Star Blazers
Encyclopedia
Star Blazers is an American
animated television
series adaptation of the Japan
ese anime
series, . Star Blazers was first broadcast in the United States in 1979. Significantly, it was the first popular English-translated anime that had an over-arching plot and storyline that required the episodes to be shown in order. It dealt with somewhat more mature themes than other productions aimed at the same target audience at the time. As a result, it paved the way for future arc-based, plot-driven anime translations.
(or Space Cruiser Yamato as it was known at the time) was dubbed into English and re-titled Space Cruiser. The movie poster illustration for this little-known release contained several inaccuracies such as the Wave Motion Gun shaft acting as a launch tube for starfighters.
Following this, Westchester Corporation identified the Space Battleship Yamato series as a potential "kids' property" (Starlog
, June 1980), and bought the rights to the first two seasons (which at that time were the only two seasons). Dubbing and editing were done by Griffin-Bacal Advertising
and production and syndication by Claster Television. The Japanese elements such as series title and scene captions were replaced or edited out. New opening credit rolls were created featuring the "Star Blazers" logo.
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 TV stations.
However, far fewer edits were made than with another 1970s anime, Battle of the Planets
(an edited version of Science Ninja Team Gatchaman
). 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 Star Blazers included westernization of character names, reduction of personal violence, toning down of offensive language and alcohol use (references to sake were changed to "spring water," and the ship's Doctor's perpetually drunken state was put forth as merely good humor), removal of sexual fan service
, and reduction of references to World War II
, although the sunken battleship ruins were still identified as the Battleship Yamato in dialogue. The most significant reference removed—and the longest single edit in the series—was a section from episode 2 depicting the Battleship Yamatos final battle during World War II, including imagery of the captain tied to the helm as he went down with his ship. (This section can be viewed as a bonus on the Voyager Entertainment Series 1 Part II English-language DVD release.)
Many fans nonetheless regard Star Blazers as more "adult" than other cartoons shown in the U.S. 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 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 can 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 show. The ship is still the historical Yamato and is once referred to as such, but is renamed the Argo
(after the ship Argo
of Jason
and the Argonauts
) once rebuilt, and becomes merely the vessel in which they traveled.
The first two seasons (whose DVD releases are titled "The Quest for Iscandar" and "The Comet Empire") were broadcast in 1979 and 1980. By the time the third season of Yamato was released, however, the original voice actors had moved on and, being non-union, were uncontactable by the American production company. The third season (released as "The Bolar Wars") played to a small test market at the time and was not as widely seen until its release on video and DVD, and remains less popular than the first two seasons. Many of the original English voice actors have since been tracked down and interviewed for the Star Blazers DVD releases.
counterpart. The Japanese saga, however, entails more than just these three TV seasons, and part of this missing portion of the saga occurs between Seasons 2 and 3.
(which, ironically, was sunk by the Japanese during the attack on Pearl Harbor
) on a mission to save Earth. The project was abandoned by Disney following the departure of David Vogel, Disney's then President of Production. In April 2006 it was announced that Benderspink and producer Josh C. Kline had teamed up to make another attempt at creating a live action version of the story.
A live-action Space Battleship Yamato film
was released in Japan on December 1, 2010, produced by Toshiaki Nakazawa and Kazuya Hamana.
In February 2011, it was announced that an English-language live action version is in the works. David Ellison's Skydance Productions is currently in negotiations to acquire the rights. Christopher McQuarrie
(The Usual Suspects
, Valkyrie
, The Wolverine) has been tapped to write the screenplay. No dates have been announced.
footage that was already laid out and published for the Japanese market as "film comics". The translations relied heavily on the English dialog of Star Blazers, with minor modifications. The English language editions were printed in Japan and distributed by Books Nippan of Los Angeles, the American branch of Nippon Shuppan Hanbai. The title of each book includes "Original Title: Space Cruiser Yamato" as a sub-title.
