Things heated up quickly in the month of June, and not just from proximity to the sun. The final month before the premiere of 3199 Chapter 1 was full of promotion, live events, and news you can use. Because anticipation is always the best part.
June 2: The New Voyage on BS10 Star Channel
The 50th anniversary movie marathon continued when June kicked off with 1979’s The New Voyage (HD remastered version). Read our commentary on the film here.
Rehearsal photos posted on Twitter by Oyama Shikyo
June 2: Concert in Oyama
This month’s Award for Extreme Cleverness (which wasn’t a thing before, but it is now) goes to the Oyama City Symphonic Wind Orchestra, who came up with a flawless title for their 44th concert, half of which was filled with Yamato music. Soprano Akiko Nishiguchi contributed vocals. Above and beyond this, the event was packaged up in ways that earned instant fan approval.
Photos posted on Twitter by Miyuki0107 and aoi2199
It started with very deliberate color choices on the ticket and banner…
Photos posted on Twitter by AnalyzerAU09 and aoi2199
…and continued with same for their program book. Twitter comments were as follows:
“Both the tickets and signs are in Yamato colors, which really conveys the enthusiasm of the band members.” – Miyuki0107
“This ticket, this pamphlet, this lobby, our friends are in every corner, how can we not be excited?” – AnalyzerAU09
“In the second part, suites and other Yamato-related songs were performed. I’m from the Yamato generation, so I was super excited. Kodai-kun! Yuki! The Gamilas fleet! Starsha! The images came back to life with the music, and it made me want to watch the anime again.” – rdk_iroha
“It was a warm concert with a homey, handmade feel. It’s very helpful that the song titles and other information were displayed on a monitor on the right side of the stage. During the drum solo, the message ‘congratulations on your marriage’ was displayed to the drummer, which is nice. In the second part, famous pieces from Yamato were played one after another. It was also fun to hear the host tell stories and introduce the pieces. The first encore song was the theme for Yamato (only the first verse) followed by a male choir (4 people) and Nishiguchi’s scat. The audience clapped and sang along.” – aoi2199
June 5: Yamato 2205 Episode 6 on TV
The Earth and Garmillas fleets, helpless in the face of Dezarium’s Autoplanet Goruba, decide to rescue everyone on Iscandar. However, Kodai, feeling guilty about using the Wave-Motion Gun, refuses to be dissuaded by Starsha. Dessler hurls words of contempt at her.
Continuing from last month, the broadcast debut of 2205 was accompanied by live Tweets from Writer Harutoshi Fukui, providing a look behind the scenes.
See the Cosmo DNA commentary for this episode here
Read the Fukui commentary here
Photos posted on Twitter by elfriede
June 5: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model Vol. 260
Hachette’s first weekly volume for June delivered the upper half of the bow, allowing modelers to create the full cylinder and run a lighting test for the business end of the UNCF Patrol Ship.
See Hachette’s instruction video here
See a modeler’s blog here
Photo at right posted on Twitter by hiro1963
June 8: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko: Divine Animator and Draftsman
Anime/manga pioneer and Yamato alumnus “Yas” received another well-earned honor today when a dedicated exhibition opened at the Hyogo Prefectural Art Museum. Over 1400 pieces went on display covering his entire career from childhood to his latest projects. Naturally, a collection of Yamato materials is included, such as storyboards and poster sketches.
Yasuhiko was there for the ribbon cutting and his first act was to contribute an original piece to the exhibition, a typically self-effacing caricature.
Related links:
Video commercial | Museum website | Exhibition website
The first time Yamato fans realized something was up was when the June issue of Geijutsu Shincho [Art New Trends] was published by Shinchosha on May 24. It came with a massive 70-page “Yas” cover story containing an extended interview, career history, and a previously-unseen piece of Yamato art; his original sketch for the enduring Farewell to Yamato movie poster (which is, of course, on display at the museum).
The following caption accompanied the art in the magazine article:
This is a rough sketch for the poster for the film Farewell to Yamato. We visited Mr. Yasuhiko to research the exhibition, and when this came out of a cardboard box in the warehouse, everyone let out a cheer. It was known that he had drawn Susumu Kodai and Yuki Mori in this poster, but to actually find the rough sketch was a real surprise.
