As summer gave way to fall, Yoshinobu Nishizaki’s West Cape Corporation had its hands full with preparations for the theatrical comeback of Final Yamato. When the upgraded 70mm film arrived in November, it sounded the perfect closing note (in multi-channel stereo) on the production years.
With the Final Yamato campaign fading into memory and most of the merchandising now out into the world, activity slowed down considerably in the summer months. But on the other side of the world, Yamato fever was in the process of waking up a sleeping giant. Here’s how it happened…
Predictably, Final Yamato created a big wake after its release, which was filled by one last blitz of book and music publishing along with the game-changing arrival of home video. Amidst all this came the announcement that “Final” Yamato wasn’t actually “Final” after all…
Yoshinobu Nishizaki wanted Yamato to be different from all previous anime productions. One way to achieve that was to hire Toshio Masuda, an award-winning director of live-action films, who would bring his own sensibilities to the fray. Here, Masuda looks back on his important contributions to Yamato.
Starting in 2008, an annual year-in-review was written to look back at the ever-expanding world of Space Battleship Yamato; music, publishing, products, public events, and more. These articles map out the living-legend status of the original saga to confirm that Yamato is alive and well. Year 2025 added January 2026!
The goodwill of nine years and the intense labor of the last few months all came to fruition when Final Yamato made its theatrical premiere. But the struggle to get it there went right up to the last minute with just as much suspense as anything seen on screen. Here’s how this milestone month unfolded…
The last full month before the release of Final Yamato was filled with media coverage that dutifully repackaged official information with some speculation thrown in. The premiere date was delayed a week to March 19, both to extend production time and dodge the 3-movie pileup on March 12. Here’s the rundown…
When the calendar ticked over to the new year, the stakes went up for Final Yamato. The number of production weeks left could now be counted on two hands. When it was learned that three anime movies would premiere on the same day (March 12), the press had an instant story to tell and they ran with it. Here’s how it all went down…
From 2016-18, a “secret project” was in development at the fringes. So secret that it went practically unknown to fandom at large until almost ten years later. That project was called Yamato Millennium, and thanks to a unique chain of events, it’s ready to see here and now.
The last months of 1982, animation on Final Yamato was going at full speed while the outside world saw a big upswing in merchandising, especially in book and music publishing. For diehard fans who had seen everything else in real time, it must have felt like a surge of Yamato Fever all over again.
When September arrived, the premiere of Final Yamato was six months away. All the meters that measured its progress ticked forward with production milestones, media coverage, a historic live event, and more. Here’s what dropped along with the autumn leaves…
The first round of the Yamato 50th Anniversary Exhibition was a smash success in Tokyo, and reopened in Osaka from July 19 to August 3. As before, cameras were given all-area access, so fans shared what they saw generously online. Presented here is a photo walk-through of the event space and surrounding points of interest.
As the second half of 1982 began, Final Yamato preproduction went into its next stage with the completion of the script and the first delivery of storyboards. Meanwhile, media coverage amped up anticipation as the summer anime season reached its peak. Here’s the timeline for these two eventful months…
From the pages of Figure King magazine, December 2024: a comprehensive look at the evolution of Yamato models from the original series from the perspective of an industry expert, plus a rare interview with the first kit designer who ever produced a Yamato model!
“Mamor” is a Japanese word meaning “protect.” It’s where Mamoru Kodai gets his name, and it’s the title of a monthly magazine about military matters from Fusosha Publishing. It enters the Yamato record books because of a unique article all about rank; not just IRL, but also in pop culture such as anime and movies.
During this three-month period, Final Yamato preproduction took a huge leap forward when all the story concepts were finally woven into a script, the first round of the “music assault” arrived, and media coverage went into full swing. Here’s what happened from April to June…
A pair of weekly magazines, published just six days apart, each took a snapshot of the rapidly evolving youth culture that was boosting anime to unprecedented popularity. Space Battleship Yamato was the engine that drove these articles, giving us a revealing analysis of both the observers and the observed.
When the new year began, all the strategizing for this phase of Yamato history was in full effect. While new music was being written, the story draft for Final Yamato was dusted off and returned to development. In this report, we examine the first three months of 1982.
In part 1, Hikawa discussed the birth of Yamato fandom in Japan. Here, he recounts the media he absorbed as a child, the impact it had on subsequent generations, and the birth of fan clubs that laid the groundwork for everything we see today.
“Miroku” is a Japanese blogger and Yamato fan who works in America as a business consultant. This unique convergence provided the basis to ask what lessons Yamato has for people in the business world. A detailed investigation in this blog series digs into the series and delivers advice just about everyone can use.
With Final Yamato development on hold, attention turned to methods for keeping Yamato in the public eye rather than letting it go dormant. While these plans were being made, a slow but steady patter of new products closed out the year. Here’s what the conclusion of 1981 looked like…
It’s hard to imagine a more comprehensive, more inspired, more lovingly curated presentation than what fans in Tokyo got to see from March 15 to 31. Presented here is a simulated walkthrough of the entire exhibition, made possible by the many fans who shared their photos on social media.
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.
A little over a year after Star Blazers premiered in America, it burst onto TV screens in Italy with a different theme song, a localized dub, and a wave of unique merchandising seen nowhere else. Fortunately, it’s been preserved for posterity.
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…
From the pages of Spectator magazine, August 2024: O.G. superfan Ryusuke Hikawa discusses the birth of Yamato fandom in Japan with an unprecedented level of detail, including his visits to the production studio during Series 1 and what he did with the treasures he was given there.
When Symphonic Suite was released to the world in December 1977, it revolutionized the field of anime music. The liner notes presented a conversation between the two men most responsible for making it happen. They are translated here to enhance your appreciation of this amazing body of work.
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…
