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As of this writing, we are approximately halfway between our first glimpse of the live-action Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> movie and its December 1 premiere in Japanese theatres. After an initial rush of publicity on January 1 (Japan’s equivalent to the Superbowl in advertising terms), things were quiet for a while until something new appeared in April. In the interest of catching up, let’s take it all in chronological order…<\/p>\n The images above are from the teaser website, first launched in July 2009 and upgraded with the publicity wave on January 1. It’s still online but other than some very minimal text features, it hasn’t changed much. Naturally, it will be something to watch as the months tick away, and it can be accessed here<\/a>.<\/p>\n These images are from a two-sided Chirashi [“Tear Sheet”], a flyer that was available free in movie theatres for a limited time. Such flyers are a common form of promotion; lobbies in Japanese theatres offer them up by the dozen. The text is minimal, but says it all: 2010 is the Yamato Year<\/em>.<\/p>\n The biggest thing that happened on January 1 was the release of a 30-second teaser commercial that captured immediate attention on both TV and the internet. It could also be seen in theatres as a big-screen trailer for a very limited time. Seeing it was a revelation for all those who had watched opportunities for a live-action Yamato<\/em> rise and fall for nearly 20 years. Yoshinobu Nishizaki first hinted at it in the Yamato<\/em> Fan Club Magazine<\/a> all the way back in 1989, saying that Sean Connery was being considered for the role of Captain Okita.<\/p>\n Then, of course, there was the notorious live-action Star Blazers<\/em> movie developed during the 90s by Benderspink Productions, which got all the way to a much-maligned screenplay optioned by Disney before it went into Hollywood limbo. Disney’s option expired after ten years and nothing further was said about it.<\/p>\n The new film cut through all that history in just 30 seconds with an absolutely jaw-dropping teaser trailer that can be seen on YouTube here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fans got in on the act over subsequent months, assembling their own trailers out of found footage and video mash-ups culled from Playstation and Pachinko game scenes. See one of them here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Typically, the first question that springs to mind when one ponders a live-action Yamato<\/em> is, which actors would you choose? Sean Connery was a natural pick for Captain Okita after people saw The Hunt for Red October<\/em>, and though Benderspink’s ideas were generally not well-received by fans, they were onto something when they considered Alan Rickman or Jon Malkovich for Desslok.<\/p>\n The cast for this outing, however, is entirely Japanese and largely unknown to American audiences. They come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Some are industry veterans and others are quite new. A few come from the music world and some have even participated in previous live-action anime adaptations. And, of course, there are a few surprises. Let’s meet them one by one.<\/p>\n Clicking on an actor’s name will take you to their Wikipedia listing or homepage. Clicking on other links will take you to YouTube clips of their work.<\/p>\n Takuya Kimura<\/a> (nicknamed ‘KimTak’ by his fans) is by far the biggest name attached to the film. He got his start as an actor\/idol singer and made his first breakthrough with pop band SMAP in 1991, but his parallel careers in film and TV ultimately eclipsed his music stardom. Susumu Kodai is actually the third anime character he has portrayed; as an avowed Leiji Matsumoto fan, he put in some screen time as Captain Harlock in an episode of the SMAP X SMAP<\/em> variety show with Matsumoto as a guest in 2002 and he also performed the voice of Howl in Howl’s Moving Castle<\/em> (2004). See a video montage of Kimura’s work here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meisa Kuroki<\/a>‘s acting career began with TV and stage productions in 2004 and expanded to films one year later. She broke out as a recording star in 2009 with her debut album Hellcat<\/em>. She also appears in many TV commercials and genre films including the SF anime film Vexille<\/em> (voice actor\/title role, 2007), the live-action adaptation of the manga One Pound Gospel<\/em> (2008), and the 2009 SF action film Assault Girls<\/em>, directed by anime auteur Mamoru Oshii. Visit her homepage here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Naoto Ogata got his start in film and TV simultaneously in 1988. His screen debut in the film Oracion<\/em> (1988) is still his best-known role, and he also starred in the popular TV drama series Loving It<\/em> (1993).