September 6
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Predicting the Battle of the Grodez in REBEL 3199
As I’ve written many times before, while Be Forever Yamato certainly faced runtime constraints, the various elements within it all left me feeling somewhat unsatisfied.
When Yamato engaged the Dark Nebula Empire’s home planet, the Empire deployed five Grodez-class battleships to defend it, yet they were sunk without ever getting a moment to truly shine. I couldn’t help but think they would have been better off skipping those battleships and just fighting the home planet directly.
In contrast, Grodez in 3199 has had plenty of standout moments. Despite being a size class larger than Yamato, it is a fascinating vessel that boasts stealth capabilities and defensive power rivaling the Goruba. I anticipate a one-on-one showdown between Yamato and Grodez at the Dezarium home planet, so I expect to see more highlights in Chapter 7 as well.
I suspect that Ranbel might remove his Com-medal, fully aware of the truth, and choose to pledge his loyalty to Mother Dezarium. Since Grodez is portrayed as a rival vessel to Yamato, it seems unlikely we’ll see a scenario where Ranbel aligns with Alphon and the two ships join forces to fight against Mother Dezarium.
My prediction is that Yamato will defeat Grodez and reach the Dezarium home planet, only to discover that it is completely deserted, a world without a single living soul. I imagine the story might unfold something like this: the Dezarian people survived by becoming cyborgs, but there were limits to how long they could live that way, leaving them with no choice but to transfer their consciousness into organic bodies. That might be why they targeted Earthlings, right?
That said, I wonder if it will really wrap up properly in Chapter 7? They might just bring things to a partial resolution and then lead into a final installment of the remake series, don’t you think? After all, having come this far, I assume they’ll produce a final chapter for the remake. The Dengil Empire was weak in the original series, but I have a feeling the remake will portray them as a formidable enemy, much like Gatlantis.
I’m really looking forward to the release of Chapter 7!!
September 13
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What becomes of Earth after the war with Dezarium?
In a previous article, I speculated that once the war with Dezarium ended, collaborators might be rooted out on Earth in a “witch hunt” style purge. However, even I found the actions taken by Professor Kosaka in Chapter 6 to be completely unhinged. It is a fact that Captain Okita saved Earth; regardless of the circumstances, I don’t think anyone has the right to tear down his statue.
And the very citizens who condemned others for “not wearing the Com-Medal” would likely turn around after the war and demand the persecution of anyone who collaborated with Dezarium, labeling them as enemies. We also mustn’t forget that there were enough Dezarium collaborators within the Earth military to effectively cripple its operations. Those individuals ought to be arrested for treason, and the ringleader, Shino Todo, deserves the death penalty.
Perhaps the story will end with Shino realizing her mistake, after having lost a loved one in the war against Garmillas, and sacrificing her life to expose Dezarium’s secrets. Personally, however, I think it would be better if the traitor Shino were arrested and executed by Earth’s own people after the war.
And since the Dezarium collaborators who had been keeping the Earth military in check might face arrest once the war ends, they might well decide to stage a coup d’état out of desperation. After all, if the Earth military was rendered that dysfunctional, there must have been a significant number of collaborators involved.
Then again, if there were that many collaborators, Earth’s intelligence agencies surely would have caught wind of it. One wonders why they didn’t try to root them out before Dezarium even arrived. We could see Earth descend into civil war; military personnel who collaborated with Dezarium staging a coup to avoid execution, while those who didn’t collaborate insist on eliminating the hated traitors.
Given the heavy casualties suffered by the people of Earth, this isn’t a matter that can be resolved simply by saying, “Sorry I was fooled.” In a previous comment, Q wrote, “It doesn’t look like Kosaka-sensei actually killed anyone, so maybe the outcome will just be a prison sentence for property damage?” While that might be true under the letter of the law, I imagine many Yamato fans who watched Chapter 6 felt a sense of “Wait, that doesn’t seem right, does it?”
