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Space Battleship Yamato (spaceship)
Encyclopedia
Space Battleship Yamato is the title spaceship from the anime
series Space Battleship Yamato
and was designed by Leiji Matsumoto
. According to the fictional continuity of the anime series, the spacecraft was built inside the remains of the Japanese battleship Yamato
. In the American dub of the series, Star Blazers, the spaceship has the same origin but when is launched into space is renamed the Argo (after the mythical ship Argo
of Jason
and the Argonauts
). In Spanish and Latin American countries its name was also changed to Intrépido ("Intrepid
").
battleship Yamato
, sunk in the sea near Okinawa, was used to hide a military spacecraft created by the Earth Defence Force in the late 22nd century. At this time Earth was under attack from an alien race, the Gamilons, who were raining down radioactive asteroids that evaporated Earth's ocean
s and rendered its surface uninhabitable. The new space warship was built "inside" the wreckage of the ancient battleship, which was partially buried in what was now a dry seabed, thus concealing it from the view of the orbiting Gamilon vessels.
The new Yamato spaceship was originally conceived as a "Noah's Ark
", designed to transport the best examples of Earth life to seed a new world away from danger. The arrival of a messenger from the planet Iscandar changed this: the message contained plans for a space drive called the Wave Motion Engine, which would give a spacecraft immense power and enable it to travel faster than light
. The message also urged humanity to travel to Iscandar (148,000 light years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud
) and obtain a device which would cleanse Earth of its deadly radiation.
At the top of the command tower is the Captain's personal quarters, a chair on a vertical track giving him the option of moving to his command post in Bridge 1 quickly. Either side of the main bridge are radar units, and below is Bridge 2, the main navigation centre of the ship. Directly below the command tower, on the underside of the ship, is Bridge 3; it is featured significantly only once, when the Yamato was upside-down in the methane
sea on Pluto
. There are also observation domes either side of the command tower, and larger windowed sections either side of the main hull.
Elsewhere aboard the ship are a conference room (with a large floor-mounted screen) and a hologram chamber (the "entertainment room") for projecting images of Earth to combat homesickness
(and which was nearly identical in purpose and function to the holodeck
that would be used in the Star Trek: The Next Generation
TV series more than a decade later--but was first introduced in the 1974 Star Trek: The Animated Series episode "The Practical Joker"). There is also a cryogenics chamber in which much of the crew apparently sleeps during the series (most notably female crew members, as Yuki (Nova) is the only woman seen aboard after episode 10 of the first season). An engineering and development section contains an automated multi-purpose construction unit capable of building any required device. More mundane locations include the surgery, galley, stateroom and gym. Travel within the ship is achieved by means of lifts, moving walkways and, for emergencies, chutes.
In the 2009 anime, the walkways are removed and replaced with steel floors. The conference room now projects holograms, and it is unclear whether the entertainment room, construction unit or cryogenics chamber is still onboard.
energy. As well as functioning like a normal rocket engine, and providing essentially infinite power to the ship, it enables the Yamato to "ride" the wave of tachyons and travel faster than light; in its first test it travels from Earth's Moon
to Mars
in one minute. However, this feature must be activated with perfect timing (by a human navigator), at a point when space at the origin and destination are in the correct phase, otherwise the ship could become lost in the fourth dimension. In Yamato Rebirth the engine can warp even faster than before.
: twin jets below the main engine port, used for quick bursts of speed. When the Yamato first launches, the Wave Motion Engine is not yet ready and the auxiliary engine is used instead.
: to provide lift in atmospheric environments, two large wing
s unfold from the sides of the hull, fully functional with aileron
s.
: either side of the bow are rocket-powered anchors at the ends of strong chains, which the Yamato can use to anchor itself to asteroids and, if necessary, provide a gravity-assisted slingshot. They can also be used to deflect enemy ships from collision.
energy power of the engine to be fired in a stream directly forwards. As of the 2009 movie, it has six reactors, and it can fire six shots instead of one large one. However, when combined to fire a single shot, it may rip the hull apart. Enormously powerful, it can vapourise a fleet of enemy ships with one shot; however, it takes a brief but critical period to charge before firing. It used to require all non-essential power systems be deactivated, but now it only leaves the ship unable to warp a short time after firing. The recoil
absorption mechanism can be manually deactivated with a lever; this is used to save the ship on one occasion.
