A who’s who of the men who made Yamato. Office Academy Studio was an academy for the entire anime industry. In the anime boom that followed, practically every high-profile production had a Yamato veteran in it somewhere, so it’s time to make more of their names known to the English-speaking world.
A confluence of numbers and themes inspired the city of Tsuruga to build the Matsumoto Symbol Road for the city’s 100th anniversary, choosing to commemorate both Galaxy Express 999 and Space Battleship Yamato as shining examples of science, progress, imagination, and journeys to distant lands.
In the spring of 1990, a small group of dedicated Japanese fans assembled at the official fan club headquarters to put their experiences on record. They kept the homefires burning, and some of them are still doing so today. Their discussion was published in the club magazine and is presented here.
Yamato Party is an event run by Masaru Enomoto, the unofficial leader of the fan community. Formerly known as the top Yamato collector in the entire country (until he sold off most of his acquisitions), he now pours his boundless passion and energy into this one event, and you feel it from the moment you step in.
Who are the Yamato fans of today, and what do they do to keep the flame lit? Meet some of them face to face and see what they had to offer their fellow fans at Yamato Party 2009…
In February 2010, Akihabara added another notch to its belt of positives when Space Battleship Yamato burst up from under the pavement to blast its mighty Wave-Motion Gun into the heavens. Or at least, that’s how it looked on February 13 and 14 when a very special gathering took place called Yamato Expo ’10.
Yamato III was pretty light in terms of products that actually had a Yamato III label on them, but its sponsors were at the top of their game. Popy (a division of the mighty Bandai), and Ezaki Glico were on board again to turn out another colorful campaign.
In May 5 2011, an impromptu gathering was held for Yamato fans to raise donations for earthquake relief, featuring some special guests with veteran status. The place and the date were quickly chosen. Did many people come? Was the event a success? The answers are yes, very many and very successful. Here is an firsthand report.
Licensors for Farewell to Yamato had seen the feeding frenzy and knew what to plan for in the next round. Just as the movie improved upon its predecessor, the products also went to the next level. Here is a substantial sampling of what Yamato fans had to choose from in the wake of the biggest anime ever [3 pages].
The merchandising campaign for the movie was absolutely enormous and pasted Yamato onto everyday objects that had likely never before been linked to anime. Products were designed with teens and young adults in mind, and this collection should leave no doubt that a vast new territory was being opened up. [2 pages]
It is difficult to determine exactly how many fanzines poured out of the first-generation fan clubs, so it’s impossible to guess what percentage is represented here. But this sampling, which covers the years 1975 to 1980, is certainly enough to grasp the wide range of quality and creativity that was devoted to keeping Yamato alive.
I Love Anime! From Yamato to Gundam is a unique book that provides an in-depth examination of how anime and anime fandom evolved during the 1970s. Presented here are the sections devoted to Yamato, including the release of the first movie. Together they provide an insider’s view of a fascinating time in anime history.
To most fans, Sasha and Trelaina were classic characters in their favorite anime. But to another group, they were the titles of APAs produced right here in the USA by American fans who wanted to expand the Star Blazers experience beyond their TV screens. Fred Kopetz examines them and much more here.
Superfan Andrea Controzzi writes about the arrival of anime in his home country, the impact of Star Blazers, the evolution of Italian fandom, and his own personal experience as a fan meeting a living legend.
OUT magazine played a crucial role in bringing the Yamato phenomenon to critical mass by bringing fans out of private clubs and into the professional publishing world. This article examines the history of the magazine and everything the fans did with its pages in the game-changing summer of 1977.
In 1983, a special book published by Animec gave a detailed overview of the first TV series, which included the only known published interview with those who ran the best-known private Yamato fan clubs of the 1970s. The interview took the form of a round table discussion and is presented here in full.
Without the fans, Space Battleship Yamato would never have made it. It is no exaggeration to say that most of what we now take for granted in the diverse world of anime media can be traced back to the actions of these fans, whose only wish was to keep Yamato alive. Their first step was simply to be born at the right time.
The second part of Yamato fan history, covering the evolution from fandom to professional publishing via OUT magazine, which played a crucial role in the success of Yamato‘s return in 1977 and laid the foundation for anime fandom as we know it today. It could only have happened once, and we’re extremely lucky that it did.
For the sake of collectors everywhere, here is a concise index of all Yamato music releases, up to and including the Sound Almanac series in 2014. Each entry contains a link to further information about each one.
“Tama” achieved international recognition with his phenomenal concept art, which updated Yamato for modern tastes without losing any of the original magic. To no one’s surprise, his work as a fan earned him the post of mecha designer on Yamato 2199. This interview was conducted in December 2011 and January 2012.
