A stage greeting to commemorate the screening of the third chapter of the latest remake series of the popular anime "Space Battleship Yamato", "Be Forever Yamato: Rebel 3199", "Gunjo no Asteroid", was held at Marunouchi Piccadilly (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) on April 12th, where Hisakawa Aya, who plays Niimi Kaoru, made an appearance. Hisakawa has been playing the role of Niimi Kaoru since the first remake series, "Space Battleship Yamato 2199", which began development in 2012, but this was her first time appearing on stage for a "Space Battleship Yamato" stage greeting.
For Hisakawa, "Space Battleship Yamato" was the work that inspired him to become a voice actor, saying, "I'm happy. When I watched it as a child, the end credits said, 'In cooperation with Aoni Production,' so I thought, 'I should enter Aoni Juku (training school)!' Without Yamato, I wouldn't have become a voice actor. I even told Takeshi Aono (who plays Sanada Shiro), 'That line made me want to become a voice actor!'" He spoke passionately about the joy of appearing in the remake series, saying, "That Space Battleship Yamato? I'm surprised. I'm overwhelmed with emotion. I want to tell my elementary school self."
Also appearing on stage to greet the audience were Megumi Han, who plays Sasha, Tasuku Hatanaka, who plays Ryusuke Domon, Yuto Uemura, who plays Takeru Ageha, and Harutoshi Fukui, the general director. Megumi Han is the daughter of Keiko Han, who played the popular character Sasha in the third animated film "Be Forever Yamato" released in 1980, and it has been a hot topic that she took over the role of Sasha from her mother.
Hisakawa and Keiko Han have previously worked together in "Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon," and she said, "When I was a child, I practiced Keiko Han's lines for Sasha so hard in 'Forever.' I'm so grateful to Keiko Han, and now Megu-chan is playing Sasha! It's amazing!" She added with a smile, "It's like a dream to be standing here. I'm really happy to be able to interact with Megu-chan and Sasha."
"Be Forever Yamato: Rebel 3199" is a new interpretation of the original third movie "Be Forever Yamato" released in 1980. Fukui will serve as general director, 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 general director for this latest work. Naomichi Yamato will be the director. There are seven chapters in total, with the fourth chapter "Sasha, the Light Blue Maiden" set to premiere on October 10th.
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.
