The spring months of 1979 saw the first slowdown in Yamato activity since the previous summer, which was inevitable given that the intervening period was the busiest in the entire saga’s history. Nonetheless, the epic conclusion of Yamato 2 and a continuing flood of media still gave everyone plenty to talk about. Here we see everything that happened in March and April.
March 1: Terebiland, April issue
All three of the top manga magazines gave Yamato special attention in March, probably to sync up with Yamato 2‘s impending climax. Tokuma Shoten’s Terebiland published a big, splashy cover story on the fleet battle episodes that were about to air, which evoked the extravagant style of Terebiland‘s Series 1 articles back in 1974/75. They also gave readers a bonus “bromide book” with cards to paste into it.
See all this content here
March 1: Terebi Kun, April issue
Shogakukan’s Terebi Kun matched the stakes with a 5-page article reviewing the fight with Dessler at Planet Telezart, then raised them with a separate Yamato 2 “Encyclopedia.” It was only 20 pages, but it provided a story digest for the first 12 episodes and featured the debut of four exclusive cutaway drawings.
See all this content here
March 3: Bouken Oh [Adventure King], April issue
The tenth chapter of Leiji Matsumoto’s Yamato 2 manga serial continued its glacial pace. In 20 pages, Yamato approaches and passes Andromeda (outbound from Earth), and Andromeda turns to aim its main guns at Yamato. No complaints about the art, but it must have been obvious to everyone by now that the story wasn’t going to get anywhere very soon.
Meanwhile, there was more to like elsewhere in this issue. These color ads promoted the first “all color” collection of Matsumoto’s manga (to be published later in the month), and the wonderful world of Yamato toys and models from Nomura.
The most impressive Yamato content in the issue was a big 30″ x 14″ foldout poster featuring EDF mecha on one side…
…and a unique Yamato painting on the other. It appears to have been commissioned solely for use by Tokuma Shoten, since it never appeared in anyone else’s publications.
And finally, some more promotion: an ad for the 2nd Leiji Matsumoto paperback manga collection (which would gather up his first eight chapters) and the next issue of Bouken Oh, which would have another big foldout poster; this one for the Comet Empire.
March 3: Yamato 2 Episode 21
Courage: the death Of Captain Hijikata!
Mighty forces clash again and again in the battle of Saturn! A wild tide turns back and forth with Earth’s future in the balance, and Captain Hijikata fights with all the strength at his command. But will even that be enough when the White Comet itself arrives?
Read our commentary for this episode here
March 5: Star Force promotion
The last mention of Star Force we saw in this record came on February 19. Less than a month later, this followup ad was placed in Broadcasting magazine to show tremendous progress in distribution for the series; seven more stations had signed on with presumably many more to come.
We don’t yet have a production record for the show itself, but the first series was definitely in the works at this time, since the first script for the second series would be finalized in just two more months. And the name change to Star Blazers would occur in three months.
See more early promotion here
March 5: Hero Special No. 2 doujinshi
As more proof that fandom never forgets, this special edition of a doujinshi titled Hero lavished 100 pages on every single background character in the first Yamato series, no matter how obscure or briefly they appeared. In the days before home video, this would have been an enormous undertaking. But that has never been an obstacle for Yamato fans. Another interesting factor was the liberal use of character names rendered in English.
See it from cover to cover here
Find the previous editions of Hero here
March 10: Yamato 2 Episode 22
Yamato, fight to the last!
Limping away for the disastrous battle at Saturn, the crew desperately tries to repair Yamato. But time is running out. Zordar is nearing Earth, and has already struck at the Moon!
Read our commentary for this episode here
March 10: Animage #10, April issue
This was the last issue of Animage to carry Yamato 2 coverage, and it was quite a shift away from previous articles. This time they presented two interviews with Yamato personnel, the charismatic Masato Ibu (voice of Dessler) and Animator Kenzo Koizumi.
Read them here
March 10, 1979: Middle 2nd Year Course, April issue
On the day Episode 22 was broadcast, Gakken’s student digest for 8th graders devoted 5 pages to an update with summaries of both Episodes 22 and 23: the aftermath of the Battle of Saturn and the dramatic start of the Dessler showdown.
This was followed by speculation on how Yamato 2 might end. Here’s what they had to say…
Urgent coverage!!
We look at Yamato‘s finale!!
What will be the showdown between Dessler and Kodai? What will happen to Kodai and Yuki’s love? We will investigate these two major points of interest while revisiting famous scenes from the movie!
