Tokyo Chunichi Sports
January 22, 1983
Yamato, a Stubborn Fighter
Spring break anime movies, “A three-way battle”
From Farewell and Be Forever, this time it’s The Final Chapter
Will fans get on board?
Due to the family circumstances of the producer Mr. Nishizaki
This is the fourth sortie
This March, the latest anime films Harmagedon, Crusher Joe, and Space Battleship Yamato The Final Chapter will be released all at once. It’s a major anime battle aimed at spring break. But among these, there’s one that stands out: Space Battleship Yamato. Until now, Yamato has been given the titles Farewell and Be Forever. The nuance of the title has led fans to believe that each would be the last one. But there is a twist. Is this really “the final chapter?” What is the creator, Yoshinobu Nishizaki, who became a hero thanks to the Yamato boom, thinking? What will be Yamato‘s fate?
The anime series Space Battleship Yamato is a masterpiece in the history of anime movies, and it can even be called a huge hit that will go down in film history. It also made Producer Nishizaki into a hero.
Farewell attracts 4 million viewers
In 1974, he produced the TV anime Space Battleship Yamato and broadcast it on the Nippon Television Network. Although the viewer ratings were not high, fan clubs began to sprout up all over the country. Taking notice of this, they teamed up with Toei to release it in theaters. This was in August 1977, and it was an astonishing hit, attracting 2.3 million viewers.
The second film, Farewell to Yamato, was released in August 1978 and attracted 4 million viewers, earning a whopping 2.1 billion yen in distribution revenue. The world was swept up in the Yamato boom.
Building on this momentum, the third film Be Forever attracted 2.1 million viewers and generated 1.36 billion yen. The distribution revenue was 10 million yen. After three films, it was a huge success, and all the fans thought it would be the last Yamato movie. The word “forever” had a strong nuance of, “it’s over.”
In fact, Producer Nishizaki graduated from Yamato and is working on other projects. However he said, “This time, Yamato is really my main job,” starting to show his charm at West Cape Corporation in Akasaka, Tokyo. He teamed up with director Yoshishige Yoshida to make A Samurai Goes to Mexico, for which Yoshida wrote the script and shot on location. Another film was based on the novel Dirty Hero by Haruhiko Oyabu, which is currently a hit as a Kadokawa film.
Good things can come with many troubles. When Nishizaki was at the peak of his career, he fell into an unexpected trap. He lost several billion yen in the Seahorse scandal involving the Soka Gakkai. He was was acquainted with Seahorse lawyer Masatomo Yamazaki through his work with Min-On.
The film rights for Dirty hero were transferred to Kadokawa after three years due to disagreements with director Masuda. A Samurai Goes to Mexico also fell apart.
Around spring of last year, there were rumors in the film industry about what Mr. Nishizaki was up to, and then in the summer promotional material began to circulate that he would be making Yamato again.
The title is Space Battleship Yamato The Final Chapter, and this March it will face off in a fierce three-way battle with Kadokawa’s Harmagedon and Shochiku’s Crusher Joe.
We visited Mr. Nishizaki at his West Cape Corporation office in Akasaka, Tokyo.
Is it really the end?
My first question was, “Is this really the last Yamato?”
“I know I’m called the ‘Boy who cried wolf.’ I’m sure there are many people who thought I’d cut ties with the series after the third film in 1980. To be honest, it is true that I thought about ending it with Be Forever.”
“I can say this with confidence: Space Battleship Yamato completely changed the world of anime. Anime was always made crudely before that. Yamato was made with such care and attention to detail that it kept the audience glued to the screen, even though it [the movie version] was over two hours long. The story and music were made with such passion and dedication. Yamato was my life.”
“This leads to the argument that ‘therefore, Yamato must have an ending.’ It’s not New Yamato or Yamato Continued, it’s The Final Chapter.”
The Final Chapter depicts the exploits of Yamato as it saves the Earth from peril, but the plot is that Susumu Kodai and Yuki Mori end up uniting and leave Yamato to set out on a new journey as warriors of love.
“It overlaps with me.”
In response to comments like, “Yamato is all Nishizaki has!” he said, “No matter what I say, it will sound like an excuse. I want to answer it with results this year.”
You can’t just throw away a battleship
Though he has graduated form Yamato, he has not given up on the dream of a battleship, and he is currently planning to make a movie with his partner using a real one. A big announcement will be made soon.
