From Yamato to Cruiser to 2199: The Tumultuous Story of Star Blazers

[@richardjohnson8197]

This was the only show in my youth that I would run home from school and dared not miss. Weirdly I never knew until I was an adult many many years later that there was a season 3. Great memories.

[@tonycosta3302]

Ditto. I also ran home in order to watch it.

[@geoffreyblack3817]

4:00, force 5. 4:30 starblazers. 5:00 transformers. 5:30, homework.

[@marcoaraujo4771]

Me too guys!!

[@johnashley327]

In the 70s I use to run home afterschool to watch Lost in Space and Speed Racer.

[@Laz2022]

You took the words right out of my mouth except I did know about the 3rd season. I didn't get to see it because 3rd grade got out of school 30min later than 2nd grade.

[@shifty0212]

Star Blazers was THE cartoon for me growing up. My dad tells stories of me waking up very early just to watch it while he would be eating breakfast before work. Then decades would pass and Star Blazers would turn into a fuzzy childhood memory. Only to be rekindled in my early 20's while talking to a coworker about cartoons we loved. Turns out he not only knew the name of the show I had long forgotten, but also had a few of the VHS tapes & let me borrow them. Memories came flooding back as the opening theme hit my ears and I was a kid again. Star Blazers & Battleship Yamato remain one of my favorite cartoons/anime of all time. Long Live the Star Force! Long Live the Yamato!

[@brunothebat4122]

I find it awesome, and I find the remake better and that it’s even more powerful than Star Wars due to not only small. But the power of both ships.

[@seancooper6415]

I lived in Westbrook Maine and would get it on Ch. 38 out of Boston every morning at 7:30, until they moved it to 8:00am and I had to leave for school before it started.

[@hulkhatepunybanner]

*Same. But in my case, I saw a TV ad for a convention where they had all of that on over-priced, home-recorded VHS tapes and DVD transfers.* My only problem is that I fall asleep while watching shows I saw as a kid.

[@atheistleopard2484]

7:00am channel 11? my uncle said.....

[@stevenmccoy5103]

5:30 am for me. Rat patrol was 5am. Lol

[@TheCerealHobbyist]

My sister was at my house the other day. We haven't seen each other in about a year. All of a sudden the Star Blazers theme started playing. We both reached for our phones. That is how important this show was to us, we had independently set the theme as our ringtones! We both have a ton of memorabilia and a significant obsession!

[@devmag52]

That’s the good stuff right there!

[@WyldstaarStudios]

You both have excellent taste. I've got a few of the soundtracks, all of which are excellent. I used to have most of them on iTunes, but they removed them and since I only downloaded a few to my hard drive, I lost most of them.

[@kellinwinslow1988]

@@WyldstaarStudios Just get the soundtrack to Yamato 2199. It's better and easier to get.

[@WyldstaarStudios]

@@kellinwinslow1988 Oh, I've got that one as well. I agree that it's great.

[@DrWho2008t101]

old school

[@zepmarq]

This and 'G-Force' opened-up the door when I was a kid, but "Robotech" cemented my love for anime. 😎

[@cmdrcriton]

Lol me too! Robotech blew me away.

[@simplysteve68]

Same here, those 3 plus Captain Harlock & the Queen of a Thousand Years, sustained my SF anime wants of childhood and teen afternoons.

[@Grochlink]

It'll always be GForce to me.

[@jimdigitalvideo]

I grew up in the 80's! Star Blazers, Battle of the Planets, Robotech, Transformers, Astroboy, Ulysses 31, Inspector Gadget, He-Man Masters of the Universe and more! I really loved cartoons back then!

[@hitachicordoba]

Same here, and then in the late 80's I discovered Gundam and Gunpla...

[@CannonKnight]

I can still hear that announcer guy at the end of each episode saying "Hurry, Star Force! There's only (insert days here) left!"

[@cairsahrstjoseph996]

Wasn`t that Robert Stack, who did the intros ?

[@bigsarge8795]

Same here.... "Hurry star force.."

[@xeokym223]

That part always gave me goosebumps. I was like OMG I can't wait to see what happens!

[@romparsons1930]

That’s my lasting memory of this too.

[@WingDiamond]

I also count down the last days of the year using that format.

[@CaptainRetroStation]

I don't think I've seen a single episode since I was a child in the 70's. As soon as I clicked on this, EVERY. SINGLE. WORD of the theme came back to me! It was like some kind of magic spell! I started singing the theme out loud, and it blew my mind how I was able to recite EVERY. SINGLE. WORD! Hands down, "Star Blazers" is one of the BEST cartoon themes of the 70's!

[@BryanAlaspa]

I loved this show so much. During the first season when they had a countdown, as a kid it was the greatest and most intense thing I had ever seen.

[@Dragon-Believer]

It wasn't nearly as good as Star Wars but at that time you could only watch Star Wars once. You could watch Star Blazers 5 days a week for years.

[@lexecomplexe4083]

I saw an old VHS my step dad had as a kid that had the first 2 episodes. Part of the tape was a little corrupted. But we saw it before we ever saw or heard of Star Wars or Star Trek, and that image of the Yamato/Argo rising out of the ground for the first time was cemented in my mind as one of the most iconic scenes in all of scifi and paved the way for my love of the genre. We never saw the rest as a kid, but now after going back and rewatching the entire first season across a week, I can confidently say it did deserve that hype and level of childhood mysticism. Long live the Star Force!

[@stephensmith7293]

@@lexecomplexe4083 They milked those VHS releases for all they could. For five years, it was two episodes per tape. Then five years of five episodes per tape. Finally released whole seasons on one DVD set. Think they used to do that to make the maximum amount of they they could. I just waited the ten years, until all three seasons came out on single DVD sets. Saved about three hundred bucks that way.

