Episode 8: Hello, Sasha

by Anton Mei Brandt and Kathy Clarkson

Picking up immediately where we left off, Yamato opens its Wave-Motion Gun induction valve, preparing to fire at Goruba and Deusura III. Everyone’s already donned their safety goggles as Kodai goes through the powerup procedure. “Ten seconds until firing!” Kodai barks, his hands on the firing mechanism.

Dessler quietly makes his peace with what’s to come as Starsha reaches out toward Iscandar’s skies in a vain attempt to stop the inevitable. With three seconds left, Domon smashes the emergency shutdown button, turning to aim his gun squarely at his Captain. Shima tries to appeal for the kid to stop but he refuses to back down.

“I should have done this sooner,” Domon mutters to himself. The Wave-Motion Gun powers down.

[KC]: Domon hasn’t been briefed on the lengths Abelt Dessler will go to. I was actually going to make a joke here at his expense, but I don’t think I will belittle His Majesty or the choice he’s making in the finale of 2205. Something to do with how hot-headed and melodramatic His Highness can be, and how he likes to crash into ships he has a beef with.

[AMB]: With style! As for Domon, this is a complete reversal of his character arc in Yamato III. There, he was the one itching to fire the WMG at the enemy, only to later use it to protect Galman-Garmillas – a story beat inherited by Nanbu for 2199. For 2205, he’s one of the more ardent anti-WMG characters on the ship, actively trying to dissuade his Captain from breaking the promise to Starsha all those years ago.

It’s fun seeing the anti-brightness goggles getting some use again. And seeing Starsha being honest with herself for the briefest of moments is cathartic, if a bit heart-wrenching, as the moment plays out.

“Yamato, what are you doing?” Dessler yells out, but his train of thought is interrupted by a swarm of four-legged Dezarium tanks crawling out from the fresh hole his Deusura III just punched into Goruba’s exterior. Not content with pouring out of the hole, dozens more descend from above like dandelions. That’s when Ghader Talan enters the bridge with a rifle in hand.

“All soldiers, prepare for hand-to-hand combat! Don’t let the enemy enter the-” Rocked by explosions on the ship’s hull, Talan’s attempt to rouse morale is cut short. Dessler, eyes closed in thought, finally speaks up.

“Talan…prepare to self-destruct. Although it probably won’t be enough to sink this fortress.” Though at first dazed by the sudden order, Talan quickly moves to make the necessary preparations. Dessler opens his eyes. “Kodai…are you going to let me die for nothing?”

[AMB]: As high as the stakes are for new viewers, this scene has quite a different atmosphere for the old guard. In the original New Voyage, Dessler’s suicide attempt was stopped by Starsha, a scene that’s already happened. Will he truly die for nothing this time around?

As we’ve seen previously, 2205 has a curious tendency to rearrange entire scenes and bits of dialogue to suit the new narrative being woven. Originally, Dessler’s “Yamato, what are you doing/waiting for?” line came before his love confession for Starsha, rather than after. This time, the desperation in his voice comes from Kodai not granting his request, rather than Starsha trying to stop him.

[KC]: I appreciate the nod to Talan’s competence as a military leader, which even in the original series we only get glimpses of. I feel like this scene where Talan runs out with that rifle is a callback to the original series, before Dessler’s big speech, when he is rallying the ground troops. Sadly, this time we don’t get to see his form-fitting body armor.

[AMB]: I’m of the same opinion. Since it didn’t happen in 2202, 2205’s staff found two opportunities to have Talan show up with his rifle, the second one coming up shortly. He even references one of his Yamato 2 lines from Episode 23, where he leads the defense on the Deusura’s hull! “Don’t let even one soldier enter the ship!” which became “Don’t let the enemy enter the-” (and he’s cut off).

[KC]: Perhaps 3199 will bring us yet more insights to his character.

[AMB]: Unconcerned with their own well-being, these four-legged machines use their head-mounted lasers to bore through the ship’s thick armor at their own expense, a couple bouncing off into space in the explosions. Should we presume they’re unmanned? Or do their pilots simply not care about their own physical well-being, a la Gatlantis?

The imagery of the tanks dropping from the sky seems to imply that there won’t be any Dezarium soldiers airdropping in 3199 for the Earth invasion, as we once saw in Be Forever. I’m saying this because there are better and more practical alternatives. But who knows, maybe Alphon will airdrop with a smaller group to seize key military installations in stealthy fashion. Maybe they’ll even have cloaking tech. I can already imagine Yamamoto being tasked with impromptu security detail for the President, only to be confronted by the spitting image of her dearly departed Klaus Keyman!

[KC]: Oh, that would be some good space opera angst!

[AMB]: The staff have already confirmed the Earth invasion will happen again, meaning we’re free to speculate to our hearts’ content!

Back on Yamato, Domon rushes to the engine room, appealing to Tokugawa and Yabu.

“Help, I need your help! I beg you! There’s a way to save everyone,” he tells them, but Yabu says he can’t leave his post and Tasuke’s concerned that Ryusuke’s acting on his own again. “I have permission,” he responds, much to Tasuke’s disbelief.

“I don’t get what he’s thinking either!”

Miyako and Sakamoto have just finished gearing up in the hangar when a flustered Bando joins them. Bando and Miyako exchange concerns about what’s going on while Sakamoto – who’s itching to fight – bickers about this change of plans interrupting his takeoff, blaming it on the likely suspect Domon. To their shock, Kodai steps out of Yamato’s Seagull transport ship, ordering them to join him for immediate departure.

[KC]: Once a rebel, always a rebel. I love the way this is set up. Now Kodai is going to go rescue his pal Dessler.

[AMB]: As for Domon, he meets an ill fate in Yamato III, being given the trusted task of activating the newly-affixed Shalbartian wonder tool called the Hydro Cosmogen. The only problem is that it has to be done manually on Yamato’s outer hull, where he swiftly meets his end after successfully activating it. He dies for the sake of activating a peaceful tool, rather than firing a destructive weapon.

Why is this important? Because 2205’s staff is emulating his character’s original journey, allowing him to be the hero who not only concocts the plan to save everyone, but also the guy who pulls it off together with Kodai (who originally stayed behind on the bridge). To further connect the two disparate story arcs, they visually reference Domon’s desperate run in Yamato III right here in 2205’s finale, hinting to older audiences that he might be rushing to his own doom.

[KC]: I had actually forgotten that Domon originally sacrificed himself, but I was still tense for this scene. Dessler is another one who didn’t survive the first time around (in Farewell to Yamato), although they corrected that unfortunate choice in Yamato 2.

[AMB]: It’s no secret that the late Yoshinobu Nishizaki likely saw his own likeness in Dessler as a character, and thus had no intentions of letting the character disappear. In the biographical manga series about Yoshiyuki Tomino (The Men Who Created Gundam by Hideki Ohwada) that likeness is taken to its logical extreme, with Nishizaki himself being visually portrayed as Dessler!

[KC]: I also remember hearing that he wanted to give Dessler his own show at some point.

[AMB]: Dessler’s War, a project long in the works that was eventually put out to pasture. It would have featured Dessler aboard the battleship Starsha, flying through the cosmos in the post-Final Yamato world. 2202’s Deputy Director and Gatlantis mechanical designer Makoto Kobayashi was initially called to work on it.

[KC]: Yeah, disappointing that it never went anywhere.

Read all about that cancelled project here.

Aboard the Seagull, Domon asks why he had to join Kodai in order for the Captain to adopt his plan. Domon did pull a gun on him after all.

“You said ‘I should have done this sooner.’ And you’re right. But being right doesn’t always guarantee success. Reality is complex and cruel. You’ll be hurt less if you accept such unreasonable situations. That’s one of the correct viewpoints. But, even so, we have things we can’t give up. If you’re told to give up, you must resist. Don’t worry about your position. Fight every inch of the way so you can be yourself. I’d forgotten about it…for far too long.”

Domon’s completely taken aback, his gaze fixed on Kodai.

“Let’s make up for lost time. Don’t bite your tongue.”

[AMB]: Kodai gets to play the rogue hero in a very 2199-esque way, repeating his daring ventures in the Seagull, such Yamato’s first encounter with the UX-01 where he likewise went out against orders. But this time the Seagull is transporting the Captain to a new ship.

[KC]: Domon’s faith in his captain is restored. I love this Kodai.

[AMB]: Same here. Throughout all of 2205, the staff teased us with the fall-from-grace version of Kodai we saw in Resurrection, only to have a bold young kid who shares his pain rip him out of that self-destructive mindset. For fans of the hopeful, optimistic Kodai this might be the one big sign that he’ll be alright! Even if the more pragmatic, grounded solutions probably have a greater rate of success, we should all strive toward doing what’s right!

[KC]: This franchise has a lot of beautiful moments woven among the space battles. Also, the music is great here.

[AMB]: It is! The track’s called Dogfight, and it’s an original leitmotif created for Yamato’s firing of the WMG in 2202’s Episode 13, where the entire crew decides – on Keyman’s encouragement – to join together as one and each take responsibility for the destructive consequences of using it. It would later be used when Keyman helped the crew escape Dessler’s prison in Episode 16, and once more in 2205 Episode 6, during Frakken’s rescue operation. It’s an especially fitting track to play for a “We’re all in this together” moment.

[KC]: Indeed. Very exciting and inspiring.

[AMB]: Now that we’re nearing the end of 2205, let’s take a look at Domon as a character. Voice actor Tasuku Hatanaka has a few things to say about him; as does writer Harutoshi Fukui…

Hatanaka: “Domon’s inability to think about the future is a danger, but his willingness to be direct about what he thinks is right. That encouraged me as an actor. At first, I felt that I was too far away from him because of the difference in our problems. But when I started to play him, I found him to be a very human young man, and I quickly came to like him. I’m sure everyone will like him.”

Fukui: “The role of Domon is that of a person who confronts you with things you don’t want to hear. In real life, nobody wants someone like that to come into the scene. But even though we don’t like it, we all know that not having people like that around is like dying a slow death. I’m sure everyone understands that.”

Read more here.

[KC]: Oh, he definitely brings value to this story. I mean, he’s saving Dessler’s life.

