{"id":24813,"date":"2018-03-08T23:57:45","date_gmt":"2018-03-09T07:57:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/?p=24813"},"modified":"2021-12-04T09:49:47","modified_gmt":"2021-12-04T17:49:47","slug":"289a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/289a\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Novelist Yuka Minakawa"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"1803icon\"<\/p>\n

As an experienced novelizer of anime properties from Gundam<\/em> to Street Fighter<\/em>, Yuka Minakawa was eminently qualified to take on Yamato 2202<\/em>. With two volumes published, Minakawa discusses the intricacies of adapting the legend to pure text and walking the tightrope of high expectations.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

From Yamato Crew Premium Fan Club Magazine <\/em>Ship\u2019s Log #20, January 2018.<\/em><\/p>\n

The first novelization for Yamato 2202<\/em> has been published. It thoroughly tells the story through Episode 5, Clash! Yamato vs. Andromeda<\/em> in an extravagant 500 pages. The thought behind it was to reproduce the visuals in print. What is a novelization? And what is Yamato<\/em>? We asked the author, Yuka Minakawa.<\/p>\n

The large 500-page volume actively reproduces the anime<\/h3>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> This is a big volume, 500 pages. Please talk about the concept first.<\/p>\n

Minakawa:<\/em><\/span> When an anime work is novelized, it gets turned into a digest and it\u2019s a little different, right? With Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> there was the Ken Wakasaki edition (Cobalt Library, Shueisha) and the Arashi Ishizu edition<\/a> (Asahi Sonorama), but I liked the Keisuke Fujikawa version (Asahi Sonorama). [See the full lineup of Yamato<\/em> novelizations here<\/a>.]
<\/p>\n

In a time when there was no home video, it traced the TV series in three volumes (shown below): Departure, Death Struggle<\/em>, and Restoration<\/em>, and it was really nice to be able to see my favorite scene any time in print. Of course, it\u2019s fine to have something summed up in one volume, but back then there was a real deficit. As a fan, I wanted to read the whole story that was in the series. So when I wrote a novelization, I wanted to do it without skipping anything. It became a feeling of completeness, and it took the form of putting in as much story as possible.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Also, one of the reasons for the large volume is that it has all the features of Space Battleship Yamato<\/em>. When I talked with Harutoshi Fukui, Hideki Oka, and Director Nobuyoshi Habara, the rhythm of Yamato<\/em> became a topic. In other words, I couldn\u2019t simply skip things. You can\u2019t just say \u201cfire\u201d in a Wave-Motion Gun sequence. It has to start with the energy rising. At the start, the gate opens steadily from 0.5. Because of the scale, everyone connects with the feeling that they\u2019re on board Yamato<\/em>. You can\u2019t skip over its size and mass. <\/p>\n


\nVolume 1, Kadokawa Publishing, October 2017<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Mr. Fukui said, \u201cYou can\u2019t leave anything out of Yamato<\/em>,\u201d and I didn\u2019t get it in the beginning but gradually I learned. \u201cThis is bad. It\u2019s really growing.\u201d (Laughs) There was talk in the first place of dividing up the story, and the number of pages was assumed to be 300-400. It reached 500 pages, which is about double the length of a regular paperback.<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> It\u2019s a real pleasure to read it and relive all the images. What are the features of the novel?<\/p>\n

Minakawa:<\/em><\/span> Since Mr. Fukui said, \u201cIt\u2019s going to be heavy with orthodoxy,\u201d I\u2019ve had to be an acrobat. At first I suggested the method of putting comments and a glossary at the bottom of a page, but I was told to work it into the sentences and write in such a way to capture all of its power. \u201cWe trust you with orthodoxy, so please do it.\u201d And I thought, \u201cBut sentences are much easier to write when you put design images and a glossary on the outside.\u201d (Laughs)<\/p>\n

So I read the script, the zero draft, the storyboards and the voice-recording script, and proceeded with the work. I also read the ideas in Mr. Oka\u2019s zero draft that had to be cut because they couldn\u2019t be visualized. They\u2019re not just different, they give the idea that \u201cThere was also this route\u201d and you understand the thoughts of the characters. In the future, I\u2019ll look back at it as research. Also, I proceeded while asking Mr. Fukui, \u201cIs some interpretation all right?\u201d but since there is an original core I don\u2019t intend to greatly change the development.<\/p>\n

