The latest film in the remake series of the popular anime "Space Battleship Yamato," "Yamato Forever REBEL 3199," had its second chapter, "Red Sun's Sorcerer," premiered on stage on November 8th at Shinjuku Piccadilly (Shinjuku, Tokyo), where Megumi Han, who plays Sasha, made a surprise appearance. "Yamato 3199" is the latest film in the remake series, based on the third anime film, "Yamato Forever," released in 1980, and reinterpreted the story. In "Yamato Forever," Megumi Han's mother, Keiko, played Sasha, and it was announced that she would be taking over the role from her mother. Megumi said, "It feels like fate to me. Many connections have brought me here. I would be happy if people could watch over the future of Yamato and the future of my uncle (the main character, Susumu Kodai)." Megumi is known for her roles as Gon Freecss in Hunter x Hunter and Arima Kana in Oshi no Ko, while Keiko has played Lalah Sune in Mobile Suit Gundam. Sasha is the daughter of Mamoru Kodai and Starsha. She is the niece of the main character Susumu Kodai and holds an important key to the story.
Megumi said, "It's a great honor and a humble thing to be able to play a popular character that transcends generations. I feel like it's like fate to be born to my mother. I'm proud to be standing here like this. It's an honor in this job."
General director Harutoshi Fukui explained the reason for casting the mother and daughter pair, saying, "I can't think of anything else. If I was going to do it, I wanted to have some kind of mother in the role... I've been thinking about that since 2205."
Keiko, the mother, is appearing in the remake series as Mother Desariam. Megumi said, "I saw the preview with my mother. She told me, 'You will take on this role.' I think she said it with Sasha's fate in mind."
Megumi said of her feelings about "Space Battleship Yamato," "I've actually been watching the laser discs of Yamato since I was born. The scene of Yamato taking off is imprinted in my DNA and I can't forget it. I watched it again when I was recording."
Also appearing on stage were Kuwashima Houko, who plays Mori Yuki, Horie Shun, who plays Isidor, and Director Yamato Naomichi. Nakamura Eriko, who plays Kiryu Mikage, served as MC.
Writer Fukui will be the general director of "Yamato 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 the latest work. The film is directed by Yamato Naomichi. There are seven chapters in total, with the second chapter, "Red Sun's Sortie," set to premiere on November 22nd.
The first "Space Battleship Yamato" TV anime was broadcast in 1974, and other films have since been produced, including "Space Battleship Yamato 2," "Space Battleship Yamato: Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato," and "Space Battleship Yamato: Resurrection." The remake series, "Space Battleship Yamato 2199," was screened in theaters from 2012 to 2014, and the sequel to "2199," "Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Warriors of Love," was screened in theaters and broadcast on TV from 2017 to 2019. The two-part series, "Space Battleship Yamato 2205: A New Voyage," was screened in theaters in 2021 and 2022.