[@kodai45]

Star Blazers is the reason in January 1980 that I plunked down $1,200.00 for a VCR. Blank tapes were $26.00 each, but for me it was all worth it so I could record every episode of the series. It was the music that caught my attention first, then the characters along with the story line. I was use to Saturday morning cartoons and the cheap sounding music, so it was mind blowing for myself to hear this kind of music in a cartoon series. It was, and still is, magical beyond belief how Star Blazers changed my life.

[@retiefgregorovich810]

Same here.

[@devincox7985]

Wow! Everyone at Toy Galaxy! My name is Devin Cox. I wrote and produced the audio drama you mentioned “Sea of Stars: A Voyage of the Space Cruiser Argo” and I just want to say thank you so much for this video. Star Blazers (and Yamato in general) was far and away the most influential story of my youth, and you told it’s intricate story with panache and respect. The fan community for this show is small, but fervently loyal. Star Blazers was a story about young people coming together to save not just the world as it is, but more specifically the possibility of what it can be - a theme that resonates in much of current day media, forty-seven years later. It’s impact on science fiction (specifically military scifi) cannot be underrated. Stories persist to this day how it influenced films like Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and television series such as Babylon 5 and the Next Gen era of StarTrek. I’ve been a huge fan of Toy Galaxy for well over a year now and never miss and episode. Seeing this video absolutely made my day, if not my year. Hearing our work referenced made my decade. Once again, thank you for all the amazing stuff you do. Gratuitous plug! Our website is under reconstruction, but the audio drama Sea of Stars can be heard in chronological order and downloaded in its entirety at: forwardmomentumproductions.com/sos/pages/episodes.html

[@SecretGalaxyTV]

Thank you so much for the kind words! Writing and researching this one was a joy because of people like you and the Star Blazers community keeping the story alive. Cheers!

[@dwiggins1]

I just started re-watching Star Blazers for the uptenth time!, Great show!!!!Wow!, Devin you added new episodes since I last went your website awesome!

[@travisjordan3853]

Fun Fact: Takashi Nishiyama, the creator of the original Street Fighter, credited Space Battleship Yamato as the primary inspiration for Ryu & Ken's iconic Hadoken special attack. This inspiration is also reflected in the name of the special move, as Hadōken, which literally translates as "Wave Motion Fist" or "Surge Fist", is extremely similar to the original Japanese name for the Yamato's Wave Motion Gun, Hadōhō (Wave Motion Gun/Surge Cannon).

[@MrERLoner]

Now i dont have to type the comment i came to. : )

[@user-a5Bw9de]

Soul Cannon boss at Ronka Ruins in Final Fantasy 5. It gives out entire charge sequence phrases before blasting a "Wave Cannon". (allegedly moreso in JP ver where the phrases are said to be near identical) Also, Yamato Cannon in Star Craft. The name speaks for itself.

[@welcometomylives]

That Wave Motion Bicycle is great.

[@EdgeMastr939]

I hit the "like" button before Dan could get three words out! This one of my favorite shows OF ALL TIME!!

[@carlfromtheoc1788]

I have a simple reason for the popularity of Starblazers - just about every episode they blew something up, artificial suns, planets, fleets of ships. How enduring is it? when pictures started coming in from Pluto I commented that Lord Desslock was not going to be pleased that we were spying on him and a lot of people got the reference. Now that my beard has almost entirely turned white, I need an EDF captain's uniform to cosplay as Captain Avatar.

[@dragonslyer74]

This is the reason that me and my wife are now married and have been married for 23 years is this show we were at a party once and I had just met her and she asked me if I knew the words or the show what it was called and she hummed the opening theme and I told her I totally did and saying it to her and she told me she was going to marry me 15 years later she was proven correct

[@Vesperitis]

That is so gosh darn adorable!

[@DrWho2008t101]

Interesting ..

[@bigsarge8795]

Well done. Thats a keeper right there

[@SequentialTreasures]

I can still remember my most youthful days in '79 and '80, running home from school to make sure I didn't miss the next episode of Star Blazers! I think my love for all things "geek culture" truly started with that show.

[@Scruffi]

Same. Super same.

[@carlb5558]

Thank you so much for this video! Born in '72, this toon, as well as Battle of the Planets was incredibly significant in shaping my boundless imagination. They helped me immediately appreciate imported content that was called Japanimation, with affection. You guys really knocked it outta that park! ❤️

[@carlb5558]

P.S. If you even think you appreciated the original, do yourself a favor and grab Star Blazers 2199 - I CANNOT recommend it highly enough! Rerecorded/remastered music and sound effects! It drew a few tears outta me. Very respectful to the source material.

[@deusexmatter2706]

Do you recommend watching the older one(s) first or starting with the newer?

[@carlb5558]

@@deusexmatter2706 My opinion is to watch chronologically as released. As amazing as the newer art and graphics are, this allows one to better appreciate the nods to previous creative choices and visions.

[@deusexmatter2706]

@@carlb5558 Thank you.

[@carlb5558]

@@deusexmatter2706 You're welcome! ☺️ Enjoy!

[@ds3930]

In first grade I used to record star blazers on cassette tape and listen to it later, like an audio book, lol.

[@teedup8995]

I did the same thing!

[@MrKevinEaddy]

When us 70s 80s kids finally saw Star-Blazers, Speed-Racer, Voltron, “Car” Voltron, Robotech, and Lupin; in both respective decades all within 5 years. Cartoons were never the same

[@hgc7000]

I watched "Star Blazers" on the local channel before school mid 80's. This was the first anime I ever saw, and it hooked me reeeal good. That theme song is an ear-worm that has stuck with me ever since. Its up there with the top themes of the 80s. All those mega-meters, all of them!

[@saurondp]

Star Blazers was one of my favorite shows as a young child, and I watched it religiously along with Battle of the Planets. Between those two and adding Robotech to the mix a few years later, I quickly found that anime provided me with something that I simply wasn't getting anywhere else: more mature serialized storytelling where actions had consequences along with importance of taking care of the environment, all without being patronizing or preachy. To this day, it's a rarity to see those qualities in Western entertainment. That's why I, as a middle-aged man, have no embarrassment in still being a fan of anime, and Star Blazers is what helped start it.

