Now THAT was a Yamato month! You have to go back over two years to the release of 2205 Chapter 2 to find this much action. The launch of REBEL 3199 brought us everything we’ve come to expect and MORE, since its international debut hit just a week later. Don’t worry if you missed anything, it’s all here from top to bottom…

July 3: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model Vol. 262

Volume 12 of Hachette’s weekly Patrol Ship series continued the process of constructing the forward guns at the bow section. This was set 3 of 4, to go all the way around the hull with their requisite fiber optics.

See Hachette’s instruction video here

See a modeler’s blog here

July 4: The World of Director Takashi Yamazaki exhibit renewed

The gallery exhibit dedicated to Director Takashi Yamazaki (who did both the live-action Yamato movie and Godzilla Minus One first opened in August 2023, and got a renewal when it reappeared today at the Battleship Yamato Museum in Kure, Japan (where it will be through November 24). Visitors generously posted their closeup photos of the exquisitely-detailed Cosmo Zero and Black Tiger models on Twitter.

See a photo gallery here

July 5: 1/100 Yamato returns

It’s become the anime version of a Christmas tree; it turns up in the lobby of the Shinjuku Piccadilly theater to let the world know a new series is about to launch, and cameras immediately gather around it to spread that news around the world.

This time, the bodywork is unchanged. The 2205 upgrades are still in place. But now there’s a bright new paint job and 3199 regalia. See a photo gallery (all pics taken personally by ye editor) here!

July 6: Yamato & Villains concert

Back for another round, Composer/Conductor Akira Miyagawa led the Siena Wind Orchestra, joined by organist Yuka Ishimaru, on an 18-track tour of Yamato‘s greatest themes all the way up to the latest from Dezarium. The sold-out venue was Suntory Concert Hall in Tokyo, and fans generously reported on it afterward.

See a photo gallery here and read an attendee’s blog here

July 7: Asao Philharmonic Family Concert

If one concert in a weekend wasn’t enough, you had another option on Sunday when the Asao Philharmonic, a community orchestra in Kawasaki City, closed with the Yamato theme as its second encore.

Visit their Twitter page here

July 7: Ark of the Stars on BS12, Final Yamato on BS10

With so many movies being revived in 50th anniversary marathons this summer, a head-on collision was probably inevitable. That’s what happened when Final Yamato aired on Star Channel BS10 on the same day Ark of the Stars aired on BS12. It isn’t known if they landed in the same timeslot, but admit it – if you have to have a problem, that’s the kind you want.

July 10: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model Vol. 263

The fourth and last forward gun segment arrived this week, allowing modelers to assemble the port side of the hull section.

See Hachette’s instruction video here

See a modeler’s blog here

July 11: Mono magazine No. 942

It’s been a while since Yamato featured on the cover of a mainstream entertainment magazine, but the time is right! Mono, published by World Photo Press, gifted us with a massive 44-page feature covering all major aspects of Yamato old and new.

See all the pages here, and read the articles here

July 12: Bandai Namco 3199 page

As a major participant in REBEL 3199 (home video licensor), Bandai Namco launched its own dedicated home page with background info, images, and production promo.

Get a look at it here

July 12: RIP Noriko Ohara

Another member of the original voice cast went silent on this day. Noriko Ohara’s acting range is perfectly represented by the two characters she voiced in Yamato 2: Jiro Shima and Sabera of the Comet Empire. In fact, she was best known for this precise range, playing young boys in Doraemon, Future Boy Conan, and others, and sexy ladies in both anime and live action film dubs.

See Japan’s farewell to Ms. Ohara here, and see her prodigious credit list here.

In addition to her huge catalog of voice recordings, Ms. Ohara also left behind at least one album of original songs titled Invitation, released by King Records in 1980.

July 13: Chapter 1 prologue released

If you’re lucky enough to see new Yamato chapters in a theater, each one is preceded by a “story so far” introduction that brings you up to speed (they also show up on the Bandai Namco Blu-rays as a bonus feature). With 60 episodes of content to review, this intro was the longest one yet, clocking in just under 20 minutes. It’s narrated by Yuki Mori and thus brings a lot of authority to the proceedings.

