An event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the popular anime "Space Battleship Yamato" was held on March 22nd at the world's largest anime event "AnimeJapan 2025" held at Tokyo Big Sight (Koto-ku, Tokyo). Appearing at the event were Harutoshi Fukui, general director of the latest remake series "Be Forever Yamato: Rebel 3199", Keiko Han, who plays Mother Desariam, Keiko's daughter Megumi Han, who plays Sasha, and anime special effects researcher Ryusuke Hikawa. Keiko played the popular character Sasha in the third theatrical anime film "Be Forever Yamato" released in 1980, and after more than 40 years, she will appear in "Space Battleship Yamato" again in the remake series. In the latest remake series "Be Forever Yamato Be Forever Yamato: Rebel 3199" based on the original work, Megumi Han, who took over the role from her mother, is also a hot topic.
Director Fukui explained the reason for casting Megumi, saying, "There was no reason not to ask Megumi. She did the voice recording for Mobile Suit Gundam UC together with her mother, and in just a few years she rose to stardom. She's become a star."
Megumi said, "I've never taken over a role before. It was the first time in a production. I was honored, but I was also worried about whether I would be able to board this ship." Megumi revealed that she "couldn't talk to her mother about it," and Keiko nodded, saying, "I don't want to be consulted by her either."
Regarding her decision to appear in the remake series, Keiko said, "I wonder if Fukui-san told her about it? He's 72 years old. I kept turning him down, and then he emailed me. He said, 'Wouldn't it be okay to use the book I wrote?' I was like, 'No thanks!'" and about her feelings for Sasha, she said, "I thought that's great! Sasha is amazing. When I got to do 'Forever,' it was the greatest reward for being an actor. It was fantastic."
Fukui will be the general director of "Be Forever Yamato: Rebel 3199", and will also be in charge of series composition and scriptwriting. Fukui was in charge of 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 be the general director of this latest work. Yamato Naomichi will be the director. There are seven chapters in total, with the third chapter being screened on April 11th.
The first Space Battleship Yamato anime series was broadcast in 1974, and other films have since been produced, including Space Battleship Yamato 2, Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato , Warriors of Love, and Space Battleship Yamato Resurrection. A remake of the first film, Space Battleship Yamato 2199, was screened in theaters and broadcast on TV from 2012 to 2014, and a sequel to 2199, 2202, was screened in theaters and broadcast on TV from 2017 to 2019. A two-part series, 2205, was screened in theaters in 2021 and 2022.
