A special exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the broadcast of the popular anime "Space Battleship Yamato," "Space Battleship Yamato Complete Record Exhibition," will be held at Seibu Shibuya in Shibuya, Tokyo from March 15th. The special exhibition was planned and produced by Hideaki Anno, and will display over 1,200 valuable items, including original proposals and character and mechanic design drawings, taken from materials stored by the nonprofit organization Anime Special Effects Archive Organization (ATAC). Other highlights include valuable materials such as materials drawn by Matsumoto Reiji, background art drawn by Tsukishima Hachiro, and storyboards by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko and Yoshiyuki Tomino, who would later work on "Mobile Suit Gundam." The exhibition will run until March 31st.
On March 14th, a preview was held, and Anno explained the appeal of "Space Battleship Yamato" by saying, "It's an epoch-making work that shocked not only me, but my generation. Yamato is Yamato," and "I'd never seen anything like it before; everything was new." He said the exhibits were "much more accurate than anything that's been on display until now," and "They're full of soul," and spoke passionately about "this is a work that should be passed down for over half a century. I put my heart into wanting to pass it on to young people."
The exhibition will display a number of intermediate materials, such as settings, original drawings, and art, following the 296,000 light-year journey that is depicted in all 26 episodes of the TV series, from the launch of the anime project. Once you pass through the entrance, you will see the actual original proposal document and a number of image arts. Also on display are the actual settings materials for the Yamato ship and a number of early character designs that were polished by Matsumoto Reiji. Pilot films will also be screened.
The section following the story of the TV series will feature exhibits of character and mecha settings, storyboards, art, cels, etc. that correspond to each episode. There will also be large-format original drawings and special-sized background images of the interior of the Yamato, outer space, and Earth's underground cities. There will also be corners focusing on the cast, magazines, comics, music, and sound effects, a large model of the Yamato ship that shows its internal structure, and photo spots with the main characters.
