is a 1980 Japanese

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

film and the fourth film (third theatrical) based on the classic anime series ''

Space Battleship Yamato is a Japanese science fiction anime series produced and written by Yoshinobu Nishizaki, directed by manga artist Leiji Matsumoto, and produced by Academy Productions. The series aired in Yomiuri TV from October 6, 1974 to March 30, 1975, ...

'' (known as ''

Star Blazers ''Star Blazers'' is an American animated television series adaptation of the Japanese anime series . ''Star Blazers'' was first broadcast in the United States in 1979. It was the first popular English-translated anime that had an overarching plo ...

'' in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

). The film is unique for switching from

monaural Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduc ...

VistaVision VistaVision is a higher resolution, widescreen variant of the 35 mm motion picture film format which was created by engineers at Paramount Pictures in 1954. Paramount never used anamorphic processes such as 2.55: 1, CinemaScope but refi ...

(1.85:1) to

Quadraphonic Quadraphonic (or quadrophonic and sometimes quadrasonic) sound – equivalent to what is now called 4.0 surround sound – uses four audio channels in which speakers are positioned at the four corners of a listening space. The system allows for th ...

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...

(2.35:1) when the Yamato enters the Double Galaxy.

Plot

The Black Nebula Empire, last seen in '' Yamato: The New Voyage'', lands a huge fortress on Earth and sends out an invasion force, while the Black Nebulan fleet wipes out Earth's space fleets. The fortress contains a bomb capable of destroying half the planet. The Nebulans threaten to use it if they are attacked. The Yamato reaches the other side of the Black Nebula and finds a grand, white galaxy, similar to the Milky Way. They follow a beacon signal to a planet that looks just like Earth. They land, and are greeted by an apparently human woman, Sada, and two officers from the Black Nebulan Empire. They meet the Emperor, Scaldart, who also appears to be a human. He tells them that they are actually back in the Milky Way, in the year 2402. The vortex was a hole in time. The Earth has been under Black Nebulan rule for 200 years, and he is the (puppet) governor. Scaldart shows Kodai and the landing party all sorts of collections of Earth's famous artwork, and, up on the Yamato, the video screen scans the surface of the planet to find all of Earth's famous landmarks. Scaldart shows them a time viewing machine which shows the history of the Yamato from 2199 up until the present. Then he shows them the future. The Yamato, orbiting the Earth, is destroyed by the enemy's flagship, the Grodaze, in 2402. The landing crew returns, demoralized, to the Yamato... except for Sasha who seems to know her true destiny. She abandons the party and remains on conquered Earth. while alone on the surface, her mother Starsha appears in a vision. She tells Sasha that she was born between Iscandar and Earth, and that her destiny is to die far from both, in service of both. Sasha manages to survive the incineration of the surface by escaping to the planet's lower levels. She finds a control center and sends a message to the Yamato, telling them that to destroy Dezarium, they must travel to the core through a huge conduit she is about to open. Scaldart announces after her message that if the Yamato proceeds any further, he will detonate the hyperon bomb on Earth. The blast sets off an explosive chain reaction. The Yamato does a 180-degree turn and rushes out of the internal chamber, going to emergency warp when it reaches the conduit exit. Dezarium explodes behind them, destroying the delicate gravitational balance between the two sides of the Double Galaxy. They crash into each other, commencing the birth of a new galaxy.

Cast

Kei Tomiyama , better known by his stage name , was a Japanese actor, voice actor, and narrator born in Anshan, Manchukuo. Tomiyama was affiliated with Aoni Production and Production Baobab. Tomiyama is best known for his roles in ''Tiger Mask'' (Naoto Date/ ...

Susumu Kodai is a fictional character appearing in ''Space Battleship Yamato''. In the ''Star Blazers'' localization, he is known as Derek Wildstar, also known as Jason Kodai in the English dub of the first ''Yamato'' movie. Character commentary In the se ...

* Shuusei Nakamura as Daisuke Shima *

Youko Asagami Yoko and are Japanese feminine given names. ''Yōko'' is sometimes transliterated as Yohko and Youko. The name ''Yoko'' is almost always written with the kanji (''ko''), meaning "child". The syllable ''ko'' is not generally found at the end ...

as Yuki Mori *

Akira Kamiya is a Japanese voice actor. He played several notable roles in Japanese manga and anime television series, including Kenshiro in ''Fist of the North Star'', Ryo Saeba in ''City Hunter'' and Shutaro Mendo in ''Urusei Yatsura''. In mecha anime, he ...