<\/p>\n Tsutomu Yamazaki<\/a>, like Captain Okita, is the most seasoned member of the cast with a film career going back to 1960 and a TV and stage career that started in 1967, with numerous awards for his work as both a lead and a supporting actor. His performances include Akira Kurosawa’s Kagemusha<\/em> (1980), a role in the TV drama Savory<\/em><\/a> and many TV commercials. He has also inadvertently appeared in anime; the villain Kai Kiyoteru from Mobile Police Patlabor<\/em> (first OAV series, episodes 5 & 6 “SV2’s Longest Day”<\/em>) was modeled after him.<\/p>\n Toshihiro Yanagiba has been a respected actor since 1980 with an enormous list of TV credits and many commercials<\/a>. He has also been a film actor since 1986, and had a key supporting role in the World War II submarine action film Lorelei: the Witch of the Pacific<\/em><\/a> in 2005 (which also featured three other Yamato<\/em> actors).<\/p>\n Toshiyuki Nishida<\/a> has been a very busy character actor since his TV career began in 1967 and he went into films in 1974. He starred in the live-action film adaptation of the anime series GeGeGe no Kitaro<\/em (2007), but his best-known role is the lead in the long-running film series A Fishing Maniac’s Diary<\/em>, which celebrated its 20th installment<\/a> in 2009.<\/p>\n Reiko Takashima, who recasts the role of Dr. Sado as a woman, has done an enormous amount of acting in both film and TV since 1988. One of her best-known roles was in the crime drama Woman of the Yakuza<\/em><\/a> (1999). She also co-starred with Toshiyuki Nishida in the 14th Fishing Maniac’s Diary<\/em> movie (2003) and was featured prominently in the action film K-20<\/em> (2008), written and directed by Yamato<\/em>‘s screenwriter, Shimako Satou.<\/p>\n Maiko reinterprets the role of Yoshikazu Aihara as a female. Born in Seattle, she started with a modeling and TV commercial<\/a> career that lead very recently to her first film role in You of the Mountain<\/em><\/a> (2008) and a starring role in the romantic comedy Waiting for Good News<\/em><\/a> (2009).<\/p>\n Toshihiro Yashiba has had dual film and TV acting careers since 2003 with roles in such genre productions as the sentai series Abaranger<\/em>, Densha Otoko<\/em><\/a> [Train Man] (2005), and Death Note II<\/em> (2008). He also appeared with Toshiyuki Nishida in the 16th Fishing Maniac’s Diary<\/em> film (2005).<\/p>\n Kensuke Owada is another actor new to film and TV, having started in 2007. His credits include a smattering of TV commercials, live-action adaptations of the anime\/manga series Gokusen<\/em> (2008) and the teen-angst TV drama Vampire Boy<\/em> (2009). Yamato<\/em> is only his third film.<\/p>\n Kazuki Namioka<\/a> has racked up many film and TV credits since his career began in 2004. He has also acted with other Yamato<\/em> cast members, such as Toshihiro Yashiba in Densha Otoko<\/em> (2005), Takuya Kimura in Hero<\/em> (2007) and Meisa Kuroki in One Pound Gospel<\/em> (2008). 2006 was a good year for him, with a cameo in The Fast and the Furious 3: Tokyo Drift<\/em> and a starring role in the romance movie Strawberry Fields<\/em><\/a>. Yamato<\/em> is his second film under director Takashi Yamazaki; his first was Ballad: Gift of Time<\/em> (2009).<\/p>\n Takumi Saitoh<\/a> has had concurrent careers in film, TV, and music since 2001. He is best known for appearing in the movie adaptation of the yaoi anime Boys Love<\/em><\/a> (2006) and can be seen in a making-of special here<\/a> (on the left). He has also appeared in an episode of the live-action superhero TV series Garo<\/em><\/a> (2005), numerous Prince of Tennis<\/em> live stage musicals, and the film adaptation of 20th Century Boys<\/em> (2009). The latter two on that list originated from popular manga titles. Visit his homepage here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Shinichi Tsutsumi<\/a> has been a very busy stage, film, and TV actor since 1984. He co-starred with fellow Yamato<\/em> actors Toshihiro Yanagiba and Isao Hashizume in Lorelei<\/em> (2005) and appeared in Yamato<\/em> director Takashi Yamazaki’s previous film Always: Sunset on Third Street<\/em><\/a> (2005), along with its 2007 sequel. Among his many awards was a Best Actor nod from the Japan Academy for his starring role in the suspense thriller Climber’s High<\/em><\/a> (2008), which also featured Yamato<\/em> actor Tsutomu Yamazaki. He co-starred that same year in You of the Mountain<\/em> with Yamato<\/em> actor Meiko. Visit his homepage