in the late 1980s and served as a postscript to the second season. The plot leveraged the fact that the Season 3 script had misidentified the enemy in the New Voyage
flashbacks as a remanent of the Comet Empire. In this series, it was discovered that the White Comet Empire's rear fleet (comprising fully half of the empire's entire fleet) still existed and—with Earth's entire fleet (other than the Argo) having been wiped out—only the Argo stood between this massive fleet of the empire and Earth. In this story, the Comet Empire took over the Yamato and used it against Earth. The second Comico miniseries dealt with the Star Force's battle against a renegade Earth General and his alien allies. Due to weak artwork and story, this second miniseries was less well received than the first.
on the official Star Blazers site. Although similar in storyline, it is not to be confused with the newest Yamato film, Yamato: Rebirth
. The art and story is by Tim Eldred, who was also responsible for the Voyager Entertainment series. The Earth is once again threatened by a menace from space headed for the Earth 25 years after the first series; this time in the shape of what appears to be a moving black hole. At first Earth's government does not believe the information, on the basis that black holes aren't supposed to be able to move. However, they eventually agree to send Earth's newest and most powerful ship, Andromeda II, to investigate. Upon reaching its destination, Andromeda II is quickly destroyed with all hands on board, though not before transmitting data to Earth. Shocked by the disaster and the lack of response from Earth's government (other than to begin evacuating Earth), Wildstar (now grey-haired, bearded, in his mid-40s, and constantly haunted by the past - as well as by pasts which never happened) and Sandor devote their wealth and energies to rebuilding the nearly shattered Argo, which was encased in ice and left floating in Earth orbit at the end of Final Yamato. Since most of the old surviving bridge crew of Argo are now captains in command of their own ships, many of the new crew members are the children or grandchildren of the original Argo crew. Earth's evacuation to numerous colonies has left Earth's forces stretched far too thinly, with several colonies beginning to break away from Earth's control under command of Capt. Nenezich. Short on supplies, Argo heads toward the center of the galaxy in an attempt to learn more about the mysterious black hole and a rash of attacks on Earth's colonies.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
animated television
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
series adaptation of the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese anime
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, . Star Blazers was first broadcast in the United States in 1979. Significantly, it was the first popular English-translated anime that had an over-arching plot and storyline that required the episodes to be shown in order. It dealt with somewhat more mature themes than other productions aimed at the same target audience at the time. As a result, it paved the way for future arc-based, plot-driven anime translations.
History
In 1978, before the debut of the American Star Blazers series, the Japanese 1977 Space Battleship Yamato movieSpace Battleship Yamato (film)
is the first theatrical movie based on the classic anime series . Unlike the later films that would follow it, this is a compilation film consisting of various television episodes edited from the "Iscandar" arc of the television series...
(or Space Cruiser Yamato as it was known at the time) was dubbed into English and re-titled Space Cruiser. The movie poster illustration for this little-known release contained several inaccuracies such as the Wave Motion Gun shaft acting as a launch tube for starfighters.
Following this, Westchester Corporation identified the Space Battleship Yamato series as a potential "kids' property" (Starlog
Starlog
Starlog was a monthly science-fiction film magazine published by Starlog Group Inc. The magazine was created by publishers Kerry O'Quinn and Norman Jacobs. O'Quinn was the magazine's editor while Jacobs ran the business side of things, dealing with typesetters, engravers and printers. They got...
, June 1980), and bought the rights to the first two seasons (which at that time were the only two seasons). Dubbing and editing were done by Griffin-Bacal Advertising
Griffin-Bacal Advertising
Griffin-Bacal Advertising was a global advertising agency founded in 1978 by Tom Griffin and Joe Bacal. One of their first clients was Hasbro, whom employed their services for coming up with advertising campaigns for several of their toy lines such as "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero" and...
and production and syndication by Claster Television. The Japanese elements such as series title and scene captions were replaced or edited out. New opening credit rolls were created featuring the "Star Blazers" logo.
Being marketed to a school-age audience, this animated space opera
Space opera
Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes romantic, often melodramatic adventure, set mainly or entirely in outer space, generally involving conflict between opponents possessing advanced technologies and abilities. The term has no relation to music and it is analogous to "soap...
was bowdlerized by the American editors in order to satisfy the broadcast standards and practices offices of American TV stations.
