{"id":35876,"date":"2024-01-05T22:50:16","date_gmt":"2024-01-06T06:50:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/?p=35876"},"modified":"2026-01-09T11:14:42","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T19:14:42","slug":"878a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/878a\/","title":{"rendered":"Vintage Report 20, May\/June 1979"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-880 alt=\"2401icon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-content\/uploads\/2401icon.JPG\" width=\"216\" height=\"90\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"cosmo-teaser\">This stretch of time can be described as a gap, since it marked the period between the <em>Yamato 2<\/em> finale and the broadcast premiere of <em>The New Voyage<\/em>. Such gaps are replete throughout <em>Yamato<\/em> history, but as we all know they are often rich in news, media, and merch.<\/p>\n<div style=\"clear: both;\"><\/div>\n<p><!--more--><!--noteaser--><\/p>\n<p>This stretch of time can be described as a gap, since it marked the period between the <em>Yamato 2<\/em> finale and the broadcast premiere of <em>The New Voyage<\/em>. Such gaps are replete throughout <em>Yamato<\/em> history, but as we all know they are often rich in news, media, and merch.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/aug23\/821a01.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The most interesting artifact from this period sort of fills all three of those categories: a company brochure for Yoshinobu Nishizaki&#8217;s Office Academy. It&#8217;s a unique time capsule of anime history, and a portrait of the company at its most ambitious phase, announcing new anime productions that would debut later in the year. <\/p>\n<p>Subsequent history painted a slightly different picture, but <a href='https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/821a'>click here<\/a> to read and enjoy what can only be described as a gloriously optimistic document.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<div class='clear'>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/nov24\/TerebilandA.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>May 1: <em>Terebiland<\/em>, June issue<\/h3>\n<p>Published the month after <em>Yamato 2<\/em> ended on TV, this lively 7-page article titled <em>Record of a fierce battle, Yamato won in this way!!<\/em> offered a capsulized overview of the story, ending with a 2-page spread of original art for the climax.<\/p>\n<p>See the article <a href='https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/terebiland679'>here<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/mar23\/761a20.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>May 1: <em>4th Grader<\/em>, June issue<\/h3>\n<p>Just three weeks after <em>Yamato 2<\/em> ended on TV, Shogakukan&#8217;s student digest for 4th graders published a retrospective that looked back on the series and summarized the ending.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a04.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>May 2: <em>Bouken Oh [Adventure King]<\/em>, June issue<\/h3>\n<p>The cover of this issue added yet another beautifully-painted and never-seen-again <em>Yamato<\/em> image to the growing pile. <\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan26\/878acoverart.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The back cover had another intriguing painting that represented the <em>Redhawk Yamato<\/em> model kit lineup from Aoshima. This series had nothing to do with the anime <em>Yamato<\/em>, but it was most definitely the highest-profile knockoff at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Read all about <em>Redhawk Yamato<\/em> <a href='https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/209'>here<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a05.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Leiji Matsumoto&#8217;s 20-page manga chapter (which had now outlasted both <em>Farewell<\/em> and <em>Yamato 2<\/em>) featured a close encounter with Comet Empire fighters and a request from EDF command to go and rescue Planet 11 from an enemy attack. <em>Yamato<\/em> strikes something on the way into warp, to be revealed later.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/aug09\/37422.JPG\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<h3>May 5: Anime Shop <em>Yamato<\/em> opens, Kyushu<\/h3>\n<p>A dedicated anime shop opened in the north Kyushu district of Japan, named Anime Shop <em>Yamato<\/em> (though it was actually an offshoot of the Animec chain). It specialized in <em>Yamato<\/em> goods, which could easily have filled an entire store by this time, and offered discounts to members of the official <em>Yamato<\/em> fan club. Above right is a closeup of the store&#8217;s wrapping paper, courtesy of <a href='http:\/\/letsanime.blogspot.com\/2009\/12\/space-battleship-yamato-for-dummies.html'>Dave Merrill<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun24\/945a01.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>May 9: <em>Middle 2nd Age<\/em>, June issue<\/h3>\n<p>Obunsha&#8217;s student digest for 8th graders put a <em>Yamato<\/em> article right up front with two exciting announcements; in the wake of <em>Yamato 2<\/em>, Exec Producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki had finally made the decision to create another story he referred to as &#8220;<em>Yamato<\/em> Part 3,&#8221; and the bridge to get there would come in the form of a &#8220;telefeature&#8221; to be broadcast in July. A 7-page article brought his words directly to the fans and offered a partial synopsis of what was to come.