NEW “YAMATO: 2199” ADVENTURE SETS SAIL! Two Feature Films Will Bow Fall & Winter 2014

新作劇場版『宇宙戦艦ヤマト2199星巡る方舟』は総集編と連続公開！


Main promo art for the upcoming all-new YAMATO: 2199 feature!

And the ship sailed on… As the credits faded out during the last episode of the hit series SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO: 2199 aired on Japanese television this past year, a teaser promised an “All-New Feature Film” to be released in 2014. And while the production team, led by returning director Yutaka Izubuchi, have kept all of the details under tight lock and key, some surprising news came out of Tokyo, April 21st (Japan Time), during the “40th Anniversary Project Commencement Meeting” to open the “Space Battleship Yamato: 2199 Art Exhibition” at the Seibu Ikebukuro department store (which will run through May 7th). The capacity crowd were allowed to see over 100 pieces of original production art created for the YAMATO: 2199 series, as well as original lithographs by Nobuyuki Katoh and Kia Asamiya, the later of which were for purchase. But, that was just warming up the Wave Motion Engine…

The Yamato, Uchida, Sugo, and Nishizaki. Photo: Ryusuke Hikawa

In attendance at the press conference were Producer Shoji Nishizaki, the adopted son of the late maverick producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki (who created and produced the original 1974 YAMATO series), voice actors Aya Uchida (Yuria Misaki) and Takayuki Sugo (Captain Okita) appeared to announce the upcoming feature film, but then shocked everyone with the news that there will be two feature films, which will be released in October and December, respectively. The first, SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO: 2199 ~ VOYAGE OF RECOLLECTION (Uchu Senkan Yamato 2199 Tsuioku-no Kokai), will be a 26-episode condensation of the YAMATO: 2199 series, following in the tradition of the original, box office-smashing 1977 feature, a digest of the 1974 teleseries. YAMATO: 2199 alumni, head writer Shigeru Morita is structuring the condensation, while director Takao Kato is supervising the overall production.


Voice Actress Aya Uchida, who plays Yuria Misaki. My Navi News

While the VOYAGE OF RECOLLECTION is being created as both a refresher and cliff notes for new viewers (playing in select Japanese theaters on October 11, 2014), the crux of this press conference was to announce details concerning the eagerly-awaited all-new feature film, SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO: 2199 ~ ARK OF THE STARS (Uchu Senkan Yamato 2199 Hoshi Meguru Hakubune), opening nationwide in Japanese theaters on December 6, 2014. While details on this all-new production are still being being kept secret, wild fan speculation has projected hopes for a “Comet Empire” storyline (as seen in the 1978 feature film and the second television series or second season of STAR BLAZERS), Director Izubuchi has vehemently denied this, emphasizing that since the title is “2199,” the narrative's backdrop will indeed be taking place within the one-year voyage to Iscandar and back.


Voice Actor Takayuki Sugo, who plays Captain Okita. My Navi News

Considered the centerpiece of Yamato's 40th Anniversary, ARK OF THE STARS will feature an all-new story and all-new animation, with the general assumption that this will be a "gaiden" or "side story," but with nothing else to go on, and anticipation running high, fans are going to have to tough it out until a plot synopsis is finally made public. Director Izubuchi and his staff, many carried over from the production of YAMATO: 2199, foster a deep love for the original and have vowed to carry their passions into this completely original feature film. “40 years… It will be 40 years to the month when we encounter the Yamato again. At the time, no one could’ve imagined, 40 years later, that those whom were so impacted by YAMATO would witness such a reunion. But, it has become reality. The promise, 'We will return!' (from the original series) has now become prophetic,” said Izubuchi.


Producer Shoji Nishizaki walks in his father's footsteps. My Navi News

Proudly and gloriously hovering behind producer Nishizaki and actors Uchida and Sugo, was the brand-new, and very impressive, 1/100 scale display model of the 2199 version Yamato, which captured the attention of the standing-room mob of reporters and photographers, alike at this pivotal press conference. Closing out the event, Takayuki Sugo got into character as Captain Juzo Okita to command, “Space Battleship Yamato: 2199, 40th Anniversary Project, cast off!"


3-meter display model of the 2199 Yamato. Photo: Ryusuke Hikawa

For further information on both of these exciting feature films, stay tuned to this blog and Our Star Blazers for news and updates!

SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO: 2199 (2012) New TV Series Gets Theatrical Premiere!

『宇宙戦艦ヤマト2199』新作劇場版＋テレビシリーズ、発信！



After the last two years of major YAMATO revivals in the form of the feature-length animated follow-up to FINAL YAMATO (1983), SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO: RESURRECTION (2009), which was followed by big budget live-action mash-up SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO (2010; from Japanese Academy Award-winning director Takashi Yamazaki), there comes the news of another YAMATO production to debut this coming April: SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO: 2199! Shoji Nishizaki, the adopted son of the late YAMATO creator and producer, Yoshinobu Nishizaki. mentioned in the wake of the his father's untimely death last November, that their company, Enagio, would press on with new YAMATO productions, including an animated series. This past July, production designer Makoto Kobayashi announced at Anime Expo in Los Angeles, that the previously-mentioned series was indeed in pre-production, and that it was to be a remake of the original 1974 series.


The Yamato sleeps under the setting sun...