Aboard Asuka, Captain Yuki’s in a three-way Zoom call with Yamato’s XO Shima and Hyuga’s Captain Sanada. Yuki casually accepts Kodai’s decision as relayed by Yamato’s Vice Captain, informing both parties that she’ll move ahead to fulfill her part of the plan being sprung. Shima thanks her before the call ends. After steeling himself, Sanada orders all EDF ships to turn about 180 degrees, followed by an appeal on open channels to all ships in the joint Earth-Garmillan fleet.

“To all joint fleet ships: the Earth fleet will commence an operation to rescue Supreme Leader Dessler. Follow us if you so desire.”

Berger and Frakken both smile knowingly aboard their respective ships, their hearts already decided.

“We need your help to divert enemy attention. Migrant fleet, continue moving and get as far away as possible. If you’re willing to join, show your intent by turning your ships around.”

[AMB]: Reminder: Shima’s the XO now, a promotion he originally earned in Yamato III. It’s strange seeing him in a three-way call with Sanada and Yuki. Good on him!

[KC]: “The Earth fleet will commence an operation to rescue Supreme Leader Dessler.” Not just music to my ears, a veritable symphony. I am filled with the warm fuzzies. They’d better hurry before Talan blows up the flagship.

[AMB]: Talan’s a good boy, so I don’t expect he’ll carry out the self-destruct order until he’s absolutely certain he has to, hence the rifle!

On another note, it’s finally time to delve into the Japanese word Sōtō (総統) which has officially been translated as “Chancellor” for 2199, and fan-translated as “Führer” in various works. We’ve sometimes translated it here as “Leader,” but that title hardly carries the same weight as the Japanese term does. “Emperor” worked for a while (since he ran an empire), but why not translate the title to the more literal “President?”

In Japan, the title Daitōryo (President) is only ever used for elected officials, whereas Sōtō is used for any and all dictatorial/fascist politicians/leaders (who aren’t monarchs). The word’s meaning is “all, everything” (総) + “rule, govern” (‎統). If one checks the academic sources listed for the term on Japanese wikipedia, one gets two good candidates for translation: (1) Supreme Leader, and (2) Supreme Sovereign.

The closest English equivalents would be “(supreme) leader/ruler,” or “guide.” For reference, my Swedish equivalent is härförare, which means “the one who leads us forward.” I think the reason the English staffers for the 2199 compilation movie A Voyage to Remember somewhat erroneously chose “Chancellor” (Reichskanzler in German/rikskansler in Swedish/chancellor of the kingdom in English) for their translation is because that title was merged with the “Führer” title in Germany after Reichskanzler Hindenburg’s death in the 1930’s. The Reichskanzler title then gradually faded as “Führer” gained more prominence in the public sphere.

The origins of the word “Führer” can be traced to German military company leaders who were granted full authority in spite of their lacking experience or rank, starting in the 1800s. After the leader of the Italian fascist party Benito Mussolini borrowed the Latin word “Dux” (leader/duke) for his own unique leadership title of “Duce,” it likely inspired the NSDAP to adopt their own unique title, one rooted in contemporary military history (Führer). Seeing as the NSDAP leader was one who ruled all, it’s no wonder the Japanese addressed him as Sōtō – the same word being used to translate Mussolini’s Italian “Generalissimo” title and Francisco Franco’s Spanish “Caudillo” title.

In spite of Dessler’s regime being monarchical in origin, he grew to become his planet’s Supreme Leader with time. Though his followers accepted a Dessler as their Supreme Leader, his brand of rule would still technically not be referred to as a monarchy in-universe. Complicated, I know, but that’s just how it is.

[KC]: It might be a demotion, but here in the States he was “Leader Desslok.” I was never a fan of that name, but when I am not being overly familiar I think “Leader Dessler” has a nice ring to it.

[AMB]: It kind of does!

Intercepting Sanada’s appeal, Meldars announces his own course of action, looking unusually grim.

“They are the ones who broke the promise. You can’t complain now, Queen Starsha.”

With that, Goruba’s forces advance to meet the joint fleet in combat.

On Iscandar, Yurisha dejectedly points out that fighting has begun once more. Starsha can only mutter one word in her distress.

“Abelt…”

Yurisha intercepts an emergency transmission on her high-tech wristband. It’s from the Earth fleet! Starsha’s gaze turns from dread to surprise in one quick motion.

[KC]: She didn’t see that one coming. Gotta say, though, that looks like some real concern on her face for Dessler, which I don’t feel he got in the original series.

[AMB]: Are you referring to The New Voyage? Because in that movie she breaks down crying in Mamoru’s arms the moment Dessler rams Goruba. Then, a mere second before Kodai fires the WMG, it’s her ear-piercing scream that forces Kodai to stop. That said, Kikuko Inoue’s performance does come with a unique sense of tenderness for Abelt that we don’t find in the original work. There’s also the synchronicity gained from having her repeat the same line she spoke to herself in 2199 Episode 23, where she also doesn’t have the power to stop Abelt from committing an act of self-sacrifice. “Abelt…”

Speaking of Meldars…true to his word, he kept his forces on a tight leash under the conditions set by Starsha. Given that the joint fleet tried to stab him in the back, he’s perfectly within his rights to retaliate. He doesn’t seem too surprised though, more like some millennia-old preconception of humanity has been proven right once more. If not for this, I genuinely believe he’d leave them alone after rummaging through Sanctel’s memory vault, for good and for worse.

[KC]: I guess I always interpreted that New Voyages scene as her being upset by the violence and death in general, because as you say, there wasn’t really any tenderness indicated toward him in the original work. While much of that credit should go to Kikuko Inoue, the fact that Dessler has a given name this time, which she utters in dramatic and emotionally charged moments, is a lot of what changes their dynamic for me.

As for Meldars, yeah, it’s not really personal with him. He just wants the vault. The problem is what he intends to do with the vault.

[AMB]: The road to hell is paved with good intentions…

Leading the charge against Goruba’s forces are Yamamoto and Melda, both making short work of the caterpillar fighters in their way, on account of their predictable maneuvering pattern.

[AMB]: All Akira and Melda fans rejoice: the girls are at it again, side-by-side!

Just behind them, the Lambea and Asuka both adopt spearhead formations, cutting through the enemy’s wide lines.

Meanwhile Hyuga’s staying out of combat to prepare the newly finished Cosmo Hound for its maiden flight, piloted by Kodai’s hand-picked crew from the Seagull. At Sakamoto’s behest, Yabu explains the ship’s name.

“The development team named it. This is the Earth force’s first dimensional submarine. It’s a stupid dog, one prone to failing once every three times.” Yabu’s display lights up with the familiar image of the Gesh Vual engine running its system setup program.

“Seriously?” Sakamoto responds with trepidation.

“Sounds good to me,” Caroline calls out from inside the ship’s hull, getting settled inside her Mobile Armor with Bando’s technical assistance. “It’s a perfect companion for you.”

Kodai orders the Cosmo Hound to take off. After its takeoff from Hyuga, Yabu announces the ship’s first dimensional dive and the engine sputters to life. The Hound’s wings gleam and shine in cerulean blue as it effortlessly takes a dip in dimensional waters.

[AMB]: Caroline messing with Sakamoto is growing on me. That said, let’s dive into the origin of the Cosmo Hound name

[KC]: It’s named after Frakken, yeah? And just as an aside, were they intentionally trying to confuse us? In 2199 we met Frakken, whose given name is Wolf and whose nickname is “The Hound,” and Eric Domel, the celebrity general whose nickname is “The Wolf of Space.” I wonder how Frakken felt about that.

[AMB]: Yes! Since Yabu and his development team worked with the man known under the moniker “The Hound” for the past seven years, they likely gave the Cosmo Hound its cheeky name for that reason. And I’m glad you asked about Frakken’s surname!

The Japanese word for wolf is okami (狼), and the Japanese transcription of the foreign word “wolf” is ウルフ (Urufu, which is very close to Ulv, the ancient Scandinavian word for wolf). Frakken’s surname is officially transcribed as ヴォルフ (Volf), which is how the Japanese transcribe the Germanic name “Wolf” (as in “Wolfgang”) which has a slightly different pronunciation than the English word “wolf.” Since okami doesn’t sound even remotely close to “wolf,” it’s very possible that our Anglo association to the word has been lost in translation.

Eruk (or Elk) Domel probably received the moniker “The wolf of space” because of his fleet tactics often mimicking the behavior of a wolf pack, with each wolf (or fleet) circling the enemy with careful moves only to lunge forward and ravage easy pickings one by one. Or in instances where the enemy is completely outnumbered, his fleets all converge on the same target with boldness and ferocity, as we see in 2199 Episode 15. No ship is left alive when the wolves have had their fun.

Frakken’s nickname (猟犬, or Ryoken, which can mean both “The Hound” and “Hunting Dog”) likely refers to how he and his crew are all a bunch of washups and disgraced military men, scoundrels who work for whoever feeds them rather than adhering to the normal chain of command. They’re willful, brutish men who, like dogs, have hearts of gold. That, and the fact that he’s Dietz and Dessler’s private hunting dog, unleashed on whatever target is given to him and his crew.

[KC]: Thank you for that education. The nicknames are certainly appropriate for each of them!

[AMB]: On the music side of things, we’re blessed with the previously unheard and more hopeful portion of Battle for Garmillas from Episode 3. It’s epic in scale, hopeful and tense in equal measure. Regrettably, its resurgence here may have stolen the spotlight from one of the more iconic pieces of music from New Voyage: the Dessler/Goruba/Yamato three-way theme. Since it’s featured on the 2205 Original Soundtrack, it’s clear to me that Sound Director Tomohiro Yoshida thought it could be used here, but since a hopeful reprise of Battle for Garmillas has a stronger thematic purpose here, I can’t blame anyone for making the change.

It’s just strange to imagine a reboot of New Voyage that doesn’t feature the SFX-portions of the Goruba theme, nor this piece of music. Ark of the Stars even went so far as to directly reference the latter, except that time they strung together the Gatlantis, Yamato and Garmillas leitmotifs. There’s a chance we might never hear this piece in the reboot unless Dessler joins Yamato’s quest to find Dezarium in 3199. But hey, at least we can hear the track on the CD release! Go buy yourself a copy now!

Back in August of 2021, scriptwriter Hideki Oka responded to a bunch of fan theories about the factions and characters in 2205, going so far as to hint at a Bolar/Dezarium leitmotif combo for 3199. Since these two factions never crossed over in the original works, it would be a rare opportunity to forge such a theme. Here’s hoping we get to hear an ungodly combination of these two disparate leitmotifs in 3199!

