Space Battleship Yamato 4K remaster will be broadcast on TV for the first time in January 2024!
Published on TV Guide Web. See the original post here.
The 4K remaster of the Space Battleship Yamato movie, revived with state-of-the-art technology, will be broadcast exclusively on Star Channel for the first time in January! In addition, a 4K remaster of Farewell to Yamato will be on-air in February. In commemoration of the broadcast, we asked Isao Sasaki, who sings the theme song, to share anecdotes from the anime’s broadcast.
The Yamato theme song still has a brightness that has not faded away even half a century since its release. However, the request for Sasaki to sing the song came suddenly.
“It had already sung by Masato Shimon, but the producer said, ‘I want a singer with a deeper voice to sing it more cheerfully.’ The request came to me with only a few days left before the broadcast was to begin. Because the decision was made so hastily, the transcription of the score was wrong. (Laughs) After I entered the studio, I learned the correct score, and then I made a slow version, a slow to fast version…I think there were four different versions. Anyway, I recorded all of them in one day.”
The first anime work he was involved in was Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, broadcast from 1972 to 1974. He was the voice actor for one of the characters, Condor Joe. His first anime song was the opening theme for Neo Human Casshan (1973-74). (Listen to it here.)
“Casshan was well received, and about six months later, I was asked to sing three or four songs at once. Then, a little later, I was asked to do Yamato.”
The recording of Yamato was hectic. After memorizing the score again and singing it, “I thought it was a very good song,” he says. However, there were many difficulties.
“The producer was very particular about the song. He wanted it to be more melancholic and nostalgic. But Hiroshi Miyagawa, the composer, said, ‘No matter what the producer says, I want you to sing it cheerfully.’ I wondered which way to go. (Laughs) Mr. Miyagawa said the melody contains melancholy, and he wanted me to focus on the momentum of the song.”
“That song was popular among anime fans even before it became a hit with the public. When I participated in an event for Yamato at the time, about 500 junior high and high school girls gathered. The atmosphere was amazing. The crowd was so enthusiastic that they would call out to me, ‘Joe!’ Nobody called out ‘Sasaki!’ (Laughs) After that, they would call out ‘Yamato!’ I guess my image is integrated with that song.”
“Without bass, it lacks power and is difficult to sing, so it wasn’t covered much at the time. Mr. Miyagawa’s wife lamented, ‘No one is covering the song, so there’s no royalty income’.” (Laughs)
The Yamato theme song is so famous that it always ranks high in anime song popularity polls.
“It’s doesn’t always rank first in the top ten, sometimes around third or fifth place, but it never goes down from there. Even at the time it was released, it had a military style and didn’t feel like a popular song. But it has a strength that never gets old. Also, young people seem to find old melodies fresh and appealing.”
Not only the theme song, but also the film itself has a timeless charm and emotion.
“The most moving part for me was when the surface wreckage of the battleship Yamato, buried in the ground, collapses and Yamato comes out and flies into the sky. And then there’s the moment when Yamato returns from Iscandar. Captain Juzo Okita sheds tears as he gazes at the bright red Earth. I like the beginning and the end of the journey.”
“For those who are watching this for the first time, or those who are thinking of watching it again for the first time in a while, I would like you to pay attention to the following: rather than any particular scene, it’s more about people risking their lives for something. The reason people support Shohei Otani is because he puts his life on the line for baseball. It’s wonderful to put your life on the line for something, to have something worth putting one’s life on the line for. I want young people to feel that through Space Battleship Yamato.”
Isao Sasaki was born on May 16, 1942 in Tokyo. He has sung many theme songs for anime, and he has dubbed for Sylvester Stallone, Elvis Presley, and others as a voice actor.