Space Battleship Yamato is back with a bang in this latest continuation of the
remake series that began in 2012 with Yamato 2199, and continued with Yamato 2202 and
Yamato 2205 over the subsequent decade. While 2199 was top-tier space opera, 2202 wasn’t as universally loved, with a muddled plot and confused message. Movie duology
2205 was a mixed bag, with a meandering first half and a potent, event-packed second
half. I’m happy to report that Star Blazers: REBEL 3199 blasts out of spacedock,
immediately firing on all cylinders. This is easily the best Yamato since 2199’s heady days,
and the wait for new installments will be excruciating.
Like every other modern Yamato series, 3199 follows an odd distribution pattern - the full
26-episode series is arranged into seven theatrical movies, to be released over the course
of two years. The first movie comprises the opening two episodes, while every other
comprises four. As of this writing, Crunchyroll streams episodic versions around a week or so following the
Japanese theatrical release. For the moment, only six episodes of Star Blazers: REBEL
3199, covering movies one and two, are streaming on Crunchyroll, with the third movie
due on April 11th 2025.
Similar to its remake series forebears, 3199 models at least part of its story after the original
Yamato TV and film series, with main inspirations 1980 movie Be Forever Yamato (which
3199 uses as its sub-title) and subsequent sequel TV show Yamato III. There are enough
changes and misdirections that not even fans of the original will be able to predict its plot,
and that’s been one of the Yamato remake series’ major strengths : respectful homage to
the original, while blazing new narrative trails. Although many remake characters share
names, or at least roles, with their original equivalents, 3199 and its predecessors remix
and reinterpret them in creative and often surprising ways. In that way, 3199 isn’t a
replacement for its progenitors, and so far it’s been so good that I’m extremely glad it
exists.
3199 isn’t at all newbie-friendly, however, and it beggars belief that Crunchyroll began
streaming it before securing the rights to immediate predecessor 2205, which is absolutely
critical to 3199‘s plot. By this point, Yamato‘s cast is so enormous, its interplanetary politics so complicated, that I ended up watching newly streamed (along with the delayed 2205,
now also on Crunchyroll) recap movie Star Blazers Chronicle 2022 for a brief refresher. I
wouldn’t recommend it to newcomers, but its in-world documentary style is worth
experiencing for lapsed fans who need reminders of the preceding 52 episodes worth of
plot.
As now seems standard for the structure of a modern Yamato story arc, 3199‘s first few
episodes bring us up to speed on Earth’s current situation. The formation of the new
Galman-Gamilas empire and their enmity towards the powerful Bolar Federation threatens
to drag a weakened Earth into a new interstellar war, for which it’s poorly prepared,
following the destruction of the planet’s subterranean time-accelerated battleship
production facility, the Time Fault. A massive Dezarium ship tears through an enormous
Bolar Federation fleet en-route to Earth before making a mockery of Earth’s pitiful
defenses. After a brief, one-sided battle where the Dezarium convincingly overpowers the
best Earth has to offer, at huge cost to life, they suddenly offer peace, and access to
advanced technology in exchange for land and infrastructure. It seems there’s been a
conspiracy, with multiple prominent businessmen and politicians already in contact with the
Dezarium, anticipating their arrival.
The Dezarium are an existentially terrifying opponent - they claim to come from a future
where Earth has been totally ruined, and in order for humanity to survive, they digitized
their minds and left their biological forms behind, switching between artificial bodies as
necessary. Their thoughts are modified by a central intelligence that checks for aberrations
in motivation or belief, forcing them to comply to a gestalt will. That’s some potent
dystopian transhumanist horror right there, the kind of existential sci-fi dread that my
obviously troubled mind can’t seem to get enough of. Of course, we know from so many
previous entries in the genre that aliens/future people bearing gifts absolutely cannot be
trusted. That’s Susumu Kodai’s, Yuki Mori’s, and the rest of the Yamato‘s crew’s
conclusion too. They soon find themselves as rebels hiding not only from their own
government, but from the Dezarium and their ultra-powerful future tech.
3199 plays around with Yamato fans’ expectations here - Mori and Kodai are separated by
events, as in the original story, but the identity of their enemies may be substantially
different. In Be Forever Yamato, enemies “the Black Nebulans” turned out to be from
planet Dezarium, and were exposed to be lying about their identity as future humans.
There’s convincing evidence in the remake series that this version of the Dezarium really
are time travelers, so who knows what their secrets will be? Yamato III‘s primary
antagonists The Bolar Federation have so far been kept in the background as lesser
antagonists in 3199’s story, though with the Yamato heading towards their territory, their
prominence is likely to change. All bets are off as to how 3199 will remix and adapt its
varying inspirations.
Susumu Kodai remains a frustrating protagonist, as he spends most of episodes 3–4
moping. It’s understandable, because he thinks he has lost Mori forever, but his ongoing
indecision and lack of convincing leadership ability, as in 2205, winds up getting him
demoted (again). Characters keep talking about how Kodai belongs on the Yamato as its
captain, but it’s clear others with their head in the game are better. Kodai doesn’t even
properly care for the child he acquired at the end of 2205 - the offspring of his deceased
brother and Iscandar’s Stasha. I thought he and Mori were supposed to co-parent her, but
she’s been dumped with supporting characters to bring her up. When faced with her, he
can’t even bring himself to speak or even smile. So frustrating.
Apart from that particular grumble, 3199 is about as perfect a space opera as anime gets.
The plot is complex yet fast-paced, with some fascinating ideas and world-building, plus
multifaceted heroes and villains. There’s barely a wasted moment, with incredibly taut
pacing that ratchets the tension almost to breaking point. Stunningly psychedelic space
battles set to the usual high quality orchestral soundtrack get the blood pumping, while the
overall production and character designs are so beautifully glossy. The Yamato remake
series continues to ooze class, it’s such a shame that its bizarre release strategy has
scuppered its chances of building up steam here in the West.
