{"id":32984,"date":"2022-10-12T18:40:25","date_gmt":"2022-10-13T01:40:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/?p=32984"},"modified":"2026-05-13T11:35:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T18:35:49","slug":"691a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/691a\/","title":{"rendered":"Vintage Report 6: September 1977"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"2210icon\"<\/p>\n

As summer gave way to fall, Yamato<\/em>‘s fortunes just kept on climbing in an unprecedented increase in demand. Media attention widened and deepened as it became increasingly obvious that Yamato<\/em> had evolved from fad to phenom and was here to stay.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

As summer gave way to fall, Yamato<\/em>‘s fortunes just kept on climbing. The initial theatrical engagements ended just before September started, but far more theaters were picking the movie up than were letting it go. 33 more in September, and 39 in October, an unprecedented increase in demand. Media attention widened and deepened as it became increasingly obvious that Yamato<\/em> had evolved from fad to phenom and was here to stay.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This new flyer preceded the film wherever it went, upgraded from the summer version to include the actual one-sheet on the front. The back was mainly the same except for the bottom portion, where promotion for novels and the LP record was replaced by new ads for an official Yamato<\/em> fan club and a 1978 Yamato<\/em> calendar.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

For a mere 1600 yen a year, charter fan club members were promised priority information, the lending of production materials (art, cels, etc.), priority access to events, and discounts on merch. It was also indicated that membership cards and an official magazine were in the works. (The first issue would be published the following February.)<\/p>\n

With that offer pointing the way to an even brighter future, here’s what kept fans excited in the film’s gigantic wake…<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 1: Eiga Fan<\/em> magazine, October issue<\/h3>\n

There wasn’t a lot of Yamato<\/em> content in this issue of Eiga Fan<\/em>, but enough to represent what was probably happening in a lot of similar entertainment magazines: a brief movie listing (above) and a short review of the one Yamato<\/em> record album that was available at the time…<\/p>\n

Space Battleship Yamato<\/em><\/span>
\nAnimation. Toshio Masuda, Director. Voices: Goro Naya, Kei Tomiyama, Hideo Nakamura. In the year 2199, young space fighters stand determined at a time of extinction for all of mankind on earth. The film depicts the roman[ce] of men in the expanse of space. This is a space animation film that has exploded in popularity among young people. (Courtesy of Academy, premiered August 6)<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Eiga Fan<\/em> LP Recommendations<\/h3>\n

A: Recommended
\nB: You want to hear it
\nC: Only if you want to pick it up
\nD: Depends on your taste
\nE: If you like this sort of thing<\/p>\n

Space Battleship Yamato<\/em><\/p>\n

This record is released by Columbia. The composer\/arranger is Hiroshi Miyagawa. It is not a music record, but more of a total soundtrack disc. It includes lines by all the characters: Juzo Okita (Goro Naya), Susumu Kodai (Kei Tomiyama), Mamoru Kodai (Taichiro Hirokawa), Starsha (Michiko Hirai), Narrator (Horo Kimura), along with sound effects (Mitsuru Kashiwabara), and a full sound mix (Atsushi Tashiro), captured in monaural from the movie. Of course, it has a shorter run time.<\/p>\n

The drawback is that the scenes aren’t very clear if you haven’t seen the movie, but it is a must-have album for enthusiastic Yamato<\/em> fans. Two of the songs are included, Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> and The Scarlet Scarf<\/em>. With a gorgeous jacket, this record has a heavy feeling like a battleship.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 1: DONDON<\/em> No. 21, October issue<\/h3>\n

Yamato<\/em> founds its way into the pages of yet another men’s magazine, this one published by Nippon Journal Press Co. There was a blurb on the “soundtrack” album and a splashy 4-page article that made a favorable comparison with Star Trek.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read the article here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 1: Eureka<\/em> magazine<\/h3>\n

As a monthly digest for poetry and criticism, this was an unusual publication to comment on Yamato<\/em>, which made it an excellent example of how widespread the impact was becoming. This issue devoted four pages to an interesting review of the film by someone with no prior Yamato<\/em> exposure but a deep literary knowledge. There were some odd takes that don’t survive the test of time, but also some thoughtful observations that keep it fresh even today.<\/p>\n

“One day, if someone called to me from Iscandar, the ‘green planet’ of the Great Magellanic Nebula, I would forget about saving the reddish brown Earth. Much better to be sucked into the great unknown darkness…”<\/p>\n

Read the article here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 1: Starlog<\/em> issue 9<\/h3>\n

