Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199

Earth's once green hills and rich blue oceans have been converted into a desolate wasteland by the relentless onslaught of planet bombs from the expansionist Gamilas Empire. By the year 2199, humankind has retreated to the depths of underground cities to escape the radiation.

However, all hope is not lost, as the distant planet Iscandar offers Earth its final salvation: the Cosmo Reverse System, capable of restoring Earth's irradiated surface. In a desperate bid to retrieve this technology from Iscandar, the Earth Defense Force pours its remaining resources into the Yamato—an innovative, state-of-the-art battleship equipped with an infinite energy Wave Motion Engine.

From young talent such as Tactical Officer Susumu Kodai to accomplished veterans like Captain Juuzou Okita, the Yamato's crew consists of many individuals, all varying in their experience on the battlefield. But despite their differences, one goal unifies them all: to complete their perilous 168,000 light-year voyage to Iscandar and save humanity from imminent doom.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Okita, Juuzou Main

Sugou, Takayuki Japanese

Kodai, Susumu Main

Ono, Daisuke Japanese

Desler, Aberdt Main

Yamadera, Kouichi Japanese

Mori, Yuki Main

Kuwashima, Houko Japanese

Shima, Daisuke Main

Suzumura, Kenichi Japanese

Yamamoto, Akira Supporting

Tanaka, Rie Japanese

Sanada, Shirou Supporting

Ootsuka, Houchuu Japanese

Niimi, Kaoru Supporting

Hisakawa, Aya Japanese

Deitz, Melda Supporting

Itou, Shizuka Japanese

Frakken, Wolf Supporting

Nakata, Jouji Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Matsumoto, Hideaki Producer

Ariyoshi, Atsushi Producer

Gunji, Mikio Producer

Reviews

Nov 23, 2013

rtil

Recommended

Most of you may know that Space Battleship Yamato 2199 is a remake of the 1970's space opera by the same name (bar the 2199). If one were to make a comparison of its significance to its importance of the genre, it is basically the Star Wars of Japan - the series that one would point to as a culturally significant moment in entertainment and the rise of the genre itself.

In recent times, one becomes wary when they hear the word 'remake' or 'reboot'. Audiences have reluctantly witnessed so many beloved series, stories and characters get butchered in misguided and unnecessary attempts to be recreated.

Thankfully, ... I am happy to say that Yamato's 21st century rebirth is done faithfully, respectfully, and masterfully.

First, there is the story (9/10). Yamato's story is timeless - the people of Earth are fighting back against an alien threat to bring their planet to slavery or extinction. Humanity's last hope lies in the battleship Yamato, its crew, and a mysterious technology brought to mankind from a distant alien race of people called Iscandarians. Their destination - lightyears away, on the planet of Iscandar. In their path lie many obstacles, and every one a piece of the story and the puzzle. In this respect, Yamato's story is not difficult to understand, and is something you can appreciate at any age in any time. There are many developments and nuances that shape the story beyond its simple premise as the show develops, however. For the most part, it faithfully follows the original plot, and while I can't comment on specifics, I know enough to say that with confidence. It is not overly complex - there are also many things that are left to the imagination for the sake of not boring the audience. If you accept them for what they are and don't convolute them, it is, for the most part, flawless. This is, after all, a fictional universe.

Now for the art (10/10). There has been some fuss over the stylistic changes from the original Leiji style of Yamato to the remake. However, I find them to be a perfect blend of the retro style and modern style - which still brings an incredibly refreshing artistic flair to Yamato that isn't seen anywhere today. Even if one were to miss the original style, I think it would be impossible to truly recreate it exactly unless you had all the original animation staff, and that is too much to ask for a 40-year old series. Nobuteru did an excellent job of revisiting the style of Leiji and bringing it to a modern audience.

The animation is absolutely stunning. It's quite obvious there was a high budget for the series, and they use it in all the right places. Let's be honest - in the 70's, many of the technical challenges that came with animating epic, large-scale space battles were difficult to tackle with the technology of the time. While many are impressive, it's easy to see where they struggled to achieve their true vision. In 2199, the ships are 3D models, and CGI comes heavily into play during battle scenes. There was a time that this spelled bad news for mixing with 2D animation, when CGI suffered from a "video game cutscene" syndrome. But with today's technology, 2199's CGI is absolutely stunning, and blends beautifully with the show and the backgrounds. Every ship is masterfully crafted and detailed, and every nuance of the ships and the weaponry is nothing short of perfection. The excitement of every battle scene leaves you speechless. Fans of spaceships, fighter jets and miscellaneous mechanical things will be filled with nothing but glee.

The character and 2D animation is equally as important, and is treated that way. There's a lot of expressiveness in every character, and it shows. There's a bit of fanservice and moe here and there, but nothing overdone. Yamato takes itself seriously when it has to, but it also has a bit of fun when it's appropriate.

