Article reproduction published in “Yamato Syndrome 1977-83” doujinshi, 2018
Sound Anatomy
by Hiroshi Miyagawa (Composer/arranger)
Days of fighting against Nishizaki the Yamato producer
The summer of Yamato has come again this year. Following the first TV broadcast six years ago and the theatrical film the year before last, there was last year’s Farewell to Yamato (lyrics by Aku Yu, music by Hiroshi Miyagawa), and this year, I wrote music for The New Voyage, a film for TV. The accumulated scores stack up to more than 50 centimeters high. It reminds me of how hard it is to record music every time.
I’ll never do such a tiring job again. I will never see the face of that selfish, pushy producer again. I should have made a firm promise to myself, but every year I regret that I accepted the job again. Once the work begins, I am completely immersed in it. As if I had no choice but to become involved at my own pace. Yoshinobu Nishizaki’s passion and skill in completing the work is brilliant and mind-blowing. There is no one who tries to put as much of themselves into music as he does, or who writes lyrics to his own music. He forces his way through the process of composing, arranging, singing, and recording, a producer who absolutely embodies it to an unprecedented degree.
Music example 1: Yamato theme
(A) The melody of mi-do-re (Ya-ma-to) appears at the beginning of the Space Battleship Yamato theme.
(B) The last part of this song ends with the same three letters of Yamato, kept low at the beginning, but now it’s higher: fa-mi-re (Ya-ma-to). The second time, I was ordered to soar high into space. (But it was a good thing).
Music example 2: The Universe Expanding Into Infinity
The melody of the music accompanies a scene of “faraway Earth as seen from the bridge of Yamato” in the greater universe. The drama of love and battles between tiny humans unfolds in a human way. The theme was adopted for an endlessly expanding universe that envelops the viewer in a warm, yet sorrowful atmosphere. Alongside Yamato‘s theme song, this melody has become a well-received song that represents the spirit in all of Yamato‘s works. (As expected!)
Music example 3: Sasha My Love
In The New Voyage, which aired July 31, Sasha My Love is a song by Starsha about her child, Sasha. (lyrics by Aku Yu, music by Hiroshi Miyagawa). Was it a joke at first? We couldn’t believe our ears when we heard it, but no, there is absolutely no singer other than her (Chiyoko Shimakura) who can sing this song!! I challenged her to sing it and she did so with great emotional detail.
In the melody the end “Sasha” is the lower note in the original score, fa-mi-re-re-do-ti.
“Because she’s calling out Sasha, Sasha, what if you repeat the same note twice in order to express the mother’s feelings more, fa-mi-fa-fa-mi-re?”
[When Nishizaki said that] I was forced to change it, and in the end it turned out to be the correct answer. If you’re going that far into my field, do whatever you have to do in front of me! I kicked my seat in anger…I’m annoyed with myself that I always end up doing exactly what he says, but I’m thankful for the plan and original idea. It’s unavoidable that the title of “General Manager” invokes the mantle of Dessler, and it’s intimidating. For the time being, I’m going to continue my quarrel with this rare super-producer. I have no choice but to do the work, with the only solace being the royalties that come in.