Manga Shonen was one of the first Japanese magazines to chart the growth of anime on TV and in theaters. This collection brings together their Yamato coverage for the pivotal year of 1978, when everything leveled up.
Since the publishing for Space Battleship Yamato was largely an experiment in content and format, almost everything produced for the sequel provided proof of concept. As before, demand was the engine that drove the entire publishing industry into new territory. See a complete record of Farewell publishing here.
After testing the waters with their first slate of Yamato publications, Office Academy stepped forward with a similar lineup for Farewell. Interest ran high, since fans were ravenous for anything that would preserve the moviegoing experience for them, and these books did it in style.
A chronological record of print media coverage from pre-production all the way through the premiere and into the “look-back” phase. As a single body of work, this collection of books, magazines, and newspaper articles constitutes nothing less than the birth of anime journalism.
Beginning in 1978, Matsumoto commenced his adaptation of Farewell to Yamato. As with his first Yamato manga, this one was serialized in Akita Shoten’s Adventure King magazine beginning in the summer of 1978 and progressing as shown here.
Hio’s manga adaptation of Farewell to Yamato was so close to the content of the film that the only thing dividing the two was their format. However, it’s worth pointing out what was unique or experimental in the artwork that helps the manga to stand on its own merits.