[@aquateenchris]

We'll keep peace alive with OUR STAR BLA-ZERS!!!

[@MrMatt3046]

Keep peace alive by shooting it with lasers.

[@themadatheist1976]

@@MrMatt3046 we come in peace, shoot to kill!

[@SuprousOxide]

Never sounded like "Our" to me, so I called the show "R Star Blazers", even though that made no sense.

[@MrERLoner]

Uchuuuu senkan. Ya. Maaaa. Toooooo!!

[@lawrencedoliveiro9104]

Star Blazers! Star Pullovers! Star Jerseys!?

[@Scruffi]

It would be difficult to overstate how much Star Blazers meant to me as a kid. 3:30 every afternoon on Channel 46 in Atlanta. They ran it in a revolving series; when the last episode aired, they would start over at episode 1 the next day and keep going. I was addicted. Not only did it scratch my science fiction itch (I was also a huge Star Wars and Battlestar fan, Space 1999, and everything else), but I always appreciated how it did not talk down to me as a kid. It respected my intelligence in a way that Saturday morning cartoons just didn't, so I grew to have a life-long respect for it that I didn't develop for those other cartoons. I rewatched the original series on DVD back in 2005 or so, and was impressed by how much it still held up (well, the characters and drama held up, if not always the aging animation and the super-sketchy science jargon it sometimes relied on :). I was nervous about 2199, but you know what? It's excellent. Really, really good. Maybe not quite perfect, but it actually improves on the original in a lot of key ways that make me feel like the creators have been paying attention to the show and to the fandom for the last 40+ years. So thanks for this, Toy Galaxy. I'm off to go get misty eyed listening to The Infinite Universe from the Yamato soundtrack (kzbin.info/www/bejne/aqLJin6Je7xmfpo). Yamato! Hasshin!

[@Clarence_Oddbody]

WPTF 28 Raleigh here.

[@jenniferlemke7884]

I must confess, I geekgasmed the moment I saw this video. It was and still is my all-time favorite anime. I used to watch it religiously every morning before heading off to elementary school. Thank you Dan!

[@MrMatt3046]

Me too. It was the highlight of the second grade.

[@jenniferlemke7884]

@@MrMatt3046 I won't lie, even at 51 years of age I would proudly ride a tricycle with a wave motion gun to work. ^^

[@48thRonin...]

Me too!

[@BushinRyuCat]

YEAAAH 😃Came on at 5:30am here in NYC in the early 80's, right after Great Space Coaster! After that, i think it was Battle of the Planets @ 6am. GOOD TIMES!!

[@donnis618]

Yes when I used to live in Newark NJ I used to watch it before school

[@kylehenley3903]

I lived and died by this show when I was a kid. I didn't know about the remake of season 2 until you talked about it. Thanks for that. I just ordered it.

[@Mekasoundwave]

The massive influence Star Blazers/Yamato had on helping to create the first wave of anime fans in the west cannot be understated. Without Star Blazers, there'd probably be no anime conventions, no AMVs, no Robotech or Voltron and almost certainly no Toonami. It was the foundation for an entire industry and deserves all the respect it gets. Great video as always.

[@nathanexplosionn]

*Tetsujin 28 has entered the chat *Speed Racer has entered the chat

[@CaptainRufus]

@@nathanexplosionn they were popular but Star Blazers was the IT THING. The Doom. The Final Fantasy 7. The Command and Conquer. The Halloween. The Star Wars. The Lord of the Rings. The Gundam Wing. The Sailor Moon. It went beyond to practically be a cultural shift. A game changer. Though in SBs case id say it was the Halloween to Robotech's Friday the 13th. Not the first but everything changed after that. (Just maybe not to the degree of some of those other things. Syndication and Cable TV being what it was then. In Japan though? Absolutely an IT THING. Like Gundam 0079.)

[@hepchaos]

I'm afraid that's just a perspective of someone who really enjoyed the show. Before Yomato, there was Astro Boy and then Speed Racer. After Yamato, there were various U.S. shows that used Japanese studios, that popularized the anime style, as well as things like Macross(Robotech), then the wave of kiddie stuff the next decade aka Sailor Moon. In other words, just like most things, it's built up over the years.

[@saurondp]

Star Blazers certainly fits in with helping to popularize anime here, but it wasn't alone. Battle of the Planets also aired here in the US at the same time and was just as popular here (if not more so), and then a few years later we had Robotech. Those three shows are what kindled my life-long love of anime, and introduced it to a generation that had pretty much no exposure to anime outside of reruns of Speed Racer on independent low-power TV stations.

[@saltytbone]

I was a little too young to fully grasp Star Blazers and Robotech when they were on TV, but they taught me that captains always had the biggest collars and best facial hair, and U.S. cartoons sugar-coated reality (I'm looking at you magical GI Joe parachutes).

[@joelellis7035]

Don't forget the cat-like reflexes of Joes and Cobra to jump out of vehicles just in time. Of course no concept of concussion or shrapnel, unless needed for a plot point.

[@theskyrax670]

"Look! I can see their parachutes! They're ok"

[@YodaPagoda]

Star Blazers....I absolutely LOVED that show! I'm glad that I got to see the updated Space Battleship Yamato 2199 & 2202. It was an awesome story, and gave us plenty of ideas to explore with our action figures.

[@DugEphresh]

My elementary school used this to motivate us to physical fitness, we believed every mile we ran would help the ship travel to save us. Every day we had recess we could play or run laps and all the teachers were onboard. Absolutley loved this program, the entire school was united. We all felt like we were part of the show.

[@pilotman012]

You are not wrong about the timing. Channel 29 in Philadelphia it was on at 3 PM I believe. Had to run from the school bus stop to get home in time to see each episode. No VCR in our our house. HAD TO WATCH REAL TIME!! So great!

