A complete record of Yamato music releases starting in 1984. Once the saga migrated from LP to CD, fans were finally treated to content that had been locked up in vaults from the earliest days and much more besides. [3 pages]
As soon as the Yamato movie became a certified hit in 1977, the race was on for anyone with musical talent to ride the wave by publishing their own version of the opening and closing songs. Presented here is a diverse gallery of albums containing covers of the Yamato Theme and/or The Scarlet Scarf.
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.
Since its debut, Space Battleship Yamato has come to fill essentially the same niche in Japan as Star Trek in the English-speaking world. legions of anime artists credit Yamato for their career choice, and many of them pay their respects in their own work. Here are some of them for your entertainment.
Director/Producer Noboru Ishiguro was not only a master craftsman, he was also a true friend to American anime fandom. Fittingly, it took two writers to pay proper tribute; we begin with a biography written by Jonathan Clements and conclude with a personal memoir by Ms. Jan-Scott Frazier that could have been written by no one else.
The name alone catches your eye: an entirely separate side-story to the Yamato saga with Dessler [Desslok] center stage. Unfortunately, it never got past the written word. Fortunately, that written record still exists. Here you can track the rise and fall of the Greatest Yamato Story Never Told.
As a pure concept, there was absolutely nothing wrong with 2520, but it turned out to be a sequel in the worst way. But we can examine it on its own merits and see what it had to offer. Would it have won our hearts if its full story had been told, or was it justifiably put out of its misery? Let’s see if we can find out. [2 pages]
This interview captures Leiji Matsumoto in buoyant spirits as he finds himself in an upwardly-mobile career swing after a comparatively quiet period in the late 80s and early 90s. He talks enthusiastically about his time on the first Yamato series and expands on his ideas for a new story.
A 25th anniversary Yamato LD series was reelased in 1998. They included a serialized essay by Matsumoto about his Yamato experiences. This contained the first announcement of his intention to create a new story and his ambitious plans for the next 25 years. The entire essay is presented here.
Despite his position at the time of copyright holder for Yamato, Matsumoto was unusually strident in this interview about the nature of his role on the first TV series and makes several claims not seen elsewhere. This interview captures an interesting snapshot-in-time when the situation was still in contention.
Long before the resurrection begain in 2009, Leiji Matsumoto made his own attempt to bring Yamato back to life as part of a grand plan to unify all of his creations. Its title Shin [New] Space Battleship Yamato, but the secondary English name did a better job of setting it apart: Space Battleship Great Yamato.
Unable to complete his ambitious plans for Great Yamato, Leiji Matsumoto immediately transformed it into a bigger project. What made Dai Yamato different is that it didn’t start out as a manga. It would go straight to animation…by way of your local pachinko parlor.
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)
Translated from Matsumoto’s autobiography, The Far Place Where the Ring of Time is Linked. The book culminates with a chapter devoted to Space Battleship Yamato and his second most famous production, Galaxy Express 999. Here is the Yamato portion, which contains the explanation for the book’s unusual title.
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]
