In observance of Yamato‘s 50th anniversary, Figure King magazine No. 323 (published December 2024 by World Photo Press) ran a spectacular cover story containing art, interviews, and product history. Here we review all 40 pages with translations of its unique special features.
“Mamor” is a Japanese word meaning “protect.” It’s where Mamoru Kodai gets his name, and it’s the title of a monthly magazine about military matters from Fusosha Publishing. It enters the Yamato record books because of a unique article all about rank; not just IRL, but also in pop culture such as anime and movies.
During this three-month period, Final Yamato preproduction took a huge leap forward when all the story concepts were finally woven into a script, the first round of the “music assault” arrived, and media coverage went into full swing. Here’s what happened from April to June…
A pair of weekly magazines, published just six days apart, each took a snapshot of the rapidly evolving youth culture that was boosting anime to unprecedented popularity. Space Battleship Yamato was the engine that drove these articles, giving us a revealing analysis of both the observers and the observed.
Chapter 3 closed in theaters after a successful run as the first month of the 6-month wait for Chapter 4 continued the rolling wave of news flashes and online coverage. Drop in a major hobby show and the Radio Suite for 2025 and you’ve got yourself a Yamato party.
From the pages of the 3199 Chapter 3 program book: Mecha Designer Mika Akitaka connects the past to the present with a discussion of how Dezarium’s mecha design evolved from its original 1980 forms to what we see in the remake series.
When the new year began, all the strategizing for this phase of Yamato history was in full effect. While new music was being written, the story draft for Final Yamato was dusted off and returned to development. In this report, we examine the first three months of 1982.
In part 1, Hikawa discussed the birth of Yamato fandom in Japan. Here, he recounts the media he absorbed as a child, the impact it had on subsequent generations, and the birth of fan clubs that laid the groundwork for everything we see today.
