History repeated itself in the best possible way when Dark Invasion, the opening chapter of REBEL 3199, got an advance screening at the Shinjuku Piccadilly theater (where nearly all the live Yamato events take place) with staff and cast members on stage for a conversation. Here are two reports that followed…

Daisuke Ono, Houko Kuwashima, Kenji Akabane, Eriko Nakamura, General Director Harutoshi Fukui, and Director Naomichi Yamato appear on stage!

Be Forever Yamato REBEL 3199, Chapter 1 Dark Invasion Completion Ceremony Stage Greeting Report!

Published by Aniverse on June 13 (see the original post here)

REBEL 3199, the latest work in the Yamato series, is a new interpretation of the third theatrical film Be Forever Yamato, released in 1980. It will be screened in theaters nationwide in seven chapters, with Chapter 1 Dark Invasion set to premiere on Friday, July 19, 2024.

A stage greeting to announce the completion Dark Invasion was held at the Shinjuku Piccadilly theater on June 12. Taking the stage were Daisuke Ono, who plays the main character Susumu Kodai, Houko Kuwashima, who plays his lover Yuki Mori, and Kenji Akabane, who plays Nanbu Yasuo, considered to be a key person in this story. Joining them were Harutoshi Fukui, who became the general director with this work, and new Director Naomichi Yamato.

Under MC Eriko Nakamura, who also appears as Mikage Kiryu, the completion of Dark Invasion was announced to the many Yamato fans who had gathered.

Daisuke Ono

Event Report

Ono, who has played Susumu Kodai for 12 years since Yamato 2199, was asked how he feels now. “I had the opportunity to appear at various events during 2199, and at the time I wondered if I would be able to safely reach the destination and if I would be able to play this role as an actor. I was more anxious than hopeful, but now I feel more hopeful than anxious.”

He continued, looking back with emotion. “At the beginning, I thought that only the Yamato crew was with me, but as we continued, more actors joined, and more staff members were involved, so I feel like I’ve gained more friends over the past 12 years. Above all, I think that the fans are the reason for the Yamato crew, so I’m full of hope now that we’ll be fine as long as you’re there.”

When General Director Fukui was asked about his impressions of the film. “It’s taken so much time and effort that I thought it would never be completed. Every conceivable accident occurred,” he said, alluding to the difficulties of production. But then he appealed strongly. “On the other hand, the fact that we overcame all that and got to this point today makes it the strongest of the series so far.”

In response, Director Yamato, nervous at his first stage greeting, showed his enthusiasm by saying, “I will continue to work on the series so that everyone can enjoy it to the fullest, so I hope you’ll continue to support us.”

Like Ono, Kuwashima been involved in the work as Yuki Mori for 12 years. She was asked about her impressions after reading the script. In response to the word “hope” in Ono’s comment, she said, “Mr. Ono said hope earlier, but when I read the script, there are things that make me think that there are many difficulties ahead. Kodai is practicing something, and I was surprised that he was still practicing that part! And what happens after that…” This comment made everyone think about what would happen next in the relationship between Kodai and Yuki.

Ono was embarrassed and the audience laughed when General Director Fukui said, “80% of it is because of the original work.”

Kenji Akabane plays Yasuo Nanbu, who had feelings for Yuki at the beginning of the series. He was teased by Nakamura for his unrequited love, but he says Nanbu holds the key to 3199. “After reading the script,” he said, “I think there will be a story involving Nanbu Heavy Industries, and I think he will make a different move than usual. In the 12th year, we’re seeing a different side of Nanbu.”

Akabane (Nanbu) and Kuwashima (Yuki)

Ono commented on this aspect of Nanbu. “He used to be really keen on firing weapons, but I feel he has matured a lot. I think Nanbu now thinks more deeply.”

In response, Akabane spoke of his love for the character. “I’m a little skeptical about whether he really thinks deeply about his actions. But he is often dominated by his emotions, and I like how human he is.”

Nakamura, who served as the MC for this event and plays Mikage Kiryu, said that her favorite scene was when Kodai was teased by the female crew. “Until now, there were a lot of scenes where it was very emotional. This time there was a very relaxed scene, with Mikage having a normal conversation,” she said with a smile.

Director Fukui and Director Yamato were asked about the highlights of the film. Fukui said, “Yamato hasn’t done ground battles before. The original film has high-density animation that was unimaginable back then, and the scenes were created with the special composition skills of genius animators, so there’s no point in going head-on against that. We’ve created a different way of fighting, combining it with CG, so I hope you’ll enjoy that.”

