{"id":38351,"date":"2024-09-28T17:27:34","date_gmt":"2024-09-29T00:27:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/?p=38351"},"modified":"2026-07-17T15:15:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T22:15:27","slug":"980a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/980a\/","title":{"rendered":"Vintage Report 29: September 1980"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"2410icon\"<\/p>\n

As Be Forever Yamato<\/em> closed its premiere run in Japanese theaters, spinoff media became more concentrated as the first dedicated books appeared, and magazines became the first source of information for what was coming next: a third TV series! Here’s what September 1980 had to offer fans who couldn’t get enough.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

As Be Forever Yamato<\/em> closed its premiere run in Japanese theaters, spinoff media became more concentrated as the first dedicated books appeared, and magazines became the first source of information for what was coming next: a third TV series! Here’s what September 1980 had to offer fans who couldn’t get enough.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 1: Terebi Land<\/em> magazine, October issue<\/h3>\n

Since Terebi Land<\/em> was published on the first of the month, this was the first post-Be Forever<\/em> issue. The response was a spectacular 5-page article titled Yamato vs. Dark Nebula Empire, Big Battle!<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The urge to use the big “exploding Yamato<\/em>” scene must have been irresistible now that it was no longer a spoiler.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The article offered a strategic overview of where our heroes had to go in order to target the core of Dezarium. For whatever reason, the scene with the Wave-Motion Gun firing was lifted from Yamato 2<\/em>. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 1: Animec<\/em> Vol. 13<\/h3>\n

Animec<\/em> took a brief look back at summer fan events for a few pages, zeroing in on the June 29 lottery for tickets to the Adventure Roman<\/em> cruise. <\/p>\n

Read their man-on-the-street account here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 1: Movie Series Space Battleship Yamato Big Collection<\/em><\/h3>\n

This 36-page full-color magazine from Asahi Sonorama was published to commemorate Be Forever<\/em>, but gave equal time to the first two Yamato<\/em> movies as well. It contained an archive of promotional material and a brief history of events and merchandising. Several pages were devoted to the promotion of Be Forever<\/em> with unique photographs of such events as the sea cruise<\/a> and Budokan concert<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The back cover (above right) promoted Sonorama’s new Complete Works<\/em> novel series, which was about to add two Be Forever<\/em> volumes.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 1: Be Forever Yamato<\/em> novelization, Monkey Library edition<\/h3>\n

Shueisha had already released the first Be Forever<\/em> novelization in August (a single volume in their Cobalt Library series), and on this day they released the second. This was a longer version by a different author (Kiyoshi Miura) written for younger readers. Volume 1 came out September 1 and Volume 2 followed on September 10. Both ran 160 pages each and included stills and illustrations.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 1: Movie review, University of Tokyo Weekly<\/em><\/h3>\n

Reviews for Be Forever<\/em> could be found at multiple sources, even a university newspaper. In the September 1 edition, a Yamato<\/em> fan credited as “Yui” offered her impressions, but couldn’t quite get past the disconnect with Farewell to Yamato<\/em>. <\/p>\n

Read her review here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 1: Starlog<\/em> Vol. 24, October issue<\/h3>\n

It would stand to reason that the Japanese edition of Starlog<\/em> ought to have plenty of anime coverage. In fact, this was NOT the case since the magazine was devoted first and foremost to live-action and literary SF. So it wasn\u2019t until issue 24 that, slowly and grudgingly, the editors had to finally acknowledge that the phenomenon was worthy of their attention. As you will see, they went into it with an obvious bias, certain that this flash would leave the pan in due time. The advantage of hindsight makes fretful accounts like this great fun to read decades later.<\/p>\n

Read the complete 8-page article here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 1: Kappa [Gem]<\/em> magazine, October issue<\/h3>\n

Kobunsha\u2019s digest magazine Gem<\/em> had a column titled Exploring Popular People<\/em>, which gave them an excuse to chase down and interview the rich and famous. Their subject in this issue was Yamato<\/em>‘s Exec Producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki, who talked about Be Forever<\/em> and took various side treks into the lifestyle choices afforded by wealth from a successful anime franchise.<\/p>\n

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

\n

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

September 5: Kinejun<\/em> #795<\/h3>\n

After steady Be Forever<\/em> promotion in August, the biweekly Kinejun<\/em> magazine got around to reviewing the film in its Japanese Film Criticism<\/em> column. Reviewer Junichi Kadokura related his experience with a somewhat jaded tone, and an inadvertent admission that he completely missed out on Yamato 2.<\/em><\/p>\n

