Opening Day Stage Greeting Report
■ Date and Time: Friday, February 20th *Stage greeting after the screening
■ Location: Shinjuku Piccadilly
■ Participants: Harutoshi Fukui (General Director), Naomichi Yamato (Director), Hideki Oka (Scriptwriter), Eriko Nakamura (MC and voice of Mikage Kiryu)
Published at the official website. See the original post here
The three panelists appeared wearing theater merchandise jackets styled after the Space Battleship Yamato‘s Air Force. Chapter 5 ended with a stunning climax, with Yamato appearing in modern-day Tokyo and flying over Shinjuku Piccadilly. The audience that day was watching the film at that theater, which caused a stir in the venue. Witnessing the audience’s presence, Director Yamato expressed deep emotion, saying, “Mr. Fukui explained the content of the final minute of this film from the very beginning of the scriptwriting, and it took several years for us to finally show it to everyone. I’m really happy that we’ve been able to bring it to life.”
General Director Fukui also beamed, saying, “Finally, it’s up there above Shinjuku Piccadilly. It’s no exaggeration to say that I’ve worked hard this far, wanting to see the faces of the people immediately after they see this.” He then exuded a sense of fulfillment, saying, “I feel like I’ve done everything I could this time. I feel like I don’t have any more words to describe this feeling.”
Director Yamato says that the film can be summed up in one word: “Galactic War,” as the chapter title Incandescent Galactic War suggests. True to his words, the film features stunning visuals of the massive fleet battles between Earth, Garmillas, Bolar, and Dezarium, but behind that intensity lies an incredible amount of work.
“Normally, when an anime work has both hand-drawn character parts and CG parts, there is a limit to how many shots there can be in the CG parts, and if you go beyond that limit, it gets rejected because it can’t be completed. However, the number of CG shots in this work is several times the usual number, way beyond the rest,” said Director Yamato with a laugh, and the total number of CG models used throughout the series is around 500. What’s more, even in scenes where ships are destroyed in the film, many new models were created to show them destroyed in addition to their intact state.
Eriko Nakamura and Harutoshi Fukui
Director Yamato said, “As a special treat, we created a lot of damaged models this time. Even if they only appear in one shot, modeling is necessary. I don’t know if you noticed, but the many damaged battleships that appear in the film generally only appear once.”
Fukui also revealed, “The ‘strange beam cannon’ at the intermediate supply base only appears in one shot, so we deliberately used hand-drawn animation instead of CG. Since we didn’t have any design materials, we used the technique of drawing it while checking the footage from the original film.” The film is filled with such meticulous attention to detail, down to individual frames. Fukui proudly stated, ”That’s where the richness lies.”
The conversation then returned to the film’s climax. When asked about the inspiration for this surprise, Fukui commented, “In the original work, there’s a part where they’re surprised that it’s Earth 200 years in the future. But on the other hand, if you think about 200 years ago, it’s probably the present day. That’s where the idea for this was born.”
However, when Oka heard the idea, he opposed it, saying, “It feels like a cheap gimmick, so you’d better not do it.” Even so, Fukui said, “It actually fired up my motivation to ensure it absolutely wouldn’t come across that way.”
“In the original work, why did the Yamato crew think that they were on Earth 200 years in the future? It’s because they saw the Sphinx and New York there. If you think about it, wasn’t Earth destroyed by planet bombs just two or three years previously for them? But I thought the excitement of that moment when Yamato and the Earth we know became connected was interesting. So I thought it would be even more interesting if it were set in the present day. Maybe I thought that about 40 years ago. That might have been at the root of it.”
Hideki Oka and Naomichi Yamato
Oka responded with admiration, saying, “What I feel now is that Fukui has a habit of diving right in when he thinks he can use an idea. During 2202, he called me and said, ‘Just let me use the time fault.’ I wondered how he would use it, but he made brilliant use of it in the work. Something similar is happening again this time.”
The stage greeting was coming to an end. When asked for a final comment, Oka said, “Every time I make Space Battleship Yamato, I feel like I’m immersing myself in a heavy responsibility. This time, with the help of all the staff and cast, I feel like we’ve come a long way. I would be thrilled if everyone enjoys watching it multiple times.”
Director Yamato continued, “I think there will be more theatrical events and the like announced from here on. I hope you’ll watch the film multiple times and support the events as well.”
Finally, Fukui raised the audience’s expectations for future developments: “Let me just say a few words about the next chapter. There was one thing Yamato was not able to do for a long time. That was a pilgrimage to sacred sites. That’s something Yamato has not been able to do until now. Since we’ve come to the present day, we can create as much as we want there. It starts here (Shinjuku Piccadilly), but we can’t stay here forever. Various things will happen in various places. We’ve prepared some devices that will allow you to enjoy the film both inside and outside at the same time, so I hope you will continue to support us in the future.”
Additional coverage from Mantan Web:
The Shocking “Last Minute” of Chapter 5, Including the All-Out Battle; Harutoshi Fukui Says, “We Did Everything”
See the original post here
Speaking to the audience watching the shocking ending, General Director Harutoshi Fukui expressed his thoughts, saying, “I wanted to see the faces of the people right after they saw it. This time, we did everything we could. I have no words to express it better.”
Scriptwriter Hideaki Oka said, “I’ve said this many times, but this time I’m truly overwhelmed with emotion.”
Director Yamato said, “I feel like we’ve finally made it this far,” and Fukui said of future developments, “We’ll use this as a stepping stone to take another leap. It’s just the beginning.”
In Chapter 5, even seemingly casual scenes seem to have meaning, with Fukui hinting, “Important things are said and done. The exchange between Kodai and Sasha is also heartwarming, but I think you’ll realize later, “Oh, that’s what it meant.” I hope you’ll watch it multiple times.”
Click here for a 7-minute video digest of the stage greeting on Youtube
Hideki Oka: “Chapter 5 is a ‘Reply'” – A Battle at the Intermediate Supply Base, Gathering Wisdom and Technology
See the original post here
Scriptwriter Hideki Oka revealed his thoughts, saying, “Chapter 5 is a ‘reply’ for me. We have to do the intermediate supply base battle from Be Forever. This is a ‘reply’ that says, ‘This is our biggest shot right now.'”
He continued, “We couldn’t compromise on anything. When we were younger, we watched The Rainbow Star Cluster and The Battle of Saturn. We started from the idea of somehow creating something comparable to that greatness. We couldn’t compromise on anything. We’ve come this far through the combined wisdom and skills of many people.” They went all out in their efforts.
The stunning visual beauty of the all-out battle in Chapter 5 was achieved through the “quantity of materials,” with Director Yamato saying, “We did several times more than what was considered to be impossible. It’s a huge amount of material. There is a lot of modeling, even for a full 3D work.”
Fukui revealed, “The beam cannon at the intermediate supply base only appears in one shot, so we had it hand-drawn. We didn’t even create a design. We drew it while watching the original film.”
Backstage at the Shinjuku Piccadilly. Photos posted on Twitter by the Yamato Production Committee and Eriko Nakamura