (2008) or even before that, the Infinite Power Ide of Legendary Giant Ideon (1980).
Takaaki Yoshimoto describes the ideas hidden in works such as Space Battleship Yamato, Ideon, and others, as “cosmo-ism.” For example, he wrote this about Farewell to Yamato:
“I am aware of this Japanese sentiment and the idea that, in the Hegelian sense, only a tyrant is free, and the rest of us know nothing of freedom. I was most struck by the world of unparalleled space, which is fused with methods that seem to incorporate all the visual technologies of space fiction.”
“The same sentimentality and deception that permeated the best of the old imperial soldiers pervades this animated space fiction film.” Here, the former Japanese Empire is linearly extended into the Earth Federation. ‘For the sake of the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere’ is linearly extended to ‘For the sake of peace in the universe’.”
“The final explosion of the self-destructing Yamato is a cosmic fiction guided and helped by Teresa, a beautiful girl made of antimatter from the Planet Telezart. The cosmology of a girl and her lover blowing themselves up together may have been the result of the last thirty years. If a movie like this had been made thirty years ago during the war, we would not have suffered after the war.”
(Takaaki Yoshimoto, Movies Over the Summer, Ushio Press, 1987).
This is a comment on Farewell to Yamato, but I believe that the film is talking about the same abyss into space that Kodai glimpsed at the farewell party back in Episode 10. Comparing it to the old Japan Empire is not to call it militaristic, but to evoke a certain kind of passion or thought that existed in the former Japanese Empire. He points out that after the war it was transformed into a new spirituality called Space Religion. This is even more clear in his comments on Yoshiyuki Tomino’s works.
“Gundam and Ideon are not humanism. There is a kind of mystical cosmology. It has the same concept, that there is a source of will somewhere in the universe. Energy comes from there and moves humans to love, die, and perish. If we say such an idea is new, then it is.”
Yoshimoto also noted that children who watch Gundam and Ideon are not so much interested in the “action” but rather in the idea behind it. Yoshimoto is also known for his research on Kenji Miyazawa, and states in the same book that Miyazawa is the originator of this cosmology.
Compared to the pundits who simply dismissed Yamato as militarism at the time it first appeared, Yoshimoto’s point of view has a sharpness that touches the depth of the work. The same is true of Tomino’s works.
The love that Kodai has for machines, an outgrowth of emotional alienation, is the same as that of Amuro Rei for mobile suits in Mobile Suit Gundam (1979), Chirico Cuvie in Armored Trooper Votoms (1983), and Shinji Ikari in Evangelion (1995). The “truth of the universe” spoken by Kodai in Farewell to Yamato was expressed in the form of “cosmic will” by Sayla Mass in Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (1986).
Yoshimoto predicted where the tide of such an era would lead by keeping an eye on the nuance of cosmo-religion. This was before the emergence of Aum Shinrikyō.
Aum Shinrikyo’s journal, Vajryana Sacca. Volume 5 opens with a special section on “The Fearful End-of-the-Century Prophecy.” It quotes Future Boy Conan, Fist of the North Star, Nausicaa, and Harmagedon, among others.
Aum Shinrikyo’s Dream for Yamato
As Shinji Miyadai says, subculture was not the direct cause of Aum Shinrikyō. However, if there is a sense of discomfort and doubt toward society, a certain kind of organization, action, and expression will surely emerge.
As a phenomenon, the New Left Revolutionary Organization took shape in the 1970s and Aum Shinrikyo in the 1990s. In both cases, the intention was to reform society, even if it meant using military force at times. It is also true that subculture has influenced the worldview of Aum Shinrikyo.
Founded by Shoko Asahara, Aum Shinrikyo has been involved in a number of crimes, such as the murder of lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto and his family in 1989. The group eliminated those who opposed its interests, and carried out indiscriminate terrorist attacks, including the Sarin gas attack on the subway in 1995, resulting in the deaths of 12 people. Immediately after the Sarin gas attack, the police conducted a mandatory investigation of the cult’s headquarters in the village of Kamikuishiki, Yamanashi Prefecture. The nature of the cult’s organization, its reality, and the consciousness of its followers were revealed one after another through the mass media.
