TRANSMISSIONS FROM EARTH
We’re overjoyed at the number of new letters we’ve
received from all the wonderful Star Blazers fans out there who
took the time to write in. During the heyday of Space Battleship
Yamato in Japan, the office of the official Yamato fan club was
swamped with just this sort of mail day and day out, and thanks
to you we now have a better idea of what that must have been
like. So without further ado…
From: Brian J. Pitts
I would like to let you know you have done an outstanding job on the quality of the Bolar Wars DVD. I was taken aback by how much better it looked, and I liked the opening title--nice touch. Too bad it couldn’t be put on the VHS tape version. I am looking forward to collecting the rest of the series. How long will the wait be between DVD’s, and when will the next three movies be released? Whenever they are, I’ll be ready to order them. Are there plans in the works after Bolar Wars and the final three movies? What will you try to bring to the states? Have you considered a newsletter or anything else to let people know about upcoming releases?
Answer: Newsletter? NEWSLETTER? We don’t need no steenkin’ newsletter! Viva la internet! Seriously, though, we briefly considered reviving the Star Blazers Fan Force newsletter a couple of years ago, but it made too much sense to create this website instead, so we couldn’t resist.
Thanks very much for commenting on the remastered DVDs for The Bolar Wars. We’re putting a lot of care into them, so your attention to detail is appreciated. As for upcoming releases, all six volumes of series 3 will be on sale by November 2003, and the remaining movies will be available within the next 12 months; precise dates to be determined. We’re thinking about what to do after everything’s been released, but it’s too early to tell right now.
From: Giuliano Sale
Lausanne, Switzerland
First of all let me apoligise if my english is not perfect. I do notice that most of the mails, and probably all, comes from the North American continent. I hope I am the first European writing you. My name is Julian and I live in the french part of Switzerland, but as I'm Italian I had the chance to learn both languages at the same time. English came later...
I remember I must have been 12-13 years old when the first Star Blazers series was shown by the Swiss-Italian television. Once a week in the evening I couldn't wait to see what would happen in the next episode. Until one day, without warning, Star Blazers stopped without letting us know what would be the fate of the Starforce against Gamilon and Leader Desslok. You can imagine how disappointed I've been, and... aaaaargh ! I thought I would never know the end of the story...
I often wondered what was the end. Of course during all those years I imagined that the Starforce could not lose, but the great questions for me were: how,
who lived, who died, etc... ? Now I'm almost 35. Can you imagine now how long it took to know ? More than twenty years...
I saw last year that it was possible to order the DVD's of the first series so I could finally know how it ended. What a relief ! What a joy ! It was great to hear again the scream of the wave motion gun, and see Desslok plot against the Starforce...
But it's not over. I also ordered the second series, and I was suprised to see it was even superior to the first. This has all : love, betrayal, great fights, etc...Now I can't wait to see the third series (by the way when will we be able to order the complete boxed DVD set ??). Just another small question : why is it not possible to order from your shop in Europe ?
Anyway, I know this was a long e-mail, but I wanted to say a big "thank you" to all the team to allow the fans to find the magic of our youth. I enjoyed a lot seeing it again, knowing the end of series 1 and discovering series 2.
Keep up the good work. Cheers,
Answer: Not only are you the first to write to us from Europe, Julian, you’re the first fan we know of who had to endure the same suspense as the original Japanese TV audience for Yamato, who also had to wait an entire week between episodes. (In the US, episodes were on daily. And we thought a 24-hour wait was long!) The box set for DVD series 3 will indeed be released in the future, and it will include another booklet like those in boxes 1 and 2. Look for the set in late 2003. Also, we’re now set up to take international orders through our toll-free phone number: 800-704-4040. Freight charges are a little extra, but a mere pittance compared to the joy of seeing Star Blazers again…
From: Greg D.
I purchased the box set to Yamato season 2 (The Comet Empire). I noticed much to my surprise that on a couple of the DVD's in the menu section there is music that is not on the “Eternal Music" soundtracks. If u don't mind could u please tell me how u obtained this unreleased music? Do u know if there will be another soundtrack which will contain more unreleased music from the 2nd season (The Comet Empire). I know for a fact that there is plenty of great music that didn't make it to the previous released soundtracks. I hope u can help me in this matter. I'm glad to say that I am happy to be a loyal customer.
