Live Action Space Battleship Yamato

[Gubaba]

I rented it and watched it last night. I thought they did a pretty great job of compressing the story into two and a half hours, and some of the twists were kinda cool. The ending especially caught me off-guard.

But more than anything else, it made me want to watch the original series again...I may rent it when I return the DVD today.

[Kyp Durron]

It was successful...but a sequel?

The ending kinda...ya know...prevents it.

Oh for God's sake, please don't tell me it ends the way the Space Battleship Yamato II movie originally ended with the ship being destroyed and everyone dying. If that's how it ends, then I'm not going to bother wasting my time watching, screw that noise.

-Kyp

[Gubaba]

Oh for God's sake, please don't tell me it ends the way the Space Battleship Yamato II movie originally ended with the ship being destroyed and everyone dying. If that's how it ends, then I'm not going to bother wasting my time watching, screw that noise.

-Kyp

Not quite.

Not EVERYONE dies...but the body count is pretty high.

[Kyp Durron]

Not quite.

Not EVERYONE dies...but the body count is pretty high.

Why in the bloody Hell would they end the movie like that?! Yes, let's nip a potential money making movie series in the bud without ever giving it a chance. See, that right there actually has me hoping for an American "Star Blazers" movie to come out.

-Kyp

[Gubaba]

Why in the bloody Hell would they end the movie like that?! Yes, let's nip a potential money making movie series in the bud without ever giving it a chance. See, that right there actually has me hoping for an American "Star Blazers" movie to come out.

-Kyp

Because it's dramatically "right," perhaps? To me, Yamato has always been about sacrifice, loss, and fighting on against incredible odds.

How can you show show that without picking off a few main characters here and there?

[Kyp Durron]

Because it's dramatically "right," perhaps? To me, Yamato has always been about sacrifice, loss, and fighting on against incredible odds.

How can you show show that without picking off a few main characters here and there?

Yeah, I get what you're saying, but destroying the Yamato and killing off most of the main characters, including Kodai? (I looked it up just now) Screw that, I'm glad I found out now rather than wasting my time watching it and finding out that way. I'd be even more pissed off about it then than I am now.

Nope, gonna hope that the "Star Blazers" version here in the states actually gets made. Which I was against, until now. If you guys like that kind of ending for the movie, good for you. But if I actually wanted to see that kind of ending, I'd just watch the original version of Space Battleship Yamato II. *Turns around and walks out of thread*

P.S. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be the only one here on this site that feels that way about it, either.

-Kyp

[Tochiro]

Yeah, I get what you're saying, but destroying the Yamato and killing off most of the main characters, including Kodai? (I looked it up just now) Screw that, I'm glad I found out now rather than wasting my time watching it and finding out that way. I'd be even more pissed off about it then than I am now.

Nope, gonna hope that the "Star Blazers" version here in the states actually gets made. Which I was against, until now. If you guys like that kind of ending for the movie, good for you. But if I actually wanted to see that kind of ending, I'd just watch the original version of Space Battleship Yamato II. *Turns around and walks out of thread*

P.S. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be the only one here on this site that feels that way about it, either.

-Kyp

Ah, i love this spoiler discussion. Makes looking at posts so EXCITING! lol.

If it makes you feel any better, Leiji Matsumoto agrees with you - he refused to watch the movie after reading the script. having said that, you need to keep in mind the circumstances surrounding the film being made. It was considered the 'Waterworld' of the japanese film industry while it was in production. it was over budget, had a director who had previously only ever done dramas, and had Johnnies Jimusho on everyones backs reportedly slashing battlescenes and on-screen time of the Yamato itself. In short, most expected the movie to tank plus it would have been difficult to get Kimutaku back to reprise the role.

Its well worth a watch regardless. Turn it off before the end if you must. Its horrendously overacted but works in an anime-way. actually, the overacting is most likely the main issue thats keeping US licensers away. That, combined with the the fact that they cannot rename it to Starblazers means that the film will not stand much of a financial chance in the US. In Japan, it was kimutaku and the tragic ending that helped the film make some actual money - mostly from female viewers.

[peter]

Yeah, I was bummed about the ending too. And my biggest gripe about the film was not enough screentime for the Yamato. Lots of long-drawn out speeches that I could have done without.Oh well, I'm sure it will be re-imagined in about 10 years or so and they'll do it a bit better.

Haha, first time I ever used that spoiler function....when is an acceptable amount of time before we can stop using it?

[Vifam7]

A note regarding 2009's Yamato Rebirth - just got word that the extended directors cut has been completed. No word on when it will be released though.

(And yes, 'directors cut' IS a bit of a misnomer considering Nishizaki is dead).

I don't know if a 'director's cut' can save that Rebirth movie.

For thos who cant wait - my personal opinion is grab the bluray and a plot summary. Dont feed the fansubbers if you can avoid it. To whomever was complaining about 'Chinglish' subtitles, fansubs are often equaly as wrong/bad - its just that their grammar is correct so ppl dont notice.

My Blu-ray copy is on the way from Japan. There's no way I'm going to watch this movie as a cruddy fansub or video file on my PC monitor. There are certain shows that I wait for the Blu-ray disc to watch it in full HD glory on a big HDTV. This is one of them.

[kalvasflam]

I don't know if a 'director's cut' can save that Rebirth movie.

Well, that Rebirth movie was a little more of the jumping the shark than usual. The interesting thing is that the beginning of the movie was fairly logical, but then logic takes a leap out of the window with how the blackhole and the SUS is related.

As usual, the movie is too mother Earth/humanity centric... and the aliens were well... their logic was alien. One would hope that these aliens don't make another appearance if there is indeed a follow on movie

[Keith]

Nishizaki wasn't known for things like logic in his plots. He was more about killing as many characters as possible in as many unnecessary ways as he could. Hell, he made Tomino era Tomino look like Care bears. Have you seen Arrividerci? It's no wonder Matsumoto insisted on fixing it.

[renegadeleader1]

I'm curious was there ever backlash agaisnt this or the rebirth movie because japanese fans feel that Matsumoto is the real creator of yamato and not Nishizaki like the courts decided?

Edited June 29, 2011 by renegadeleader1

[Keith]

I'm curious was there ever backlash agaisnt this or the rebirth movie because japanese fans feel that Matsumoto is the real creator of yamato and not Nishizaki like the courts decided?

Not that I ever heard of, though I'm sure sales of Rebirth spoke more than anything. As for the live action movie, pretty sure that was an overall hit, but then I don't think that had anywhere near the imput from Nishizaki that Rebirth did.

[Tochiro]

I'm curious was there ever backlash agaisnt this or the rebirth movie because japanese fans feel that Matsumoto is the real creator of yamato and not Nishizaki like the courts decided?

Not really. The movie bombed in the cinemas but this had just as much to do with the fact that it opened during school holidays on the same day as a One Piece movie - everyone agrees the timing was amazingly stupid. It managed to break even with the DVD/Blu release though from what Ive heard.

At this years Yamato party, Hirotaka Furukawa noted that he hopes to do the two sequel movies (Rebirth was supposed to be a trilogy) and an article in a local newspaper a while back mentioned that he is looking into remaking the original tv series as well, although without Matsumoto's involvement unfortunately. I think the success of the live action version will make it considerably easier for him to get funding for these too.

[Renato]

and an article in a local newspaper a while back mentioned that he is looking into remaking the original tv series as well, although without Matsumoto's involvement unfortunately.

From what I hear down at the water cooler, this is already in the works. We'll see how it turns out.

[Keith]

At this point, there's no reason for them to shut Matsumoto out. Fact is, Yamato has "always" been better with him. But whatever, 999 & Harlock don't need Yamato.

[Tochiro]

At this point, there's no reason for them to shut Matsumoto out. Fact is, Yamato has "always" been better with him. But whatever, 999 & Harlock don't need Yamato.

Well its not really like that, is it? Nishizaki legally won the rights to yamato after 2decades in court and apparently those rights were passed on to his (adopted?) son after his death (by falling off the Yamato). And Im sure he doesnt want to get matsumoto involved in it again.

As for Matsumoto, Im sure he would love to fix the new series so that it fits into the overall continuity of the Leijiverse 8ie, Kodai's brother could actually become Harlock) but it just aint happening Im afraid.

[Dynaman]

As usual, the movie is too mother Earth/humanity centric... and the aliens were well... their logic was alien. One would hope that these aliens don't make another appearance if there is indeed a follow on movie

A director's cut might help with most of it, the biggest problem (other then the black hole dudes...) was the extreme 180 degree change in the alien's actions without any time really spent on laying a groundwork for the change.

The black hole guys were really, really, really, over the top though - could easily have done without them completely.

[Keith]

My point being, now that Nishizaki's gone, there's no point in the owners, adopted or not, to continue his inane fued.

[Dynaman]

My point being, now that Nishizaki's gone, there's no point in the owners, adopted or not, to continue his inane fued.

Other then crazy fueds can get even crazier when the offspring get involved. (no comment on Nishizaki's son, I have no idea what he is like - just a general comment)

[Dangard Ace]

Fan Sub is out.

Just finished watching it. I like it. I'll get this on BD when it hits the stores for sure! An amalgam of the best tv and movies moments.

[Major Focker]

couldn't find an HD version that had the subtitles, whether 720p or 1080p. so settled for one that said it was a BDrip, but at 1.6gb, it probably wasn't, and it only had 2ch stereo. can a kind soul please PM and point me to an HD eng-sub version?

having just watched it, i now truly regret missing the opportunity when it played briefly in singapore theatres (and subtitled to boot!). i am totally blown away by this movie. perhaps i'm exaggerating, or maybe it's because i'm still reeling from my disappointment with the latest Transformer movie. but this movie was really an unexpected pleasure. i wasn't anticipating it while it was being made, heck i even skipped it at the theatres. i only watched yamato (starblazers, actually) when i was kid, and never got to see the whole series. i was too young then to really know the story, so unsurprisingly my motivation for watching this is just for the space battles. turns out, that on its own it's a well-told story, good pacing (though it did tend to really milk the drama scenes a tad too much), and of course, amazing visuals and score.

Because it's dramatically "right," perhaps? To me, Yamato has always been about sacrifice, loss, and fighting on against incredible odds.

How can you show show that without picking off a few main characters here and there?

it felt like the "right" ending. not one i would've preferred nor expected, but certainly quite an ending.

i really liked how they abruptly ended the movie with that last frame of the explosion, credits quickly following, and then a simple epilogue scene. they could've easily made it anti-climactic had they continued with scenes of the shuttle's descent to earth etc.

Its well worth a watch regardless. Turn it off before the end if you must. Its horrendously overacted but works in an anime-way. actually, the overacting is most likely the main issue thats keeping US licensers away. That, combined with the the fact that they cannot rename it to Starblazers means that the film will not stand much of a financial chance in the US. In Japan, it was kimutaku and the tragic ending that helped the film make some actual money - mostly from female viewers.

i must be in-tune with japanese women then for some reason this movie got me teary more times than i care (or be willing) to admit i blame it on the musical score.

Edited July 1, 2011 by Major Focker

[Keith]

Can I get a spoiler on the ending? I'm just curious at this point. Did they go all Arrividerci

and kill off most of the main characters again

or did they go more of a Final Yamato route

and only kill off a couple characters, and blow up the Yamato

.

[Gubaba]

Can I get a spoiler on the ending? I'm just curious at this point. Did they go all Arrividerci

and kill off most of the main characters again

or did they go more of a Final Yamato route

and only kill off a couple characters, and blow up the Yamato

.

A little bit of A and a little bit of B.

[Dynaman]

Just saw it, loved it. They did a very good job updating the show, even though it did drag a bit. A good argument that anime can be done as live action (admitedly, Yamato would be one of the easier ones in a technical sense)

[Vifam7]

Just finished watching the movie...

It was fantastic!

Anime to live-action adaptations often don't go well but they definitely did it right this time. The special effects, CG work, and props were all well done. Best of all it retained the much of the original's story and "feel" but without feeling dated. I'm also glad they kept/used much of the "Uchuu Senkan Yamato" music.

Admittedly though, the movie was more emotion than complex sci-fi story. And it's missing the anti-war element from the original anime. Then again it's a movie so I guess there's only so much they can include.

I thought combining

the first series and pieces from Arrivederci

was pure genius.

While I thought it was an awesome movie, I'm not sure if foreign audiences can connect with the story. Maybe too simplistic a story and the "last days of WW2 Japan" vibe might not work? [shrug]

[Retracting Head Ter Ter]

I got hold of a Japanese copy (with Japanese subs...bleah) and after watching the opening battle, I was convinced that this was a GOOD movie and I needed to watch it with English subs because I couldn't make out what the hell was going on except that Big Brother Kancho Kodai was bravely sacrificing the Yukikaze to save Captain Bird's Eye.

Is there a place to order a properly subbed copy online or someone point me somewhere?

[Keith]

I got hold of a Japanese copy (with Japanese subs...bleah) and after watching the opening battle, I was convinced that this was a GOOD movie and I needed to watch it with English subs because I couldn't make out what the hell was going on except that Big Brother Kancho Kodai was bravely sacrificing the Yukikaze to save Captain Bird's Eye.

Is there a place to order a properly subbed copy online or someone point me somewhere?

Still waiting on a U.S. or U.S. friendly region release with english subs. Perhaps when they get around to releasing it in HK (legit that is).

[Tochiro]

Finally ! Some official confirmation on the remake:

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-07-04/makoto-kobayashi-reveals-space-battleship-yamato-remake

[Gui]

And from noone else than Makoto Kobayashi himself: excellent news!

[peter]

Finally ! Some official confirmation on the remake:

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-07-04/makoto-kobayashi-reveals-space-battleship-yamato-remake

Good read, thanks for posting!

I wonder how the attempt for the American remake is going, haha!

Edited July 5, 2011 by peter

[Kronnang Dunn]

Ah, i love this spoiler discussion. Makes looking at posts so EXCITING! lol.

If it makes you feel any better, Leiji Matsumoto agrees with you - he refused to watch the movie after reading the script. having said that, you need to keep in mind the circumstances surrounding the film being made. It was considered the 'Waterworld' of the japanese film industry while it was in production. it was over budget, had a director who had previously only ever done dramas, and had Johnnies Jimusho on everyones backs reportedly slashing battlescenes and on-screen time of the Yamato itself. In short, most expected the movie to tank plus it would have been difficult to get Kimutaku back to reprise the role.

Its well worth a watch regardless. Turn it off before the end if you must. Its horrendously overacted but works in an anime-way. actually, the overacting is most likely the main issue thats keeping US licensers away. That, combined with the the fact that they cannot rename it to Starblazers means that the film will not stand much of a financial chance in the US. In Japan, it was kimutaku and the tragic ending that helped the film make some actual money - mostly from female viewers.

What? Was RETURNER a drama?

Nope, gonna hope that the "Star Blazers" version here in the states actually gets made. Which I was against, until now. If you guys like that kind of ending for the movie, good for you. But if I actually wanted to see that kind of ending, I'd just watch the original version of Space Battleship Yamato II. *Turns around and walks out of thread*

-Kyp

LOL... Man, I just watched the film. You are totally wrong. If the fact that some character dying makes you feel disappointed about the film, I think you are just making a biiig mistake by not taking into account the 2 hours plus x minutes of incredible PURE SCI-FI action of the film. The pace is amazing... is like some reviewer said... "an action film rollercoaster".

I highly recommend you watch the film completely despite not liking the ending. It's got pretty awesome battle scenes and the re-designs are very very good. The acting is quite something and each and every death is there for a reason.

This film is the BEST sci-fi anime adaptation I have ever seen... I hope its success prompts Bandai, Sunrise and Big West to make Live Action film adaptations of Gundam, Macross, Orguss and so on...

This movie finally has demonstrated that good film adaptations of anime and good action sci-fi films aren't exclusive of Hollywood from now on...

Edited July 7, 2011 by Kronnang Dunn

[UN Spacy]

Nice review. I totally didn't know the original seiyuu for Starsha, Analyzer, AND Isao Sasaki (who was the narrarator) were in this flick.

I knew those voices sounded familiar.

[Major Focker]

I hope its success prompts Bandai, Sunrise and Big West to make Live Action film adaptations of Gundam, Macross, Orguss and so on...

This movie finally has demonstrated that good film adaptations of anime and good action sci-fi films aren't exclusive of Hollywood from now on...

that scene of yuki dodging missiles and fighters reminded me of hikaru in the first battle at the start of DYRL where he was evading laser fire before calling out to max. and when yuki maneuvered the missiles into the enemy ship, i had flashbacks of ozma weaving around vajra capital ships in the final battle of the MF series.

when i first heard of a possible live action Robotech movie, i dismissed it as a bad idea. but after watching this yamato movie, i'm now a little more optimistic that a live action macross movie can be done, and certainly warming up to that possibility.

[peter]

that scene of yuki dodging missiles and fighters reminded me of hikaru in the first battle at the start of DYRL where he was evading laser fire before calling out to max. and when yuki maneuvered the missiles into the enemy ship, i had flashbacks of ozma weaving around vajra capital ships in the final battle of the MF series.

when i first heard of a possible live action Robotech movie, i dismissed it as a bad idea. but after watching this yamato movie, i'm now a little more optimistic that a live action macross movie can be done, and certainly warming up to that possibility.

Yeah, it's definitely possible, as long as Hollywood doesn't get it's dirty little rat-claws on it. I LOVE how they kept Yamato's original design intact. If Hollywod had done it, they probably would have used another WWII battleship.......remember there were rumblings of a live-action Akira? They were going to do it in New York?

Japanese film makers are definitely getting better and when it comes to live-action adaptations of Japanese based manga/anime, don't let Hollywood near them. I do NOT want to see the VF-1 end up looking like a pile of metal shards in Battroid mode.