Read more here.

The Cosmo Hound’s dive is detected by Goruba’s sensors. One of the many cold-voiced subordinates in the fortress reports his findings to Meldars, peaking his interest.

“Dimensional submersion echo detected. Unknown wavelength.”

Above Iscandar, the battle rages on with Yamato imploring an increasingly-overwhelmed Dessler to make his escape while the joint fleet distracts Meldars’ forces. He can’t help but wonder aloud what they’re thinking.

[KC]: It’s kind of surreal how concerned they are for him. I like it.

[AMB]: Domon’s actions speak for Kodai’s heart in this episode, refusing to let the old guard take the easy way out and pawning off their baggage on the next generation. If Dessler and Starsha – two people who share a similar bond to Yuki and Kodai – can be saved, even with poor odds, we should try doing just that. Two episodes ago, Domon learned that Dessler’s a man who speaks through actions rather than words. Kodai’s the same. It’s incredibly frustrating for an outspoken youth to navigate through these social norms, so he rejects them.

Had Domon not been here, Kodai would have more than likely gone through with firing the WMG at Dessler to fulfill his wish to die for Starsha. And since Sanada was the one barking out the orders for the joint fleet to aid “Supreme Leader Dessler,” I’d like to imagine he took on that task, in part, to protect the woman his best friend Mamoru loved.

[KC]: That definitely makes sense.

[AMB]: His mentality plays into Writer Harutoshi Fukui’s own mindset, as described in an interview back in February of 2022:

“How do we cope in the midst of all this loss? Dessler loses his support. But he only acts on his thoughts. It’s foolish, but it’s also a good thing about being human. It’s good to be able to support that. The internet is full of information about how to be smart, but if you rely on that alone, it will make your life more limited. Where do we set our foothold, and what is at our core? I hope that this story will help people to re-examine their own life.”

Read more here.

[KC]: He’s not wrong.

[AMB]: This scene also hints at a major discrepancy between Dezarium’s spacetime and 2205’s Earth. In Episode 6, Meldars received no update from his staff about the Garmillan space submarines’ submersion echoes discharging an “unknown” wavelength. He even makes not-so-subtle remarks about how detection of their kind of submersion tech is standard-issue equipment in his time. So why is the Cosmo Hound picked up by their sonar ping with an “unknown wavelength?”

Undoubtedly because in his time, where Garmillas (“those weak beings who don’t leave any mark in history”) were forgotten, Earth never committed to a post-2202 era technological exchange with Garmillas. As a result, there was no Cosmo Hound to blend their technological marvels. What he’s witnessing on his screen is a major timeline divergence.

[KC]: So he comes from a timeline where Earth did not form an alliance with Garmillas. Where Garmilla perhaps never even went to war with Earth? Where Dessler may not have even existed? What a terrible place.

[AMB]: I was more thinking Earth managed to win without selling usage rights for the Time Fault to Garmillas, effectively freezing their technological evolution and their potential threat as an adversary. Who knows, maybe the war went so poorly for Gatlantis at one point they sent smaller battalions to round up Garmillans for science slaves, which then led to their kind being forgotten by history.

Details aside, what matters here is that the post-2202 world (as understood by Meldars) didn’t see relations with Garmillas improve, but rather deteriorate. Paranoid after the brutal war with Gatlantis, Earth kept the Time Fault’s wonders to itself, outgrowing the entire universe. That’s my speculation, at least!

[KC]: I’m looking forward to finding out!

Back on Iscandar, Starsha and Yurisha have entered Sanctel’s deepest chambers. There to meet them, thanks to the Cosmo Hound’s dimensional dive, is Kodai’s crew. Kodai steps forward with an appeal.

“I don’t know how you do things on Iscandar, but on Earth, a person who falls in love with an Earthling’s sibling becomes family. You loved my brother, which makes you my sister. Nothing else matters. I want you to come to Earth with me. I..,” Kodai hangs his head, gritting his teeth. “…Don’t want to lose my family again!”

Hearing this, both Starsha and Yabu react.

“Sister!” Kodai shouts.

Starsha hangs her own head, deep in thought. That’s when Domon steps forward.

“If you don’t leave, Supreme Leader Dessler won’t withdraw.” Starsha mulls this over.

“It might sound foolish. We humans are foolish. We act irrationally for the sake of important things. Starsha, if you are human, I want you to be foolish! Throw everything away! Then muster the courage to leave this graveyard!”

Starsha considers this notion, but her thoughts are interrupted by Yurisha, who steps forward carrying the capsule holding “Sasha.”

[KC]: So much more emotional impact than in The New Voyage. We love to see it.

[AMB]: It’s helped by the BGM Yamato~Meditation, an introspective blending of the Yamato theme with Great Love.

In the original work, the staff never formalized Susumu’s bond with Starsha as that of siblings. This is his one chance of saving a family member that’s actually within his grasp. His parents and extended family were felled by Garmillan planet bombs. In this version of the story, his brother Mamoru died far away on Iscandar after sustaining injuries in war. This scene not only achieves emotional catharsis for a broken young man, but helps prepare us for how he’ll treat Sasha, the almost-mystical daughter of Mamoru and Starsha.

What Kodai also manages to do here is to convince Starsha to leave for Earth. In the original series, he tried to convince Mamoru to join him, a futile effort given that Starsha – the woman he loved – refused to leave her home. Playing into the brother/sister connection here seems to have really wound up the Japanese audiences too, as evidenced by a special teaser the 2205 staff released showing tearful reactions.

You can view it here.

And though foolish and idealistic as Domon may sound here, it’s exactly his kind of mentality that’s needed to push these messy adults out of their comfort zone and into risky territory. If Dessler is important to her, she needs to escape. If Starsha is important to Kodai, he needs to help her escape. If the promises Dessler made to the people he cares about are important to him, he’ll uphold them. This place is a graveyard that needs to be left behind.

[KC]: Yes; no one is making an appeal for the Iscandarians choosing to dream away their afterlife.

[AMB]: The idea to formalize Starsha as Kodai’s sister-in-law came from the fact that Dessler and Kodai have matured quite a bit as characters in the reboot. Here are Fukui’s thoughts on the matter:

“In the original, Yamato started out as a young man’s story, but after The New Voyage, it became a family story. That’s why the scene where Kodai calls Starsha ‘sister’ became necessary. If it had matured like this at that time, Yamato might have taken a different turn. But the audience back then was probably still in their teens and twenties. They probably thought it would be a bad idea to bring in a story about having a child. Now that fans have grown older, I think they’ll see the story in the right light.”

This isn’t unheard of, given that Sunrise once refused Yoshiyuki Tomino the right to make the protagonist character Amuro Ray into an expectant father for his final movie, where he’s pitted against the primary antagonist Char Aznable. As franchises grow, so too do their audiences. It’s up to the rights holders to decide whether or not they want to value their core audience, or seek more younglings. The Yamato franchise has always kept its core in mind.

Read more here.

[KC]: The highest form of fan service.

“Let’s go, sister,” Yurisha adds. “We aren’t ghosts who subject ourselves to reliving the past in perpetuity. We are also ‘life.’ We should live unpredictable lives, moving toward the future. Whether it’s for a minute, or even a second, it’s of no consequence. If I can live just one genuine, fulfilled life…then I want to live it!”

Starsha takes a lengthy look at Sasha’s pod, then closes her eyes, nodding solemnly. The Cosmo Hound takes its leave, carrying both sisters of the royal family.

[AMB]: The cruel sadness and regret Yurisha experienced in the last episode is reversed. Refusing to accept Starsha’s path of blissful ignorance of a world beyond this place, she takes her first step toward adulthood, rebelling against an overbearing sister figure for the sake of all their lives. It matters little if this rebellion buys her a mere second more of ‘life,’ as long as this second makes her feel even a tiny bit more fulfilled.

[KC]: For a brief period of time here, I got to experience the hope that in this version Starsha was legit going to go with them.

[AMB]: I’m of the same opinion. The idea that Starsha might live on past this story was not impossible, given that Yurisha could live away from the planet for years in 2199. Also, the symbology here of Yurisha stepping forward with an incomplete soul stuck in a pod (Sasha), appealing to its right to step outside (in spite of the risks and futility of such an action)…let’s just say it resonates with me in a much different way in the post-COVID era. Nobody wants to live an unfulfilled life on lockdown behind closed doors on the orders of busybodies and nihilists.

The scene also flips the script on Sasha’s original character arc from Be Forever Yamato. There, Starsha’s ghost tells her she’s destined to die on Dezarium’s homeworld, and that she should gladly accept her fate with a smile and a wave. Here, after initially accepting her fate in the last episode, she [in the form of Yurisha] rejects it!

[KC]: As someone in the field of public health, I don’t know that I would equate COVID guidelines with intrusiveness or nihilism, but I do get the connection between Yurisha’s plea and the idea of refusing to live in fear of illness or injury.

[AMB]: Just to clarify: I’m not necessarily referring to the American response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but more so countries like Australia and China where the government would send hit squads to force you inside, ruin you financially for not complying, or kill puppies en masse in the street (whether or not they had owners) to “level the spread.” In the US and my own country of Sweden, we were given a choice. Japan stayed locked up until October of 2022.

[KC]: Damn, that would definitely have an impact on the writing.

Back on Goruba’s bridge, Meldars is informed of the Cosmo Hound’s dimensional submersion echo once more, this time pinged directly below Iscandar’s palace.

“So that’s your aim, is it?” Meldars steps forward in dramatic fashion, issuing a new order. “Release the net!”

Inside the Cosmo Hound’s midsection, Miyako examines Starsha and Yurisha’s vital signs. No abnormalities are detected. After she asks how they’re feeling, Kodai enters from the ship’s cockpit, cutting off a response. He informs the sisters he’s happy for their decision join him, whereupon Starsha states the obvious: they can’t let Dezarium seize a now-unguarded Iscandar. Kodai knowingly hangs his head, offering no rebuke. That’s when he’s called into the cockpit by Yabu.

[KC]: Ah, not that damn net.

[AMB]: A very functional net! And can I just point out how absurd it feels to see Starsha’s physical form strapped with a belt buckle, her feet not planted on Iscandar? Her spirit could project itself in The New Voyage and Be Forever, but this is her actual physical (albeit more of a vessel) body!

[KC]: It still should have made them suspicious that neither sister brought any luggage.