<\/p>\n<p>Read the article <a href='https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/946a'>here<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan25\/animage12top.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>May 10 <em>Animage<\/em> Vol. 12, June issue<\/h3>\n<p>&#8220;Fierce interview with Producer Nishizaki!&#8221; The word &#8220;fierce&#8221; might have been a bit over the top, but the impact was certainly correct. For the first time, Nishizaki announced his overarching plan for <em>The New Voyage<\/em> (referred to as the &#8220;telefeature&#8221;) to be the first step toward a movie called &#8220;<em>Yamato<\/em> Part 3&#8243; in the summer of 1980. Big news, indeed.<\/p>\n<p>Read the article <a href='https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/animagevol12'>here<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a06.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>May 11: <em>Middle Third Age<\/em>, June issue<\/h3>\n<p>Obunsha&#8217;s student digest for ninth graders opened with a 5-page article titled <em>Leiji Matsumoto Anime Compendium<\/em> that showcased the many projects of the now VERY busy man himself.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a07.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The first spread covered <em>Galaxy Express 999<\/em>, <em>Captain Harlock<\/em>, and various manga works&#8230;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a08.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&#8230;while the second continued with news of the forthcoming <em>Galaxy Express<\/em> feature film and included the following entry on <em>Yamato<\/em>:<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"textBlue\"><em>Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> is just a practice piece<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>It seems that Leiji Matsumoto is just a little reluctant about <em>Space Battleship Yamato<\/em>, which was so popular and caused such a boom. However, this work was created through the efforts of many others besides him. In that sense, he says he is satisfied, but it is different from the anime that Leiji Matsumoto himself wants to create.<\/p>\n<p>Even with the theatrical anime <em>Farewell to Yamato<\/em>, there were differences of opinion with the producer. For example, the death of Susumu Kodai at the end. Matsumoto sees him as a young man with great potential. It is unacceptable for him to die. That is why Kodai did not die in the TV anime. This was the result of input from Leiji Matsumoto.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, he says he learned a lot from <em>Space Battleship Yamato<\/em>. He is full of enthusiasm to create a new anime filled with dreams!<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a09.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>May 14: <em>Star Blazers<\/em> production<\/h3>\n<p>On the other side of the world, big things were afoot. Production of <em>Star Blazers<\/em> Series 1 (now referred to as <em>The Quest for Iscandar)<\/em> gave way to Series 2 <em>(The Comet Empire)<\/em> with the first script being finalized on this day. It was referred to as Episode 27, since there was no break between the two series.<\/p>\n<p>Want to read that script and the others that followed? <a href='https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/548a'>Click here<\/a> for an amazing ride.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a10.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>May 20: <em>Yamato 2<\/em> storybook part 1<\/h3>\n<p><em>Anime Cartoon Masterpiece series #10<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Shogakukan had already published storybooks for the first two movies, and now they were doing the same for <em>Yamato 2<\/em>; a tall order for 26 TV episodes. Nevertheless, they managed to pack 21 episodes into just 40 pages.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a18.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>May 21: <em>Roadshow<\/em>, July issue<\/h3>\n<p>In this issue, fans were treated to <em>Roadshow<\/em>&#8216;s last word on <em>Yamato 2<\/em>, a big 8-page &#8220;Encore&#8221; article that reviewed the highlights of the series.<\/p>\n<p>See the article <a href='https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/892a'>here<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a11.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>May 21: <em>The Best One<\/em>, July issue<\/h3>\n<p>The second issue of this bimonthly pop culture magazine from Gakken became the first to announce the title of the forthcoming telefeature: <em>The New Voyage<\/em> (though it still indicated a July 21 broadcast date). <\/p>\n<p>Page 1 of the 2-page article presented a slightly longer synopsis than the one in the previous <em>Roadshow<\/em> magazine, this time including a description of the Goruba and the first design images of new characters and mecha. The second page gave readers a brief look back at the stories that got us this far.<\/p>\n<p>See larger versions of these pages <a href='https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/bestonejuly79'>here<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a12.