Aum Shinrikyo wanted to sieze power in Japan through terrorism and create a totalitarian state of ritualistic unity government. The plan of action was called the Japan Shamballa Project, and would eventually extend to the entire world. It seems to have been a vision of the world in which all those who did not believe in the doctrines of the organization were to be exterminated.
Shamballa, as we saw in the previous chapter, is a legendary utopia. It overlapped with Hitler’s dream of Agartha and is very popular in occult culture.
In modern society, where traditional culture and geographical ties are disappearing, pure ideals, stripped of impurities to the utmost limit, are often directly linked to real actions. There were many examples in the 20th century, where those who did not follow the ideology of a charismatic guru or political leader were massacred.
Kenji Miyazawa once wrote, “I am everything in the world.”
(Aozora no Hatenohate, 1927, Poem Notebook, Chikuma Shobo, 1986).
It is an extension of charity, but is also connected to the idea of purity, which does not recognize diversity. In subculture, there have been many characters who have been uncomfortable with the world and have advocated either its total destruction or subordination to the self.
“Earth’s inhabitants think only of themselves, so I declare that I, Char Aznable, will eliminate them.”
(Mobile Suit Gundam, Char’s Counterattac, 1988)
“Shiryu, do you not see that a new era is coming? This is the age of darkness. Once again, everything on earth will be returned to water to be washed and purified. From there, we will once again create a new world.”
(Masami Kurumada, Saint Seiya, anime 1986).
“It wasn’t me who was wrong. It is the world. I am zero. A man who destroys and creates the world.”
(Code Geass, Lelouch of the Rebellion R2, 2008).
“Takasugi, I don’t know how many times I’ve wanted to turn this world into a wasteland.”
(Hideaki Sorachi, Gintama, anime, 2006).
Such expressions not only complicate the worldview in which justice is relativized, but are also a projection of the workings of the mind, the elimination of those who do not agree with the ego.
“After all, anime is a mental landscape.”
(Yoji Enokido, Revolutionary Girl Utena Script Collection, Tokuma Shoten, 1998).
From this phenomenon, we can see that a genre is born which specializes (exposes) the true intentions of a world-creating system. In any case, Tadashi Aum, who grew up in this subculture environment, used this image as the best text to express his own emptiness and idealize a group of heroes who stand out in an imaginary world. Before awakening to salvation and liberation, the world must be hopeless and doomed. A subculture filled with post-apocalyptic worlds became the best model to confirm one’s own bias.
Their journal, Vajrayana Sacca, is a popular source of occult mystical thought. It is filled with quotations of apocalyptic scenes from anime’s Nausicaa, Future Boy Conan, Fist of the North Star, and Harmagedon, as well as popular interpretations of occult mystical thought. Is such a phenomenon one of the consequences of the cosmology described by Takaaki Yoshimoto?
According to Risaku Kiridoshi, once an ordained believer, Shoko Asahara evoked Space Battleship Yamato. After singing the theme song with his followers, he said, “Yamato is like us, the last ship that bets on the fate of the Earth.”
(Masayuki Osawa, The Ideal of the End, The Aum, Ota Shuppan, 1995).
Also, it is well known that the cult’s air purifier was famously named the Cosmo Cleaner (no D).
In the midst of his mission to save the human race from extinction, Susumu Kodai is tormented by a sense of emptiness. He tries to become one with the universe and the machine, to become invisible, so to speak. He sails through space to a utopia like Shamballa or Atlantis, a planet where mystical beings await. Here was a brilliant and dangerous work that pierced the mood of the times.
However, in the story of Yamato, the way to overcome danger was also clearly shown.
Trying to kill a prisoner, Susumu Kodai finds himself with others
Susumu Kodai finds himself in the company of others in the shocking Episode 13, when he attempts to kill a prisoner with a knife.
The Black Tiger squadron led by Kodai repels a formation of Gamilas planes that attacks Yamato. One Gamilas aircraft is captured. Saburo Kato says to himself, “I’m going to smash that Gamilas’ head in!” and tries to slaughter him. Kodai, however, shows clam and restrains him, showing calm.