1 What is Dessler’s fate?
Kodai and Dessler finally face off. In the movie, Dessler chose a good death, which was very moving, but what about on TV? The editorial board tries to predict the possible outcomes…
(1) Dessler dies in a more epic battle than in the movie.
(2) The showdown is interrupted by a sudden accident! Dessler succeeds in escaping and leaves.
(3) He disappears into space, and we don’t know if he’s dead or alive.
In any case, we are sure to see an unimaginable, spectacular, and moving scene. Yet, in case it turns out to be (2) or (3), we can expect a fateful rematch in “Yamato Part 3.” Right?
2 What about Kodai and Yuki’s love?
“Don’t let Yuki die! Let her marry Kodai while she is still alive…!”
“No, I think a tragic ending like in the movie would be more touching!”
The voices of the fans are overwhelming. Even the production staff is very excited about it. However, unlike the movie, there was a love scene between Shima and Teresa on TV. Maybe there will be some kind of love development between Kodai and Yuki…!?
And finally, a word from the inside…
Now, the production site has entered the final battle!
Producer Osamu Hiroka
Since the start of TV’s Yamato 2, the production staff has been thinking, “We don’t want to just rehash the movie!” With this as a slogan, we have been working hard to create fresher scenes.
Now, as we approach the final stage, the production site is in full swing. In particular, there is a lot of discussion about what to do with the last part! Five or six main staff members, led by Producer Nishizaki, have been meeting for more than 10 hours every day. Anyway, my plan is to work backward from the broadcast date and work on the script until the very last minute. In that sense, it’s completely different from a movie. There will be a spectacular finale. Please look forward to it!
March 15: Farewell to Yamato SF Novels 1 & 2
No matter how hot things got on TV, Farewell to Yamato was still the elephant in the room. The latest reminder came in the form of these two novels from Asahi Sonorama, both released on the same day. They were the paperback versions of hardcovers published back in September 1978 with Yoshinobu Nishizaki credited as the author (though they were almost certainly ghost-written by someone else).
The Sonorama version was the fourth and last novelization of the film. See all of the editions here.
March 15: Yamato 2, Terebi Kun special edition
As it turned out, the 20-page “Encyclopedia” in Terebi Kun magazine was just a warmup for this, the first dedicated book to the TV series. At 68 pages, it offered the best collection of full-color stills that could be found anywhere. It covered episodes 1-12 with a support section of mecha art that included the four cutaway drawings seen in the “Encyclopedia.” A second volume would follow in June.
The back cover brought a surprise of its own, an ad for Bridgestone’s forthcoming Yamato bicycle. Get a good look at that baby here.
March 16: Phantom II Vol 4 doujinshi
There must have been something in the water this month; the day after the Terebi Kun special was published with its unique cutaway artwork, Yamato Fan Club F4 Phantom II released this doujinshi with very similar cutaway art for completely different mecha. The 4th volume of their series was a tour de force of creative energy.
See it from cover to cover here
March 17: Yamato 2 Episode 23
The destined showdown!
Just as Yamato is about to intercept the Comet Empire, Dessler reappears! Launching a sneak attack at the crucial moment, he finally corners his enemy and renders them helpless. But the only move that counts is the last one!
Read our commentary for this episode here
March 20: Farewell to Yamato storybook, Vol. 2
This all-color, 40-page retelling of the movie was formatted with minimal text and color stills. Volume 2 opened with the battle at Saturn and continued through the end of the film.
Shogakukan utilized this format for many other children’s books based on movies and TV shows, including both anime and live-action. There was a total of 7 Yamato volumes up to and including The New Voyage.
March 21: Roadshow, May issue
With the final episode of Yamato 2 a little over two weeks away, the 5th installment of Roadshow‘s Yamato Newspaper had a lot to cover. It rushed through the events of episodes broadcast in February and early March, said what they could (given press lead time) about what happened after that, and gave some space to Yoshinobu Nishizaki for his response to the “tax evasion” story that got out in February.
Read it all here
March 21: The Best One, May issue
Gakken aimed this bimonthly magazine squarely at youth culture with a heavy emphasis on music and TV stars, but also devoted a fair amount of its pages to popular TV anime such as Lupin III and Yamato 2. It arrived just in time to give everyone a 5-page summary of everything that had happened so far, comparing it to parallel events in Farewell, and prepping everyone for the climax.
This was the debut issue of The Best One, and though it’s long gone now, it was a good milestone for the penetration of anime culture into mainstream media. Just two years earlier, it was unheard of. Now it was embraced by a major publisher.
See the pages here
March 24: Yamato 2 Episode 24
Life and death struggle! Two brave men!
