Kazutaka Miyatake designed mecha for some of the greatest anime on Earth. This interview with Miyatake was published in the liner notes of Bandai’s Yamato 2 LD box set in 1992. Though he did not work directly on the series, he was the primary mecha designer on Farewell to Yamato, and all of his work was preserved for Yamato 2.
Yamato 2‘s greatest asset was its enormous inheritance from Farewell to Yamato. But the series was still a very demanding production with all sorts of new elements to be created–or in some cases, transformed. See how it was done in this exploration of the series’ character and mecha design.
In 1978 and ’79, few anime titles were hotter than Yamato 2, and the entertainment magazine Roadshow kept up with the series for six consecutive issues. Their unique coverage examined the developing story with the same editorial style as anything in the live-action world.
This archive of vintage media coverage of Yamato 2 allows you to relive the public unveiling of the series as a Japanese fan might have experienced it in real time. Animage magazine premiered in the summer of 1978, and covered the series from start to finish. Its entire series of articles is presented here.
An eyewitness report by Gwyn Campbell. On January 22, 2013, series director Yutaka Izubuchi sat down with his friend and fellow Yamato fan Hideaki Anno, director of the legendary Neon Genesis Evangelion. Read a complete transcript of their conversation here.
February 2012: Analysis of the new Earth mecha, character design updates, the manga is announced, plans for special home video releases, and the exciting Yamato 2199 launch event.
From the official Yamato 2199 website, published January, 2013. Series director Yutaka Izubuchi and mechanical director Masanori Nishii talk about various aspects of the mecha scenes in Chapter 4. Accompanied by a mecha gallery of the Garmillas fleet.
It’s always a “killer app” that inspires this madness. A movie release is as “killer” as it gets, and this time it’s the Yamato Resurrection Director’s Cut that draws us together. But that’s only a starting point; there’s the promise of Yamato 2199, another Yamato Party, and any number of things in between.
Events of the Legacy Years, 1984-2007
As of 1984, the Yamato saga was now in the past tense, but the sheer momentum of the production years guaranteed a lively future of public events that kept the passion fed…
The movie has been seen and now the exploration phase of the journey beings. We hear gossip of what lies ahead, wander the pachinko-verse, visit new neighborhoods, talk with heroes, and unexpectedly become the first audience for Yamato 2199. Find out how it happened right here.
Events of the Legacy Years, 2008-2010
The resurrection of Yamato began in 2009, accompanied by a landslide of public events that brought back the spirit of the original production years. This record reviews them all, culminating with the 2010 live-action movie.
From the 2199 Chapter 4 program book. Composer Akira Miyagawa talks about growing up in the shadow of his famous father as a fan of Yamato, the beginning of his own musical career, and the requirements of reviving the original score for a new era.
Events of the Legacy Years, 2011-present
Fully back in the public eye after the 2009 resurrection, Yamato achieved the status of living legend as the new films circled the globe and yet another new production loomed over the horizon. See the continuing record of public events here.
From Hyper Hobby magazine, October & November, 2012. Series Director Yutaka Izubuchi spoke at length with fellow fan-turned-pro Masato Hayase, an artist/writer at the forefront of another multi-generational franchise, The legendary Cyborg 009. The result is an otaku tag-team of championship quality.
An important facet of creating Yamato 2199 was finding a real-world justification for as many elements as possible, including what it would actually take to build and launch a massive space battleship. That brought Maeda Construction Co. into the fray, and it lead to this previously-unimagined prologue to the entire story. [2 pages]
Weekly Yamato Fact File was published in encyclopedic segments from October 2009 through August 2011. And what an encyclopedia it is; 2,640 pages designed to fill 9 custom ring-binders that command 18″ of shelf space. All of it devoted to the world of Space Battleship Yamato.
An eyewitness report by Gwyn Campbell. On October 23, 2012, series director Yutaka Izubuchi spoke with composer Akira Miyagawa. They kept the audience entertained for 45 minutes with plenty of insights and anecdotes. Read a complete transcript of their conversation here.
December 2011 to January 2012: Characters and mecha are revealed, the first magazine articles appear with analysis, composer Akira Miyagawa talks about inheriting the work of his father, and Ryusuke Hikawa provides a commentary. Also: early model sheets for the Earth mecha!
Ryusuke Hikawa wrote this column to examine the subtleties of anime. His topic in the April 1999 issue was a complex one indeed: the interplay of thoughts and images as delineated by a single frame of film. It gave him an opportunity to examine various aspects using the evolution of Yamato as an example.
Prologue: The Long Road to Yamato 2199
The first word of the new series leaks out in various ways until official announcements are made, a surprise product appears, and the show goes public with a website and the first live interview. Also: early model sheets for the redesigned Yamato!
Published December, 2012. This issue contained another helping of its stellar coverage in a 10-page article that threw a spotlight on the Garmillas mecha of Chapter 4 and also introduced us to mecha concept coordinator Satoshi Koizumi.
With a few days left in this part of the tour, treasures are found and time is spent with two luminaries of Yamato history: original superfan Ryusuke Hikawa and Resurrection co-director Makoto Kobayashi. And then there’s a real-life giant robot standing vigil. The first part of Yamatour 2012 ends here…