I used to be involved in doujinshi (fan-made) activities myself, selling as many as 1,342 copies at my peak, and there was a professional illustrator I admired back then named Yu Kosaka. I’ve been a fan since she was an unknown doujinshi artist (sample at left). Seeing how talented she was, I always thought, “She’s bound to go pro someday.” Sure enough, she made her debut illustrating for Cobalt Bunko and went on to draw for numerous commercial magazines.
Not only was her art cute, but she was incredibly cute herself and had a wonderful personality that made her beloved by everyone.
It’s one of my fondest memories from my doujin days, but I simply cannot forgive someone else sharing the title “Kosaka-sensei.” So, someone needs to shout, “The Earth doesn’t need two Kosaka-senseis!!” and shoot Yoshiro Kosaka dead!! Seriously!!
I’m really looking forward to the release of Chapter 7, too!!
September 20
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Thoughts on the Chapter 7 Main Trailer
First of all, it’s wonderful to see hints that Arizona, which had absolutely no chance to shine in Yamato III, will finally play an active role. Just as 3199 breathed new life into Bolar Federation figures like Bemlarze, Boroze, and Rebarus, who were originally just background characters, I am deeply grateful that they are doing the same for Arizona. It really highlights the difference in screenwriting quality: you can either make changes like in 2199, that alter things which shouldn’t have been touched, disappointing fans of the original; or, like in 3199, you can skillfully leverage the original material to craft an even better work.
It seems Sasha has cast aside Mother Dezarium’s Com-medal, asserted her independence as an individual, and is preparing to confront Mother Dezarium. Just when it seemed the Dezarium occupation fleet had been neutralized following the destruction of the Goruba, a Dezarium fleet emerges from underground. With a fleet also remaining on Earth, it looks like we can expect a heated battle between the Earth fleet and the Dezarium forces.
As predicted, it appears Yamato is set to clash with Grodez.
Also, who is that young, bald Dezarium individual?
Isidore seems to be fighting someone as well, perhaps he’s battling members of the Mother Dezarium faction, like Skaldart?
Was that hideous face shown during the “A Magnificent Conclusion” title card Skaldart’s?
As I’ve mentioned before, if you’re going to turn into a cyborg, you might as well make yourself look like a young, beautiful man or woman. If I were to become a cyborg, I’d definitely choose a face like Kazuya Kamenashi’s.
Watching the scene where Sasha confronts Mother Dezarium, I get the feeling that Mother Dezarium was born into unfortunate circumstances, which likely warped her worldview. It makes me wonder if AIs can possess personalities just like humans do.
It looks like Professor Kosaka, a frequent topic on this blog, is also taking up a gun and joining the fight.
Given the situation, Professor Kosaka and Shino really have no choice but to share the fate of the Mother Dezarium faction. After all, if the Partisan-aligned Earthlings and the Alphon-aligned Dezarium forces win, a hellish future awaits those of us who sided with Mother Dezarium.
They’ve faithfully recreated the scene from the original series where Sasha was presumed dead, too. Even back when I was in elementary school, Farewell to Yamato left me feeling a bit puzzled, but 3199 has exceeded my expectations in terms of quality so far.
I already consider 3199 the best anime of the 21st century, but if Chapter 7 delivers a magnificent conclusion, I think it will become the greatest anime of my life, surpassing even the original series.
I really can’t wait for October 30th!!
September 27
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An “IF” story featuring the entry of the Bolar Federation into the conflict in Chapter 7
The planet, initially thought to be Earth in the year 2026, revealed its true form: a grotesque, mechanized world.
This was the true nature of the Dezarium home planet. Furthermore, a massive Dezarium fleet appeared, including 100 Goruba-class ships, standing in Yamato‘s path as the vanguard for the Dezarium home planet. Faced with a fleet of this magnitude, there was no time to mount a defense using Wave-Motion cartridge rounds.
Just as Kodai was sinking into despair, the music signaling Dessler’s arrival began to play.