[@Scruffi]

Same. 3:30 on Channel 46 in Atlanta. It's the reason I owned a watch at 10 years old :)

[@geoffreyherrick298]

I hated when my mother would make me watch Captain Kangaroo instead, knowing it would be a year before I saw it again!

[@geoffreyherrick298]

WFXT 25 out of Boston for me!!

[@ChrisJarzynka]

@@geoffreyherrick298 at the time, Channel 25 wasn't the FOX affiliate (that came in 1986) but was WXNE (Christ in New England, a religious ownership). Amazingly, they made further cuts in the Comet Empire series around Trelaina. They cut the part where she descends to Telezart's surface after being aboard Yamato/Argo, cut the explanation to Mark Venture how she destroyed Telezart with her mind power and the part where Mark's floating dead body is recovered by her Terresarium. The last part was in the Comet Empire open but I never saw it until the Kidmark/Voyager VHS tapes years later! WSBK Channel 38 ran it in 1979 but Channel 25 got it soon thereafter and kept it till it ran its course. We never got Season 3 in Boston.

[@foxsparrow8973]

Yep, that was me.

[@kellinwinslow1988]

Space Battleship Yamato 2199 is not only one of the best anime from the last 10 years but one of the best examples of how to do a remake period. You don't try to destroy or tarnish the original. You just take the skeleton of the story,iron out a few flaws (no more Analyzer lifting up girls skirts,no more hothead Kodai and better fleshed out villains) and have a love and respect for the original. With amazing character designs by Nobuteru Yuki and even Hidaki Anno helping out,fitting since all Gainax members loved Yamato,it all worked out great. If only Star Trek and Star Wars would get this kind of care and attention to detail over here.

[@thunder_wolf23]

My favorite part of the remake was how much more world building we got for the Gamilas, as well as being able to see their side of the story rather than them just being "wuhh destroy the earth" space nazis

[@goulartaf66]

Agree. What do you think of Rebel moon? Obviously taken from Rebel Moon.

[@samkornrumph8545]

I just finished 2199 and I agree that it does improve a lot of things from the original, however I feel like Kodai being toned down so much was a little bit of a detriment. Maybe I need to watch it again, but he feels a bit flat for most of the series and we don’t really see a massive change to his character by the end other than he’s less brooding and is a little wiser. I understand the reasons for some of the changes like not making him and Okita be the only people on the entire ship without any family left. It seems like they moved that more brooding/vengeful aspect of his character to Yamamoto and Shima. Also I really miss the bonding between Okita and Kodai which helped him come to terms with his loss and become a true man and a leader. Not that 2199’s version is bad or anything. I understand they had to tone down his character quite a bit to make room for new ones, but it does feel like he isn’t as important to the story. I will say though, I especially like how his character is handled in the last half a dozen episodes. He feels a lot more like OG Kodai, but with a twist. All this to say that I don’t think hothead Kodai was a flaw of the original and I prefer that version of the character, however I do like the 2199 version of Kodai as well. Maybe I’ll like him more once I watch the rest of the remake.

[@burninghammer83]

This channel...this show...is a beacon of light in the black that is KZbin.

[@falciferlmf148]

The Best Cartoon Ever. Used to watch this before I had to get to school for first grade... remember talking about it with 2 other kids in my class. I remember crying when the Captain dies of "radiation sickness" and crying when the Argo gets wrecked by the drill missile and crying when Sandor gets left behind on that asteroid... impacted my life to say the least. I also own all those original animation cell comics...

[@BarronVonSchnoot]

This is the episode I have been waiting for.

[@NomicFin]

Interestingly when the 2012 remake of Yamato was made, they incorporated some things from Star Blazers into it. In Star Blazers they had changed some enemy soldiers in space suits into robots in order to reduce the amount of on-screen deaths, and that change actually got carried over into Yamato 2199, where the aliens use android soldiers. Also in Yamato 2199 the main character's brother refuses to retreat in the opening battle where Earth's fleet get destroyed in order to buy the admiral's flagship enough time to escape, which is originally from Star Blazers (in original Yamato his reason is that he'd rather die than live with the shame of defeat, but I guess the writers of the remake preferred the Stab Blazers versions as it seems more heroic).

[@firstcynic92]

Don't forget that Yamato 2199 also "explained" one of the original series big flaws. In the first 6 episodes of the original series the Gamilons were not blue skinned. There had been a communication problem with the cell makers that couldn't be fixed in time, so those episodes aired with the wrong color skin. They retconned that error into a subject species in Yamato 2199, eventually making that into a significant dub story of the series.

[@sparrowlt]

yes.. they definitily borrowed many stuff from StarBlazers into 2199 .. the good stuff that made more sense (wich there wasnt much.. but there was)

[@sparrowlt]

@@firstcynic92 curiously i renember clearly fan theories back in the day about maybe Shultz and Kantz being from some different species to explain the skin color (wich everyone knew was due to animation error) as a fun fan theory.. and how that was totall picked.. Other popular fan theories back then to explain some plot holes were for example the "all women went into hibernation" to explain the misterious dissapearance of all women save Nova/Yuki after episode 10 (wich was not picked as 2199 allready made 1/3 of the crew women and stays there all the way) and more interestingly that the misterious enemy the Gamillas was fighting in other theathers wich was never seen or named in the original series.. was the Gatlantis.. wich that they did picked up for 2199 and 2202

[@blackyvertigo]

@@firstcynic92 which oddly enough played even more into the metaphor of the Gamilas being the United Stares during WWII

[@aerohard]

@@blackyvertigo What what what? The uniforms, names, and even some of the ship designs of the Gamilas were very clearly inspired by WWII Germany.

[@sunshinesooperman5110]

Star Blazers is what the original Battlestar Galactica could’ve been. Also: up there with Spider-Man as the best cartoon theme song ever.

