August 2012: Hyper Hobby presents the secrets of Chapter 2 and the opening-day talk, manga chapter 6, the first 2199 doujinshi appear at Comiket, the Chapter 3 trailer, coverage in Hobby Japan and Dengeki Hobby, and Naoyuki Katoh live-paints his first Yamato mural at Chara Hobby 2012.
June and July 2012: translated articles from the Chapter 2 movie program book, Chapter 2 merchandising, manga chapter 5, Yamatalk Night 2, hobby magazine coverage, Chapter 2 home video release, the first 1/1000 model kit, and Yamato 2199 makes its first live appearance at Wonderfest 2012.
June 2012: Chapter 2 approaches and magazine coverage heats up in Hyper Hobby, Animage, CG World, Voice Actors Animedia, New Type, Hobby Japan, Dengeki Hobby, and Great Mechanics DX. A TV special, the first CD single, manga chapter 4, and a report from the premiere of Chapter 2. [2 pages]
April to May 2012: translated articles from the Chapter 1 movie program book, magazine coverage from Hobby Japan, Dengeki Hobby, Good Press, Figure King, Weekly Ascii, and extensive interviews in TV Bros with the lead actors, Yutaka Izubuchi, and singer Isao Sasaki. [2 pages]
March to May 2012: magazine coverage from all corners, manga chapters 2 and 3, Yamatalk Night 1, Chapter 1 secrets revealed in Hyper Hobby, the model kit line is announced, Koichi Yamadera is chosen as the voice of Dessler, Chapter 1 home video release, the trailer for Chapter 2, and new mecha appears. [2 pages]
An eyewitness report by Gwyn Campbell. The guests on the evening of April 23, 2013 were director Yutaka Izubuchi, audio director Tomohiro Yashida, and the saga’s original sound effects creator Mitsuru Kashiwabara. Read a complete transcript of their conversation here.
Just before 2199‘s TV premiere, hobby shop AmiAmi published this four-part interview with Hirofumi Kishiyama of Bandai’s hobby division, team leader in charge of development for the 2199 model kits. He spoke at length about the decision making and the pitfalls of reviving a legend in three dimensions. [2 pages]
Published July 2012, this magazine included a six-page article on Yamato 2199 featuring a lively interview with general director Yutaka Izubuchi and chief mechanical director Masanori Nishii. At the time, Chapter 2 had just finished its theatrical run, but the sheer fanboy exuberance displayed here is timeless.
Published March 2013, this magazine included a 12-page article on Yamato 2199 that reviews the basics of the story and includes an interview with mecha designer Junichiro Tamamori.
Great Mechanics DX was the first magazine to make Yamato 2199 coverage a regular feature, and still stands above all others in the quality of its in-depth mecha design interviews. This issue was published March 2013, and interviewed Garmillas mecha designer Yasushi Ishizu.
March and April 2012: Extended interviews in Hobby Japan and Dengeki Hobby, the three-man media blitz before Chapter 1 (Yutaka Izubuchi, Ryusuke Hikawa, and Akira Miyagawa), the April 7 premiere day with an on-stage talk show, and the first blu-ray release. [2 pages]
March 2012: The manga debuts in New Type Ace and magazine coverage explodes in Hobby Japan, Dengeki Hobby, Great Mechanics DX, Nikkei Entertainment, New Type, 2nd Magazine, and Megami. The premiere of YRA Radio Yamato and the first product tie-in. Also: early model sheets for Garmillas and Iscandar mecha!
An eyewitness report by Gwyn Campbell. On January 22, 2013, series director Yutaka Izubuchi sat down with his friend and fellow Yamato fan Hideaki Anno, director of the legendary Neon Genesis Evangelion. Read a complete transcript of their conversation here.
February 2012: Analysis of the new Earth mecha, character design updates, the manga is announced, plans for special home video releases, and the exciting Yamato 2199 launch event.