See it on Youtube here

July 13: Mantan Web interview #1

It’s interview season! First out of the gate was Mantan Web with a conversation between General Director Harutoshi Fukui and Director Naomichi Yamato (his real name), which kicked off a busy month. So busy, in fact, that the first wave of 3199 interviews has already earned its own page.

Click here to see them and watch that page for future updates.

July 14: Chapter 1 preview

It’s been customary since Yamato 2199 for the first half of a new episode to be offered up on Youtube a week or so before a movie opens. We only got the first five minutes of REBEL 3199, but that was enough to amp up excitement. See it on Youtube here.

The source was Bandai’s Emotion video label, and they had more to offer if you knew where to look. The Emotion Youtube Channel posts video shorts formatted for phone screens, and there were two categories of shorts for 3199.

The first consisted of story clips from Episode 1:

Kodai’s “proposal” | Unmanned fleet collapse | “Assemble on Yamato“

The second consisted of character flashbacks from previous series:

Susumu Kodai | Yuki Mori | Shiro Sanada | Daisuke Shima | Ryusuke Domon

July 14: 5 days and counting

Image posted on the Yamato Production Committee’s Twitter page

July 14: Mantan Web interview #2

Mantan‘s next interview subjects were the two guys everyone seemed to want to hear from in July: Daisuke Ono (Kodai) and Makoto Furukawa (Alphon). Furukawa didn’t have a single line of dialogue in Chapter 1, but he had plenty to say about his role and his relationship to Kodai as a character and Ono as an actor.

Similar interviews followed from Animage Plus, Numan, and Animate Times. Read them all here.

July 14: Yamato Resurrection on BS10

Next up on the 50th anniversary movie marathon was 2009’s Resurrection (original cut), broadcast on Star Channel BS10. Read all about the film here.

July 15: 4 days and counting

July 15: Mantan Web interview #3

An entirely new Yamato actor was the subject of today’s interview; Kosuke Toriumi, the voice of Cosmo Navy veteran Seiya Kitano. He only has a small part to play in Chapter 1, but Toriumi spoke about the impact he is destined to have in later episodes.

Read the interview here

July 16: 3 days and counting

July 16: Yamatour 2024 begins

Not that it’s worthy of being an official part of Yamato history, but on this day ye editor hopped a plane to visit Japan for the first time in almost five years to see the 3199 premiere with his own eyes. How would post-pandemic Tokyo be different? What surprises were lurking around the corner? Which treasures would Japan yield up to a visiting scavenger?

Click here for the Yamatour 2024 travelogue and find out!

July 17: 2 days and counting

July 17: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model Vol. 264

Not every volume of a Hachette model is sexy. This one, for example, contained only internal parts to facilitate the mechanics of a forward gun section. But it was still another step toward completion.

See Hachette’s instruction video here

See a modeler’s blog here

July 18: Animate Times interviews

Today it was a two-fer at the Animate Times website; interviews with the directors and with voice actor Kosuke Toriumi.

Read them here

July 18: 1 day and counting

July 18: Mantan Web interview #4

Music had its turn today when we heard from Akira Miyagawa and his new composing partner Shu Kanematsu. Few remember that 1980 was the year Hiroshi Miyagawa brought on Kentaro Haneda to help create the score for Be Forever, so history’s lessons are being repeated.

Read the interview here

July 19: REBEL 3199 Chapter 1 premiere

Screening Begins Today…Gather at Yamato…

Fans from all over Japan (and a few from around the world) had a shared destination today: one of the 70 theaters showing Dark Invasion, the inaugural chapter of Be Forever Yamato REBEL 3199. With a running length of just over an hour, it opened with the 20-minute prologue and continued with the first two episodes:

Episode 1: Secret operation underway! Head to New Yamato!!

The year is 2207. A giant object called the Grand Reverse suddenly enters the solar system, breaks through multiple defense networks, and descends to the new capital of Earth. In the face of this unprecedented situation, a secret command is given to the crew of the former Yamato fleet, including Susumu Kodai. “Gather at Yamato!!” What does this mean?

Lobby display at Namba Parks Cinema, Osaka. Photo by ye editor.

Episode 2: Silent Invasion: Take Up Arms, Ginga!