“You’ve got enough blood on your hands. He won’t run away. He’s a living Gamilas man. He’s a valuable resource.”
Susumu Kodai’s head is filled with curiosity about the aliens. They bring the Gamilas plane and its pilot back to Yamato, where Dr. Sado conducts a physical examination. During this time, the prisoner is the talk of the ship. Many of the crew members go to the operating theater and watch through the windows.
Yuki Mori innocently asks, “Aren’t Gamilas people beasts?”
Something ignites in Kodai’s heart. “Yes, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to do such cruel things.”
But the Gamilas, now stripped of his spacesuit, looks exactly like Earthlings, except for his blue skin. Sado’s medical diagnosis says he is the same as an Earthling.
“How could a human being do such cruel things?”
Saburo Kato’s cry is the common consciousness of all human beings who lost their families, were deprived of their homes, and were driven to the brink of extinction. Furious at this Gamilas man with a “human face,” Kodei rushes into the operating room. He grabs a nearby scalpel and leaps at the Gamilas soldier, thrusting it at the soldier’s throat.
The scene changes to a flashback where we learn that Kodai used to have a gentle personality, and the trauma of his parents’ murder changed his character.
The scene returns to Yamato. Kodai is stopped by Shima, Sado, and others, and the murder is averted. It seems that this was a temporary outburst and not a clear intent to kill. The scalpel falls out of Susumu Kodai’s hand.
The Gamilas soldier is completely frightened at the sight of him, but when he regains his composure he realizes his own despair. He picks up the scalpel and aims it toward his own throat. Kodai wrestles the scalpel out of his hand and strikes at him.
“Idiot! If you’re a human being, you should know the value of life!”
Tears fall from Kodai’s eyes, then from the eyes of the Gamilas soldier.
Susumu Kodai had always hated the idea of Gamilas. But what he encounters is a flesh-and-blood human being with a “fear of death.” He cannot hate real people. At this moment, he encounters the unmistakable presence of the Other.
It is obviously a contradiction to try and kill a person and then stop them from committing suicide. But in many cases, human beings live in such contradictions. This contradiction was Susumu Kodai. By confronting and being confronted with his raw emotions, could something lurking in his heart have been melted and healed?
At the end of this episode, Captain Okita releases the Gamilas soldier. He even orders Kodai to give him a small amount of food.
“Take it. It’s food.”
There is a faint smile on Susumu Kodai’s face as he says this.
A first glimpse at the folly of war and competition
Kodai’s first experience with the feelings of others on Yamato may have been with Captain Okita.
As we saw earlier, at the farewell party in Episode 10, he has no place to go, and seems to be indulging in his own loneliness. However, he suddenly realizes that Captain Okita, who also lost his relatives, has no place to be on this day. Kodai’s feet carry him to the captain’s quarters. There, he is warmly welcomed by Okita.
“I’m glad you came, Kodai. I wanted to see you too. We have nowhere else to go, do we?”
With that, he offers Kodai a bottle of sake. The two of them drink in silence, hardly exchanging a word. The absence of unnecessary words makes them seem connected to each other. This kind of low-key but impressive direction cannot be seen in the sequels.
A short time later, Captain Okita stands up and shouts out the window, “Good-bye!”
“Captain?” Susumu Kodai is surprised, and Captain Okita says to him, “Kodai, why don’t you say good-bye too?”
This is both a gesture of embarrassment on the part of Captain Okita, who is not very talkative, and also a way for them to deepen their bond by sharing words. And Kodai responds to Captain Okita’s heart. The two express their feelings and say, “Good-bye!” with their own emotions. At this moment, Kodai is no longer alone.
The story of Yamato overlaps with Susumu Kodai’s growth and healing process. He was the hero sought by an era that was beginning to lose its ties with others and become ill. Yamato was also the pioneer of this kind of hero. This was followed by subsequent works and became a staple of subculture.
