Uchu senkan Yamato [1974 - 1975]

Country of Origin: Japan
Date(s) of Broadcast: 6 October 1974 – 30 March 1975
Number of Seasons: 1
Total Number of Episodes: 26
Average Episode Running Times: 50 mins
Format: colour     35mm
Ratio: 1.33:1
Sound: mono

PRODUCTION
Production Company: Office Academy
Producer: Yoshinobu Nishizaki

SCRIPT
Scripts: Toshio Masuda, Leiji Matsumoto, Yoshinobu Nishizaki, Keisuke Fujikawa, Eiichi Yamamoto
Creator: Yoshinobu Nishizaki

DIRECTION
Series Director: Leiji Matsumoto
Episode Director: Toshio Masuda

ANIMATION
Animation Supervisors: Toyoo Ashida, Yakeshi Shirato, Kazuhiko Udagawa
Animation Director: Noboru Ishiguro
Backgrounds: Hachiro Tsukima

MUSIC
Music: Hiroshi Miyagawa

DESIGN
Storyboards: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, Yoshiyuki Tomino

VOICES
Goro Naya [Juzo Okita]
Kei Tomiyama [Susumu Kodai]
Shûsei Nakamura [Daisuke Shima]
Yoko Asagami [Yuki Mori]
Takeshi Aono [Shiro Sanada / Talan]
Sachiko Chijimatsu [Shima's mother]
Michiko Hirai [Starsha]
Taichiro Hirokawa [Mamoru Kodai]
Masato Ibu [Desler / Heikuro Todo]
Michihiro Ikemizu [Assistant Engineer Yabu]
Kazuhiko Inoue [Akira Yamamoto]
Akira Kamiya [Saburo Kato]
Takeo Kamura [Yasuo Nanbu]
Horo Kimura [narrator]
Haruko Kitahama [Beemera Queen]
Osamu Kobayashi [Domel]
Eiko Koizumi [nurse]
Ichiro Nagai [Dr Sakezo Sado / Hikozaemon Tokugawa]
Shinji Nomura [Yoshikazu Aihara]
Takeshi Obayashi [Schultz]
Kenichi Ogata [analyzer / Gentz]
Osamu Saka [Gale]
Junko Sakata [Jiro Shima]
Akiko Tsuboi [Aihara's mother]
Shoko Tsuboi [Akiko Kodai]
Keisuke Yamashita [Hiss]
Yoshito Yasuhara [Kenjiro Ota / Yaretara]
Koji Yata [Hydern / Takeo Kodai]

ENGLISH LANGUAGE VERSION VOICES
Rex Knowles [Jason Kodai]
Amy Howard [Nova]
Michael Chechopolous [Volgar]
Tom Tweedy [Venture]
Lydia Leeds [Starsha]
Eddie Allen [Desslok]

In 2199, the population of the Earth has retreated underground after pollution destroys the surface. The survivors of the cataclysm are further menaced by the brutal aliens from the planet Gorgon whose relentless assaults look set to crush the last of the human race. But when a spaceship from the planet Iskandair crashes on Mars, Earth learns of a substance known as Cosmo-DNX which can clean the planet's blighted atmosphere. They also find plans that helps them to develop a faster-than-light that will enable to to travel to Iskandair for help - the drive is built and fitted to the specially converted World War II battlecruiser which sets out on a journey beset by running battles with the Gorgon forces.

Despite poor animation, bad plotting and a marked lack of characters, this remains one of the key anime TV shows. It's US incarnation, Star Blazers, was hugely successful and the compilation theatrical film, Space Cruiser Yamato, was released to equal success in the wake of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope [1978]. Perhaps even more so than Tetsuwan atom / Astroboy [1963 - 1966] or Mach gogo / Speed Racer [1967], this was the show that helped launch anime fandom in the West. It's likely to disappoint modern anime fans but its importance should not be underestimated.

Japan
Television Distributor: Yomiuri TV

Cosmoship Yamato
Space Battleship Yamato
Space Cruiser Yamato
Star Blazers

MAGAZINES

Animag no.10 [USA]
article

Anime-Zine no.3 [USA]
review

KEYWORDS

animation, anime, battleships, the future, space travel, space wars, spaceships

Last Updated: 6 March, 2007