: The three 45.9cm and two 15.5cm three-barrelled gun turrets of the original Yamato have been converted into powerful energy guns. Each turret fires three energy beams which spiral around each other to form a single, more powerful beam, capable of severely damaging or destroying enemy warships. The cannons are operated by seated human controllers, aiming orders transmitted from Bridge One. In addition to firing energy blasts, the guns can be loaded with other ammunition, most notably cartridges containing the devices used in the Rotating Asteroid Defence (see below). In the movie Be Forever, Yamato they are used to fire missiles containing Wave Motion energy, which even with a hundredth the power of the Wave Motion Gun cause tremendous destruction.
: Based on the 25 mm and 13 mm anti-aircraft machine guns of the original Yamato, the Pulse Lasers are a set of two- and four-barrelled gun turrets lining the sides of the spaceship, firing energy pulses which can destroy fighters and detonate missiles. The turret clusters generally aim at the same targets; it is not stated in the series whether each contains a gunner, or whether they are controlled from a central source.
: Six forward-firing & six aft-firing torpedo tubes, principally for use underwater. In the 2009 anime, it can fire barrier defense missiles.
: A set of anti-missile missiles launched from missile ports in the hull of the Yamato; rather than hitting directly, they explode at a safe distance and form an energy web that detonates incoming missiles. (barrier defense missiles)
: Rocket missiles fired vertically from what was once the smoke stack of the original Yamato.
The /: Cosmo Pulsars and Cosmo Pulsar Bombers. A fleet of fighter planes, contained within a hangar in the ship's rear underside. The Black Tiger fighters of the first season are superseded by the Cosmo Tigers of the second season, though both seasons feature the Cosmo Zero fighter piloted by Susumu Kodai (Derek Wildstar in Star Blazers), which is usually launched from one of the catapults on the top deck near the stern. The hangar also contains other, non-combat planes for reconnaissance and transport. In the 2009 anime, all the Black Tigers and Cosmo Tigers are replaced with Cosmo Pulsars, which are more advanced. Another new fighter is the Cosmo Pulsar Bomber, which has two Wave Motion Torpedoes attached to it. Large robotic arms move the jets out of their hanger spaces.
: Used in the first and second seasons, this involves using the Shock Cannons to fire showers of small metal probes into asteroid fields; these devices are magnetically controlled and can bring the asteroids close to the ship, forming a hard shell resistant to enemy fire. This can then be turned into a fast-rotating orbiting ring, its angle controlled from the bridge, which can be used to block individual shots. As a final act, the asteroids can be expelled at high speed in all directions to destroy any ships that venture too close.
: A defence conceived by chief scientist Sanada (Sandor in Star Blazers) when he realised that the Wave Motion Gun is merely an extremely powerful laser
, this involves quickly covering the Yamato entirely with reflective material; this was only used once, when Gamilon leader Desler (Desslok) used his self-titled Desler Gun against the Earth ship, and successfully reflected the blast back against its source.
: Although the Yamato lacks defensive shields like those used in Star Trek
, on one occasion (while trapped in the Octopus Cluster) it generated a shield over its decks which protected it from the fury of a space storm, and even maintained a breathable atmosphere.
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series Space Battleship Yamato
Space Battleship Yamato
is a Japanese science fiction anime series featuring an eponymous spacecraft. It is also known to English-speaking audiences as Space Cruiser Yamato; an English-dubbed and heavily edited version of the series was broadcast on North American and Australian television as Star Blazers...
and was designed by Leiji Matsumoto
Leiji Matsumoto
is a well-known creator of several anime and manga series. His wife is also known as a manga artist.-Space opera:Matsumoto is famous for his space operas such as Space Battleship Yamato...
. According to the fictional continuity of the anime series, the spacecraft was built inside the remains of the Japanese battleship Yamato
Japanese battleship Yamato
, named after the ancient Japanese Yamato Province, was the lead ship of the Yamato class of battleships that served with the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. She and her sister ship, Musashi, were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed, displacing...