With the last battle seemingly over and Earth already surrendering to Emperor Zordar, Kodai and Dessler face each other man to man. It is a showdown long in coming, and only one of them will walk away!
Read our commentary for this episode here
March 25: Yamato Part II all-color manga collection Vol. 1
The first collected volume of Leiji Matsumoto’s Yamato Part 2 manga was this large-format edition. It included the first six chapters in 174 pages, and every page included the secondary color tones seen in Bouken Oh (but with much better printing on high quality paper).
Unfortunately, there would be no Volume 2. In the paperback edition that followed, the color tones were converted to greyscale. In any case, color pages dropped significantly after Chapter 6 and vanished completely after Chapter 9. Nonetheless, the greyscale deficit was finally rectified when a new color edition was published in 2018 (details here).
The book concluded with a single page self-portrait of an exhausted Leiji Matsumoto (shown in the first pic above) with the following statement:
Leiji’s Doodle Diary, month X day X
The person who draws manga isn’t as cool as Kodai or Harlock. He fights a battle with clamps holding his eyes open. What’s more, there is a new arrival from above. The second generation Mi-kun…or “dumb demon cat” as she is commonly known. For some reason, she keeps biting me and she’s a ferocious dragon cat who always gets into fights.
Yamato flies through my head, Harlock hangs around, Galaxy Express 999 is constantly running, and Maetel is smiling. These are my surroundings and every day is out of this world.
(It’s notable that Matsumoto used this piece to stealth-promote the Galaxy Express movie coming in August.)
March 25: TV Anime Compendium, from Mighty Atom to Space Battleship Yamato
Publisher Akita Shoten joined the effort to begin documenting the history of TV anime, which at this point had been around for a mere 16 years, not even old enough to drink yet. Their chosen format was a thick, digest-size paperback running 320 pages. It was organized by genre rather than broadcast dates. Yamato was categorized under “space hero” with four black & white pages and six color pages. A “Part 2” volume would be published in October.
See the color pages here
March 31: Yamato 2 Episode 25
Yamato: strategic invasion of the imperial city!
Against all hope, Yamato begins an assault on the Comet Empire at the last possible moment, forcing it back into space and stabbing a killing blow directly into its heart. But wars never end simply, and this one is no exception!
Read our commentary for this episode here
Also spotted in March
3rd Year Elementary Student, April issue
Shogakukan’s student digest magazine for third graders was another entry into the “Yamato 2 Compendium” roster for March. It was the lead article in this issue, bringing kids up to speed for the approaching climax.
Diecast Yamato & Andromeda miniatures
Nomura Toy Company, a primary sponsor of Yamato 2, struck again with two more toys in their now-considerable lineup.
They released these two 4″ diecast metal miniatures together, ironically just after Andromeda flew its last mission on TV. Whoopsie.
Okita monument statue
Bandai took the month of March off from standard model kits, but quietly released this unusual and nearly-forgotten figure instead.
Issued in a plain white box, it stood about 3″ high on a wooden pedestal. It was given a bronze finish, but could be painted at the modeler’s discretion. It’s extremely rare today, having never gotten a reissue.
March 1979 context
Two new SF series made their debut on TV: a revival of Cyborg 009 on March 6 and Future Robot Daltanious on March 21. Click on the names for their entries at Anime News Network and click here for a deep dive on 009.
Anime magazines published in March: Animage Vol. 10 (Tokuma Shoten), OUT May issue (Minori Shobo) and Animec Vol. 5 (Rapport)
This is the first appearance of Animec in our timeline, so where were volumes 1-4? This is where a mystery gets cleared up. Volumes 1-4 were titled Manific. Starting with Vol. 5, it changed names and went bimonthly with the following editorial explanation:
Enrich your Animec life
The title of this magazine has been changed from Manific to Animec. As you know, it is a compound word combining “animation” and “comic.” We have decided to use this word as the title. Our intention is to further promote anime and comics, which are the major culture of the younger generation.
Of course, the magazine has undergone major reform. We are making an effort to make it richer in content and to gain the support of anime and comic fans. In particular, we have devoted many pages to special features, so please pay attention to them. Animec is also going to have mania-like [otaku] content, and we don’t intend to make it a commonplace magazine. Anyone who is an anime & comic fan can enjoy it and enrich their Animec life.
There are still some areas for improvement, but with the enthusiastic support of our readers, we will surely grow bigger and bigger with each new issue. We hope you will send us your comments and opinions about Animec and continue to enjoy this magazine.
It’s also worth mentioning that the first anime specialty shop was also called Animec, and their ads appeared in every issue of Manific. No tie-in was mentioned, but there’s probably an interesting story lurking somewhere in the background.