From B-Club No. 35 (September 1988): a concise overview of the classic Yamato models of the “golden age.” Five years had passed since Final Yamato and it would take another six for 2520 to arrive, so this was assuredly a time when the legacy was being fortified.
Compared with the other villains in the saga, Desslok and the Gamilons weren’t the most powerful or even the best organized. But they endured all the way to the end and their merchandising outstrips that of all others. Here is a complete roundup. [3 pages]
Part 10: The Modern Era
Since Bandai began, the technique of designing and producing model kits has been revolutionized again and again. Proof of this can easily be seen by comparing the more recent Yamato kits to those of the production years.
Though some aspects of Yamato merchandising are firmly rooted in the production years, plenty of new and different products began to appear shortly after 1983. In time, the number of items began to equal and then surpass their predecessors in both quantity and quality. This deep and impressive archive begins here.
Continuing the archive of merchandising, we find phone cards, watches, the beginning of Leiji Matsumoto exhibitions, lighters, dolls, toys, apparel, and much more.
The archive of merchandising is further expanded with Dessler wine, a Cosmo Zero helmet, electronics, products attached to Yamato Resurrection and the live-action movie, new companies getting on board, a Yamato t-shirt is off to outer space, and the most expensive Yamato collectibles ever made. See them all here.
While in possession of the Yamato copyright from 1998-2002, Leiji Matsumoto put his name and personal stamp of approval on many products from toys to books to video releases. Here we focus on the Yamato products that directly resulted from his personal touch.
Though they no longer exist as a company, Mimuko was instrumental in returning Space Battleship Yamato to toy shelves, and the charge they lead is still underway. They were the first to acquire a Yamato toy license from Bandai Visual in the 1990s and end a dry spell that went all the way back to 1981.
New technology leads to bigger and better toys from diverse branches of the Bandai family tree from 1999 onward. See them all on these three pages: Banpresto (1999-2001) Popy, Plex, and Megahouse (2001-2008) Bandai toys (2007-2011)
Since the resurgence of Yamato toys in the legacy years, advances in toymaking technology and artistry have both worked their magic to expand the definition of “toy” far beyond something kids play with and outgrow. We’re now in the age of the Designer Toy. Two companies in particular stand out in this field, both examined here.
Yamato miniatures have been around since the production years, but as manufacturing has improved, the level of quality and detail has left the originals far behind. Here are four different sets of Yamato miniatures from 2003-2008 made by Sunkus, Nubel, Bandai, and 7-11 to compare and contrast.
Today’s Yamato toys not only outnumber the originals, they surpass them. In the early days, they were made by tradesmen who didn’t know what Yamato would become. Now they’re made by Otaku who are driven to pay homage. That’s a big difference that you can better appreciate when you see the results. [2 pages]
Part 11: The Crown Jewel
In January 2007, the biggest and most ambitious model kit in Yamato history made the record books when Bandai released the game-changing 1/350 scale Yamato. See it from front to back and read about how it came to be.
The creativity exhibited by modelmakers in Japan is enormous, and (in some cases) as imaginative as the original ship designs themselves. In this three-part record, we have the pleasure of seeing Yamato through their eyes. Yamato and fighters | Earth Defense Forces | Enemy Spaceships
Garage kit manufacturers assemble several times a year at various hobby shows to sell their carefully-handcrafted works, and Yamato is always well-represented. The kits are difficult to obtain outside Japan and require high-end expertise to build. For the rest of us, here is an extensive photo-tour of these “Yamato Supermodels.” [2 pages]
Many Japanese garage kits are exquisitely-designed statues of popular characters. Yamato characters haven’t been turned into garage kits as often as those of other anime productions, but enough of them exist — of one standout character in particular — to fill up a skilled modeler’s shelf.
When we last left our heroes, games based on Space Battleship Yamato had just made the jump from paper to pixels, but many years would pass while Yamato took every step down a road that lead to home electronics and the high-end world of pachinko. That journey is fully documented here. [2 pages]
In 1985, previously-unseen Yamato animation appeared exclusively at Taito game centers in Japan, in a now-extinct Laserdisc game based on Final Yamato. It’s no longer possible to play it, but enough pieces survive for us to examine this amazing artifact from beginning to end. [2 pages]
Released by NEC in 1999, this gave fans something they could only dream about during the production years: a virtual Yamato that could be explored at will and a digital database for the first TV series. Examine this groundbreaking masterwork from top to bottom and find out what it took to create it here.
When one considers the gameplay possibilities Yamato offers, typing doesn’t immediately spring to mind, which makes the extraordinary quality of these games even more surprising. These four articles examine each game in detail with animation stills, movie files, and more. Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4
With updated designs and lively new animation this evolution of Yamato might just as well have been a brand new anime. Bandai released three Playstation games from February 1999 to September 2000. They breathed new life into the first and second Yamato stories and laid the groundwork for more to come.
The expanded capacity of PS2 had tremendous benefits; higher resolution, faster processing, and greater data storage did wonders for the rendering and gameplay possibilities. Combine that with an imaginative new take on a classic Yamato story and you have a recipe for greatness.
Yamato games made prior to November 2007 were played at home, but that was the month Japan’s Fujishoji Co. finally brought the saga back to a place it hadn’t been since 1983: the public square. CR [Card Reader] Yamato Pachinko was a take on the journey to Iscandar which took the interactivity to epic proportions.
In February 2009, this pachinko game exploded on the scene in Japan, tricked out with all sorts of gimmicks. Twists and turns could take you into the Farewell to Yamato continuity, and the new CG animation was some of the best ever seen in the saga, setting a high bar for all the productions to follow.
It’s an unfortunate truth that Yamato III has gotten less attention than the other parts of the saga, so it’s refreshing to occasionally see proof that it hasn’t been forgotten. When this game arrived in 2010, its stunning CG sequences gave us a taste of what should have been.
Pachinko Slot (Pachislo) is the tricked-out Japanese cousin of the Vegas-style slot machine. The first Yamato Pachislo game was a comparatively simple one released in 2000. Ten years later, Japan’s Yamasa Corporation left that one in the dust with a fully-loaded, state-of-the-art coin muncher.
Pachislo is a variation of pachinko that still uses the spinning numbers of a slot machine. The games themselves are generally impenetrable to those outside Japan, but any chance to relive the battle against the Comet Empire in a fresh way is always a welcome one.
