Rediscovering love from a parent’s perspective!
Exclusive Interview with REBEL 3199 Director Harutoshi Fukui
Exclusive Interview with REBEL 3199 Director Harutoshi Fukui
Interview, text, and photos: Mika Nakamura
Published May 5 & 6 by Stream.
See the original articles here: Part 1 | Part 2
Harutoshi Fukui is known for numerous novels such as Another Country’s Aegis and Lorelei at the End of the War. Starting with Mobile Suit Gundam UC in 2007, he shifted his focus to anime, working on series composition and screenplays. Now, he is taking on the role of general director for the first time in Be Forever Yamato REBEL 3199, which began its theatrical run in July 2024. To mark the release of the third installment, which opened on April 11, we conducted an exclusive interview to discuss the thoughts he has put into the work.
“Actually, the work process itself hasn’t changed that much. On the contrary, when I was involved as a screenwriter, I tended to meddle too much in the storyboards. Taking responsibility for that, I thought, ‘It’s about time I really take ownership of the work,’ so it doesn’t feel like a sudden change in my role.”
Fukui, who speaks these words, first became involved in the remake series of the iconic Japanese anime work from the Showa era, Yamato 2202 (2017), where he served as series composer and screenwriter. In the subsequent Yamato 2205 he added new interpretations, such as exploring the childhood of Dessler, one of the series’ most popular characters, his love for Starsha, and the relationship between the Iscandar and Garmillas peoples, delivering a brilliant story that impressed longtime fans.
“Indeed, there was a sense that we needed to adjust the direction slightly with 2205. The original Yamato had already thoroughly explored the theme of love in its first installment and its sequel, Farewell to Yamato. As a result, subsequent works shifted focus to becoming a family franchise, creating content that could be enjoyed by both children and their parents, thereby solidifying the series’ popularity.”
“On the other hand, the young fans who were enthusiastic about the first and second films were disappointed with this development, and the production team, aware of their reactions, seemed to be wavering between going in a more youth-oriented direction or not, and ended up rushing into the final film.”
The children and young people who experienced the enthusiasm of that time and developed a longing for Yamato are now parents and grandparents.
“For this remake series, we shifted the focus toward a family franchise centered on the children, and love seen through the eyes of parents and grandparents. In terms of storytelling, it’s a meticulously crafted narrative that explores the emotions of various generations, akin to the work of director Taiichi Yamada. Within that, we rediscovered that it was precisely because it was Yamato that we could depict love from a parent’s perspective. If we had tried to do the same with Gundam, it would have felt completely different.”
REBEL 3199 is a 26-episode series that reimagines the 1980 theatrical film Be Forever Yamato as the central story, incorporating elements from the TV series Yamato III and modern interpretations.
“The plot was conceived about six years ago, but with the global spread of the coronavirus and the crisis of democracy symbolized by elections around the world, the story has taken on an eerily vivid quality. I also feel that it’s so vivid that it doesn’t come across as satire.”
In Chapter 3, the story unfolds in two different settings: the interior of the Space Battleship Yamato and Earth. On Earth, a girl named Fleur, who claims to be an “Earthling from the future,” transfers to the elementary school attended by Tsubasa, the son of Saburo Kato, a member of the Yamato crew who died in 2202. Despite their confusion over her existence as a completely different life form, the children gradually reach out to her, a scene that resonates with the immigration issues facing modern Japan.
“In the old Yamato, the only characters were the Yamato crew, the Earth Defense Force, and aliens. However, in this version, we had to depict society as a whole in order for the story to work, so we chose to show not only the Yamato crew but also everything that’s happening on Earth.”
The fictional alien invasion resonates with contemporary social issues that we can relate to in our own lives. This is the essence of the drama, which can be enjoyed alongside epic battles between spaceships in outer space. This is the enduring appeal of Yamato, which has been supported by passionate fans for over 50 years and is cherished as something to pass on to future generations.
Among the characters playing important roles is Sasha, the niece of the protagonist, Susumu Kodai. As the daughter of his older brother, Mamoru, and the late Queen of Iscandar, Starsha, she appears in the original work as a beautiful girl in her late teens. However, in REBEL 3199 Chapter 2 (2024), she appears as a young child of 1 year and 11 months, consistent with the passage of time within the story.
“At the AnimeJapan 2025 stage event, anime and tokusatsu researcher Ryusuke Hikawa said, ‘The fact that Sasha grows from a toddler to a 17-year-old in just one year is nothing but convenient storytelling. If your niece is only two years old and she appears in a mature body, it could easily turn into a moe anime.’ So, in the remake series, since the majority of the audience is adults, we decided to start by depicting Sasha as a child first, and then focus on what happened to her to become the Sasha everyone knows. I hope this will draw attention to the process.”
Sasha, called “the fragment of Iscandar” by Dezarium, is taken by intelligence officer Alphon in Chapter 2 as a key figure in historical revision. However, two weeks later, a beautifully grown-up Sasha stands beside Dessler, the supreme leader of Galman-Garmillas. Dessler, one of the most popular characters in the series, does not appear in the original work, and the fact that Chapter 3 depicts a major change from the original brought great surprise and joy to longtime fans.
“One of the goals of the remake series is to depict that even someone we thought of as a cold-hearted soldier with blue skin is no different from us. In the original, Dessler and the Gamilas do become friendly with the Yamato crew and Earthlings at some point, but since they dropped planet bombs on Earth, killing many humans, there’s no way they can reconcile. In this chapter, we depict how a casual whistle from Dezarium causes the relationship between Earth and Garmillas to be completely severed. At the same time, by portraying Dessler as a human being, we emphasize that it’s not that the Garmillans are inherently evil, but that both sides were forced into this situation against their will.”
Fukui reveals that he has reflected the “inevitability” of modern life in his script.
“Today, in a world where many people cannot trust others, I’d like to be able to tell a story that can be applied to the real world, about how we can keep our stress under control and what we should aim for in life. I feel that this is something that animation, which serves a metaphor for things that are not even human, can do. The first original work, where ‘The Battleship Yamato Takes to the Sky,’ summed up postwar Japan with that one event, so I want to continue in that spirit.”
Meanwhile, Kodai is in the midst of hardship, having been relieved of his position as captain. He’s filled with regret at having let go of the hand of his beloved fiancee, Yuki Mori.
“Being fired and having to bow your head to people ten years younger than you at your reassignment, saying, ‘Please take care of me from now on,’ is what Kodai is going through at the beginning of Chapter 3. Compared to that weight and pain, charging into enemy ships in a fighter jet is much easier. I’d be happy if fans of his generation who can relate to him think, ‘Kodai is just like me.’ And if this fictional mirror can help people see the world we live in today, I think that will be meaningful.”
The high level of storytelling and the sincerity of the messages conveyed in the remake series have struck a chord with many people, leading to an expansion of the number of titles available on Amazon Prime, both for the original and the remake series. In the latest installment, footage reflecting on their previous voyages is also inserted, making it easy for everyone to immerse themselves in the story.
For those who seek something meaningful or a story that moves their hearts, Space Battleship Yamato offers profound significance in today’s world.