here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Hiroyuki Ikeuchi started acting in TV and films in 1997, landing an early breakout role in the live-action TV adaptation of the GTO [Great Teacher Onizuka]<\/em> manga in 1998 and appearing in occasional TV commercials between his many other projects. He directed his first independent film in 2006, a romance called 13 Months<\/em>. One of his best-known roles came in the 2008 slapstick comedy Handsome Suits<\/em><\/a>. Visit his homepage here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Isao Hashizume is a veteran actor who brings a wealth of experience to his Yamato<\/em> role, logging hundreds of TV credits since 1966 and films since 1969. He is one of four Yamato<\/em> cast members who appeared in the 2005 World War II action film Lorelei<\/em>. The presence of these actors is not the only Lorelei<\/em> connection; the director of that film, Shinji Higuchi, was originally pegged to direct Yamato<\/em>, but stepped aside when the movie evolved away from a battle-driven story to a character-driven one.<\/p>\n The standout here is Masato Ibu, who is Dessler’s original voice actor and (not surprisingly) another member of the Lorelei<\/em> cast. Character names for the supporting cast members have not been announced yet, but it’s very likely that Starsha, Domel [Lysis], Hisu [Krypt] and Geru [Volgar] will emerge from their ranks.<\/p>\n This was another big factor of the January 1st promotional campaign, large-format ads accompanied by interviews with lead actor Takuya Kimura in Japan’s major newspapers. Presented below is coverage from two of the most prominent. Their content is similar, but details differ from one to the other, as seen in the English translations.<\/p>\n Side note: Kimura made news again in February when he asked director Takashi Yamazaki to go back to the drawing board on some of the special effects. After being “moved to tears” by the movie Avatar<\/em>, he offered to reduce his own salary if it would help Yamato<\/em> to reach that standard. We can speculate on exactly what category of FX he was talking about (blue aliens, perhaps?) but this should erase any doubts about Kimura’s devotion to the film. There was some concern that re-shoots would delay the premiere, but to date no such delay has been announced.<\/p>\n From San-Kei Shimbun, January 1, 2010:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n The actor Takuya Kimura (37), who continues to find new challenges, plays the hero Susumu Kodai in the motion picture Space Battleship Yamato<\/em>, based on the popular anime. The movie was finally made possible by the progress of the latest imaging techniques this year, the biggest topic for Kimura. “I feel great responsibility as a participant,” he says.<\/p>\n It is the year 2194. The mysterious enemy Gamilas begins an invasion of Earth, and most humans are killed by innumerable Planet Bombs dropped on many parts of the world. Five years later, the Earth is polluted by radioactivity, and the survivors live underground. The armed forces have withdrawn, and Kodai (Kimura) searches the surface for recoverable resources.<\/p>\n It is learned that a radioactivity removal device exists on the Planet Iscandar, 148,000 light years away. Kodai boards the Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> with Captain Okita (Tsutomu Yamazaki), fighter pilot Yuki (Meisa Kuroki), and others for the departure to Iscandar. Toshiro Yanagiba, Naoto Ogata, Toshiyuki Nishida, Reiko Takashima, and others will also appear.<\/p>\n The director is Takashi Yamazaki, Japan’s VFX (Visual Effects) guru, who also made Returner<\/em><\/a>, Always: Sunset on Third Street<\/em> and Ballad: Gift of Time<\/em>.<\/p>\n The script is by his wife Shimako Satou, director of K-20: Legend of the Mask<\/em>.<\/p>\n Additionally, Naoki Satou (Always<\/em>) is in charge of the music; thus, the “Yamazaki Group” gathers once again. The plan is to open the film nationwide in December of this year.<\/p>\n The “participants” feel a heavy responsibility.<\/em><\/p>\n “Because this work thrilled us as children, we didn’t just feel joy to be there, we were a little bit nervous,” Kimura disclosed frankly.<\/em><\/p>\n GREAT ADMIRATION<\/p>\n Kimura plays Kodai at 37, the same as his real age. Kodai once worked as a military pilot, but has retired from the service. To save the planet from radioactive contamination in one year’s time, he enters the battlefield again as the combat leader on Yamato<\/em>. He is portrayed as not just a hero, but as a solitary man with an overflowing love for humanity.<\/p>\n “There are two sides to Kodai’s character, strength and weakness,” Kimura enthuses with great admiration.