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Savoring the first TV series from the 40-year-old father of SF anime!!

Space Battleship Yamato 2199 Encyclopedia

The immortal classic Space Battleship Yamato was born in 1974. And now, Space Battleship Yamato 2199 shines brilliantly with CG technology and a spirited staff in the 21st Century. It has been through a thorough public release with products, secret production stories, and a new film!

Text: Shimon Takahashi
Photography: Noriyuki Yamagami
Design: Matsuyama design

Once again, for those who know Yamato and those who don’t

The bold idea to revive the World War II Battleship Yamato as a space ship. Profound human drama. The birth of Space Battleship Yamato caused a shock and sparked a storm in Japan in the 1970s. With the first TV series as a base, Space Battleship Yamato 2199 started as a new production in 2012.

The story begins on Earth in the year 2199. From distant space, the interstellar Garmillas empire ruins Earth’s environment with planet bombs, threatening the human race with extinction in just one year. The last hope is Space Battleship Yamato, the first Earth ship capable of interstellar travel. In order to retrieve a purification system for Earth called the “Cosmo Reverse System,” it launches for planet Iscandar, 168,000 light years away.

This deeply-drawn portrait has gained many new fans in addition to fans of the original. The lead characters of the crew, Juuzo Okita and Susumu Kodai, face the enemy leader Dessler and his subordinates. The CG, as well as the finely detailed mecha, is the best part. For someone seeking a magnificent space roman[ce], it could be called a 21st century bible.

Text on right side:

The United Nations space forces vs. Garmillas empire forces

Strongest mecha encyclopedia

Countless mecha appear. Here we introduce some of them. The simple and sturdy structure of the United Nations space forces seems to be made in the near future. The unconventional beauty of the Garmillas military is reminiscent of living creatures. The differentiation in the ship names give the feeling of commitment.

The charming Yamato Girls

Various female characters appear in Yamato 2199, including the heroine Yuki Mori. “Yamato Girls” with figures and talent as well were recently appointed for live activities. See the magnificent, brave figures of the beautiful female crew! [Click on their names to visit their blogs.] [1] Aine Sakura as Makoto Harada
Born November 29, 1989 in Aomori Prefecture.165cm tall, B84 W58 H86. A talented person who specializes in anime cosplay.

[2] Machi Kiyose as Mikage Kiryu
Born March 23, 1991 in Okayama Prefecture. 163cm tall, B80 W58 H84. A talented person familiar with games and anime.

[3] Chizumi as Yuki Mori
Born February 5, 1987 in Miyagi Prefecture. 162cm tall, B83 W57 H85. In addition to being a talented dancer, she is also a dance choreographer.

[4] Saki Tachibana as Akira Yamamoto
Born November 10, 1988 in Miyagi Prefecture. 165cm tall, B87 W58 H85. A talented actress with a speciality in golf.

[5] Rina Sato as Yuria Misaki
Born February 4, 1988 in Tokyo. 156cm tall, B80 W57 H83. Currently active as an MC and narrator.


Set photos posted on Twitter December 1, 2014


General Director Yutaka Izubuchi

Passion for Yamato

I found the original Space Battleship Yamato when I was 16, in my first year of high school.

Since I was in elementary school, I liked SF, Japanese tokusatsu [special effects] movies, and German weapons and uniforms from World War II. I remember being shocked to find all those elements packed into Yamato. In particular, I loved the change away from the stereotypical concept of space ship = rocket ship, and I was fascinated by such names as “Wave-Motion Gun” and “shock cannon.”

In my high school days, I was engaged in making Yamato doujinshi [fanzines], and that’s part of the reason I’m participating in the production of Yamato 2199 now. The staff and I fuss over all the details. In the original work, the ranks weren’t set on the Earth side and they had no epaulets, but we all knew that adding them in 2199 would lead to “frequent accidents.” One example of such an accident was when an animator forgot to draw a single line on an epaulet that designated the rank, and I thought, “Is it worth letting him have a different rank in just one frame?” Checking points like that became a huge burden.

There were others. I remember that it was enormous work to put detailed ship names and numbers over the waterline of a ship’s hull on every layout of a 3D model, and even though others said nobody would be looking at them, I thought they should not be neglected. Doesn’t the saying go, “God is in the details”? I think the buildup of such work leads to the density of the picture.


Yutaka Izubuchi was born in
1958. He is the General Director
of the
Space Battleship Yamato
2199 TV series and its latest
movie,
Ark of the Stars.

The 3D models got a brush-up for feature film quality this time, and this was also taken into account when we detailed Yamato’s hull. It was improved because of all that work.

I talked with the production committee about the new feature film while we were making the TV series. If we were to make it, I thought a “storyteller” character would be necessary, and after we had a new character in the technical group named Mikage Kiryu appear in Episode 20, I intended to make her the storyteller for this movie.

Furthermore, I was conscious of the personal drama in the story of the movie, and the connection between people. Today, in our world, there’s less tolerance of others, and the air has become very unsociable. Countries quarrel with each other, and there’s the problem of hate-speech. With full awareness that a weapon called the battleship Yamato is in the lead role, rather than glorifying war I thought we should give a proper response to such a trend. Because this is a work of entertainment, I never intend to take a high-handed attitude, but I’ll be glad if you get a sense of that when you watch it.

The End

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