{"id":39175,"date":"2025-01-07T15:22:26","date_gmt":"2025-01-07T23:22:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/?p=39175"},"modified":"2025-04-12T18:09:20","modified_gmt":"2025-04-13T01:09:20","slug":"019b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/019b\/","title":{"rendered":"Vintage Report 32: December 1980"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"2501icon\"<\/p>\n

As we look back over the entire sweep of 1980, December was the lightest month with the least amount of activity. That wasn’t the case for Yoshinobu Nishizaki, since the cutdown of Yamato III<\/em> made the future less certain. But the present was still a great place to be if you were a fan. Here’s how this rollercoaster year came to a close…<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

As we look back over the entire sweep of 1980, December was the lightest month with the least amount of activity. That wasn’t the case for Yoshinobu Nishizaki, since the cutdown of Yamato III<\/em> made the future less certain. But the present was still a great place to be if you were a fan. Here’s how this rollercoaster year came to a close…<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

December 1: Bouken Oh<\/em> [Adventure King], January issue<\/h3>\n

Inside this issue of Akita Shoten’s monthly manga magazine could be found an ad for current and upcoming Yamato<\/em> publications from the same publisher: the Be Forever<\/em> mook and anime comics and a 2-volume anime comic set for Farewell to Yamato<\/em> coming in January.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in the issue could be found the third chapter of Yamato III<\/em>, adapted by Hiroshi Aizawa. In 21 pages, we saw the battle at the edge of the solar system fought to its conclusion and Domon’s first up close and personal combat experience (as seen in TV Episode 6).<\/p>\n

Read the entire Yamato III<\/em> manga serial here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

December 1: Space Battleship Yamato Hit Song & Theme Collection<\/em><\/h3>\n

Prior to the premiere of Yamato III<\/em>, all the previous productions put together had filled the bank with 13 separate songs, a few of which had only been released as singles. As of now, they could all be found on one LP.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Since Farewell<\/em> and Be Forever<\/em> both contained songs by artists who were not signed with Nippon Columbia, both Isao Sasaki and Mitsuko Horie stepped in to record cover versions for this release. This kept things interesting for collectors who had already scooped up everything else.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

December 3: Star Blazers<\/em> comics debut in Italy<\/h3>\n

Virtually unknown anywhere outside its native land, an Italian publisher named Atlas UFO Robot brought Star Blazers<\/em> to the pages of a weekly comic book for the first time on this day. It was part of a long running series with rotating titles; prior to issue 97, it featured Goldrake<\/em>, the Japanese version of UFO Robot Grendaizer<\/em>. With issue 97, Star Blazers<\/em> took over and ran for eight issues, finishing with issue 104 on January 21, 1981.<\/p>\n

See the whole set here<\/a>, and two of the issues from cover to cover.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

December 6: Yamato III<\/em> Episode 9<\/h3>\n

Duel at Planet Barnard!<\/em><\/p>\n

On Barnard, Yamato<\/em> is pinned down by laser fire until Kodai\u2019s team discovers the Galmans are using reflector ships to bounce the beams around. The Cosmo Tigers take them out and Yamato<\/em> destroys the reflection cannon with its Wave-Motion Gun.<\/p>\n

Read our commentary on this episode here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

December 9: Middle 2nd Age<\/em>, January issue<\/h3>\n

Obunsha’s student digest for 8th graders gave everyone a peek at things to come with a summary of what would happen in Yamato III<\/em> Episode 12. However, they guessed wrong on the airdate, indicating a week before it would actually be broadcast. Can’t win ’em all.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

December 10: Animage<\/em> Vol. 31<\/h3>\n

This issue of Animage<\/em> devoted 4 pages to Yamato III<\/em> that investigated the Galman-Gamilas Empire, and took a brief look at the hard-knock life of a Yamato<\/em> crewmember through comments by Series Director Eiichi Yamamoto. For whatever reason, this was Animage<\/em>‘s last article on the series.<\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n

