After the series content itself, Bandai Visual’s video release of Space Battleship Yamato 2199 was (and continues to be) the single most important element of the production, the primary means of recouping costs and opening the door to a worldwide audience that Japanese cinema and TV had no way to reach. While the English subtitles clarify the story for us, however, the rest of the package is entirely in its native language. The main purpose of this videography is to sort all that out.

For starters, all seven chapters were released on video to match their theatrical formatting. The series was later broadcast on Japanese TV with some differences: footage had to be cut for length, opening and closing titles were changed, each episode had a prologue clip, and numerous captions were added for clarity. In order to keep a clear division between these versions, the TV version has not been released on video. Thus it can only be obtained the old-fashioned way, by getting copies from Japanese friends. (Which is essentially how anime conquered the world.)

Theater editions: slipcase, disc package, storyboard book, postcard, intro book

All seven chapters were released on both Region 2 DVD and Region-free Blu-ray in Japan, but only the Blu-rays are equipped with English subtitles. Other than the subtitles, there is no difference in content. Chapters 2-7 all contain bonus features which are described here; each chapter got its own teaser, movie trailer, and TV commercials, and there were also a few special programs. Unfortunately, none of the bonus features are subtitled – only the episodes got that treatment.

From the beginning of the video campaign, some fans insisted on waiting for a box set at the end. This intention was misguided, since box sets in Japan do not follow the US pricing model. Since revenue from video sales is crucial, the prices almost never go down (it took over 25 years for the original Yamato movies to be bargain-priced) and a box set can actually be more expensive depending on its bonus features. For that matter, as of early 2014 there is no actual Yamato 2199 box set available, just customized boxes that were sold separately.

Yamato Crew editions: voice actor scripts in place of the storyboard book

Over and above all that, there were also the theater-exclusive Blu-rays – limited editions that could only be purchased at movie theaters during the run of a specific chapter – that came with a bonus storyboard book. This was one of 2199‘s major innovations, and one that had never been tried before. If you liked the movie, you could literally take it home with you. (In two cases – chapters 2 and 7 – the Blu-rays were not ready in time and had to be pre-ordered.) The Yamato Crew website came up with their own exclusive; fans who bought the discs at the website could get voice-actor scripts for each episode.

All that and more is examined here to help clarify what you may have already collected, or what’s available to you when you’re ready to start. The entire series can still be ordered from Amazon.co.jp or the more English-friendly CD Japan.