Photo posted on Twitter by yamatosuky

Date and Time
March 19th (Wed) 20:45-21:25 (stage greeting after screening)

Location
Shinjuku Piccadilly

Speakers (L to R in photo below)
Eriko Nakamura (host/role of Kiryu Mikage), Kenji Akabane (role of Yasuo Nanbu), Kenichi Suzumura (role of Daisuke Shima)
Houko Kuwashima (role of Yuki Mori), Daisuke Ono (role of Kodai Susumu), Naomichi Yamato (director), Harutoshi Fukui (general director)

The stage greeting took place after the preview screening of Chapter 3. When the cast and staff took to the stage, the packed venue erupted in thunderous applause. In Chapter 2, Kodai experienced rock bottom, but in Chapter 3, he is shown overcoming that. Regarding the third chapter, Ono said, “In the second chapter, Fukui told me that I would have to fall to the depths of despair, so I was prepared for it, and it turned out to be true. I lost Yuki, and then Sasha. It was as hard for me to play as it was for Kodai.”

He also said, “But what I felt in the third chapter was that I wasn’t alone. I was moved by the fact that the crew who were on the bridge of Yamato in 2199 were living and fighting to the best of their ability in their own places. I was proud that I was able to board Yamato as Kodai. I was proud that we had come this far.”

When Director Fukui said about the third chapter, “We only have one feeling right now. We’re glad we made it in time,” the audience applauded. Director Fukui looked relieved and said, “I thought we wouldn’t make it this time either, but we held on until the very last minute and somehow we managed to land it.” And as if to complement his words, Director Yamato added, “Making Yamato is really difficult.”

Meanwhile, for Suzumura, who plays Kodai’s ally Daisuke Shima, this was his first Yamato stage greeting in six years, since the seventh chapter of 2202. “Thank you for not forgetting. Shima’s main job was to say ‘warp!’ but recently Yamato has stopped warping. I think it would be good if they warped a little more,” he said with a laugh, drawing laughter from the audience as he added, “Recently, when Sanada explains something difficult, Shima has been trying to chime in with, ‘So what do you mean?'”

Ono has known Suzumura for a long time, and they have a relationship where they understand each other through eye contact without exchanging words. Suzumura took this into consideration and said, “If they did that in the anime, I really wouldn’t have a role. It goes beyond words. That’s why Shima appears on the screen a lot, and you can really tell from the pictures that he is watching Kodai carefully. So I think, ‘Good job, Shima,’ but about a third of my heart feels a little lonely and I want him to talk more.” He laughed, drawing laughter from the audience.

It seems that there is something special for Ono about working with Suzumura as well, and seems to have complete trust in him. “I’ve been playing Kodai for 13 years, and there are parts of me that are in sync with Suzu-san. I’m the one who gets scolded by Suzu-san. That’s why I feel so safe standing on the stage with him today. I’ve worked with Suzu-san on various projects, and I really think of him as Shima.” On the other hand, Suzumura joked, “What? Am I going to die? I get scared when I’m suddenly praised,” and the audience erupted in excitement.

Meanwhile, in this series, Yuki is held captive by the enemy, but when Nakamura, the host, pointed out, “You’ve gotten used to living with the enemy officer, Alphon, lately…” Kuwashima replied, “Is that so?” Akabane joked, “Even when talking about Alphon, Kuwashima-san doesn’t seem to mind. She’s gradually drawn toward Alphon…” Ono, feeling Kodai’s feelings, said, “Stop it!” Kuwajima brushed off Ono’s jealousy by saying, “Maybe it’s because she’s gotten used to that environment,” but then said firmly, “I think Yuki’s true feelings will be revealed later…so maybe it’s better not to say anything today.” This raised expectations for future developments.

In the third chapter, Akabane plays a more active role as Nanbu than ever before. He said, “This time, the conflict with his father is in the spotlight, so I played the role hoping to express his feelings toward his father directly. Nanbu is similar to Kodai, in that even as an adult, he has a naive, emotional side. During the dubbing, I recorded with Uchida Naoya, who plays Skaldart. I was acting quite passionately, but Uchida’s acting was really persuasive and grandiose. That kind of atmosphere was also fun.”

Nanbu’s heartbreaking words are heard in the trailer for Chapter 4, and further hardships are expected, but Akabane also said, “I didn’t understand at first either, and I even asked what it meant. I hope you’ll look forward to Chapter 4.”

The new battleship Arizona, which appeared in the trailer and was highly anticipated by fans, will also be a key feature of Chapter 3. “Of course, she’ll play an even bigger role in the future,” Fukui said, “so I hope you’ll look forward to it. But who will be the captain?” The cast members responded with predictions such as, “There’s a chance it could be Shima,” and “No, maybe the children of the Earth,” creating a huge buzz on stage.

When asked about what the future holds for viewers, Ono said, “It’s what will become of Sasha.” He continued, “When I rewatch Chapter 3, Kodai keeps saying Sasha. Up until now it was just Yuki, but I’ve started to feel that Sasha is just as important to me as Yuki. With each chapter I grow to love Sasha more and more, so I hope she’ll be happy.”

Director Yamato also reiterated that there will be more high-quality mecha battles in the future, saying, “The number of shots in this mecha battle was incredible. We even received complaints from the staff. I hope you’ll look forward to it in the future.”

The stage greeting, which had been so exciting, was finally coming to an end. On behalf of the speakers, Director Fukui said, “The production is currently continuing with no time to rest. You’ve seen the trailer for Chapter 4, we’ll be taking a short break from Be Forever and starting Yamato III. We’ve just finished all the sound work, and when we added the music it sounded very Yamato III. I hope you’ll look forward to that as well. The cast and staff worked together to create Chapter 3, so please reach out to your friends and others. And we’re currently holding an exhibition to mark the 50th anniversary. I hope you’ll come and see it.”

Video footage of the stage presentation was posted on March 18. See it here (closed captions and autotranslate ON).