Kodai gradually began to have empathy for others. In episode 20, he advises an attack on the Balan base. This is because he has seen the massacre of Balanodons, a native species that had attacked Yamato in the past. This shows not only his belligerence, but also his sense of justice and empathy for others.
In Episode 23, Yamato is forced to land on the planet Gamilas and fight a battle on the ground. Yamato narrowly defeats Gamilas, but not without consequences; it results in the destruction of a civilization itself. Yamato could have eliminated Gamilas’ resistance or driven them into a corner to bring about peace. However, they did not make such efforts.
Seeing the devastation of Gamilas, which had lost all signs of life, Kodai tearfully mutters, “We shouldn’t have fought them. We should have loved each other.”
This line has been the subject of many discussions as an anti-war message, or even hypocritical. However, the first part of this line is rather important.
“From the time we were small children, we were taught to fight and win. When we enter school and society, we’re required to compete with others and win. But where there are winners, there are losers. What happens to those who lose? Do the losers have no right to happiness? I never thought about it until today.”
“I’m sad. I’m frustrated. The people of Gamilas wanted to move to Earth. Their planet was doomed anyway. The people of Earth and the people of Gamilas both wanted to live happily. And yet we fought…”
As we have seen, Kodai’s journey to the planet Gamilas is a journey from a closed mind to empathy for others. This line is the culmination of this process. It is not a superficial anti-war message. What should be noted is his painful regret that he lacked the perspective of others. When considered against the backdrop of the era in which the phenomenon of “dropouts” was beginning to emerge, the point he is trying to make is clear. In this story, his growth was to gain other perspectives.
In the previous Episode 20, Kodai is appointed Acting Captain to assist the ailing Captain Okita. Is this promotion = growth? What did it mean for him to become Acting Captain?
Leadership in denial of leadership
Susumu Kodai becomes the Acting Captain in Episode 20. He is appointed by Captain Okita, who suffers from space radiation sickness. The reason for his appointment is directly attributable to his precise assessment of the situation during the attack on the Balan base. However, his behavior and demeanor are far from that of a leader.
In the following episode, when Yamato receives a letter of challenge from Domel, Kodai is the most vocal in his advocacy for confrontation. In contrast to Shima’s and Sanada’s cautious arguments, Kodai prefaces his remarks by saying, “Let me say this as the Acting Captain. In a decisive battle, you either win or lose. If you lose, everything is over. But if you win, all paths open up.”
He makes a point that defies logic. His face and body seem to be in motion; in short, his blood is pumping. It could be called impetuousness. Not only in this instance, but also in subsequent ones, his words and actions are marked by impetuousness. But let us consider this from a different perspective. Who, at only 18 years of age, could be the leader of a battle for the fate of all mankind and command it as a perfect “professional soldier”?
Shinobu Kotake, a character who appears in the third Yamato proposal, inherits the memories of many genius scientists through bio-modification. Add to that his vast knowledge as a military man, and he could have been the perfect person to carry out this role in these circumstances.
On the contrary, however, it is the life-size, ordinary, and flawed character of Susumu Kodai that is the goal of the work. Let’s look into the reasons for the popularity of Kodai through the comments of his fans.
Here is a quote from a magazine interview between a fan and a voice actor immediately after Farewell was released.
“Kodai-kun is one of the young men in Yamato. It’s easy to get to know him, and that’s good. I think it’s boring to be a superstar. I think the appeal lines in other areas.”
“Isn’t it about friendship with Kodai? When I saw the scene in Part 1 where they help each other, I thought it was like baseball, soccer, and other sports where men fight together to win.”
(Satoshi Horio, high school freshman, Animage, September 1978 issue)
Boys and girls entrusted various dreams to Space Battleship Yamato. Not only the great roman of flying in space, but also the bonds of friendship with friends, and in the everyday feeling of accomplishment in the joint pursuit of a great goal.
As we have seen, Yamato is another classroom, another circle. Susumu Kodai is the class president or department head. Captain Okita is the teacher or coach. And there are many classmates and seniors. And in the classroom called Yamato, it was not about how he fights, but about how he spends his time and what he learns.
