For years, a certain sector of SF fandom has occupied itself with puzzling out real-world explanations for what we see on our screens. Unsurprisingly, Yamato has been dissected many times over in various books and articles published by the “Dream-Science Laboratory,” also known as “Kusolab.”
Writer/Researcher Rikao Yanagita has been publishing books and delivering lectures for decades, bringing a scientific perspective to what we see in anime and manga. Below are various essays that shine a scientific spotlight on what we see in Space Battleship Yamato.
Melting the Moon
How much energy would the Comet Empire need to do this, and what would be the result?
Artificial gravity in space
How could artificial gravity be created for a working Space Battleship?
The mysterious revival of Captain Okita
Did he actually die, and what kind of doctor does that make Sado?
Rikao Yanagita
Chief Researcher, Dream-Science Laboratory
Born on Tanegashima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture. Dropped out of the University of Tokyo. He is the chief researcher of the Institute for Dream-Science, which scientifically examines the worlds of anime, manga, and folk tales. He has verified more than 1,000 cases so far.
His main publications include The Dream-Science Reader, Junior Dream-Science Reader, Pokemon Dream-Science Reader, and others in the series. In 2007, he started The Dream-Science Library News for school libraries nationwide. It continues to be distributed weekly, free of charge.
He also actively posts information on Twitter and YouTube as “KUSOLAB” and is a concurrent lecturer at the School of Science and Technology, Meiji University. His recent books include The Dream-Science Reader I, II, and III which are best-of collections of his previous works. All are published by Kadokawa.
Find them on Amazon.co.jp here.
Find more of Yanagita’s articles on Yahoo Japan here.
Visit the Dream-Science Laboratory website here.
BELOW: Dream-Science illustrations as printed in an Italian edition:
