One of the most significant differences between the making of Yamato Series 1 and Series 2 was public perception. In 1974/75, there was no anime journalism to speak of, so the only visitors to Academy Studio were the few fans who figured out where it was while Series 1 was still on TV.

All that had changed four years later, largely because of Yamato itself. The 1977 feature film struck like lightning, and the announcement of Farewell to Yamato for the summer of 1978 galvanized a whole new media culture into existence. By the time Academy opened its new production studio in September to make Yamato 2, reporters were ready to rush in.

On one hand, this created new security concerns that weren’t even an afterthought the first time around. On the other, it gave everyone – including us decades later – a chance to see the actual place where the magic happened.

Presented here is a compendium of coverage by those privileged few who got an inside look and shared it in print. We start with a special feature from the Farewell to Yamato Encyclopedia (Keibunsha Vol. 32, published by Kodansha in January 1979)…

Space Battleship Yamato 2 TV Production Room Close-up coverage!!!

The Yamato 2 production studio is located about 5 minutes from Nerima Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line. It is produced by Academy. Today, we visited the studio, which is closed to visitors.

Directors Room

CAPTIONS:

1. Director’s room, the core of the anime production
2. Director Ishiguro’s desk
3. Mr. Noboru Ishiguro
4. Lead Animator Takeshi Shirato’s desk
5. Assistant Director Kazanori Tanahashi’s desk

The production office is on the 2nd floor and the production studio is on the 3rd floor.

The third floor is the workshop said to be the heart of anime, and off-limits to all but those involved. Right inside to the door are Assistant Director Kazunori Tanahashi, Director Noboru Ishiguro, Chief Animation Director Kenzo Koizumi, Setting Designer Yoshito Hata, and Lead Animator Takeshi Shirato, and Director’s Assistant Michihiro Matano. A staff meeting is held every time they sit down together at their desks.

The storyboards are drawn from the script, and the characters and mecha that appear are designed. The original drawings are then checked by the director for any deviations in character, movement, etc. Then it is finally handed over to the animators.

Animation Director

Noboru Ishiguro

On Farewell to Yamato, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to work on it with the same enthusiasm as before, and I was not confident about taking on the project as an animation director in general, so I joined the film to assist Mr. Katsumada and also because I knew how the previous work was done. I thought that there would be no chance of getting behind schedule and having to stay up all night, but I was very wrong, and ended up living there for two months.

(Continued on next page)

CAPTIONS:

1. Storyboard of Yamato 2 Episode 2
2. Chief Animation Director Kenzo Koizumi’s desk
3. Assistant director Michihiro Matano

The finished animation is checked again and passed on to the final stage. This is why the Directors Room is the central workspace of anime.

Animation Room

CAPTIONS:

4. Tiger Pro Yamato team
5. Mecha specialist man corner

In the animation room of the studio, animation artists from Tiger Pro are working in two groups. In addition, there is a mecha animation team next to the production room, which takes care of the very difficult mecha animation.

Noboru Ishiguro, continued:

To be honest, I was worn out from that and wanted to take a rest, but I was very nervous about Yamato 2 because it has become such a well-known work and it couldn’t be done carelessly. The main staff was almost the same as in the previous TV series, and I was courted by them.

On the other hand, the significance of Yamato to my career as an animator is very important to me. I wanted to be thoroughly involved in it, regardless of my own limitations. Anyway, one of the things that saved me was the fact that I could work with the same staff. It would have been a shame if I was the only one left.

It was not unreasonable on a two-and-a-half-hour film to occasionally miss things or be unable to finish drawing something. But for the TV version, I thought I could give it another try. So I’d like to do the TV series in my own way, and I think it would be good to have a story that is different from that of the theater.

The main plot is based on the movie, but it has been changed in many different directions. Mr. Matsumoto is also very enthusiastic about it, so please look forward to it.

Art Room

CAPTIONS:

1. Art director Geki Katsumata’s desk
2. Illustrated books are used for background reference
3. The antagonists were designed to have a strong sense of sharpness
4. Ms. Yamaguchi, cel inspector

In the art room, there is a desk for Geki Katsumata, the art director. The original background layouts are checked and sent to a studio that specializes in drawing backgrounds. The finished backgrounds are then checked and organized.

