Space Battleship Yamato 50th Anniversary stage talk
A deep talk about the appeal and highlights of Yamato!
Posted at Eiga Joho [Movie Information] March 24. See the original article here.
Keiko Han, who played Sasha in the original series, and Megumi Han, who took over the role in REBEL 3199, appeared on stage together on March 22 as mother and daughter. In addition, Harutoshi Fukui, general director REBEL 3199, and anime/tokusatsu researcher Ryusuke Hikawa also participated. They looked back on the history of the series, which celebrates its 50th anniversary, up to the latest part of the remake series.
Moderator: Hisanori Yoshida (Nippon Broadcasting System announcer)
First, Megumi Han said, “I’m honored to have this opportunity,” and Keiko Han said, “I’m sure there are some of you who haven’t seen me in a while, and some who are seeing me for the first time, and I hope you all enjoy today.”
Right from the start, Hikawa said, “The cover of my newest book was painted by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, who was a staff member of Space Battleship Yamato. The baby Sasha (in The New Voyage) was drawn by Yasuhiko.” The audience was very interested in the comments made by Hikawa as he shared his inside story.
Hikawa first came into contact with Yamato when he was a second-year high school student. “At that time, I went to the Yamato production studio in Sakuradai, Nerima Ward. I thought that there must be a reason why a great anime is great. There were no anime magazines at the time, so I got to see the designs and original drawings there, and I feel like that’s how I got to where I am today.”
At that time, it was called TV manga, and he said, “I wondered if it was okay to do something like this on TV. In the first episode, there was no explanation, and Yamato didn’t even appear. I was dizzy. It was a work that took me to an unknown world.”
Fukui, on the other hand, first encountered Space Battleship Yamato after the boom created by Hikawa’s generation had taken hold. “When Farewell to Yamato was released [August 1978], the first movie was broadcast on TV the night before. That was the first Yamato I watched. It started at 9 p.m. and ended at about 11:30 p.m. During those two and a half hours, the Earth is destroyed and then resurrected. It was the first time I’d ever seen anything like that. I realized later, as an adult, that this was a style of storytelling that only anime could do, and I felt like I was being shown something different from what I had seen up until then.”
Fukui recalled nostalgically, “My aunt, who was watching with me, said, ‘Is this going to end by the end of today?’ I thought the same thing, but it actually did end, and I was moved, and thought it was amazing.”
When asked how she ended up playing Sasha in the original series, Keiko began, “I wasn’t doing this job [voice acting] when the TV series came out in 1974. I think I was a student. So when I made a small appearance in the TV series (a bit part in Yamato 2), I was like, ‘huh?'” She continued, “I was a theater girl who only did stage performances, so I didn’t know much about anime. But I knew there was a work called Space Battleship Yamato. So I made a small appearance. I think about two years later there was an audition for Be Forever. And that’s how I got a part in it.”
At the time, the response to Yamato was tremendous. “We even held an event at the Nippon Budokan around the time of Be Forever. At the time, voice actors rarely performed at the Budokan, but when we held the event, it was so full that some people couldn’t get in. So we did it again the next day. I remember it was a huge boom,” she said.
Megumi also seemed impressed, saying, “It’s an amazing story. It’s a story from a time when there wasn’t even a trace of me.”
Regarding the casting of Sasha in the remake series, Fukui said firmly, “There was no reason not to ask Megumi. Not only did she happen to be an actor, but she had come to the dubbing site for Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn with her mother, and that felt like a kind of practice. And in just a few years, she rose to stardom. If that hadn’t happened, I would have had to persuade (those involved), but she had become a star. It was like, ‘Is she available? If so, bring her in.'”
Megumi recalled, “I hadn’t had many opportunities to take over a role before, so I was honored, but I was also worried about whether I would be able to interpret this work and whether I could get on board.”
That’s how she ended up taking over the role of Sasha, but when Megumi said, “I’m the type of person who can’t ask my mother for advice,” Keiko replied with a laugh, “I don’t want that either.” However, because of this, she consults with Fukui. Megumi said, “During recording, we have Sasha time with Fukui. It’s like we’re secretly creating an image of Sasha without the Yamato crew knowing. I can’t go to him for advice myself, so he comes to me. I’m grateful for that time.”
About the offer to play Mother Dezarium, Keiko revealed that Director Fukui’s passion knew no bounds. “I was asked to appear earlier, but I’m 72 years old. So I turned it down, then Mr. Fukui contacted me through a completely different person and I turned it down again. Then I got an email from Mr. Fukui saying, ‘Is it okay if I ask you? Is it okay if I write it?’ I was like, ‘Then I’ll do it.'” When it was decided that her daughter would take over the role of Sasha, Keiko said with a smile, “I thought it was great when I heard that Megumi would be doing it,” and added, “It’s a really wonderful role. When I did it, I thought it was the most rewarding role for an actor. It was the best.”
Regarding the mother-daughter succession of the role of Sasha, Hikawa commented, “I think it’s wonderful. A few years ago, when I was on stage with Mr. Fukui at an event, I said, ‘If you do Farewell, I want you to do Andromeda. If you do Be Forever, I want you to do Sasha. I’m not really interested in moe, but Sasha is different.’ I watched the third chapter in a preview, and Sasha’s line ‘Ojisan’ appeared, which was also in the trailer. The power of that line was incredible. This mother-daughter collaboration is already a great success. Mother Dezarium and the deep bass are wonderful.”
Fukui said, “Looking back, Sasha may have been the original moe character. I think moe characters are starting to take on a different form now. For example, I think characters different from those in previous anime, like the heroines created by Shinkai, are gaining popularity. With that in mind, I’ve made the character quite complex, combining the moe aspect with a sense of humanity and a touch of modernity.”
With mother and daughter acting together, Fukui says that we can look forward to seeing a new world unfold in the future. “When you hear the final lines of Mother Dezarium, you’ll understand why Keiko, who used to be Sasha, is playing Mother Dezarium. There is a reason why I’m doing this, and that reason will be revealed at the end. It’s a long wait, but it will be worth it.”
Megumi Han immediately retorted, “Is it okay to talk about the final episode already!?” Fukui replied with a grin, “You don’t know, do you? I called Keiko in just for that last line.” He continued, at his own pace, saying, “The answer will be revealed in…two years? Maybe next year. I’m not really sure about that either.”
Fukui also added a little more fuel to the fire, saying, ‘The reason I was so into Sasha back then was because she was a bit like Princess Kaguya. She grew up quickly, fulfilled her mission and then left. I hope that kind of atmosphere comes across in the story.” Hikawa pointed out, ”I hadn’t thought about it from that perspective. But now I have. The work is progressing quite well, and it’s still okay.” Megumi, who witnessed this exchange, also called out to the audience, saying, “Everyone here is a witness.”
The event was now drawing to a close. Regarding the message of the third chapter of REBEL 3199, Keiko said, “The images and sound are wonderful, and the characters that Fukui-san depicts are very strong. And there is an important message. I would like as many people as possible, both from my generation and the new generation, to go and see it.”
Megumi commented, “At the screening of the second chapter, a model of Yamato was displayed at Shinjuku Piccadilly. There was a grandfather there, and a father and mother holding a baby in their arms. I’m sure all three generations of parents and children love Yamato. I think that this third chapter is a story that transcends generations and hits home. I think it has an important message for people who are alive now, those who have lived in the past, and those who will have to live in the future.”
Finally, Fukui appealed to the audience, saying, “Right now, we are holding a Records Exhibition for the 50th anniversary of Space Battleship Yamato, and it is getting exciting, and there are many attractive goods on sale there. But I hope you won’t forget to watch this third chapter.”
