YAMATO PRODUCTS (BOOKS)

As periodically happens with many classic works of fiction, be they literary, film, or anime, interest resurges and a wave of memorabilia is produced for the fans, old and new alike. This has occurred several times in the history of the Space Battleship Yamato series in Japan. Every time a new film appeared, the audience got a little larger and the appetite for Yamato spinoff products went up. The most recent resurgence (which is ongoing) happened in the late 90s. By this time, Leiji Matsumoto was on a creative roll again, and all of his previous works were getting attention from a new generation of SF fans. In 1999, he supervised the production of a Yamato game for Sony Playstation, and the stage was set for a whole new line of spinoff products. Now that he is also supervising a new Yamato anime series (called "Great Yamato") we will undoubtedly have even more to look forward to. Starting this month, we'll take a look at some of the newer items that have been produced and offer some hints on how to obtain them for your collection. In this article, we focus entirely on books.

SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO: JOURNEY TO PLANET ISCANDAR FIXED DATA Studio DNA Media Books & Bandai, May 2000 Full color, 130 pages ISBN4-921066-83-3 SARABA (FAREWELL) SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO FIXED DATA Studio DNA Media Books & Bandai, January 2001 Full color, 130 pages ISBN4-921066-84-1 As various anime programs have made their way to the home game console format, artbooks have kept pace with the process and offered detailed looks at how an older series is spruced up for a new medium. There is no finer example of this than the "Fixed Data" books for the Yamato Playstation games. If you don't own a copy of the games themselves, don't worry about it for one second. These volumes function perfectly well on their own, leaving strategy to other books entirely. In addition to a blow-by-blow photostory of the entire games (including the beautifully-animated cutscenes), there is a generous helping of character and mecha design art to slobber over. It's especially fascinating to see how the original artstyle of the anime was updated and re-interpreted by artists who obviously retain a high degree of respect and passion for the source material. It probably helps that they all work under Leiji Matsumoto at Studio DNA in Japan. Both of these "fixed data" books are identical in format and are worth every penny.

SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO: JOURNEY TO PLANET ISCANDAR VISUAL BOOK AND GAME GUIDE Nabi Book Series Produced by Locus, Studio M, and Bandai, May 1999 Full color, 128 pages ISBN4-07-391325-5 This aptly-named volume is a terrific combination of TV series coverage and a guide to the first Playstation game. Though most of the book is a collection of maps and strategies, a sizeable portion is devoted to the making of the game and comparisons with the first anime series. The large number of stills makes this a good addition to your shelf even if you don't have access to the game.

SARABA (FAREWELL) SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO COMPLETE GUIDE Produced by EnterBrain & Bandai, 2000 Full color, 160 pages ISBN4-7577-0094-6 Of the four books that are devoted to the Playstation games, this is the least flashy and most utilitarian. A few pages are spared for artwork, but the bulk of the book is filled with hardcore, nuts-and-bolts strategy for playing the game itself. It's probably indispensible if you're trying to work your way through the caverns of Telezart or the decks of Desslok's flagship, but if you're just looking for some pretty drawings, there are better places to go (see above).

SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO: JOURNEY TO PLANET ISCANDAR COMIC ANTHOLOGY Produced by Tohokushinsha & Bandai Visual, May 2000 Black & white, 212 pages ISBN4-921066-43-4 The talented artists of Leiji Matsumoto's Studio DNA, in addition to being top-notch animators and game designers, are also formidable manga artists, and this book is what happened when they were asked to turn their passion for Yamato into comics. Doubtless many of them grew up on the anime (just as many of us grew up on Star Blazers), and it shows in the seven chapters that comprise this book. Each is an adaptation of a key TV episode, and each artist interprets the story in their own fashion while also remaining fiercely loyal to the original. Viewers of Star Blazers will have no trouble keeping up, and it's a genuine treat to sample the individual flavors each artist brings to the table.

THE SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO CHRONICLES B. Media Books Special, produced by Take Shobo, March 2001 Full color, 216 pages ISBN4-8124-0700-1 Of all the books to be published in this wave, "Chronicles" is the most comprehensive, which naturally makes it the ideal volume to start with. This book handily covers every single Yamato production up to and including the Playstation games. Although more detailed information can be had in older books, None of them is as concise. Broken into sections that correspond to each anime production, this book contains color stills of every character, spaceship, vehicle, and location in the entire saga. There's even some room for brief coverage of peripheral merchandise and sidebar stories. Of all the books on this list, "Chronicles" gets the highest recommendation to those looking for somewhere to start.

SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO: REAL PAPERCRAFT Wani Magazine No ISBN available In the 1980s, "papercraft" books were popular among fans with a penchant for modelling. Books were produced for Yamato, Gundam, and other programs. Inside were printed pieces that could be cut out and fitted together into intricate models of the mecha in the series. The original Yamato papercraft book contained all the pieces you needed to build a replica of the ship and of IQ-9. This newer, more refined edition allows you to build very high-quality paper models of the Yamato, Kodai's Cosmo Zero, and a Black Tiger from the first series. Good sources for these books (and other worthy Yamato products) are: Asahiya Books, Kinokuniya Books, Animate, Hobbylink Japan, Mandarake, and Anime Jungle. Check their websites and tell them we sent you!