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>May 27: <em>OUT<\/em>, July issue<\/h3>\n<p>A week after <em>The Best One<\/em> appeared, Minori Shobo&#8217;s <em>OUT<\/em> magazine stepped up the game with additional design art and brief descriptions of four new characters. Here&#8217;s what they had to say about the story:<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"textBlue\"><em>Space Battleship Yamato<\/em>, <em>The New Voyage<\/em> LATEST<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The story begins with the end of TV&#8217;s <em>Yamato 2<\/em>. In the year 2201, the White Comet was destroyed after a fierce battle, and Dessler felt a strange friendship with his rival Kodai. He sets out on another great voyage, gambling on the restoration of Gamilas.<\/p>\n<p>But when Dessler goes to his home planet to say a final goodbye, what does he see? A swarm of large, unidentified vessels. Dessler defeats them, but for some reason the planet Gamilas explodes and disappears into cosmic dust. Its twin planet Iscandar is therefore thrown out of its orbit. Dessler, who once had feelings for Starsha, follows to try and help her.<\/p>\n<p>The mysterious army had attacked Gamilas in search of a source of energy to carry out interplanetary war. And for the same purpose, it follows Iscandar with Dessler at its heels. Dessler asks Earth for assistance against the emergence of this powerful enemy. The Earth Defense Force relays the news to <em>Yamato<\/em>, which is in the midst of a training cruise with new crew members. <em>Yamato<\/em> makes repeated warps toward the source of the communication.<\/p>\n<p>Around that time, Dessler catches up with Starsha, who insists on remaining on Iscandar with Mamoru Kodai. The enemy approaches&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s the first half, and we don&#8217;t know what will happen in the second half, but please look forward to it.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/aug08\/musicOPstill2.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>May 29: <em>Space Battleship Yamato Choral Suite<\/em> recording begins<\/h3>\n<p>Dedicated anime fans will surely recognize the name of Composer <a href='https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Joe_Hisaishi'>Joe Hisaishi<\/a> for his many magnificent collaborations with Hayao Miyazaki. Before those collaborations began, however, he took <em>Yamato<\/em> for a spin. On this day, he began recording a concept album that would be released by Columbia later in the year. Here&#8217;s what he had to say about it:<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"textBlue\">When I was asked to arrange a choral version of <em>Yamato<\/em>, I was lost in thought for a moment. To what extent was it possible to express this music in a purely choral form? It was written for a dramatic story rather than song poetry, which is quite different. I thought about this while I undertook the project.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"textBlue\">The major difference between an orchestra and a chorus is that the former is expressed externally, as a function of the instruments, whereas a human voice comes from an internal place and is a direct result of a psychological function. Mr. Miyagawa\u2019s melodies drift between darkness and romance. Could a chorus capture this? I also thought a lot about how to express the grand scale of infinite space.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"textBlue\">I was concerned about all of this, and the technical ability of the Doshisha Student Chorus to reproduce it was amazing to me. Recording it at the Osaka Public Welfare Hall was very impressive. The single-minded enthusiasm of Conductor Hiroshi Kumagai and his conscientious staff stayed with me all the way home on the bullet train and I drank to them in congratulations. I hope you will enjoy this suite as much as they did.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more about the album <a href='https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/247'>here<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<div class='clear'>\n<h3>Also spotted in May<\/h3>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a13.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Mecha Collection model kit 11: EDF Frigate<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Bandai&#8217;s mini-kit lineup was still growing with two new releases that filled out the ranks of the 2201 EDF fleet (gone, but not forgotten).<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a14.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Since the frigate was a smaller vessel, Bandai generously provided two pressings in a single box.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a15.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Mecha Collection model kit 12: EDF Destroyer<\/em><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a16.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>They did the same with the Destroyer, which was about the same size as the frigate. They used the same stand, so builders could mix and match them to their little heart&#8217;s content.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/feb24\/Bridgestonead1979.