March 19: Traveler blog
Last October, a blogger going by the name Ayaka recorded his road trip across Japan from Hiroshima to Fukuyama to attend the 7th Fukuyanime convention. On this day, he posted a photoblog covering his visit to Negibou’Z, a family-style cafe run by Yamato fans. The decor will warm your heart.
click here for the blog entry and use your browser’s translator to catch it all.
March 20: Hoketsu Model Festival 2025
Ikeda City in Osaka prefecture has been home to an annual model festival for three years running. And wherever there are amazing models on display, Yamato kits will be among them.
See video footage here and here
March 20: Jupiter and Yamato concert broadcast
Performed by the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra back in February, the concert that included a complete rendition of the Grand Symphony found its way to radio on NHK-FM. Hopefully we can all listen to it one day in another form.
March 22: Hobby Japan Web article
The fifth installment in Hobby Japan‘s Yamato Mechanics series appeared online today, examining the Cosmo Python.
Read it here
March 22: Nico Nico videos
Nico Nico, the Japanese counterpart to Youtube, did fandom a solid when they streamed all three of the talk shows that accompanied the 50th Anniversary Selection screenings in December and January. They weren’t viewable outside Japan, but this at least tells us they were recorded for posterity.
March 22-23: Anime Japan 2025
A historic conversation took place at Anime Japan 2025 that brought both Sashas together in public for the first time. That would be Keiko Han (original) and her daughter Megumi (remake). Sandwiched between 3199 Director Harutoshi Fukui and uberfan Ryusuke Hikawa, the conversation was destined to go deep.
Many websites published reports with the most detailed one coming from Eiga Joho. Read it here.
See the presentation on Youtube here (closed captions and autotranslate ON)
March 24: Yamato Iconics
The long-awaited Michio Murakawa art collection was finally published today, and it’s a stunner. Clocking in with an impressive heft of 248 pages, it is full color throughout and collects every known illustration done for remake projects with a generous side helping of doujinshi work as well.
Order it from Amazon.co.jp here or CD Japan here
March 25: Hobby Japan #671
The print edition of Hobby Japan offered the sixth installment of Yamato Mechanics, this time focusing on supply carrier Asuka. Read it here.
The next page contained an early interview for REBEL 3199 Chapter 3 with the voice actors for Domon and Ageha. Read it here.
And finally, a page was devoted to three upcoming products from Megahouse. The reissue of the CFSP Yamato would be accompanied by a reissue of Andromeda, and a new Yuki figure is in the works based on her 3199 appearance. A release date was not given.
Photo posted on Twitter by elfriede
March 26: 1/350 Diecast Gimmick Model Vol. 300
This was it; the last volume for the Patrol Ship and the last volume of the entire 1/350 series from Hachette. It contained the large ventral antenna and the control unit.
See Hachette’s instruction video here
See a modeler’s blog here
See the finished model in action here
Hachette posted this family portrait on Twitter showing the full lineup that began six years ago. A signoff message appeared in the instruction manual:
This is the final issue of the Space Battleship Yamato 2202 Build a Die-cast Gimmick Model series. Thank you very much for your continued support over the past six years. We hope you will continue to enjoy the completed models and the magazine for many years to come. We look forward to your continued support of Hachette Collections Japan.
Could there be another giant model in their Yamato series? All we know for sure is that these were very successful and highly regarded within the company. All we can do is wait and see.
March 27: Ryusuke Hikawa Gallery Talk video
The next best thing to a guided tour of the 50th Anniversary Exhibition is this 8-minute video version with narration from superfan Ryusuke Hikawa.
See it on Youtube here (closed captions and autotranslate ON)
March 28: Artisan Toys announced
Previously teased in February, Artisan Toy company revealed their new soft vinyl figures for preorder on this day with release in August. A limited number of the Kodai and Dessler figures could be purchased at the 50th Anniversary Exhibition, but the others would follow later.
See more photos and information here. Visit the Artisan website here.
Photos posted on Twitter by hanaco1231
March 28: Showa 100th Anniversary Film Festival opens
As announced on February 17, 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the Showa era’s first year. Starting today, the Toei theater in Marunouchi Tokyo began screening 42 standout films made during that era, to run through May 8. One of those films is Farewell to Yamato.
A fan named Takako Hanaoka posted the photos above on opening day with the following caption:
On the way to work, I came across a poster for the last film festival at Marunouchi Toei, and Farewell to Yamato was in the upper right corner. It’s amazing that it was selected among so many masterpieces, but it is even more amazing that it was featured on the poster.