June 8: Osaka Shion Wind Orchestra 155th concert
This concert was not the first of its kind; under the baton of Akira Miyagawa, Osaka Shion has played Yamato music enough times for the orchestra to have favorite tracks. But there was something special about this one. Could it have been the presence of Isao Sasaki to sing the classic theme songs? Could it have been the sight of Akira and his daughter playing the White Comet theme on pipe organ (which, if you know your history, carries special meaning)? Could it have been the simple fact that it was the first official 50th anniversary concert? Probably all of this and more.
It was certainly the most viewed concert in years, given that it was live-streamed to anyone who could pay to watch it online in Japan (and outside, if you had the digital kung fu skills to tap in), and it was the subject of more SM posts than just about any Yamato concert of the last ten years.
Click here to read all about it!
June 9: Be Forever Yamato on BS10 Star Channel
One week after The New Voyage, Star Channel brought back Be Forever Yamato (HD remaster version). Read our commentary on the film here.
June 10: 3199 Chapter 1 Blu-ray art revealed
Character Designer Nobuteru Yuuki has been delivering memorable jacket art for Yamato blu-rays since the beginning of 2199, and he continues to fill that role with 3199. This is his piece for Chapter 1.
June 10: Star Blazers/Yamato Premium Fan Club magazine Vol. 18
After more than a month of unexplained delays, the latest issue of the fan club magazine finally shipped out to subscribers on June 10, and was made available for direct order on the Yamato Crew website a week later (to Japanese addresses only).
This one included an interview with 3199 directors Harutoshi Fukui and Naomichi Yamato, the prologue and first chapter of Malignant Memory, the forthcoming second novel in the Dawn Chapter series (art by Umegrafix shown above right), news about Hideaki Anno’s 50th anniversary commemorations, and more. Watch for translated articles at Cosmo DNA in the coming months.
Unfortunately, it came with some sorry news as well; this is the last issue of the magazine for the foreseeable future. It’s been with us since 2018, serving the fan community with a gold mine of information we couldn’t find anywhere else. It deepened our perspectives and always gave us more than we expected. It will be sorely missed. The reason for its cancellation was not given in the farewell message, but it was stated that interviews and other original content will be redirected toward the Yamato Crew website from here on.
Photos posted by Ayaka at their “No Opinions Needed” blog
June 10: Nobuyoshi Habara’s retirement party
If you ever wanted to see a first-generation Yamato fan live out his greatest dream, look no further. After watching it as an teenager, Mr. Habara was driven to land an anime career for himself. He found work on dozens of shows from the early 80s onward as a storyboard artist, animator, mecha designer, episodic director, supervising director, and more.
It’s almost certain that you saw his work long before he directed animation on Yamato Resurrection, directed two episodes of 2199, and supervised the entirety of Yamato 2202. Afterward, his studio Xebec was acquired by Sunrise, renamed Sunrise Beyond, and he went on to join the elite ranks of those who have directed on both Yamato and Mobile Suit Gundam (in this case, Gundam Build Divers).
See his impressive credit list at Anime News Network here.
As the writer/editor of Cosmo DNA, I (Tim Eldred) can also attest that he is one of the kindest, most considerate, and geekiest anime professionals on Earth. We’ve met in person a number of times, and he always gave me very enjoyable interviews. Seek them out in the Yamatour section.
Mr. Habara announced his retirement when he turned 60 last year, and was the guest of honor at a private party in a Tokyo restaurant owned by a Yamato fan. Other fans joined the festivities, along with some of Habara’s 2202 crewmates: singer Yuya Hoshina, artists Tomonori Kogawa and Kia Asamiya, and more.
Luckily, there were lots of cameras in the room, and a blogger who recorded it for posterity. Warm up your browser’s translate button and dig in: Blog part 1 | Blog part 2
June 12: Yamato 2205 Episode 7 on TV
Starsha invites Kodai and Dessler into Sanctel, the great vault where the elements of the stars are stored. Kodai is reunited with his late brother, Mamoru. What is the truth about Iscandar’s “salvation” that brings peace to all intelligent life, and what is the truth about Garmillas?
See the Cosmo DNA commentary for this episode here
Read the Fukui commentary here
Photo at left posted on Twitter by aoi96452
June 12: 3199 Chapter 1 advance screening
There’s the anticipation of seeing a new Yamato story for the first time, then there is the reality of getting to see it. Some very lucky ticket winners in Japan got that singular honor on this day when they became the first audience to watch 3199 Chapter 1 and hear cast and crew talk about it afterward.
