This stretch of time can be described as a gap, since it marked the period between the Yamato 2 finale and the broadcast premiere of The New Voyage. Such gaps are replete throughout Yamato history, but as we all know … Continue reading →
Jan 6, 2024 • Subscribe
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Vintage Report 18: February 1979
As Yamato 2 moved into its post-Telezart phase with four very compelling episodes, development continued on The New Voyage, media coverage intensified, and new books kept the world…
Vintage Report 17: January 1979
At the dawn of 1979, Yoshinobu Nishizaki’s Office Academy studio was on the highest trajectory ever seen in the TV anime industry, which at the time was just…
Vintage Report 23: November/December 1979
The fan community didn’t know it yet, but the end of 1979 tipped them just past the halfway point between The New Voyage and the next big adventure,…
Vintage Report 21: July/August 1979
For a two-month period that didn’t actually see a large amount of activity, this was a huge moment for Yamato fans. July in particular delivered a big one-two…
Vintage Report 22: September/October 1979
As summer merged into fall, the world of Yamato was only getting bigger in the wake of The New Voyage, and Office Academy studio was only getting busier.…
Vintage Report 19, March/April 1979
The spring months of 1979 saw the first slowdown in Yamato activity since the previous summer, which was inevitable given that the intervening period was the busiest in…
Vintage Report 26: June 1980
As Toei Studio’s animation staff labored through their final month on Be Forever Yamato, the publicity machine ramped up with major media coverage and the first live events…
Vintage Report 25: April/May 1980
The runup to summer 1980 was deceptively quiet on the surface, but momentum was building like a freight train underneath as Be Forever moved into the second half…
Vintage Report 2: 1975
The simplest description of Yamato‘s arc in 1974 would be “a herculean rise leading to a sudden fall.” An enormous amount of effort to get the thing off…
Vintage Report 3: 1976
Of all the original production years, 1976 was definitely the leanest. Total “above-the-surface” activity was less than what occurs during a typical month in the remake years. As…
Vintage Report 6: September 1977
As summer gave way to fall, Yamato‘s fortunes just kept on climbing. The initial theatrical engagements ended just before September started, but far more theaters were picking the…
Vintage Report 11: July 1978
The final month before the Farewell to Yamato premiere was a steady climb of excitement and anticipation as film production plowed through its final stages and publicity ratcheted…
Vintage Report 16: December 1978
Stop the presses moment: in the course of writing these vintage reports, new discoveries inevitably pop up that belonged in previous reports. Sometimes they warrant special attention, and…
Vintage Report 7: Fall 1977
The events and artifacts in this account took place several decades ago, but the actual research in putting them all in order inevitably leads to new discoveries. As…
Vintage Report 15: November 1978
Though Farewell to Yamato was no longer in theaters in November 1978, it continued to dominate the discourse, both in media and merchandising. But it was no longer…
Vintage Report 28: August 1980
The enormous momentum that built up in July burst wide open on the first two days of August with the hotly-anticipated premiere of Be Forever Yamato. Familiar patterns…
Vintage Report 12: August 1978
This was the month when all the suspense finally broke. Farewell to Yamato destroyed all previous box office records for anime films (including that of Yamato itself) with…
Vintage Report 27: July 1980
This was the last round before the premiere of Be Forever Yamato in theaters, and thus became the single busiest month in all of Yamato history until the…
Vintage Report 5: August 1977
The whole world changed for the better in August 1977, and that is not an exaggeration. With the August 8 premiere of Space Battleship Yamato, the entire anime…
Vintage Report 13: September 1978
The month following the incredible box office success of Farewell to Yamato was both a victory lap and the beginning of a marathon. As new media coverage and…
Vintage Report 1: 1973-74
As Yamato Resurrection approached in 2009, this website took on a new dimension when the Yamato saga returned to real time and there was news to report every…
Vintage Report 30: October 1980
You have to push pretty hard to top the premiere of a new TV series, but the publishing community did its best with the last big wave of…
Vintage Report 14: October 1978
To understand how significant this month was, here’s a metaphor. Imagine that it’s July 1977, two months after Star Wars exploded into the world. Now, without buying a…
Vintage Report 29: September 1980
