{"id":32044,"date":"2022-04-03T20:51:37","date_gmt":"2022-04-04T03:51:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/?p=32044"},"modified":"2022-05-14T22:55:55","modified_gmt":"2022-05-15T05:55:55","slug":"656a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/656a\/","title":{"rendered":"Space Battleship Yamato 2205<\/em> Report 9"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"2204icon\"<\/p>\n

Activity dropped back to pre-2205<\/em> levels in March, reminding us how lucky we are to be fans when a lot of news drops. But even a little is always welcome in Yamato<\/em> world. Here’s what happened as Chapter 2 was winding down in theaters…<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Activity dropped back to pre-2205<\/em> levels in March, reminding us how lucky we are to be fans when a lot of news drops. But even a little is always welcome in Yamato<\/em> world. Here’s what happened as Chapter 2 was winding down in theaters…<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Family Theater reruns<\/h3>\n

Picking up from February, the Family Theater satellite channel kept the party going by wrapping up a rerun of Yamato 2199<\/em> on March 5, wrapping up 2202<\/em> on March 7 and then starting 2202<\/em> all over again, marathoning the entire series in two halves on March 12 and 19.<\/p>\n


\nPhoto posted on Twitter by spring_0608<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

March 2: Yamatalk<\/h3>\n

Live \u201cYamatalk\u201d events have followed nearly every theatrical premiere since 2012, but only rarely have we gotten a full picture of what was said and shown on stage. This Yamatalk was a rare exception with enough coverage to get us through the language barrier. The making of 2205<\/em> was discussed in great detail, and those who couldn’t be there were lucky enough to have a spy in the audience.<\/p>\n

Read her account here<\/a>. (Fair warning: it’s spoiler-heavy.)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

March 9: 1\/350 Diecast Gimmick Model, Vol. 158<\/h3>\n

Big moves were taken in this volume of the giant Hachette Andromeda<\/em>; the flanks beneath the command tower were finally attached to the hull, which involved heavy-duty fiber optics work and installation of the bulges on both sides. By the end of this one, the main body of the ship was ready to receive its superstructure.<\/p>\n

See Hachette’s instruction video here<\/a><\/p>\n

See an unboxing video here<\/a><\/p>\n

See a modeler’s blog here<\/a><\/p>\n

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

March 11: Nobuteru Yuuki on Twitter<\/h3>\n

On Chapter 2’s final day in theaters (held over for one week in three of them), Character Designer Nobuteru Yuuki posted the following message:<\/p>\n

This is the end of the screening for <\/em>Yamato 2205.
\nTo the staff who supported me on-site
\nTo the fans who supported and cheered me on
\nThank you so much!!!!!<\/em><\/p>\n

I would also like to express my sincere condolences on the passing of Shinao Shimoji, who was at the helm of the <\/em>Yamato reboots.<\/em><\/p>\n

Mr. Shimoji, without you, this reboot would not have been released to the world.
\nThank you very much.<\/em><\/p>\n

(Shinao Shimoji was the co-founder of Xebec Studio, where the animation for 2199<\/em> took place.)<\/p>\n

See the original Tweet here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

March 11: Star Blazers Lambda<\/em>, Chapter 23<\/h3>\n

This chapter of the Space Battleship Yamato NEXT<\/em> manga brought many hidden details into the light. After Alexei killed Commander Carlos Jones and went on the run, the Topness pilots finally learn the big picture, and we see a critical moment in the life of Maya Yamato.<\/p>\n

See the chapter with description here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

March 14: Shinya Ogura interview<\/h3>\n

Febri<\/em> is an journalistic website dedicated to Japanese Anime Culture, and this is the first time they’ve appeared on the Cosmo DNA radar (hopefully not the last). On March 14, they began a 3-day interview series with 2202\/2205<\/em> SF consultant Shinya Ogura, who we’ve already met a few times in these pages. In the interviews, he talked about the three anime that influenced him the most: Farewell to Yamato, Zeta Gundam<\/em>, and Planetes.<\/em><\/p>\n