. In the American dub of the series, Star Blazers, the spaceship has the same origin but when is launched into space is renamed the Argo (after the mythical ship Argo
Argo
In Greek mythology, the Argo was the ship on which Jason and the Argonauts sailed from Iolcos to retrieve the Golden Fleece. It was named after its builder, Argus.-Legend:...
of Jason
Jason
Jason was a late ancient Greek mythological hero from the late 10th Century BC, famous as the leader of the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcus...
and the Argonauts
Argonauts
The Argonauts ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology who, in the years before the Trojan War, accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, the Argo, which was named after its builder, Argus. "Argonauts", therefore, literally means...
). In Spanish and Latin American countries its name was also changed to Intrépido ("Intrepid
Intrepid
Intrepid can refer to:intrepid [ɪnˈtrɛpɪd]adjfearless; daring; bold [from Latin intrepidus, from in-1 + trepidus fearful, timid]intrepidity , intrepidness nintrepidly adv- People and organizations :...
").
Construction
According to the fictional continuity of the Space Battleship Yamato anime series the wreck of the World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
battleship Yamato
Japanese battleship Yamato
, named after the ancient Japanese Yamato Province, was the lead ship of the Yamato class of battleships that served with the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. She and her sister ship, Musashi, were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed, displacing...
, sunk in the sea near Okinawa, was used to hide a military spacecraft created by the Earth Defence Force in the late 22nd century. At this time Earth was under attack from an alien race, the Gamilons, who were raining down radioactive asteroids that evaporated Earth's ocean
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
s and rendered its surface uninhabitable. The new space warship was built "inside" the wreckage of the ancient battleship, which was partially buried in what was now a dry seabed, thus concealing it from the view of the orbiting Gamilon vessels.
The new Yamato spaceship was originally conceived as a "Noah's Ark
Noah's Ark
Noah's Ark is a vessel appearing in the Book of Genesis and the Quran . These narratives describe the construction of the ark by Noah at God's command to save himself, his family, and the world's animals from the worldwide deluge of the Great Flood.In the narrative of the ark, God sees the...
", designed to transport the best examples of Earth life to seed a new world away from danger. The arrival of a messenger from the planet Iscandar changed this: the message contained plans for a space drive called the Wave Motion Engine, which would give a spacecraft immense power and enable it to travel faster than light
Faster-than-light
Faster-than-light communications and travel refer to the propagation of information or matter faster than the speed of light....
. The message also urged humanity to travel to Iscandar (148,000 light years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud
Large Magellanic Cloud
The Large Magellanic Cloud is a nearby irregular galaxy, and is a satellite of the Milky Way. At a distance of slightly less than 50 kiloparsecs , the LMC is the third closest galaxy to the Milky Way, with the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal and Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy lying closer to the center...
) and obtain a device which would cleanse Earth of its deadly radiation.
Main systems
The Yamato has three bridges; Bridge 1 contains the helm, radar, communications and command positions (including those for engineering and ship's defences), and is the scene of much of the action and interaction in the series. In the second season it gains a time radar system capable of viewing a region of space as it appeared hours previously. Bridge 2 is Navigation, and where warp plans and courses are plotted. Bridge 3 hangs below the ship, it serves as a backup to Bridge 1. In the 2009 Anime, Yamato Rebirth it is painted blue and has been converted into a radar post that plays a critical role. However, it still gets blown off.At the top of the command tower is the Captain's personal quarters, a chair on a vertical track giving him the option of moving to his command post in Bridge 1 quickly. Either side of the main bridge are radar units, and below is Bridge 2, the main navigation centre of the ship. Directly below the command tower, on the underside of the ship, is Bridge 3; it is featured significantly only once, when the Yamato was upside-down in the methane
Methane
Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, the principal component of natural gas, and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel...
sea on Pluto
Pluto
Pluto, formal designation 134340 Pluto, is the second-most-massive known dwarf planet in the Solar System and the tenth-most-massive body observed directly orbiting the Sun...
. There are also observation domes either side of the command tower, and larger windowed sections either side of the main hull.
