Today is the “roadshow” (movie release) of the Space Battleship Yamato live-action film, Japan’s newest attempt at merging one of its most famous animation properties with live-action and CG. The film was made by TBS over five years and stars many big names, like heart-throb Takuya Kimura as the hero Susumu Kodai (Derek Wildstar) and sexy Reiko Takashima as an upgraded Dr. Sado (Dr. Sane), and it certainly looks like a good effort. The year is 2199, and the Earth is being bombarded by radioactive planet bombs by the evil MacArthur, I mean Desslar of Planet America, I mean Gamilas, and humanity must make the 148,000 light year journey to planet Iscandar to get technology that will heal the Earth. Star Blazers (as the English version was called) was a huge influence on my life and a big reason I am where I am now. It showed the amazing stories that could be told through animation: a crisis involving the extinction of humanity, characters who fall in love and die, noble enemies who fight with honor. I also learned that spring water isn’t always spring water — sometimes it’s sake.
I’m looking forward to the Space Battleship Yamato movie.
