The year 2018 was a slow one where the original Yamato saga is concerned, but quality is always better than quantity when it comes to our favorite anime classic. Here’s what happened between and around the releases of Yamato2202 chapters 4, 5, and 6.
In 2015, journalist Hiroyuki Ota wrote a serial for the Asahi Shimbun newspaper that examined the unique cultural aspects of the anime. In November 2018, he explored the attitudes and principle figures of the Imperial Japanese Navy that informed the storytelling of the first Yamato series. That serial is presented here in full.
Regeneration Chapter was released November 3, 2018. The battle of Saturn takes new twists and turns as the fully history of Zordar and Gatlantis finally come to light. New ships join the battle, a rescue effort is mounted for Yamato, and Dessler returns in this action-packed segment. Read all the highlights of Episodes 19-22!
In the tumultuous wake of Yamato 2202 Chapter 5, writer Harutoshi Fukui sat down for an interview with Hobby Japan magazine (issue #593) to discuss the approach of Chapter 6. In addition to intriguing hints of things to come, he offered new insights into the different versions of this penetrating story.
From Star Blazers/Yamato Magazine: for Yamato 2199 and Yamato 2202, it was Junichiro Tamamori who took charge of the mechanical design for the Earth Federation. Mr. Tamamori, who has continued to love and study Yamato from his childhood, shares his thoughts about Andromeda and the Cosmo Tiger II.
Yamato 2202 Newspaper 3 came out just before Chapter 5 on May 25, 2018. Among its stellar features was a new interview with Klaus Keyman’s voice actor Hiroshi Kamiya. Since it was still a no-spoiler zone, discussion treaded lightly around Chapter 5, but Kamiya was entirely willing to talk about the evolution of his performance.
When publisher Seven Seas picked up the original Space Battleship Yamato manga, they hired lifetime Star Blazers fan Zack Davisson to do the translation honors, after which Cosmo DNA editor Tim Eldred talked with him at length about it. Here is their conversation in full.
Gigazine is an entertainment website that stands out for its lengthy, in-depth interviews with anime production staff members. On May 23, 2018, they sat down with 2202 producer Hiroki Komatsu to hear inside stories no one else could tell.
Mikage Kiryu only appears briefly in Yamato 2202, but her voice actor Eriko Nakamura has been a prominent advocate for all things Yamato the entire time. Akiba Souken talked with her about her role and her fandom just before the premiere of Chapter 5.
From the Yamato 2202 Chapter 5 program book: in his second interview for the series, Tamamori discusses his process for redesigning the Earth mecha and his earliest contact with Farewell to Yamato in 1978.
Voice actors Hideaki Tezuka (Zordar) and Yuko Kaida (Sabera) finally joined the Yamato 2202 publicity party with the release of Chapter 5 in May, 2018. This interview was published in volume 3 of the Yamato 2202 Newspaper from Sankei Sports, and also features Director Nobuyoshi Habara.
The day before Yamato 2202 Chapter 5 was released in theaters, this brief but insightful interview with Series Writer Harutoshi Fukui was published on Otonanswer. Also included here is his introduction from the theatrical program book.
On June 26 2018, voice actors Eriko Nakamura (Mikage Kiryu) and Kenji Akabane (Yasuo Nanbu) participated in an online talk show called D Studio with host Hisanori Yoshida for a light-hearted conversation. Nico Nico News published a transcript of their discussion, which made this translation possible.
Chapter 5 was released May 25, 2018 with multiple stage greeting events to commemorate its first and second weekends in theaters. Transcripts for two of those events are featured here.
In this widely-circulated interview, Voice Actor Hiroshi Kamiya and 2202 Director Nobuyoshi Habara discussed the evolution of Klaus Keyman from both an acting and an artistic perspective as new ground was broken in Chapter 5.
From the Yamato Crew Premium fan club magazine Ship’s Log #21, May 2018. Interviewed for the first time, Yoshio Tanioka discusses his responsibilities as Art Director: fleshing out concepts, building cities, and creating the detailed world of 2202 from the ground up.
During the promotional phase of Yamato 2202 Chapter 5, we finally got to hear from two very significant voice actors: Hideaki Tezuka (Zordar) and Yuko Kaida (Sabera). What does it take to perform the two most evil roles in the entire Yamato saga? V-Storage got the answers in this special interview!
From Akiba Souken: Animation Producer Hiroki Komatsu discusses what it’s like to work in the trenches on Yamato 2202, the unique pressures of going beyond expectations at every step, and working for members of the original Yamato generation.
From Anime Anime: for Yamato 2202 Chapter 5, this interview was conducted with voice actor Hiroshi Kamiya and Director Nobuyoshi Habara to examine new steps taken in the development of Klaus Keyman on both a performance and a production level, from the energy of acting to the subtlety of camera angles.
As the voice of Susumu Kodai, Daisuke Ono is always a part of Yamato 2202 promotion. He participated in the Chapter 4 promo campaign in January 2018, which lead to the publication of these interviews.
In this excerpted interview with Akiba Souken, Sound Director Tomohiro Yoshida expands on information in other interviews, notably the conceptual and technical processes of matching music to images in Yamato 2202.
These two interviews were conducted during the runup to Yamato 2202 Chapter 4. Included here is a single session with Akira Miyagawa and a conversation with Miyagawa and vocalist Isao Sasaki that focused entirely on the famous Yamato theme.
Music interview: Akira Miyagawa × Nobuyoshi Habara
From the CD booklet in Yamato 2202 Original Soundtrack Volume 1: Composer Akira Miyagawa and Director Nobuyoshi Habara were interviewed as Chapter 4 and the second musical recording neared completion, to summarize what had been done so far and the plan for the rest.
In this interview, Fukui discusses some of his creative story choices for Yamato 2202 Chapter 4 and gives the first hints of what to expect in Chapter 5. Also included is his essay from the Chapter 4 theatrical program book.
The role of an anime sound director is second only to that of an animation director, since sound tells parts of the story that images cannot. In this interview with Gigazine, Yamato 2202 Sound Director Tomohiro Yoshida discusses his role in detail and examines the history of Yamato sound.
Chapter 4 brought actor Yoshimasa Hosoya into the spotlight, who supplies the voice of fighter ace Saburo Kato. In these three interviews, he shares his insight on the character and offers a new look into the world of Yamato voice recording.
Voice actor Koichi Yamadera can make a singular claim when it comes to Yamato having played both Kodai AND Dessler on separate occasions. His return in Yamato 2202 Chapter 4 was hyped by four separate interviews that appeared in the media just before the January 2018 premiere. All four are presented here.
Yamato 2202 used up most of the oxygen in the room with 2017 being its debut year, but there’s always room for a nod to the classic Space Battleship Yamato saga in Japanese media and certainly in fan circles. Here’s our annual roundup of things that derived from the beloved original over the last year.
From Hyper Hobby magazine Vol. 6: as Yamato 2202 Chapter 4 approached, Sound Director Tomohiro Yoshida joined the parade to discuss the nuances of balancing dialogue, music, and sound effects for maximum impact.