This, of course, is the type of event that deserves its own separate report. Click here to read it right now!
Photos posted on Twitter by elfriede
June 12: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model Vol. 261
The second volume for June included the nosecone for the Patrol Ship’s business end and it lit up real nice. Bow section complete.
See Hachette’s instruction video here
See a modeler’s blog here
June 14: Age of Yamato back in theaters
Two days after seeing Yamato on the big screen, you could see it on the big screen again. This time, it was a return engagement for Age of Yamato, the Choices of 2202. This is the 2202 “compilation movie” that was augmented by new footage (read all about it here), and it was re-released to six theaters across Japan for a week. Then it moved to more theaters over subsequent weeks to conclude its run at a single theater in Fukuoka the day before the premiere of 3199. Now that’s good timing.
These 3199 mecha postcards were given away in theaters as an incentive item to keep fans coming back for more; after buying a ticket, you received one at random. Which would have made it a real challenge to collect all five. Get a better look at them here.
June 16: Shinya Takahashi auction art
Sasha’s character designer added four more pieces to the large and growing catalog of art offered up on Yahoo Japan Auctions. Get a good look at them here.
June 18: 3199 Chapter 1 Blu-ray news
The full package for the limited edition was revealed on this day, and the bonus items keep stacking up. For 2199, there were storyboard booklets. On 2202 and 2205, script booklets were added. Now, on top of all those there will be a mecha design booklet. This is in addition to the regular booklet that comes with the standard edition.
Preorders have closed at CD Japan, but the standard edition is still available. Revisit Report 6 for links to order your copy.
photo posted on Twitter by sokuhou_music
June 18: Isao Sasaki on TV
He’s still out there, still lit at 82 years old. On June 18 he sang the most famous anime theme again, this time on an NHK music program named Utacon.
June 19: Yamato 2205 Episode 8 on TV
Dessler commands Kodai to fire the WMG at him in order to destroy Goruba. As Kodai is about to accept this reality, Domon’s youthful enthusiasm moves him. “Save everyone!” In order to carry out Domon’s plan, Kodai rushes to Starsha in the experimental Dimensional Submarine Cosmo Hound…
See the Cosmo DNA commentary for this episode here
Read the Fukui commentary here
June 19: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model Vol. 262
The third volume for June started the process of assembling the four forward hull panels mounted with torpedo launchers (and their requisite fiber optics).
See Hachette’s instruction video here
See a modeler’s blog here
June 22: Concert news
If you’re going to be in Tokyo on the day of Yamato‘s 50th anniversary (October 6), you have a date with destiny. Here’s an article from the Japanese website Daily to fill you in…
The original idol voice actress who played Yuki Mori in Space Battleship Yamato shares her memories; the legendary Symphonic Suite to be premiered
The score for Symphonic Suite Space Battleship Yamato by composer Hiroshi Miyagawa (who passed away in 2006), a pioneer of Japanese pop music with many hits, was recently discovered. It has been decided that the piece will premiere at the GalaxCity Nishiarai Cultural Hall in Tokyo on October 6, the 50th anniversary of the monumental sci-fi anime Space Battleship Yamato.
Symphonic Suite is a 1977 work in which Miyagawa scaled up the soundtrack of Yamato to include a full orchestra. The LP was a big hit, but the sheet music was lost and the piece was never performed live. Instead, only a 10-minute Yamato Suite and a few tracks from the Symphonic Suite were performed.
Recently, Kaito Ikeda, the leader and conductor of Orchestra Pitore-za and a second generation Yamato fan, appealed to Miyagawa’s son Akira. The first draft of the score was discovered, and the entire score was recreated under Akira’s supervision.
Participating in the premiere will be Akira, Ikeda, Orchestra Pitore-za, and the Pitore-za Chorus, as well as Yuuki (scat), Takayuki Emori (guitar), Tetsushi Shiota (bass), and Hikaru Kanza (drums). The piano will be played by Hiroshi Miyagawa’s grandson Daisuke.
The original idol voice actress Yoko Asagami, who played the heroine Yuki Mori (now a storyteller at 71 named Ichiryusai Shunsui), shared her memories of Yamato. She pointed out the relationship between Yamato and music, saying, “Space Battleship Yamato is a very important work in my voice acting career. A work that was created with such care for the music was not seen in other programs at the time. The various scenes set in space were sometimes gentle, sometimes thrilling, and sometimes majestic and profound, and I was moved as my imagination was expanded.”