Susumu Kodai’s command as Acting Captain of the ship is carefully depicted in Episode 23. At the beginning of the episode, Yamato heads toward a dazzling nebula. Then, the camera moves to the first bridge. Shima complains that the instruments “do not indicate the direction we’re going.”
Susumu Kodai, Yuki Mori, Shiro Sanada (and Analyzer), and others discuss the situation. It is implied that the story will center on these four people from now on. Then, a message comes in.
“This is Starsha of Iscandar. Can you hear me, Yamato? You have finally come to my planet Iscandar.”
Starsha informs them that Yamato is within 0.8 light years of Iscandar, and that she is emitting guidance radio waves so as not to interfere with navigation. Kodai and Shima pat each other on the shoulder and shake hands firmly.
Next, Captain Okita, alone in bed with illness, looks up at the large Magellanic cloud, closes his eyes in relief, and falls asleep. The scene gives the impression that he is nearly done with his mission. The ship is filled with the joy of finally reaching its destination after a long journey. Already, Yamato is moving with a young power at its core. But they are not blind to their youth.
In this episode, two old men casually appear and give effective advice to the young before stepping aside. One is Dr. Sado. Yamato has almost arrived at the destination, but as he sips his sake he quotes a proverb, “When you have traveled a hundred miles, 99 is only the halfway point.” He reminds Kodai that things are never what they seem until the very end. Although Sado is joking, Kodai takes his words seriously.
Sure enough, something unforeseen soon happens. The guidance signal from the planet Iscandar is lost, and a missile flies in from ahead. Kodai is momentarily taken aback, but follows the prescribed procedure to intercept the missile.
Yuki recommends that Captain Okita evacuate to a safe place, but he refuses. The captain’s quarters, protruding above the first bridge, is not a secure place. Captain Okita’s trust in the young is evident.
As the missiles are knocked down one by one, Shima notices something unusual. He immediately orders Chief Engineer Tokugawa to “stop the ship.”
“Stop? I’m the Acting Captain! Don’t give orders without permission!”
“I’ll apologize later. Look at this. All the navigational instruments have gone haywire.”
Kodai stares at the gauges with Shima, without any apology. It is dangerous to move. The enemy’s goal was to block Yamato‘s eyes and ears. Shima explains this in a close-up shot centered on him. Yamato‘s surroundings have been suffused with a substance that interferes with electromagnetic waves.
Next, Kodai, Shima, and Sanada line up in a row. Yuki is slightly behind them, and they are shown discussing the situation. In other words, in this series of scenes, Kodai is not a privileged leader, but rather a coordinator of three equal chiefs, as shown visually. Kodai takes a shot at Shima for the word “enemy” he just mentioned.
“Who is this enemy? Say it out loud! Say what you think, coward. You think Iscandar is our enemy, don’t you?”
“Am I wrong?” Shima asks simply.
Kodai’s answer is rather lenient. “I don’t know.”
There is no need to suppress his opponent’s doubts and overrule him. It’s probably his line of thought that Shima is an equal partner.
Kodai tells Kato to retrieve the enemy missile debris scattered around Yamato for analysis.
“I can’t do it, Captain,” he says. “The instruments aren’t working.”
“You idiot! Go pick it up even if it kills you!” The exchange of friendly words here is more like that of a sports team than a military one.
Sanada analyzes the fragments that Saburo Kato retrieves.
“This is a Gamilas missile.”
Hearing this, Kodai is filled with suspicion that they have come not to Iscandar, but to Gamilas. After this, a communication comes in from Starsha. She explains that Iscandar and Gamilas are dual planets, and that Gamilas is hostile to Yamato. It will be difficult to reach Iscandar unless this resistance is eliminated. Kodai frankly apologizes to Shima.
“Shima, you’re a very good navigator. I apologize for my attitude earlier. Please forgive me.”
Shima simply says, “Kodai” and shakes his hand. There is warmth in Shima’s eyes as he looked at Kodai.
“We’re almost there,” Kodai says simply.
