Forum - View topicAnswerman - Why is Space Battleship Yamato a Big Deal in Japan?
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mdo7
 Posts: 6621 Location: Katy, Texas, USA |
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This is the same reason why Star Blazers (the American/US counterpart of Space Battleship Yamato) fans view that show as very mature and intriguing at the time it was broadcasted in the US, and I'll quote this from Wikipedia about Star Blazers:
Remember, there was no such thing as Cartoon Network (Toonami and Adult Swim), Sci-Fi Channel, and no streaming like Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, Crunchyroll back then. But it's amazing that Star Blazers/Space Battleship Yamato was able to get a sizable audiences in the US despite the limitation of broadcasting (it was shown on first-run syndication) and the way how people view animation in general back then (adult animation in the US was still almost non-existent compared to how ubiquitous it is today). Overall, thank you for writing up this Answerman article. Funny thing is that I never got chance to watch Space Battleship Yamato or it's American counterpart. |
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Rogueywon
Posts: 269 |
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Interesting article, thanks.
There is, of course, one huge reason why it remains such a big deal... it's really good. The original version is dated now, but was revolutionary at the time. The 2199 remake is, for my money, one of the best sci-fi shows around. |
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An Unchosen One
 Posts: 32 |
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That was quite a note to end on when it was less that imperial Japan was united and more that opposing expansion or war would result in severe consequences.
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Shay Guy
 Posts: 2375 |
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Looking up what was going on in the world of anime when Yamato debuted in October 1974… there was a lot less of it than we're used to, of course. The new super robot boom was only just beginning; Mazinger Z had been replaced with Great Mazinger just a month before, after its first competitor Getter Robo started earlier in the year. Magical girls were starting to be a thing; Majokko Megu-chan had started in April and would run for 72 episodes. Heidi, Girl of the Alps had started airing in January, and was approaching its end. Gatchaman had just wrapped up after its two years on the air. (Imagine -- an original anime airing for 105 episodes.) Aim for the Ace and Cutie Honey had aired a year ago; both lasted half a year.
So I guess this half-year, heavily serialized original space opera anime really wasn't like anything that was airing at the time, or had been recently. I only know the original Mazinger and Gatchaman by reputation (or Yamato, for that matter; I've only seen 2199), but I gather their type of storytelling was something very different. Last edited by Shay Guy on Mon Jan 13, 2025 6:42 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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WizardOfOss
 Posts: 114 Location: Oss, Netherlands |
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I have yet to watch anything of the Space Battleship Yamato franchise, still on my way too long PTW-list....
But if you ever find yourself in Kure, Hiroshima-ken, already finished the amazing Yamato Museum (with a gargantuan 1:10 scale model of the actual ship) as well as the JMSDF Museum next door (the one with a huge submarine in front of the building...), and have some time left: Visit this art gallery: https://maps.app.goo.gl/wpyfPwfFu9mbFebp8 The top floors are all about Space Battleship Yamato and Leiji Matsumoto, with some models, lots of books and artworks and some other stuff. It's not big, but very interesting nonetheless, and entrance is free! And haven't been myself yet, but in Tsuruga, Fukui-ken there should be a bunch of bronze statues of characters from Space Battleship Yamato and also Galaxy Express 999. Last edited by WizardOfOss on Mon Jan 13, 2025 1:11 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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snake-eyes
 Posts: 169 |
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I look forward to Anno’s Yamato project. So far Region 1 received Yamato 2199 and 2202, but not 2205 or 3199 on Blu Ray. Starblazers S1-3 in English are Still available on dvd, same as the 5 Original Yamato Films Subtitled but not the more recent 6th film Resurrection! Will this new project Warp to The US from Japan on Blu Ray? I hope so. I started watching Star Blazers in 1979. I also saw Speed Racer, Force Five Grandizer, Starvengers (Getter Robo G) Danguard, and Gaiking. Mazinger aired on another network as Tranzor Z, voltes V aired on a Christian Broadcast network and an anime with a transforming 18 wheeler, not transformers became Star Birds!
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YagamiBlackstone255
Posts: 217 |
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God I would spend HOURS reading about the kids tv industry of the 70s. People take for granted having kids channels/geek channels or even streaming. But the wild west days of syndicated/broadcast tv being the only choice is ENDLESSLY FASCINATING to me. It is my hyper fixation. I love it.
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Piglet the Grate
 Posts: 851 Location: North America |
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There are very few surviving pictures of IJN Yamato and no known surviving plans due to the IJN burning many of their records during the second half of August 1945. Fortunately, enough pictures were eventually found to reconstruct its appearance relatively accurately.
While the arguments about how certain ships are classified (e.g., HMS Hood a battlecruiser or fast battleship?) still rage, IJN Yamato has never been considered anything but a battleship in both contemporary reports and by every credible naval historian, as it was a capital ship primarily intended to fight in "the line of battle".
One of exactly two (the other being the sister ship of the class, IJN Musashi), both having an operational displacement of about 72,000 tons (second place Iowa class at 57,540 tonnes in WW2 configuration). Broadside weight (with AP shells) of the nine 18.1-inch guns was about 28,971 pounds (by comparison the nine 16-inch guns of the Iowa class had a broadside weight of about 24,300 pounds).
Young'uns take for granted being able to change the channel (all 4 or 5 of them) or volume without having to get up and walk to the TV set, and missed out on endlessly adjusting "rabbit ears" to try to get better reception and eliminate ghosting. And they will never experience the vanishing dot of light when the set was switched off. They also missed out being tied to the broadcast schedule, as the VCR was for only for the rich and upper middle class until the end of the 1970s. Not to mention the grayscale world of the many black-and-white TV sets then in existence. |
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YagamiBlackstone255
Posts: 217 |
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Hey! You got it backwards, I meant that Streaming is indeed the future, but I find the old ways kids tv used to work so fascinating. Streaming is a plus not a minus, I didn't mean that the OLD IS BETTER but rather how much the industry has evolved since then.[/b]
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Otaku-sempai
 Posts: 135 Location: Lackawanna, NY |
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I've never thought about this: I was born on the fifteenth anniversary of the sinking of the Yamato.
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timeldred
Posts: 33 |
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I hope everyone here has been to my website, which is now the largest Space Battleship Yamato resource on Earth, including anything you can find in Japan. Japanese readers visit it too! It's called Cosmo DNA (ourstarblazers.com) and brings you all the latest news in addition to a massive archive from yesteryear. Updates every month on the 15th, online since 2002!
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WizardOfOss
Posts: 114 Location: Oss, Netherlands |
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Cool! I see a lot of inspiration for upcoming Japan trips 
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Triltaison
 Posts: 804 |
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Frequently! And I've been to a few of your con panels, too. The passion for the classics passed on to me at a time when I was falling out of love with the anime medium's modern stuff many years ago. It's thanks to guys like you, Mike Toole, Daryl Surat, and Dave Merrill that I'm sitting here with like a third of Discotek's catalog and a pile of Leijiverse manga. Thanks for everything, Tim! You're doing the lord's work. 
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Otaku-sempai
Posts: 135 Location: Lackawanna, NY |
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Tim, you didn't used to contribute to the old EDF fanzine, did you? I remember it from my days in the San Antonio C/FO. |
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yeehaw
 Posts: 604 |
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It's a boat In space! Why wouldn't it be popular
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