Answer: Not as happy as we are, Greg. Your sharp ears did not deceive you: the music you refer to was featured in series 2, but it was not included on the “Eternal Edition” CDs. It’s only available on an extremely hard-to-find and long out-of-print album called “Yamato: I Adore the Eternity of Love.” It was what we would call today a remix album, containing disco versions of many popular Yamato themes. It was released on LP in Japan way back in 1978, and is now a coveted collectors’ item. For details on other unreleased music, refer to our review of the Eternal Edition CDs, elsewhere on this website. (By the way, you can find a little more info about “I Adore the Eternity of Love” on the “Space Webzine Yamato” website. Visit our “links” section to find it.)
From: Michaelene (Mickie) Trubilla
I just received the 1st and 2nd series on DVD and...IT'S AS WONDERFUL AS I REMEMBER IT!
In 1979 I was in first grade, and my school bus would get home at 3:45. I would run the 3 blocks home to make it in time for 4 o'clock to see Starblazers. If something came up and we had to go somewhere right after school, I'd scream bloody murder. My poor mother. She had no idea how important this show was (and still is) to me.
Now, I'm totally re-addicted. Every night this week I've rushed home right after work so I can watch. For years now I've been asking around, "Hey, do you remember a cartoon that had the battleship that went into outer space on a mission to save Earth?" I've had a lot of blank stares and no leads. I couldn't remember the darn name of the show! Totally embarrassing! My favorite show!
So last week on a whim, I typed into the search engine "old cartoons" and a past web page came up of people chatting about old cartoons. One woman had written in, "the cartoons they have today really suck. Whatever happened to great cartoons like Starblazers?” I saw that beautiful name - STARBLAZERS! I immediately typed Starblazers in the search, and lo and behold, there it was. A WHOLE WONDERFUL WEBSITE ON STARBLAZERS!
Needless to say, I bought the whole first and second season without batting an eye! And I'M LOVING IT! I rank receiving these DVD's right up to when I had a pit pass at Pocono for the Winston cup series in 1998. I LOVE IT, and I can't wait for the 3rd series to be complete!
Answer: Michaelene, we aren’t going to get anywhere until you open up and tell us how you really feel…
From: Rodney the Squid
A.K.A. Thesquid@aol.com
Hi, my name is Rod. I just wanted to drop you guys a line and let you know what Starblazers means to me. When I was 13 years old, I was stricken with scarlet fever and was admited to Memorial Hospital in Worc. MA. In the two weeks I spent there, twice I was close to death. I guess it must have been in between near-death experiences when the tv in my room gave me my first memory of Starblazers. Desslock, yes I ‘m sure of it, it was Desslock. He was being rescued by Prince Zortar of the Comet Empire. I liked what I saw, because the next day I woke up at the exact same time to view my second episode. Hooked. Instantly. that was the best medicine I could have received. If I died, I could not see more of this. So guess what, I was not going anywhere. So began my love for Starblazers.
Over the years, I have collected an original Argo, the Andromeda, and dozens of small ships. I have also passed this love on to my three children and my wife. I have nothing but warm feelings for the show that I feel saved my life, not to sound too dramatic. In conclusion, I do an awesome Desslock voice. Just ask my wife and kids. I do it all the time all the time. Thanks, Eddie Allen!
Answer: It’s amazing what can result from a little well-designed suspense.
From: Jared Hainline
I was at a Media Play store with my 5 yr old looking for a good kids movie, and what do you know? I run into a 6 dvd set of Star Blazers! I could not believe my eyes! I did a quadruple take to make sure I was seeing straight. Sure enough, I was. I saw the entire Iscandar series and I saw a couple of DVD's of the Comet Empire series. I was so excited that I could bring a cartoon that I grew up on to my own kids.
What was even cooler was that there was a website on the dvd. I went to the site and saw mention of all of the characters I grew up with, and learned about the fact that the story continued after the Comet Empire! Well, after seeing this, I started surfing the web, trying to find any other info about Star Blazers.