Below is everything he had to say about Farewell<\/em>. See the original post here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Farewell to Yamato<\/em> was the first time I became aware of “concept”<\/span><\/h3>\n

Shinya Ogura has worked on concepts and science fiction research for numerous SF productions. As an anime designer, he has selected three anime that influenced his work. In the first installment of this interview series, he talks about Farewell to Yamato<\/em>, which awakened his interest in mechanics and world settings.<\/p>\n

Interview and text by Daisuke Okamoto<\/em><\/p>\n

I thought I could make an anime if I drew “pictures” called “concepts”<\/span><\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Farewell to Yamato<\/em> was released in 1978, so you were in junior high school at the time.<\/p>\n

Ogura:<\/em><\/span> I was surprised at the shocking storyline. I was very interested in the world view and the design of the sci-fi mecha. Of course, I had watched the Yamato<\/em> TV series in 1974. I was in elementary school at the time. By the time Farewell<\/em> came out, there were books with concept materials that introduced how anime and tokusatsu movies are made, and I learned that “concepts” were drawn in order to create those images.<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> That was the beginning of your interest in “concept.”<\/p>\n

Ogura:<\/em><\/span> When I was a child, my parents would get mad and say to me, “You just draw manga all the time!” (Laughs) But when I learned that there’s a visual image called a “concept” that is the start of creating images for anime, I could affirm myself as an artist. When I considered the future, I thought, “If I can draw, maybe I can get a job in anime or visual arts.”<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> What was it about the visuals in Farewell<\/em> that made you think so?<\/p>\n

Ogura:<\/em><\/span> Looking at it, I realized once again that anime is made of “pictures.” A lot of pictures. In the movie program at the time, I think it listed things like, “number of visuals used, total number of shots, number of explosions,” etc. And from the “Roman Album” books, I learned that in order for a large number of people to draw those pictures by hand, you needed to draw and prepare the concepts for the story.<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Do you have a particular favorite mechanical design?<\/p>\n

Ogura:<\/em><\/span> The battleships designed by Kazutaka Miyatake are the best! He also worked on the Arcadia<\/em> for Captain Harlock<\/em> at that time. I think his were the most “space battleship” designs of the period. The art books also included three-dimensional drawings, detailed concepts, perspective drawings, etc. I remember copying them and analyzing how they were designed.<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Was there any scene that made a deep impression on you?<\/p>\n

Ogura:<\/em><\/span> In the beginning of the film, Yamato<\/em>, which was in an underground dock, heads out to sea. It’s the scene where Yamato<\/em> leaves the water and surfaces. Actually, in the original version, the hull drops for a moment, and then it picks up again. It seemed that this was not planned, but rather a mistake in the order in which the cells were shot. That’s good. (Laughs)<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> I understand that the original version has been corrected in the current remaster version.<\/p>\n

Ogura:<\/em><\/span> Yes, it has. I think the scene is still there in the home video and laserdisc version. That scene of the launch is the one where Daisuke Shima appears at the last minute and looks cool. He says to a nervous Susumu Kodai, “I’ll do it, we’ll talk later” and then he takes over the helm. It goes off-kilter as the inertial control switching “rolls” to Shima. That’s how Junichiro Tamamori and I enjoy interpreting the concept. (Laughs) So, when that scene was modified, I thought, “Why did you fix it? That was good.”<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> You said that you copied the images from art books. At that time, model kits were also on sale, right? How were they?<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Ogura:<\/em><\/span> At that time, my interest had shifted more to “how to design original concepts.” So, rather than ready-made mecha plamodels, I made my own drawings and built them myself by processing balsa wood, which is used for model making.<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> You made them by yourself? That’s amazing.<\/p>\n

Ogura:<\/em><\/span> Balsa wood can be cut and shaved with a cutter, so even children can make it easily. I made them by referring to models of radio-controlled airplanes owned by my wealthy friends. “I see, so this is how it’s constructed.” I did this through trial and error, observing various things.<\/p>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Is that experience still used in your current work?<\/p>\n

Ogura:<\/em><\/span> I think it’s still alive. During my Ogawa Modeling days, I made models for tokusatsu. When Mr. Miyatake saw one of my designs for the first time, he looked past the childishness of it and said, “I can feel the volume as a three-dimensional object.” I was very happy to receive those words.<\/p>\n

