Space Battleship Yamato changed the history of anime; The soul inherited by Be Forever Yamato REBEL 3199
Published April 11 by Mantan Web. See the original article here
Chapter 3 of REBEL 3199 opens April 11th. Space Battleship Yamato celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. Yamato is a masterpiece that changed the history of anime, and 3199 inherited the soul of that masterpiece. What was new about Yamato at the time? What has been inherited by 3199?
We spoke to General Director Harutoshi Fukui, who works on 3199, and anime and tokusatsu researcher Ryusuke Hikawa.
Realism in the concept and worldview
The first Space Battleship Yamato TV series was broadcast in 1974, and it greatly expanded the fan base of anime, which had previously been considered “for children” and was also called “TV manga.” It became a social phenomenon with the movie version also becoming a big hit.
Hikawa: It’s a rule-changing, game-changing work that shifted the era of TV manga to the era of anime. Kamen Rider Amazon, Great Mazinger, Hurricane Polymar, and Ganbare!! Robocon also began in the same month, October 1974, and children’s TV programs were booming, but this one stood out as being more mature than them. It’s sometimes said that there was only robot anime before Yamato, but before Yamato, there were probably only Getter Robo and Mazinger Z. The toy-driven Brave Raideen began the month after Yamato ended.
The transformation boom centered on Kamen Rider, also known as the second kaiju boom, was coming to an end with the final episode of Yamato. Ultraman Leo had ended, and Himitsu Sentai Goranger filled the gap left by Kamen Rider Amazon. The “Super Sentai Series” is also celebrating its 50th anniversary. 2025 is known as the “100th anniversary of the Showa era,” but with Yamato ending in 1975, the “100th anniversary” can be divided into two. It may be a coincidence, but there are many milestones that coincide, and I feel it was inevitable.
In 1973, the year before the broadcast, there was a boom in apocalyptic ideas, with The Great Prophecy of Nostradamus becoming a bestseller.
Hikawa: Japan Sinks was released in December 1973, making it the New Year’s movie of 1974. The euphoric mood from the Osaka Expo in 1970 was reversed, and it was the time of the apocalypse boom. Yamato‘s line “XX days left until the extinction of Earth” was influenced by the countdown to the Osaka Expo. It was a work that the times demanded.
In 1970, the Japanese film industry collapsed and the age of television began, but due to the oil crisis and other factors, the national clients of anime in the 1960s declined, as well as food and home appliance sponsors, and toy manufacturers emerged instead. Mushi Productions had gone bankrupt the previous year. Yamato was not produced by a large company, but was an indie work funded by a producer.
At the time of the broadcast, Hikawa created a Space Battleship Yamato fan club and visited Office Academy, the anime production company.
Hikawa: Using the TV credits as a reference, I flipped through the phone book, called various companies, and found out that Office Academy was producing the anime. I decided to go and see it with a friend, but in truth, I wanted to get some animation cels and know the real colors to paint the Yamato plastic model. But after I visited the studio, I felt that I had to do something, and my life changed for the next half-century.
What was it about Space Battleship Yamato that fascinated Hikawa and other young people at the time?
Hikawa: The attention to detail and the way it’s all put together in a logical way. It’s the “authenticity.” When I went to the studio, I understood why it was so amazing; the designs and everything else were well-grounded. In contemporary anime, pressing a button makes a beam come out, but the actual mechanics of operating a real machine were the highlight, creating a sense of immersion. The realism of the concepts and world-building make the grand story believable.
In fact, you could explain the basic story of Yamato without even mentioning Susumu Kodai. A red Earth under invasion and on the brink of destruction, the rusted battleship Yamato, an underground city, and a part of a space battleship visible above the surface; these three visuals alone are enough to explain the world, which is the true main character.
The fact that it’s a Japanese story is a big factor
Hikawa was born in 1958 and Fukui was born in 1968. What did Fukui, as a child, think of Space Battleship Yamato?
Fukui: I’m from the generation for whom Yamato was a given, and a 10-year age gap makes a big difference. A huge paradigm shift occurred in the few years since Yamato was born. The term “TV Manga” had almost become extinct. By the time I became aware of things, we said “anime.” When I was in elementary school, my older brothers watched anime, and I tried to watch it too.
Mobile Suit Gundam began in 1979, about five years after Space Battleship Yamato. Yamato and Gundam greatly changed the history of Japanese anime. New works for both are still being produced today.
Fukui: When considering why new Yamato stories are still being produced today, I think the title Yamato is significant. Yamato is linked to reality; it evokes the battleship Yamato and wartime Japan. This is something that absolutely couldn’t be done outside of Japan. The story is about a battleship that was built to fight during the war, sank, and was later remodeled and sent into space to save Earth. I thought it might be a story where the characters vent their frustrations from the war, but it’s not like that. They shed tears of regret for having annihilated their enemies.
How post-war people perceived wartime Japan wasn’t something that had been fully addressed until that time. After the war, there was a movement among young people similar to student protests, but afterward, there was a generation of young people who came to be called the “disillusioned generation,” who felt that everything was pointless. Yamato had something that attracted young people who felt adrift in a vacuum. The fact that Yamato was a story about Japan was significant. That’s the difference between Yamato and Gundam. If Yamato hadn’t existed and Gundam had come out instead, I don’t think it would have become a hit.