[AMB]: I wonder if the Iscandarian philosophy lessened its citizens’ proclivity toward materialism. The little we see of Isk San Aria in 2199 does seem to imply that.

[KC]: One area where they may have been on the right track, at least.

Yabu’s sonar has picked up a giant object closing in, the very same one – as Tokugawa points out – that ate Hainey’s space submarine two episodes ago. Sakamoto warns the crew that it’s almost caught up to them, prompting Domon to rouse everyone aboard the ship with some motivation through the P.A. system.

“Everyone, this is the moment of truth. Breathe together as if rowing a cutter boat.”

As he speaks, Bando opens the hatch connecting to the ship’s lower aft engine, urging Caroline in her Mobile Armor to step forward. “We’re all in this together!”

Kodai then grabs Domon’s attention, informing the youth that since this is his plan, he will lead the operation. After briefly taking in the new level of trust from his Captain, Domon responds with a respectful “Yes, sir!”

[KC]: I am definitely far more invested in this kid than I was the first time around.

[AMB]: This story’s very tightly written! Not only did Domon’s gun pointing at Kodai call back to Episode 1, we also have the boat-rowing as a formative experience! And of course the 2202 mantra, “We’re all in this together” will forever resonate from this point onward, ever since Hirata explained it. The scene also allows Kodai to do what Sanada did for him back in Ark of the Stars: effectively put him in charge for a spell.

On a separate topic, what’s the purpose behind making “The Net” look so organic? Is it a marvel of technological achievement, a beastly machine that can teleport anything it swallows into the Goruba Dome? Or is it a biological beast, fitted with what appears to be a translocator in its mouth? Could this be the reboot’s take on the original’s shape-shifting Balanodon? Not a stretch considering the Balanodon control ships were consciously brought back as civilian craft for 2205.

[KC]: Interesting. That net does resemble something organic. I got flowering vine vibes also. It made me think of protoculture from Macross/Robotech, but it also occurred to me that in Matsumoto’s manga and the original Yamato series, Garmillas technology was very organic as well. Something that I think has been played down since we got 2199. Maybe they still liked the concept and wanted to give it to someone else.

[AMB]: Here’s a twist: Göer and his Balanodons were present in Dezarium’s timeline, and after Earth first encountered these moldable organic beasts, they tamed them like zoo animals for use in war in the same way Göer had done with his silly mind-control helmet. There’s a precedent for it, since Yamato did originally pick up a Balanodon along their journey for scientific study.

Also, weren’t there other creatures in the first series that never showed up in the reboot? I recall those non-threatening gooey blobs indigenous to Pluto. In fact, they seemed to have the same sound effects as the Net!

[KC]: You don’t say. Another callback!

[AMB]: Could be!

The Hound’s engines kick into high gear, accelerating away from Dezarium’s capture field at unstable thrust levels. Yabu spots the dimensional boundary that will act as their exit out of the dimensional sea, but Sakamoto isn’t sure if they’ll make it in time, since their assailant is speeding up as well.

Domon reassures their pilot that they’re doing well and to start the ten second countdown. At five seconds, Miyako holds her hands together in what appears to be prayer, closing her eyes. Once it reaches zero, Bando unlocks the metal door connecting to the lower aft engine. Caroline uses her armor’s arms to press as hard as she can on the door, but it won’t budge.

“No good, the lock’s stuck!” Bando barks out, noticing that one of the pistons didn’t unlock properly, keeping the door shut. “It’s malfunctioning! I’ve gotta check the circuit!” Sakamoto then rightly points out that there’s no time to do that. Frustrations begin to mount and Yabu snaps.

“This stupid dog!” Yabu smacks his console, followed by Sakamoto saying they’re about to get swallowed. Kodai urges him to down trim at reverse speed 2. This seems to do the trick, helping them barely evade the Capture Field. Kodai then barks out at Raiden to not give up.

[AMB]: What does Sakamoto mean by “reverse speed 2”? It does the trick huh? As expected, SF researcher Shinya Ogura has the answer:

“On the verge of being captured by Dezarium’s capture field, Kodai orders Sakamoto to reverse thrust to escape. The original script depicted Kodai taking control with the line, ‘I’ll take it, Sakamoto.’ Mr. Fukui said, ‘Mr. Ogura, come up with this line.’ After coordinating with Mecha Designer Junichiro Tamamori, specialized dialogue was written for the Cosmo Hound to reverse thrust: ‘Sakamoto. Down trim, reverse speed 2.’ Lines with a ‘Self-Defense Force’ taste have been a Yamato specialty since 2199.”

Above right: Explanatory material created when modifying the dialogue for avoiding the capture field.
It shows that the design of the capture field was undecided at this point.

[KC]: Things can never go completely according to plan, after all.

[AMB]: As Yabu mentioned earlier, this dog’s prone to failing once every three times. In this instance, they’re having trouble kicking the aft engine off for the worm to swallow. It’s an exciting escape sequence, featuring a diaspora of characters who, by strange twists of fate, have been thrown together despite their “classic era” origins. Yabu, who originally died in the first series, is front and center. The youths from Yamato III each use their skills to bring the best out of each other, while we have two royal Iscandarian sisters wincing through the bumpy right.

The tune used for this sequence is a new rendition of the Yamato III BGM Barnard Star Battle. Speaking of Yamato III, the initial design of 2205’s Cosmo Hound had the ship stripped of its wings. This was before the staff realized they needed to find a way for the ship to escape the Dezarium Net.

At one point there was talk of streamlining the design to more closely resemble the Garmillan submarines and making it as small as a fighter plane, but this idea was scrapped on the premise of being too dissimilar to the original design. Of course there’s the obvious question: why not fire at the Dezarium net? Because the Cosmo Hound is a prototype ship, it sadly comes unarmed. This will likely change for 3199.

Read more here.

“Only one lock is stuck. Keep pushing.” Hearing this, Raiden tries to deflect, only to be teased by Kodai. “Is ‘brave’ only in your surname, Caroline?” Hearing her surname uttered so scoldingly, she can’t help but cringe in frustration. Kodai then turns to Tokugawa, urging him to channel more power to the engine.

Tasuke tells his Captain that he’s asking for the impossible; if they transfer any more power to the engine now, the ship can’t lift high enough to make contact with the dimensional boundary. Domon points out that once the ship gets lighter (as it soon will) they’ll definitely be able to make it.

With the excess power surging through the Hound’s engine, they once more manage to evade capture, getting ever closer to the exit. Caroline tries getting the door to budge, pushing her suit hard enough for its wheels to grind the floor into sparks. The last lock starts to give. The Capture Field begins to envelop the Hound. Caroline, shrieking, steps out of her suit to try and aid its mechanical arms – which are still pressed heavily against the door – with her own hands.

“Don’t mess with me!” She screams as both the Mobile Armor’s arms and the last lock break in tandem. A white light washes over the screen.

[KC]: I know they make it and I was still gripping the armrests of my chair.

[AMB]: It’s a thrilling sequence that gives the new cast a nice boost against the established characters! I’m also happy the staff didn’t decide to forego realism completely by having Raiden overpower her mobile armor, but instead aid it in breaking the last lock on the door. The Yamato reboot has been exceptional in this area, from 2199 to 2205. As a result, Caroline leaves a strong impression without coming off as an unbelievable fantasy character.

This generational gap between the cast was acknowledged by director Kenji Yasuda in the August 2021 issue of the Yamato fan club magazine:

“For me, it’s less about the current global situation and more about the generation gap between the characters represented by Kodai and Domon. Even though the difference in their age is not that great, Kodai and his friends and Domon and his friends are clearly living in different generations. Clashes and disconnects arise from this gap. Of course, that exists in the real world today, too.”

Read more of his thoughts here.

[KC]:Yes, I can definitely see the correlation between the crew’s generational gap and the one that exists in our world, but you’re right; it’s well written and the characters pull it off.

We cut to Meldars’ crew confirming the Hound’s capture. Meldars thinks aloud as the digital feed of the Goruba dome is displayed for him, patiently waiting for the target to be teleported inside the Dome. But the only thing that appears is the aft and wing portion of the Hound, not the section holding the royals. “What’s this…?”

Elsewhere, the main body of the Hound successfully exits the dimensional boundary, all aboard safe and sound. Domon, seemingly in disbelief at their success, is brought out of his daze by Kodai.

Without facing Domon, Kodai extends his hand to give a thumbs up. Domon is content.

[AMB]: Kodai giving Domon that passive Dale Cooper thumbs up is definitely one of the highlights for his character in this outing.

One of Meldars’ subordinates reports a Wave-Motion Energy response from inside the enemy ship! Meldars rises from his throne with renewed urgency.

“It’s a trap! Get it out of the Goruba now!”

[KC]: HA HA HA! COMPLIMENTS OF PLANET EARTH, MY DUDE.

[AMB]: Dezarium messed up Garmillas’ planetary core, so Yamato does the same with Goruba’s (Auto)planetary core! Brilliant! It bears repeating that Meldars only needs the royals (Starsha and Yurisha) because they have exclusive access to the memory vault. With the previous back-stabbings in mind, he’s being very pragmatic here, all things considered. I just wish they could have talked things over.

[KC]: Again, it depends on what he wants all that energy for. But I’m not cheering Goruba’s destruction just because it might thwart Dezarium’s evil schemes; this is payback for Garmillas.

[AMB]: True that!

But the order comes too late. The Wave-Motion Excavator inside the captured portion of the Cosmo Hound initiates its activation sequence, blowing up right inside the Goruba Dome. Wave after wave of blue, brilliant WM Energy shreds and scorches the Goruba Dome, melting away its inner walls. Goruba itself begins erupting in explosions, leading to the shutdown of the quad-legged tanks harassing Deusura III.

[AMB]: Another gorgeous sequence of explosive delights!

In The New Voyage there was no hint at Dezarium tech being paper thin against Yamato’s WMG; instead, Goruba was done in by the destruction of Iscandar. In Be Forever, when Yamato fires its WMG at the Dezarium homeworld, it practically melts and is violently torn apart by storms of lightning formed by WME, partially because the fake exterior of Dezarium was composed of fragile mineral formations.

Even Sanada is stunned by this fact, realizing that this is why they feared Yamato in the first place! When the energy used by Dezarium collides with WME, it creates explosions. In this episode, traces of those Be Forever era visual effects can be seen inside the Goruba Dome, even down to the lightning bolts.

