Series Finale
Space Battleship Yamato, The Final Chapter
[First word]What exactly is the Yamato series, which has continued from Space Battleship Yamato to Farewell to Be Forever? And is this really the final work? At the very least, I think it can be said that it was Yamato that sparked the anime boom that followed the truly incredible release of Space Battleship Yamato (summer 1977), which was a compilation of the TV series. The second installment, Farewell to Yamato, was a huge hit, drawing in around 4 million viewers. For that reason alone, I think fans have mixed feelings about this fourth and final installment in the series.
[Main staff]Planning, production, and general direction is by Yoshinobu Nishizaki (the producer who created Yamato. When talking about Yamato, this man’s presence cannot be forgotten).
Original work by Yoshinobu Nishizaki and Leiji Matsumoto (Mr. Matsumoto became a leading figure in the manga and anime worlds during the anime boom).
Screenplay by Hideaki Yamamoto, Kazuo Kasahara, Eiichi Yamamoto, Toshio Masuda, and Yoshinobu Nishizaki (many of these are screenwriters who worked on films other than anime).
Directed by Tomoharu Katsumata and Yoshinobu Nishizaki (Nishizaki also makes an appearance here, which is amazing. Katsumata has directed such anime as Arcadia of my Youth).
General supervisor Toshio Masuda (director of many films including The Empire of Japan and High Teen Boogie).
Chief Animator Kazuhiko Udagawa (who has worked on many TV anime).
Concept and design by Tsuji Tadanao (whose works include Swan Lake and 198X).
Kei Tomiyama as Susumu Kodai (a voice actor who has appeared in many anime series including Candy Candy).
Yoko Asagami as Yuki Mori (a young voice actress who is active in many places, appearing in many of Leiji Matsumoto’s works).
Goro Naya as Juzo Okita (an actor in multiple roles, including Kowalksi in Crusher Joe).
Hideo Nakamura as Daisuke Shima (at one point he was in danger of not being able to appear due to illness, and Isao Sasaki was almost appointed as a pinch hitter, but in the end Shima should be played by Nakamura).
[Translator’s note: this entry is incorrect. Nakamura was too ill to perform, so he asked Sasaki to take the role.]Takeshi Aono as Shiro Sanada (who also appeared in The Incredible Hulk).
Ichiro Nagai as Sakezo Sado (a veteran who appeared in the popular TV movie Rawhide).
Narration by Tatsuya Nakadai (this is his first time narrating an anime).
[Memo: Space Battleship Yamato The Final Chapter]Release: March 19 nationwide by Toei and Tokyu. Distributed by Toei. Production staff: approximately 1,000. Production cost: approximately 350 million yen. Number of frames: approximately 80,000. Running time: 2 hours and 40 minutes. Production began in the spring of 1982. Produced by Toei Animation and West Cape Corporation.
[Story]The Dengil Empire attempts to flood Earth in order to conquer it. While on patrol, Yamato is attacked by a nuclear weapon from the Dengil fleet, and Susumu Kodai is severely injured. Taking responsibility, Kodai declines the captaincy. But on the advice of his dear Captain Okita, he boards Yamato as a combat team leader. Yamato then takes off to defend Earth and Kodai, along with his girlfriend Yuki, enters the battle against Dengil.
[Message from Director Tomoharu Katsumata]Yamato is an animation that can be enjoyed by both adults and children with its powerful drama, persuasive direction, and visuals. There was a foreign film called Tron that made full use of computer graphics, but the techniques used in this film surpass that one, which is a particular highlight. The scene where the water from planet Aquarius rushes through space is on an astonishing scale.