{"id":41249,"date":"2025-07-27T14:45:35","date_gmt":"2025-07-27T21:45:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/?p=41249"},"modified":"2025-09-14T22:15:54","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T05:15:54","slug":"064b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/064b\/","title":{"rendered":"Vintage Report 39: July & August 1982"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"2508icon\"<\/p>\n

As the second half of 1982 began, Final Yamato<\/em> preproduction went into its next stage with the completion of the script and the first delivery of storyboards. Meanwhile, media coverage amped up anticipation as the summer anime season reached its peak. Here’s the timeline for these two eventful months…<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

As the second half of 1982 began, Final Yamato<\/em> preproduction went into its next stage with the completion of the script and the first delivery of storyboards. Meanwhile, media coverage amped up anticipation as the summer anime season reached its peak. Here’s the timeline for these two eventful months…<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

July 1: Campus Vagabond<\/em> magazine No. 2<\/h3>\n

By all appearances, this bimonthly magazine from Kakugan Co. Ltd. served Tokyo’s college community as a guide for lifestyle tips, social events, media reviews, and more. Issue 2 inexplicably contained something you’d expect to find in an SF club doujinshi, an 8-page parody manga titled Yamato vs. Gundam<\/em><\/em>. It appeared with no context or explanation and contained a bawdy turn at the end.<\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n

July 3: Princess Information<\/em> Vol. 20<\/h3>\n

The newsletter of the fan club for Yoko Asagami (the voice of Yuki Mori) reached its 20th volume in July. These things are very rare today, so until actual issues can be found we’ll just have to be content with the covers.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

July 9: Final Yamato<\/em> script part D final draft completed<\/h3>\n

A major finish line was crossed on this day when the huge, complex conclusion to the film was written at last. But, of course, the real labor was just beginning with storyboards and design work now fully underway. And there was still the matter of the epilogue, which would take a while longer to conquer.<\/p>\n

Read about this section of the script in detail here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

July 9: BanBan Summer Vacation Movie Catalog<\/em><\/h3>\n

This mini-booklet was an insert in the August issue of High 1st Course<\/em>, Gakken’s student digest magazine for juniors. 1982 was a huge year for action, SF, and fantasy films in the west, and when Japan piled anime on top of it, high school students won the cinematic lottery.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Movies large and small were covered over 32 pages with anime content taking up the first third. That included this imaginative page, titled Anime Mecha Guiness<\/em>, that compared mecha from Yamato, Gundam<\/em>, Ideon<\/em>, and more.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

July 10: Animage<\/em> Vol. 50<\/h3>\n

The Final Yamato<\/em> coverage in Animage<\/em>‘s 50th issue stood apart from the competition; it was an 8-page insert focused entirely on the concept illustrations of Yoshinori Kanada, with comments from both the artist and Yoshinobu Nishizaki. Also included was an exploratory note wondering if any fans might be interesting in owning Yamato<\/em> on the emerging platform of home videotape.<\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n

July 10: The Anime<\/em> Vol. 33<\/h3>\n

Rather than speculate on what Final Yamato<\/em> had in store, The Anime<\/em> turned things over to Yoshinobu Nishizaki himself to write a series of essays, which began with this issue. It featured the latest design work and one unexplained Yamato III<\/em> image that never appeared again.<\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n

July 10: My Anime<\/em>, August issue<\/h3>\n

The Final Yamato<\/em> article in My Anime<\/em> focused on the new enemy Dengil with lots of speculation about the movie that later turned out to be pretty accurate.<\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n

July 10: Animedia<\/em>, August issue<\/h3>\n
\n

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

Animedia<\/em> offered only a tiny morsel of Yamato<\/em> news in its roundup of recent and upcoming events. The single block of text read as follows:<\/p>\n

Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> Final: A Gathering of Fans with Yoshinobu Nishizaki!<\/span><\/h3>\n