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>One sweet ride<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The June issue of Shogakukan&#8217;s <em>Kindergarten<\/em> magazine answered a question with this tasty 2-page ad for the <em>Yamato<\/em> bicycle made by Bridgestone: who was it made for? Eyewitness sightings confirm that it stood only tall enough for a 5-year old to comfortably control. But it remains a giant in spirit.<\/p>\n<p class='image-middle'><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/bike6.jpg\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The actual street date for the bicycle is unknown, which makes this as good a point as any to plug it into the timeline. The scenes above, starring the three luckiest boys in the world, appeared in a TV ad broadcast during <em>Yamato 2<\/em>, and we&#8217;ve seen plenty of promotion in contemporary publications (in addition to <em>Kindergarten<\/em>).<\/p>\n<p><a href='https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/199'>Click here<\/a> to see the magnificent bicycle itself, certainly one of the most unique <em>Yamato<\/em> products ever made.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun23\/802a18.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Bubblegum with action plates, Glico<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The Glico candy company was an ongoing licensor of <em>Yamato<\/em> products, and they still had experiments on their agenda. These \u201caction plates\u201d came with the third wave of bubblegum, circa May 1979. They featured a still image on one side, and a 2-step lenticular version on the other.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun23\/802a19.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun23\/802a20.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun23\/802a21.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jun23\/802a22.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Get a much bigger look at the Glico product line <a href='https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/802a'>here<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a17.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>May context<\/h3>\n<p>Anime magazines published in May: <em>Animage<\/em> Vol. 12 (Tokuma Shoten), <em>OUT<\/em> July issue (Minori Shobo)<\/p>\n<p><\/br><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<div class='clear'>\n<p><\/br><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/aug25\/878aBouken1.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>June 2: <em>Bouken Oh [Adventure King]<\/em>, July issue<\/h3>\n<p><em>Bouken Oh<\/em> caught the eye of <em>Yamato<\/em> fans as soon as you opened the cover, to find an ad inside for the newest and upcoming Bandai models.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/aug25\/878aBouken2.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The magazine helped spread the word on <em>The New Voyage<\/em> with a foldout page spotlighting the return of both Dessler and Mamoru Kodai. The headline read, &#8220;Let&#8217;s go to the far reaches of space.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/aug25\/878aBouken3.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Leiji Matsumoto&#8217;s manga chapter for this issue ran 16 pages; <em>Yamato<\/em> warps out to find Planet 11 under siege and the defense bases dropping like flies. The object they ran into at the end of the previous chapter is revealed to be a Comet Empire fighter that is now lodged in the hull.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a21.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>June 9: <em>Middle 2nd Year Course<\/em>, July issue<\/h3>\n<p>Gakken&#8217;s student digest for eighth graders published a 2-pager on what would be the big event of the summer: the return of the first two <em>Yamato<\/em> movies in a double feature to begin on July 14. It also mentioned (but did not name) the upcoming telefeature, describing it as &#8220;the key to &#8216;Part 3,&#8217; which will be released in theaters next summer.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Also found in its pages was a 2-page interview with Kodai&#8217;s voice actor Kei Tomiyama.<\/p>\n<p>Read both articles <a href='https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/889a'>here<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a22.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>June 10: Leiji Matsumoto exhibit opens<\/h3>\n<p>Leiji Matsumoto had achieved superstar status by this time and earned his own special event titled <em>Launch! Space Battleship<\/em>. (Brochure shown here.) It was a summer attraction at Osaka&#8217;s Misaki Park, a combination theme park and zoo. It included several art-based attractions and a film program that commemorated <em>Yamato, Galaxy Express 999, Starzinger, Danguard Ace,<\/em> and <em>Captain Harlock<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a23.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>If that wasn&#8217;t enough for you, there was also a &#8220;dolphin jump show&#8221; to fill out the day.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a24.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>June 10: <em>Animage<\/em> #13, July issue <\/h3>\n<p>The summer anime movies were the cover story here, with the biggest nod going to Yoshinobu Nishizaki&#8217;s <em>Triton of the Sea<\/em>. It would be a compilation film for the first half of the 1972 TV series, and the third feature in the upcoming &#8220;<em>Yamato<\/em> Festival.