On a rainy day, I went to a Tokyu cinema to see the third Yamato<\/em> movie. Even though it was more than 30 minutes before the show, a line had formed from the Sanseido bookstore on the first floor below. I thought this was typical of Yamato<\/em>, but the line was actually people waiting to enter the planetarium on the 8th floor. A real astronomical phenomenon — the peak day of the Perseid meteor shower, which was said to be the best conditions for the event — defeated Yamato<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the second film, Susumu Kodai and Yuki Mori piloted Yamato<\/em>, ramming into the enemy ship in a suicide attack. Its story was canceled in the telefeature The New Voyage<\/em>, and is back in theaters as Be Forever Yamato<\/em>. This time, the opponent is the Dark Nebula Empire in a 145-minute death match. As usual, there is the huge flywheel rotating wave engine, a system that uses humans instead of computers, and a spiral nebula 100,000 light-years away, accompanied by a dark galaxy with no stars. And it all disappears in an instant.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why would they travel 400,000 light years to attack Earth? Well, there’s no point in saying this. Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> is supposed to be a space opera. But is that really the case? It’s a rather graphic story. The militaristic style is also suspicious.<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> is no longer science-fiction. The potential for SF in the anime I first saw at the 2nd Japan SF Show (already 6 years ago) is already gone. It’s the same feeling I got when I heard Momoe Yamaguchi’s LP Cosmos<\/em> and was disappointed. I guess it just doesn’t work in Japan?<\/span><\/p>\n

But there are high expectations for Japanese animation. It seems that Japan has been able to create a world of animation that is completely different from America, which cannot escape the Disney line. In fact, several excellent works have been produced. I hope they keep up the good work.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yamato<\/em> has become a phenomenon, causing a movement that rivals America’s Star Trek<\/em>. The young people who flock to Yamato<\/em> are not essentially SF fans. They and we are connected by the fact that it is a science-fiction work, but our hearts are different. Rather, I have higher expectations for the people lined up at the planetarium. Sense of wonder is a worn-out phrase, but it is no longer there in Yamato<\/em>. All that is left is the beautiful animation.<\/span><\/p>\n

“The universe is full of life” is a line that appears at the beginning of the movie, but humanoids are not the only life. They cannot talk about love (a word I don’t like to use) without fighting a war. It’s about time to put an end to it. However, Yamato<\/em>, which once died, has come back to life and appeared on the screen. The Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> series has become the first parallel world series in history. No matter what anyone says, it will always come back to life, regardless of the story from the previous episode.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 6: Weekly TV Programs<\/em> Vol. 7, issue 37<\/h3>\n

From the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it category comes this weekly TV-Guide<\/em> style magazine covering broadcasts from September 13-19 with a cover story on new fall anime shows. Right there on page 5 was the first known announcement for what was coming next. The headline read Susumu Kodai becomes the captain, Yamato launches for the third time.<\/em><\/p>\n

In other words, Yamato III<\/em> was on the way, to premiere October 11.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 6: Manga Shonen<\/em>, October issue<\/h3>\n

Published by Asahi Sonorama, Manga Shonen<\/em> covered the Yamato<\/em> phenom throughout 1977 and 1978 (as seen in previous Vintage Reports). There was no Yamato<\/em> article in this issue, but there was a full page ad for the Complete Works<\/em> novels (Be Forever<\/em> to be added in two weeks) and the first announcement for Office Academy’s forthcoming “Final Deluxe” Be Forever<\/em> hardcover book (due out in November).<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 9: Middle 1st Age<\/em>, August issue<\/h3>\n

With Be Forever<\/em> coverage now largely over, there was no new article for it in this issue of Obunsha’s student digest for 7th graders. However, we do find another announcement for the big, shiny Be Forever<\/em> “Finale Deluxe” hardcover book.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 10: Animage<\/em> Vol. 28<\/h3>\n

Animage<\/em> came out swinging with a 6-page article on Yamato III<\/em> headed by a new interview with Yoshinobu Nishizaki. He laid out the huge scope of the new series and announced for the first time anywhere that he intended to make one more movie after this series. The news of Dessler\u2019s return, new characters, messages from two key staff members, and the premise of the story all made for an exciting read.<\/p>\n

Read the article in the Yamato III<\/em> Time Machine here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 10: The Anime<\/em> Vol. 11<\/h3>\n

The Anime<\/em> didn\u2019t have quite as much to offer with their first Yamato III<\/em> article, but the balance of power was destined to shift. They described the premise of the series in a two-page spread as seen in the Yamato III<\/em> Time Machine here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 10: Be Forever Yamato Music Collection<\/em> Part 2<\/h3>\n

It was released as the second Be Forever<\/em> symphonic album, but it scored a first in that it included music as heard in the film rather than rearranged for an album. When the movie went into its \u2018Warp Dimension\u2019 changeover, the picture size widened and the soundtrack shifted from monaural sound to 4-channel stereo. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It was the first time in Yamato<\/em> history (and perhaps anime history) that cinematic sound quality measured up to what could be heard on an LP, so it gave the sound team a rare opportunity to place a symphonic arrangement directly into the film rather than mixing it down to mono. You might even say it was the beginning of modern anime cinema.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 10: Be Forever Yamato \/ New Voyage<\/em> 4-track EP<\/h3>\n

