Fellow citizens of Galman-Garmillas. As we approach the release of Chapter 6, “The Azure Labyrinth,” and to provide a comprehensive overview of the war situation, something we have not done for quite some time, I wish to read a report reflecting on the battles fought from Chapter 1 through Chapter 5.
To all of you who have witnessed the events up to Chapter 5, I first wish to offer words of appreciation. You have served with true distinction. For a long time, we have stood against a formidable enemy known as Dezarium. In Chapter 5, Yamato, Galman-Garmillas, and the Bolar Federation, parties that, under normal circumstances, would never have crossed paths, fought together for a single shared objective.
And so, the battle against Digablas came to an end.
Speaking as a military officer, it was undeniably a victory. Yet, what remains in my heart is not the military outcome. It is the fact that each individual made their own choices of their own free will.
To have a future bestowed upon you. To have your destiny predetermined. At times, such things may appear to offer peace of mind. But human beings cannot live by that alone. To think for oneself, to struggle with uncertainty, to make one’s own choices, and to bear the consequences of those choices.
In the course of this conflict, I have seen the nobility of that way of life anew. Reflecting on it now, REBEL 3199 has been, true to its name, a story of those who resist. Resisting the enemy. Resisting fate. Resisting despair. And at times, resisting even one’s own weaknesses. Having witnessed the story up to Chapter 5, that is how I feel.
And now, the story moves toward its final phase. Only two chapters remain. Our journey, too, is drawing to its conclusion. Yet, the voyage is not over.
Chapter 6: “The Azure Labyrinth.” We do not know whether hope or despair awaits us there. But I trust that you, my fellow citizens, will see this through to the very end. I, too, shall join the Leader in witnessing what lies ahead.
Gale Dessler. Gale Gamilon.
My fellow countrymen of Galman-Garmillas. To those of you who have already witnessed Chapter 6, “The Azure Labyrinth”: How was it?
In truth, this time around, scheduling conflicts prevented me from attending both the production screening and the completion premiere stage greeting. Therefore, I, too, stand in the exact same position as the many fellow countrymen eagerly awaiting the release on June 26th.
I have received fragmentary reports from the Intelligence Department. But that is not enough. After all, a work of art is something one must visit the theater to experience firsthand, witness with one’s own eyes, and embrace with one’s own heart.
To the advance team that gathered for the completion premiere stage greeting today: you have done well in your mission. The excitement and fervor you have brought back have certainly reached us here in the rear guard.
22 days remain until the release. It has been a long time since I felt such eager anticipation for a release date. Reflecting on the journey from Chapter 1 through Chapter 5, we have witnessed countless battles and choices. And now, the story finally heads toward its climax.
My fellow countrymen. On June 26th, the opening day, I ask that you gather at the Shinjuku Piccadilly, if at all possible. That location is a place that has witnessed the Yamato‘s departures time and time again. I, too, as a viewer, look forward to the release of Chapter 6 alongside all of you.
22 days to go. Let us welcome that day together.
Gale Dessler. Gale Gamilon.
Photo posted on Twitter by the Yamato Production Committee
Fellow citizens of Galman-Garmillas.
Leader, we have a situation. According to reports from the climax of Chapter 5, I heard that the Yamato had appeared in the skies above Shinjuku Piccadilly. However, today, new footage has arrived from our intelligence division. It appears that the Yamato has warped out inside Shinjuku Piccadilly.
Leader. What on earth does this mean? Could it be that Shinjuku Piccadilly is actually a massive fortress capable of housing even the Yamato?
Huh…? Ah. Th-this is a model, isn’t it?
I thought so. Our fleet nearly warped out inside the building as well.
But, everyone. Jokes aside, there are now only 13 days left until the release of Chapter 6. All personnel, make sure to review Chapters 1 through 5 and prepare yourselves mentally. Our voyage, too, is finally approaching its final phase. Until then, everyone. Let us meet again at Shinjuku Piccadilly on June 26th.
Gale Dessler. Gale Gamilon.
Photo posted on Twitter by the Yamato Production Committee
Dagon! Dagon! It’s an emergency! The Leader is nowhere to be found! You were the one by the Leader’s side, weren’t you? What is the meaning of this?
What? He said, “I’ll be right back,” and went out? Even so, this is Terra. And not our own era, at that. This is the Terra of 2026. There is no telling what might happen.
It cannot be helped. I entrust command here to you. I shall go search for the Leader myself.