With the destruction of the Dome, the honeycomb reactor falls, which we can infer to be the cause of the tanks going limp. This doesn’t confirm whether or not they’re manned, just where their power source is located. It’s also worth noting that the visual representation of the Wave-Motion Excavator blowing up has a similar look to the trails of blue light we see following Yamato’s warp tech in Be Forever.

A question: given that we see Deda and Meldars clearly expressing emotions, why is that even when faced with the prospect of a WME weapon in their bowels – a taboo weapon – Meldars’ subordinates still sound just as cold and detached as when they were introduced? Could it be that they are the equivalent of autonomous Garmilloids, or Dessler’s clone vat soldiers? My bet’s on the former suggestion, given that Saki Todo brings up how close Earth is to realizing humanoid soldiers at the apex of the war with Gatlantis in 2202. I also wonder if Dessler managed to scavenge any of those tanks…

[KC]: There have to be plenty on the hull, and we know he likes to stand out there and chat with Kodai.

Talan steps onto Deusula III‘s bridge with rifle in hand, doing his best to rouse Dessler out of his bafflement.

“Your excellency…”

Kodai patches through to Abelt’s bridge with good news.

“Supreme Leader Dessler, we’ve rescued Queen Starsha. I suggest that you escape now.”

Dessler can’t believe his ears. Kodai hands over his portable radio to Starsha, wordlessly urging her to speak with him. She can only muster a shaky “Abelt,” the last thing Dessler expected to hear. Hanging his head in thought, he mutters Talan’s name, tacit permission to withdraw. The ship removes itself from the exploding Goruba.

[AMB]: One of my favorite scenes in 2205! Why? It plays with the culture of “Chinmoku” (silence) in Japanese communication, a facet of Japanese culture we’ve spoken about in previous episodes.

Kodai, knowing how stubborn these people can be, instigates a brief but worthwhile three-way communication between Starsha, Dessler and Talan. Knowing full well he can’t convince Dessler to escape, he leaves the job to Starsha.

Unsure of what to say after their last brutal farewell, Starsha settles on simply stating his name. Too proud to reverse his previous self-destruct order, Abelt simply mutters his XO’s name. Talan, with a straight back and a simple “Sir,” swiftly moves to carry out Dessler’s unspoken order: take us out of here.

Without the prior context necessary to understand these characters and their complex relations, there’s no way you’d reasonably grasp why they act as they do, nor how they’re able to so accurately read each other’s intentions. Three words settled this dispute: (1) Abelt, (2) Talan, (3) Sir. By not repeating details they already know, they evade pangs of guilt, regret and discomfort.

[KC]: Maybe they set aside time for that later. If so, it’s a shame we don’t get to see it, but American culture isn’t ever really about subtlety.

The voice of Meldars’ female boss resonates from the elaborate emblem on Goruba’s bridge. She sounds distressed.

“The records have become distorted. The thousand-year dream of Dezarium has become warped.”

“By just one bomb? How?” Meldars stands there in disbelief.

“Wave-Motion Energy…that accursed power.” Hearing the mere mention of it causes Meldars to cringe in anger.

“Meldars! Follow Dezarium doctrine…and sink that ship!” Goruba begins powering up its Beta Cannon.

[KC]: Oh crap. I started celebrating too soon.

[AMB]: “My limitless Beta gun – watch it well! All ships – give Yamato its coup de grace!”

[KC]: I can’t watch!

[AMB]: Through the intervention of one WME-infused bomb, the entire future of Dezarium’s world and its millennial dream is in jeopardy, its records distorted and torn. As if speaking from experience, Meldars and [presumably] Sada talk of WME as the deciding factor in what Meldars once said had the capacity to destroy the universe. Sada’s voice is clearly pained.

Seeing as Yamato, the ship wiped from their records, is a bearer of WME, Dezarium doctrine dictates for it to be sunk. The future may be damned, but Dezarium will not allow Yamato to further cause trouble for the universe and the future on account of it being a WMG-equipped ship.

I’m very much looking forward to seeing this facet of Dezarium’s culture explored in 3199. Maybe Emperor Skaldart decides to head to Earth for the “Grand Reverse” with the secondary goal of sinking/apprehending Yamato. In Be Forever he does his best to stop the ship, since its WME tech acts as Dezarium’s kryptonite.

The joint fleet limps away from Goruba, still too close for comfort. Miki Saijo aboard Yamato reports the high energy reading emanating from Goruba’s lower gunport. Shima orders all ships to fan out. Saijo says the energy response is only getting stronger, and they won’t get clear in time.

Vance and Hilde, on a ship in the migrant fleet, both stare out the windows at the brilliant light of Goruba’s cannon.

Aboard the Cosmo Hound, Starsha has manifested the digital button she almost activated in the last episode. Miyako bears witness to one final look of silent consent between Yurisha and Starsha before they activate it. Iscandar lights up in a vibrant blue color, the planet and its memory vault (Sanctel) beginning to evaporate. Two small souls attempt to flee the planet’s implosion, but fail. Iscandar’s planetary energy envelopes Goruba’s mechanical body, tearing it apart as Meldars screams in futility at his ensuing demise.

[AMB]: Fittingly, this scene is scored with the Blue Crystal leitmotif created for Iscandar’s Wave-Motion Energy way back in 2199. Its sombre piano was previously used to great effect in 2202 Episode 13 as the bodies of Goland and Nol evaporate to the sound of Okita making his ill-fated promise to Starsha.

Goruba and Meldars’ mutual destruction visually references The New Voyage in expert detail, going even further to portray the brutality of their end. His scream does not come off to me like one of desperation or fear, but rather frustration and rage.

In the original work, Starsha’s device was a solid-state machine found at the heart of Iscandar’s palace. It was a literal red doomsday button that, when pressed, would self-destruct all of Iscandar. In 2205, the more futuristic digital hologram pendant used by Ruda Shalbart in Yamato III was appropriated to great effect, giving the illusion that she would only be able to activate the annihilation sequence if her feet were planted on Iscandar until the very end.

[KC]: And the “F Around and Find Out” Award goes to …Starsha of Iscandar! I do like the look of Iscandar tech, but let’s be honest; a giant red button is not a high bar.

[AMB]: Witnessing the two souls (who are likely meant to be Starsha and Yurisha) trying to escape their impending doom pains me greatly. Stuck in their pods until the end, there was simply no way to leave the path they once chose. The coffin they built for themselves remained locked until the end.

With regard to Meldars’ brutal death, let’s address a question Codex Regius asked in our Episode 5 commentary: Why are the Dezarium soldiers we’ve seen all pale blue? Does this mean they’re Galmans or Garmillans, perhaps? Be Forever Yamato reveals that Dezarium’s forces attacked Earth in part to harvest our skin, since their bodies are completely artificial from the neck down; cyborgs.

It’s quite possible their 2205 counterparts lack body heat functions due to their artificial nature, hence why their skin look a bit like corpses. Curiously, in Be Forever Emperor Skaldart and his aide Sada both wear Caucasian skin. Whether or not this was to mimic, return to, or feel what it’s like to be human is never made explicitly clear (though for story purposes, it was meant to lure Yamato‘s crew into a false sense of security). What we do know is that Skaldart’s “true body” is pale blue like the rest of his kind.

[KC]: I hadn’t even considered it was them until I read your comment just now and I’m sad about it. I’m not sure how I feel about them being blue because they’re animated corpses, but your reasoning is sound.

Back on the Hound, which now floats just above Deusura III, Starsha bears a look of finality. Yamato and its escorts bravely witness the planet’s end. Dessler turns his back on Iscandar’s doom, motionless and silent. The Hound then lands inside Deusura III’s hangar, its crew lined up to witness Dessler and Starsha’s long-awaited reunion.

“Abelt,” Starsha begins, her features lighting up at the sight of him.

“Starsha…” Dessler has trouble meeting her gaze, his voice low and trembling. She gently places her right hand tenderly on his cheek.

“Those eyes…they’ve always been fixed on me.”

As Dessler’s eyes begin to water, Starsha’s body falls limply into him. Much to his surprise, her hands grasp onto him with all the strength she can muster. “I’ll never forget it. Thank you.”

Her body begins to fade into tiny golden particles, vanishing as if she was never there. Dessler tries and fails to respond to her embrace in time. Kodai hangs his head knowingly, the only one not shocked by what just happened. Dessler stifles a wounded cry, his teeth clenched.

[KC]: Sorry, can’t type. Keyboard too blurry.

[AMB]: No kidding. First we’re treated to Starsha’s eyes as her soul fades into the ether and Dessler’s back turned to the reality of Iscandar’s doom, then we cut to the most unfair and soul-crushing moment in Dessler’s life as he finally gets to see Starsha in person, feeling her gentle touch, only to be so paralyzed by it that he fails to properly register what’s going on. She vanishes, robbing him of the hug he’ll never have the chance to experience.

The BGM here might sound familiar to new audiences. It’s a leitmotif for Starsha’s Farewell, previously heard throughout 2205 for scenes with the Sasha capsule. Its vocal variation from Yamato III, the song Parting, was given the spotlight in the last episode, reversing the emotional impact for new viewers. Feelings Fade Away, is its name.

[KC]: Odd, since his feelings for her will never fade, I suspect.

[AMB]: Ouch.

Yurisha offers an explanation to the onlookers. “We’re memories of Iscandar. Since the planet’s gone, we’re destined to disappear.”

Her physical form too begins to fade. Yurisha turns her gaze from the crew toward the capsule in her hands. “But this child is different…due to an element unique to your planet. Namely, the love shared between Mamoru Kodai and my sister, which gave birth to a life such as this.”

Tears start to form as she speaks. With a nod and a sweet smile, Yurisha makes one final plea to the being inside the capsule. “Sasha, make sure to have fun on Earth, okay?” Her form begins to fade away.

[KC]: Don’t get me wrong, this franchise has always been good at making me cry, but wow. That was a lot of heavy feels. In the original series, Starsha was much less…attainable. At least to Dessler. The fact that he got that exchange was beautiful and heartbreaking. And then to have Yurisha, a character that was not in the original series, be an even warmer, more emotional individual than her sister…It’s a powerful scene.

