A screening of the third chapter of the latest installment of the remake series of the popular anime "Space Battleship Yamato", "Be Forever Yamato: Rebel 3199", "Ultramarine Asteroid", entitled "Screening with YamaTalk [Mecha Design Edition]", was held on May 8th at Shinjuku Piccadilly (Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo). Mechanical designer Junichiro Tamamori, general director Harutoshi Fukui, director Naomichi Yamato, and screenwriter Hideki Oka appeared on stage. The design of Arizona, which made its first appearance in the third chapter, was revealed, and the setting drawings were unveiled for the first time.
The Arizona is a space battleship of the Earth Defense Force that also appeared in "Space Battleship Yamato III." Tamamori said, "Our generation was familiar with Yamato through its plastic models, but the Arizona was never released. It only appeared in two or three scenes, and the next time it was shown it was submerged. It didn't make many appearances."
On the other hand, "I had a chance to meet Izubuchi-san (Izubuchi Yutaka, who designed the Arizona) and we exchanged opinions. Izubuchi-san told me, 'I designed it when I was young, so...'" It is popular, with fans drawing it and making garage kits, and everyone has their own thoughts about it," and it is etched in the hearts of fans.
In "3199," "the construction itself was in North America, and it was extensively renovated in Japan," and regarding the design he said, "Since the TV screen is 4:3, it looked like a short ship, but Izubuchi-san's design drawing was long. I thought it would be okay to make it a little bigger than Yamato, so I made it 337 meters."
Conceptual diagrams of the internal structure were also made public, explaining, "If we were to do a 'final chapter,' I tried to create a design that would connect to that. A design that connects to the world of Syd Mead. Rather than having a hand-drawn feel, I came up with a modular structure divided into four parts with rational lines. If I'm able to participate in the future, I would like to make use of this structure. I would like others to use it as a reference even if they do it."
In Chapter 3, the Arizona's full figure has not been revealed. Fukui said, "The face of the battleship is the bow. Its face is hidden. It's beautiful to see it progress step by step. I can't say when it will appear," but he did reveal that there will be scenes where she will play an active role in the future.
"Yamato 3199" is a new interpretation of the third theatrical film, "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 the latest film. There are seven chapters in total, with the fourth chapter, "Sasha, the Light Blue Maiden," set to premiere on October 10.
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.