[@WyldstaarStudios]

The live-action film of SBY takes a lot of it's visual effects style from the BSG reboot. It's an okay movie, but nowhere near as good as the anime.

[@carlb5558]

Hoyt Curtin would have a word...

[@richardwicks4190]

Check out the theme song to Battle of the Planets.

[@carlb5558]

@@richardwicks4190 ...written by Mr. Curtin!

[@willstikken5619]

"Star Blazers is what the original Battlestar Galactica could’ve been" you mean largely unknown and forgotten? Commercially unviable?

[@xiaoka]

Fun fact - The theme song is popular with marching bands in Japan to this day!

[@andrewsuryali8540]

The theme song is played on a loop at the Yamato Museum subway station. The JMSDF is banned from having accoutrements of other navies for fear of drawing parallels to the IJN, so the Yamato theme song is effectively their anthem.

[@wolfprime]

Japanese marching bands . . . must process.

[@xiaoka]

@@wolfprime look at Japanese baseball and extrapolate...

[@LindaMRY]

It's the Japanese equivalent of the THUNDERBIRDS march in the UK.

[@soxbigdog]

Watched Star Blazers every day after school in the early 80s, still one of my all-time favorites.

[@Lyndonology]

As a kid who grew up with the usual Disney, Warner Bros. Hanna Barbara cartoons in the 80's. This show, plus the Force Five cartoons changed the idea of what animation could be for me. So many happy memories of watching them.

[@rizkaarifiandi5670]

hey ! someone mentioned Force Five hahahaha its kinda rare these days that someone remembered Jim Terry's Force Five....

[@Lyndonology]

@@rizkaarifiandi5670 If Force Five had come out a bit later when Transformers was popular; it might have done so much better than it did.

[@rizkaarifiandi5670]

@@Lyndonology yeah, esp with that line of Godaikin toy robots😂

[@malikot63]

The gateway drug to anine for me. Thank you so much for this!

[@bmwkmx1]

Mine was Robotech, and Voltron.

[@48thRonin...]

G-force and Robotech for me.

[@liljenborg2517]

When I was a kid "Japanimation" was Star Blazers and Battle Between the Planets (only a few markets had ever seen Speed Racer). Long before anyone had ever heard of Voltron and Robotech.

[@goldenshark3182]

Star Blazers and Robotech for me.

[@bmwkmx1]

Early in my years it might have been Tranzor Z. I just remember the red rotor aircraft landing in the head to control the robot.

[@slufffyg503]

For anyone who hasn’t seen it yet, make sure to watch 2199. It’s a fantastic remake that is honestly one of the best space anime I’ve seen. Hopefully they make a third season

[@snieves4]

The live movie was fantastic as well.

[@ke6ziu]

They've already made it. Just waiting for Be Forever, and the rest!

[@Antropologopt]

Grew up with Starblazers, every Thursday at 12h, Iconic, but space battleship yamato is the best!

[@jfridy]

I saw the show when I was in 2nd grade. It changed everything for me. I had never had "cartoons" that actually had real stakes, and this series was a long story, and I watched it with the obsessiveness only the young have. No one else my age knew anything about it, my parents never watched it, and by junior high school I was beginning to wonder if I had dreamed it, having even forgotten the name. Once I was in high school in the early 1990s, the anime fans pointed me the right direction, and I was able to find it again.

[@singaporesammy]

I've never seen Star Blazers, but it sound like the story of a cosmic Craigslist ad. "I've got this thing. You can have it, but you've gotta come pick it up."

[@DarkAnon100]

it's way more complicated than that, at least in the 2199 , i can resume it, but i wouldnt do the series justice(honestly, watch it you wont regret it, just dont watch the Live-Action Movie) but to resume it SPOILERS (by the way im using the original Japanese names) - - - - - - - - - - - - - Iscandar sent the plans to the Wave Motion Engine as a test to determine if we deserved the Cosmo Cleaner and we almost failed it because, we built the engine, but since we love weapons we thought might as well make a Invincible Wave Motion Canon while we have the technology)

[@ericbazinga]

At least they offered transportation

[@goldenshark3182]

That’s only the first season, the second season with the Comet Empire was the best and the stories from the original are way better than the lame changes made in the 2199 remake.

[@coreyc5982]

Between this (Star Blazers), Battle of the Planets and Ultraman, I used to break my neck to get home from school and in front of the t.v. set.

[@PeterEhm]

Same here! I was lucky enough to live a ten minute walk from school and I made it home most days in five!

[@SSGTStryker]

YYYEEESSS!!!! I’ve been requesting that you cover Starblazers aka Yamato for years! I’ve been obsessed with this series (new and old) since 1978.

[@sgtmajorbuzz]

About 2 weeks ago, I asked you to do Star Blazers, and here it is! When I was in 3rd grade, around 1982 or 83, I got an alarm clock for Christmas. I was excited to have the ability to wake myself up like a big kid, but I accidently set the alarm an hour too early. Unable to go back to sleep, I turned on the TV to watch some cartoons. The very first program to come on Channel 46 in Atlanta every weekday morning after the test pattern was none other than Star Blazers. I was in such shock, seeing people actually die in a cartoon. I was hooked, until it was quietly removed about 6 months later. It wasnt until KZbin became mainstream that I was able to watch all of the episodes I missed. Thanks again for covering this :)

[@carlb5558]

As a fellow Atlantan born in '72 I totally feel you! My first alarm was for school and cartoons and was very analog, it went off minutes before 46 started it's broadcast day. For several weeks I was introduced to Nat King Cole due to a Greatest Hits Collection commercial being the first thing they broadcast the whole day. Star Blazers, G-Force, Space Giants, GI Joe, T-Cats, Transformers, He-Man and TBS Saturday night s at 6:05!! Wrestling and toons were my passion! Superstars of Wrestling w Joe Pedicino and Bonnie Blackstone were awesome too. Sorry to rant. Lol Fellow kid from Atlanta, pretty cool. I'm still in greater area, just OTP. God Bless!