Elsewhere aboard the ship are a conference room (with a large floor-mounted screen) and a hologram chamber (the "entertainment room") for projecting images of Earth to combat homesickness
Homesickness
Homesickness is the distress or impairment caused by an actual or anticipated separation from the specific home environment or attachment objects....
(and which was nearly identical in purpose and function to the holodeck
Holodeck
A holodeck, in the fictional Star Trek universe, is a simulated reality facility located on starships and starbases. The first use of a "holodeck" by that name in the Star Trek universe was in the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Encounter at Farpoint", although a conceptually...
that would be used in the Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
TV series more than a decade later--but was first introduced in the 1974 Star Trek: The Animated Series episode "The Practical Joker"). There is also a cryogenics chamber in which much of the crew apparently sleeps during the series (most notably female crew members, as Yuki (Nova) is the only woman seen aboard after episode 10 of the first season). An engineering and development section contains an automated multi-purpose construction unit capable of building any required device. More mundane locations include the surgery, galley, stateroom and gym. Travel within the ship is achieved by means of lifts, moving walkways and, for emergencies, chutes.
In the 2009 anime, the walkways are removed and replaced with steel floors. The conference room now projects holograms, and it is unclear whether the entertainment room, construction unit or cryogenics chamber is still onboard.
Propulsion
The : the ship's main engine, based on alien technology; it is capable of converting the vacuum of space into tachyonTachyon
A tachyon is a hypothetical subatomic particle that always moves faster than light. In the language of special relativity, a tachyon would be a particle with space-like four-momentum and imaginary proper time. A tachyon would be constrained to the space-like portion of the energy-momentum graph...
energy. As well as functioning like a normal rocket engine, and providing essentially infinite power to the ship, it enables the Yamato to "ride" the wave of tachyons and travel faster than light; in its first test it travels from Earth's Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
to Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
in one minute. However, this feature must be activated with perfect timing (by a human navigator), at a point when space at the origin and destination are in the correct phase, otherwise the ship could become lost in the fourth dimension. In Yamato Rebirth the engine can warp even faster than before.
: twin jets below the main engine port, used for quick bursts of speed. When the Yamato first launches, the Wave Motion Engine is not yet ready and the auxiliary engine is used instead.
: to provide lift in atmospheric environments, two large wing
Wing
A wing is an appendage with a surface that produces lift for flight or propulsion through the atmosphere, or through another gaseous or liquid fluid...
s unfold from the sides of the hull, fully functional with aileron
Aileron
Ailerons are hinged flight control surfaces attached to the trailing edge of the wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. The ailerons are used to control the aircraft in roll, which results in a change in heading due to the tilting of the lift vector...
s.
: either side of the bow are rocket-powered anchors at the ends of strong chains, which the Yamato can use to anchor itself to asteroids and, if necessary, provide a gravity-assisted slingshot. They can also be used to deflect enemy ships from collision.
Weaponry / defences
The : The "trump card" of the Yamato, the Wave Motion Gun functions by connecting the Wave Motion Engine to the enormous firing gate at the ship's bow, enabling the tachyonTachyon
A tachyon is a hypothetical subatomic particle that always moves faster than light. In the language of special relativity, a tachyon would be a particle with space-like four-momentum and imaginary proper time. A tachyon would be constrained to the space-like portion of the energy-momentum graph...
energy power of the engine to be fired in a stream directly forwards. As of the 2009 movie, it has six reactors, and it can fire six shots instead of one large one. However, when combined to fire a single shot, it may rip the hull apart. Enormously powerful, it can vapourise a fleet of enemy ships with one shot; however, it takes a brief but critical period to charge before firing. It used to require all non-essential power systems be deactivated, but now it only leaves the ship unable to warp a short time after firing. The recoil
Recoil
Recoil is the backward momentum of a gun when it is discharged. In technical terms, the recoil caused by the gun exactly balances the forward momentum of the projectile and exhaust gasses, according to Newton's third law...
absorption mechanism can be manually deactivated with a lever; this is used to save the ship on one occasion.