The first \u201cYamato<\/em> Fan Exchange Meeting” a gathering of fans with producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki, was held at the Japan Youth Hall Conference Room in Tokyo for the final installment of Space Battleship Yamato<\/em>. This event was organized with the aim of uniting fans’ efforts for the final chapter of Yamato<\/em>, and Nishizaki spoke about his plans in front of nearly 100 fans. A major news item is that Captain Okita Juzo will somehow be brought back to life, sparking much discussion. Theatrical release in March next year at Toei theaters!!<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

July 15: TV Anime Compendium<\/em> Part 3<\/h3>\n

Following the first and second volumes of this paperback series (both published in 1979), Akita Shoten labeled this one as a spinoff of My Anime<\/em> magazine and continued documenting the history of TV anime. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Picking up where volume 2 left off, it devoted a couple pages apiece to TV shows and specials with high-end productions like Yamato III<\/em> getting color treatment.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

July 31: Yoshinori Kanada Special<\/em> art book<\/h3>\n

The first book with Final Yamato<\/em> content wasn\u2019t extensive; just six pages out of 112, all containing the same art that was showcased in the latest Animage<\/em>, and no pertinent text. But what made this special special was its huge collection of Kanada art, never before assembled in print.<\/p>\n

The first part of the book, titled \u201cNew Sketch Gallery,\u201d was a gathering of concept sketches that practically leap off the page with energy and dynamism (Final Yamato<\/em> among them). Sections titled \u201cThat\u2019s IKO anime\u201d and \u201cOriginal Picture Album\u201d were devoted to Kanada\u2019s TV works with stills and key frames, and the last segment was a retrospective of his amateur days titled \u201cVisual Youth Diary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though Mr. Kanada died in 2009, he is revered as a legit pioneer who discovered the true power of the medium and contributed mightily to its worldwide popularity.<\/p>\n

Read our tribute to Kanada here<\/a><\/p>\n

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

Also spotted in July<\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

Space Cruiser Log issue 1<\/em><\/p>\n

What was the first Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> fanzine created in the U.S. and published in English? Until another candidate appears, the award goes to Space Cruiser Log<\/em>, created and edited by Fred Kopetz.<\/p>\n

Read about it in Fred’s own words here<\/a><\/p>\n

July context<\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

With no Yamato<\/em> or Gundam<\/em> movies to compete with, the summer season was wide open for other entries and they came fast and furious in July. Space Adventure Cobra<\/em><\/a> premiered in theaters on the 3rd and Galactic Gale Baxingar<\/em><\/a> (a sort-of sequel to Galactic Whirlwind Braiger<\/em>) made its TV debut on the 6th.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Dr. Slump<\/em> had been on TV for well over a year at this point, and its second big-screen outing, Hoyoyo Space Adventure<\/em><\/a>, rolled into theaters on July 10. It was already well-known for satire that observed no sacred cows, and proved the point with a sneaky cameo in the final shot (above right). Does that rendition of Earth look familiar?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Perhaps these scenes from Farewell to Yamato<\/em> will jog your memory.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Or, in fact, the final shot from Be Forever Yamato<\/em>, now coming up on its one-year anniversary. If you compare the artwork, the image is not identical. But since the Yamato<\/em> movies were made at Toei Studio before Dr. Slump<\/em> barged in to occupy the same production space, it’s entirely possible that the same painter satirized their own handiwork to capture the rebel spirit.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Opening the same day as Dr. Slump<\/em> was an unprecedented anime double feature for the Legendary God Giant Ideon<\/em> TV series, which had left fans hanging since it ended prematurely in January 1981. The compilation film A Contact<\/em><\/a> summarized the story so far, and the sequel Be Invoked<\/em><\/a> finally took the story to its end.<\/p>\n

Finally, Leiji Matsumoto took custody of SF anime summer on July 28 with the theatrical release of his exquisite My Youth in Arcadia<\/em><\/a>, which gave an origin to his legendary space pirate, Captain Harlock. <\/p>\n