December 10: The Anime<\/em> Vol. 14<\/h3>\n

Whether or not the editors knew theirs was about to become the only anime magazine to cover Yamato III<\/em>, attention and page count began to steadily increase as of this issue. Dessler and his new empire were the big story for an 8-page article that examined the historical threads leading up to the reunion. This included original art, a timeline of events, and a short interview with animation director Kazuhiko Udagawa.<\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n

December 10: Yamato III<\/em> single<\/h3>\n

Since Yamato III<\/em> reused the original opening title, its two end title songs fit on both sides of a 45rpm single, which made it the only single released for the series. The songs alternated at the end of each episode and both had an interesting production history. First, the lyrics were both written by fans who won a poetry contest. Second, while the A side Yamato Be Forever<\/em> had a new composition, the B side Parting<\/em> reused one from The New Voyage<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Read more about both songs (and find lyrics) here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

December 10: 4-track EP<\/h3>\n

As a sort of companion to the Hit Song & Theme Collection<\/em>, Nippon Columbia released this 33.3rpm single with four of the most popular songs.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Side A contained the Yamato<\/em> theme and From Yamato With Love<\/em>, while side B contained Pendant of Stars<\/em> and Until the Day of Love<\/em> (both from Be Forever<\/em>).<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The unifying factor in these choices was Isao Sasaki. He had previously recorded the Yamato<\/em> theme and Pendant<\/em>, but the other two were his new cover versions heard on the Hit Song<\/em> LP.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

December 13: Yamato III<\/em> Episode 10<\/h3>\n

Counterattack of Dagon\u2019s New Fleet!<\/em><\/p>\n

Dagon returns to Admiral Gaidel in disgrace, but is given another fleet of ships with which to destroy Yamato<\/em>. Dagon\u2019s fleet launches an attack that damages Yamato<\/em>\u2018s engine, drawing it into the the triple star of Cygnus and its giant space tornadoes.<\/p>\n

Read our commentary on this episode here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

December 20: Yamato III<\/em> Episode 11<\/h3>\n

Yamato in Danger! The Demonic Cygnus Airspace!<\/em><\/p>\n

After repairing the engines and escaping the stellar currents, Yamato<\/em> is drawn toward the Black Hole of Cygnus. Using the Wave-Motion Gun, they break free and Dagon is pulled into the black hole instead. Gaidel resolves to capture Yamato<\/em> personally.<\/p>\n

Read our commentary on this episode here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

December 22: The Best One<\/em>, February issue<\/h3>\n

The Anime Channel<\/em> section of Gakken’s monthly entertainment magazine included a tiny section on Yamato III<\/em> that provided these two error-ridden blurbs on forthcoming episodes:<\/p>\n

Space Penal Colony (December 21st)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Yamato<\/em> stops by the planet Berth to collect plants for fresh food and to maintain the ship. However, it turns out to be a satellite nation of the vast Bolar Federation, a terrifying space penal colony. Yamato<\/em> is attacked by prisoners.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Fearsome Bolar Federation (January 10th)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The prisoners who broke into Yamato<\/em> are quickly captured. However, Bemlin of the Bolar Federation betrays Kodai and the others, who had hoped for leniency, and orders the prisoners to be executed. Yamato<\/em>‘s Cosmo Tigers try to rescue the prisoners, but…<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

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

December 25: ’80 Yamato Festival in Budokan<\/em> double LP<\/h3>\n

Only a handful of individual artifacts can be said to represent “peak Yamato<\/em>” and this is irrefutably one of them; the live show mounted on July 24 in advance of Be Forever<\/em> with a huge lineup of singers, voice actors, and creators. Though this double album did not include some of the non-musical portions of the concert, the real treat even decades later is to hear the heartfelt reactions of the audience caught in the grip of Yamato<\/em> fever.<\/p>\n

Read a full account of the Festival in Budokan (and other concert events) here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

December 25: Fan club magazine #20<\/h3>\n

Even if Animage<\/em> dropped its Yamato III<\/em> coverage, fan club members still had access to a continuing stream of info from the official magazine every 60 days. This issue devoted 12 pages to the series, which included a new year\u2019s essay by Yoshinobu Nishizaki, a story digest, and an inside look at Dessler\u2019s Galman Empire. One very unique feature found nowhere else was a detailed background piece on his adventures after The New Voyage<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n