[@SW-ii5gg]

Rome, 1974 here.

[@dongossman2432]

I was 6 years old living in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and would watch Star Blazers before going to school. I would doodle pictures of the Argo on my schoolwork. Before school it was Star Blazers, Speed Racer, and a fried bologna sandwich.

[@AlexWidrow]

I did those drawings

[@bigsarge8795]

Sounds almost exactly like me

[@nordicomsystems8841]

Same here, except Speed was on after school

[@jimtilley1158]

Best cartoon of my childhood. I literally ran home from school every day to make sure I got to the TV in time before it started.

[@geoffreyherrick298]

Me too! I almost missed the bus on several occasions!

[@alexlong9479]

My bus would not go down my dirt road so I had to run / walk for a mile and got in the door just in time for the show to start. Amazingly, I might have missed 2 episodes in 2 years and thank goodness because there were were no re-runs and no VHS or DVD copies to re-watch.

[@sidearmsalpha]

I was 4 or 5 when I first saw Starblazers and I was fascinated and frightened by it. The human race was driven underground by the planet bombs sent by the Gamilons. Man, it was depressing, especially the episode where they all take turns to communicate with their loved ones for the last time only to find out that Wildstar had no one to talk to. That episode gets me choked up. And the one where he finds out Alex, his brother, is still alive.

[@Scruffi]

Yeah, me too. The "calling home" episode is a high water mark in the series, the simple human drama of it really sank in and changed how I saw the potential of animation tell strong human stories, even at 10 years old.

[@bankuei]

That episode really sunk in a great anti-war message at an age where mostly what I saw in cartoons was war without consequences - seeing Wildstar's parents gone with a bomb hitting the city sunk in the fact of what it is for civilians, for people, to be orphaned. Rewatching when I was older, I was surprised to see the later episodes of season 1 showing the effects of long term stress - mutiny, people freaking out, giving up on the mission and more. For a show that often got jokingly summarized as "Fire the big gun" there was a lot of real reactions of what war does to people in it.

[@Scruffi]

@@bankuei I think the fact that we got to see the story unfold over the long series made people get to know the crew characters in a depth that was rare on TV in general at the time, much less in animation. I really CARED about those characters, and about what happened to them. Whether they lived or died, succeeded or failed, how their morale was, and all of that. Hell of a show in 1979.

[@1pierosangiorgio]

this was a big hit in Italy too in the early 1980's I loved it.

[@daiatlas2010]

Yamato is the most important anime ever made. Western anime fandom began from it and the entire Otaku community was born out of the Yamato generation. the fact it took until 2017 to finally get Yamato 2199 fully released and dubbed is criminal and everyone in the industry should be ashamed of that fact, but thanks to those of us who literally screamed at Funimation for years we corrected this mistake. Yamato is a masterpiece and its impact should never be forgotten.

[@alphatrion100]

Does this connect to thundersub?

[@joelellis7035]

There were licensing issues. Basically, Voyager had the rights to distribute Star Blazers stemming from the original series. Voyager totally screwed the release, and I think they finally went bankrupt.

[@Desslar]

@@alphatrion100 Thundersub (AKA Blue Noah) was produced by the same guy as Yamato

[@JamesSerapio]

Space Battleship Yamato has the greatest cartoon themesong of all time. Great orchestral piece.

[@thecorinthianguy]

Star Blazers ignited my love for anime by being the first episodic cartoon I had ever seen. It will always hold a place in my heart!

[@jamesburns6603]

There was also a StarBlazer Space mini tactical miniature game. The rule book that was published ,but no minis, just paper cut outs.

[@jeromehoyle4945]

I literally turned my grandma's mustard yellow metal ironing board into a Starship Argo playset by turning it upside down. The raised legs were ships cannons, lego men played Wildstar and Venger, and Boba Fett was Captain Avatar, lol. Sliding that ironing board across my grandma's good carpet. The episode was over when she had to iron some clothes, lol.

[@ricashbringer9866]

In 1979 and 1980 I remember seeing ads for Mr. Big Toyland in Waltham MA. I always wanted to go, but my parents weren't willing to make the drive. The commercials showed Star Blazers merchandize like the ship. The store is long gone today.

[@machineman6498]

Like most kids I would assume, had the address memorized. Lost most of it now. 399? moody st. Drove up and down Moody a few years ago and it’s long gone.

[@ricashbringer9866]

@@machineman6498 I think I've seen an old ad of it on KZbin somebody posted. I looked at Google Map and some other business moved into the spot.

[@AngelValis]

So.... When I was working in Japan a few years ago, I heard a men's choir made up of mostly middle aged/older men sing the theme song for Space Battleship Yamato. They were good 👍

[@joelellis7035]

Space Battleship Yamato is so well known over there that the 3rd Mar Div Band stationed in Japan will routinely play the theme to Yamato at parades and concerts. You can find videos of this on KZbin.

[@SW-ii5gg]

I just saw The Japanese Navy Band playing it on a video.

[@UnclePhil73]

Ah the memories! This was my intro to anime. I thought the Wave Motion Gun was the coolest weapon.

[@artturner2054]

Wave motion gun is STILL the coolest weapon anywhere

[@wstine79]

I remember hunting down these VHS tapes at various anime collector stores.

[@killingragethrowback]

In my case I saw it at an anime store by chance without knowing anything about it then bought it on a whim. Then I went back to get the rest. Then I got all the obscure stuff. And then the remakes when it came out.

[@oakharborben]

Yeah Suncoast video.

[@geoffreyherrick298]

I was impressed by the remake. They updated the animation, but remained faithful to the original. Pretty rare that happens. I had a nerdgasm when I saw it for the first time! Just the opening brought back so many memories!

[@michaelwilson2497]

Is it a pure remake? The quest for Iscandar and the comet empire?