March 29: Michio Murakawa signing event
With only three days until the Anniversary Exhibition was due to close, Michio Murakawa made it to the 7th floor of the Seibu department store and set up shop in the Kinokuniya bookstore right outside the exhibit entrance. With Yamato Iconics now in general release, he signed copies for anyone who purchased it from Kinokuniya.
March 30: 50 year anniversary of the final episode
On this day in 1975, Yamato‘s first voyage ended and its immortal legacy began.
The entertainment website Magmix marked the occasion with an article titled, “Wasn’t it “Earth” that Yamato was trying to save?” As it turns out, there was a hope that it would save something else as well.
Want to find out what? Read the article here.
March 31: CRF pachinko game rollout
Another year, another pachinko game! CR F Space Battleship Yamato appeared in casinos today from Sankyo.
See a half hour demo (with new animated cutscenes) here
Find more images and info at the official website here
March 31: 50th Anniversary Exhibition closes
The last day of March was also the last day of this amazing event. The organizers marked it with the last photo of the day, one of the fan message walls, taken half an hour before closing.
The exhibition reopens in Osaka on July 19 through August 3. Until then, keep track of developments at the anniversary Twitter page here.
Also spotted in March
Michio Murakawa on Bluesky
Mr. Murakawa posted regularly on his activities throughout the month, always adding a sample of his exquisite artwork. See the March entries here.
Fan art
A fresh round of inspired fan visions flowed out into social media in March.
See the latest character gallery here and mecha gallery here.
Fan models
One sure way to boost the output of the Japanese modeling community is to give them some new stuff to play with. When the new Tigers and Pythons were thrown into the mix, the workshops went into overdrive.
See the results here: Gallery A | Gallery B | Gallery C
Fan art? Or model?
It’s tough to categorize this one, so it gets a category of its own. Posted by Twitter user Takashi Hatono, the caption read:
I cut out Susumu Kodai and Yuki Mori using ivy leaves. Wave-Motion Guns, warps, things like that…Yamato was a great work that left a variety of influences on future generations.
Visit Takashi’s Twitter page and step into a deep vault of creativity here.
Hoshi Suzu blogs
Longtime fan Hoshi Suzu posted a blog every week throughout March to share new thoughts about the characters seen so far in REBEL 3199. Read them all here.
The other brother
On the 15th, Twitter user Deep Sea Nomad posted this photo with the following caption:
The Space Battleship Yamato Complete Records Exhibition started today, and the model showing the internal structure is also available in Kure. If you can’t make it to Tokyo, be sure to visit the Kure Street Corner Citizens’ Gallery.
This refers to a duplicate of the famous “Precision Cut Model” that was created for publicity events in 1980 and later given to Leiji Matsumoto. He donated this handsome fellow to the Battleship Yamato Museum in Kure, and it now resides in a nearby gallery.
Family snaps
Another Twitter user named Himemitsuki posted something with equal historical heft the next day:
The 50th Anniversary Exhibition produced by Hideaki Anno is a hot topic, but these are photos from over 45 years ago when the Yamato exhibition was touring at a department store in Numazu.
Video flashback
A late discovery from October 2021: Yoko Asagami (Yuki’s voice actor) posted a very brief video clip of herself, Leiji Matsumoto, and Isao Sasaki on a TV game show. The caption read: “Both Matsumoto-sensi and I were young.”
See the clip here
Kodai keepsake
One more ripple from the deep past: Twitter user kamono370 posted these photos with this caption:
At a Be Forever Yamato opening commemorative event, this is the autograph I received from Kei Tomiyama, but it’s in poor condition.
Kei Tomiyama was Kodai’s original voice actor, and the photo of him is from the Voyage of Adventure Roman, the cruise that took place shortly before the Be Forever premiere in the summer of 1980.
Yamatunes for March
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I’ve seen the 3rd part of 3199 and I’ve just realized that I know that Akira won’t be killed off. She’s been getting less and less screen time and this time, she has less screen time than ever before. Ever since 2205, she has been only doing silly moments and hasn’t even been doing her backstory. It’ll be even MORE stupid and outrageous to kill off Akira. She didn’t really do much with Melda and 2205 is not even enough since it only lasted 8 episodes. The writers know way better than this. I really hope Akira and Melda survives 3199 and have a spin off sequel lasted 26 episodes with Akira as the main character.