However, far fewer edits were made than with another 1970s anime, Battle of the Planets
Battle of the Planets
Battle of the Planets is an American animated television adaptation of the Japanese anime series Science Ninja Team Gatchaman . Of the 105 original Gatchaman episodes, 85 were used in the Battle of the Planets adaptation, produced by Sandy Frank Entertainment...
(an edited version of Science Ninja Team Gatchaman
Science Ninja Team Gatchaman
is a 5-member superhero team that is composed of the main characters in several Japanese anime created by Tatsuo Yoshida and originally produced in Japan by Tatsunoko Productions and later adapted into several English-language versions...
). 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 Star Blazers included westernization of character names, reduction of personal violence, toning down of offensive language and alcohol use (references to sake were changed to "spring water," and the ship's Doctor's perpetually drunken state was put forth as merely good humor), removal of sexual fan service
Fan service
, fanservice, or , is a term originating from anime and manga fandom for material in a series which is intentionally added to please the audience. It is about "servicing" the fan - giving the fans "exactly what they want"...
, and reduction of references to World War II
World 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...
, although the sunken battleship ruins were still identified as the Battleship Yamato in dialogue. The most significant reference removed—and the longest single edit in the series—was a section from episode 2 depicting the Battleship Yamatos final battle during World War II, including imagery of the captain tied to the helm as he went down with his ship. (This section can be viewed as a bonus on the Voyager Entertainment Series 1 Part II English-language DVD release.)
Many fans nonetheless regard Star Blazers as more "adult" than other cartoons shown in the U.S. 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 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
Yamato
Yamato was originally the area around today's Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan. Later the term was used as the name of the province and also as an ancient name of Japan...
as a word the viewers can 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 show. The ship is still the historical Yamato and is once referred to as such, but is renamed the Argo
Space Battleship Yamato (spaceship)
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...
(after the 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...
) once rebuilt, and becomes merely the vessel in which they traveled.
The first two seasons (whose DVD releases are titled "The Quest for Iscandar" and "The Comet Empire") were broadcast in 1979 and 1980. By the time the third season of Yamato was released, however, the original voice actors had moved on and, being non-union, were uncontactable by the American production company. The third season (released as "The Bolar Wars") played to a small test market at the time and was not as widely seen until its release on video and DVD, and remains less popular than the first two seasons. Many of the original English voice actors have since been tracked down and interviewed for the Star Blazers DVD releases.
Plot
Star Blazers consists of three television seasons. Each is an English-language adaption of its Japanese Space Battleship YamatoSpace 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...
counterpart. The Japanese saga, however, entails more than just these three TV seasons, and part of this missing portion of the saga occurs between Seasons 2 and 3.
Seasons 1 and 2
Major characters appearing in Seasons 1 and 2 are listed below by their canonical (Westchester) names:| Character | Performer | Position | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cp. Avatar | Gordon Ramsey (1930–1993) |
Captain of the Argo and Star Force Commander |
Earth |
| Derek Wildstar | Kenneth Meseroll | Deputy Captain, Argo | Earth |
| Mark Venture |
Tom Tweedy | Chief Navigator, Argo | Earth |
| Nova | Amy Howard Wilson | Radar Operator, Nurse, Argo | Earth |
| Sandor | (?) | Head Mechanic, Argo | Earth |
| Homer | Michael Bertolini | Communications Chief, Argo | Earth |
| Eager | (?) | Assistant Navigator, Argo | Earth |
| Dash | Eddie Allen | Artillery Unit, Argo | Earth |
| Orion | Gordon Ramsey (1930–1993) |
Chief Engineer, Argo | Earth |
| Conroy | (?) | Black Tiger Leader | Earth |
| Hardy | (?) | Black Tiger Pilot | Earth |
| Dr. Sane | (?) | Doctor, Argo | Earth |