December 27: Yamato III<\/em> Episode 12<\/h3>\n

The Penal Colony in Space!<\/em><\/p>\n

Yamato<\/em> approaches Planet Berth and is recognized as the ship that aided Captain Ram. The crew is allowed to land on Berth, and there they discover a penal colony. Several prisoners break out and hijack the ship.<\/p>\n

Read our commentary on this episode here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

December 29: Bouken Oh<\/em> [Adventure King], February issue<\/h3>\n

The last Yamato<\/em> event of 1980 was the February issue of Bouken Oh<\/em>, published a few days early to give the hard-working editors a short break for the New Year’s holiday. The fourth chapter of the Yamato III<\/em> manga adapted all of TV Episode 10 in 20 pages.<\/p>\n

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

\n
\n

Also spotted in December<\/h2>\n

Popy, the toy division of Bandai, released the second wave of its Yamato III<\/em> toy line this month. The exact release days are unknown, but it was well timed for Christmas and the approximate halfway point of the TV series.<\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n

Big scale DX Yamato<\/em>: 20.5 inches long with many moving parts, based on Bandai’s 1\/500 model kit<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Space Collection: set of 10 miniatures based on Bandai’s Mecha Collection model kits.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1: Yamato<\/em>, 2: Cosmo Tiger II, 3: EDF Battleship, 4: Andromeda<\/em>, 5: Dessler’s battleship, 6: Baruze’s ship, 7: Gamilas Destroyer, 8: Gamilas battle carrier, 9: Okita’s ship, 10: EDF Cruiser<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

DX Space Collection set: all ten of the mini ships in a single box<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Be Forever Yamato<\/em> board game: a multipart experience that duplicates all the action moments of the movie.
\nSee a full breakdown here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Wave-Motion Gun set: missile-firing game against enemy ships. See a full breakdown here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Wave-Motion Light pistol: 9″ electronic gun with lights and sound.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Wave-Motion Watergun: a clear variant of the electronic gun that squirts water.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Middle 1st Age, Junior High Life All Guide<\/em><\/p>\n

Obunsha’s student digest for 7th graders would occasionally publish “extra editions” like this magazine as samplers to get new readers on board as they leveled up from 6th grade. It included lifestyle articles, manga, and more. The lead feature was a roundup of top ten anime titles (Yamato<\/em> came in at number 6), and bonus mini-posters could be found in the center. The two images for Be Forever Yamato<\/em> have never been reprinted elsewhere.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Star Blazers fan club promo<\/em><\/p>\n

It’s always a nice surprise when something in English emerges from the Yamato<\/em> timeline, and this one was small but mighty. In response to the famous Star Blazers<\/em> article in issue 35<\/a> (June 1980), an American fan named Michael Pinto placed an ad in the classified section of Starlog<\/em> #44 (March 1981 issue) to begin the process of organizing fandom outside Japan. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

He did this same in the February 1981 issue of Astronomy<\/em> (publishing date unknown), which showed an excellent use of cross-pollination.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to read the results in Michael’s own words.<\/p>\n

Special thanks to Roger Proctor for these finds<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Phoenix arcade game<\/em><\/p>\n

Phoenix<\/em> was released in Japan by Taito when video games were at their dizzying heights. It was a multi-stage shooting game with one of the first boss battles in history…and they picked one helluva boss, based on the still at right.<\/p>\n

Read more about the game here<\/a> and see it in action here<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n

December context<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

December 20: Cyborg 009, Legend of the Super Galaxy<\/em><\/p>\n

After heavy promotion in the various anime magazines, this film gave the 009<\/em> team their first and only outer space adventure. It put the cap on a year of big-screen, new-agey SF anime following Phoenix 2772, Toward the Terra<\/em>, and Be Forever Yamato<\/em>. It would later be exported to the English-speaking world as Defenders of the Vortex.<\/em><\/p>\n

