In December 2022, Michio Murakawa’s Yamato 2199 manga resumed after a 5-year hiatus. In this informative interview, we learn what caused the hiatus, see some of his contributions to the anime series, and find out how Murakawa himself became the accidental founder of all the Yamato remakes.
From the Yamato 2199 Concert 2015 program book: Composer Akira Miyagawa followed in the footsteps of his father Hiroshi Miyagawa to create the music of Yamato 2199, and sound director Tomohiro Yoshida is a self-proclaimed Yamato fan. They talk about the music of both Yamato and Concert 2015.
From Dengeki Hobby Web: this interview with 2199 Mecha Director Masanori Nishii was published to mark the arrival of Yamato 2199 Hyper Mechanical Detail Artworks, the ultimate mecha art book on the series. He discusses the demands of creating Yamato mecha AND prepping it for the printed page.
From Otona Anime magazine, February 2015. In this interview, Producer Mikio Gunji encapsulates Yamato 2199 history with observations about its progression in the media from the premiere in 2012 to the making of Ark of the Stars in 2014.
From the Voyage to Remember movie program book: Director Takeo Kato and Writer Shigeru Morita discuss the nitty-gritty of how they struggled to cut Yamato 2199 down to a single feature film without losing the essence of the story – a task neither fully appreciated until they became responsible for it.
Koichi Yamadera is unique among Yamato voice actors, having played the top two characters at different times: Kodai and Dessler. This makes him an interesting guy to talk to, and resulted in these three publicity interviews for A Voyage to Remember, all published on October 10, 2014.
Great Mechanics DX #30 maintained its groundbreaking reputation by becoming the first magazine to feature in-depth coverage of the 2199 movies. Writer Shigeru Morita and Producer Mikio Gunji were both interviewed about the creation of a new chapter in Yamato history.
Within the first six months of Yamato 2199 magazine coverage, the true standout for quality reporting was Great Mechanics DX magazine, published by Futaba Co. We followed them issue by issue here, but left out this portion of issue #21, which was published in June 2012. Fortunately, the information is timeless…
Model Graphix #352 contained a major cover story on Yamato 2199 that included an extensive 4-page interview with Yutaka Izubuchi, his first since the conclusion of 2199. Here, he shares his perspective at the end of one road and the beginning of the next.
From Model Graphix magazine #352: Since releasing the Bandai 1/350 Space Battleship Yamato model, Mr. Kishiyama has been involved with a flood of Yamato kits in quick succession. Of course, he also plays an active role as a developer of Yamato 2199 overall. He shares his passionate thoughts here.
In this insightful interview from Great Mechanics DX #27, Yamato 2199‘s Chief Mechanical Director Masanori Nishii talks about the herculean effort of producing the second half of the series; building on trial and error, facing new challenges, and grappling with the climactic battles the brought the series to an end.
From Tim Eldred’s 2013 Yamatour, a detailed conversation with the talented director of Yamato 2199 episodes 9 and 19 with scene-by-scene commentary, inside stories, exclusive artwork, thoughts about the future, and much more.
From the Chapter 7 program book: as the mastermind of 2199‘s mecha presentation, Mr. Nishii talks about his experiences as a viewer of Series 1 and how they colored his opinions of what a remake should accomplish. He also discusses what it took to make Yamato mecha look better than ever.
From Great Mechanics DX #26, September 2013. Shigeru Morita of Studio Nue spearheaded some of the most complex episodes of the series and masterminded the battle of the Rainbow Star Cluster. He talks in detail about the thought process behind the on-screen strategy and creative state of the Yamato saga.
From Hyper Hobby, September 2013: an interview with two prominent producers from the Yamato 2199 Production Committee whose job it was to steer the ship through the unsteady waters of public promotion. Here they discuss the unusual responsibility of turning a legacy back into a living legend.
On June 25, the Yamato faithful gathered for this conversation between General Director Yutaka Izubuchi and Daisuke Shima’s voice actor Kenichi Suzumura. Despite fewer guests than normal, there were still plenty of surprises to be had, as Suzumura imparted to the audience his own unique voice acting philosophy.
In these two interviews, published in Hobby Japan and Hyper Hobby magazines, Bandai Hobby Division’s Hirofumi Kishiyama talks about how his team produces the 2199 models at a breakneck pace, and draws a hitherto unknown parallel between this series and Bandai’s first Gundam kits.
From Hyper Hobby #178, June 2013. A conversation with the producer and sculptor of toy manufacturer Megahouse all about the creation of the 1/8 Yamato Girls figure collection, highlighting the challenges of developing Yuki Mori and Akira Yamamoto in three dimensions.
From the 2199 Chapter 6 program book. Mr. Imanishi talks about how he became involved in the series, how the CG side was developed, and his hopes for how the program will be remembered.
Maxon is a 3D software developer that created Cinema 4D, which serves as a platform for some of the CG imagery in Yamato 2199. High-end users of the software occasionally tell their stories on the company website, and in this case, it was 2199 director of photography Takashi Aoki.
The June 2013 issue of Great Mechanics DX featured a revealing interview about the marketing side of Yamato 2199, conducted with Production IG producer Mikio Gunji. This website has covered the marketing of the series at every step, and now the strategy behind that marketing is finally revealed.
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.
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.
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.