Let’s start September 1977 with a bang, shall we? This is almost certainly the first mention anywhere in American print media of Yamato<\/em> in English. It was a single paragraph in an article about animated “kid vid” that mentioned a syndicator named Modern Programs Incorporated. This name didn’t appear on Star Blazers<\/em>, so it was either a stepping stone in that direction, or an interim company that held the rights before Westchester Corporation stepped in. Either way, it represents the first bridge for the Yamato<\/em> TV series to the English speaking world, earlier than previously expected.<\/p>\n

Thanks to the global circulation of the Yamato<\/em> movie (under the Space Cruiser<\/em> title), more mentions in English-language media would emerge in 1978. For now, click here<\/a> to read the Starlog<\/em> article in full.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> for an extensive online archive of Starlog<\/em> magazines.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 1: Treasure Island<\/em> magazine<\/h3>\n

It’s difficult at a glance to pinpoint the target audience for Treasure Island<\/em>; it’s a digest-size magazine that seems to have content for teens, but advertising for adults. Either way, it became the first mainstream magazine to interview Leiji Matsumoto. It started with a single provocative question: why did the movie feel so different from the TV series?<\/p>\n

Matsumoto took the question head-on, describing at length what he wanted to avoid most in the TV version, namely any connection to militarism. <\/p>\n

“Yamato<\/em> is very dangerous material and it bears a fateful quality that can be easily misinterpreted. Based on my beliefs and ideas, it could only be made as ‘Spaceship Yamato.’<\/em> If we let go of this, we’d end up with the Battleship Yamato<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

Read the article here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 1: Manga Shonen<\/em> October issue<\/h3>\n

It was time to start a serious conversation about the emerging anime trend, and an article titled Animation World Part 1<\/em> presented the top ten anime titles chosen by readers. Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> clocked in at number 1, occupying the first page of this 7-page feature. The other titles that made the top ten were (in order) Cyborg 009, Triton of the Sea, Lupin III, Gatchaman, Raideen, Mighty Atom (Astro Boy), Kimba, Danguard A,<\/em> and Babel II<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The text was a simple staff and cast listing, but the illustration was completely new, drawn by director Toyoo Ashida. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 1: Weekly Bunshun<\/em> magazine<\/h3>\n

When the intelligentsia comes knocking, you know you’ve made an impact. Yamato<\/em> was big enough to catch the attention of Weekly Bunshun<\/em>, a literary magazine from a publisher named Bungeishunju Ltd. Naturally, a Bunshun<\/em> journalist would bring different questions to an interview than a news reporter, which makes this 1977 interview with exec producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki a uniquely insightful piece of the Yamato<\/em> puzzle.<\/p>\n

Read it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 1: 2001 My Dream<\/em> doujinshi<\/h3>\n

This 16-pager was a grab-bag of production art, fan art, and yet another primer for the story, created by a group calling themselves TAC (Terebi Anime Club).<\/p>\n

See it from cover to cover here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 5: YAMATO<\/em> interview doujinshi<\/h3>\n

This one doesn’t stand out visually from other doujinshis of the time, but it’s a genuine goldmine that deserves special recognition. Its author Kaoru Saito somehow gained access to the inner circle – producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki and most of the primary voice actors – and obtained interviews that would soon become the sole province of mainstream publishers. <\/p>\n

There is information in these discussions that would never be repeated elsewhere. The text was not professionally polished, but the content is exceptional; here we see Nishizaki at his most unguarded, making statements far too candid for the public record. It was also the first time anyone interviewed the voice actors, a pop culture deficit that was about to change in a major way.<\/p>\n

All that and more makes this doujinshi one for the history books, a permanent record of the first and only time a fan writer made it all the way to Iscandar.<\/p>\n

Read it from cover to cover here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 11: Middle Third Age<\/em>, October issue<\/h3>\n

First, an explanation of the name. This is one of many Japanese magazines tailored to a specific school grade. As you graduate from grade to grade, there is another magazine ready to replace the one you just graduated from. This one was tailored to the third year of middle school, hence Middle Third Age<\/em>. Since its readership was dead center in Yamato<\/em>‘s target audience, this issue ran a 2-page primer on what the movie had to offer.<\/p>\n

Read the article here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 12: Weekly Heibon Punch<\/em> magazine<\/h3>\n