What? You say he headed toward the vicinity of Shinjuku Piccadilly?
Hmm…vould he have gone to personally observe the Yamato‘s movements?
What!? You say a message just arrived from the Leader via a Terron social media platform!? Let me see…
Leader!? What is that? Four round objects on a single skewer. It is a foodstuff I have never seen on our home planet of Galman. But that look on your face…
I see. “Talan, you try eating it first.” That is what you mean, isn’t it? Understood.
Leader. I am on my way at once. Until I arrive, please, I beg of you, do not touch those dumplings! Tasting for poison is the duty of an adjutant, after all!
Dagon! I leave the rest of the command to you! We begin the operation to locate the Leader!
Gale Dessler! Gale Gamilon!
P.S.: 9 days remain until the release of Chapter 6. Fellow countrymen, you too should eat mitarashi dango to prepare for opening day. Though, for the record, I prefer anko (sweet red bean paste) dumplings over mitarashi.
To the Yamato fans who have been supporting me since the days of REBEL 3199 Chapter 4, you might be thinking, “Not this story again (lol).”
However, recently, I’ve gained many new followers after posting about my days in voice acting training school and the journey leading up to joining the agency Arts Vision. So today, I’d like to share the story behind the biggest “shot at the big time” I’ve had in recent years: landing the role of Ghader Talan in Be Forever Yamato, REBEL 3199.
I am in my fifties. I am neither a rookie nor a young up-and-comer. But a life-changing opportunity can arrive suddenly, even in your fifties.
⸻
Early July 2024. I received word through my agency from Tomohiro Yoshida, the sound director for REBEL 3199.
“We need to hold an urgent audition.”
I learned later that the catalyst was a voice sample posted on my agency’s website: “Elderly Man (Human/Warm-hearted).” Upon hearing that sample, he felt, “Yasuhiro might be the right person to entrust with Talan.” However, nothing was set in stone yet.
“I’m going to have the other staff members listen to it, too. If Yasuhiro doesn’t work out, we’ll hold auditions for others.”
In other words, the opportunity had arrived. But I hadn’t actually secured the role yet. That was the situation I was in.
⸻
I was given three pages of script. The submission deadline was five days away. The reference material sent to me was the performance of Talan by Kotaro Nakamura. When you think of Talan, you think of Kotaro Nakamura. He is a senior colleague I have long admired. Furthermore, Mr. Yoshida is a sound director who has looked after me since my vocational school days. He cast me in numerous productions back when I was a junior talent. However, for over fifteen years since becoming a ranked voice actor, I had been far removed from any projects involving Mr. Yoshida.
Yet, after listening to my voice sample again,
“Let’s give Yasuhiro a chance first.”
That is what he said. That is precisely why I wanted to seize this opportunity at all costs.
⸻
Take after take, it just wasn’t right. I didn’t want to simply mimic the original. But the image of that truly great, “authentic” Talan wouldn’t leave my mind. Three hours remained until the submission deadline.
I told myself:
“Calm down, Yasuhiro. Mr. Yoshida saw potential in my voice.”
And so I re-examined the character’s emotions and objectives from scratch. That was the moment. Talan began to come alive within me. I rushed into my home recording booth and recorded all the lines in one go. I wouldn’t try to become Kotaro-san. I would play my Talan, a Talan that would grow and evolve from this point on. I resolved to do just that.
⸻
Fifteen minutes before the deadline. I sent the audio file. Having poured everything I had into it, I was left motionless for a while. The days leading up to the results were filled with sleepless nights. Then, three days after submission, I received an email from the agency.
“Yasuhiro-san, you have been officially cast as Ghader Talan.”
In that moment, I cried out loud at home. I embraced my wife, laughing and crying at the same time. Yamato was the starting point of my dream to become a voice actor. And now, in that very series, I would be playing Talan. I never imagined a day like this would come.
⸻
I imagine there are fans out there who felt, “Talan’s voice is different.” That is only natural. But I hope that someday, people will say: “Yasuhiro’s Talan isn’t bad, either.” So, moving forward, as a “Yamato-loving middle-aged guy,” I intend to devote my heart and soul to seeing this voyage through to the end.
And finally, a chance to change your life doesn’t come only to newcomers. It can come even when you’re in your fifties. In fact, there were times I failed training school evaluations. There were periods when I couldn’t get the results I wanted. Yet, I kept making voice samples, kept honing my acting skills, and kept preparing without giving up, and waiting for me at the end of that road was the huge opportunity of playing Talan.
