The first event in the 50th anniversary project for the popular anime "Space Battleship Yamato" was held on October 6th at Shinjuku Piccadilly (Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo). It was a one-night-only screening event held on the same day and time in 2024, exactly 50 years after the TV broadcast began at 7:30 pm on October 6th, 1974. Guests included director Anno Hideaki, known for the "Evangelion" series, Izubuchi Yutaka, who worked on "Space Battleship Yamato 2199," and anime and special effects researcher Hikawa Ryusuke. Anno and others spoke about the "shock" of "Space Battleship Yamato."
◇The impact of Tomonaga Kazuhide's drawings. The Wave Motion Gun was also thrilling!
"Space Battleship Yamato" greatly expanded the fan base of anime, which had previously been considered "for children" and also called "TV cartoons," and became a social phenomenon with the movie version also becoming a huge hit.
As Anno said, "Without this work, anime would have been in a different form than it is today," and Hikawa said, "Without Yamato, anime would not have been aimed at junior and senior high school students, and would have continued as a children's TV program. Miyazaki Hayao would probably have made a feature-length manga film for children," it became a pioneer of the Japanese anime boom.
Anno said, "I was blown away by the drawing of the main gun in the second episode. It was Tomonaga-san's (Tomonaga Kazuhide) drawing that got me into the Yamato swamp. It's really amazing." "I was also blown away by the Wave Motion Gun. It took 2 minutes and 10 seconds (to fire). There were no TV cartoons at the time that took that long to fire a cannon shot."
Tomonaga Kazuhide is also known for creating many famous scenes, including the car chase scene in "Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro." Tomonaga's masterpiece drawing was what got him into the swamp, and it was memorable when Anno jokingly said, "It's Tomonaga's fault. Please take responsibility!"
◇The impact on "Gundam" - the amazing Tomino Yoshiyuki
As Anno passionately stated, "I probably wouldn't have made anime. There wouldn't have been 'Gundam'," and Izubuchi said, "I would have lived a different life," they had a huge impact on subsequent anime and creators.
Anno also mentioned the impact on "Mobile Suit Gundam," which began airing in 1979. Tomino Yoshiyuki, the general director of "Mobile Suit Gundam," is also known for viewing "Space Battleship Yamato" as a rival.
"The reason why it is based on White Base is because of Yamato. What's amazing about Tomino is that he added Mazinger Z. Yamato and Mazinger Z are invincible. He makes Black Tiger and Cosmo Zero robots and makes them the main characters. I think that substitution is an invention."
◇ Hideaki Anno's new work, including Harutoshi Fukui's "masterpiece" 3199
At the event, Anno revealed that "I am now able to create new works," and it was also announced that a new animated film based on Space Battleship Yamato will be produced, which became a hot topic. Planning for a new theatrical work is underway with the goal of starting production in 2025, and Izubuchi will participate.
Khara, where Anno serves as representative director, has been granted the right to produce a new anime by Voyager Holdings, the original author and copyright holder of Space Battleship Yamato, and with permission to use the copyright from Tohokushinsha, the new anime will be produced. A remake series of "Space Battleship Yamato" such as "Space Battleship Yamato 2199" has also been produced, but it is said that "it will go down a different route", so what will happen? Expectations are building.
The latest in the remake series, "Yamato Forever REBEL 3199", Chapter 2 "Red Sun's Sortie", will be screened from November 22nd. "3199" will be directed by Harutoshi Fukui, who 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. In interviews, Fukui has said that "3199" is "my greatest masterpiece". We are looking forward to future developments in "3199", the "masterpiece". Half a century after it began airing, "Space Battleship Yamato" is not over yet!
