One of the things that made Space Battleship Yamato unique was a fan base so dedicated that they obtained copies of production materials to share in fanzines. It is thanks to them that a presentation like this one is now possible: a complete scene-by-scene examination of a single TV episode. [4 pages]
With the approach of Yamato 2202 and the explosion of new design work that will accompany it, we revisit the original designs from 1978 for comparison. This collection reviews the characters of Gatlantis, the Comet Empire.
With the approach of Yamato 2202 and the explosion of new design work that will accompany it, we revisit the original designs from 1978 for comparison. This collection reviews the mecha of Gatlantis, the Comet Empire.
A complete overview of Series 2 via the galleries created as bonus features for the Comet Empire DVD series released by Voyager Entertainment in 2002. All the characters, ships, weapons, locations, maps, and more!
The making of Yamato 2 in 1978-79 was a very different experience than the seat-of-the-pants production of the first series, but it was no less interesting or challenging. This series of articles explores that process from beginning to end, starting with an overview to provides context.
When Yamato 2 got underway in the spring of ’78, Academy needed its own studio for the first time in three years. In this part, Pre-Production begins with the setup of a brand new workspace and the veteran staff gathers to bring Yamato 2 to life! All this and voice actors, too!
The staff speaks! The Yamato fan club interviews Yoshinobu Nishizaki, Director Noboru Ishiguro, and several others in October 1978. Ishiguro admits to fans in February 1979 that he doesn’t know how the series will end, and other key personnel discuss their relationship with the saga from its beginning.
The last major coverage of Yamato 2 in the Fan Club Magazine came a year after it began, with issue 12 in October 1979. The occasion was inspired by the making of a compilation TV special. Five members of the Academy Studio staff sat down to discuss it and revisit some of their production memories.
In this 1992 interview, Director Noboru Ishiguro shares his thoughts and memories about working on Space Battleship Yamato 2, including some of the new techniques he developed to take the series to a new level. Accompanied by vintage coverage from Roadshow Magazine.
Kazutaka Miyatake designed mecha for some of the greatest anime on Earth. This interview with Miyatake was published in the liner notes of Bandai’s Yamato 2 LD box set in 1992. Though he did not work directly on the series, he was the primary mecha designer on Farewell to Yamato, and all of his work was preserved for Yamato 2.
Yamato 2‘s greatest asset was its enormous inheritance from Farewell to Yamato. But the series was still a very demanding production with all sorts of new elements to be created–or in some cases, transformed. See how it was done in this exploration of the series’ character and mecha design.
In 1978 and ’79, few anime titles were hotter than Yamato 2, and the entertainment magazine Roadshow kept up with the series for six consecutive issues. Their unique coverage went episode by episode and examined the developing story with the same editorial style as anything in the live-action world.
This archive of vintage media coverage of Yamato 2 allows you to relive the public unveiling of the series as a Japanese fan might have experienced it in real time. Animage magazine premiered in the summer of 1978, and covered the series from start to finish. Its entire series of articles is presented here.
OUT was a magazine by fans for fans. This article perfectly represents that approach; the transcript of a round-table discussion at a Yamato fan club meeting. At the time, Yamato 2 was just past the halfway point of its first broadcast and with each new episode enlarging the context of the saga, there was plenty to discuss.
When Yamato 2 appeared, it divided the fans into two camps; those who considered it an alternate version of the greatest movie ever made, and those who considered it an inferior version of the greatest movie ever made. When this issue was published, Yamato 2‘s fate was still up in the air and opinions were flying furiously.
This issue was published in April, 1979 to coincide with the conclusion of Yamato 2. The ratings were so impressive that Yoshinobu Nishizaki had already given the green light to The New Voyage. Without missing a beat, this issue jumped right from one to the other.