I would like you to add an episode guide that explains all the episodes & discuss in detail this 3rd series that I had no idea even existed. I have even seen some rumor on the net regarding a New Journey episode or movie, A Be forever Argo, & a Final Argo. Can you confirm any of this? I will have to start saving some pennies and buying all of these episodes for my kids to enjoy and for myself to re-live.
Answer: With the DVDs being available almost everywhere, we feel there isn’t a desperate need for an episode guide on the website, but if anyone else would like us to add one, please add your vote to Jared’s. Meanwhile, plenty of information about the various shows and movies can be found on the sites listed in our “links” section.
From: Darrin Behm
This 37-year-old’s Geekdom is now complete!
Many years ago, my friends and I started the SFAC in Buffalo. (Geeky anime club) One of the first films we watched was a horrible VHS copy of Final Yamato. We all have seen the splendor of Final Yamato on LD, but with what you have done on DVD, I can't wait till it’s in your sights! Keep up the good work!
Now only if you could revive Prince Planet!!
Answer: Thanks for your complement on the movies; it’s great fun to do the homework on the various movies and learn tidbits that were hidden behind the language barrier until now. Rest assured, the DVD version of Final Yamato will be as chock-full of extras as all the others.
From: Robert Longo, Chelsea, MA
I have just purchased the DVD collections of Series One and Two of the Star Blazers Saga and must congratulate you on an excellent job…well done!!!!!!
As a member of Generation X, I spent many weekday afternoons rushing home from school to watch the best show ever seen on television. I was very pleased and pleasantly surprised when I reviewed those episodes from the past. The DVD Extras provided wonderful insight into the series and the actors that did a fantastic job. I was amazed that the voice actors were found, and that’s the point of this letter.
You have an excellent opportunity to provide fans like myself with the true meaning of the LOST EPISODES (Bolar Wars) by rerecording them with the original STAR BLAZERS cast. I assure that there are many fans from my generation that appreciate and love the show. I realize that money and finances are the key to everything in the world but it is something that you should seriously consider. Now that I am a working professional, I would gladly pay anything to recapture that brief moment of my youth.
Answer: We would be as pleased as you, Robert, to honor your request, but in this case there is more than money and finances standing in the way. As we’ve reported in the past, there’s a technical barrier as well. When an anime program is imported to the US for redubbing, it has to come with separate music and sound effects tracks (referred to as M&E tracks) that are not “married” to the voice tracks. If these tracks aren’t separated, an importer has no choice but to subtitle the program, since there’s no way to separate all the elements after the fact. This is the case with The Bolar Wars, as described in detail in an earlier article on this website. There’s also the fact that, to date, only four of the original voice actors have become publicly known—the original voice cast was far bigger, and no one (as yet) has managed to find anyone else. If any of them are out there reading this, it would be lovely to hear from them…
From: Rafael Scalize, Brazil
Here in Brazil we are great fans of StarBlazers, but the TV channels haven't shown this anime for about 20 years. There will be a big success if you release StarBlazers DVD’s for us (region 4) - even with portuguese subtitles.
I'm really anxious about that.
Answer: Don’t lose another moment of sleep over this, Rafael—the Star Blazers DVDs are all region free, so you should be able to play themaround the world and elsewhere.
From: Chris (Buck) Buckmister
Hi! Just like most fans of the series, I eagerly awaited the next episode each day. Hurry Star Force! There are only 187 days left! Man, I loved that show! Still do! The DVD releases have been great! I've been ordering from the website or getting them from my local retailers since Part 3 of Quest For Iscandar. One thing that would be neat is to have a detailed explanation of the differences between the Yamato series and Star Blazers. Obviously, more violence is in the Japanese version, but from watching the Yamato movies there must be many more differences in the series. Are there any plans to release the uncut Yamato series to DVD?(Not just the movies, which I know you are doing, but the full Japanese versions of the series) I know that you can get the full Japanese version from Asia, but I'd like to get a Voyager version because what you have done for Star Blazers has been incredible! Well, keep up the great work!
