Crucero del espacio

I was delighted to find this on DVD packed with extras and in the way real anime fans like to watch it, in Japanese with (English for me) subtitles, so we don't lose any of the original voices or sounds. Did you run home from high school every day to watch this too? I did. This was probably my second early exposure to anime, the first being Gatchaman I had thought that the first movie came before the first series but the series came first, which explains things like how Yuki's/Nova's arm got broken after they land on Iscandar to meet Stasha and get the Cosmo Cleaner D.

Space Cruiser Yamato the movie is a fun trip down memory lane, back to classic anime. Very informative to see the changes it went thru after being mangled into Star Blazers by completely changing or omitting sections of the film. The WWII sequence and ideas of Japanese honor were altered so as not to offend or confuse US viewers, gimme a break! The DVD even has an alternative scene on Iscandar that really changes the pace of the show.

So basically, the first Yamato movie covers the entire Iscandar adventure.

Fair enough, allowing theatre-goers to experience the tale in time for the sequel which was released year later...only this is just really badly executed.

The single biggest problem with this movie is the pacing. Even knowing it recycles footage from the TV series cannot prepare you for the fact that they did absolutely no additional work whatsoever apart from new narration, meaning they didn't even record any new dialogue - this means that much of the first half of the film races through several key events in a manner that makes it look like the writers of the film really just didn't care. Reducing Yamato's visit to Mars to a mere mention in the fashion of the narrator going "Yamato visits Mars to make repairs" isn't even half as bad as the first test of the wave motion gun and the battle at Pluto receiving almost similar treatment, killing the dramatic tension - and I swear, I've never seen a movie narrate itself through an action scene! Sometimes, they even use the "cliffhanger" narration from the end of an episode! The faster pacing also makes the one-year voyage feel much less epic than it actually was in the TV series, and that in turn draws attention to the awkward fact that Yamato receives grave damage in one battle and is mysteriously repaired by the next scene. How many times does the third bridge get destroyed anyway? With no new animation and a really bizarre priority on what plot elements should be carried over from the TV series at that, the first Yamato movie does not feel like a theatrical feature at all, but a feature-length clip show for television.

I imagine if I'd watched the series first I'd like this one a lot less, because apparently it's more or less a remake/recap, or some combination of the two.

It does mean that only a coupe of characters really make an impact, and pacing is a bit crazy, but it does also provide a good overview into the world of the show and the main conflict, as well as just how cool resurrecting a WW2 battleship to fight in space is.

For being an introduction to the series, it does very well. For introducing the characters of the series it does a little less well. And from I can tell, if anyone wants an original story here after watching the series, they'll be very disappointed.

My rating would be lower if this wasn't my introduction to Space Battleship Yamato, I'm sure. But can't deny I mostly liked it for what it was, and look forward to future instalments that hopefully tell newer stories.