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Studio Report,
Academy Productions

We visited the Academy production site, which was bustling with the production of Space Battleship Yamato 2, which started on October 14.

Academy’s production department has moved from its headquarters in Kudan to a spacious studio in the Nerima Ward, and production of Yamato is now proceeding at a rapid pace. The interview team stopped in during their busy schedule to visit them, and Mr. Shigeo Kurauchi of the Yamato production desk give us a tour of the new studio.

“We’ve been here for a little over a month since we moved in on September 20,” said Mr. Kurauchi, “and we’re just now getting our work pace on track. Now that Yamato has started airing, every day is like a war. The whole staff is working together on the new Yamato.”

The Yamato Production Office is a 10-minute walk from Nerima Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line. The Yamato fan club moved here at the same time as Academy Productions. The fan club on the 2nd floor of the building is still open for visitors, but the production room (3rd floor) is not, in order to give priority to the TV broadcast.

The production room on the 3rd floor is divided into a labyrinth of sections by blank white walls. Each section is small enough to accommodate three animator’s desks, and allows for efficient work.

Left: Shigeo Kurauchi, Production desk. Right: Filming and production room on the third floor

Talking about Yamato 2

Now, let’s talk about Yamato 2. It is a TV version of Farewell to Yamato, which has become so famous that I don’t even need to write about it now, but it’s not quite that simple…

This is not a work made to take advantage of the movie’s popularity. It is a story with a solid structure, created as a sequel to the previous work. If you’ve seen the episode that has already aired, you will understand this. The activities of each character that could not be depicted in the movie are vividly depicted in the series, aren’t they?

The interview team asked the production team about their enthusiasm for Yamato 2.

Aspirations of the Production Department Producer

Osamu Hiroka

Yamato Part II is based on the theatrical version of Farewell to Yamato. Therefore, we’re planning to make 26 or 39 TV episodes. In other words, we’re thinking about how to dig deeper into the stories and individual characters that could not be depicted in the theatrical version, or could not be depicted completely, and express them in a deeper way.

The major difference between the TV series and the theatrical version is that since many people have already seen the movie, it will not be as interesting if we present the Comet Empire and Dessler’s secrets, and so on. So the Comet Empire’s position toward Earth was made clear and explained to the viewers in the first episode. The Earth camp does not yet know the inner workings of the Comet Empire.

At the same time, the film did not have much of a role for Dessler, so he will be given more opportunities to play an active part from episodes 3, 4, and 5. Dessler was very popular in Part 1, so in order to honor that image we also brought out the old materials and did a lot of research on them.

To start with the conclusion, the overall flow is consistent with the movie. Instead of cutting the movie into 26 or 39 parts and playing them on TV, we’re trying to make it so that people who have seen the film can also enjoy watching the series.

The staff gathers every day and holds meetings to discuss the structure of the series. Currently, everything has been decided up to Episode 18, but we haven’t yet decided how the story will progress after that. In particular, there is a possibility that individual characters, especially Teresa, will appear in a slightly different form than shown in the movie.

In addition to the characters, more internal mecha will be brought to the screen, like Andromeda, which did not make much of a splash in the film. This is also in consideration of the fact that most Yamato fans are mecha fans. The contrast between the human-like Yamato and the new mechanical Andromeda will be presented, especially in the first half of the story. In another sense, the story will revolve around the human contrast between Kodai and Hijikata.

For the fans, it has been a year since Susumu Kodai took command of Yamato. Why is he still the “acting captain” and not the captain? The reason is not because Kodai is still young, but because the spirit of Okita is still motivating and protecting Yamato even after his death. This expresses the feelings of the crew.

However, some people here on site say that “Acting Captain Kodai” is too long a line, so there is talk of making him “Captain Kodai.” Anyway, Okita was a great captain, and his spirit still lives on in Yamato.

In the previous work, Yamato achieved victory through human harmony against the planet Gamilas, which had far superior scientific power. The main theme is the same this time as well. In contrast to the mechanical Andromeda, there are the emotions of Yamato‘s crew. We want to express the feeling that the fight is not between machine and machine, but between human beings. They don’t want to make Yamato like Andromeda.

Director Matsumoto also said, “Let’s have a scene in which the crew is polishing every single piece of machinery, down to the last bolt.”

Yamato is going to fly into space from now on. Unlike the movie, each episode will be more elaborate. There is even a possibility that the final episode will have a different ending than the movie. Therefore, the story unfolds in a way that will surprise even those who have seen the movie. The entire staff is determined to create a highly concentrated work, so please look forward to every episode.

Kazunori Tanahashi
Assistant Director

To make a TV series that will satisfy those who have seen the movie, I will put all my energy into each and every episode. I hope to express the enormity of the Gatlantis empire and the sense of threat it poses.

Kenzo Koizumi
Chief Animation Director

I will give it my all and do my best.

Shigeo Kurauchi
Production desk

We have received some criticism from some fans for the slight differences from the theatrical version. We’re making a TV version of Yamato that is different from the movie, so please look forward to its broadcast in the future.

These are the comments we received from the production staff. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to Academy Productions and its staff for their cooperation in this report.

Announcement

Due to the relocation of Academy’s production department, Space Battleship Yamato Fan Club headquarters moved to Nerima on September 20. Two months have passed since then, and we are now quite settled into our new headquarters. Please feel free to visit us as you did at the old office. Refer to the map for the location.

The address of the new office is the 2nd Nagasaki building (2F), 5-9 Nakamurakita, Nerima-ku, Tokyo-76, Japan.

At the door of the new headquarters…there is no one from Japan…

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