The Dezarium fleet was destroyed ship after ship.
“Kept you waiting, didn’t I, Kodai?” Dessler’s image appeared on the monitor; he was aboard his new flagship, accompanied by Bemlarze, who was commanding the Zespaze.
The allied fleet of the Galman-Garmillas Empire and the Bolar Federation managed to destroy the enemy forces, including the Pleiades-class ships, but it seemed impossible to defeat the Goruba, a vessel boasting invincible armor.
“Fire the black hole cannon!” Bemlarze ordered, and a black hole formed right next to the Goruba.
Since the Goruba’s phase armor was designed only to deflect energy, it was powerless against the overwhelming gravitational pull of the black hole. The Goruba was crushed flat by the process of spaghettification and destroyed.
Meanwhile, preparations were underway to fire the Hyper Dessler Cannon, a weapon capable of penetrating even phase armor.
However, because Sasha was still being held captive on the Dezarium home world, they could not fire the Hyper Dessler Cannon. Seizing this opening, the Dezarium fleet launched a counterattack. Yamato took hit after hit, reduced to a battered wreck…
Sada came to mock the imprisoned Sasha, declaring, “Ho ho ho! Your Yamato will soon be sunk by my Dezarium fleet.”
Sasha retorted, “If Yamato is sunk, there is no longer any meaning to my life. I would rather be executed than go on living in a place like this.”
“So, you’ve finally resigned yourself to your fate. We shall hold a summary trial. Come out.” The moment Sada said this, Sasha struck with her elbow, snatched a guard’s gun, and leveled it at Sada. “I think I’ll be taking my leave now. This room is a bit too cramped for a Princess of Great Iscandar,” Sasha said.
“Lady Sasha!!”
“Calm yourself!!”
Just as Sasha’s escape attempt began, Heiny conveniently rushed onto the scene.
“Lady Sasha!!”
“Oh, is that you, Heiny?”
“Lady Sasha, this way!!”
After being captured by Goruba, Heiny had allowed himself to be taken prisoner, intending to gather intelligence on the Galman-Garmillas Empire, and had been brought to the Dezarium home planet.
Why was Heiny conveniently there instead of being locked up?
“Don’t sweat the small stuff!”
After all, General Talan in Yamato 2 was conveniently present at that scene without ever being imprisoned, wasn’t he?!
Heiny hijacked a Dezarium fighter and escaped the home planet. It was amazing how skillfully he piloted the craft, even though it was his first time flying a Dezarium machine! He made his escape just as the home planet’s hatch was closing and fled into deep space.
“A reckless fool, charging in alone. Prepare the main cannons!” shouted General Dagon.
But the reply came back: “This is Heiny! Lady Sasha is on board, too!”
“Oh, Lady Sasha!” a collective sigh of relief went through the group.
Upon learning that Sasha was safe, Dessler fired the Hyper Dessler Cannon, obliterating the Dezarium home planet and their remaining fleet. Even the Dezarium’s vaunted phase armor proved powerless against the Hyper Dessler Cannon.
Mother Dezarium vanished, and the evil Dezarium met their end. After the customary battle of the Yamato series concluded, Bemlarze joined the scene where Kodai and Dessler were conversing in space. The three of them affirmed their friendship before each heading home.
Following the destruction of Mother Dezarium, the Dezarium people elected Alphon as their new leader. Thanks to the good offices of Boroze, who had undergone a complete change of heart, they were granted an uninhabited frontier planet belonging to the Bolar Federation, where they set about rebuilding their civilization.
The newly formed Dezarium joined the existing tripartite alliance of Earth, the Galman-Garmillas Empire, and the Bolar Federation, all of whom had fought together against the Dezarium threat, expanding it into a four-power alliance that maintained peace across the Milky Way Galaxy. And this four-power alliance would likely go on to fight together against their final enemy, the Dengil Empire.
Personally, that’s the kind of Chapter 7 I’d love to see! (Haha)