So, to those of you struggling right now without results: to those stuck in “trainee” status, to those languishing as “associate members”: It’s not over yet. That one phone call that changes your life might come tomorrow. So please, don’t stop preparing. I myself became Ghader Talan thanks to just one phone call.
This happened in January of this year.
It was at the after-party following the first screening of REBEL 3199 Chapter 5. Chief Director Fukui spoke to me there, saying:
“Yasuhiro-san, you’ve been talking a lot about Yamato on Twitter lately, haven’t you?”
“Oh, no, I’m humbled,” I replied, when he said this to me: “If you love talking about it that much, why don’t you write a book?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. I had written scripts for radio dramas and dramatic readings for lessons, but the idea of writing a whole book? That seemed far too daunting. Then he added,
“I feel like you could write a wonderful book, Yasuhiro-san.”
That’s what he said to me. Of course, it might have just been polite flattery. But if professionals, people who are actual screenwriters and novelists, say something like that, maybe it’s okay to believe it, just a little. That’s what I thought.
So, I decided: Rather than regret not doing it, I’d give it a try and figure things out as I went. After all, if the book never got finished, it wouldn’t cause trouble for anyone. With that mindset, I kept writing steadily in the spare moments between work, producing the “Breathing Life Through Voice” series:
Voice Acting Fundamentals
The Voice Acting Bible
The Essence of Voice Acting
Those were the three books I wrote. Thankfully, writing these three books led to new encounters and reunions with people who recognized me as “someone capable of articulating, not just relying on intuition, the acting instruction I’ve been providing for over twenty years.” It even opened doors for new teaching opportunities. I am truly grateful for that.
And now, I am taking on the challenge of writing my first novel. Based on a script for a dramatic reading I’ve been nurturing for years, I am trying to bring it to life to the very best of my current ability. We all begin the countdown of our lives the moment we are born. That is precisely why, if there is something you want to do, you should just do it.
I feel that the regret of not trying lingers far longer than any regret that might come from the attempt itself.
Voice actor. Instructor. And now, novelist. I don’t know how far I’ll go from here. But, since we only get one life, I intend to live it to the fullest, finding joy in the journey until the very end. I hope you, too, will enjoy your own unique life.
Fellow citizens of Galman-Garmillas. The day has finally arrived.
First, I am overjoyed that we have safely reached the opening day. In Chapter 5, our alliance, Galman-Garmillas, Yamato, and the Bolar Federation, succeeded in defeating Digablas after a fierce battle. However, that battle, too, was merely a prologue to the grand story continuing into Chapter 6.
What is it that we will witness next? Hope? Or despair? Or perhaps, a new “choice”? That is something no one knows yet. That is precisely why we must witness it with our own eyes.
Fellow countrymen across the nation. Be Forever Yamato REBEL 3199 Chapter 6: The Azure Labyrinth opens today. I urge you to gather at the theaters and become witnesses to history. As for myself, Talan, I plan to attend the screening featuring the commemorative stage greeting on June 28th at 2:15 PM. I would be delighted to meet any of you there.
Now then, everyone. Onward to Chapter 6!
Gale Dessler. Gale Gamilon.
Today, I attended the screening with the commemorative stage greeting at Shinjuku Piccadilly. I won’t go into the plot details, but I felt The Azure Labyrinth was a truly well-conceived title. REBEL 3199 features a vast cast of characters, but in Chapter 6, I was struck by the deeply human nature displayed by each of them.
Light and shadow. The visible and the hidden. White and black. A person cannot be defined by just one side.
That is precisely why we are drawn to people and why stories move our hearts.
Fellow countrymen of Galman-Garmillas.
I, Talan, also took part in the screening with the commemorative stage greeting on June 28 and witnessed Chapter 6 with my own eyes. This ensemble drama is richer and more intense than ever before. There are likely many emotions that cannot be fully grasped in a single viewing. That is precisely why it is the duty of us compatriots to visit the theater a second or third time, and to witness anew the sentiments harbored by each of the characters.
Fortunately, a second round of stage greetings is scheduled for July 9th. However, as I have been ordered to a mission on a different front that day, I shall be unable to hasten to the Shinjuku Piccadilly. Yet, whether you are seeing it for the first time or have already witnessed it repeatedly, I urge you to visit the theater and behold this story, this “Azure Labyrinth,” with your own eyes.
Gale Dessler. Gale Gamilon.