– Hiroshi Honda
Sports Nippon
January 23, 1983
March 12 anime battle
3 SF Masterpieces in a “three-way battle”
Top photo caption: The production staff of Space Battleship Yamato The Final Chapter is among the first to launch a campaign ahead of the March 12 anime showdown
Yamato sorties after two years away
Post E.T.
The hot film industry, a 16 billion yen market
The March 12 anime showdown is on. The biggest focus of the film industry, fueled by the momentum of E.T., is the simultaneous release of anime on March 12th. This spring has been described as a “huge boom not seen in years” with major SF films like Space Battleship Yamato The Final Chapter (Toei), Harmagedon (Kadokawa), and Crusher Joe (Shochiku). With these three powerful titles as a backdrop, there is a total of ten anime works taking place during the children’s spring break. With a projected revenue of approximately 16 billion yen and a distribution of 60 million yen, the market is already heating up, and sparks are flying among those involved. Is this another anime rush?
“We’ve already got a firm grip on fans who have been in love for ten years, so we’re invincible,” Yoshinobu Nishizaki declared in a spirited message about Final Yamato, the fourth film in the series, which is being revived after a two-and-a-half year hiatus. That ten years includes the TV Series that preceded it, but he is still brazenly promoting Yamato‘s “10th anniversary” and making a strong push.
His first film was released in 1977 (grossing 1 billion yen). The second was released the following year, Farewell to Yamato, which grossed 2.1 billion yen. The third film, Be Forever Yamato, grossed 1.3 billion yet in 1980. As the titles suggest, with each film there was a clamor of, “this is the last” and it was supposed to have been completed, but it was still going strong.
“I thought it was my responsibility to bring the story to a conclusion, and there was also a strong demand from the fans. For me, it’s time to do it, but there is enough power for others to restore it,” the producer said at the production announcement held in Osaka on the 20th. It seems there may still be more to come.
On the other hand, the activites of Kadokawa are always a hot topic, and their first film to be made into an anime is Harmagedon. Producer Haruki Kadokawa is so passionate about this work that he said, “Adapting it into a film was like going beyond what we’ve done before,” making it the “eye of the storm” in the “battle of March 12.”
The original work is a long-form novel that Kazumasa Hirai has called his life’s work. It is currently a bestseller with 16 volumes, and has sold over one million copies.
The company is always looking to expand into the global market, and its aim is to make its anime more appealing to overseas audiences than movies involving Japanese actors. “There is a synergistic effect on secondary commerce, the development and sale of anime goods, and of course the original books published by Kadokawa, in addition to other products.”
The distribution side is in a state of flux, and the goal is to join hands for the first time with Kyowa. Unique advertising gimmicks are planned, starting with the opening campaign event in Osaka. After that, they will plan and arrange their strategy as they travel around the country.
In terms of advance ticket sales, the film that is by far the leader is Crusher Joe. It is the directorial debut of Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, the director of Mobile Suit Gundam, which was a huge hit during the two years Yamato was on hiatus, and is also produced by Nippon Sunrise, so it follows in the footsteps of Gundam fever.
However, the distributor Shochiku said, “Unlike Gundam, where the mecha were only robots, this work is popular for its four main characters. The fan base is similar to the other two works, but this one is unique in that it has a lot of female fans.”
The original work by the duo of Haruki Takachiho (writer) and Yoshikazu (illustrator) currently has six volumes and has sold 1.8 million copies. Furthermore, out of the 101 works in the “Rare novels to be adapted into anime” chart, it is by far the most eagerly awaited. Advance ticket sales are 110% of last year’s hit Gundam, one source said proudly.
Speaking of this rush of anime, some have said, “They’re all similar and boring,” and “The anime boom is over,” but the March 12 anime premieres are one way of predicting the future of the film industry, which has regained its vitality. Many people stay up all night, and the character merchandise is in high demand. Who will be drawn to it?
Space Battleship Yamato The Final Chapter
The story depicts the Space Battleship Yamato, captained by Susumu Kodai, as it confronts the Dengil, who are plotting to take over the Earth. Since it is the final installment, the theme is “love,” and the story is about human relationships. The heroic end of Yamato is depicted as a result of the love between Kodai and Mori Yuki. The message to be seen is, “love is both a trial and a blessing.”