The music and sfx (10/10) adds another layer of immersion to the world of Yamato. The soundtrack is a lot of re-recordings of original Yamato tracks, with that 1970's sci-fi trumpets and backing vocals that many may remember fondly. If not, it's something that you hear very rarely these days, and is absolutely perfect for this series. It's enough that the opening is one of those songs you just can't skip - the rest of the soundtrack is equally inspiring.

The sound effects, voices and ambiance is also well done. My favorite bits are definitely the sounds of the ships and the weapons during battle. There's nothing quite like hearing a flurry of lasers, rockets and explosions - and of course, the awe-inspiring Wave Motion Gun.

The characters (9/10) of Yamato are stunning examples of common archetypes. There are brave heroes, loyal comrades, tragic villains, and everything in between. There is a very large cast of Yamato, so I won't dive into every character, but while many characters may seem stereotypical at first glance, Yamato never attempts to clearly define the difference between good and evil - at times, you will sympathize with the enemy, and you will question the motives of the heroes. It's one of those important aspects that helps separate the wheat from the chaff in this aspect. Still, there is a very classical story at hand, and with it come classic characters. But they are not as hollow and predictable as one more cynical may come to believe.

Overall, there is not much more to say. I gave enjoyment a 10/10 because I always found myself looking forward to the next episode of Yamato - and when they came (the waits were quite long for those following the series release), they were over so soon because I enjoyed every moment.

It is quite clear that the creators of Yamato 2199 had great respect for the source material and made every effort to craft a remake worthy of the name Uchuu Senkan Yamato. And in every aspect I would say they succeeded, and brought a story that deserves to be retold to a new era, taking advantage of the tools they have today that its original creators did not to remake Yamato in its full glory. And although the eye-candy visuals of space warfare are a spectacle in their own right, Yamato 2199 never loses sight of the story it is trying to tell and the cast that we want to root for, which is where many remakes of this era falter.

This is a very rare and important piece of animation history - one that I believe deserves to be viewed and appreciated by everyone. I would recommend this series to absolutely anyone, even if they are not fans of sci-fi. If you want an example of a remake done right - this is it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Apr 15, 2020

Bananandoreasu

Mixed Feelings

Considering the very high rating, I'm a bit disappointed. Sad to say, because it certainly had potential to be better.

Characters are not very good.

It's debateable whether this is sci-fi or not. If it is, then it's ultra-soft sci-fi, seems more like fantasy in space to me.

Several underdeveloped and unresolved side-plots, even a few plot holes.

In 26 episodes, It's amazing how little character development they've managed to fit into such a simple story, considering other shows with way more complex stories does considerable more in half as many episodes.

I think this show would be better off if it had spent more time on the characters aboard ... the Yamato and elaborated on the main plot. Instead it attempts to build an intergalactic universe it ends up not knowing what to do with.

The visuals and music, however, that's what this show has going for it. The space battles are as pleasing and spectacular as fireworks on New Year's Eve. Also, it was cool watching an old WWII ship in space.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Jan 2, 2021

AnimeIsOkish

Not Recommended

Funny

Science Fiction always been one of my favorite themes, the incredible creativity that space exploration can use is in essence infinite. Unfortunately good science fiction shows are rare, and, Yamato 2199 is, in my opinion, not one of the good ones.

The initial episodes were good, they had a slow pace with proper introduction of characters and solid world building. The plot went forward in an digestable and reasonable way. But it also became clear that this show wouldn't take itself seriously. Gradually it downgraded in quality, and, by episode 11 it became apparent that the story would just be your averagely bad dumb space soap ... opera in space where everything follows the law of convenience to fulfill drama requirements. Actions made by characters are illogical or downright pathetic if it creates a bit of drama, the characters which at first looked like adults, gradually become emotionally unstable children with temper tantrums in space. Aren't this supposed to be the best humanity has to offer?

It quickly became a boring show, with the typical space tropes kicking in, which it would be ok if they were well done. The lazy storytelling was overwhelming, no regard whatsoever for logic, and at least two absolutely unbelievable moments of outstanding ridiculousness that sentenced this show to mediocrity. And I mean it, this were among the worst scenes I ever watched in my life.

But not everything was bad, animation, drawing style, effects, backgrounds, they had above the average quality for anime. It had good action moments, and, if one ignores the nonsense, it was a well paced show. The characters aesthetic design is quite good for my taste, and most of the characters were actually interesting, likeable and some relatable. The voice actors also did a good job, and a special thumbs up for the main villain voice actor, what a magnificient voice for that character and such a good voice acting. The last episodes were also ok, not over the top nonsense. This positives kept me going until the end, where usually I would have dropped it.

In the end, its a real shame, this show could have been easily an 8/10 but it failed on key areas. A chain is as strong as its weakest link.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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