It’s difficult to get the same impression from a two-dimensional drawing as it is from a three-dimensional object. Even if it looks good as a flat drawing, it may look slimmer than you expected when you actually make it as a three-dimensional object. I think my experience in making three-dimensional objects has helped me in this respect.<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> It was Farewell to Yamato<\/em> that first awakened you to “concepts.” You later became involved in Yamato 2202<\/em> and Yamato 2205<\/em> as a science-fiction researcher.<\/p>\n

Ogura:<\/em><\/span> Farewell<\/em> is an important keyword in my works. I still feel a kind of “connection” with it. In Yamato<\/em>, roman [romance] is more important than science-fiction rationality. <\/p>\n

When I considered the characteristics of the work style I established on Planetes<\/em>, I said, “When I think about it, I’ve come a long way from Yamato<\/em>.” And then I received an offer to work on Yamato<\/em>, which I would call my “origin!” Perhaps that’s what “roman” is all about. (Laughs)<\/p>\n

PROFILE<\/p>\n

Shinya Ogura as born 1965 in Chiba Prefecture. After working at Ogawa Modeling, he is now a freelancer. His other works include<\/em> Gargantia on the Verduous Planet, Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These, Expelled from Paradise, and others.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

March 18: Twitter campaign<\/h3>\n

About a week and a half before the general release of 2205<\/em> Chapter 2 on home video, the official website launched a Twitter prize campaign to get some promotion rolling. By following the official Twitter feed and posting a Senryu with the hashtag “Space Battleship Yamato 2205 Senryu<\/em>,” three winners would receive autograph cards from the main staff and a cotton bag to keep them in.<\/p>\n

“Senryu” is a form of short comedic poetry similar in construction to haiku. Winning entries were chosen from these categories: Kodai, rookie crew, Dessler & Starsha, Yabu, and mecha. The campaign closed on March 31. Winners were notified in early April, and it was announced that their work would be published. We’ll keep an eye open for that.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

March 23: 1\/350 Diecast Gimmick Model, Vol. 159<\/h3>\n

Builders who may have been hoping to bolt the superstructure in place this week instead received parts for a nearly-forgotten part of Andromeda<\/em>, the lower stern section with its fighter bay hangar. More flank parts also arrived, meaning the aft section would soon follow. And with only 11 volumes left, parts should pile up quickly.<\/p>\n

See Hachette’s instruction video here<\/a><\/p>\n

See an unboxing video here<\/a><\/p>\n

See a modeler’s blog here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

March 25: Radio Suite Be Forever Yamato<\/em> announced<\/h3>\n

It’s been two years since the New Voyage<\/em> radio suite went out on the late, lamented Clover Radio channel, but a new one dedicated to Be Forever<\/em> is now on the way from the station that absorbed it, 77.5 Lively FM<\/a> (based in Saitama prefecture), to be broadcast May 7. The livestream doesn’t appear to be available outside Japan, but keep watching the Cosmo DNA Facebook page if contrary information becomes available.<\/p>\n


\nChapter 2 on sale at a Yodobashi department store. Photo posted on Twitter by Yodobashi Umeda<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

March 29: Chapter 2 home video released<\/h3>\n

The second half of Yamato 2205<\/em> is now available to anyone in the world who’s able to place an order. It contains the same on-disc bonus features as the theatrical version, but this one can be purchased with different incentive items.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Amazon.co.jp offers an exclusive bonus “radio CD” featuring Tasuku Hatanaka (Domon) and Kikuko Inoue (Starsha) in 45 minutes of conversation and joking, alternately casual and in character. Writer Harutoshi Fukui joins them for part of the disc to answer questions from fans.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Both Amazon and CD Japan offer a version that comes with a paperback-size production script for the original 1979 New Voyage<\/em>, bundled with a new postcard.<\/p>\n

Order your preferred version at one of these links (before they sell out):<\/p>\n