[@grendelmayhem7061]

Growing up with it, this show has a special place in my heart (along with Battle of the Planets, Ultraman, and Johnny Sokko). Thanks for covering it! The 2010 live action movie wasn't that faithful to the original story and was a little slow, but had excellent production values. English dub is available on KZbin!

[@Tubes12AX7k]

Possibly the greatest EVER sci fi series.

[@dinomonzon7493]

Starblazers was one of the first anime series I saw. It was one of the best series. The Quest for Iscandar remains a classic. Captain Avatar, Nova (one of anime’s best looking heroines), IQ-9 & Sandor and Leader Desslok were the best characters. Wish G. I. Joe had been this serious when it was done in animated form.

[@Alexandrashepiro]

This was my first Anime when I was a kid...I grew up with Sar Blazers! It was s Cool!

[@swingbass05]

This is one of the best histories you've ever done, Toy Galaxy. Well done.

[@Pinballtec]

You magnificent bastard, you finally covered Yamato. It was part of my childhood from the late 70s and with me to this day. Awesome!

[@casualkitty1381]

I use to watch this when I was 5 to 7? Years old. I couldn't get any toys so I built an Argo out of Lego... it was crude but I filled out the rest with imagination.

[@randrake4]

Funny how Glen Larson who did Battlestar Galactica told Lucas to go apologize to Roddenberry if space belongs to just one person when Lucas went after him.

[@STSWB5SG1FAN]

Some of the better Sci-Fi space operas all seem to have -copied- *been inspired by* elements from their competitors. Star Trek and Star Wars, Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica, Deep Space 9 and Babylon 5, even the limited run Babylon 5 spin-off, Crusade, and this anime - the subject of this video, Star Blazers / Space Battleship Yamato.

[@randrake4]

@@STSWB5SG1FAN difference is Lucas tried to sue everyone who did space related things after Star Wars came out in 77. Those you mentioned I don't remember them suing.

[@CaptainRufus]

When I entered Navy Boot Camp in Illinois in 1992 the entry processing barracks thing had a giant wall mural of the Yamato with the title FUTURE NAVY. The fact we know its the Yamato these days is hilarious to me.

[@wingracer1614]

Stranger things have happened. I'm reminded of the tale of an Iraqi prisoner being transported in the back of a Bradley. He was confused about why they had a portrait of Rommel hanging up inside of it.

[@spacemanmattscifi]

Nova (Yuki) was my first anime crush. I stayed home from school to see what I thought would be the last episode of season one and was upset when I released that it was the next to last episode. I couldn't miss another day of school.

[@BigEpinstriping]

Thanks for showing Star Blazers and by extension, Yamato, some love. I loved this show as a kid; It led me to watch the original Japanese content it was based upon. From there I found Captain Harlock, and it started me down a path to a lot more Anime. Star Blazers was one of those anime that was key to my love for anime's formative years. BTW, that commercial for that Yamato bicycle was cool! Never knew such a thing existed!

[@rickybryan1759]

I was OBSESSED with this show retrofitting an old battleship to be a Space ship! Abs they solved every problem with A GIANT LASER!!!

[@bluethumper7574]

Star Blazers was a great show and a mind opener for me. Until this came out, I'd never thought of the concept of "Space Opera", and it has influnced my choices in Anime, Books, and general media ever since.

[@stevendonahue4832]

Star Blazers was a major influence on my Sci-Fi series Amy the Astronaut. I loved this show as a kid, and I still do as an adult.

[@aldusxenon]

Original sub is the way to go. For most anime from the 70's or 80's. I remember watching this as a kid. Thanks once again for the great memories, Dan & Greg. 👍😁

[@danroberts007]

I was watching back when it originally aired. Loved the show. I’ve bought the 2199 and 2202 Yamato blu-rays during quarantine and it was great to see the story in such high quality after several decades away from the franchise. A big hit of nostalgia. Thanks for doing this one!

[@davidalangay1186]

I watched this during my teens. The dubbing and porting to Western consumption was so flawless I had no idea it was of Japanese origin until my friend Sohail explained it to me, especially about the more naughty parts. It was an amazing series and yes, I hated season 3.

[@jt6685]

I was introduced to this series in the early-mid 80's when it aired as "Star Blazers" on KIKU/KHNL 13 in Hawaii. It wasn't until later I realized there was a whole treasure trove of material in Japan released in its original version as "Space Battleship Yamato." I've regularly been keeping up with this series as an adult. I've watched the Bolar Wars, all of the OVAs, 2199/2202 versions...i was even lucky enough to be in Japan when the live-action movie was released in the theaters. I was pleasantly surprised to see a video covering "Star Blazers." Great vid! Thanks for posting it!

[@davidfrederick1971]

I remember watching it as a teen, during the mid 1980s on Philadelphia Ch. 29 WTAF. The first two seasons were broadcasted but not the third season.

[@dansterc3038]

I was in NYC and was able to get channel 29, it was fuzzy, but it was the only way I could watch Star Blazers, channel 11 and 5 did not air it. :( It was on at 2:30 which sucked, because school did not let out till 3.

[@VinnechiPetaccioVrOcKsPiT]

Hey another philly person i remember also on channels 17 and 48

[@RazgrizXMG0079]

This was my first ever anime, I still remember my dad sending me the bootleg dvds from iraq while he was deployed

[@rivanking2085]

Wow! A really good overview of a timeless legend. Much appreciated.

[@brianknapp6215]

As a child of the 80's- I remember getting up at 5 am _on a school day_ just to catch the next episode of Star Blazers!! The local hobby shop used to carry Yamato model kits (imported from Japan), and I had several- but never the Yamato/Argo herself. Still revisit the series by watching it on YT (for now) about once a year- never seems to get old!

[@al3034]

Frickin love this channel

[@WyldstaarStudios]

My favorite anime of all time. I grew up with Star Blazers and Battle of the Planets, and it drove me crazy that there were no toys available. Some model kits would eventually make their way to the US, but by the time they showed up, my local UHF station wasn't even showing Star Blazers anymore. I bought everything I could afford, which wasn't much.

