Comments (in blue) by Anton Mei Brandt
This teaser starts off with a blast of images, depicting Yamato’s battles with the Digabelas fortress, Ram confronting Bemlayze, Darya losing her temper, Lt. Alphon facing Kodai mano-a-mano at the base of the fortress, Dessler’s forces from Galman-Garmillas joining the fray, Sasha coordinating battle strikes, and more images from the Earth-Garmillan migrant escort mission. We hear voice-overs throughout in a “montage” style, not anchored to any specific shot.
Set to the New Cosmo Tigers BGM, this teaser promises Yamato fans a smorgasbord of mecha goodness, grand battles, revelations left to right (undoubtedly more questions than answers). At first, it may appear as if the Wave-Motion Guns do little to the Goruba shields, but bear in mind how, in 2205, continued pressure will eventually open a small hole. This is probably how they intend to sneak in a couple fighters.
In what appears to be a response to feedback on the character art from Chapters 3 and 4 having moments of irregular quality, this teaser does its best to make it absolutely clear that the next one won’t do the same thing. Each shot is truly gorgeous and on-model.
Since so many battle scenes fly by so quickly, the impression is that we’re seeing one big fight. However, the presence of certain ship classes in one but not the other gives us a dividing line. The Yamato crew is likely unaware that a fleet is on its way from Earth with Hyuga escorting Garmillas migrants. We’re almost certainly seeing that fleet above right with Garmillas transport ships in the background.
We cut away to Bemlayze in another location. Based on the previous teaser, he’s probably giving audience to Captain Ram. At right, the migrant fleet approaches with Hyuga‘s Cosmo Pythons in the lead.
Capital ships all fire their prime weapons together. The presence of Hyuga at right tells us the migrant fleet has met up with the Galman-Garmillas fleet at this point (with Deusula III in the foreground).
The prime weapons bounce off Goruba shields and Sasha gives strategic commands. Behind her we see one of the revived Shalbart-class large battleships discovered on Galman.
Yamato‘s Cosmo Tigers fly past what is unmistakably a Dezarium hull. Darya takes aim at someone offscreen, probably Ram.
Kodai and Alphon face off in the maelstrom of the fleet battle. They’re probably standing on the surface of Digabelas.
Alphon will likely pressure Kodai to not shut down Digabelas, since it may hold a similar power of control over the lives of Dezarium’s people as Golem did for the Gatlanteans. Meaning instant genocidal death. Could also be that he’s threatening to let Yuki suffer the consequences of Kodai’s actions, and though an empty threat, it will sound real to Kodai.
Kodai at some other point in time (since Alphon is not reflected in his helmet), then we get our first look at Digabelas under siege. Based on what we’ve seen before, the likelihood is that Yamato‘s task force seen at the end of Chapter 4 is unable to get passed Digeblas, but they try again with a larger combined fleet.
Dessler’s voice: “The enemy is a witch who torments the universe.”
When it comes to the new Digabelas fortress, its role has expanded from being a mere logistics FOB (Forward Operating Base). Now, it acts as a relay station for Dezarium’s forces. What this means in practice, in my estimation, is that the main strategic disadvantage of the original Hyperon Bomb from Be Forever (it’s one half of the Dezarium kill switch) has been shifted to Digabelas. This explains why Ranbel and Mother Dezarium deemed it important enough to risk sinking Yamato in Chapter 4, as opposed to letting the Earthlings discover it.
That’s probably the combined fleet on the left. And on the right is a…whaaaaat?
The battle rages as more is (allegedly) unveiled about the enemy which Earth, Galman-Garmillas (and the Bolars) are facing: Digabelas is a relay station and the Witch of Uralia is more than a mere physics phenomenon.
On a scarier note, much scarier…there’s the alleged true appearance of the ‘Witch of Uralia’, finally unveiled. Not only does its horrifying face contort akin to the screaming woman inside Dezarium in the original work, it also seems positioned in a pod of some kind that hearkens back to Yamato III’s Planet Phantom arc. This being is designed by the Tokusatsu SFX sculptor Takayuki Takeya, who’s known for everything from Kamen Rider to Hideaki Anno’s Shin Godzilla. He sculpts horrifying beings that scream H.R. Giger at times, especially here. He even sculpted an Alien for Good Smile Company at one point.
Domon shouts a command and we get a replay of the final shot from Chapter 4.
Ageha’s voice: “That fortress… it’s a relay station!”
A Cosmo Tiger II launches from Yamato.
Kodai, reconvening with Dessler off-screen, relays what he feels is necessary to overcome the Digabelas fortress.
Kodai’s voice: “Yamato and Galman-Garmillas’ Armored Division…the dimensional submarine…the Iscandarian Ruins fleet…we need to mobilize everything.”
Dessler’s voice: “An ‘all-out war’ Corps…”
Melda Dietz launches her Czvarke from the flattop of a Garmillas carrier.
Frakken gives an order. Torpedoes launch from his beefed-up submarine, Zerandal.
A cadre of dimensional submarines escorts the gold Shalbart battleship (perhaps the leader) into subspace. The next shot suggests Keeling is in command.
Hyuga‘s Pythons and Yamato‘s Tigers launch missiles in tandem.
The missiles start to drill through Dezarium shields and we get another shot of the grand combined fleet.
A spectacular shot of Deusula III in battle. Its teleport pods are lit.
A vivid recreation of a very memorable Be Forever sequence; a Cosmo Tiger tears through a brilliantly-lit tunnel inside Digeblas. Except this time it’s Ageha in the cockpit rather than Kodai.
Ranbel’s voice: “The time of the decisive battle is here.”
Back to the Kodai/Alphon standoff. Nobody looks ready to back down.
Quick inserts of Dagon and Darya (obviously in different locations).
Quick inserts of Berger and Dessler (just to remind us that he’s around too).
Quick inserts of Ram and Ranbel.
Ranbel closes the teaser with what’s on everyone’s mind, clearly psyched up to (hopefully) not mess up for the nth time.
One more Sasha (looking a big more desperate) and a final view of the combined fleet departing from Galman, on its way to a rematch (?) with Digeblas.
This kind of large scale battle is the stuff of dreams that Yamato III was originally made from. Great promises from decades past finally manifest in the form of a massive confrontation, where Yamato is joined by Melda, Berger, Dagon, Dessler, Frakken, Keeling and probably many others near the end of the chapter. Even the name “Galman-Garmillas Armored Division” is a direct reference to the official title of Dagon’s task force in Yamato III, a bitter enemy of the past now turned to a trusted ally.
I’d bet money on the 18th Armored Division track from Yamato III (one of the first pieces of Yamato music composed by Akira Miyagawa) making its grand entrance here. Sadly, due to the fact that Dagon’s inherited the Deusula III, I won’t expect his six-deck red carrier to manifest. His Domel-esque Command ship though? That’s for Melda’s father Gul to work with.
The Incandescent Galactic War is set for release on February 20!
Lastly, there’s an eye-catching moment depicting (what appears to be) Yamanami’s pocket watch, counting down what’s left of whatever operation is being carried out. An astute twitter user immediately noticed the similarity between this shot and a scene from the original series, Episode 18. Same angle.