<\/p>\n His first Yamato<\/em> experience occured at just five years old when he saw the movie and Farewell to Yamato<\/em> at a theatre in Shibuya, Tokyo.<\/p>\n “I lined up at the theatre and saw them. There was an elder who taught drawing in my neighborhood kindergarten. He once said ‘draw your favorite thing today’<\/em> and I drew Yamato<\/em>. The bow was on the left side of the paper and smoke flowed from the hull.”<\/p>\n There is a feeling of nostalgia.<\/p>\n When Kimura saw the design for Kodai’s costume, that’s when he first realized he would be playing this character.<\/p>\n “The moment I saw it, I suddenly felt the role emerging. I went in for a fitting in a pre-production meeting and when I saw Kodai’s jacket hanging from the rack, I thought ‘is that mine?’<\/em> I felt a great responsibility as soon as I put it on. I thought about the cloth, the human ability to turn cotton stuffing into something solid.”<\/p>\n It is also said that the special effects by the production company ‘White Group’<\/a> utilize the lastest technology and are likely to become a highlight as well.<\/p>\n “The new CG process has a remarkable ability to feel realistic. Though it uses the power of a computer, is directed by a human hand and brings great excitement to the screen.”<\/p>\n THE SORROW OF WAR<\/p>\n There is a fierce battle depicted with the latest CG technology.<\/p>\n “I felt bad about being at war. It was unbearably sad and unfair. Tsutomo Yamazaki in his captain’s role said, ‘it won’t just be me who has actual war experience in this.’<\/em> I was surprised at his words,” Kimura said. “I want to accomplish other things properly, with all my energy, after what I learned from doing this.”<\/p>\n It is Kimura’s ambition that this will become the “Yamato<\/em> Year.”<\/p>\n From Asahi Shimbun, January 1, 2010:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun10\/46502.JPG\")
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\n\nThe Teaser<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nThe Cast<\/h3>\n
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Takuya Kimura
\nas Susumu Kodai<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun10\/46507.JPG\")
Meisa Koruki
\nas Yuki Mori<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun10\/46508.JPG\")
Naoto Ogata
\nas Shima Daisuke<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun10\/46509.JPG\")
Tsutomu Yamazaki
\nas Captain Okita<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun10\/46510.JPG\")
Toshiro Yanagiba
\nas Shiro Sanada<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun10\/46511.JPG\")
Toshiyuki Nishida
\nas Tokugawa<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun10\/46512.JPG\")
Reiko Takashima
\nas Dr. Sado<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun10\/46513.JPG\")
Maiko
\nas Aihara<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun10\/46514.JPG\")
Toshihiro Yashiba
\nas Yasuo Nanbu<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun10\/46515.JPG\")
Kensuke Owada
\nas Kenjiro Ohta<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun10\/46516.JPG\")
Kazuki Namioka
\nas Saburo Kato<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun10\/46517.JPG\")
Takumi Saito
\nas Akira Yamamoto<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun10\/46518.JPG\")
Shinichi Tsutsumi
\nas Mamoru Kodai<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun10\/46519.JPG\")
Hiroyuki Ikeuchi
\nas Hajime Saito<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun10\/46520.JPG\")
Isao Hashizume
\nas Commander Todo<\/p>\n<\/div>\nSupporting Cast Members<\/h3>\n
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Masato Ibu<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun10\/46523.JPG\")
Takahiro Miura<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun10\/46524.JPG\")
Koyuki Kato<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun10\/46525.JPG\")
Ebizo Ichikawa<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun10\/46526.JPG\")
Naoto Takenaka<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun10\/46527.JPG\")
Kana Harada<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun10\/46528.JPG\")
Teruyuki Kagawa<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun10\/46529.JPG\")
Aya Ueto<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nNewspaper Coverage<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nThe “Yamazaki Group” gathers again.<\/em><\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nHuman Feelings and the Grandeur of Space are Unbeatable. I think that is Yamato<\/em>.<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun10\/46533.JPG\")
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