A talk event for the fourth chapter of the popular anime remake series, "Space Battleship Yamato: Be Forever Yamato: Rebel 3199," titled "Sasha," was held at Shinjuku Wald 9 (Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo) on November 12th. The event featured appearances by Megumi Han, who plays Sasha, director Megumi Han Fukui, director Naomichi Yamato, screenwriter Hideki Oka, and Eriko Nakamura, who plays Mikage Kiryu. "Yamato 3199" is a reimagining of the original works "Be Forever Yamato" and "Space Battleship Yamato III," with new interpretations added. Megumi Han Han's mother, Keiko Han, plays Sasha in " Be Forever Yamato ," and her taking over the role from her mother in "Yamato 3199" has also been a hot topic. Megumi Han Han spoke about her feelings for Sasha.
In the fourth chapter, Sasha appears as a grown-up. Ms. Pan said, "To everyone who watched the film, were you able to meet the Sasha you've been longing to meet? I was greeted with 'Welcome back,' and even though this is my first time, I feel like I've come home," which elicited thunderous applause from the fans gathered in the theater.
Mr. Pan had a special feeling for Sasha, saying, "I first encountered it when I was three years old. At the time, I also encountered the Universal Century. I think I watched it on a laser disc that we had at home while I was away. I chose to watch it. I remember the heartbreaking scene between Kodai and Sasha, along with the scenery I saw at home."
Fukui explained the reason for casting Pan, saying, "If we had offered the role to someone else, people would have asked, 'Why?' If (Pan) had just made his debut, there would have been no reason to use that, but we had no choice but to have him do it. When I was meeting with the sound director and discussing the cast we wanted, I forgot to mention him, as it was such a decided decision in my mind."
Pan said, "From what I heard from Fukui and the script, Sasha will have a different destiny than the character played by my mother. She has a different strength and energy. I didn't think it would be right to just copy my mother. But even so, I wanted people to feel a sense of nostalgia."
For the recording, Pan proposed three different acting patterns for Sasha: A, B, and C, and on the day, he performed A and C patterns live. He explained, "A is closer to my mother. C contains hope for my uncle (Kodai), including future developments."
According to Oka, "I thought that A, who looks just like Sasha, played by her mother, was the only one! So Fukui chose C," to which Fukui replied, "The sound staff thought it would be C," and pattern C was adopted. Yamato praised Pan's performance, saying, "Sasha, who is active in Chapter 4, may seem selfish, but I was relieved."
"Yamato 3199" consists of seven chapters, with the fifth chapter, "The Incandescent Galactic War," set to premiere on February 20, 2026. Regarding future developments, Mr. Pan said, "You'll be fooled until the very end. I'm looking forward to seeing how things unfold," and added, "From here on, it's going to be a whirlwind. I hope you'll believe in it and follow along."
