Star Blazers
Star Blazers is an American animated television series adaptation of the Japanese anime series Space Battleship Yamato. Star Blazers'' was first broadcast in the United States in 1979. It was the first popular English-translated anime that had an overarching plot and storyline that required the episodes to be viewed in order, which paved the way for future arc-based, plot-driven anime translations. It also dealt with somewhat more mature themes than other productions aimed at the same target audience at the time.
Plot
Star Blazers consists of three television seasons. Each is an English-language adaption of its Japanese counterpart Space Battleship Yamato. However, the Japanese saga entails more than just these three television seasons, and part of this missing portion of the saga occurs between Seasons Two and Three, in the movies and Be Forever Yamato.In the first season, Earth is attacked by Gamilon, a distant planet. The radiation from Gamilon's planet bombs forces everyone on Earth underground. With no way to remove the radiation, all life on Earth will be wiped out in one year. The Earth then receives unexpected help from Queen Starsha of the planet Iscandar, who offers a device called "Cosmo DNA" which will remove the radiation. However, since Iscandar is 148,000 light years away, Starsha also sends plans for the experimental Wave Motion Engine that, when constructed, will help whoever can travel to Iscandar by letting them travel at 27,569,736,000 miles per second. On Earth, a crew is recruited, headed by Captain Avatar, and an old sunken battleship is transformed into a spaceship, outfitted with the Wave Motion Engine, and sent to Iscandar.
The second season takes place one year after the Argo returns to Earth with the Cosmo DNA and Earth's ecosystem is restored. It now faces a new, dangerous enemy, the Comet Empire, led by Prince Zordar. Unlike Gamilon, which was seeking to capture and colonize Earth, Zordar simply wants to conquer and annex Earth to his Empire. Desslok, the Gamilon leader, also joins forces with Zordar, mainly because he wants revenge on the Argo for having destroyed Gamilon. The series revolves around the Argo, now commanded by Deputy Captain Derek Wildstar, working with the Earth Defense Force to face Zordar.
In the third season, the Argo is caught in the middle of a war between the Galmans and the Bolar Federation. A stray missile fired during the war causes the sun's thermonuclear reactions to go out of control. Unless it can be stopped, the sun will destroy the Earth in one year and the entire solar system in three. Now officially in command of the Argo, Derek Wildstar is charged to help find a new home for Earth's population.
Episodes
Characters
First and second seasons
Major characters appearing in Seasons One and Two are listed below by their canonical names:| Character | Performer | Position | Origin |
| Captain Avatar | Gordon Ramsey | Captain of the Argo and Star Force Commander | Earth |
| Derek Wildstar | Kenneth Meseroll | Deputy Captain, Argo ; Acting Captain and Star Force Commander | Earth |
| Mark Venture | Tom Tweedy | Chief Navigator, Argo | Earth |
| Nova Forrester | Amy Howard Wilson | Radar Operator, Nurse, Argo | Earth |
| Sandor | Science Officer, Argo | Earth | |
| Homer | Michael Bertolini | Communications Chief, Argo | Earth |
| Eager | Assistant Navigator, Argo | Earth | |
| Dash | Eddie Allen | Artillery Unit, Argo | Earth |
| Orion | Gordon Ramsey | Chief Engineer, Argo | Earth |
| Conroy | Black Tiger Leader | Earth | |
| Hardy | Black Tiger Pilot | Earth | |
| Dr. Sane | Frank Pita | Doctor, Argo | Earth |
| IQ-9 | Survey Robot, Argo | Earth | |
| Sgt. Knox | Chris Latta | Space Marine Leader, Brumus | Earth |
| Captain Gideon | Captain of Andromeda | Earth | |
| Commander | Commander, Earth Defense Force | Earth | |
| Stone | same as Homer | General, EDF | Earth |
| Miss Efficiency | Medical Robot, EDF | Earth | |
| Alex Wildstar | Brother of Derek | Earth | |
| Queen Starsha | Lydia Leeds | Ruler of Iscandar | Iscandar |
| Astra | none | sister of Starsha | Iscandar |
| Leader Desslok | Eddie Allen | Gamilon Leader | Gamilon |
| General Krypt | Adjutant to Desslok | Gamilon | |
| General Talan | Adjutant to Desslok | Gamilon | |