However, there are different angles that you can add or examine. I also decide whether to return to the script version or adopt the visuals. For example, the scene just before Yamato<\/em> launches. In the film, we see Hoshina and others in the control room, and in the script there\u2019s a scene where the water comes close to the boarding hatch so they can\u2019t get on. I wondered whether I should adapt the script version as it rises. But then Shima appears and it\u2019s a big surprise. I was torn over it, but I had to adapt the visuals since the nuance changed.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> What are your impressions of interacting with Mr. Fukui?<\/p>\n

Minakawa:<\/em><\/span> As you may expect, it\u2019s about Keyman. It\u2019s a character who wasn\u2019t in Yamato<\/em> before, and it\u2019s a suggestion that there would be a character with \u201cindividuality\u201d in the Yamato<\/em> world. For example, Frakken was originally in Yamato III<\/em>, but he appeared in 2199<\/em> in a cooler form. I think that was [Director] Yutaka Izubuchi\u2019s taste. That seems to be the case with Keyman this time. I wondered what was the meaning behind Mr. Fukui putting in Keyman, and I came up with the Yamato 2202<\/em> side story Garmillas Cheer (Ghare Gamilon)<\/em> [published in Newtype<\/em> magazine]. <\/p>\n


\nAs of this writing, three 2202 side stories by Minakawa have appeared
\nin <\/em>Newtype magazine. Photo posted on Twitter by Mat Hama<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s also an element that\u2019s only in the novel, a story about the Cosmo Reverse and Earth\u2019s recovery. At first, I thought it would take time for the Cosmo Reverse to restore Earth to its original state. I talked with Shinya Ogura of SF Historical Research and came up with a story about Yamato<\/em> generating quantum replacement while orbiting the Earth. I asked Mr. Fukui if I could use that image in the opening and he said, \u201cThat\u2019s fine,\u201d so as soon as they get to Earth it\u2019s \u201cRight away?\u201d (Laughs) \u201cSwitch on the Cosmo Reverse now.\u201d I thought of it as a broadcast, but not so sudden. If it was sudden, seawater would suddenly appear in a place where there wasn\u2019t any, and that would be serious. So it isn\u2019t that the Earth was restored and three years later everyone is doing well, it was three years of serious rehabilitation. So there was no time for Kodai and Yuki to get married, and Shima and the others feel that, \u201cReconstruction hasn\u2019t ended yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> In that way, it\u2019s similar to our current situation.<\/p>\n

Minakawa:<\/em><\/span> We live in the time of reconstruction after the Great Tohoku Earthquake [March 2011], and Mr. Fukui is very conscious of that. If we do it now, it\u2019s not a Yamato<\/em> with the lingering scent of rapid economic growth, it\u2019s Yamato<\/em> in a deflationary recession after an earthquake. It\u2019s a form of entertainment, but that\u2019s where Yamato<\/em> starts from in 2017 rather than from Farewell to Yamato<\/em>. I feel strongly conscious of that. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a superficial story, and I\u2019m familiar with the fact that we\u2019re no longer the elementary and junior high students who first saw Yamato<\/em>. What is the Yamato<\/em> that will be seen by people in their 40s and 50s, who have seen many joys and sorrows? I thought very much about that, too. And for those who are no longer innocent, I can\u2019t bring back the courage or the tears they shed while watching the first Yamato<\/em>\u2026I think the present staff is making 2202<\/em> for that. Additionally, I think they\u2019re wondering if what they\u2019re making will make young people these days say, \u201cThat\u2019s cool!\u201d when they see it. <\/p>\n

Why did everyone cry so much over Yamato<\/em>? Was it because it came at that time? But why would they have cried back then? The amount of tears that were shed doesn\u2019t compare to other anime. From the first Yamato<\/em> in 1974 to Farewell<\/em> to Final Yamato<\/em> and also with 2199<\/em> and 2202<\/em>, I strongly feel that at its core all of Yamato<\/em> is built to say something. The theme is slightly different in each work, but there\u2019s still something about Yamato<\/em>. Even if it can\u2019t be conveyed in language.<\/p>\n

Of course, there are, for example, those who enjoy the story of \u201cDeep Space Freighter Yuki<\/em>.” Putting detailed gags like that into it will, on a deeper level, cause the readers to say, \u201cThere must be something to Yamato<\/em>,\u201d and I think I want to transmit the feeling of that \u201csomething\u201d to the next generation.<\/p>\n