“I never had a chance to talk to Mr. Miyagawa, but I saw him from afar, and his easy-going and cheerful demeanor, and it felt like I was getting a glimpse into the source of Yamato‘s music,” she recalled.
She added, “A voice actor only encounters music after recording their lines and when they are broadcast. But when I was working on the radio drama, I was able to enjoy the sound effects and music together and further expand on my imagination as I acted. It’s a happy and fond memory.”
As a voice actress, she gained idol-like popularity for her roles as Yuki in Yamato, Claire in Galaxy Express 999, Mrs. Hudson in Famous Detective Holmes, and Nogami Saeko in City Hunter. As a storyteller, she was a student of the living national treasure Ichiryusai Teimizu, and was promoted in 2004 under the name Ichiryusai Shunsui. Since 2012, she has used that stage name as both a voice actor and storyteller.
Click here for concert ticket info
Photos posted on Twitter by aoi2199
June 23: Kashiwa City Wind Orchestra concert
We knew going in that 2024 was going to be a record-setting year for live Yamato music performances, and the hits keep on coming. This was a smaller event with less fan coverage on social media, but it got at least one positive review from Twitter user aoi2199:
“I went to the 66th concert of the Kashiwa City Wind Orchestra. It is an amateur brass band, so the concert had a handmade feel to it. Right from the first part, the energetic and lively performance was enjoyable!”
The playlist included pieces from John Williams, David Holsinger, and Philip Sparke, then gave way to Hiroshi Miyagawa’s 10-minute Yamato Suite and several pieces from Galaxy Express 999 (hence the program book cover).
Blink and you’ll miss it!
June 24: TV Fan magazine
The June 2024 issue of TV Fan (published by Media Boy) was the first mainstream magazine to publish a REBEL 3199 voice actor interview, a little under a month before the premiere of Chapter 1, and the hitters they scored couldn’t have been heavier: Daisuke Ono (Kodai) and Makoto Furukawa (Alphon) talking about what it means to be rivals.
Read the interview here
June 24: Models on the march
It’s Christmas time for Yamato fans when new models go on display in stores. These photos were posted on Twitter by Yusei, who discovered this display at the Yodobashi department store in Akihabara, Tokyo.
Lined up here are the models we’ve been hearing about over the last few reports; a variation set for the 1/1000 Asuka carrier (due out in July) and the 3199 refit of Yamato (due out in November).
June 25: TV news
BS10 Star Channel continues its anniversary marathon of Yamato movies! The broadcast dates for July were announced via a 30-second commercial for “Round 2”: Final Yamato on July 7, Resurrection on July 14, and the Resurrection Director’s Cut on July 30. Vintage compilation films for Yamato 2 and Yamato III are set to follow in August.
See the “Round 2” commercial on Youtube here
Photo at left posted by Baseball Samurai Saki, photo at left posted on Twitter by pipipi1014
June 26: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model Vol. 263
The last volume for June contained the second hull panel mounted with torpedo tubes, which got everyone halfway through this segment of the Patrol Ship.
See Hachette’s instruction video here
See a modeler’s blog here
June 26: REBEL 3199 Chapter 1 Just Before Launch TV special
Want some more 3199 in this 3199 report? A half-hour TV special was broadcast on BS11 the night of June 26 and generously released to Youtube 24 hours later for global consumption. It includes on-camera interviews with cast and crew, and a bunch of new footage from Chapter 1.
See it on Youtube here
Pro tip: click on the CC button for captions, then click on the gear icon to select “subtitles” and choose “auto-translate” from the popup. You won’t get a complete translation (for example, it changes “Kodai” into “Ancient” and “Yuki” into “Snow”), but you’ll get a lot more out of it than you would otherwise.
OR… click here for a complete transcript of the show! A first for Cosmo DNA!
June 30: A Voyage to Remember on BS12
How about one more hit before the month is over? Come on, you know you want to! On the last day of June, fans had a chance to revisit Yamato 2199 via the 2014 compilation film A Voyage to Remember, which added a handful of new shots as a prelude for Ark of the Stars (which was broadcast on BSD12 July 7).
Read our commentary on the film here
Also spotted in June
Fan art
You can tell how much the anticipation is growing by how intense the fan art gets. See the latest character gallery here and mecha gallery here.