Since The New Voyage<\/em> and Be Forever<\/em> were essentially a single body of work (unofficially referred to as “Yamato<\/em> Part 3″) it was a natural to pack four of its songs onto a single release. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Yamato!! The New Voyage<\/em> and Sasha My Love<\/em> came from the first story, Pendant of Stars<\/em> and Face in the Stars<\/em> from the second. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 16: Middle 1st Age<\/em>, November special issue<\/h3>\n

Obunsha’s student digest for 7th graders issued a large-format test-prep volume that was essentially a big book of homework. To take some of the sting off of it, the first thing kids saw when they opened it was a foldout poster with another reminder for Yamato 3<\/em>. Like most other magazines, it wasn’t using the roman numerals yet. In fact, there was no explanation in this magazine for what “Yamato 3”<\/em> even was, so readers already had a puzzle to solve.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 18: Yamato III<\/em> voice recording begins<\/h3>\n

Recording for Episode 1 was done about three weeks before the broadcast. The session began at 6pm with Goro Naya (the original Captain Okita) as narrator along with seven members of the regular cast. New to the group were Hideyuki Tanaka as Domon, Toshio Furakawa as Ageha, Kaneto Shiozawa as Bando, and Makoto Terada as General Dagon. <\/p>\n

Guest actors were Yasuro Tanaka as Professor Simon, Kunihiko Kitagawa as the Earth president and academy headmaster, Yoshito Miyamura as the academy instructor, Koji Yada as Dr. Kuroda, and Keiko Miyazaki as Domon\u2019s mother. In all, 17 people participated.<\/p>\n

Read more about the process here<\/a><\/p>\n

Read magazine coverage of the first recording here<\/a> and here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 20: Be Forever Yamato Roadshow<\/em> special<\/h3>\n

Roadshow<\/em> magazine’s special for Be Forever<\/em> upheld the high standards of earlier editions. It contained a bonus poster (shown at right), a section of double-page highlight scenes, a character guide, background paintings, the complete screenplay, staff interviews, model sheets, song lyrics, and a full-color retrospective on the previous movies.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 20: Be Forever Yamato Complete Works<\/em> novels<\/h3>\n

Released on September 20 and 25 respectively, volumes 8 and 9 of Asahi Sonorama’s Complete Works<\/em> series adapted Be Forever<\/em> with Yoshinobu Nishizaki indicated as the author. As before, they were probably ghostwritten by someone else since Nishizaki never even pretended to have the skills of a novelist. They ran 192 and 190 pages with color stills.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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

This issue of Shuesha’s monthly movie magazine had a grab-bag of Yamato<\/em> content, starting with a 5-page color feature on “The huge boom that Yamato<\/em> caused.” This was followed by the next announcement for Yamato III<\/em> and capsule reviews of Be Forever<\/em>.<\/p>\n

See all the content here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 25: Be Forever Yamato Precise Illustrated Edition<\/em><\/h3>\n

Sonorama published two of these unique sets (the other was for Farewell to Yamato<\/em>) with fold-out blueprints of the movie\u2019s major spacecraft and other mecha. Each sheet was bound on one side and opened to 18\u2033 x 13.5\u2033 when cut free of the spine. They featured isometric views of their subjects with occasional cutaways and technical notes. Single sheets were also dedicated to Gamilas warships and the Comet Empire Dreadnought.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 25: Anime Poster Big Compendium<\/em><\/h3>\n

This is as good an example as any of the popularity of anime by the year 1980. Champion Graphic, an imprint of Akita Shoten, put together this substantial full-color collection of poster art from various anime productions dating back to the 60s. Leiji Matsumoto\u2019s works opened the book with Yamato<\/em> movie and promotional posters getting 10 pages of coverage.<\/p>\n

See the Yamato<\/em> pages here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 25: TV special introduces Yamato III<\/em><\/h3>\n

Yomiuri TV got offers from seven stations to broadcast Yamato III<\/em>, and on September 25 (19 days before the broadcast debut) their Thursday Special featured a program called Space Battleship Yamato: All the Love and Adventure<\/em>. It presented scenes from the past and teasers for Yamato III<\/em>. To date, this program has yet to resurface.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 27: OUT<\/em> magazine, November issue<\/h3>\n

OUT<\/em> was still remembered as the magazine that helped Yamato<\/em> come back to life in 1977, but by 1980 the original devotees had moved on and the only attention OUT<\/em> ever gave to Yamato III<\/em> was squeezed into the two pages shown above. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 27: Be Forever Yamato Setting Data Collection<\/em><\/h3>\n