\nVolume 2, Kadokawa Publishing, December 2017<\/em><\/p>\n

I want to respond to the great love of fans for Yamato<\/em>, which is no small thing<\/h3>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> This work is a high hurdle, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

Minakawa:<\/em><\/span> Very high. Rather than making a statement, I feel like I\u2019m returning a ball that was thrown to me.<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Maybe like a magic pitch\u2026?<\/p>\n

Minakawa:<\/em><\/span> That\u2019s right. (Laughs) It\u2019s easy to misunderstand, but the work of a novelization isn\u2019t like writing a side story. In that case, I can write freely with my own interpretation and answer my own questions. I empathize with the readers there, which is a great thing about fan fiction, but a novelization is different. There\u2019s an original work, and you have to talk with those who created it about deciding whether to change it. Of course, you may be told to do it freely, but the most important thing is the point that, \u201cThe correct answer for me may not be correct for someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nMinakawa is described as male
\nbut identifies as female<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

For example, Mr. Fukui and Director Habara and their staff are on a mission to give Yamato<\/em> a form for themselves. From the place where that overlaps with other Yamato<\/em> fans, they open up new ground and show us things in an unexpected way. So I ask about my own part for myself. In this case, my rule is not to do that with a novelization. It\u2019s natural that my correct answer will be different from a reader\u2019s correct answer, so in that case I would like to give as much priority as possible to theirs. I want to cherish the sense that I stand as a mediator between the correct answers I\u2019ve gotten from Mr. Fukui, Mr. Habara, and Mr. Oka and the correct answers of the reader.<\/p>\n

Of course, I have my own likes and dislikes, and naturally stuff turns up where I say, \u201cNo, that\u2019s pathetic.\u201d (Laughs) Does everyone think that? I want to cherish that. Rather than become a tiny little self, I want to do the biggest thing and respond to the great love of the fans. You can do whatever you want with your own original work, so there\u2019s no need to intentionally put your mark on Yamato<\/em>. <\/p>\n

In being given the task of novelizing this one, I think they have faith that I can balance the part I mentioned with self-restraint, the parts I put out with the parts I don\u2019t, and I want to respond to that. Yamato<\/em> is no small thing. Yamato<\/em> is so big that it can\u2019t be measured as one\u2019s own small thing. Fans have been around for decades, and some young people might be seeing it for the first time with 2202<\/em>. I\u2019m writing it in order to prioritize the big parts of Yamato<\/em>, not so people will look at tiny little me.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

YUKA MINAKAWA PROFILE<\/em><\/p>\n

Ares, blood type B. Her works include all 20 volumes of the Tea Party<\/em> series (including Kyoichiro<\/em> Series 2, 1987-1992), all 24 volumes of The Tarot of Destiny<\/em> and The Tarot of Truth and Destiny<\/em> (1992-2004) [all the above from Kodansha X Teen\u2019s Heart Library], all three volumes of Prestor John War Chronicle<\/em> (1993-1994, Shogakukan Canvas Library), Solar System Idol Legend<\/em> (1995, Asahi Sonorama Library), I\u2019m Here For You<\/em> (1992-1995, Cherry Publishing), The Chestbreaker of Keymaster <\/em> (2015, with Yumitsu Kawase, Ponikyan Books), mobile novel Tokikake<\/em> (2010, Sony Digital) and many more.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Licensed works include Mobile Suit Gundam Official Encyclopedia Gundam Officials<\/em> (2001), Char Aznable Critical Biography<\/em> (2006), Gundam Side Story The Blue Destiny<\/em> (1997) Gundam Wing Side Story Sickle on the right hand, you on the left hand<\/em> (1996, all above from Kodansha Library). In addition to Gundam<\/em>-related books, she has written the Street Fighter 2<\/em> novelization Cammy History<\/em> (1995, Wani Books), and the Air Gear<\/em> side story Air Gear Another Trick<\/em> (2007, both from Kodansha). She currently studies novel writing at Sagami Women\u2019s University and serves as a part-time lecturer in contemporary cultural theory.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Visit the author\u2019s Tumblr page here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Find her works on Amazon.co.jp here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[123,135],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-yamato-2202","category-yamato-2202-interviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24813"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24813\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31360,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24813\/revisions\/31360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}