The painted cels are checked for color differences, and then put together with the backgrounds. Then enhancements are added, such as special effects applied with brushes. The cels are placed on the wall so that the color of the character can be seen at a glance.

Lead Animator

Takeshi Shirato

At first, I couldn’t believe that something like Yamato could actually move. I didn’t think so until I saw it on film. After I tried it, I was surprised to see that it moved quite well. There have been a lot of robot things, but the degree of precision is different from that.

Now I don’t have any problem. I just draw it as usual. The effort is the same, but the attitude is different. And this is not limited to Yamato, but is also true with new works. I always have the enthusiasm to do something different, even if I can’t do it at first.

Special Effects – Special Features and Editing

CAPTIONS:

1. Special effects room brush area
2. Mr. Itayoshi creating special effects
3. Mr. Tanahashi during film editing
4. The archive room, which is strictly off-limits to all but those directly involved, is where the film cels are stored

After special effects are added, the completed cels are checked again so that they are ready for shooting. This is called “special development” and takes place in a dedicated room on the fourth floor.

The scenes are shot and then edited to create a complete film. This process is also carried out in the presence of the director.

Assistant Director

Kazunori Tanahashi

I love working on this and I’m really into it, but I think there was a little more enthusiasm in Part 1. That’s not to say there isn’t any now, but there were some people who were really enthusiastic.

Technically speaking, Part 1 was made five years ago. There are a few things I’d like to do more than we used to. I don’t know how far I can go, because it’s a very tight schedule at the moment. There are many cases where we don’t have time to do something I wish we could do.

Afreco

CAPTIONS:

1. Mr. Ogata (Analyzer) holding a script
2. Kei Tomiyama (Kodai) in afreco
3. It is difficult to look at the script and the screen at the same time
4. Mr. Ibu (Dessler) with his hair all back

The process of adding sound to a film is called afreco [after recording]. Work on Yamato is done at Tohokushinsha’s A Studio near Akasaka-mitsuke, Tokyo. After visiting the production studio, we went all the way to the afreco studio.

Yomiuri TV Producer

Moto Fukuo

Up until now, science fiction animation has been all about monsters and robots. In the case of the previous Yamato work, the battleship Yamato of the former Imperial Japanese Navy took off into the sky. It was an interesting and outlandish idea, but the theatrical version was a hit.

Part 2 isn’t appealing just because of that. It’s still a transforming, monstrous, coalescing thing on its own. Yamato 2 is a human drama, not a ready-made sci-fi anime. The romance between Kodai and Yuki Mori on the Earth side is also a part of it. I would like to make Yamato 2 a human drama by contrasting that with the appeal of the enemy or the appeal of evil.

Afreco

CAPTIONS:

1. Mr. Tomiyama
2. Ms. Asagami
3. Mr. Ibu

4. Yamato 2 is slightly different from Farewell to Yamato. In terms of voices, Sabera of the White Comet Empire and Teresa the antimatter goddess have been replaced. Let’s introduce the two of them.

5. Mari Okamoto (Sabera)
Freelancer
Other works: Time Bokan, Yatterman, etc.

6. Noriko Ohara (Teresa)
Seiji Productions
Performed in Heidi, Future Boy Conan, etc.

7. Keisuke Yamashita was replaced by Kazuo Hayashi as the voice of Nanbu.

8. Narrator Akira Kimura looks like a different person with a thick mustache and a white beard.

Join the Yamato fan club!

CAPTIONS:

1. Five women are very busy!
2. Taking a short break
3. Sorting out shipping arrangements

Have you ever heard of the Space Battleship Yamato Fan Club Headquarters? There are countless Yamato fan clubs throughout Japan, but there is only one place that can be called the headquarters.

What we do is publish a Yamato magazine every two months. It contains information and materials about Yamato, fan pages, introduction of fan clubs, etc. The color pages are also beautiful.

You can get copies of the setting materials and discounted prices on Yamato products. You can also borrow cels, storyboards, scripts of theatrical and international versions, scripts of TV episodes, etc. You can even rent them, just by paying the shipping costs.

Anyway, as far as Yamato is concerned, it is a fan club in the same place where the series is actually made. Needless to say, that makes it official. We are very busy with correspondence to each fan club.

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