A stage greeting to commemorate the screening of Chapter 2, "Red Sun's Sortie," of "Yamato Forever REBEL3199," the latest installment in the remake series of the popular anime "Space Battleship Yamato," was held at Shinjuku Piccadilly on November 23rd, with appearances by voice actors Daisuke Ono, who plays the main character Susumu Kodai, and general director Harutoshi Fukui. Ono said of Chapter 2, "It's a long, difficult situation, the depths of despair. In the midst of all of this, Yamato sets out. The ship moves forward, but Kodai is looking backwards. It's frustrating and painful, but he desperately looks up and holds back his tears, thinking that there might be hope beyond." Ono sang Chapter 2's ending theme, "Reach for the Star," and also wrote the lyrics for the song. "'Reach for the Star' means 'reaching for the stars,' or taking on something you think is impossible, and the title was there from the beginning of the demo vocals by (composer and arranger) Watanabe Takuya. Those words linked to the main story. Kodai regrets letting go of Yuki's hand. He also lets go of Sasha. He struggles even though he knows it won't happen. You can't go back to the past. It's the same for us. You have to embrace the past and move forward. I put those feelings into the song," he revealed.
Regarding the recording, he said, "My throat was not feeling well at the time, but I managed to hold on. After I gave it my all, I lost my voice the next day. I put everything into it. I wonder if Yamato is that kind of work? Push yourself to your limits. I wrote in the script, 'Fall until you drop and break through your limits.' That's what Fukui said."
Furukawa Makoto, who plays Alphonse, Hatano Yu, who plays Domon Ryusuke, and Uemura Yuto, who plays Ageha Takeru, also took to the stage to greet the audience, with Nakamura Eriko, who plays Kiryu Mikage, acting as the host.
The first Space Battleship Yamato anime was broadcast on TV in 1974, and other works have since been produced, including Space Battleship Yamato 2, Farewell to Yamato, and Space Battleship Yamato Resurrection. A remake of the first film, Space Battleship Yamato 2199, was screened in theaters from 2012 to 2014, and 2202, a sequel to 2199, was broadcast in theaters and on TV from 2017 to 2019. The two-part series, 2205, will be screened in theaters in 2021 and 2022.
Fukui will serve as general director of 3199, and will also be in charge of series composition and scriptwriting. Fukui was in charge of the series composition and scriptwriting for the remake series "Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Warriors of Love" and "Space Battleship Yamato 2205: A New Voyage," and will also serve as general director for the latest film. There are seven chapters in total, with the third chapter, "Ultramarine Asteroid," set to premiere on April 11, 2025.
