January 2015 looked like a well-deserved break compared to December, but it was still a good time to be a fan. New books, models, magazine coverage, the last Yamatalk, and art from both pros and fans made for a memorable month – and news of Ark of the Stars on home video pointed toward the future.
Wish Upon a Star
A trap waits in the skies. Dark clouds gather, and up ahead, a red sun looms. Its mouth is filled with burning fire, and its arms are Hell’s crimson flames. Fire one blast, to break through an inescapable trap, and effect an impossible escape.
As the wait for Final Yamato came down to the last two weeks, the anime magazines hit newsstands just over a week before the premiere, which put them in a real sweet spot. Anticipation would never be higher, and spoilers would never be thicker. It would be the last Yamato coverage for some, so they left nothing out.
In the last of his passionate essays on the making of Series 1, Ryusuke Hikawa examines the special techniques of wave animation as a unique fusion of technology and art. He draws parallels with the Space Battleship Yamato saga as an open ocean of creativity, leading to 2199 and other waves yet to come.