Watch an English dubbed version here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Anime magazines published in December: Animage<\/em> Vol. 31 (Tokuma Shoten), The Anime<\/em> Vol. 14 (Kindaieigasha), OUT<\/em> February ’81 issue (Minori Shobo).<\/p>\n

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

\n
\n

Also spotted in 1980<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

Electric Organ Yamato Anime Collection<\/em><\/h3>\n

Tokyo Ongaku Shoin [Tokyo Music Study] was a steady source for Yamato<\/em> sheet music in the early 80s, starting with this volume (publishing date unknown). It was released some time after the first Be Forever<\/em> symphonic album and contained compositions for 14 songs arranged for electric organ. Many other volumes would follow.<\/p>\n

Doujinshis<\/h3>\n

Fanzines were still a thing in 1980, but the enormous volume of professional publishing had taken some of the wind out of their sails. This left fan clubs to their own devices and they responded with a grab bag of DIY content. Here are six titles discovered so far from 1980; click on the names to see them cover to cover.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nNeo Nagal<\/em><\/a> #11, February 2
\nYamato Fan Club II<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nWave-Motion<\/em><\/a> Vol. 9, March 18
\nYamato Fan Club Hadou<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nIscandar<\/em><\/a> Vol. 11, April 10
\nCosmo Battleship Yamato Connection<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n

<\/p>\n

\nSpeace Star<\/em><\/a>, April
\nUnaffiliated fan club<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nIscandar<\/em><\/a> Vol. 12\/13, August 20
\nCosmo Battleship Yamato Connection<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nWave-Motion<\/em><\/a> Vol. 10, September10
\nYamato Fan Club Hadou<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/br><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1\/350 Yamato<\/em> construction kit<\/h3>\n

This was a product of Imai, one of the few rivals who could give Bandai a run for its money. Theirs was the first 1\/350 scale Yamato<\/em> (which Bandai wouldn\u2019t match until 2007) and the parts were made of wood and metal. It stretched to almost 30 inches when built, and required the skills of a ship modeler to reach its full potential.<\/p>\n

Read more about this incredible kit and see a photo gallery here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Westchester Films press kit<\/h3>\n

Some time in the latter half of 1980, the rights holder for Star Blazers<\/em> published a press kit with a 15-page description of the show and a 2-sided color flyer that touted a new 102-episode package. This tells us that the material was written and produced before Yamato III<\/em> was cut down from 50 episodes to 25.<\/p>\n

See the color flyer here<\/a><\/p>\n

See a PDF of the press kit here<\/a><\/p>\n

Read more about Westchester Films here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Fun for Parents and Children, Terebi Anime Special<\/h3>\n

The Nippon Life Insurance Company apparently went on an interesting side quest in 1980 and published this 32-page manual when they got back. It’s a primer for the TV anime industry with an overview of broadcast history, the production process, contact info for your favorite voice actors, how-to tips, and more. It gave us a rare Yamato\/Gundam<\/em> collab on the cover, but neither got any special treatment inside.<\/p>\n

See this publication from cover to cover here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Yamato<\/em> Fan Club booklet, 1980 edition<\/h3>\n

Since its founding in late 1977, the official fan club issued a handbook to all new members containing club rules and an introduction to Yamato<\/em> world. The booklet got a makeover in 1978 for Farewell<\/em> and another in 1980 for Be Forever<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Read more about the fan club’s early years here<\/a><\/p>\n

See inside this booklet here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1980 Music catalog<\/h3>\n

As we’ve seen in previous years, there was almost never a time when you couldn’t find Yamato<\/em> music in some form outside of the symphonic albums and song collections. They came from many different labels with varying degrees of quality, but there was never a lack of choices.<\/p>\n

See the many 1980 releases here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What’s Next<\/h2>\n

We’ll be picking up speed as we go into 1981, the year Yamato III<\/em> came to a close and plans went into motion for one last great voyage. But there was time to fill between those two adventures, and many interesting things came along to serve that purpose (including some long-awaited music). Click here<\/a> for Vintage Report 33 to see how this new phase began.<\/p>\n

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