From the official Yamato 2199 website, published January, 2013. Series director Yutaka Izubuchi and mechanical director Masanori Nishii talk about various aspects of the mecha scenes in Chapter 4. Accompanied by a mecha gallery of the Garmillas fleet.
From the 2199 Chapter 4 program book. Composer Akira Miyagawa talks about growing up in the shadow of his famous father as a fan of Yamato, the beginning of his own musical career, and the requirements of reviving the original score for a new era.
From Hyper Hobby magazine, October & November, 2012. Series Director Yutaka Izubuchi spoke at length with fellow fan-turned-pro Masato Hayase, an artist/writer at the forefront of another multi-generational franchise, The legendary Cyborg 009. The result is an otaku tag-team of championship quality.
An important facet of creating Yamato 2199 was finding a real-world justification for as many elements as possible, including what it would actually take to build and launch a massive space battleship. That brought Maeda Construction Co. into the fray, and it lead to this previously-unimagined prologue to the entire story. [2 pages]
An eyewitness report by Gwyn Campbell. On October 23, 2012, series director Yutaka Izubuchi spoke with composer Akira Miyagawa. They kept the audience entertained for 45 minutes with plenty of insights and anecdotes. Read a complete transcript of their conversation here.
December 2011 to January 2012: Characters and mecha are revealed, the first magazine articles appear with analysis, composer Akira Miyagawa talks about inheriting the work of his father, and Ryusuke Hikawa provides a commentary. Also: early model sheets for the Earth mecha!
Prologue: The Long Road to Yamato 2199
The first word of the new series leaks out in various ways until official announcements are made, a surprise product appears, and the show goes public with a website and the first live interview. Also: early model sheets for the redesigned Yamato!
Published December, 2012. This issue contained another helping of its stellar coverage in a 10-page article that threw a spotlight on the Garmillas mecha of Chapter 4 and also introduced us to mecha concept coordinator Satoshi Koizumi.
Published September 2012, this issue contained a 12-page article that concluded an ongoing interview with series director Yutaka Izubuchi and mechanical director Masanori Nishii about scenes and events in Chapter 2 (Episodes 3-6).
From Wave-Motion Guns to tinkling glass, the sound effects creator discusses his experiences making the original Space Battleship Yamato series. (from the Yamato 2199 Chapter 3 movie program book.)
Published June 2012, a conversation between two of Yamato’s greatest luminaries, 2199 director Yutaka Izubuchi and classic saga storyboard artist Yasuhiko Yoshikazu. The discussion dives directly into the deep end of Yamato history and surfaces on the cutting edge of today, with stories only these two could tell.
As 2199 first began to unfold in 2012, Mr. Tamamori found himself in high demand for media interviews, and earned the rare distinction of appearing simultaneously in the July 2012 issues of Hobby Japan and Dengeki Hobby magazines. Read both interviews and see extensive mecha design art here.
From the 2199 Chapter 2 program book. Nobuteru Yuuki discusses his history as an anime fan, how he got involved in 2199, the struggle to capture the classic characters for a new audience, and the development of a whole new cast.
An eyewitness report by Gwyn Campbell. On July 10, 2012, series director Yutaka Izubuchi spoke at length with screenplay writers Hiroshi Ohnogi & Sadayuki Murai about the writing of Yamato 2199 with a focus on the first six episodes. Read a transcript here.
Nobuteru Yuuki grew up with TV anime, drawing everything he loved, publishing fanzines, and taking part in his school’s “anime/manga study group.” He got into anime at just the right time to land some of the biggest credits anyone could ask for, including the dream job of designing the characters of Yamato 2199.
Published June, 2012. Shortly before the premiere of Chapter 2, series director Yutaka Izubuchi discussed what fans would see in Episodes 3-6 on Yamato‘s accelerated journey through the solar system, all the way to Pluto. Also included: extensive design art and background detail on the new Cosmo Zero.