&#8221; Read all about Triton <a href='https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/95'>here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The other big story was <em>The New Voyage<\/em>. <em>Animage<\/em> became the first magazine to bring everyone the actual broadcast date (July 31) and interviews with staff members in a full color 4-page article. <\/p>\n<p>Read it <a href='https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/562'>here<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a25.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>June 13: <em>Animec<\/em> #6<\/h3>\n<p>The 6th issue of the bimonthly <em>Animec<\/em> was the next to announce the &#8220;<em>Yamato<\/em> Festival&#8221; to come in July with a description of the event and summaries of all three films to be shown:<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"textBlue\">This year, the two major works that caused an explosive anime boom during summer vacation, <em>Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> in 1977 and <em>Farewell to Yamato<\/em> in 1978, can be seen all at once. The fantasy anime <em>Triton of the Sea<\/em> will also be screened at the same time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"textBlue\">The biggest event of the summer will probably be the <em>Yamato Festival<\/em>. This is a unique chance to see the first and second parts of <em>Space Battleship Yamato<\/em>, which sent the whole of Japan into a whirlpool of passionate excitement, all at once.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"textBlue\">In addition, <em>The New Voyage<\/em>, which can be called the intro to the third part, will be aired on Fuji TV July 31 (Tuesday). The passionate cheers of <em>Yamato<\/em> fans will cover all of Japan again this summer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"textBlue\">As an added bonus, the <em>Yamato Festival<\/em> also has something else in store. A compilation of <em>Triton of the Sea<\/em>, which still has many fans, will be screened at the same time. Stay tuned!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"image-left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a26.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/br><\/br><\/p>\n<h3>June 14: <em>High 1st Course<\/em>, July issue<\/h3>\n<p>Gakken&#8217;s student digest for tenth graders devoted four pages to <em>The New Voyage<\/em>, with the longest and most spoileriffic synopsis to date, appending it with new character descriptions. This inadvertently revealed the fact that not all the names were finalized yet; Admiral Deda was called &#8220;Garubas,&#8221; and Meldarz was &#8220;Gabochin.&#8221; With these naming conventions, it&#8217;s easier to see where &#8220;Goruba&#8221; came from.<\/p>\n<p><em>Text on first page:<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"textBlue\">On July 31, the heroic figure of <em>Yamato<\/em> comes back to life on TV!<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Starting at 7:30pm on July 31 for two hours, the special program <em>Space Battleship Yamato, The New Voyage<\/em> will be aired on Fuji TV network. Moreover, this story is an important key to &#8220;<em>Yamato<\/em> Part 3,&#8221; which will be released in theaters next summer. Here we introduce the story and new characters before the broadcast!<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a27.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a28.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><\/br><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a29.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>June 16: <em>Yamato<\/em> exhibit opens (Safari Land)<\/h3>\n<p>June also saw a revival of the traveling <em>Yamato<\/em> exhibit from 1978 when it reappeared in full at Izu Safari Park, filling the Great Globe Gallery from June 16 through November 30. It was then mothballed for a few months before coming back to the public eye in the summer of 1980.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/sep24\/975a32.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><br \/>\n<em>Dancing on the North Wall, movie poster and flyer<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>June 16: <em>Dancing on the North Wall<\/em> premiere<\/h3>\n<p>Credit for this find goes out to <em>Yamato<\/em> superfan <a href='https:\/\/x.com\/kanaeyokosuka\/'>kanaeyokosuka<\/a>, who frequently posts eye-opening artifacts on Twitter (click the name to see them). Here&#8217;s the scoop: it turns out that in the spring\/summer of 1979, while deeply entrenched in production on <em>The New Voyage<\/em>, Yoshinobu Nishizaki had something else cooking. Academy Productions got involved in a live-action documentary titled <em>Dancing on the North Wall<\/em>. Specifically, Nishizaki worked as the music producer for the film and brought along his two greatest allies: composer Hiroshi Miyagawa and lyricist Yu Aku. Together, they brought their thunder to a completely different project.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/sep24\/975a33.