This men’s entertainment magazine was among the first to devote serious, informed coverage to Yamato<\/em> in August, and nearly a month later they followed up with a truly historic piece of journalism, the first known article in a mainstream publication to look beyond Yamato<\/em> into the rise and history of anime itself – using the word “anime” throughout to fortify its new context in the cultural lexicon.<\/p>\n

Fans and producers alike were quoted with respect and encouragement, all of which led the writer to an important and prescient conclusion: “For those who still think ‘it’s just a cartoon,’ you have no idea how long you’ve been behind the curve.”<\/p>\n

Read the article here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 13: Weekly Seventeen<\/em> magazine No. 39<\/h3>\n

Yamato<\/em> had the outward appearance of a story for men and boys, but it was also true that the majority of its fandom in the early years was female. So when a girl’s magazine set out to write their Yamato<\/em> article, they followed in the footsteps of OUT<\/em> magazine and got female fans to write it for them. The content came from a contemporary Yamato<\/em> fan club and laid out a case for why girls would enjoy seeing the movie too.<\/p>\n

Read the article here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 14: High 1st Course<\/em>, October issue<\/h3>\n

Gakken’s student digest for 10th graders featured a multi-page pictorial titled Nostalgic Youth Graffiti<\/em> that examined pop culture high points from 1961 through 1977. Yamato<\/em> landed on this list, but rather than the movie they chose instead to highlight the premiere of the TV series in 1974.<\/p>\n

See how it landed in that context here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 15: Weekly Sankei<\/em> magazine<\/h3>\n

Derived from Sankei Sports<\/em> newspaper, Weekly Sankei<\/em> gathered up sports and entertainment news in a gossip-style format. In this issue, Yoshinobu Nishizaki delivered another interview at the peak of his early success, and revealed things you would only find in a gossip magazine.<\/p>\n

Read the article here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 20: Roman Album 1<\/h3>\n

Just as the Yamato<\/em> movie is responsible for anime going mainstream, this publication represents the launch of anime book publishing. Like the film, it broke through the prevailing opinion that children were the only consumers of anime. The turning point could be found within the pages of the book itself, which started with the basic design of a kid’s book (large art images with minimal text) and evolved into a mature fan’s dream, page after page of pristine model sheets and broadcast data.<\/p>\n

The cue for this was obviously taken from OUT<\/em> magazine’s historic 2nd issue<\/a> (published in April) which showed exactly what fans wanted to see – because fans themselves had created it. And Tokuma Shoten was handsomely rewarded for paying attention; Roman Album #1 went through six printings in its first month alone. What started out as a one-shot spinoff of Tokuma’s Terebiland<\/em> magazine became their signature creation as subsequent volumes set new standards for years to come.<\/p>\n

See the opening color pages here<\/a>.
\nRead the text features here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read editor Hidea Ogata’s account of the genesis and impact of the Roman Album here<\/a>.
\nRead another historical account of the Roman Album here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 21: Roadshow<\/em> magazine, November issue<\/h3>\n

Space Battleship Yamato vs Star Wars<\/em> read the cover blurb at the bottom right. Unless you personally lived through 1977, it’s difficult to understand how truly revolutionary Star Wars<\/em> was. It brought us a new flavor, a new tone, a new feeling never felt before. In Japan, it was further intensified by breathless magazine coverage for over a year before the film itself arrived in June 1978. Yamato<\/em> happened along at just the right time to capitalize on that anticipation.<\/p>\n

This was only the second issue of Roadshow<\/em> to cover Yamato<\/em>, but it was obvious that they were enamored with it. This cover story ran 15 pages with a strong graphic presentation that was unique for the magazine. And there was plenty more to come.<\/p>\n

Read the article here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 21: Screen<\/em> magazine, November issue<\/h3>\n

The blank face of a young Jodie Foster doesn’t lead one to believe Yamato<\/em> content could be found in the pages of this movie magazine (which was mostly dedicated to American films), but there was a true gem inside this oyster, another interview with Leiji Matsumoto. The interviewer, who evidently worked in television, came into the conversation with questions about Yamato<\/em>, but talk quickly turned to movies and took us on a whirlwind tour of the films that influenced Matsumoto throughout his early career.<\/p>\n

Incidentally, the publisher of Screen<\/em> was Kindaieigasha, who would launch The Anime<\/em> magazine about two years later.<\/p>\n

Read the article here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 28: OUT<\/em> magazine, November issue<\/h3>\n