Fan models
You can make a game out of this, trying to guess what you’ll see with the next scroll…but you’ll probably be wrong. See the June masterpieces here: Earth gallery | Everyone else
REBEL 3199 promotion
Posters for Chapter 1 popped up here and there in June, but few were more impressive than this big-scale banner sharing the art seen on the first advance tickets. This photo was posted on Twitter by rinoma_wakon, who said, “A follower told me that there was a big advertising banner at the movie theater in the Hakata Station building [in Fukuoka].”
So far, this is the only example of that particular piece being used, but something that spectacular is unlikely to be a one-off.
Fan Artist Profile
Time to meet another of the talented and dedicated Yamato fans who delivers some of the amazing artwork we see here in the art galleries month after month. (Hot tip: enter the words “character fan art” or “mecha fan art” in the search bar to bring all the galleries to the top.)
Annin Tofu
1. What was your first Yamato experience?
When I was in the second year of junior high school in 1974, I happened to turn on the TV and the opening of the first episode happened to be playing, and from then on I was glued to the TV every week.
2. What is your favorite aspect of Yamato?
I liked Yuki Mori, both old and new, and from there I got into the various mecha designs, but I never really got into the male characters (laugh).
3. Are you a Yamato collector?
Probably the first time I bought a collectible it was Leiji Matsumoto’s manga. It was the first edition (from Akita Shoten), and since that time, I’ve collected various old and new items, including plastic models, cosmo guns (water guns), and even Leiji Matsumoto’s handprints. I liked it so much that I designed a number of official Yamato goods myself.
4. What is your most treasured Yamato item?
Leiji Matsumoto’s actual handprint. I stamped it with ink along with my handprint.
5. What are your favorite drawing tools?
Digitally, I use Celsys Comic Studio and Clip Studio + WACOM pen tablet. Analogue, I use Staedtler colored pencils and Tombow ABT watercolor pens.
6. Where can we see your work?
You can visit my Twitter page, but I mainly publish illustrations and manga on PIXIV. I’m sorry that the manga is only in Japanese. I will translate it into English when I have the opportunity.
7. Does your family share your hobby?
My wife is a fan of Dessler (old), but my daughter is a bigger anime and movie fan than I am. Unfortunately she hasn’t seen Yamato. I worked on Godzilla [for Legendary] with Yoshimitsu Banno, so I watched all of Gareth Edwards’ works, including Star Wars Rogue One, with my family.
8. Please tell us something about your life outside of art.
I earned my living by working as a video game producer, mainly to support my family. I was a founding member of a company called Spike Corporation (now Spike Chunsoft of Dwango), and I worked with people in the entertainment field, mainly in management. There was a time when I was young and felt good about myself after releasing a reasonably successful PlayStation game or something.
However, the reason I decided to leave the world of games and return to the world of manga was because I grew up listening to stories about World War II from my grandfather, an engineer who miraculously survived the atomic bombing at the Mitsubishi Shipyard in Nagasaki. He built warships, but was against war. I think this is why I became so passionate about Space Battleship Yamato. Every day I ask myself, “What can I do to get along with people?”
9. Are you involved in Yamato activities with other fans?
I am not very outgoing, so I don’t do many activities with fans, but we are good friends on social media. I have a good relationship with Voyager Entertainment, Yamato‘s licensor, and I have received a lot of work from them. Recently, I’ve been involved with other anime and manga, so we haven’t been able to work together much (laughs).
10. What do you hope to see in a future Yamato anime?
The keyword is how to connect the idea of this content to the “new generation.” I think it will be difficult to nurture them if the older generation talks too much, so I’m looking forward to seeing how they can shape it in a fun and enriching way.
11. What is your favorite anime after Yamato?
Without any compliments, I would have to say Vision of Escaflowne. Maaya Sakamoto’s song is especially wonderful.
12. What would you like to say to Yamato fans around the world?
I am not a philanthropist, but I sometimes get into trouble on social networking sites because I have a different form of “love” for Yamato (laugh). All the fans have the eyes and the ability to see a wonderful work. I hope that we will become a constructive gathering of fans who accept the good and the bad.
13. What should everyone know about Japan and its people?
Japanese animation tends not to represent the same kind of family image as Disney does. I think this is because Japanese people value family so much that they don’t show it out in the open and there’s a psychology of respecting the image of each family member. Even in Shintoism, the sacred object is hidden out of sight. In other words, I think hiding something can be synonymous with cherishing it.
Yamatunes for June
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