by Tim Eldred
Peter Fernandez taught me that real people provided the voices for cartoon characters. Maybe I already knew that, but it didn’t really dawn on me until years later that this was an art, and Peter Fernandez was the artist who brought the lesson home.
Here we present every page of the Yamato III anime comics in English, originally published in My Anime magazine from 1981-82. Character names have been changed to match Star Blazers continuity, but the story itself is unaltered. Settle in for The Bolar Wars as you’ve never seen it before!
This archive picks up with December 1980 and follows all magazine coverage to the end in April 1981. The reduction in episodes was not yet known to magazine editors. They were entirely focused on what was to come, most especially the reunion with Dessler.
If one were to track the history of Yoshinobu Nishizaki and his post-Yamato pursuits solely through Japan’s mainstream media, it wouldn’t look like much of a story. But scanning the pages of the Yamato fan club magazines from 1983 onward reveals a different, much more interesting adventure.
Published by Office Academy, June 1978. This issue was fully loaded with the latest news on Farewell to Yamato, which included coverage of the May 24 press conference/fan club meeting, character and mecha art, another Q&A with producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki, and more.
Cosmo DNA is dedicated to learning about how the saga developed and the effect it had on anime in the years that followed. That’s also the topic of this essay by producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki. It was originally published in 1983 when Yamato was just shy of 10 years old, but time has done nothing to dull its message.
As years passed and more stories were added to the Yamato pantheon, the context grew larger. The first opportunity to examine it as a whole was taken by Shogakukan Publishing, in a 1983 edition of the This is Animation series. That multi-part text is presented here. [4 pages]
In 1983, some of the first material was published that fleshed out the unseen backstory of the Yamato saga that fans could only speculate about before. For example, if you were dying to know what the cool blue guy was up to while the animation cameras were pointed elsewhere, this is what you’ve been waiting for. [3 pages]
by Arthur Painter
Many fans who watch Star Blazers series 3 wonder, “what happened to the original voices?” I’ll do my best to piece this together, starting with the impetus behind the creation of the original Star Blazers series.
The Solar System Faces Destruction!
Wildstar is promoted to Captain of the Argo, and his first job is to take a new crew of freshly-trained cadets into the Star Force. Their mission: find a new home for humankind.
Great Battle in the Milky Way!
A battle between the Bolar and the Galman fleets moves from Planet Berth to an Earth outpost on Alpha Centauri. The Star Force is in the midst of planning its mission when more solar radiation bathes the Earth and disrupts electrical systems all over the planet.
Argo Sets Sail at Dawn!
Homer has arrived after meeting and falling in love with a girl he met back home. He almost leaves the ship the night before launch, but changes his mind when the same girl arrives and lays his fears to rest. The next morning, Argo launches on its mission.
Like the original movie it is based on, the Farewell Playstation game exploded the Yamato universe to new dimensions. Get an overview of the game’s structure and art with plenty of screenshots, along with its many spinoff products.
SOS! Spaceship Legendra!
The Argo reaches Neptune and makes contact with Captain Ram’s damaged Legendra, flagship of Planet Berth and the only Bolar ship left in the fight with Dagon’s fleet. They escort Ram back into space, and Dagon launches an attack on them both.
Great Battle Near Planet 11!
Captain Ram is killed and the Legendra destroyed by Dagon’s fleet. The Star Force turns the tide, but the last enemy ship desperately rams the Argo and boards her, kicking off a hand-to-hand struggle.
The Rough Seas of Planet Alpha!
After leaving the solar system, Argo sets down on Planet Alpha for repairs. Dagon returns to his base near Barnard’s star and launches a phalanx of missiles at Alpha. The Star Force’s gunners fend off the missiles and the ship sets coarse for Barnard.
The Last Pioneer!
On Earth, an attempt to reverse the runaway fusion on the sun ends in failure. On Barnard, a Star Force landing party discover an Earth pioneer family struggling to survive. Dagon launches a reflex gun attack from the opposite side of the planet.
Duel at Planet Barnard!
On Barnard, the Argo is pinned down by laser fire until Wildstar’s team discovers the Galmans are using reflector ships to bounce the beams around. The Cosmo Tigers take them out and the Argo destroys the reflex gun with its wave motion gun.
Counterattack of Dagon’s New Fleet!
Dagon returns to Admiral Smeardom in disgrace, but is given another fleet of ships with which to destroy the Argo. Dagon’s fleet launches an attack that damages the Argo‘s engine, drawing it into the the triple star of Cygnus and its giant space tornadoes.
Argo in Danger! The Demonic Cygnus Airspace!
After repairing the engines and escaping the stellar currents, the Argo is drawn toward the Black Hole of Cygnus. Using the wave motion gun, they break free and Dagon is pulled back to the black hole instead. Smeardom resolves to capture the Argo personally.
The Penal Colony in Space! Argo approaches Planet Berth and is recognized as the ship that aided Captain Ram. The Star Force is allowed to land on Berth, and there they discover a penal colony. Several prisoners break out and hijack the Argo.
Dreadful! The Bolar Federation!
The Star Force overcomes the hijackers, but learns that they are followers of Queen Gardiana. Bolar Prime Minister Bemlarze claims that Earth is under his jurisdiction, and the Star Force has to fight their way off Planet Berth.
