I came to be interested in the anime, since I like naval-related stuff, therefore, the name Space Battleship Yamato made me think about the very well known Battleship Yamato, the Imperial Navy's pride during WW2. I did not know ANYTHING about the anime before deciding to watch it. Now I know about it's well renowned reputation as a pioneer in the science fiction genre. It was also one of the first (if not first!) anime being broadcasted in the US (with a LOT of modifications). Luckily, I watched the original Japanese version. So here is what I think of it:
Story:
The Journey to Iscandar? I really asked myself what that could mean before I watched the anime. Well, I am not going to ruin the story, so all I am going to say is that the plot is pretty convincing (although there were some mistakes and WTF moments that were mentioned at the credits after each episode, provided by the subtitle company). Earth in danger of extinction and the revival of a WW2 battleship to help her survive? I wanted to see that! The bla bla part and the good action scenes are very well balanced and the actual bla bla parts are actually pretty interesting and (sometimes!) heart moving. The ending, although a little bit too fast I would say, makes you want to watch more of the anime and (thank God) many movies and 2 other seasons were made for it. I give the story a well deserved 9.
Art:
I had (still have) watched few animes before this one, but the first thing that shocked me when I started to watch is the artwork. It is so different from what anime is today! I could not stop laughing about the funky-retro-70s pants that the crew used and the relative simplicity of the artwork in general. But oh well, this was just in the first episode. I got used to that. In fact, the way Queen Starsha was first presented, for example, gave her an aura of mystery, which really suits her. The most amazing thing though is the design of the Yamato and the battle effects. Although pretty simple at first sight, they are good enough to give you a feeling of YAY VIOLENCE, EXPLOSIONS PEW PEW, which (despite the fact that I wasn't even born in those days) could have been very difficult and innovative in those years (it was 1974 after all, no Star Wars, no Gundam Wing, no nothing!). The exterior and interior design of the Yamato is also very very interesting and creative. I give art also a 9.
Sound:
The sound... just one word: WOW. The opening already pumps you up and is already a good intro to the anime's epicness. The lyrics are perfectly suitable for the anime and we can't just forget the amazing voice of Isao Sasaki, an artist totally unknown to me before this anime. I watched many videos of him performing the Yamato theme (still today! he is almost 70 years old!) with the same enthusiasm everytime. I read that the opening theme became so popular, that it was informally taken as an anthem for the real Japanese Yamato. Anyways, back to the anime. The ending song (Makka na scarf) is as good as it's opening. Again, performed by Sasaki. Regarding the ambience music in the anime, it could not be better. They did a great job creating a space atmosphere around the Yamato. Battle themes, drama, happiness,... I really recommend to look for the whole Soundtrack CD. It is simply amazing! Sound deserves a perfect 10
Characters:
The ship cannot navigate itself, obviously. The Yamato's crew is as epic as it's ship. The swiss-clock-precise Shima, the rebellious Kodai, the intelligent Sanada... Every crew member shows a complete different personality and talents, which leads to a very rich environment in the bridge of the Yamato and also in the rest of the ship. Yuki is not the common tv show girl. She is the only one aboard the Yamato, but she is responsible for Life Support and also the Medical Bay (together with the funny doctor Sado). She is not the regular woman that falls in love instantaneously with the main character, but she evolves together with him to actually reach that point. Queen Starsha's mysterious personality and history is something that makes her very intersting, even atractive to some point (her beauty is very different to how anime women are presented today). She is obviously very important, since the Yamato actually travels to hear her advice. Lord Desler is also very different from today's villian. Although cruel, he is extremely intelligent. He also sees the Yamato with respect and holds to a certain point a clean fight with the ship. A very interesting character indeed. Last but not least, Captain Okita. Without a doubt, the most misterious character. Always calm and even more intelligent than Lord Desler, he is in charge of leading the Yamato and it's crew. His unorthodox methods scare sometimes scare Kodai or Shima, but his authority is never questionated. Will he succeed? Ok, character gets a 9 from me.
Enjoyment
From start to end, the anime made me laugh, be anxious, angry (Captain Okita's decisions and other stuff). I enjoyed every second of it. Whether Desler planned his strategy, the Yamato just blew everything up with the Wave Motion Gun or Analyzer teased Yuki, everything made the anime be watchable and worthy of my time. I did not toally like the ending though. Although it was good, it had a very WTF moment (which I shall not spoil) and I think the final parts were also a bit short. Anyways, enjoyment also gets a 9.
Overall
Retro anime, funky clothes, aliens attacking humanity, space battleships, guns and explosions? Hell yes! The anime, although it may look boring for today's anime fans, is still enjoyable and worth of watching. The depth of the story is also pretty astonishing, in my case at least. I recommend any sci fi or navy fan to watch this great time joy. I do strongly say you should watch the Japanese version, since the US one (known as Star Blazers) cut a lot of "inapropiate" scenes in that time (today, Space BB Yamato could be a good PG-13 as hardest measure, PG-7 I would say). The thing that makes me mad though is, that they renamed the Yamato as "Argo" which drops the epicness of the ship. Anyways, a must see!
(Note: English is not my native language. I'm sorry for any grammar / spelling errors).
