Published by Office Academy, June 1978. This issue was fully loaded with the latest news on Farewell to Yamato, which included coverage of the May 24 press conference/fan club meeting, character and mecha art, another Q&A with producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki, and more.
Cosmo DNA is dedicated to learning about how the saga developed and the effect it had on anime in the years that followed. That’s also the topic of this essay by producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki. It was originally published in 1983 when Yamato was just shy of 10 years old, but time has done nothing to dull its message.
As years passed and more stories were added to the Yamato pantheon, the context grew larger. The first opportunity to examine it as a whole was taken by Shogakukan Publishing, in a 1983 edition of the This is Animation series. That multi-part text is presented here. [4 pages]
In 1983, some of the first material was published that fleshed out the unseen backstory of the Yamato saga that fans could only speculate about before. For example, if you were dying to know what the cool blue guy was up to while the animation cameras were pointed elsewhere, this is what you’ve been waiting for. [3 pages]
by Arthur Painter
Many fans who watch Star Blazers series 3 wonder, “what happened to the original voices?” I’ll do my best to piece this together, starting with the impetus behind the creation of the original Star Blazers series.
The Solar System Faces Destruction!
Wildstar is promoted to Captain of the Argo, and his first job is to take a new crew of freshly-trained cadets into the Star Force. Their mission: find a new home for humankind.
Great Battle in the Milky Way!
A battle between the Bolar and the Galman fleets moves from Planet Berth to an Earth outpost on Alpha Centauri. The Star Force is in the midst of planning its mission when more solar radiation bathes the Earth and disrupts electrical systems all over the planet.
Argo Sets Sail at Dawn!
Homer has arrived after meeting and falling in love with a girl he met back home. He almost leaves the ship the night before launch, but changes his mind when the same girl arrives and lays his fears to rest. The next morning, Argo launches on its mission.
Like the original movie it is based on, the Farewell Playstation game exploded the Yamato universe to new dimensions. Get an overview of the game’s structure and art with plenty of screenshots, along with its many spinoff products.
SOS! Spaceship Legendra!
The Argo reaches Neptune and makes contact with Captain Ram’s damaged Legendra, flagship of Planet Berth and the only Bolar ship left in the fight with Dagon’s fleet. They escort Ram back into space, and Dagon launches an attack on them both.
Great Battle Near Planet 11!
Captain Ram is killed and the Legendra destroyed by Dagon’s fleet. The Star Force turns the tide, but the last enemy ship desperately rams the Argo and boards her, kicking off a hand-to-hand struggle.
The Rough Seas of Planet Alpha!
After leaving the solar system, Argo sets down on Planet Alpha for repairs. Dagon returns to his base near Barnard’s star and launches a phalanx of missiles at Alpha. The Star Force’s gunners fend off the missiles and the ship sets coarse for Barnard.
The Last Pioneer!
On Earth, an attempt to reverse the runaway fusion on the sun ends in failure. On Barnard, a Star Force landing party discover an Earth pioneer family struggling to survive. Dagon launches a reflex gun attack from the opposite side of the planet.
Duel at Planet Barnard!
On Barnard, the Argo is pinned down by laser fire until Wildstar’s team discovers the Galmans are using reflector ships to bounce the beams around. The Cosmo Tigers take them out and the Argo destroys the reflex gun with its wave motion gun.
Counterattack of Dagon’s New Fleet!
Dagon returns to Admiral Smeardom in disgrace, but is given another fleet of ships with which to destroy the Argo. Dagon’s fleet launches an attack that damages the Argo‘s engine, drawing it into the the triple star of Cygnus and its giant space tornadoes.
Argo in Danger! The Demonic Cygnus Airspace!
After repairing the engines and escaping the stellar currents, the Argo is drawn toward the Black Hole of Cygnus. Using the wave motion gun, they break free and Dagon is pulled back to the black hole instead. Smeardom resolves to capture the Argo personally.
The Penal Colony in Space! Argo approaches Planet Berth and is recognized as the ship that aided Captain Ram. The Star Force is allowed to land on Berth, and there they discover a penal colony. Several prisoners break out and hijack the Argo.
Dreadful! The Bolar Federation!
The Star Force overcomes the hijackers, but learns that they are followers of Queen Gardiana. Bolar Prime Minister Bemlarze claims that Earth is under his jurisdiction, and the Star Force has to fight their way off Planet Berth.
The Dimensional Submarines: Galman Wolf!
The Star Force makes another discouraging report to Earth while Admiral Smeardom confers with Lugna Von Feral, commander of the “Wolf Pack,” a fleet of dimensional submarines. Feral launches a devastating attack against the Argo, wounding Wildstar.
Despite the countless hours of recordings that was commercially released during the production years, a large body of background music was left out. In September 2000, this oversight was finally corrected by Columbia Records with the debut of the Space Battleship Yamato “Eternal Edition” CDs. Read an overview here.
The Argo is Captured!
The Star Force is lured toward Admiral Smeardom’s space fortress and captured. When Smeardom reports this to Desslok, Desslok flies into a rage. He contacts the Argo and invites them to visit the Galman homeworld as his personal guests.
In November 2004, Nippon Columbia music publishing rolled out a 30th anniversary “Eternal Edition Premium” CD collection. Unlike the earlier series, this new one pulled all the symphonic albums together into one package, plus a few extras. Read an overview here.
The Day of Desslok!
Wildstar remembers his encounters with Desslok as the Argo travels to Galman. There, Desslok greets the Star Force and explains how he built the Galman Empire and waged a war against the Bolar Federation. Wildstar wonders how far Desslok can be trusted.
One of the joys of collecting the music is that each successive reissue of the catalog over the decades has placed more of it into the hands of eager fans. That long process finally culminated with Nippon Columbia’s Yamato Sound Almanac. Here is a rundown of the first half of this milestone in Yamato music history.
Published by Office Academy, August 1978. After months of agonized anticipation, Farewell to Yamato had finally been released in movie theaters. This issue commenced with an account of the premiere and moved forward from there to examine what else was happening or about to happen in this pivotal time period.