[AMB]: Dessler’s love for Starsha takes on an almost Oedipal tone here, owed mostly to the fact that we know Dessler was abandoned and forgotten by his real mother after his brother Matteus died. Hugs aren’t a normal thing to experience in Japanese culture, not even between loved ones, making this an especially intimate moment. Just like the audience, Dessler was not equipped with the nerves or reflexes to recognize that Starsha was going to pour her heart out in a flurry of naked truths. Perhaps she truly was like a mother to him.

Dessler, just like Keyman, has lost out on both a lover and a mother figure, death splitting them apart too soon. With this, the last person he’s made a vow to is gone. Erik, Matteus, Ranhart and Starsha are all gone. He’s finally free, unburdened, but ultimately alone. But…hearing her acknowledge that his eyes had truly been on her this entire time may just be enough to save his soul. In Yamato III he names Galman’s moon after Starsha. Hopefully the locals will accept that same proposition this time around.

[KC]: Poor Abelt. He still has Talan.

[AMB]: And hopefully he always will. That man survived even past Final Yamato.

As for Yurisha, she uses this scene to take the meta opportunity of passing on the role of Be Forever’s Sasha to the being in the pod, content with having lived even a second longer. She wishes Sasha joy on Earth as she herself experienced once with Yuki. It’s sad she never gets to see Yuki or Yuria in person again, and that she’s not able to say goodbye.

We’re led to believe that the love shown between Mamoru and Starsha gave birth to a new, almost metaphysical life on Iscandar for the first time in millennia. Maybe that’s what Dezarium seeks? Are they sterile in the future? Perhaps living forever in an artificial shell is an exclusive privilege given to the most well-off, ultimately coming with severe side-effects? What do you think?

[KC]: If they are living heads walking around on dead bodies, they most definitely can’t procreate in a natural human way.

Domon turns to his Captain with righteous indignation.

“You knew?!” Kodai stays silent. “Why would you…if you knew this would happen, why?!”

“It saved a soul.” Kodai’s response is calm and collected as he turns his eyes toward Dessler. “Even for a brief moment, he was able to meet the person he loved for the last time.” Kodai’s own eyes begin to water. “That alone can save a person.” His words come as a eureka moment for Domon, who recalls the moment of his father’s death.

“For the last time,” Domon blurts out, the image of his father returning to him. “My father looked at me…” now he too starts falling apart.

[KC]: OH MY HEART.

[AMB]: Love is not about quantity. You can spend every day of your life with the person you love, but it will never measure up to the five most emotionally resonant moments you’ve shared with them. Saying farewell is one of those.

As a personal anecdote, I experienced something similar. When my grandmother had her third heart attack, I was one hundred percent sure she’d make it through all right. My aunt called to plead with me to see her at the hospital, since out of all the people in her life that were present, my name was the only one she called for. I…admittedly panicked, coped, and decided it would be all right. The next morning my aunt called once more to confirm that she’d passed away painlessly in her sleep. I never got to say goodbye.

So even before this Domon twist was revealed, I already understood the meaning of Yabu’s words to him back in Episode 3: his father smiled not because he was dying, but because his son was there in the end. Take this anecdote of mine as an appeal to not repeat my mistake. Be there in the end for those you love.

[KC]: Absolutely. Being a few decades older, I have had to say goodbye to too many already. My condolences for your loss.

[AMB]: Likewise, and my sincerest thanks.

“That’s the best one human can do for another human.” Underneath Kodai’s veneer of composure, tears start to fall. Domon drops to the floor.

“That should be enough.” Domon’s tears fall in tandem with Kodai’s.

Dessler, trying to keep his own tears hidden, fails desperately. Underneath stifled cries, a couple of tears escape as Domon finishes speaking. “That must be enough. It has to be.”

[AMB]: We never know when the day will come for one or more of our loved ones to pass away. This whole Cosmo Hound adventure was Kodai’s greatest gift to Dessler, one he hoped would pass to Abelt without the sacrifice that had to happen if they couldn’t take down Goruba. But, as Kodai says, at least it saved a soul. At the end of 2202, Kodai likewise tried suicide-bombing the Ark of Destruction when the Yuki he loved was lost to reverse amnesia. He rectified that mistake on this day.

[KC]: Oh Abelt. I take back every terrible thing I ever said about you. All the Boy Band jokes. Even the really, really funny ones. I’m so sorry. Please stop crying, it hurts. Do you want a hug? Can I hug you? Should I go get Talan to hug you? Look, you do whatever you want in 3199. I’ll find a way to rationalize it. Bet you’re really sorry you killed that bird now, though.

[AMB]: This is the first time in the reboot where we see Dessler cry, which is a moment originally reserved to Final Yamato in the classic era. We’ve technically seen him cry in Teresa’s metaphysical realm in 2202, but that’s about it. If there’s any moment to have Abelt cry in the reboot, it’s definitely for Starsha. Poor, poor guy…

[KC]: It really is heartbreaking every time I watch it.

Aboard Asuka, there’s a few dozen refugees going through ship relocation procedures under Mikage Kiryu’s direction. She urges them to stay calm and move to their assigned ships accordingly. Behind her we see Kodai reuniting with Yuki, handing her the capsule holding “Sasha.”

“So this is Starsha’s…” Yuki begins, eyeing the capsule curiously. Kodai suggests sending it off to quarantine but is interrupted by the light inside the capsule pulsating and swirling to take on the form of a human baby – as expertly pointed out by Miyako. The baby instinctively sucks its thumb, eyes fluttering open to meet Miyako’s, who promptly repeats her name: Sasha. Yuki says the name to herself, catching the baby’s adoring attention. Sasha stretches her arms out toward Yuki, failing to reach her. The sudden weight of the capsule almost causes Yuki to drop it, which Miyako thankfully prevents.

[AMB]: Kodai’s first reaction being “let’s send it to quarantine” is the biggest 2199-Kodai moment we’ve received in years. Hilarious to boot.

[KC]: MAGIC SPACE BABY!!!

[AMB]: It probably is! Contrary to what 2199 Episode 23 implied, this baby is likely not the result of a physical coupling. I wonder if this process of creating offspring has always been how Iscandarians reproduce. In any case, Sasha’s performed by Caroline Raiden’s voice actor (Chisai Morinaga) for this scene, lending credence to the theory we proposed back in Episode 5 that Sasha narrated the Garmillas foundation myth! Is Sasha a completely new life? Or is she the sister of Yurisha and Starsha reborn? We don’t know.

In The New Voyage, Mamoru’s the one to step out of the transport ship carrying Sasha, not Susumu. This change of hats makes perfect sense given that Mamoru’s doubly dead this time.

[KC]: We do know that Mamoru was involved somehow, so Sasha can’t really be their sister reborn, because including Mamoru fundamentally changes things.

[AMB]: Perhaps that will be the next Sasha conundrum to tackle in 3199: how much of her is the previous Sasha, and how much of her is a unique identity?

Throughout this experience Kodai stands dumbstruck, not sure what to say. Yuki lifts Sasha out of her capsule, presenting the baby to Kodai with a motherly smile. Kodai’s voice takes on an uncharacteristically boyish tone as he reaffirms to himself that this baby is the product of Starsha and Mamoru’s love. He reaches out his hand to meet Sasha, being greeted with two of her tiny fingers seizing his index finger. At that moment, Kodai is overwhelmed by an unvoiced realization, a smile joining with his tears as Yuki gives him a knowing look.

“Welcome home.” After addressing Kodai, she turns her gaze toward the baby in her arms. “Hello, Sasha.” Hearing Yuki’s tender voice, Sasha can’t help but jostle around with happy cries and flushed cheeks.

[KC]: This is so lovely…please…just don’t let it get creepy this time.

[AMB]: Are you referring to Be Forever’s exploration of familial and romantic bonds through Kodai and Sasha? Personally, I found that to be handled in a respectful fashion. That said, while it’s possible we might get something like it in 3199, I maintain that most of Sasha’s original character has already been adapted through Yurisha. Anyone curious can read more about it here, particularly the portions pertaining to “Be Forever Yamato Elements” and “Other Characters.”

Also, based on what little we’ve seen from the 3199 production material, we can infer that Sasha’s age will likely be physically closer to 7~10 than 16~18 in the year 2207. This means she’ll probably age faster like in the original work, but not as fast. Maybe she’ll have the chance to be a kid with the rest of the Yamato boys and girls like Aiko, Irii, Tsubasa, Jirou, Yabu’s kids and so on.

[KC]: That is good to hear. Sasha being instantly 16 and crushing on her uncle definitely felt gratuitous to me.

[AMB]: This baby, through visuals alone, is revealed to be “one of the two children” 2202’s director Nobuyoshi Habara had Teresa hint at in 2202’s final episode. Sasha grabs onto Kodai’s index finger, the same one the spiritual baby held in that scene when Teresa says “this is the only future waiting for you.” The line was a reference to how Zordar referred to his clone successor Miru as “the future that died.” Here, after having forgotten all of his experiences in Teresa’s dimension, he seemingly recalls the most important detail shared between himself and Yuki: the child promised to them.

Yuki’s knowing smile tells me she’s picked up on Kodai finally remembering, a blessing in its truest form. Curiously, according to Habara-san, Miyuki (the couple’s child from Yamato Resurrection) was the child grabbing his finger in that scene, rather than the unspoken second child (likely Sasha, given what we see here).

Read more here.

Given that Fukui has hinted at a Final Yamato-style wedding for Kodai and Yuki in 3199, and given that Resurrection confirms they have a child named Miyuki, the timeline may be progressing somewhat according to plan after all. When asked by a fan at a March 2023 Yamato 2202 event, “When will Kodai and Yuki get married?” Fukui said, “I think there might be a hint in the video that we’re going to show today.” The video remains unreleased, though some images from it have been officially released to the public as of this writing.

Read more here.

He’s also confirmed that Kodai will definitely propose to Yuki in 3199:

Fukui: “This time, Captain Kodai is an adult without gaps. I mean, a life-size adult with various problems. Susumu Kodai has become such an adult. In other words, I have to be careful when I do Be Forever. I don’t want him to look like a young man again. But if it stays the way it is now, the story will not advance. So next time, I’ll depict the cute part of ‘Kodai-kun’ as well. (Laughs) He’s finally going to propose to Yuki, and he’s practicing for it.”

[KC]: This space opera runs on one romance and one romance only.

Elsewhere, Yabu’s walking the halls with a listless expression. Suddenly, he hears Odo behind him, calling out, “Daddy?” All other sounds fade from Yabu’s consciousness as he turns to face the waving boy with the rest of his family. Stunned, Yabu recalls a previously spoken mantra in his mind.