It evokes war, but it’s also fantasy.
Fukui: When Yamato is hit, smoke rises even though it’s in space, and this is a necessary depiction to evoke Japan during the war. That’s completely staged. The scene where Susumu Kodai carries his injured comrade on his shoulders and smoke rises also seems like a war story. Before Yamato, there was a work called Animentary Ketsudan [Decision] and that texture was intentionally brought into space. It was a depiction to make the allegory of the battleship Yamato in space work. If they had stuck to the initial design, which was far removed from the shape of the battleship Yamato, it probably wouldn’t have turned out that way. It may be better to think that the story was also influenced by the shape.
The theme of post-earthquake Japan
The remake series began with Yamato 2199, a remake of the first series, which was shown in theaters from 2012 to 2013. Yutaka Izubuchi served as general director of 2199. Fukui participated as series composer and scriptwriter on Yamato 2202, which was shown in theaters from 2017 to 2019, and Yamato 2205, a two-part series shown in theaters in 2021 and 2022. Fukui now serves as general director of REBEL 3199, and is in charge of series composition and scriptwriting.
Hikawa: Izubuchi and I have known each other since we were teenage fans, and we often talked about Yamato based on materials we collected. The original Yamato is certainly great, but we didn’t think it was perfect. There were many regrets that it could have done a little better. So in 2199, the original was reconstructed, the concept was reinforced, and the ideas we talked about at the time were realized. We’re aiming for a proper space opera, while also making efforts to appeal to new fans. It’s quite ambitious, isn’t it?
The biggest difference is the increase in female characters with distinct names. We’re depicting it as an ensemble story where the dramas of characters with their own backstories intertwine. We’ve reworked the original material and presented it as a completely new dish for today’s audience. What’s especially heartwarming is that we’ve managed to preserve the “Yamato flavor.”
It must have been a huge challenge for Fukui-san, who took over after 2199.
Fukui: I’m helped by the groundwork that was created in 2199. When I look for a concept, it usually comes up. The original Yamato had the theme of what the war meant to Japan, and what did we learn from it? But looking back on the war in this day and age is not the right approach. Since I took over with 2202, the theme has been Japan after the earthquake disaster. The show incorporates not only that, but also the rise of social media, the crisis of democracy, and other contemporary issues.
When I watched the original Yamato, adults watched it too. If I went to a soba noodle shop, they would show a rerun in the evening, and the old men would be watching it. They didn’t watch other anime, but something about it stuck with them because it was a social issue. It featured people who were very Japanese, and events that reminded them of the war. I think that resonated with the old men at the soba noodle shop in the downtown area.
Mr. Fukui inherited the “social issue” spirit in the remake series.
Fukui: I aimed to create something that would resonate with today’s 40 and 50 year olds. The target audience is those who were children when the original Yamato was broadcast. Their children are now teenagers or adults, so we’re aiming for the next generation to watch it as well.
Drawn to Yamato
REBEL 3199, the latest in the remake series, is a new interpretation of the original third movie, Be Forever Yamato, released in 1980.
Hikawa: The original Be Forever has an allegorical quality and a light novel-like feel, and I like its unique lightness. Be Forever also takes “love,” which was said to be the theme of Yamato at the time, to its fullest with the separation of Kodai and Yuki.
Fukui: At Anime Japan 2025, Mr. Hikawa referred to Sasha as “Princess Kaguya,” and it opened up a new perspective for me. It’s highly allegorical and has some fairy tale-like aspects. The enemy is terrifying, so it may lean more toward fantasy. 3199 has the social themes of the original at its core, but if I’d heard about Princess Kaguya first, I might have added some more spice to it.
Hikawa: Elements of Yamato III were already visible in 2205, so I was excited to see the big remodeling begin. It’s interesting to see a world that seems familiar but is actually unknown. I’m looking forward to 3199 being serious about Be Forever While respecting the original work. If you compare it to cooking, the way the courses are arranged is different.
Fukui: What was a stew turned into a stir-fry.
Hikawa: It’s fun to see how it turns out. It’s also refreshing to see how Kodai is human and has modern emotional movements. Each character has their own opinions and clashes while taking into account the current world situation. It’s great that you can feel the parts that they want to convey to today’s audience.
Fukui: The things that were going to happen in 3199 were decided to a certain extent in 2205, and they were conceived quite some time ago, so perhaps the world has become closer to Yamato. I didn’t realize it would be such a raw story…it feels like we’ve come closer to it. It’s not that we had foresight, but I think that the allegorical and satirical elements inherent to Yamato were what drew us in. We were drawn to Yamato. Is it because it’s Yamato that it works? Or is it just that it seems that way because it’s Yamato? That’s something I’m not sure about.
Hikawa: The content is heavy and complex, but it’s fast-paced and easy to watch, which is great. It has a sense of speed that makes the length of the film seem short. It’s a work that can be enjoyed over and over again, and you discover something new each time. In the theater, you won’t be distracted, so I hope you’ll watch it there with full concentration.
Fukui: There’s a lot of information, and I’m trying to make it a work that can’t be viewed at double speed.