It is an invasion of Earth by the enemy Dezarium, which Yamato encountered two years ago. A faction of them is neutralizing the Earth Defense Force headquarters. Kodai and Yuki are reunited in the new capital, which is engulfed in a whirlwind of war by countless paratroopers. However, a tragedy awaits the two lovers…

Of course, they were not divided into episodes as they are on the Blu-rays; in theaters the content plays as a single continuous film with only one end credit sequence. In this case, the ending title song was Galaxy Legend, the original 1980 recording by Hiromi Iwasaki. (Listen to it on Youtube here.)

As we’ve learned over the years, the film itself is only one component of a premiere day. Everything else we’ve come to expect rolled in right on schedule. First of all, everyone who bought a ticket got the free handout shown at right; an illustrated 6″ x 8″ card showing….something? That’s Yuki singing over the phone to Kodai, and evidently she’s not quite hitting the notes. It relates to nothing seen in the film, so should probably not be too closely scrutinized.

July 19: Chapter 1 limited edition Blu-ray

Sold only in theaters, one copy per ticket holder, the first 3199 Blu-ray comes with an outer slipcase with jacket art by the great Naoyuki Katoh, and an inner sleeve with jacket art by Character Designer Nobuteru Yuuki.

Extra features on the disc include commentaries, the prologue, trailers and ads, creditless titles, and the voice actor/character introduction panel from Anime Japan 2024.

There’s also a 12-page booklet with the Blu-ray; see it from cover to cover here. Everything seen above will be released as the standard edition on October 30.

Preorder it from Amazon.co.jp here or from CD Japan here

The limited edition came with two softcover books: the storyboards for Episode 1 and a 36-page guide to Earth mecha accompanied by an interview with Mecha Designer Junichiro Tamamori.

Flip them over and you find that the storyboard book also gives you the script for Episode 1. It is expected that similar books will accompany all upcoming limited editions. Based on past experience, they can be purchased in advance online from CD Japan, so watch future reports for ordering info. If you want to directly support REBEL 3199 with your hard-earned dough, this is the very best way to do it.

July 19: Chapter 1 program book

Program books have become an indispensible part of Yamato publishing history, often containing images and graphics that do not get reprinted elsewhere. The 44-page program book for Chapter 1 fit the bill perfectly with information that adds to the onscreen experience.

See it from cover to cover and read Harutoshi Fukui’s introduction here

July 19: Chapter 1 theater goods

Also known as “character goods,” unique products accompany many film releases in Japan, including some for western films that are not sold in other countries. 3199 continued and expanded on that with reliable categories (such as clear files and T-shirts) and a few new ones. It’s an interesting way to track what was popular in past outings.

In addition to theater gift shops, these products are sold by online sources such as Yamato Crew, Froovie, and the A-on Store. But, of course, you’ll need a friend on the ground there since none of them ship internationally.

See all the Chapter 1 products here

July 19: REBEL 3199 Chapter 2 promotion

In a feat of impeccable timing, the first promotion for Chapter 2 was released during the morning screenings of Chapter 1. The key art is by Kia Asamiya, and the title is Burning Sun Sortie (which strongly invokes solar conditions in Yamato III). The release date is November 22, which suggests a 4-month break between chapters. If that holds, the finale will arrive in the summer of 2026.

Chapter 2 synopsis from the official site:

Dezarium’s gigantic mobile fortress, Grand Reverse, has landed on the edge of the new capital. After conquering Earth, Dezarium’s Holy Emperor Skaldart tells the people, “We are you,” and explains the history of the past 1,000 years. They are searching for a “fragment of Iscandar” to change the future of Earth, which is heading toward destruction. Surprisingly, they are not “enemies” at all!!

Meanwhile, the crew of the old Yamato fleet has reached the Icarus Observatory, where the new Space Battleship Yamato is waiting. However, Susumu Kodai, who lost Yuki Mori, is too devastated to take command. He has no idea that his beloved Yuki is being cared for by Major Alphon of Dezarium…

Who exactly is Dezarium!? What is their true purpose!? Seeking answers to all the mysteries, Yamato is about to launch!

Photo posted on Twitter by hana_chika

Simultaneous with this, advance tickets became available in theaters and from online sources, accompanied by a poster for early adopters. See a larger version of the key art at the bottom of this page.