Also known as “SF Fantastic Animation Materials” due to the English on the cover, this was part of a short-lived series published by Shonen Pictorial Company. Living up to the English name, it devoted 234 pages to extensive features. Regrettably, Be Forever<\/em> was the only Yamato<\/em> film to receive this treatment (the only other known volumes were devoted to Galaxy Express 999<\/em> and My Youth in Arcadia<\/em>). <\/p>\n

It contained a full-color photostory, character profiles, Yamato<\/em>\u2018s interior, the complete screenplay, model sheets, an event report for the summer of 1980, the complete script of the Be Forever<\/em> radio drama, the complete movie storyboard (including deleted scenes), and a voice actor roundtable.<\/p>\n

Read the voice actor round table here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n


\nHiroshi Miyagawa and family, 1981. Akira Miyagawa is standing
\nbehind him; Akira got his first composing credits on <\/em>Yamato III
\nin an unintentional warmup for future projects.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

September 29: Yamato III<\/em> music recording begins<\/h3>\n

The initial plan for Yamato<\/em>\u2018s third TV series was the most ambitious yet; a luxurious 52-episode mission across the entire galaxy in four major story arcs with many new characters to enliven the experience. Naturally, a lot of music would have to be written to emphasize the newness and its sheer volume meant the composing needed to start even before Hiroshi Miyagawa could catch his breath after the fast-paced summer of Be Forever<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Read more about the making of the music here<\/a><\/p>\n

From the Yamato III Sound Almanac<\/em> liner notes by Tomohiro Yoshida:<\/p>\n

In an unusual situation, the recording had to be split into three sessions. The first was done just 12 days before the broadcast launch (!) on September 29, the second happened in late October, and the third in late November. Music from the second session was heard starting in Episode 6 and music from the third session was heard starting in Episode 10. To compensate for shortages in the beginning, tracks from previous works filled the gap, both used and unused.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

September 30: Be Forever Yamato Anime Cel Collection<\/em><\/h3>\n

Repeating the format of their successful Cel Collection books for Farewell to Yamato<\/em>, Shonen Pictorial Co. produced this set of 12 pseudo-cels for Be Forever<\/em> which were combined with a guide to the film\u2019s story.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Also spotted in September<\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

Yamato III commercial<\/em><\/p>\n

The fall season was coming up fast, and Nippon TV gathered up the new anime shows into a single commercial that promoted Tetsuwan Atom<\/em> (Oct 1), Tetsujin 28-Go<\/em> (Oct 3), Yamato III<\/em> (Oct 11) and Tomorrow’s Joe 2<\/em> (Oct 13). The use of Sasha’s image was a curious choice, but she was the undisputed Yamato<\/em> star of the summer.<\/p>\n

See the commercial here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Yamato III promotion<\/em><\/p>\n

Many allies are needed in the quest to connect with your target audience. Here we have a Yamato III<\/em> poster released by Kanko, a company that sold student uniforms.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This poster came with an issue of the student digest magazine Middle 1st Age<\/em> (for 7th graders). The exact issue is unknown, but the fact that it uses a standard number 3 rather than the more on-brand roman numeral places it in early days.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This two-sided hand fan from Tokyo TV gave Yamato III<\/em> a boost along with three other programs to debut in October 1980: Tomorrow’s Joe 2, Tetsujin 28<\/em>, and a remake of Mighty Atom<\/em> (which happened to be directed by Yamato<\/em> alum Noboru Ishiguro).<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

TV Rumors, fall issue<\/em><\/p>\n

Featured a two-page promo for Yamato III<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

SF Animation & Suspense Super Library LP<\/em><\/p>\n

As in previous years, numerous genre-anthology records featured Yamato<\/em> songs and covers of Yamato<\/em> songs. Not many have been shown in the 1980 timeline yet because very few have specific release dates on them (so watch the year-end report for a big pileup).<\/p>\n

This release is an exception, a 2-disc set with selections from east and west. Among such fare as Star Wars, Superman, Alien, Battlestar Galactica, Logan’s Run<\/em>, and Jaws<\/em> was one full side of anime tunes. Two of these eight tracks were the Yamato<\/em> prelude and Yamato!! The New Voyage<\/em>. Since this was a Columbia release, they didn’t have to be covered by anyone else.<\/p>\n

Find out more about this album here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Anime magazines published in September<\/em><\/p>\n

Animec<\/em> No. 13 (Rapport), Animage<\/em> Vol. 28 (Tokuma Shoten), The Anime<\/em> Vol. 11 (Kindaieiga-sha), OUT<\/em> (Minori Shobo)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What’s Next<\/h3>\n

At the close of September, the next Yamato<\/em> adventure was less than two weeks from launch. It would be the most ambitious journey yet, scheduled to last an entire year, and some very big players were on board. Click here<\/a> for Vintage Report 30 and the beginning of Yamato III<\/em>!<\/p>\n

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