Anime magazines published in July<\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
Animec<\/em> No. 24<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Animage<\/em> Vol. 50<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
The Anime<\/em> Vol. 33<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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

<\/p>\n

\n
My Anime<\/em>, Aug<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Animedia<\/em>, Aug<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
OUT<\/em>, Sep<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/br>
\nIdeon<\/em> and My Youth in Arcadia<\/em> tie at two covers each on the month of their premieres.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\n

<\/p>\n

August 7: Weekly Jewel<\/em> magazine<\/h3>\n

A news magazine for women seems like a strange place to find coverage of Yoshinobu Nishizaki, but there he was in a 4-page interview that asked him for details on Final Yamato<\/em> while also speculating about the unprecedented head-to-head movie fight with media giant Kadokawa, preparing Harmagedon<\/em> to premiere in the same month.<\/p>\n

Look for a translation of this article in a future update.<\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

August 9: Fan club gatherings begin<\/h3>\n

A series of fan club gatherings was held throughout the month of August. A short \u201cmessage film\u201d was shown and opinions were gathered to find out what everyone wanted from the last voyage of Yamato<\/em>. This took Nishizaki and other staff members on an ambitious 20-city tour over 22 days where some story ideas were divulged (including the comeback of Captain Okita) and fans made their desires known.<\/p>\n

See a gallery of photos from the fan gatherings here<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The \u201cMessage Film\u201d was a mini-documentary that included the original pilot film (revealed to the public for the first time) and on-camera messages from the production staff. After 1982, only a few snippets of this film were seen in the 1994 documentary titled The Quickening<\/em>, but it has never been commercially released. However, a transcript was published in the fan club magazine; read it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

August 10: Animage<\/em> Vol. 51<\/h3>\n

This issue’s Yamato<\/em> feature, titled Ten Years of History<\/em>, was split into three parts. 8 pages were spent on Final Yamato<\/em> with new artwork, including a custom spread made just for the magazine. 8 more covered the whole history of Yamato<\/em> under the title Record of Glory<\/em> with trivia-packed commentary from staff members. The last 5 pages were filled with Final Yamato<\/em> design work and one of the most candid and thought-provoking Yoshinobu Nishizaki interviews on record.<\/p>\n

Read the Final Yamato<\/em> segment<\/a>
\nRead Record of Glory<\/em><\/a>
\nRead the Yoshinobu Nishizaki interview<\/a><\/p>\n

(Each is linked to the next for continuous reading)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

August 10: The Anime<\/em> Vol. 34<\/h3>\n

A five-page Yamato<\/em> article titled The History of Yamato Music<\/em> contained another interview with Yoshinobu Nishizaki that focused on his views of music\u2019s role in anime and what made Yamato<\/em> music tower over all its competitors.<\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n

Also included was the first Final Yamato<\/em> poster, featuring animation designs direct from the studio.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

August 10: My Anime<\/em>, September issue<\/h3>\n

This article included unique watercolor paintings by Final Yamato<\/em>‘s art director, Kazuhiko Udagawa, that never saw the light of day again. It\u2019s likely they were created for the magazine, which would have been quite a coup at the time. Some focused on scenes that were cut from the film, accompanied by relevant passages from the script.<\/p>\n

A brief essay by Yoshinobu Nishizaki explained the philosophy of the story in terms not seen elsewhere, even the Fan Club Magazine, which is where his more eclectic musings tended to go.<\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n

August 10: Animedia<\/em>, September issue<\/h3>\n

For Animedia<\/em>‘s first look at Final Yamato<\/em>, they interviewed Nishizaki and wasted no time in drilling down on the big questions, such as why and how Captain Okita was being revived. The result was Nishizaki\u2019s clearest and most concise description of this premise and the others that drove the story.<\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n

August 15: Storyboard part A finished<\/h3>\n

On this historic day, Takeshi Shirato and his storyboard team finished transforming Part A of the script into storyboards that would become a blueprint for animators to follow. In the Final Yamato<\/em> Roman Album (published a year later), he described the process as follows:<\/p>\n