[@YankeePendragon]

Wow. Never did I *dare* hope you'd tackle this one! But then you've already dismantled the confusing messes that were Battle of the Planets and Robotech, so this had to have been a breeze. Thanks, as always, for reminding us of why we loved these things in our lost youth.

[@juliovazquez7139]

I remember that this show came on just before school started , i would prepare my lunch box pack my books get dress appropriately for winter or summer put everything at the back door watch the show to the end ,even the credits and song at the end as soon as went off , make a mad dash to school ,either just make it to the school , or in many times be late , that is how much i love the show , and now that i have a family, they also enjoyed it to this day. Thanks brings back good memories.😮😅😊 It was worth the trouble i got with my parents because of late all the time. Thanks again. 😊

[@cuthulux]

I was literally going to request that you do this one! Sadly, we lost the Voice of Nova recently.

[@katherineperrin4817]

RIP Amy Howard Wilson.

[@devmag52]

Oh no! I hadn’t heard. She was a swell lady. God bless her. RIP.

[@WalterDWormack214]

Seeing the Japanese "SBY toy commercials", makes me really miss my membership in, the Chicago chapter of "The Cartoon Fantasy Organization"! Our chapter, which met on the 2nd, or 3rd Saturday of every month, at the New Fantasy Comic Shoppe comic book store. There was a guy named Wade Gerlach, who could get actual 'JAPANIMATION' Japanese Animated TV shows. (He had a group of Japanese friends, who he would 'trade' the current hot American TV shows of the day. (Knight Rider, The Dukes of Hazard, etc.) We (more like, 'I') totally loved the Japanese Toy commercials! The Japanese toys were filmed, using a lot of STOP-MOTION ANIMATION. And I mean, A LOT! (Edit: You could see commercials for Space Battleship Yamato 'toys' and related merchandise during the commercial breaks each program. Something that was vehemently PROHIBITED in the United States. We used to jokingly issue the warning at the end of each toy commercial, "Special Effects, NOT INCLUDED!" 😂

[@nicoleseraphita7613]

Useless fact, for about 30 years the film Final Yamato was the longest animated film ever made.

[@nurgle333]

What took the record from it?

[@devmag52]

Damn Aquarius

[@ELCADAROSA]

Not sure how KZbin’s algorithm recommended this to me, but I’m not disappointed! I loved watching Star Blazers as a late teen, though I missed the third season due to military duty. Your video brought back a lot of fond memories of this series. And yes, I purchased the live action movie years ago, and really enjoyed it, though not the final scene. 😭 Long Live Space Battleship Yamato!

[@michealcormier2555]

My childhood in Hawaii just flashed before my eyes. I love this franchise so much whether it's in the form of Starblazers or Space Battleship Yamato.

[@crystalsswtor3760]

That's the first time I saw it, in 1953 when I moved to Hawaii

[@crystalsswtor3760]

Correction 1983

[@michealcormier2555]

@@crystalsswtor3760 That's cool! If you don't mind my asking, what school did you attend at the time? I went to Nimitz Elementary.

[@crystalsswtor3760]

@@michealcormier2555 I just graduated high school no longer before that.

[@johnsexton1122]

Thanks for doing this one. It was and continues to be my favorite show of all time.

[@bdo7765]

I've had the theme song for this show stuck in my head for like 40 years. Now that I know the English lyrics were written by the same mind behind "plop plop, fizz fizz, oh what a relief it is!" ... it kinda makes sense. Amazing video as always!

[@AaronAbbotttheoncomingstorm]

This episode was epic. Really awesome. I somehow never saw Battleship Yamato growing up, but I wish I had.

[@pershop4950]

you're still growing and you can still watch it. Make things right!!!

[@perdomot]

This show and Speed Racer were my first experiences with Japanese anime and I still remember them fondly before Robotech and Sailor Moon popped over.

[@michaellang8408]

First Off, Thank You! Second, The Yamato is my second favorite ship behind the Milleneum Falcon. And this was THE SHOW that got me into Anime. It was Post Spiderman/Speed Racer and Pre Robotech/Voltron and Joe and Transformers ect. It was a show that shaped the way I looked at stories afterward, a consistent thru line. I even had a mini model of the Starblazers Brand Yamato from my Hobbie Shop. I miss that thing. Thanks again, I've been waiting for a bit for you guys to get around to this. Starblazers Rule!!

[@sunshinesooperman5110]

This is my all-time favorite cartoon, from just the first two seasons. I just found out the BOLAR WARS existed in 2020!

[@goldenshark3182]

You’re not missing anything, the Bolar Wars English dub had different voice actors and they were no where near the first two seasons which were dubbed with actors who really got into their roles. You better off watching the original Japanese material which was 5 movies and the 3 television series.

[@WyldstaarStudios]

I tried watching it when I discovered it in the early 90's. I couldn't get past the first episode. It was beyond awful. Bolar Wars is the Highlander 2 of the BSG universe, even in Japan. Everything that followed just pretended that Bolar Wars didn't exist.

[@pershop4950]

Watch the 5 or so movies of the original animated cast of characters. They are all pretty good movies. Then of course, there are the new remakes mentioned in this video as well. There is also a live-action movie. It started out good but then as you can guess, you can't tell the entire story of Yamato travelling to Iskandar and back again in 2 hours. So the later part of the movie wasn't that good.

[@lbco13]

Don't forget about 2205. Which will be technically be the first official time that the New Voyage will be adapted with the name Star Blazers attached. Having its first official full on teaser only 1 day after this video.

[@mateuszmaciejewski887]

Finally, maybe this amazing series will get some recognition

[@stuartbagley2586]

I remember racing home from doing my paper route so I could watch this before going to school. I also remember snow ball fights and creating giant snow balls and calling them Wave Motion. So many great memories with that show.