Space Battleship Yamato revived in high quality in Reiwa
Published December 8, 2023 on the NOTE website. See the original post here.
by Yoshinori Nozawa
I am a writer, and I do a variety of work, from subculture manuscripts to video, music, soft booklets, and interviews. As a sole proprietor, I am living as an insignificant creature at the bottom of the industry as long as I don’t die.
The movie Space Battleship Yamato was released in 1977 and has been revived in high definition 4K! I, who was born in the Reiwa era, was curious about it and went to see it. I heard that the concept was to brush up the images as they were at the time of the movie’s release. However, part of the film was replaced after it was first shown in theaters, and that became the default from then on. In other words, it is the “survival version” in which Starsha was alive on the planet Iscandar. Hmmm…
This 4K remaster version has had the dust and noise on the screen removed. Compared to the Blu-ray of the TV series, the 4K remaster version is much better, The colors and sharpness of the trace lines are remarkably beautiful. In addition, the fact that Leiji Matsumoto’s name appears in the credits of the film makes me deeply moved by the film.
Well, I’ll buy it. I’m looking for the recording script. The lines for the new scenes in the movie are handwritten.
The absence of the Starsha death moment in the movie was a
good indicator that not even the 4K remaster was a
perfect restoration.
Leiji Matsumoto’s contribution to Yamato
The book Space Battleship Yamato Big Chronicle (2010), which was released with a note that it was “supervised by Leiji Matsumoto,” shows what a great contribution Matsumoto made to the first Yamato film. Without his characters, art direction, and mecha, Yamato would not have been such a big hit. I felt that again after watching this film.
“Yamato wouldn’t have been a big hit without my characters and mecha. I hope you will recognize my rights as well.” As an appeal to that effect, I would like to see Mr. Matsumoto’s original rights recognized to some extent. I think the problem was that Mr. Matsumoto’s lawyer was not very good, or maybe the person who informed Mr. Matsumoto was wrong. I guess it’s too late to say anything about that now.
From the drama version records & anime comics to 4K UHD
I am amazed at the environment in which we can watch these movies from the 70’s in theaters and then go home and watch the same thing on-demand. Until home-use recording machines became widely available, the only choices you had to relive the experience were film comics (a book with word balloons added to the frames) and drama records (an audio-only version of the story).
The very early drama records of Yamato were digests made by dubbing sound effects and music over audio excerpts from the TV series, and adding narration. This was until the release of a 13-disc set that contained all 26 episodes of the TV series. This made me reflect on the work.
They have various names such as “film comics” and “anime comics,” but the production process is the same.
The drama CD on the left was made as a bonus for customers.
The choice of moments in the re-edit was excellent
The 4K remaster version is indeed a high-resolution version, but the main story itself is depicted in a way that is appropriate for a TV anime from the 1970s. The characters’ faces are not uniformly arranged, and there are many holes and rough edges in the story. Of course, this is a verification of history that takes that into account. It is nostalgia for the older generation, or a masterpiece of the past that later generations not born at that time can touch.
I think there is a meaning to this film. Viewed in its entirety, it successfully conveys the appeal of the 26 TV episodes while successfully reconstructing them. Starting with the launch of Yamato and the destruction of the large ballistic missile, there is the first warp, the first wave motion gun, Pluto’s reflection satellite cannon, the red giant, and the Rainbow Cluster. The film is full of impressive moments that lead up to reaching the Magellanic Galaxy. The last part from the arrival at Iscandar to the end includes newly-recorded dialogue, and it succeeds in compressing the story of the return journey.
I don’t think it was necessary for the same character’s name to be captioned over and over again. But if the names were burned into the original film, there is no way to erase them, so it may be unavoidable. When I look at the maker’s mark when the main title appears, and the position of the naming captions, I wonder if this was done in consideration of the fact that the film would be shown in Vista size with the top and bottom cropped when it was released to theaters. In fact, the DVD released by Bandai Visual was cropped in Vista frame.
In the anime boom of the late 1970s and early 1980s, many re-edited films of nostalgic anime were released. Some were not so well edited or structured as a whole. In this respect, Space Battleship Yamato is a well-made film that became a proper hit.
You’re part of the navigation team! Why are you in the hangar?
The identity of the man I thought was a lowly member of the navigation team skipping work
Finally, when Yamato is in a state of excitement when Earth is seen near the end, a man strikes a strange pose and says, “Let’s get a look at Earth!” I always thought it was funny to see a mob of people shouting, “Let’s have a look!” He is in the hangar of the ship’s aircraft, wearing the uniform of the navigation team.
In the script that comes with the special edition, the person saying this line is supposed to be Kato of the Black Tiger squadron. Ah, I was convinced that it was some other guy. It was a new discovery…