Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2199
A 2012 remake of the classic 1974 space opera.
Star Blazers 2199, originally released in Japan as Space Battleship Yamato 2199, is a 2012–2013 Japanese military science fiction anime television series. It is a remake of the first Space Battleship Yamato series from 1974, which was known in the United States as Star Blazers. The series was initially screened in theaters in Japan before airing on television from April 7, 2013, to September 29, 2013.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Adventure
- military science fiction
- space opera
- Creator
- Leiji Matsumoto; Yoshinobu Nishizaki
Facts from the source article.
Plot
In 2191, Earth made first contact with the alien Gamilas, but peaceful attempts failed, leading to interstellar war. The United Nations Cosmo Navy halted direct Gamilas assaults at the Second Battle for Mars, though with heavy losses. The Gamilas then bombarded Earth with modified asteroids called planet bombs from their Pluto base, hampering fleet rebuilding and forcing humanity into underground cities. The planet bombs altered the atmosphere and irradiated the surface, destroying the biosphere. The Gamilas introduced lethal plant life as a first step in terraforming Earth for themselves. Facing extinction, the United Nations began the Izumo Plan to send a small colony away. In early 2198, Starsha of Iscandar learned of Earth's plight and sent her sister Yurisha with designs for the Dimensional Wave Motion Engine, enabling interstellar flight. The Iscandarans offered the Cosmo Reverse System to reverse Earth's damage but required Earth to retrieve it. The United Nations scrapped the Izumo Plan and built a new space battleship, the Yamato, at the site of the sunken World War II battleship to conceal construction from the Gamilas.
Production
The series is a remake of the 1974 Space Battleship Yamato, with changes including new characters, several female ones, modern tech design, and animation inspired by the original. The original intro music by Hiroshi Miyagawa, sung by Isao Sasaki, was re-scored by his son Akira. Producers worked with the Maritime Staff Office of the MSDF as a technical consultant, and character speech was based on MSDF vernacular. Yutaka Izubuchi served as supervising director, with character designs by Nobuteru Yuki, and mecha and conceptual designs by Junichiro Tamamori and Makoto Kobayashi. Animation was by Xebec (episodes 1–26) and AIC (episodes 1–10). Hideaki Anno designed the opening sequence as a homage to the original series. The series aired from April 7, 2013, in the MBS/TBS 5:00 p.m. timeslot, replacing Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic. The Yamato wreck in the 1974 series was based on the assumption the warship sank intact; after the 1985 discovery of the mangled wreck, the new series depicted the wreck as camouflage for the ship being built underneath. Characters from the original's second and third seasons appear. The first episode was dubbed by Bang Zoom! Entertainment and shown at Anime Expo and San Diego Comic-Con in 2013.
Marketing
Episode 1 was previewed on April 6, 2012, on Family Gekijo channel, though the remaining episodes did not air on TV until 2013. It was released on Blu-ray and DVD on May 25, 2012. Six more films, each containing four episodes, were released in theaters through 2013. The second film, Dai-nishō: Taiyōken no Shitō (Chapter 2: Desperate Struggle in the Heliosphere), featuring episodes 3–6, opened June 30, 2012, in ten theaters. The third film, Dai-sanshō: Hateshinaki Kōkai (Chapter 3: The Endless Voyage), featuring episodes 7–10, opened October 13, 2012, in twelve theaters. The fourth film, Dai-yonshō: Ginga Henkyō no Kōbō (Chapter 4: Defense of the Galactic March), featuring episodes 11–14, opened January 12, 2013. The fifth film, Dai-goshō: Bōkyō no Gingakan Kukan (Chapter 5: The Redolence of Intergalactic Space), featuring episodes 15–18, opened April 13, 2013. The sixth film, Dai-rokushō: Tōtatsu! Dai Magellan (Chapter 6: Arrival! Large Magellanic Cloud), featuring episodes 19–22, opened June 15, 2013. The seventh film, Dai-nanashō: Soshite Kan wa Iku (Chapter 7: And Now the Warship Comes), featuring episodes 23–26, opened August 24, 2013, and aired on TV before Blu-ray and DVD release on October 25, 2013.
Differences from the original series
Queen Starsha has two sisters, Yurisha and Sasha, instead of one; Yurisha was sent to Earth a year before Sasha with the message and engine schematics, but was left comatose in an auto accident causing Mori's memory loss, while Sasha died on Mars. Yurisha resembles Yuki Mori, leading to mistaken identity. The Yamato departs with a crew of 999, far larger than the original 114. The ship now has missile ports in the under keel to cover a blind spot. Captain Okita remains in command almost to the end, unlike the original where his illness sidelined him early. Shiro Sanada, not Susumu Kodai, assumes command when Okita cannot; Sanada has more backstory and complexity. The Analyzer robot no longer sexually harasses Yuki. Sanada's limbs are not shown as cybernetic. The Yamato's main guns can fire projectile shells in addition to anti-electron pulses, which was not the case in the original series.
More in Television Series Set in the 22nd Century
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced