After the screening, a special talk show was held with Hideaki Anno, a self-proclaimed Yamato fan for 50 years, as the MC, along with Yutaka Izubuchi, general director of Space Battleship Yamato 2199, and Ryusuke Hikawa, an anime and special effects researcher. This article reports on the event.
First, Anno expressed his gratitude to the fans who had gathered at the venue, followed by greetings from Izubuchi and Hikawa. They then moved straight into the talk. At Anno’s request, the screening of the first episode of the TV anime “Space Battleship Yamato” was held at the same time as when it was broadcast, and even the day of the week was the same.
Afterwards, the 8mm film version, which was shown for the first time, became the center of attention. It is a re-edited version of the TV series, which is the same as the theatrical version released in 1977, but this version is edited differently from the re-edited version, making it a valuable piece. Apparently, it was digitized after writer Osamu Kobayashi contacted them to say that he had an unopened copy of the film.
When Anno commented that they were too expensive to buy at the time, Hikawa revealed that they were 12,500 yen each at the time. Also, the optical track was visible during the screening. There were many other details that helped make the screening possible, and Anno apparently wanted to include the rattling sound unique to 8mm film projectors, although this never came to fruition.
In one segment where the topic of the TV series was discussed, Anno revealed that he was blown away by Yamato’s main gun in episode 2 and Mori Yuki’s line, “It was very impressive.” He also said that Kazuhide Tomonaga’s drawings were a big part of what got him hooked on Yamato, to which Izubuchi agreed. It turns out that Tomonaga was also at the venue on the day.
There was also talk about points that could be criticized about the film, as well as various other conversations that made reference to works that were broadcast at the time, and the opening video was screened without subtitles for the first time in theaters.
This footage was thought to have been lost forever, and we were able to see the first, second and 21st episodes onwards, as well as the main title screen rising from the screen and a cut that Hikawa had saved added to the footage from 21st episode onwards. Anno said he was overwhelmed with emotion when he found it in the warehouse.
In addition, Izubuchi spoke about the time of the production of Yamato 2199. He didn’t become general director of Yamato 2199 because Anno stepped down, but rather, the two had long ago talked about how it would be nice to make it as a hobby in retirement, so when it was decided, he went to report to Anno.
Although Anno seemed jealous at having been snatched away from the job, Izubuchi wanted Anno to at least be in charge of the opening, so he asked Anno, who was in the middle of producing the “Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time” series.
Next, the topic of Mobile Suit Gundam came up as a work that Yamato may have influenced. They analyzed the parts that were influenced by Yamato and the essence that was added to it, and there was a lively discussion about the clever story structure of director general Tomino Yoshiyuki.
トークが一段落したところで、庵野さんから今後の50周年にまつわる企画の数々が告知されていきました。1つめはスターチャンネルYouTubeチャンネルにおけるTVシリーズ第1話～第5話の上映、2つめは庵野さんがTVシリーズから9つのエピソードをピックアップしたセレクション上映の開催、3つ目は画集や全記録集といった貴重な資料の出版企画、4つ目は2025年3月に「宇宙戦艦ヤマト展」(仮)の開催となっていました。
そして5つ目として庵野さんより、株式会社カラーがボイジャーホールディングス株式会社の代表取締役・西﨑彰司さんから『宇宙戦艦ヤマト』をベースとする新作アニメ映像を製作する権利を付与されたと共に、株式会社東北新社から著作権の利用の許諾をいただいたとの報告がありました。
庵野さんはこれについて、「平たく言うと、僕が新作を作ることができるようになった」と一言。この発表を受けた会場からは温かい拍手が溢れると、庵野さんはこの日にファンのみなさんに直にお伝えしたかったと心境を語ってくれました。
作品の内容にはまだ触れられないそうですが、出渕さんも制作に参加しているとのこと。先ほどの話にあった老後の楽しみにふたりでとの約束が果たされた形になりましたが、出渕さんはまさかもう一度『ヤマト』に関わるとは思っても見なかった様子。また、既に展開中の『ヤマト2199』に端を発するリメイクシリーズとは別の物語を紡ぐ作品になることも明かされました。
最後に会場のみなさんと主題歌を合唱したところで本イベントは終幕に。50周年を迎えた記念すべき日に庵野さんによる新たな作品の展開も明らかになった『宇宙戦艦ヤマト』。リメイクシリーズとあわせてシリーズの今後に期待しましょう。
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