Moving images from Chapter 2 were also released. There was a short preview for Episode 3 at the end of Chapter 1 in theaters, but a longer, 25-second teaser for all of Chapter 2 was released on Youtube (which incidentally includes the first spoken line from Alphon).

Watch it here and see our breakdown here

July 19: Restaurant collaboration begins

Yamato tie-ins with restaurants have been fairly steady since 2199, and a new one joined the roster today: Italian eatery Kamakura Pasta. The theme is Be Forever Tomato (yep, they went there) and a pair of gimmicks came with it.

Photo posted on Twitter by M.T

First, while eating inside the restaurant you could listen to announcements read by Daisuke Ono in Kodai’s voice.

Second, ordering a designated dish could earn you one of four exclusive Yamato stickers as seen here. Photos posted on Twitter by ayaka19790825, Aruhi, and Tsubasa.

July 19: Watch collaboration announced

Another collab that made the news today was for a customized REBEL 3199 wristwatch. The promo text read as follows:

A collaboration watch with Be Forever Yamato REBEL 3199 is planned! Reservations are being accepted until August 19th

A watch inspired by Space Battleship Yamato will be released by the brand SuperGroupies, which produces collaboration items! It is a black watch made in the image of Yamato, which travels through the infinitely expanding universe.

The Wave-Motion Gun that brought great results is placed at the 12 o’clock position on the face. At the 9 o’clock position is a new anchor mark, also called the “Yamato mark.” The three lines on the tip of each main gun and secondary gun barrel as participation badges are on the hour and minute hands. Give your wrist the strength to resist fate!

Reservation Period: Friday, July 19, 2024, 16:00 to Monday, August 19, 2024, 12:00
Expected Delivery: Around late December 2024
Price: 33,000 yen (tax included)

See more photos at the SuperGroupies website here

July 19: Stage greeting

Premiere day wasn’t over yet! It couldn’t end without a live stage greeting, which happened after the 7:30pm screening at the Shinjuku Piccadilly theater. Voice actor Eriko Nakamura served as MC for a conversation with Scriptwriter Hideki Oka, Director Naomichi Yamato, and General Director Harutoshi Fukui.

Read all about it here

July 20: Yamato 2205 streaming

Bet you wish YOU could stream 2205 on demand (especially now). Customers of Family Theater in Japan got that privilege the day after 3199‘s premiere, which would have been a handy way to take a well-timed deep dive.

July 20: Asahi Culture session

You may have watched Yamato, but have you ever watched it with an educator? The Asahi Culture Center in Tokyo offered that experience on this day in a program called Read Anime. The instructor is well-known anime critic Ryota Fujitsu, and the course description is as follows:

The most superficial way to watch anime is to rely on words to follow the story. However, as you can see from watching a few works, the story is not only told by words, but is more eloquently told by the images and the direction that controls them. By explaining the production background of anime and following in detail how the story is told in images, this course aims not only to give a deeper appreciation of each work, but also to update the way you watch anime.

A session takes place on the third Saturday of each month, and the July 20 session focused on Yamato. If we’re lucky, maybe some published content will come out of it.

July 20: Asuka DX box art revealed

The first 3199 model kit was a week away at this point, but it wasn’t too early for Bandai Namco to reveal the box it would come in, with handsome artwork by Kia Asamiya.

July 21: Mantan Web article

After just two days in theaters, enough new information was on the radar for Mantan Web to publish an overview that included new comments from Harutoshi Fukui.

Read it here

July 21: Stage greetings

The creators had their say on the 19th. Now it was time for the actors to say their piece, and they had a LOT to say. The Shinjuku Piccadilly hosted them in back-to-back screenings on the 21st and their excitement about the series was palpable.

Read the reports here

July 22: Official site updates

The official website got its customary facelift (which happens every time new key art is published), along with a single, striking keyword for the occasion: 反撃 (Counterattack).

This fronted for big changes in the 3199 character guide, in which almost everyone got a Chapter 1 update and four new characters were added. Meanwhile, the Goruba was added to the Mecha guide.

Visit the official website here

See the new entries in English here

See the complete character guide in English here and mecha guide in English here

The official site is also the best source for up-to-the minute info, so frequent the NEWS column and keep your trigger finger over your browser’s “translate” button.

That’s only HALF of the report for July 2024! Click here to continue!