I’m already a week late to this, but it seems to have completely slipped past everyone else’s radar. And that’s a shame, because this is looking pretty good.
It’s a retelling of the original Space Battleship Yamato, which I finished recently. So far, it’s sticking very close to the original. The main difference is the vastly improved graphics. The detail applied to the ships and planets looks stunning here, especially when compared to the dated graphics of the original. Things seem to flow a bit more smoothly as well.
Another difference I noticed is the portrayal of Yuki. Here, she’s much more spunky and less passive. She actually gets in a fight with the men. I suppose this is an effect of an evolving understanding of the role of women. I like her much better in this series where she actually has some backbone.
Although I enjoyed the first episode, I’m not going to keep watching this since I watched the original only six months ago. Perhaps in a few years when it’s less fresh on my mind and I’ve made more progress towards other Matsumoto series I will give it a watch.
The schedule for this remake is so confusing it’s no wonder that it’s sneaking under the radar (I swear it feels like they don’t want people to know about it).
I’ve seen so many clips online I don’t even know how much I’ve seen of what’s out there. Anyway, I agree with you: very faithful to the original, and very fresh-looking at the same time. And I’d definitely hold off on watching it if I had seen the original barely 6 months ago too!!
Yeah, I was about a week late to the party because I was so confused (ok, fine, I actually acquired this a week ago but was lazy). The graphics look great though, I kind of regret watching it earlier now! I should have watched Harlock instead. 🙂
There’s nothing confusing about the release schedule. Space Battleship Yamato 2199 is not airing on television. It’s getting quarterly cinematic releases: the first one was two episodes to allow the remaining six to have four episodes each for twenty-six episodes total, identical to that of the 1974 television series. Around a month after the cinematic season, DVD and Blu-Ray releases come out in Japan (with the same number of episodes as the corresponding film, so two for the first release and four for every subsequent release). The first release came out in May, with Part 2 in August, Part 3 to come out next week (22 November) and Part 4 scheduled for a late February release. TV airing in Japan will probably take place after the entire series has completed its cinematic run if it in fact makes it to Television. I imagine it will, since the cinematic releases at their current rate will continue until this time next year, and the earliest it will make it onto TV will be the Winter 2013-14 schedule, which means it will air during the year that marks 40 years since the original aired in Japan.
Ah, cool. Thanks for the details!
The Blu-ray is definitely the best way (for us foreigners) to enjoy SBY 2199. All I can say is that I’m totally impressed with the production, so far. I can’t wait for Episode 11+!
Wow, didn’t realize they were so high already. Think I’ll wait another year or two and then watch it, once the original is a bit further from my mind.
I’m thinking of picking up this series. I never got a chance to watch Space Battleship Yamato so now’s a good chance to see what all the old hype was about.
You should! It’s an excellent show.
As someone who watched the US version of the original (Star Blazers) 30 years ago, I can tell you I was absolutely blown away by the remake. Have seen the first six episodes so far (I’m importing the Blu-Rays from Japan, which have English subtitles [note: the DVDs *don’t*]), and I can tell you that so far it has greatly improved the series. The animation is brilliant (which it has to be for the cinematic release it is getting in Japan), the music is practically unchanged from the original (I have the OST released last week), and most importantly, the storyline makes a lot more sense. They’re plugging up the gaping holes in the plot and the changes they’ve made so far work, and work very well.
For someone who considers the original their favourite anime series of all time, this is a very pleasant surprise. I would be very surprised if this doesn’t get a North American/Australian/European release, and very disappointed as well.
It definitely is a huge leap forward in the animation. I probably will watch this eventually, once the original is less fresh in my mind. (I watched it six months ago, not 30 years.)
After gloria augusta i go aboard the yamato hahaha
Haha, have fun!