| IQ-9 | (?) | Survey Robot, Argo | Earth |
| Sgt. Knox | Chris Latta (1949–1994) |
Space Marine Leader, Brumas | Earth |
| Cp.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 | (same as Dr. Sane) | 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 |
Season 3
Major characters appearing in Season 3 are as follows:| Character | Performer | Position | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Derek Wildstar | John Belucci | Captain, Argo | Earth |
| Mark Venture | Peter Fernandez Peter Fernandez Peter Fernandez was an American actor, voice actor, and director. Despite a career extending from the 1930s, he is probably best known for his uncredited roles in the 1967 anime Speed Racer. Fernandez co-wrote the scripts, was the voice director, and translated the English language version of the... (1927–2010) |
Chief Navigator, Argo | Earth |
| Lt. Nova | Corinne Orr Corinne Orr Corinne Orr is a Canadian-born actress and voice artist, who now lives in New York City, where she has resided for more than four decades.... |
Radar Operator, Argo | Earth |
| Sandor | (?) | Head Mechanic, 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 | (?) | Recruit Dish-Washer, Argo | Earth |
| Flash Contrail | (?) | Recruit Pilot, Argo | Earth |
| Commander | (?) | Commander, Earth Defense Force |
Earth |
| Leader Desslok | (?) | Galman Emperor | Galman |
| Sgt. Masterson (Talan) | (?) | 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 Jack Grimes (actor) Jack Grimes was an American voice and radio actor who played Jimmy Olsen in the last three years of The Adventures of Superman radio program, the 1966 Filmation TV series The New Adventures of Superman, and the 1967 anime, Speed Racer.-Biography:Grimes was born in New York City... (1926–2009) |
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 | (?) | Exiled Ruler of Guardiana | Guardiana |
| Queen Guardiana | (?) | Goddess of Guardiana | Guardiana |
Live action adaptation
During the mid 1990s, Walt Disney Pictures optioned the rights with the intent to produce a live-action Star Blazers 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 re-telling of the Season 1 plot, and followed a ragtag crew of misfits (most of whom are not named after any of the original show's crew) aboard the rebuilt United States battleship ArizonaUSS Arizona (BB-39)
USS Arizona, a , was built for the United States Navy in the mid-1910s. Named in honor of the 48th state's recent admission into the union, the ship was the second and last of the Pennsylvania class of "super-dreadnought" battleships. Although commissioned in 1916, the ship remained stateside...
(which, ironically, was sunk by the Japanese during the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
) on a mission to save Earth. The project was abandoned by Disney following the departure of David Vogel, Disney's then President of Production. In April 2006 it was announced that Benderspink and producer Josh C. Kline had teamed up to make another attempt at creating a live action version of the story.
A live-action Space Battleship Yamato film
Space Battleship Yamato (2010 film)
is a live action film adaptation of the original Space Battleship Yamato anime TV series from 1974. The film was released in Japan on December 1, 2010. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray in Japan on June 24, 2011.-Plot:...
was released in Japan on December 1, 2010, produced by Toshiaki Nakazawa and Kazuya Hamana.
In February 2011, it was announced that an English-language live action version is in the works. David Ellison's Skydance Productions is currently in negotiations to acquire the rights. Christopher McQuarrie
Christopher McQuarrie
Christopher McQuarrie is an American screenwriter, producer and director. His screenplays include The Usual Suspects, for which he won the 1996 Academy Award, The Way of the Gun and Valkyrie....
(The Usual Suspects
The Usual Suspects
The Usual Suspects is a 1995 American neo-noir film written by Christopher McQuarrie and directed by Bryan Singer. It stars Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro, Chazz Palminteri, Kevin Pollak, Kevin Spacey and Pete Postlethwaite....
, Valkyrie
Valkyrie (film)
Valkyrie is a 2008 American historical thriller film set in Nazi Germany during World War II. The film depicts the 20 July plot in 1944 by German army officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler and to use the Operation Valkyrie national emergency plan to take control of the country...
, The Wolverine) has been tapped to write the screenplay. No dates have been announced.