as Shiro Kato * Banjou Ginga as Grotas * Ichirô Nagai as Dr. Sakezo Sado *

Kazuo Hayashi is a Japanese actor and voice actor from Tokyo. He is affiliated with Theater Echo, and is skilled in Buyō. Roles Television animation *''Ippotsu Kanta-kun'' (Kōzan) *'' Legendary Giant God Ideon'' (Gije Zaral) *''Pokémon'' (Russell) *''Spa ...

as Yasuo Nanbu *

Keiko Han is a Japanese actress, voice actress and western astrologer. She sang the theme songs in productions such as '' Story of the Alps: My Annette'' and '' Kazoku Robinson Hyōryūki Fushigi na Shima no Furōne''. Han is a fortune teller of western ...

as Sasha/Mio Sanada * Kenichi Ogata as Analyzer *

Masatō Ibu is a Japanese actor and voice actor. He is sometimes credited as Masato Eve. Filmography Films * ''Love Hotel'' (1985) *''Maison Ikkoku'' (1986) *''Empire of the Sun'' (1987) – Sgt. Nagata *'' Sukeban Deka'' (1987) *'' Toki o Kakeru Shōj ...

as Heikuro Todo *

Michio Hazama is a Japanese voice actor and narrator. He is known for dubbing over Sylvester Stallone, Roy Scheider and Dean Martin. Filmography Television animation *''Astro Boy'' (1963) (Kinoo (ep. 33), Brutus (ep. 40), Nuwu (ep. 48)) *'' Star of the G ...

as Narrator *Mikio Terashima as Sho Yamazaki *

Miyuki Ueda is a Japanese actress and voice actress. She is married to singer Isao Sasaki and is a childhood friend of fellow voice actor Katsuji Mori. Notable voice work Anime television series * ''8 Man'' (Sachiko Seki) *''City Hunter'' (Megumi Iwasaki ...

as Starsha * Mugihito as Kazan *

Nachi Nozawa was a Japanese actor, voice actor, narrator and theatre director from Tokyo. He was affiliated with Office PAC at the time of his death. His real name was . Nozawa was the official dub-over artist of Al Pacino and Alain Delon. Also he was known ...

as Alphon * Osamu Kobayashi as Osamu Yamanami *Shinji Nomura as Yoshikazu Aihara * Taichirou Hirokawa as Mamoru Kodai *

Takeshi Aono was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Asahikawa, Hokkaidō. He was attached to Aoni Production at the time of his death. He graduated from Hokkaidō Asahikawa Higashi High School. Career Aono was most known for the roles of Shiro ...

as Shiro Sanada *

Tohru Furuya Toru is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Toru can be expressed with several kanji. Some examples: *徹, "penetrate" *透, "transparent" *享, "enjoy" *亨, "smoothly" *暢, "freely" The name can also be written in hiragana と ...

as Tasuke Tokugawa *

Tōru Ōhira was a Japanese narrator and voice actor from the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. He was the founder of Ōhira Production and was also attached to 81 Produce. One of his best-known roles was the dub voice of Darth Vader in ''Star Wars'', on the series' h ...

as Skulldart *

Yoshito Yasuhara is a Japanese actor and voice actor. He is a member of Theatre Echo, a theatre troupe and talent management firm known for its comedy sketches. Yasuhara is known for being the Japanese dubbing voice of Mickey Rourke, Kevin Bacon, Bill Murray, Gar ...

as Kenjiro Ota *Yumi Nakatani as Sada

Production

This movie was intended to be ''

Space Battleship Yamato III , also known as ''Star Blazers: The Bolar Wars'', is a Japanese military science fiction anime series produced by Academy Productions. It is the sequel to ''Space Battleship Yamato II'' created by Yoshinobu Nishizaki and Leiji Matsumoto. It ai ...

''.

Reception

Helen McCarthy Helen McCarthy (born 27 February 1951) is the British author of such anime reference books as ''500 Manga Heroes and Villains'', ''Anime!'', ''The Anime Movie Guide'' and ''Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation''. She is the co-author of ...

in ''500 Essential Anime Movies'' called it a "flawed masterpiece" and stated that "this movie is epic in every way. But its length is a problem - the ending is rushed and there are some plot holes that another half hour or so could have plugged". McCarthy, Helen. ''500 Essential Anime Movies: The Ultimate Guide''. — Harper Design, 2009. — P. 46. — 528 p. —

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{Toshio Masuda 1980 anime films 1980s science fiction action films Animated films based on animated series Films directed by Toshio Masuda Films set in the 23rd century Japanese animated science fiction films 1980s Japanese-language films Japanese science fiction action films Space adventure films Space Battleship Yamato films