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><br \/>\n<em>Press sheet<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Description from <a href='https:\/\/moviewalker.jp\/mv18801\/'>Moviewalker<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"textBlue\">This feature-length documentary portrays the heroic feat of Tsuneo Hasegawa, who successfully climbed the north face of the Grand Jorasses, the most difficult of the three great north faces in the world: the Matterhorn (4,478m), the Eiger (3,970m), and the Grand Jorasses (4,208m). At 10:30am on March 4, 1979, a young Japanese man successfully reached the summit of Walker Peak on the north face of the Grand Jorasses after a grueling 174-hour struggle alone, becoming a glorious triple crown winner of the north face in the history of world mountaineering.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"textBlue\">Hasegawa set out with two of Japan&#8217;s leading climbers, Masaru Morita and Atsushi Katsuno, but after Morita was lost and rescued, and Katsuno gave up, Hasegawa attempted the climb alone again on February 25th. Eight days later, he communicated his success by walkie-talkie to his wife Mitsuko, who was waiting for him below.<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/sep24\/975a34.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A cursory search yielded no sign of a Miyagawa soundtrack album (which is a shame given that this would have been written smack dab in the middle of his <em>Yamato<\/em> years) but there is a single featuring the main theme of the film and a song titled <em>My Wife, Only to You<\/em>. And there&#8217;s Nishizaki himself on the record sleeve delivering his usual &#8220;Producer&#8217;s Message.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Until something more substantial is found, we can at least give these tracks a listen on Youtube here:<\/p>\n<p><a href='https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=TDIhnB52A_E'>Movie theme<\/a> (included in a 4-minute film clip) | <a href='https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=OyBCINQXK6g'><em>My Wife, Only to You<\/em> single<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a30.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>June 20: <em>Yamato 2<\/em> storybook part 2<\/h3>\n<p><em>Anime Cartoon Masterpiece series #12<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Since the first volume from Shogakukan worked so hard to cover the first 21 episodes, this one made more of a meal out of the remainder, reviewing the last five episodes (the true heart of the story) at a more leisurely pace over 40 pages.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/feb24\/904a04.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>June 21: <em>Roadshow<\/em>, August issue<\/h3>\n<p>There was no specific <em>Yamato<\/em> article this time, but its presence was still felt in a rare 4-person round table discussion with some very prominent voice actors: Kei Tomiyama (Kodai), Yoko Asagami (Yuki), Isao Sasaki (singer\/actor), and Masako Ikeda (Maetel from <em>Galaxy Express 999<\/em>). Since <em>Roadshow<\/em> was first and foremost a movie magazine, they talked a lot about movies; both watching them and dubbing them.<\/p>\n<p>Read the interview <a href='https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/906a'>here<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a31.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>June 21: <em>Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> &#8220;Hot Blood&#8221; novelization<\/h3>\n<p>You know you&#8217;ve got a tiger by the tail when five different novelizations aren&#8217;t enough. This sixth version was a surprise to everyone but Yoshinobu Nishizaki, who had specifically commissioned juvenile adventure novelist Hitomi Takagaki to rewrite <em>Yamato<\/em> as if it were a &#8220;hot-blooded&#8221; boy&#8217;s adventure from the pre-WWII era. <\/p>\n<p>To further emphasize this choice, the illustrations by Yutaka Ono evoked the same style while still being true to the anime. This included the outer slipcase and a &#8220;space map&#8221; by artist Mitsuru Akiyama that looked like it came straight from the 18th century.<\/p>\n<p>Read much more about the book <a href='https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/216'>here<\/a><\/p>\n<p>See the illustrations <a href='https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/hotblood\/'>here<\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a32.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>June 25: Fan Club Magazine #10<\/h3>\n<p>As expected, the official fan club magazine was the best source for preview material on <em>The New Voyage<\/em>. Half of the 24-page issue was filled with a complete story synopsis, short script and storyboard excerpts, and plenty of design art (both b&#038;w and color). The rest of the issue was mainly devoted to the &#8220;Fan Club Plaza&#8221; section with art and commentary on the <em>Yamato 2<\/em> finale.<\/p>\n<p>The back cover presented the first look at poster art for the upcoming &#8220;<em>Yamato<\/em> Festival&#8221; featuring both movies.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a33.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>June 25: <em>Yamato 2<\/em> Part 2, <em>Terebi Kun<\/em> special<\/h3>\n<p>Three months after the first volume, Shogakukan published this followup. In 68 pages, it covered episodes 13-26 and appended them with a section of battle maps and character profiles. The back cover reminded everyone about the coolest bicycle on planet Earth.