While the creative minds at West Cape Corporation continued building Final Yamato, word of its development worked its way beyond the borders of the official fan club. Be Forever got its first TV broadcast, and new voices were heard from distant Osaka that would later shake and shape the world of anime.
After the final episode of Yamato III aired in early April, Exec Producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki found himself in an uncommon situation. For the first time since early 1978, he had no new anime in production. As echoes of his massive success story continued to ripple outward, conversations began about where the ship would go next.
After a banner year like 1980, it could only be expected that Yamato activity would decline, and it certainly did. In this time period, the second half of Yamato III was accompanied by a slew of publishing and two new albums, as the appearance of a new competitor inspired Yoshinobu Nishizaki to take action…
As we look back over the entire sweep of 1980, December was the lightest month with the least amount of activity. That wasn’t the case for Yoshinobu Nishizaki, since the cutdown of Yamato III made the future less certain. But the present was still a great place to be if you were a fan. Here’s how this rollercoaster year came to a close…
After Yamato III‘s first month on the air, Be Forever was still rippling through the publishing world and all seemed well in camp. At least on the surface. Underneath, things were less secure. What was going on, and why was the home office suddenly changing its name?
You have to push pretty hard to top the premiere of a new TV series, but the publishing community did its best with the last big wave of Be Forever books as Yamato III moved toward center stage. Here’s how it all played out…
It is a little-known fact that Yamato 2199 Director Yutaka Izubuchi got his start very early when he participated in both Yamato III and Final Yamato as a fresh-faced newcomer. Here, he discusses his earliest experiences as both a fan and a staff member.
A complete overview of Series 3 via the galleries created as bonus features for the Comet Empire DVD series released by Voyager Entertainment in 2003. All the characters, ships, weapons, locations, maps, and more!
Here we present the little-known story of Yamato III‘s creation from the assembly of an all-star dream team in the summer of 1980 to the division of labor between multiple studios to the revolutionary concept of giving each episode its own individual style.
The story continues with new art and mecha design, the first contributions to the saga by Yutaka Izubuchi (later the director of Yamato 2199), and the rigors of voice acting without any animation to go by. We conclude with the making of the compilation movie and a look back at the casting for Series 1.
This archive covers three months of magazine articles (September to November 1980) that focus on the beginning of the TV series, which made its debut in October. It presents the full flush of excitement for the most ambitious Yamato story of them all.
This archive picks up with December 1980 and follows all magazine coverage to the end in April 1981. The reduction in episodes was not yet known to magazine editors. They were entirely focused on what was to come, most especially the reunion with Dessler.
The original story development of Yamato III covered a wide range of topics and concepts. Some ideas crossed over with others, some were contradictory, some would have thrown us into completely new territory, and some were just plain wacky. Here they are, warts and all.
Originally published in the Yamato III Roman Album, this collection of staff comments starts with both Yoshinobu Nishizaki and Leiji Matsumoto and continues with all the prominent members of the production team, including some whose rise to fame was only just beginning.