As Be Forever Yamato closed its premiere run in Japanese theaters, spinoff media became more concentrated as the first dedicated books appeared, and magazines became the first source…
Office Academy brochure, May 1979
Anticipating the character of the times: ACADEMY ’79-’80 This is the front and back cover of a unique time capsule of anime history, the 16-page company brochure for…
Vintage Report 9: 1978, Part 1
As the new year began, the Yamato movie was still raking in box office profits after an incredible five months. After a slowdown in December, the New Year’s…
Vintage Report 24: January-March 1980
The new decade dawned with the making of a new Yamato adventure that would be just one part of Academy Studio’s busiest year of them all. While the…
Vintage Report 4: 1977, Part 1
It is no exaggeration to state that the period covered in this report was the most pivotal time in all of Yamato history. The movie that would change…
Vintage Report 10: 1978, Part 2
As 1978 approached its midpoint, Yamato fever was heating up. The publicity campaign was just starting to ramp up, but production was running at full speed as the…
Vintage Report 8: November/December 1977
If we were to name this specific stretch of Yamato history, the appropriate word would probably be “Afterglow.” The feature film was still burning up the box office…
May & June Favorites
Toward the end of May I began to lose steam on writing, partially because of mom duties, but chiefly because of current events — namely, the murder of…
Monthly Report for June
I added new pages for: Koganei-shi Nishitōkyō-shi Ningyōchō Shichifukujin Meguri / Ningyōchō Seven Lucky Gods Pilgrimage I also added the f...
Monthly Report for May 2024
I added new pages for: Itabashi ku Itabashi Seven Lucky Gods Pilgrimage I also created a general page on the Seven Lucky Gods Pilgrimag...
Idol Watch #18: May/June 2023
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Yuri Events for May and June
As “con season” opens on this second pandemic year, some cons are still virtual, others are giving virtual a try (and we’re all side-eyeing creepy cons who think…
Author Journey (June 20, 2022)
I’ve been thinking about how my perfect day might go and how last week every single day did its best to ensure that it remained a fantasy. In…
Author Journey (May 20, 2024)
I’ve discovered a new hobby, which is quite exciting. It doesn’t take up too much time and it’s allowed me to do something I’ve been planning on doing…
Yaoi New Titles - April, May, June 2007
I got the info of yaoi new titles. April 25: Demian Shoukougun #5 by Mamiya Oki April 25: Genwaku Kodou #15 by Michiru Kada & Rieko Yoshiha...
NEWSWIRE – May 2021 Releases + June sneak peek
It’s the end of the month and that means it’s time to look ahead to what releases we have got in pipeline! Today our primary focus will be…
Space Battleship Yamato 2205 Report 20
In February the pace picked up slightly thanks to online activity and a long-awaited concert, but of course the biggest Yamato news of the month was also the…
The Frontline Report [3/20/22]
The Frontline Report is a weekly column where I summarize my journey through anime, manga, and the related spheres of popular culture over the past week. Expect spoilers for covered …
Princess Connect! Re:Dive, Princess Connect! Re:Dive Season 2
Listening/reading log #20 (May 2021)
Damn, 20 of these posts. This feels like a landmark somehow, though that should really be marked at 24 instead, shouldn’t it? I don’t have anything special planned…
News Update - Mon, 20 May 2024
Romances at the Shallow End of the Pool. Allen takes a look at Taisho Otome Fairy Tale and finds it rather lacking. As in the core ingredients are all…
TSUTAYA Weekly Manga Sales Ranking: May 20 – May 26, 2024
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The Eminence in Shadow, My Dress-Up Darling, Nights with a Cat, Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest, Diary of Our Days at the Breakwater
Japan Top Weekly Video Game Ranking: May 20 – May 26, 2024
Hardware sales are overall healthier when compared to their performances the week before. The PlayStation 4 marked the most increase in terms of percentage gain, 147.17% more than…
Special - Alien (1979)
Hello everyone, In a season of female action heroes for the Heroic Purgatory podcast, we tackle what may be perhaps the first female action hero in the history of…
The Light Novel Club Selections for May & June 2020!
Are you stuck at home and looking for something to do? Why not read a light novel? We have two more light novels that we will be covering…
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I’m putting this list out late this month because my priorities are not in order. Another sign I need to fix my life: I’m currently three episodes behind…
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