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/feb24\/OUT8cover.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>June 27: <em>OUT<\/em>, August issue<\/h3>\n<p>The month of June ended with the latest issue of <em>OUT<\/em>, which devoted three pages to <em>The New Voyage<\/em>. The single page shown at right appeared toward the end, with some more production designs and text that continued the story synopsis from the July issue. It closes with Starsha holding a &#8220;diamond case&#8221; described as a &#8220;capsule.&#8221; Wonder what&#8217;s inside&#8230;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a34.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This 2-page color splash appeared earlier in the issue. The text in the red bars reads as follows:<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"textBlue\">In this upcoming <em>Yamato<\/em> story, Starsha and Mamoru will make their first appearance in a while. And Dessler burns with fire for a new purpose!!<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<div class='clear'>\n<h3>Also spotted in June<\/h3>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a35.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Record collection<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Yamato<\/em> content turned up on at least three different music releases in June. The first was Nippon Columbia&#8217;s 2-LP recording of the <em>Voice Voice Voice<\/em> variety show performed back in April. (See details in Vintage Report 19 <a href='https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/873a'>here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a36.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The second was a cassette from Nippon Columbia titled <em>Anime Best Hit 20<\/em>. The <em>Yamato<\/em> theme, <em>The Scarlet Scarf<\/em>, and <em>Teresa Forever<\/em> shared space with such worthy company as <em>Galaxy Express 999, Cyborg 009, Voltes V, Raideen, Gatchaman, Captain Harlock, Triton<\/em>, and <em>Mazinger Z.<\/em><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a37.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Then there was this oddball from Canyon Records (C20R0010C if you&#8217;re a collector), an all-disco album that covered the <em>Yamato<\/em> theme along with <em>YMCA, Space Invaders, Superman, Lupin III, Popeye<\/em>, and more.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a38.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>By any other name<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Up to this point in the historical record, <em>Star Force<\/em> has been the working title of the American version of <em>Space Battleship Yamato<\/em>. By June 1979, we know that production had moved into its second half in preparation for a TV premiere in just three more months. Thanks to dates on the various script drafts (seen <a href='https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/548a'>here<\/a>) we know that this &#8220;working title&#8221; was discarded in late June.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a39.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We can only speculate on why the change was made (especially with only three months left to promote the show), but the smart money is on the aural similarity to <em>Star Wars<\/em> and &#8220;The Force.&#8221; The last thing an untested program needs is a whiff of infringement, so <em>Star Blazers<\/em> was set in stone for all time.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a40.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>One more thing we know is that the new name was retroactively written into the series in the second Comet Empire episode. This is the original line from a script draft dated May 22. The line we heard in the show itself changed &#8220;wild, adventurous star fighters&#8221; into &#8220;funny, adventurous <em>Star Blazers<\/em>.&#8221; From this single nugget we can work out that the recording of the Comet Empire series began after June.<\/p>\n<h3>June context<\/h3>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a41.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Anime magazines published in June: <em>Animage<\/em> Vol. 13 (Tokuma Shoten), <em>OUT<\/em> august issue (Minori Shobo), <em>Animec<\/em> #6 (Rapport).<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/jan24\/878a42.JPG\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>What&#8217;s next<\/h3>\n<p>For the third summer in a row, <em>Yamato<\/em> dominates! The first two movies reappear in the &#8220;Big Summer Roadshow,&#8221; <em>The New Voyage<\/em> takes off on TV, another anime magazine joins the party (sort of), and much more. See it all unfold in <a href='https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/904a'>Vintage Report 21<\/a>, covering the dynamic months of July and August 1979!<\/p>\n<p><\/br><\/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":[19,155],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles-new-voyage","category-vintage-reports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35876","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=35876"}],"version-history":[{"count":32,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42823,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35876\/revisions\/42823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}