Relationships where we learn from each other on equal footing brings out our potential
Immediately after Kodai’s apology to Shima, Yamato is drawn to the planet Gamilas by a powerful magnetic transmitter. The trap set by Dessler is waiting for them, and they are forced into a decisive battle for the mainland.
Mines bombard Yamato from the skies above, damaging it and cutting off its escape route. Even if they seek a way out by sea, it will be in the concentrated sulfuric acid that is a major feature of Gamilas, and diving would be suicidal. The enemy’s plan is to corrode Yamato by an artificial storm of wind and acid rain.
Yamato is in dire straits. Yuki Mori asks, “What will happen to Yamato, Kodai-kun?”
But his reply is not very commanding.
“I don’t know. There may be nothing we can do.”
“Don’t give up. Now is the most important time.”
At this point, Kodai goes to the captain’s quarters to ask for instructions from Captain Okita. Up to this point, Captain Okita has not given him any instructions. He respects Kodai’s independence.
“Let me say one thing. I would dive into the sea…”
Captain Okita saw from the environment of Gamilas that it is a highly unstable structure with active volcanism. So Yamato must dive into the ocean to search for underwater volcanic veins. When they find one, they could destroy it to trigger volcanic activity and cause damage and disorientation to the enemy.
Captain Okita gives Kodai this trick. It is not something Kodai could have come up with on his own. This is the second example of wisdom from an experienced old man.
Based on Captain Okita’s advice, the crew of the first bridge is united in betting on the slightest possibility. Kodai’s energy, Shima’s maneuverability, and Sanada’s calm judgment; this synergy enables them to find the volcanic vein in the short time the ship can withstand the corrosive effects of the sulfuric acid.
Yamato fires its Wave-Motion Gun. Volcanic activity increases all over Gamilas, and the land is enveloped in violent tremors. Damage occurs in many places, and is inflicted on the ground defense network.
However, Gamilas still has forces at its disposal. Above the great sea, created by the erosive action of the caverns, there is a canopy-like rock layer from which missiles are dropped. But they do not hit Yamato, which flies at high speed through the atmosphere. Gamilas is finally destroyed by a desperate counterattack. The missile impacts accelerate the volcanic activity and ultimately results in their own strangulation.
Yamato is dropped into a sea of sulfuric acid, but rises to the occasion and destroys the military power of a planet with a single ship. It would be an impossible and unnatural story if it were made today. (Or even back then?)
However, the powerful teamwork of the three men and the strong symbolism of Yamato makes the viewer understand the story. Strength is derived from the bond created by equal human relationships. A cold, vertically-structured military organization does not fit the drama of Space Battleship Yamato.
On the other hand, the strength of the bonds they have established has led to the massacre of many hostile people. Kodai mourns, regrets, and weeps when he witnesses this fact.
But it is not only his personal experience. As he interacts with his peers, his thoughts do not stop at the individual level, but are shared collectively. The old man retreats into the background, and Yamato eventually transforms into a young community to become a place of learning, so to speak, where we judge together, suffer together, and discover together.
The level relationship between Kodai, Shima, and Sanada is carried on in the sequel without much loss of substance. Kodai speaks his mind to the crew, not in a commanding manner, but in a conversational one. Sometimes he hesitates, sometimes he fails, and sometimes he loses his way.
Learning is not about schooling or acquiring knowledge. It is about improving each other through dialogue and building a better society (public or private). In the era of “dropouts,” boys and girls encountered such young learning opportunities, and that is why they shone so brightly.
The scene of Yamato‘s arrival at Iscandar goes beyond the sense of accomplishment of teamwork. It also symbolizes the creation of a certain ideal, which is why I was so moved by it.
In a sense, this was the same kind of educational experience that many people have been striving for since the end of World War II, to respect spontaneity and to create a democratic place.
This is, in a way, similar to the core of education that many people aimed for after the war, which respected spontaneity and tried to create a democratic space. Learning is not the self-righteousness of the young, but is possible only through dialogue with the wisdom of the older generation.
From this structure of learning comes the necessity for Yamato to wear the garb of the old battleship Yamato.