EXPLOSIVE is an apt descriptor for October 2025, the month that took us to the halfway point with the premiere of Chapter 4! It was surrounded by an overwhelming torrent of news, interviews, merch, announcements, and fan activity, so strap on your deepwater tank and let’s dive in!
October 1: ArtValt update
The month opened with some parallel history, given where we are with the modernization of Be Forever Yamato. On the first of the month, Tim Eldred (the guy writing these words) updated his ArtValt website to include a deep dive into the making of Star Blazers comic book #10, published all the way back in 1997. The mission was the same as it is now with REBEL 3199: to bring to life an “augmented” version of Be Forever.
Click here to see the article and find coverage of all the previous issues as well.
October 1: Futabanet article
The entertainment site Futabanet opened the month with an article that made its mission clear in the headline: From Space Battleship Yamato to Doraemon…the “Unimaginable Destructive Power” Hidden Within the “Most Terrifying Weapons” Representing National Masterpieces. The author settled on five different anime to satisfy the criteria. The choices may surprise you.
Read the article here
October 1: Hobby Japan Web article
With the next new Yamato anime now only ten days away, Hobby Japan Web did its part for the cause by publishing a multi-part backgrounder on the entire saga titled Space Battleship Yamato’s Great Voyage. Part 1 covered the original series (1974) through Resurrection (2009), opening with these words:
It was October 6th, 1974. Space Battleship Yamato began. Let’s start by taking a look at the original series, a timeless masterpiece that changed the history of anime and influenced many creators.
See the article here
October 3: 7 days to go
One week before the premiere of REBEL 3199 Chapter 4, the Twitter page of the Yamato Production Committee began its customary 7-day countdown with images from the film.
October 3: Bandai Channel website updated
Bandai, in its capacity as chief licensor for REBEL 3199, maintains its own Yamato website to aid in promotional efforts, especially for the Blu-rays.
See their Chapter 4 update here
October 3: Chapter 4 preview
Fans around the world always look forward to their first substantial taste of what a new chapter has in store when the preview is shared on Youtube. We all got that taste together when the first seven minutes of Chapter 4 arrived on this day.
Watch it here (turn closed captions and autotranslate ON)
October 4: 6 days to go
October 4: Hobby Japan Web article
The next online hit from Hobby Japan was a making-of article derived from the giant Yamato cover feature in the latest issue (published September 25). In this one, modeler NAOKI described the process of bringing the 1/72 Cosmo Zero to life.
Read the article here
October 4: MOVIX Hiroshima
Today, a fan with the online handle hana_chika shared pics from the lobby of the MOVIX theater in Hiroshima, which has been host to the 1/100 Yamato display model since the start of August. At this point, the lobby was fully decorated for the arrival of Chapter 4.
The display included a lineup of all the posters for the 3199 series so far, which takes some real effort to collect.
October 5: 5 days to go
October 5: Cast comment video
A series of daily video posts began at the Yamato Production Committee’s Twitter page. The first one featured Sasha’s voice actor Megumi Han promoting the free gift to be given out in theaters during week 1.
Watch it here
October 5: Koichi Yamadera interview
It goes without saying that one of the most welcome moments in a Yamato story is the return of Dessler to the screen. Voice actor Koichi Yamadera had things to say about that in a new Chapter 4 interview published by Mantan Web.
Read the article here
October 6: 4 days to go
October 6: Cast comment videos
Two videos appeared on this day. The first featured Shin Furukawa (Alphon), Houko Kuwashima (Yuki) and Megumi Han (Sasha) talking about the highlights of Chapter 4.
Watch it here
The second put Koichi Yamadera on camera to issue commands to the audience.
Watch it here
October 6: Hobby Japan Web article
The second part of Space Battleship Yamato’s Great Voyage picked up where part 1 left off, chronicling the entire remake series up to the latest installment of REBEL 3199.
See the article here
October 6: Youtube shorts begin
Yet another daily promotion began courtesy of Bandai Namco Film Works: a series of ten Youtube shorts featuring scenes from Chapter 4 that hadn’t yet been seen in the preview. View them all at these links (closed captions and autotranslate ON):
“All ships, prepare to dive!” | “I want to see you at your most beautiful.”
“Prepare for planet-destroying missiles!” | “Huh? Does that look like you’re thinking, ‘Wow, that’s lame?'”
“Welcome, Kodai.” | “These are… ruins…?”
“Don’t miss, Ra-jendora…” | “It’s not easy for you, Papa.”
