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.
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.
This was more than just a name change. It involved a frozen food company, a buddhist organization, a shady lawyer, a former prime minister, accounting malpractice, and a near-catastrophic level of personal loyalty. How did those things lead to the founding of West Cape Corporation? Find out here.
Just before the release of REBEL 3199 Chapter 1 in July 2024, Mono magazine No. 942 (published by World Photo Press) became the first to carry a Yamato cover story for the big event. And what a story it was; 44 pages of features covering Yamato both old and new.
The 50th anniversary of Space Battleship Yamato‘s original TV broadcast was overwhelming. Live events, news flashes, social media posts, and more brought fans together from all parts of the globe to observe a day of love and celebration. It was enough to warrant its own report, so let’s dive in!
Space Battleship Yamato has had an influence on real things actually happening in space exploration, and thanks to an ongoing NHK series titled Project X ~ Challengers we learned of a Yamato connection to the real-life Hayabusa asteroid sample return mission operated by JAXA from 2003-2010.
The flow of time made it inevitable; sooner or later, a member of the Yamato generation would eventually rise to the height of political power. That has now happened the appointment of Shigeru Ishiba as Japan’s prime minister. What fan cred does he bring to the table? Let’s find out.
30 years of peace are abruptly ended when an exploration ship accidentally awakens an enemy bent on the destruction of organic life. Earth is cut off from the rest of the galaxy when this enemy attacks. Their only savior is the rebuilt Yamato and her reformed crew, the Star Force! Read about this exciting fan project here!
The story of the legal battle over Yamato‘s authorship is a sketchy one with many details still unknown more than 20 years later. But fleeting glimpses of it can still be found in the sparse media record of the time. This magazine article offers one such glimpse, shared here with the kind permission of its writer.
From the Star Blazers/Yamato Premium Fan Club magazine, Vol. 16 (April 2023): Writer Harutoshi Fukui and Scriptwriter Hideki Oka break the long silence to update fans on the status of Be Forever Yamato REBEL 3199 and hint at the intrigue to come.
From the Star Blazers/Yamato Premium Fan Club magazine, Vol. 15 (October 2022): 2202 and 2205 scriptwriter Hideki Oka looks back at the progressive year 1980 and recounts his impressions as a fan in the “target generation” who closely watched Yamato in real time.
Writer/Researcher Rikao Yanagita has been publishing books and delivering lectures for decades, bringing a scientific perspective to what we see in anime and manga. Presented here are various essays that shine a scientific spotlight on what we see in Space Battleship Yamato.
From issue 14 of the Star Blazers/Yamato Fan Club magazine (April 2022): very rare interviews with Sasha’s voice actor Keiko Han and singer Mitsuko Horie. Both cite their Yamato experience as a career-changer, and both recount remarkably similar moments from the recording booth.
The official Yamato fan club set very high standards throughout its run from 1977 all the way to 1991. So what happened next? A new group stepped in to pick up the slack, and they lasted another ten years. This is their story.
As we look toward the future of the “reboot universe,” we naturally wonder how vintage stories will be adapted. Surprisingly, significant parts of them already have been. Here, Anton Mei Brandt digs deep for fragments of Yamato lore that have found their way to the screen, sometimes barely noticed.
From the Magmix website comes this short profile on Yamato Exec Producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki, described as a skilled maverick who brought change to the anime industry and carved out his reputation as the self-styled “Dessler of Akasaka” (an upscale business district in Tokyo).
In 2014, a 60th anniversary retrospective was published on Leiji Matsumoto’s manga, which included a unique conversation between three veteran writers. Two of them participated in the creation of the original Yamato series. Their discussion is presented here and offers perspectives available nowhere else.
As a key contributor to the two biggest anime franchises of all time, Yamato and Gundam, “Yas” possesses a unique vantage point and a fascinating career. He was extensively interviewed for two major books that were published in 2020, both of which are excerpted here.
Eiji Otsuka’s book The 2nd Floor Residents and Their Times examines the rise of the otaku generation and Yamato as a pop culture phenomenon. In this chapter, Otsuka lays out the otaku generation’s social context and Yamato’s impact on the fusion of entertainment and politics.
Inextricably linked with the rise of Space Battleship Yamato was the rise of otaku [geek] culture in Japan. Writer Eiji Otsuka was one of those who watched that culture ascend from the inside. He has written more than one book on the subject, and a chapter of one of his books is presented here.
In November 2019, the classic Yamato saga expanded for the first time in ten years when Aquarius Algorithm debuted in the pages of Star Blazers/Yamato Premium Fan Club magazine. Written by Katsuya Takashima, it bridges the gap between Final Yamato and Resurrection.
From the pages of Showa 40 Man magazine: a nostalgic look back at two of Yamato‘s favorite characters. These twin essays from 2017 examine both Dessler and Sanada from the perspective of real-time viewers of the original saga.
Artist Masahiko Okura is among those whose creative passion was ignited by Yamato, which he brought to the saga itself from Final Yamato all the way through 2199. In this interview from Ship’s Log issues 6, he shares personal memories going all the way back to his first viewing.
Countless young artists were inspired by Yamato in their youth, but only a few rose to the ranks of those who would keep it alive as adults. Masahiko Okura is one of them, having contributed from 1983 to the present day, and as you’ll see in this interview, he hasn’t lost an ounce of passion in all that time.
The extraordinarily rare August 1994 issue of the locally-based LB Nakasu Communication magazine carried a Yamato cover story shortly before the saga was revived the first time with Yamato 2520 and the promise of Yamato Resurrection. Here we present two of the articles from that issue.
Just before Yamato reached its 20th anniversary in 1994, LB Nakasu Communication magazine published a rare cover story on its impending comeback. Its main feature article was this capsule history of Yamato‘s impact on Japan.
Focus, a weekly gossip magazine published by Shinchosha, was a celebrity-and-scandal chaser that kept tabs on cultural turmoil. Yoshinobu Nishizaki wasn’t high on their list of targets, but they tagged him on at least two separate occasions. In the interest of complete record-keeping, here are both of their articles.
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.
This magazine, aimed at the pocket of Japanese culture that was born in 1965, has featured many a thoughtful essay on Yamato. Here we present two from 2018 that focus on the “lost future” aspect of Series 1 and the life-changing emotional impact of Farewell and Series 2.
Ryusuke Hikawa, the original Yamato superfan, is a prominent voice in SF/anime fandom in Japan. This interview with him was published Showa 40 Man magazine Vol. 41 (Crete Publishing, January 2017) and places Yamato’s rise into a context seldom seen elsewhere.