After the huge Yamato<\/em> feature in the September issue (published in July), the October issue focused on other things. This was the issue in which Yamato<\/em> made its return, and anime coverage would be a mainstay from here on out. The article herein was exactly the kind of thing OUT<\/em> would become known for, giving a platform to fans in the form of a conversation about Yamato<\/em> and their own club activities.<\/p>\n

Read the article here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

\n
\n

Also spotted in September<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> 1978 Calendar<\/h3>\n

The exact date of publication is unknown, but fans could put this calendar to immediate use, since it actually began with October 1977 as its first month. Each month is peppered with stills from events that ostensibly happen on specific days, though the ‘timeline’ this represents varies pretty substantially from the official dates for the TV series itself. (For one thing, the calendar has Yamato<\/em> returning to Earth about three weeks early.) But this takes nothing away from what must have been a fan’s dream in terms of big, colorful iconic images from the animation.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to examine this calendar from front to back.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Isao Sasaki, Scarlet Scarf, World of Anime Roman<\/em> LP<\/h3>\n

Nippon Columbia, CS-7040<\/em><\/p>\n

It had been a year since Isao Sasaki’s first all-anime theme album, and the Yamato<\/em> boom made it high time for a followup. This disc contained some crossover, but it was the first all-Sasaki album to feature both the OP and ED themes, and the first one to put the word “anime” on its cover.<\/p>\n

Other songs included themes from Grendaizer, Getta Robo, Dangard Ace, Casshan<\/em>, and more.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Cosmo Battleship Yamato Technical Manual<\/em> doujinshi<\/h3>\n

In a month of outstanding publications, both amateur and professional, this one was another prizewinner. Clocking in at a prodigious 152 pages, it was the most extensive collection of character and mecha designs anyone had yet collected between two covers. Published by “Group Zero,” it offered material that hadn’t yet been seen elsewhere, and wouldn’t be seen again until the Academy hardcover books arrived in June 1978.<\/p>\n

See it from cover to cover at the doujinshi archive here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n

Newswatch: Headlines and highlights for September<\/h3>\n

For the sake of posterity, all of the press and magazine coverage for the Yamato<\/em> movie was indexed in Office Academy\u2019s Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> Complete Records books (commonly known as the \u201csilver set\u201d). This allows us to see how newspapers and magazines reacted to the emerging phenomenon, which must have seemed to come out of nowhere. Here are headlines and highlights from that index.<\/p>\n

(Translation note: \u201cshimbun\u201d means \u201cnewspaper.\u201d The literal translation is shin\/new \u2022 bun\/hearsay)<\/p>\n

A space anime masterpiece that will bring an explosive boom to young people!
\nMovie Fan, September 1<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

A dream that cannot be found in reality – roman – in search of love, the manga generation is dazzled by Space Battleship Yamato<\/em>
\nAsahi Shimbun, September 1<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Space Battleship Yamato is revived as an animation movie!
\nJunior High 1st Course, September 1<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Through the fierce battle, the film aims to make people reflect on “love” from a broader perspective.
\nSenior High 1st Course, September 1<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The world of Leiji Matsumoto is a world of compassion for the adolescent who cannot become an adult. Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> is a hit with high school girls.
\nSenior High 2nd Course, September 1<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Anime sound Yamato<\/em> suddenly started selling like hotcakes.
\nWeekly Post, September 2<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Nichan was inundated with postcards from young readers wishing for the re-airing of Yamato<\/em> on TV.
\nTokushima Shimbun, September 4<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki producer calls Yamato<\/em> a product of his desire. It is precisely at a time when life is in a slump and the desire for a better world is rising in everyone’s hearts.<\/p>\n

“By depicting the activities of young people who are determined to stand up to the crises of Earth, I hope to give dreams and recognition to boys, girls, and adults that will truly nourish their lives. This idea and the dream I had as a boy were combined to create Yamato<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

Women Themselves magazine, September 6<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Space Battleship Yamato is fighting hard
\nAsahi Shimbun, Osaka, September 12<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Dreams come back to life! Love! Adventure! Do you know the roman drama Space Battleship Yamato?<\/em>
\nAsahi Geino, September 15<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Space Battleship Yamato<\/em>, a “kamikaze” event in Japan
\nTokyo Times – Talk of the Town, September 17<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Yamato<\/em> “Launching Ceremony” in the schoolyard
\nYomiuri Shimbun, Osaka, September 25<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What’s Next<\/h3>\n

Two months into its life in the mainstream, Yamato<\/em> still rivets the attention of fans and media alike, both seemingly in a race to outdo each other. See where they took it from here in Vintage Report 7<\/a>!<\/p>\n

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