American comic adaptations
To date, four American comic adaptations have been published: a five-volume series retelling the original story, two comic book series, and, most recently, a web comic.West Cape Co. Animation Comics
The first adaptation was a set of books presenting the original first season in five volumes using the original cel animation. It was published in 1983 by West Cape Co., Ltd. under their imprint, W.C.C. Animation Comics. The books use digestDigest size
Digest size is a magazine size, smaller than a conventional or "journal size" magazine but larger than a standard paperback book, approximately 5½ x 8¼ inches, but can also be 5⅜ x 8⅜ inches and 5½ x 7½ inches. These sizes have evolved from the printing press operation end...
footage that was already laid out and published for the Japanese market as "film comics". The translations relied heavily on the English dialog of Star Blazers, with minor modifications. The English language editions were printed in Japan and distributed by Books Nippan of Los Angeles, the American branch of Nippon Shuppan Hanbai. The title of each book includes "Original Title: Space Cruiser Yamato" as a sub-title.
Comico
The second adaptation (actually two miniseries) was published by Comico ComicsComico Comics
Comico: The Comic Company was an American comic book publisher, headquartered in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Its best-known comics include the Robotech adaptations, the Jonny Quest continuation written by co-creator Doug Wildey, and Matt Wagner's Mage: The Hero Discovered and Grendel...
in the late 1980s and served as a postscript to the second season. The plot leveraged the fact that the Season 3 script had misidentified the enemy in the New Voyage
Yamato: The New Voyage
was a television movie that was first broadcast on Fuji TV. This was the third movie in the Space Battleship Yamato saga...
flashbacks as a remanent of the Comet Empire. In this series, it was discovered that the White Comet Empire's rear fleet (comprising fully half of the empire's entire fleet) still existed and—with Earth's entire fleet (other than the Argo) having been wiped out—only the Argo stood between this massive fleet of the empire and Earth. In this story, the Comet Empire took over the Yamato and used it against Earth. The second Comico miniseries dealt with the Star Force's battle against a renegade Earth General and his alien allies. Due to weak artwork and story, this second miniseries was less well received than the first.
Voyager Entertainment Print
In the mid-90s, Voyager Entertainment published 12 issues of a Star Blazers comic book before publication was halted due to poor sales.Voyager Entertainment webcomic
Star Blazers Rebirth is a webcomicWebcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
on the official Star Blazers site. Although similar in storyline, it is not to be confused with the newest Yamato film, Yamato: Rebirth
Uchū Senkan Yamato: Fukkatsu hen
The Japanese animation film, Space Battleship Yamato: Resurrection , is the first part of a planned series of films which are the latest addition to the Space Battleship Yamato saga. Rebirth is set in the year 2220, 21 years after the first Yamato story and 17 years after the story of the last...
. The art and story is by Tim Eldred, who was also responsible for the Voyager Entertainment series. The Earth is once again threatened by a menace from space headed for the Earth 25 years after the first series; this time in the shape of what appears to be a moving black hole. At first Earth's government does not believe the information, on the basis that black holes aren't supposed to be able to move. However, they eventually agree to send Earth's newest and most powerful ship, Andromeda II, to investigate. Upon reaching its destination, Andromeda II is quickly destroyed with all hands on board, though not before transmitting data to Earth. Shocked by the disaster and the lack of response from Earth's government (other than to begin evacuating Earth), Wildstar (now grey-haired, bearded, in his mid-40s, and constantly haunted by the past - as well as by pasts which never happened) and Sandor devote their wealth and energies to rebuilding the nearly shattered Argo, which was encased in ice and left floating in Earth orbit at the end of Final Yamato. Since most of the old surviving bridge crew of Argo are now captains in command of their own ships, many of the new crew members are the children or grandchildren of the original Argo crew. Earth's evacuation to numerous colonies has left Earth's forces stretched far too thinly, with several colonies beginning to break away from Earth's control under command of Capt. Nenezich. Short on supplies, Argo heads toward the center of the galaxy in an attempt to learn more about the mysterious black hole and a rash of attacks on Earth's colonies.