Answer: While it is true that you can purchase the original Yamato TV episodes on DVD, it’s also true that the all-region multilingual version is unlicensed and therefore, we can’t in good conscience give out ordering information for it. Instead, we’ll reassure you that we have thought long and hard about releasing the original, uncut Yamato TV shows and we’ve even started looking into the possibility. We’ll definitely keep you posted.
From: Rickey Jones
I've always had an ear for music, regardless of my inability to play any musical instrument. I was 20 in 1979 when, on a morning that because of the weather I was unable to work, I was going through the tv channels and happened upon channel 24 WPTY out of Memphis Tennessee. They were airing a cartoon that I had never seen before so I left it on to watch. It was only after a few seconds of viewing that the music caught my ear. I was truly caught off guard by what I was hearing...and from a cartoon??? It was from that point on that I was caught up in the series, which I discovered to be Star Blazers, and after loving the music associated with the series I became fascinated by the characters themselves. This was not the normal Saturday morning junk I was accustomed to seeing, far from it. This was a truly outstanding, glorified series that required further research on my behalf.
Two years after watching all 52 episodes I had in my possesion my first Yamato soundtrack album, imported straight from Japan. When I found out that there were more albums available I had to have them all! Before I knew it, I was obsessed with the Yamato/Star Blazers series, buying anything and everything associated with it as it seemed I couldn't get enough! Now here I am 24 years later, a 46 year old guy who still remembers Star Blazers, and who to this day still watches the series and its movies on VHS and DVD, and I am discovering to this day that it's still something new and fresh. A superb animation series that will live with me until the day I die. The thousands of dollars that I spent on albums, cd's, models, books, etc., I still consider a valuable part of my life that I will cherish forever. Star Blazers/Yamato is without a doubt THE landmark, THE greatest animated series to ever appear. Thank you for the wonderful site you have, as it continues to provide the fans a place to meet and share their impact.
Rickey Jones
From: David Mulaque
My name is David, I am a 33-year old musician, and like many others who grew up in the late 70's/early 80's, Starblazers was my favorite show. I watched it religiously and would would run home, with ten minutes to kill before the show came on at 3:30 on our local channel (WTAF 29 in Philly).
A few weeks ago, I bought the first five episodes on DVD on a whim, figuring that since it has been 20 years since the series was pulled from the airwaves (Circa October 1982), that watching it as an adult would be a bit on the cheesy side. I kept the sales receipt in my wallet so I could return or exchange it. I slipped the DVD in my player, still very cynical and gearing up for a good laugh...boy was I wrong!
When the theme music began, it struck a chord within me and slowly, things that had been lying dormant in the abyss of my psyche now raced thru both hemispheres of my consciousness. I was very psyched, and it was beautiful. It is still a great story, and as an adult I understand and appreciate it even more. Not only have I retained a small piece of my childhood, but I can enjoy it even moreso now, knowing what I know. I found myself at my local video retail store buying the next installment, and as of today, I have almost completed my collection of the first series, never in my life have I bought so many DVD's in such a short period!
It is just so awesome to be able to see this great epic once again after 20 years since it was pulled off the air. Our channel in my area replaced it with a certain lame American Cartoon that depicted a coalition of Superheroes fighting a hehe..."Sinister " organization aka The Legion of Doom. I remember that fateful day. I tried to watch it for the first time, hoping that it would faze me as much as StarBlazers, but it didn’t. It was empty and one-dimensional. My 12-year old mind just could not succumb to the shallow adventures of the SuperFriends (Oops. Well, it’s no longer nameless!) I surrendered the TV to my younger sister, who changed the channel to watch Mr. Rogers.
I moped around the Kitchen and then went on to finish Jr. High. I discovered that I had a knack for music, graduated High School, went away to Art School, travelled to Both Europe and Central America, played in several bands and established my life as an adult. The Argo and her quests drifted off into the back of my mind and the faces of the crew faded. The Comet Empire was destroyed and Gamilon lay in ruins. Life went on like it should. Little did my 12-year old mind know back then, that wonderful technological advances such as the Internet and DVD players would once again place me on the bridge of the Argo. Hope springs eternal.
Answer: What a perfect pair of letters to end with for this round. Keep them coming in, folks! There’s an entire generation of you out there to hear from!
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