The length of the original storyboards totaled 3 hours and 30 minutes, and we had to eliminate an hour. Thirty minutes were cut during storyboard revisions, and another thirty were cut from the finished animation. We called the staff members whose work was cut \u201cvictims,\u201d even though that sounds negative. The first \u201cvictim\u201d was actually myself because my own storyboards were partially cut. There were \u201cvictims\u201d in almost every stage of the production such as animation, backgrounds, and filming. For us, honestly, our hearts were broken when our work was cut at the later stages. I experienced this bitterness the most in Final Yamato<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

And now, for the first time anywhere, you can see every page of their labors. No kidding!<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to see storyboard part A<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

August 21: Princess Information<\/em> Vol. 21<\/h3>\n

Another volume from the Yoko Asagami fan club arrived in August. Perhaps one day when physical copies turn up, we’ll get a look inside.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

August 25: Fan club magazine #30<\/h3>\n

This is another case where the publishing date of the club magazine is thrown into question by the content. The top story was an inside look at the Fan Gatherings that took place from August 9 to 30. That would make it slightly difficult to actually get the magazine out on August 25 (without a time machine), but that\u2019s what it says in the publishing info. The back cover advertised the Fascinating Piano<\/em> album, which would be released on September 21, so it’s very likely that the magazine came out a month later than it claimed.<\/p>\n

Regardless, the main article provides a heartwarming overview of what seemed to be both an exhilarating and exhausting experience for the fan club staff. Read it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Secondary to this was the transcript of the Message Film, and two further pages (above) showed off some new Final Yamato<\/em> design art with excerpts from the story outline.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

August 27: OUT<\/em>, October issue<\/h3>\n

Over the preceding issues, writer Shimotsuki Takanaka penned a regular column titled Animap ’82<\/em> that drew connections between shows and characters. The final segment appeared in this issue, which brought Susumu Kodai into the mix.<\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n

August: Star Blazers Fandom Report<\/em> issue 7<\/h3>\n

Despite the lack of an internet, fans in America (specifically New York) did a very respectable job of gathering news items of interest to Star Blazers<\/em> fans from many of the same print sources included in this report. This 6-page issue had plenty to offer, mainly info on fan events taking place in the U.S. including the one coming up next…<\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n

August 28 & 29: Star Blazers<\/em> Mini Con, New York<\/h3>\n

Michael Pinto and Brian Cirulnick, founders of the Star Blazers<\/em> Fan Club, planted a flag in fan history when they organized a video room for the Creation Convention in New York City’s Waldorf Hotel. This was the first large-scale showing of Farewell<\/em> and Be Forever<\/em> outside of Japan. It would have been quite a feat, since neither film had been released on home video yet; the only source at that time were recordings of TV broadcasts obtained from fans in Japan at the dawn of the home video age.<\/p>\n

The screenings became a rallying point for Star Blazers<\/em> fans in the Eastern seaboard of the US, many of whom would go on to plant flags of their own.<\/p>\n

Read more about it in Star Blazers Fandom Report<\/em> issue 8 here<\/a><\/p>\n

Read Michael Pinto’s blog about the event here<\/a><\/p>\n

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

Anime magazines published in August<\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
Fanroad<\/em>, Sep<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Animage<\/em> Vol. 51<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
The Anime<\/em> Vol. 34<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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

<\/p>\n

\n
My Anime<\/em>, Sep<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Animedia<\/em>, Sep<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
OUT<\/em>, Oct<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/br>
\nXabungle<\/em> grabs two cover stories. My Anime<\/em> runs the first Crusher Joe<\/em> cover; the movie will be out spring 1983.<\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n

What’s Next<\/h3>\n

An anniversary party is held, media intensity dials up, two more storyboard segments are completed, new music arrives, and the premiere of Final Yamato<\/em> gets two months closer. Click here<\/a> for Vintage Report 40, covering September and October 1982.<\/p>\n

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