We're Off To Outer Space, We're Leaving Mother Earth
In the year 1974, a new anime series debuted in Japan that drew a line from the far reaches of outer space to the infinite depths of the human heart. Space Battleship Yamato brought Japan’s best artists, writers, and filmmakers together under a new genre called “Space Adventure Roman,” and they created a shock wave that can still be heard today. Spanning ten years, the saga incorporated three TV series (known to the English-speaking world as Star Blazers) and five magnificent, monumental movies that not only made box-office history, they also inspired the ‘anime boom’ that brought us some of the most exciting entertainment in the world!
Starblazers was a landmark program in Japan and America. When it aired in syndication in the U.S. in 1979, the character names were anglicized (Susumu Kodai became Derek Wildstar; Admiral Okita, Captain Avatar, etc.), the violence and drinking were heavily censored, and the World War II connections of the Yamato were tactfully downplayed. The Quest for Iscandar comprises the first 26-episode continuity; two additional TV series and several features would follow. In the year 2199, the war with the planet Gamilon has turned the Earth’s surface into a radioactive desert. The radiation will penetrate the bedrock protecting humanity’s underground cities in another year, destroying all remaining life. A message arrives from Queen Starsha of the planet Iscandar, offering a way to eliminate the deadly radiation and providing plans for an engine that can power a ship across the 148,000 light-year gap. Scientists convert the ruined shell of the battleship Yamato into a starship in a desperate attempt to save the planet, and the perilous voyage begins.
With its high-quality animation (which even included some 3-D effects achieved via rotoscoping), epic story lines, mature writing (including some well-handled pathos and romance), well-developed character arcs, and superb voice acting, “Star Blazers” raised the bar for not only televised animation, but also sci-fi drama in general. The writing found in “Star Blazers easily outshone the best efforts of the creatively bankrupt sci-fi dramas of the time, including “Battlestar Galactica”, “Buck Rogers”, and “Space: 1999”.
waiting for the Girl Talk Stop Following Him/How My Ass Taste mashup.
Dear Goldenfiddle,
Thank you. I used to watch Star Blazers as a kid. It was by far my favorite, even surpassing the epic teambuilding exercise G-Force and of course the somewhat overwrought Voltron. However, I only saw it a few times, and then it never came back. I have been searching for the name of the show for years, asking people I met:
Do you remember that show where they were in outer space on a spaceship that looked like a ship?
Well, mystery solved, thanks to this blog. Now, if you can help me find my favorite cap gun that I lost on the back porch in 1984, I’d be much obliged.
Dear Goldenfiddle:
I, too, want to thank you for this jog to the memory. Back in ‘79, my brother and I delivered the morning newspapers in our neighborhood. After waking at 5:30 and trudging through the hood for an hour, we’d arrive home to eat breakfast and watch the teevee. Unfortunately, we lived with our Luddite parents who wouldn’t spring for cable, so we were forced to watch whatever was on the tube at that hour. When Starblazers came on, it was a revelation. We could stop watching the PTL club and enjoy our mornings.
Kudos to you good sir.
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interesting, sounds like Don Ho doing a classic James Bond soundtrack.