Director Yamato revealed his attention to detail, saying, “In episodes 1 and 2, we bring out various moments for each character, and each one is carefully designed, so I think you’ll enjoy it if you watch it over and over again.”

The conversation then shifted to moments from the voice recordings, where Ono shared a behind-the-scenes story about how Director Fukui would explain the scenes and the feelings of the characters at each session, and the conversation became very lively.

When the other five speakers were asked to choose a favorite character, they all said, “It’s Yuki!” Ono explained the reasoning behind this. “When Kodai stands still, Yuki is the one who moves. It’s actually Yuki who turns zero into 1. When you realize that, you think Yuki is the main character.”

After careful consideration, Kuwashima chose Kanzaki, commenting, “There are quite a few good women around Kodai.”

Speaking for Nanbu, Akabane said, “It’s Mori (Yuki). I’d like to see Yuki’s big smile soon.”

Nakamura chose Makoto Kato and her son Tsubasa, who are not part of the crew, and commented, “I’m curious to see how Tsubasa, who has grown up alongside Makoto, will be involved in this work.”

Director Yamato mentioned Dr. Sado. “There is a story that Dr. Sado has not told us yet.”

Director Fukui hinted, “There is information hidden in each and every shot, so if you look closely, you’ll understand,”

Finally, Ono gave a message on behalf of the cast, and Director Fukui gave a message on behalf of the staff.

Ono: “I’m happy that we’ve reached the day when we can safely deliver Be Forever Yamato REBEL 3199 Chapter 1, Dark Invasion, to everyone. I think Yamato is life. I’ve experienced many things in 12 years. We all fought together, and to borrow Kodai’s words, ‘we carried it all on our shoulders.’ Right now, I feel more hope than anxiety. I’m sure this journey will be a wonderful one. All that’s needed now is for you to join the Yamato crew. Let’s all move this ship forward into the future! ”

Fukui: “I’m sure you’re feeling hope, but it’s a harder road than ever before. Each day, I feel the difficulty of making it more than ever. But I have a strange confidence. This time, even at the script stage, I think it’s ‘my best work ever.’ So I’m going to do my best to finish it, and give it all I’ve got. Thank you for your support.”

Each of them showed their confidence and the stage greeting came to a close. REBEL 3199 Chapter 1 will be screened from Friday, July 19, 2024.

Daisuke Ono talks about his thoughts on the new Space Battleship Yamato series: “Hope is greater than anxiety!”

Published by The TV on June 13 (see the original post here)

The latest work in the Yamato remake series, Be Forever Yamato REBEL 3199 will debut with Chapter 1, Dark Invasion on Friday, July 19 (seven chapters in total). Prior to the release, a stage greeting to celebrate the completion of the film was held at Shinjuku Piccadilly in Tokyo on June 12th.

Looking back on the beginning of the Yamato 2199 series: “I was full of tension and anxiety”

This work is based on the third theatrical film Be Forever Yamato, released in 1980, reconstructed into a series of seven chapters (26 episodes in total) with new interpretations added. The venue was packed with enthusiastic Yamato fans, and the main cast and staff appeared.

Drenched in the passionate gaze of the fans, Ono, who plays the protagonist Susumu Kodai, gave a powerful speech, saying, “I’m proud to be able to board the ship of hope again.”

Looking back on when the Yamato 2199 series first began about 12 years ago, Ono spoke honestly. “I was filled with tension and anxiety every time I appeared on stage to greet the audience or attend an event. Would I be able to make it through this journey safely to the end, and reach my destination? Would I be able to complete it as an actor? I think I had more anxiety than hope. But now that I’ve been doing it for 12 years, I have more hope than anxiety!” The audience applauded.

Ono continued, “On the first journey, I thought Yamato‘s crew were my only companions, but as the journey continued, more actors joined us. We started with Director Yutaka Izubuchi (general director of the 2199 series), and then we had more companions, such as Nobuyoshi Habara (director of the 2202 series) and Kenji Yasuda (director of the 2205 series). Now I feel like I’m not alone. Above all, I think everyone who came is a part of the Yamato crew, so as long as everyone is here, everything will be fine, and I’m full of hope.” The hall erupted in even louder applause.