After months of silence, on November 10th (Japan Time), a formal announcement was made to the Japanese Media, that YAMATO would be returning in the form of a theatrical release scheduled for April 7, 2012 (67 years to the date that the original IJN Battleship Yamato was sunk off of the coast of Okinawa). On November 11th, the first teaser trailer was revealed on the main official YAMATO website, "Yamato Crew", and the same day, the official website for YAMATO: 2199 also went live. Immediately, there was a flurry of chatter and speculation in fan communities on both sides of the Pacific as to the announcement of this theatrical movie, including disappointment that the promised television series had seemingly been dumped in favor of a feature film, while most were grateful that a new YAMATO was in the offing. Discussion of the teaser trailer also praised the animation, which confirmed that the original mecha designs of the Earth Defense Forces and the Gamilas Empire appeared mercifully unadulterated.


Gamilas Cruisers repulse UNCN beams at the Battle of Pluto!

But, then more news was slyly revealed in the Member's Only sections of the Yamato Crew website:

Firstly, it was stated that YAMATO: 2199 would only be bowing in ten cinemas, nationwide, and that the total running time will be a mere 50 minutes in length (approximate). Why would they bother making such a short feature? Because, as it turns out, this theatrical movie is actually a special compilation of the first and second episodes of an all-new television series! That's right — YAMATO: 2199 is going to be a full-on television remake of the 1974 series! As I go to press with this news, there was no announcement as to the length of this new series or the network on which YAMATO: 2199 will be broadcast — but still, my fellow Yamato Fans, this is indeed the new television series that many of us have been hoping for!


A UNCN Cruiser takes a fatal blow at the Battle of Pluto!

According to the Yamato Crew website, the Supervising Director of the new series is the celebrated character designer and animation director Yutaka Izubuchi and the Character Designs were created by veteran Nobuteru Yuuki. Izubuchi first cut his teeth as an Enemy Robot Designer on Toei's FIGHTING GENERAL DAIMOS and FUTURE ROBO: DALTANIOUS in 1979, while a member of Studio Nue, and during that same period, he was also affiliated with Aritsune Toyota's Creative Group, Parallel Creation (Toyota being one of the founding fathers of YAMATO). For YAMATO III (1980), Izubuchi designed both the Space Battleship Arizona and the Zeandora III, and also contributed to the mechanical designs of the Denguil Empire for FINAL YAMATO (1983).


A Message Capsule from Iscandar — the last hope for Mankind!

A diehard fan of Anime and Tokusatsu, Izubuchi was tapped by Toei Producer Takeyuki Suzuki to design the villains for three consecutive Super Sentai Series, after he complained about the lackluster monster designs in GREATEST TASK FORCE: GOGGLE V (1982), starting with SCIENCE TASK FORCE: DYNAMAN (1983). Izubuchi quickly racked up his credits with scores of memorable mecha designs for Sunrise's BLUE GALE: XANBUNGLE (1982), AURA BATTLER: DUNBINE (1983), PANZER WORLD: GALIENT (1984), MACROSS: DO YOU REMEMBER LOVE? (1984), and went on to create mecha for numerous series and movies in the PATLABOR and GUNDAM franchises, and was the creator and director of RAHXEPHON (2002).


The last surviving Admiral of the UNCN Fleet: Juzo Okita!

Perhaps best known to Old Skoolers for his work on MEGAZONE 23 (1985), Nobuteru Yuuki started his professional career as an animator on SUPER DIMENSION CENTURY ORGUSS (1983). He built upon his portfolio as an manga artist and illustrator during the 1980s, as he was working on such television series as HEAVY METAL L-GAIM (1984) and DIRTY PAIR (1985), and feature films such as MACROSS: DO YOU REMEMBER LOVE? (1984) and ROYAL SPACE FORCE: THE WINGS OF HONNÊAMISE (1987). In addition to his prolific Anime credentials, Yuki has also created illustrations for numerous publications, as well as being a noted cover artist for fantasy and science fiction novels. He has also served as a designer for such video games as Chrono Cross and Solatorobo: Red the Hunter. Yuki is best known to younger Anime fans as the character designer for THE VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE (1996) and MAKEN-KI! (2011).


Combat Officer Trainee, Susumu Kodai pilots the Cosmo Zero!

The animation for YAMATO: 2199 is being produced by Xebec Inc. and AIC. As a subsidiary of Production I.G. (whose many credits include the animated segment of KILL BILL VOL. 1 and BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE), Xebec's purpose is to handle the production of TV Anime, and their long list of titles include MARTIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO (1996) and HEROIC AGE (2007). In 2011 alone, Xebec produced three Anime series, BREAK BLADE, RIO: RAINBOW GATE, and SOFTENNI. AIC (or Anime International Company) was founded in 1982, and have worked on dozens of productions, including major benchmark titles in the 1980s, such as the MEGAZONE 2-3, ICZER-1, and BUBBLEGUM CRISIS OVA series. Still going strong in 2011, AIC produced the series R-15, WANDERING SON, PERSONA 4: THE ANIMATION, and I DON'T HAVE MANY FRIENDS.


The Cosmo Zero flying into combat above a scorched Earth!

As of this writing, there is no further information on the names of the other principals involved in the production, including screenwriters, voice actors, or music composers. Interestingly, the teaser trailer features music by the late Hiroshi Miyagawa, the famed composer whose scores are synonymous with YAMATO. Is it possible that cues from the original score, or new arrangements of those scores, could be incorporated — perhaps under the baton of Miyagawa's son, Akira, who has followed in his father's footsteps? As for the voice actors, can we hope for some of original surviving thesps to return to their much-beloved roles? Some returned for YAMATO: RESURRECTION... I mean, we can't have another voice actor for Dessler other than Masato Ibu, can we?

Stay tuned to this blog and the official Star Blazers website for more information on SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO: 2199 as they develop — we're off to outer space, again!