The Arizona-class space battleship Arizona, which appears in " Be Forever Yamato: Rebel 3199 ," the latest installment in the remake series of the popular anime " Space Battleship Yamato ," will be made into a plastic model called the "1/1000 Arizona-class space battleship Arizona." It was announced at the "63rd All Japan Model Hobby Show," a model exhibition held at Tokyo Big Sight (Koto Ward, Tokyo) from October 17th to 19th, and became a hot topic on social media, with "Arizona" trending. But what exactly is the Arizona?
◇ A ship that is engraved in the hearts of fans
The Arizona is a space battleship of the Earth Defense Force that also appeared in " Space Battleship Yamato III." It first appeared in "Yamato 3199" in the third chapter, "Ultramarine Asteroid," which was released in April. The official website for "Yamato 3199" provides a detailed explanation of how the Arizona came to be built, but to put it simply, it is a space battleship that has been developed using the inner and outer hull structures used in the Yamato class as a modular structure, and while its silhouette resembles Yamato's, it also looks similar to Andromeda.
The Arizona from "Space Battleship Yamato III" was designed by Izubuchi Yutaka, who later served as the general director of "Space Battleship Yamato 2199."
Junichiro Tamamori, mechanical designer of "Yamato 3199," said at the screening of Chapter 3, "Ultramarine Asteroid," "Screening with YamaTalk [Mecha Design Edition]," "Our generation was familiar with Yamato through plastic models, but Arizona was never released. She only appeared in two or three scenes (in the film), and the next time she appeared, she was submerged. It's a shame." As such, she doesn't make many appearances. However, she remains etched in the hearts of fans, with fan art being drawn and garage kits being made.
◇How will he perform in "Yamato 3199"?
Tamamori had strong feelings about the Arizona. Regarding the Arizona, which was "revived" in "Yamato 3199," he said, "Anyone would agree that the Arizona was a cool ship. But it never played a major role and disappeared. The tragedy and regret are even greater than that of the Andromeda in ' Space Battleship Yamato: Farewell to Yamato.' I wanted to clear up the regret of the Arizona. I did my best to breathe life into the Arizona as a ship that exists in the world of the remake series, while fully respecting the charm of the design by Izubuchi, the general director of '2199', in his younger days."
In "Yamato 3199," the setting is that "the construction itself took place in North America, with extensive modifications in Japan." "If we were to do the 'final chapter,' I tried to create a design that would connect to that as well. The design is in a direction that connects to the world of Syd Mead. Rather than having a hand-drawn feel, I thought of organic lines and a modular structure divided into four parts. If I'm able to participate in the future, I would like to make use of this structure. I hope that other people will use it as a reference," he said, expressing a design that looks even further ahead than "Yamato 3199."
Arizona's full appearance has not been revealed in Yamato 3199. Harutoshi Fukui, the general director of Yamato 3199, has revealed that she will play an active role in the film, so future developments are sure to be interesting.
