The latest installment in the remake series of the popular anime "Space Battleship Yamato," "Be Forever Yamato: Rebel 3199," has become a hot topic due to the "shocking ending" of its fifth chapter, "The Heated Galactic War," which premiered on February 20th. The main visual for the fifth chapter featured the tagline, "In the last minute, everything will be turned upside down," and that tagline was absolutely true. Everything was indeed turned upside down. This article will explain the "shocking ending" of the fifth chapter.
◇Inspired by "Be Forever Yamato"
In the year 2207 AD, the Desarium, the enemy that the Yamato encountered two years prior, begin their invasion of Earth. Claiming to be Earthlings from approximately 1000 years in the future, the Desarium proceed with a plan to "redo the future from the past." To verify the truthfulness of the history recounted by the Desarium, the Yamato heads towards a spacetime node connecting the future and the present.
In Chapter Five, the Yamato reaches a spacetime junction. However, instead of arriving in the future, approximately 1000 years from now, it finds itself in Tokyo in 2026, approximately 200 years in the past—a shocking ending. The visual of the Yamato flying over Tokyo had a huge impact.
"Yamato 3199" is a reinterpretation and reconstruction of "Be Forever Yamato" and "Space Battleship Yamato III," with a new interpretation added. It is said that the idea was inspired by "Be Forever Yamato," and when interviewed, director Harutoshi Fukui said, "It was a concept from the beginning. I thought that if we could do this, we could do '3199.' It's not that it has nothing to do with the original work. The original (Be Forever Yamato) was set 200 years in the future on Earth (or rather, on the planet Desarium disguised as Earth), but we decided to turn that on its head and set it 200 years in the past this time."
Screenwriter Hideki Oka initially objected, saying, "You should stop. It'll be a one-trick pony," and director Naomichi Yamato seemed hesitant, saying, "When I first heard the idea, I was worried about whether I could pull it off." However, Fukui was confident, saying, "I made sure it wouldn't be a one-trick pony. I got going. It fit the theme of the work. After all, it's the original. In 'Forever,' when you see the Sphinx and New York, you think of Earth 200 years in the future. It was interesting how the Earth we know and the world of Yamato became connected. That might have been the underlying reason."
◇ "Yamato 3199" is a continuation of the present day.
I also want to consider Fukui's words about "fitting into the theme of the work." Desarium claims to be an Earthling from about 1000 years in the future and tries to lead Earthlings with plausible words. He stirs emotions with easy-to-understand language and makes the anxious masses think, "This person can change things." He incites anti-Gamilas sentiment among the masses, and discrimination and exclusion movements against Gamilas people erupt.
While the Desarium feels somewhat unsettling, being swayed by various pieces of information and losing track of what is true is a history that humanity has repeated itself, and it seems to be a problem that humanity is currently facing. "Yamato 3199" may be a work that mirrors society.
The Yamato crew resists Desarium, but the trailer for the sixth chapter, "The Blue Labyrinth," which will be screened from June 26, shows something odd about the Yamato crew's behavior when they arrive in Tokyo in 2026. Ryusuke Domon seems to be tempted by the same "historical alteration" that Desarium is trying to achieve, believing that "if the Yamato heads to Planet Gamilas in this era, the future can be changed."
Fukui also said, "The Yamato crew has always been right up until now, but things start to go wrong. If you were in the same position as Desarium, you might do the same thing. It shows the fragility of humanity." Justice can be precarious and fragile. By bringing Yamato to Tokyo in 2026, "Yamato 3199," although fiction, may have been trying to strongly demonstrate that it is connected to the present day. That could even be considered the "theme of the work."
It has been announced that "Yamato 3199" will consist of seven chapters. Since "everything was turned upside down" at the end of the fifth chapter, there are concerns about whether it will really conclude in just two more chapters. However, Fukui said about the future developments, "It will definitely end. I hope you will stick with it until the very end," emphasizing that it will end in "seven chapters."
The appearance of Yamato in Tokyo in 2026 has made it even clearer that "Yamato 3199" is a story that is directly connected to the present day. How this development will conclude remains to be seen, and future developments are something to watch. (Manami Anima/MANTANWEB)
