This episode was super emotional, I was literally crying for 30 minutes straight. Indeed, Kodai talking to a CORPSE of his beloved Yuki is just heartbreaking. As well as seeing the Captain cry for the first time ever... Damn that was a powerful scene. At least he died in peace.
Now, overall Yamato was great too. Great and emotional soundtrack, superb animation and all that. However, the characters and the plot were not flawless. Oh, and I was a bit disappointed by the lack of a proper ED. There's just a song (a very beautiful one though!) and recap scenes from the show alongside with credits. So I'll rate it somewhere between 7 and 8.
- I understand why people say that the characters are underdeveloped. However, I should point out that Yamato belongs to a type of shows where characters are meant to work *together*, not as standalone ones. Compare it to TTGL - it, too, had a big crew which was very enjoyable and had little quirks here and there. It was a good mix. Same is true for Yamato - yes, not all of the side characters and crew members are super important to the plot, but they have recognizeable designs, are enjoyable and just have a good mix together. This is how such a show works. Of course, I think that TTGL's cast is better developed (in terms of the main characters), but I think you get the point - the characters are meant to be seen together, not apart. They are a crew after all. Although surely there could've been more to them - in particular, Shima felt like the least important character from the main cast.
- As for Desler, he's sadly a very typical villain. Aside from his love for Starsha, sexy voice and looks there's nothing that really stands out. Although I'd say he was probably more of a symbol of alien invasion, since the whole show is about saving humanity and having hope.
As for the plot, there're some unresolved points too. I've written about them in the previous episodic threads, so I won't repeat myself, but some points are worth stressing:
We still know almost nothing about Iscandar. Why was the entire population aside from Starsha, Yurisha and Sasha dead? Why was Iscandar using the WMC as a war tool? How did Iscandarians get "separated" from Gamillas in the past (assuming that this part of Desler's speech was true)? Everything about Mamoru is still concerning me. Yuki's past is mysterious except from the fact that she's confirmed to be not from Iscandar. Her spiritual relationship with Yurisha is not explained. Yurisha posessing the girl from the ship was not really explained too. Moving consciousness? Overall, the technology in this show is mostly magic. Although I can buy it given that it's a sci-fi show and, well, in a fantasy universe a lot can happen. I also reserve a place for the sequels - since the original Yamato has quite a lot of them, and the remakers will presumably remake all of them eventually. So maybe some plot points will be resolved later. HOWEVER. Why didn't the writers of the show take time dilation into account? Warping is happening at faster than light speeds, so it's not like Yamato could return to Earth and have the same time on the clock. Amiright or was I studying my physics not well enough? Although the concept of time dilation pretty much fucks up every space show out there with the exception of Gunbuster. Also, I wonder why did they not show the reaction of the crew to Okita's death and just skipped to the new Earth. By the way, I'd like to see the process of rejuvenating Earth too! Finally, it looks like there're some feelings Akira has for Kodai that are never given any proper development. Or why is she blushing when seeing him? It's not the first time. There was also a scene in the hangar where she was like "Kodai-kun!", but ran away after noticing him with Yuki. Maybe I'm just imagining things, idk.
In the end, while there's still a lot to improve, Yamato's flaws are not ultra critical - it's just me being overly analytical after getting a very emotional ride. I enjoyed the show a lot. Of course I wouldn't compare Yamato to LOGH as some folks in this thread have been doing - these shows are just not comparable in terms of length and characterisation - but Yamato is still a solid addition to my space opera collection, a remake of a classic that inspired my favourite director (Hideaki Anno) and just a good show. Solid 8/10, and I'm looking forward to the sequels. Maybe I'll watch the second season and watch the 3rd season of the original, since it's not remade yet.
@Rei_III that comment about 2nd season looked kinda spoilerish :D
But if the 2202 remake borrowed from both canonical versions, I think it's worth watching. Choosing older seasons over this one risks disrupting continuity due to slight plot differences here and there (I've read a list of them on wikipedia). I'm not sure about other seasons and movies though, it doesn't look like you value them a lot. Are they a common example of "milking" a franchise or something?
As for LOGH and Yamato, I think that people compare them just because they take place in space, it's as simple as that. There're just not enough space shows out there to make comparisons, so people take even thematically different series.
UPD: found a couple of amazing websites about Yamato
The first one is entirely dedicated to it (not only 2199 version):
https://ourstarblazers.com/vault/yamato2199/
This one has a ton of great articles about the history of the show, very interesting
http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/?s=SPACE+BATTLESHIP+YAMATO
This article lists all other Yamato-related articles in chronological order:
http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2014/11/28/space-battleship-yamato-2199-x-icsca-promotion/ |