“Did you know? When you feel the worst, something wonderful is right around the corner.” Tears of joy fall from Yabu, Oddo and Varna’s eyes as the younger girls wave happily.

[AMB]: From mournful goodbyes to tearful first meetings to heartwarming reunions…the human experience is one heck of a rollercoaster ride! Capping off 2205’s primary message is Yabu and his mantra, as spoken all the way back in Episode 1. When you hit rock bottom, things can only get better! But how did director Yasuda approach this scene? What makes us involuntarily rejoice here, beyond the story’s threads coalescing into a satisfying conclusion? Some good old fashioned animation theory!

Yasuda: “In terms of visual expression, which I am in charge of, I wanted to keep it from being too ‘modern.’ It was that kind of thing. There is also the processing of photography, but the amount of information is controlled by light and shadow. I didn’t want to just show a pretty picture, but to control the viewer’s gaze and impressions.”

“For example, the scene that Mr. Fukui mentioned of Yabu exploding with emotion, the lighting is such that the viewer can guess the mood of the scene the moment it is shown. The first and second episodes, for example, show Domon’s glare. And then there’s the scene where Yabu and Domon are depressed. There are scenes of exploding emotions, so I tried to be careful of the contrast in each scene. I always liked what [directors] Osamu Dezaki and Yoshiaki Kawajiri would do. It feels like I’m doing a more classic form of expression now.”

[KC]: My soul definitely needed this after what Dessler just went through.

[AMB]: Seeing Odo accept Yabu as his father after his initial reluctance in Episode 3, I’m glad the threat of imminent death and misery helped forge a stronger bond between them! This scene was immaculately prepared from the very beginning, down to how the music underscores Yabu’s elation and joy. Read writer Fukui and director Yasuda’s thoughts below:

Fukui: “There are two peaks in the second chapter, one of which is the scene where Yabu’s problem is solved and the other is the scene where he smiles at the end. I asked Akira Miyagawa to have the prelude of Love is Still Light (the ending song) match that scene. When I placed the order, the example I gave was that it should be like the prelude to the theme song Mirror of the Moon, sung by Sayaka Kanda in 2202 Chapter 2.”

“The song starts quietly and then goes off with a bang. The timing of the visuals and the music was important. There’s the agonized feeling in the foreground, then all the sound is muted for a moment. We took up the challenge many times until we got it right, and then the music was added.”

Yasuda: “When that song was played at the climax following the climax, I felt that it was all coming together. I thought it was very convincing. It made the film more cohesive. I’m glad it was such a good song.”

Fukui: “I know some people were disappointed that it wasn’t [original vocalist] Chiyoko Shimakura. (Laughs) And the other thing is Dessler asking Starsha, ‘Why did you tell me to grow up so fast!’ I knew that if I could get the song Parting to work there, my mission would be complete. I had already decided to play Parting from the script stage.

Read more of the writer/director interview here

Chiyoko Chimakura (a popular enka singer in the 80’s) sang the original ending song for New Voyage, titled Sasha My Love. I’m one of those viewers who was disappointed not to hear her song again, but at least we got something fitting to enjoy in its stead. You can hear Chiyoko’s song here on Youtube, with lyrics.

Surrounded by the red space of the Bolzon system, Kodai and Dessler each step onto their respective decks to say farewell for now. Kodai’s geared up in his standard issue spacesuit while Dessler’s cape flutters in the artificial gravity and atmosphere supplied by Deusura III as he speaks.

“This blue blood and skin…the people of Garmillas will eventually discover our origins. However, we’ll remain proud of the name Garmillas. Pride cannot be given. You develop it in your heart yourself.”

[AMB]: Third time’s the charm! Or should we say fourth? This iconic meeting between Kodai and Dessler was originally featured in The New Voyage, becoming an instant classic. Dessler, completely unharmed by the coldness of space, coolly bids Kodai farewell for now, doing his best to hold back his pain at seeing Garmillas and Iscandar vanish.

The reboot’s first take on this scene came in 2202’s fourth ending song sequence Crimson Red, where the scene was paid visual homage to the best of the staff’s abilities. Its second take came when Ranhart bid farewell to Abelt, urging him to find a new home for Garmillas that knows the value of peace. The third time comes here with both ships symbolically pointing in the same direction. This is how the scene played out in The New Voyage.

Dessler makes peace with the past, putting old grudges to bed and vowing to be proud of the name given to them not because it was given, but because they’ve used it to forge a unique sense of pride. As he says, pride cannot be given. It must be earned, or forged within your own heart. Only then can you inspire others to take pride in themselves, with a heart that’s capable of moving past immense sadness and coming out stronger for it. It’s a message I think most people of our age need to hear.

[KC]: He really does seem to be a different character than his predecessor in many ways. I hope they continue on this trajectory with him.

“As for letting me see Starsha…I offer my gratitude. Even if it was just for a moment, I received enough to live for the rest of my life.” Dessler clutches his hand to his heart once more, head lowered, his shoulders broad and proud. His gaze then turns upward, facing Kodai. “Take care of her child.” Kodai gives a sincere nod. “Kodai, make sure to never let go…of that which you love.”

With that final word of wisdom, Dessler turns with a gentle smile. Kodai lowers his head with closed eyes as Abelt departs the scene to the tune of 2205’s ending song: Love is Light.

[KC]: He’s stabbing me in the heart.

[AMB]: Like a man reborn, Dessler greets Kodai not with a vengeful grimace or a scornful glare, but with a genuine and warm smile. There’s no falsehood there, no irony or sarcasm, only pure kinship. He’s a new man. In The New Voyage, his last words to Kodai were “Kodai, I’ll never forget you.” This time around it was “Kodai, make sure to never let go…of that which you love.” The new line plays into many interweaving storylines so let’s go through them.

(1) In 2199, after shooting Celestella, Yuki cries about how we could have learned to love one another instead of fighting. Fighting – and by extension, war – was necessary, Dessler exclaimed.

(2) In 2202, after witnessing Miru’s needless death, Dessler recounts Yuki’s words to him from 2199, lamenting the tragedy. “If only we could have learned to love one another…”

(3) In 2205, at this moment, Dessler repays Kodai’s kindness by offering a piece of wisdom gained after Starsha’s death. Back in 2199, he spared Kodai after witnessing what he presumed to be the unfortunate death of his loved one, Yuki. Now, he urges him to carry on and never lose sight of that which he loves, for he still has her in his life. Inter-contextuality in storytelling at its finest.

[KC]: I can really believe that they’re friends this time.

[AMB]: All we need now is for the Dessler’s friendship leitmotif to return in 3199!

The BGM for the first half of this scene (and ending song for every 2205 episode) is Love is Still Light by Ayaka Hirahara, the daughter of Hiroshi Miyagawa’s friend and collaborator Makoto Hirahara, who passed away a few years ago. Ayaka and Hiroshi’s son Akira (the current composer for Yamato) were childhood friends, and previously worked together on Great Harmony, the ending song for Ark of the Stars.

The song was written by famed lyricist Yukinoji Mori, based on a prose prompt by Harutoshi Fukui. Mori’s previous work in animation includes writing Gundam the Origin’s fourth ending song for Hiroko Moriguchi: Sora no Kanata de, a song about the futility of sending young men to die and cry tears of blood in wars that could have been prevented. Let’s just say he writes heavy lyrics.

The prose Fukui wrote is fairly long and can be found here. Of importance to us is the portion where Fukui summarizes the meaning behind the prose and Akira Miyagawa’s reaction to it:

“It is literal prose without any rhyme or melody. In addition, (1) I wanted to incorporate Yabu’s line from the story, ‘When you’re at rock bottom, it means something great is waiting to happen’ and (2) the prelude should feel like ‘light spreading out into darkness’ to synchronize with the ending.” After reading it, all Akira-sensei said was, ‘It’s heavy. I’d like to give the listeners a little more of a souvenir.’”

It’s a haunting song about a world gone mad, where the only reprieve we’ll find is in the tears that form as a result. The sadness may sting, but love and happiness shine through from underneath, bringing us a meaningful existence. Times may be tough, but we’ll still try hard to push onward.

Aboard Lambea, Berger and Melda give the passing Yamato their Garmillan salute. Frakken allows himself a private smirk inside his UX-01. Refugees of Garmillan, Zaltzian and Earthling origin departing with the Garmillan fleet all wave at Defense Fleet 65; among these are Vance and Hilde, who stand together.

In the crumbling world, even fire and hope freeze. But only tears are warm.

On another ship we see Yabu and his family, with Reza giving a spirited wave. Liza unveils her flower pot, holding it proudly above her head, revealing what may be the last living Garmillan flora. The image then fades to planet Galman, where Keel Keeling gives two children some spiritual guidance outside his chapel. The snowy plains covering the planet’s fields and mountains have begun to thaw, signaling the coming of spring. Keeling turns toward the sun with a warm smile.

[KC]: We’ve talked about this guy before. Here’s my theory; new Keeling is actually going to embody the personality of someone we haven’t seen yet: Gaidel, Dessler’s portly general in the original third series who “captures” Yamato as a birthday present for Dessler and who is…maybe a little too enthusiastic in his devotion to his Glorious Leader.

[AMB]: It wouldn’t surprise me! I’m also of the belief that he’ll pull second duty as 3199’s version of Yamato III’s Vandevel, the man we briefly see gunning down religious fundamentalists on Galman. In the reboot universe, he sided with Zoellick and the military faction, ultimately being done in by Thunderclap Dagarm’s Flame Strike Gun in Ark of the Stars. In short, I think he’s completely enamored with Dessler’s mythical candor to the point where he’s going to abandon his religion to start his own Dessler sect, with the secret intent to wipe out Shalbartians on Galman who refuse to acknowledge him as their God Emperor.

Also, isn’t it neat that Berger and Melda will share the same ship for the foreseeable future? The only interaction those two have shared previously was a couple of episodes ago, where they shared a curt nod. I also have the sneaking suspicion that Hilde’s been given a third father in Vance, but given his age I can’t confidently say whether or not this will preclude any sad partings in the near future.

[KC]: She does seem to have a type.