: The three 45.9cm and two 15.5cm three-barrelled gun turrets of the original Yamato have been converted into powerful energy guns. Each turret fires three energy beams which spiral around each other to form a single, more powerful beam, capable of severely damaging or destroying enemy warships. The cannons are operated by seated human controllers, aiming orders transmitted from Bridge One. In addition to firing energy blasts, the guns can be loaded with other ammunition, most notably cartridges containing the devices used in the Rotating Asteroid Defence (see below). In the movie Be Forever, Yamato they are used to fire missiles containing Wave Motion energy, which even with a hundredth the power of the Wave Motion Gun cause tremendous destruction.
: Based on the 25 mm and 13 mm anti-aircraft machine guns of the original Yamato, the Pulse Lasers are a set of two- and four-barrelled gun turrets lining the sides of the spaceship, firing energy pulses which can destroy fighters and detonate missiles. The turret clusters generally aim at the same targets; it is not stated in the series whether each contains a gunner, or whether they are controlled from a central source.
: Six forward-firing & six aft-firing torpedo tubes, principally for use underwater. In the 2009 anime, it can fire barrier defense missiles.
: A set of anti-missile missiles launched from missile ports in the hull of the Yamato; rather than hitting directly, they explode at a safe distance and form an energy web that detonates incoming missiles. (barrier defense missiles)
: Rocket missiles fired vertically from what was once the smoke stack of the original Yamato.
The /: Cosmo Pulsars and Cosmo Pulsar Bombers. A fleet of fighter planes, contained within a hangar in the ship's rear underside. The Black Tiger fighters of the first season are superseded by the Cosmo Tigers of the second season, though both seasons feature the Cosmo Zero fighter piloted by Susumu Kodai (Derek Wildstar in Star Blazers), which is usually launched from one of the catapults on the top deck near the stern. The hangar also contains other, non-combat planes for reconnaissance and transport. In the 2009 anime, all the Black Tigers and Cosmo Tigers are replaced with Cosmo Pulsars, which are more advanced. Another new fighter is the Cosmo Pulsar Bomber, which has two Wave Motion Torpedoes attached to it. Large robotic arms move the jets out of their hanger spaces.
: Used in the first and second seasons, this involves using the Shock Cannons to fire showers of small metal probes into asteroid fields; these devices are magnetically controlled and can bring the asteroids close to the ship, forming a hard shell resistant to enemy fire. This can then be turned into a fast-rotating orbiting ring, its angle controlled from the bridge, which can be used to block individual shots. As a final act, the asteroids can be expelled at high speed in all directions to destroy any ships that venture too close.
: A defence conceived by chief scientist Sanada (Sandor in Star Blazers) when he realised that the Wave Motion Gun is merely an extremely powerful laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
, this involves quickly covering the Yamato entirely with reflective material; this was only used once, when Gamilon leader Desler (Desslok) used his self-titled Desler Gun against the Earth ship, and successfully reflected the blast back against its source.
: Although the Yamato lacks defensive shields like those used in Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
, on one occasion (while trapped in the Octopus Cluster) it generated a shield over its decks which protected it from the fury of a space storm, and even maintained a breathable atmosphere.
2009 Anime
- By 2220, the ship has been completely rebuilt. The Wave Motion Engine can now warp faster, the Wave Motion Gun can fire six shots instead of one, without power drain, and the ship's length has increased by 20 meters. All the fighters have been replaced by Cosmo Pulsars and Cosmo Pulsar Bombers. The Third Bridge has been painted blue, and now serves as a radar command post, with the occupants inside surrounded by an orb that projects data onto its surfaces. A white anchor has been painted on the side of the ship, and the white bands around the barrels of the cannons were removed. The Bridge's old gauges and dials have been replaced with control screens and holoscreens. The control surfaces have been changed to a yoke. The hanger has also been expanded, and it uses large mechanical arms to move the fighters out of their spaces. Also, the old WMG target scope has been replaced with one that has a holograpic screen.
Further reading
- Hiromi Mizuno (2007) When Pacifist Japan Fights: Historicizing Desires in Anime MechademiaMechademia-Reception:Steve Raiteri from Library Journal commends Mechademia as a "great first effort [...] bridg[ing] the gap between academics and fans." Christophe Thouny, writing for Animation also thought the writing and tone was accessible by both academics and fans...
2
External links
- Space Battleship Yamato at the Starship Schematic Database