Worries about the relationship between Kodai and Yuki not progressing. “After all, happiness is hard to come by…”

On the other hand, General Director Harutoshi Fukui admitted, “I thought it would never be completed. It took a lot of time and effort, and we overcame all the accidents that can happen in filmmaking to get to this point, so it’s a really strong work.”

Director Naomichi Yamato, who stood in front of fans for the first time at this stage greeting said, “Nice to meet you,” and then added, “It seems like a coincidence, but it’s my real name. I’ll be involved in the series from now on so that everyone can enjoy it. Thank you very much.”

Houko Kuwashima, who plays Yuki Mori, commented, “Ono-san said earlier that he had hope, but when I read the script, I was like, ah… (sigh). We have a lot of work ahead of us. I’m not sure what to expect in the future.”

She then commented with regret about a scene in the first episode. “There’s a scene where Kodai-kun is practicing hard, and I felt like, ‘Is he still there?'” She seemed to be frustrated by the fact that Kodai and Yuki’s relationship has not progressed much even after 12 years, and sighed again, “After all, happiness is hard to come by…”

General Director Fukui then explained, “That’s because 80% of it is the original work’s fault. It can’t be helped that it turned out like this,” which drew laughter from the audience. “(The original) Be Forever Yamato was two and a half hours long, but this one is about finding hope over 26 episodes,” he said, to which the others all laughed and answered, “That’s a long time…!”

Kenji Akabane reveals his love for Yamato: “I’ve been doing Yamato for 70% of my career, after all.”

In this film, Yasuo Nanbu, the heir to Nanbu Heavy Industries, which has a huge influence on the Earth’s military economy, becomes another key person.

Akabane, who plays Nanbu, said, “In this work, there are moments related to Nanbu Heavy Industries, and when I read the script, my impression was, ‘Oh, really? He’s going to take a different approach than usual.’ There are many things I can’t talk about, but I think we’ll get to see a new side of Nanbu in his 12th year. The voice recording for 3199 is still ongoing, but I think it’s already surpassed the amount of lines Nanbu had in 2202 and 2205.”

MC Eriko Nakamura, who plays Mikage Kiryu, said, “In addition to the battle scenes in 3199, I was able to feel the human drama to the fullest from the beginning. There’s a scene I love where people of all different generations are having girl talk together, and Kodai (in the background) is teased a lot. It felt like Mikage was having an everyday conversation, and I personally think it was a very peaceful scene, but (to Ono) I’m sorry for teasing you. Please come and see Captain Kodai being teased after this.”

While listening to these stories, Fukui said, “I never thought it would become so deeply rooted in my life. Now I can’t imagine life without Yamato.” Akabane added, “70% of my career has been in Yamato.” Kuwashima continued, “I’ve been playing Yuki Mori for 12 years, and Fukui-san has given me an important role in this film. You’ll see. I put a lot of thought into it as the culmination of the 12 years I’ve spent playing Yuki, so please do take a look.”

Director Fukui then revealed, “At the beginning of the film, we’ve included a synopsis of the story so far, which continues from 2199, and we’ve asked Yuki Mori to narrate it,” which elicited more applause from the audience. Kuwashima smiled brightly and responded, “That’s why this first chapter is one I’m really attached to.”

Daisuke Ono: “I’m sure this journey will be wonderful”

In closing, Ono reiterated, “As Fukui-san said earlier, I think Yamato is life. Over the past 12 years, I’ve had many experiences and many colleagues have been involved. And at this moment, I once again realize that Director Yamato, Fukui-san, and countless staff members are involved in this work. Everyone is in an all-out war. In Kodai’s words, we’ve all carried the burden together and come this far. Right now, I feel more hope than anxiety. I’m sure this journey will be wonderful.”

He then addressed the audience, saying, “What’s more, all we need is for you to join the Yamato crew. The new staff and new cast are all putting their souls into this. Please get on board, everyone. I’d be even happier if you could bring in new members. Let’s all move this ship forward into the future!”

Fukui added, “I know you’re feeling hope, but it’s a harder road than ever before. There are many challenges, and I feel more and more the difficulty of creating than ever before, but I have a strange confidence. The script for this is my best work ever. And that doesn’t just apply to Yamato, it includes my other works.” He then called out, “I’ll do my best and give it my all to finish this, so please support me!”

The stage greeting ended with a huge cheer.

L to R: Eriko Nakamura (Kiryu), Kenji Akabane (Nanbu), Houku Kuwashima (Yuki),
Daisuke Ono (Kodai), Director Naomichi Yamato, Gen. Director Harutoshi Fukui

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