[AMB]: Of course, there’s one more narrative payoff to discuss: the Marenel flowers. Way back in Episode 1, Abelt was made privy to a secret log left by Ranhart where he urged his uncle to pay attention to the flora of prospective planets in order to find a new home for their people. If he found the Garmillan-exclusive Marenel flower, it would mean the planet might have a habitable climate for Garmillans! Now, seeing as Yabu’s family has survived, the flower that Liza brought with her becomes a symbol of one of 2205’s core themes: homes can be rebuilt, rediscovered, or recreated. Just because Garmillas is gone doesn’t mean you can’t make a new home with the memories you carry with you.

I just don’t know how these writers keep hitting home runs like this!

[KC]: They are very, very good at what they do.

Getting closer to the Milky Way galaxy, Defense Fleet 65 flies onward. Nagakura reprimands Caroline in Asuka’s Mobile Armor hangar. Shoji Wakasa observes the growth of Tasuke Tokugawa in Yamato’s engine room. Bando takes part in repair duty of Yamato’s hull. Sakamoto takes a nap break from working on his Cosmo Python. And Dr. Sado helps Miyako tend to the newborn Sasha.

Behind the sorrow, happiness always waits for you.
Let’s turn that fairytale into truth. You whisper with a spark in your eye.
You don’t dream in order to get hurt.

[AMB]: In Fukui’s original script, it called for Sasha to pee on Miyako in this scene. Apparently that’s an anime trope primarily associated with baby boys, something Fukui was completely unaware of.

Read more here.

Any closing thoughts on the next generation of Yamato’s crew, Kathy?

[KC]: I am looking forward to their adventures. Is it good luck or something? People are weird about babies.

The three Captains Shiro Sanada, Yuki Mori and Susumu Kodai all look toward the horizon aboard their respective ships with renewed courage. Kitano throws a quick glance at Domon, happy to see that the boy finally wears a contented smile.

In the crumbling world, even fire and hope freeze. But only tears are warm.

[AMB]: Any closing thoughts?

[KC]: Overall, it’s a very positive ending for a series that doesn’t always like to do positive endings. It makes perfect sense for the genre that Dessler will go off now and just devote himself to his people. I am really looking forward to how they address the lessons he learned in the face of space operas kind of needing their military dictatorships, benevolent or otherwise. Although I would accept him in a business suit if he kept the cape.

[AMB]: I’m afraid that leisurely time is far off, given that Prime Minister Benevolayze – I mean Bemlayze of the Perpetual Bolar Federation Administration – will soon be here to take back his precious resource planet Galman. How do you feel about keeping Sanada, Yuki and Kodai split up going forward? Will the first two still command Hyuga and Asuka in the year 2207? We already know the writers intend to split up Kodai and Yuki again, but the question bears asking.

[KC]: Ugh, do they have to be apart so that Alphon can hit on her? And if he’s a corpse-body too, then it’s twice as gross. Otherwise, I don’t mind that they all have their own ships. As much as the writing pulls me into the whole story, I am still mainly here for the living blue people.

[AMB]: With some luck, they’ll have you caring for the cape-wearing dead blue people as well! Writer Hideki Oka recently spoke about the appeal of the Dezarium characters from Be Forever Yamato in a 1980’s lookback article for the fan club magazine:

Oka: “The human appeal of the enemy characters on the Gamilas and Comet Empire sides was gone. ‘What’s the empty feeling in this enemy? Why is (Emperor) Skaldart himself coming to kill Sasha with a gun?’ Everyone who watched it had something to say. What was the purpose behind that character? I still wonder about that.”

Alphon tried his best to overcome the “bloodlessness” of the enemy characters. I think that strange sense of unbalance is one of the interesting points of the film.

Post credits scene: some time later, Sanada is debriefed by Yamato’s Intelligence Chief Niimi. The screen is black. Sanada poses a question.

“Those were inside the enemy fortress?”

“We managed to photograph them when the Wave-Motion Excavator went in.”

The visual feed they speak of reveals a pair of mutilated Andromeda carcasses inside the Goruba Dome.

“Andromeda-class?”

“They could have been captured. I thought that at first, but…” Niimi enhances the image, focusing on one of the two Andromeda hulls’ recognition numbers. It clearly reads: ARCTURUS CXCI COSMO NAVY. The smudged out text below seems to read E.F.C.F. AAA-9207- 2335. “The numbers indicate that there are far more vessels out there than we ever built.”

[AMB]: The BGM here should be familiar to any fan of Be Forever Yamato: The Hyperon Bomb Approaches! Mostly supplanting the Goruba theme, this leitmotif became the de facto Dark Nebula Empire theme. Of interest to us Yamato music nerds is the fact that this particular rendition of the theme was only ever featured on the Be Forever radio drama, featuring percussion, heavier synth, and drums not present in the versions used in the movie. Given that both the radio drama and 2205 serve as promotional materials for their respective versions of Be Forever, it’s very fitting to hear this variation here.

Sanada breaks into a nervous sweat.

“Dezarium…Who are you, really?”

[AMB]: Who are they, indeed. I hold on to my steadfast belief that they will turn out to be actual humans this time around, just horribly transfigured by time and perpetual technological evolution at the cost of spiritual death.

The scene closes on a beautifully-rendered galaxy of light and darkness, swirling around to the tune of a familiar leitmotif from Be Forever Yamato. The title of the next work is revealed: Be Forever Yamato, REBEL 3199 .

[AMB]: This image recalls Sada’s line in Episode 6 about how Dezarium is the light to Iscandar’s darkness. A major plot beat of Be Forever was how Dezarium’s black galaxy was superimposed on ours, making it a double nebula galaxy. This could be our first look at their point of origin.

[KC]: Dezarium did say they were from another dimension or another time or something?

[AMB]: They sure did, with this scene muddying the waters of speculation even further! Before we take a closer at the branding on one of the Andromeda hulls, let’s review some of the mecha lore from 2202:

What we conveniently call the “Andromeda-class” is actually the in-universe AAA-class, which stands for Advanced Ability Armament. This class originally debuted in 2202 with three battleships and two carriers: AAA-1 Andromeda, AAA-2 Aldebaran, AAA-4 Achilles; AAA-3 Apollo Norm and AAA-5 Antares. Later on in the war with Gatlantis, Earth would produce more ships of this class as part of the AAAAS (Advanced Stage) program, and those we know of include: AAA-6 Amaterasu, AAA-7 Laboratory Aquarius (not to be confused with the Dreadnought-class Laboratory Prometheus), and AAA-8 Aquarius. Garmillas followed these with their own AAA designs: AAA-009 L’Andromède, AAA-10 Vem Heidern, and AAA-11 Dels Gardola. Most of these ships, if not all, were sunk during the war.

Note: Because of 2205‘s mecha index specifying that AAA-21 Alpheratz from this series’ second episode was the last of its class built in the Time Fault, we have to infer that AAA-12~20 were built during the six month time gap between 2202‘s 25th and 26th episode. Since these ships have neither names or designs attributed to them yet, this means any aspiring mecha fanatics out there have free reign to design their own variants for now!

Knowing all this, it’s no surprise to see Sanada so shocked. Arcturus‘ name is followed up by CXCI, Roman numerals, numbering to 191; but don’t be deceived! This isn’t the 191st AAA-class ship, but rather the 191st Arcturus as part of the AAA-class. This is because the ship’s actual serial number, as seen below the name, implies the AAA-class in Dezarium’s future adopted the ZZZ-class’s four digit cap, eventually reaching as high as at least 9207 by the year 2335. This further suggests that the EFCF’s “100 day war” strategy from 2202 went forward as planned; warships (likely unmanned) numbering in the quadruple digits were pumped out, at which point the effort of giving each AAA-class ship a unique name was discontinued.

Perhaps this choice was made by an A.I. akin to Ginga’s Black Analyzer, if not the very same? Maybe Ginga and its crew never hear of Yamato‘s survival from Captain Yamanami and his Andromeda Kai, ultimately resulting in Captain Saki Todo’s spirits never being roused from their fatalistic drought? At that point, would she and the rest of mankind have had the heart and mental fortitude to withstand and resist the command A.I. (Black Analyzer) and its protocol, dictating the takeover of operational control of the Absolute Defense Front? I’m certain she wouldn’t.

What this scene doesn’t confirm though is whether or not the Andromeda husks seized by Meldars’ Goruba in their timeline (likely the year 3199) are originally the property of Dezarium, or if they’ve been salvaged/stolen by “The Net” and improperly phased into the Goruba Dome.

The one Andromeda ship name we can make out is Arcturus, named after an old-disk star and the brightest of its kind in the entire northern constellation of Boötes. It’s the fourth most luminous star in the northern celestial hemisphere, radiating more than 100 times the light of our sun, overpowering it by 200 times.

In Greek mythology, its name bears the meaning “guardian or keeper of the bear.” This was an intentional choice, given that it’s situated near Ursa Major and Ursa Minor in the same Boötes constellation. It’s 36.66 light years away from Earth.

The rest of the (sort of) visible text reads “EFCF-AAA -9207-, followed by a four digit year, possibly 2335.

[KC]: Well, it looks like the writers will be continuing their tradition of presenting familiar scenes, characters and concepts in unfamiliar ways. I look forward to seeing what they do with it.

Thank you all for reading our 2205 episode commentaries! We’ll be back once the release of 3199 has hit its stride!

[KC]: Another great wrap. See you on the other side!

Coda

Theatrical release: Space Battleship Yamato 2205, The New Voyage Chapter 2: STARSHA contained episodes 5-8. It premiered in Japanese theaters February 4, 2022.

Japanese video: Theater-exclusive Blu-ray February 4, 2022. Standard Blu-ray & DVD March 29, 2022.

Series credits

Writer: Harutoshi Fukui
Scriptwriter: Hideki Oka
Director: Kenji Yasuda, Satelight Studio
Character Design: Nobuteru Yuuki
Guest Character Design: Chiziru Kobayashi, Takahiro Kishida, Kiyoshi Tateishi
Mecha Design: Junichiro Tamamori, Yasushi Ishizu, Mika Akitaka
Prop Design: Kio Edamatsu
Art Directors: Hiroshi Aroku, Yusuke Ikeda, Kenichi Tateto
Color Designer: Kumiko Nakayama
Director of Photography: Shinya Matsui
CG Animation Director: Hiroyuki Goto
Editing: Ryoko Kaneshige
Music: Akira Miyagawa, Hiroshi Miyagawa
Sound Director: Tomohiro Yoshida
Executive Producer: Shoji Nishizaki
Production: Yamato 2205 Production Committee

---