| General Lysis | Commander of Balan Base | Gamilon | |
| Volgar | Mike Czechopoulos | Adjutant to Lysis | Gamilon |
| Colonel Ganz | Commander of Pluto Base | Gamilon | |
| Major Bane | Adjutant to Ganz | Gamilon | |
| Prince Zordar | Ruler of Comet Empire | Comet Empire | |
| Princess Invidia | Morgan Lofting | Daughter of Zordar | Comet Empire |
| General Dire | Chris Latta | Imperial Command Staff | Comet Empire |
| General Gorse | Frank Pita | Imperial Command Staff | Comet Empire |
| General Turpis / Bleak | Combined Fleet Commander | Comet Empire | |
| General Torbuck | Antimatter Missile Fleet Commander | Comet Empire | |
| General Naska | Advance Attack Unit Commander | Comet Empire | |
| General Scorch | Tank Battalion Commander | Comet Empire | |
| Morta | Advisor to Desslok | Comet Empire | |
| Mazor | Bomber Pilot | Comet Empire | |
| Trelaina | Lydia Leeds | Sole survivor on Telezart | Telezart |
Third season
Major characters appearing in Season Three are as follows:| Character | Performer | Position | Origin |
| Derek Wildstar | John Belucci | Captain, Argo | Earth |
| Mark Venture | Peter Fernandez | Chief Navigator, Argo | Earth |
| Nova Forrester | Corinne Orr | Radar Operator, Argo | Earth |
| Sandor | Science Officer, Argo | Earth | |
| Homer Glitchman | Communications Chief, Argo | Earth | |
| Eager | Assistant Navigator, Argo | Earth | |
| Lt. Dash | Artillery Unit, Argo | Earth | |
| Orion | New Chief Engineer, Argo | Earth | |
| Cory Conroy | Black Tiger Leader | Earth | |
| Dr. Sane | Doctor, Argo | Earth | |
| IQ-9 | Survey Robot, Argo | Earth | |
| Jason Jetter | Lionel Wilson | Recruit Dish-Washer, Argo | Earth |
| Flash Contrail | Recruit Pilot, Argo | Earth | |
| Commander | Commander, Earth Defense Force | Earth | |
| Leader Desslok | Galman Emperor | Galman | |
| Sgt. Masterson | Adjutant to Desslok | Galman | |
| Admiral Keeling | Head of Staff | Galman | |
| Admiral Smeerdom | Commander of Eastern Task Force | Galman | |
| Admiral Smellen | Commander of Western Task Force | Galman | |
| Admiral Gustaf | Jack Grimes | Commander of 3rd Local Fleet | Galman |
| General Dagon | Commander of Carrier Fleet | Galman | |
| Luchner von Feral | Subspace Submarine Pack Commander | Galman | |
| Major Cranshaw | Technology Major | Galman | |
| Bemlayze | Bolar Prime Minister | Bolar Federation | |
| Golsakof | Adjutant to Bemlayze | Bolar Federation | |
| Brozof | Governor of Planet Berth | Bolar Federation | |
| Ram | Captain of Legendra | Bolar Federation | |
| Queen Mariposa | Corinne Orr | Exiled Ruler of Guardiana | Guardiana |
| Queen Guardiana | Goddess of Guardiana | Guardiana |
Production and release
In 1977, before the debut of the American Star Blazers series, the Japanese anime film Space Battleship Yamato was dubbed into English and retitled Space Cruiser. This film was sold and released in several countries, including the United States, Britain and France. The American release was extremely limited, and eventually ended up airing on television in the Los Angeles area in 1978.Following this, the Westchester Corporation identified the first Space Battleship Yamato anime series from 1974 as a potential "kids' property" and bought the rights to the first two seasons. Dubbing and editing were done by Griffin-Bacal Advertising and production and syndication was handled by Claster Television. The Japanese language elements such as series title and scene captions were replaced or removed. New opening credit rolls were created featuring the "Star Blazers" logo. The series premiered in the San Francisco Bay Area on September 17, 1979 as part of the weekday show Captain Cosmic on KTVU 2. Star Blazers initial broadcasts received high ratings, and subsequent rebroadcasts contributed to build anime fandom in northern California.
Being marketed to a school-age audience, this animated space opera was bowdlerized by the American editors in order to satisfy the broadcast standards and practices offices of American television stations.
However, far fewer edits were made than with another 1970s anime, Battle of the Planets. Even in its edited American form Star Blazers retains practically all of its uniquely Japanese characteristics in terms of content, plot, character development, and philosophy.