Amazon, no bonus items<\/a> | Amazon, with CD<\/a> | Amazon, with script & postcard<\/a> | CD Japan, with script & postcard<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And finally, the Yamato Crew edition comes bundled with voice actor scripts for all four of the episodes comprising Chapter 2.<\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

March 31: Popup store 2 opens<\/h3>\n

The second Yamato 2205<\/em> popup store opened at the end of March, this time at a Marui department store in Ebina (on the outskirts of Tokyo). This was larger than the first, with more floor space for art exhibits and exclusive postcards.<\/p>\n

Naturally, plenty of fans walked in with cameras and photographed what they could. See a collected gallery here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Also spotted in March<\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

Fan art<\/em><\/p>\n

No matter how little official activity there is in a given month, there’s always a comfortable bed of fan art to lie back on. See March’s character gallery here<\/a> and mecha gallery here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Fan models<\/em><\/p>\n

Modelbuilders did their part to keep the flames lit, too. See their latest creations here: Gallery A<\/a> | Gallery B<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Fan film<\/em><\/p>\n

Ready for some Yamato 2199<\/em> nostalgia? This expertly-made 14-minute fan film from 2019 will deliver. It’s titled Kirishima’s Last Sortie<\/em>, and it adds some new context to Yamato<\/em>‘s launch by including the crew of Kirishima<\/em> in Earth orbit (as seen in the manga version by Michio Murakawa). Magnificent music from the live-action Yamato<\/em> movie plays a starring role.<\/p>\n

See it on NicoVideo here<\/a><\/p>\n


\nPhotos posted on Twitter by mat_hama<\/a> and michal38yamato<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Fan club membership gifts<\/em><\/p>\n

March is the month when members of the Yamato<\/em> fan club receive their benefit packages for annual renewal. The fan club was restructured for 2022 into three membership levels: Character, Mecha, and Double (both put together). Each comes with different options, different membership cards AND different gifts.<\/p>\n

Above are all three of the cards and the gift for the Mecha level: a mini-canvas art print by Kia Asamiya measuring 9.5″ x 7.5″<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The gift for the Character level was this mini-canvas by Michio Murakawa.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And those at the Double level received this one by Ryuji [Umegrafix] Umeno. This particular one is currently displayed with pride in the Cosmo DNA nerve center.<\/p>\n

It’s possible for overseas members to sign up for one of these fan club levels, but you’ll need an overseas friend to manage it on your behalf. Here’s<\/a> the membership page at Yamato<\/em> Crew, and here’s<\/a> a Japanese friend.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Game art roundup<\/em><\/p>\n

You probably didn’t notice, but there’s a Yamato 2205<\/em> mobile game in Japan operated by Tsutaya Online. It started out as a 2202<\/em> game, and got rebranded last year. You don’t hear a lot about it because they don’t do much in terms of online promotion. But a smattering of art has come together over the last few months, and you can see it all in a gallery here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Garmillas Guitar<\/em><\/p>\n

Remember the custom-made Yamato<\/em> guitar we discovered in Report 3<\/a>? It has a cousin by the same craftsman, who posts on Twitter as “Chief Engineer Umai.” He posted these photos on March 12 of his handiwork on display at the Yakitori Yamato restaurant in Shibuya, Tokyo.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to visit his Twitter page.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Back this horse<\/em><\/p>\n

Twitter user ishinohikaru<\/a> posted this photo on Twitter March 12 when he noticed that several horses at Nakayama Racecourse had anime-related names. This particular steed is named “Iscandar.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Cardboard Yamato revisited<\/em> <\/p>\n

Back in January 2021, we learned of an unusual grocery store (called Okabayashi Shoten) that, for some reason, displayed several elaborate cardboard sculptures of anime characters. On March 24, Twitter user ayaka19790825<\/a> found the store and confirmed that this is still the case.<\/p>\n

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Word has gotten out, apparently making the store a magnet for fans with phones. See more photos here<\/a> and here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Your semi-annual reminder…<\/em><\/p>\n

…that you share a planet with the greatest bicycle ever made. Vintage Bridgestone ad posted on Twitter by Yasuteru_Kojima<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Learn a lot more about it here<\/a>.
\n<\/br>
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