“Why aren’t you crying?” | “A society where we empathize and care for each other”
October 7: 3 days to go
October 7: Cast comment video
Makoto Furukawa (Alphon) and Houko Kuwashima (Yuki) shared their thoughts on the current relationship of their respective characters.
Watch it here
October 8: 2 days to go
October 8: Cast comment video
“What do you like about Kodai, and what would you change about him?” That was the question answered today by Houko Kuwashima (Yuki) and Megumi Han (Sasha).
Watch it here
October 8: Genga auction
Even in the modern digital era, the bulk of anime layout work [genga] still happens on paper. Where does all that paper go when a production wraps? Occasionally, we get to see it when it emerges online, as it did today at Yahoo Dai Yamato Zero-Go.
See it all here
October 8: NOTE blog
Back in April, a business expert with the online name Miroku published a multi-part blog about how Yamato exemplified the ideal structure for an organization (read it here). Miroku followed up with a more focused entry titled Learning Ideal Leadership from Captain Juzo Okita.
Read the article here
October 9: 1 day to go
October 9: Final Yamato game storyboards
In 1985, after it seemed the door had closed on new Yamato animation, the Taito game company opened it up again when they revived Final Yamato in the cutting-edge realm of laserdisc-based arcade games. New footage was created to function as needed, and wherever animation goes, it is preceded by storyboards.
A historical artifact from this interesting project surfaced on Twitter when a user by the name of yukesnpl posted a sizable collection of storyboard pages produced by Taito.
See a gallery of these pages here
Read all about the Final Yamato LD game here
October 9: Hobby Japan Web article
For the second time in less than a week, Hobby Japan Web featured one of the intricate model kits built for the latest issue of the magazine. The wreckage of Battleship Yamato, built by Takuji Yamada, also had the honor of also being displayed in the lobby of the Shinjuku Piccadilly theater during the runup to Chapter 4. The article examines the making of this amazing diorama.
Read it here
October 9: Koichi Yamadera video comments
Dessler’s voice actor had more to say the day before the premiere, talking about the development of Dessler in REBEL 3199 for Mantan TV.
Watch it on Youtube here
While he was at it, he recorded another segment for a service called Chiyoimi that was posted the next day.
See that one on Youtube here.
October 9: Virtual Gorilla + article
The more media the merrier! The interestingly-named Virtual Gorilla website had a lot to say about Chapter 4, starting with a backgrounder and providing a detailed explanation of what was seen in the October 3 preview. Even if you’ve already seen Chapter 4 for yourself, there’s more to be learned.
Read the article here
Photos posted on Twitter by Forzashin7, adrenaline_fal, allegro999, ppmorutaru_2010, ussyamatoo and BBYVRC0530
October 10: Premiere day
REBEL 3199 Chapter 4, titled Pale Blue Maiden [Sasha], burst onto screens in 72 theaters, the highest number so far (one more than Chapter 3). Four new episodes were added to the story, bringing the total up to 14 and getting us just past the halfway point to 26.
Yamato movie premieres run like clockwork these days (this was the 23rd time since the debut of Yamato 2199) but the excitement never gets stale. It was a busy day with a lot to see, so keep reading to see it for yourself.
October 10: Chapter 4 program book
This 40-page treasure went on sale in theaters, bringing everyone the first reference work for the new chapter. It came with character and mecha guides, interviews, another gorgeous painting by the great Naoyuki Katoh (shown above), and more.
See it from cover to cover here, with the introduction by Harutoshi Fukui.
October 10: Chapter 4 limited edition Blu-ray
In compliance with settled law in Yamato World, the Chapter 4 Blu-ray was available for purchase to all ticket holders. It contained the four new episodes with commentary on two of them, teasers and trailers, the Yamatalk for Chapter 3 (featuring Mecha Designer Junichiro Tamamori), the Science Beginners videos for Chapter 3, and the theatrical introduction to Chapter 4, this time narrated by Dessler from his own POV.
See the 12-page Blu-ray booklet from cover to cover here
The standard edition is scheduled to go on sale December 24. Pre-order it from Amazon.co.jp here or CD Japan here
The limited edition bonus items consisted of a 36-page mecha design booklet that spotlights the ships and the world of Galman-Garmillas (above left)…
…and a flip book containing the storyboards for Episode 12 (114 pages) and the script for Episode 13 (36 pages).
That’s page 1 of 3! Click here to continue.