From the Chapter 1 program book: SF researcher Shinya Ogura, science advisor for the Space Battleship Yamato remake series, presents some of his work for Dark Invasion with a look at the state of Earth’s solar system at the beginning of the series.
Translated by Anton Mei Brandt
The Solar System in 2207
Here, based on art design materials and more, we will unravel the state of the solar system in 2207 AD, the setting for Be Forever Yamato REBEL 3199. For the first chapter, we interviewed Shinya Ogura, who supervised the sci-fi concepts and monitor designs.
Shinya Ogura Profile: Born 1965 in Chiba Prefecture. After working at places like Ogawa Modeling, he now freelances as one of the concept researchers who form Harutoshi Fukui’s creative team. His major works include Planetes, Mobile Suit Gundam UC, Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These, and Expelled from Paradise.
Shinya Ogura commentary
Following Yamato 2202 and Yamato 2205, I continued serving as the “SF concept researcher” and “monitor design supervisor.” This time, my main focus was on astronomy and actual scientific elements. As for the fictional physics aspects, Yuka Minagawa from the literary/concept management team handled those parts, and we collaborated through ongoing discussions.
The SF elements usually start with Harutoshi Fukui giving me a few keywords as prompts during meetings, like setting up a theme. I then respond with sketches and ideas saying, “how about something like this?” as we flesh things out.
For the remake series, since the scientific considerations in Yamato 2199 incorporated real astronomical concepts by Toshihiro Handa, I always extend my thinking from there. Handa is actually a senior from the hard SF research group I belong to, and he still personally advises me even now.
Saturn (Sea of Lament)
A rough CG image of the Saturnian sea area that appears in Yamato 2205, created by Shinya Ogura. The matter that once comprised Saturn has spread into a gaseous cloud.
Sketch to convey the image.
Range of Saturn’s magnetosphere (magnetic field)
The remnants of Saturn’s core still generate a magnetic field. The resulting magnetosphere extends nearly to the orbit of Titan, the 6th moon.
Conceiving the image of Saturn’s destruction was something I did during 2205. The relatively dense, originally liquid metallic hydrogen has gasified and swirls around the remnant core of Saturn, enveloping it. The atmosphere of the former gas giant was stripped away by contact with the super-heated gases that had shrouded the White Comet, scattering a large portion thinly across a wide area so that “Saturn” no longer retains its shape.
As a result, the matter comprising Saturn spread out into the diffuse “Sea of Lament.” From the core’s rapid rotation, the gases churn violently, with aurorae generated by the core’s bipolar field providing an internal illumination effect. Furthermore, Titan’s chilled atmosphere collides with the tenuous ionized gas leaking from Saturn’s magnetic field, stripping away to form a “tail” trailing behind Titan’s orbit. Quite a dismal “Sea of Lament,” wouldn’t you agree?
On the other hand, the Saturn restoration project gave me some trouble. (Laughs) To be frank, from an astronomical scale perspective, there is no real reason to purposefully restore it. So as a compromise, the current understanding is that data is simply being collected and surveyed relating to a potential restoration for now. Rationality alone is not necessarily a crucial element for Yamato.
Top: Sakigake-class research ship Sakigake
A type 4 mobile space research vessel that functions as both a base and a dock. This large ship was built using parts sold off as part of a project to reuse damaged ships after the war. The eight engines that make up the catamaran hull are Dreadnought-class engines that have been detuned for civilian use. This is a research and exploration mission spec for the Saturn Repair Project. As the base for the project, the upper part is equipped with research and accommodation facilities for workers.
Bottom: Shikishima-class self-supporting floating dock ship Shikishima
Eight Shikishima vessels participate in the repair fleet as general-purpose work ships. It is a dock ship that can be used both inside and outside an atmosphere.
Since ships were needed for the restoration project, I designed the survey mothership Sakigake (meaning “To hold [an umbrella] over”) and the multipurpose work vessel Shikishima. The Sakigake design concept was essentially a university or research facility placed on board a ship. For the socket-like structure in the center, I wanted to attach a visual element resembling a vacuum tube, but Fukui rejected it as being too conspicuous for what was supposed to be just a supporting role (laughs).
The cranes lined along the Shikishima hull were a request from Mr. Fukui. My insistence was that these ships be constructed using shared components – the hulls built from decommissioned civilian and military materials, with common control modules attached. I was also responsible for the layout and mecha animation in that scene.
Translator’s Note: Shikishima may refer to one of two things, by my estimation:
(1) The lead ship of the 1890 pre-dreadnought class battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
(2) The 2017 JR (Japan Railway) East deluxe sleeping-car excursion train.
For the Grand Reverse’s invasion route, I used actual planetary positions from astronomy software as the base, adding directional markers and updating the Grand Reverse’s location to correspond with each shot as needed for direction. The command center’s monitor graphics were also something I drew or supervised. Since the monitor information is constantly changing, I encourage checking it out in the actual footage. Being able to directly illustrate concepts and provide them to the production may be one of my strengths.
Grand Reverse Invasion Route
The Grand Reverse enters the solar system from the direction of the galactic center. Since the positions of planets can be calculated, astronomy software was used to recreate their configuration in October 2207 AD.
This diagram showing the Grand Reverse’s invasion route in red was also used for on-screen graphics in the show. We can see that Ginga, under Kodai’s command in the Saturnian sea area, is quite far from the invasion path. The 11th planet where contact was made with the Bolar fleet lies even farther beyond what’s shown.
Planetary Positions in October 2207 AD
A diagram plotting the positions of the major planets and asteroids in the solar system in October 2207, based on Ogura’s production materials and updated for each shot (all from Episode 1) to reflect the Grand Reverse’s constantly changing position. Wave-Motion mines are deployed around the Mars absolute defense line. The Asuka fleet and 28th Escort Force engages the Grand Reverse near Mars.
The unmanned fleet is then deployed in the Earth sphere. The diagram also marks the positions of the twelve zodiacal constellations used for directional references. This information was utilized for background dialogue heard at the defense command, contributing to the sci-fi feel of the work.