Principal changes in the transformation to Star Blazers included westernization of character names, reduction of personal violence, toning down of offensive language and alcohol use, removal of sexual fan service, and reduction of references to World War II. The most significant reference removed—and the longest single edit in the series—was a section from episode two depicting the Battleship Yamato's final battle during World War II, including imagery of the captain tied to the helm as he went down with his ship.
Many fans regard Star Blazers as more "adult" than other cartoons shown in the United States at the time, as personal tragedy, funeral scenes for fallen comrades, and the extinction faced by humanity were left intact. The very Japanese theme of "the honorable enemy" was also a tremendously important aspect of character development; in particular, the major villain of the first series, Desslok, during the second and third seasons, as well as in the later movies.
The most significant change made by Griffin-Bacal was purely narrative: In the original series, the Yamato and its crew were regarded as a single entity, the narrator each week urging "Yamato, hurry to Iscandar!". In English, the significance of the name Yamato as a word the viewers would identify with, signifying the land, people, and spirit of Japan, is lost, so in Star Blazers the crew were named the Star Force and became the focus of the series. The ship is still the historical Yamato and is referred to as such in early episodes, but is renamed the Argo ; the crew keep calling "it" Star Force and the ship becomes merely the vessel in which they travel.
The first two seasons were broadcast in 1979 and 1980. By the time the third season of Yamato was released, the original voice actors were unable to be reached by the American production company. The third season played to a small test market and was not as widely seen until its release on video and DVD. It remains less popular than the first two seasons. Many of the original English voice actors have since been tracked down and interviewed for the more recent Star Blazers DVD releases.
The American dub version of Star Blazers series one and two aired in 1983 in Australia on the ABC National Television network. The series aired Monday through Friday at 5pm.
Reception
Christopher John reviewed Starblazers in Ares Magazine #8 and commented that "Starblazers is well worth more than one viewing, even if it is run at 6:30 in the morning. It may be the only chance you'll have to see a beautiful and exciting work of art."Remake
After four years of planning, a 26-episode animated remake of the 1974 story arc, ', debuted in Japan on April 7, 2012. The series began release in North America on limited-edition DVDs and Blu-rays via Voyager Entertainment USA and Bandai Visual on February 27, 2014, under the title Star Blazers 2199 in Japanese language with English Subtitles. The strong Japanese popularity of this remake, directed by Yutaka Izubuchi, has led to the production of an all-new animated feature film, wherein our heroes encounter an advance fleet of the Comet Empire. Space Battleship Yamato 2199: Ark of the Stars opened nationwide in Japan on December 6, 2014. A full series remake of the Comet Empire story arc started on February 25, 2017 as a sequel to the previous 26-episode remake under the title of ' with the subtitle Warriors of Love. Funimation bought the rights to both remakes to create an English voiced dub.Additionally, a feature film condensation of the 26-episode remake, Space Battleship Yamato 2199: Voyage of Remembrance, will screen nationwide in Japan on October 11, 2014 and make its U.S. Premiere at The Downtown Independent in Los Angeles on October 24, 2014, as was officially announced during Voyager Entertainment's presentations in July 2014 at Anime Expo in Los Angeles and Comic-Con International in San Diego.
Live-action adaptations
During the mid-1990s, Walt Disney Pictures optioned the rights with the intent to produce a Star Blazers live-action movie from producer Josh C. Kline. An early draft of the script by Oscar-nominated writer Tab Murphy was leaked on the Internet in the late 1990s. The story was a retelling of the Season One plot, and followed a ragtag crew of misfits aboard the rebuilt United States battleship Arizona on a mission to save Earth. The project was abandoned by Disney following the departure of David Vogel, Disney's President of Production. In April 2006, it was announced that another attempt at creating a live-action version of the story would be made, but no movie ever came out of it.A Space Battleship Yamato live-action movie was released in Japan on December 1, 2010, produced by Toshiaki Nakazawa and Kazuya Hamana. The film was directed by Takashi Yamazaki.
In February 2011, it was announced that an English-language live-action version was in the works. David Ellison's Skydance Productions was in negotiations to acquire the rights. Christopher McQuarrie had been tapped to write the screenplay, but no dates have been announced. By October 2013, Deadline reported that McQuarrie was also attached as director of the film and as co-producer as well alongside Josh C. Kline, David Ellison and Dana Goldberg, with Shouji Nizhizaki and Paul Schwake as executive producers for Skydance. By March 2017, Ellison stated in an interview with LRM at South by Southwest that Skydance has hired Zach Dean to write the screenplay with McQuarrie still attached as director, aiming to have it done by the time McQuarrie finishes directing .