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The story
On October 6 — the 52nd anniversary of the TV broadcast of ‘Space Battleship Yamato’ — it was announced that a new theatrical feature anime titled ‘Space Battleship Yamato √2199 (Route 2199)’ is in production, with Hideaki Anno serving as executive producer/director and Yutaka Izubuchi as co-director, alongside the reveal of a teaser visual. It marks the first joint production between Production I.G and Studio Khara. Izubuchi also handled character and mechanical designs on the previous 2012 remake, ‘2199,’ making this a second outing with the same creative lineup. On 5ch, the announcement sparked discussion starting with whether Yamato is next in line for Anno’s run of ‘Shin’ remakes, and opinion split over just how much the Yamato franchise still resonates with younger generations today, with some arguing it’s really nostalgic older fans keeping it alive.
It has been decided that a theatrical feature-length animated film, ‘Space Battleship Yamato √2199 (Route 2199),’ will be produced, with Hideaki Anno serving as executive producer and director and Yutaka Izubuchi as co-director. A teaser visual has also been released.
‘Space Battleship Yamato,’ the landmark sci-fi anime whose TV series began airing on October 6, 1974, stunned viewers back when animation was still commonly called ‘TV manga.’ In just 26 episodes it became a social phenomenon, and it remains a beloved legend to this day. In October 2024, the franchise marked its 50th anniversary, with Hideaki Anno — who has said, ‘If I hadn’t encountered Space Battleship Yamato back then, I wouldn’t have the life I have now’ — planning and producing a wide range of anniversary projects, including screening events, exhibitions, and publications.
Then, on Tuesday, October 6 — the 52nd anniversary of ‘Space Battleship Yamato’ — the production of the theatrical feature-length anime ‘Space Battleship Yamato √2199 (Route 2199)’ was announced. Animation production will be handled by Production I.G and Studio Khara, marking their first joint collaboration.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
It's the middle-aged guys and old geezers keeping it alive
There aren't many other Showa-era national sci-fi anime left to touch
and they're probably not gonna do another Leiji Matsumoto work
A new Galaxy Express 999 project's already been announced
No idea if it's a reboot or a sequel though
Personally, I want to see a 'Shin Anpanman' (Anno's trademark 'Shin-' prefix signals a drastic reimagining)
It's gotta be 'Shin Nausicaä'
Once Miyazaki ('Paya-o') passes, won't Anno be the one to do it?
Ghibli doesn't have a successor lined up either
Do they actually mean something story-wise?
It's probably just that keeping them exactly like the model kit looks cool
The original manga has some hardcore, adult-oriented Astro Boy stories, so that'd click with fans of that kind of thing
'The Greatest Robot on Earth'/Atom's death arc was brutal
Hideaki Anno's only interested in anime and tokusatsu from around 1971-1980.
Naoki Urasawa already drew 'Pluto' (his acclaimed dark reimagining of the Astro Boy story)
For Kamen Rider though, Izubuchi's designs were actually the better ones
I heard that Anno and the other old Gainax members used to mock 'Farewell' though
Maybe that creative spark has dried up.
Nobody makes a masterpiece past 60
Kurosawa, Beat Takeshi, Miyazaki — they all dried up
Tezuka and Fujiko F. Fujio both died at 60 anyway
He's said himself that the TV version of Evangelion was him packing in everything he wanted to do, and that his peak as a creator basically lasted up through his mid-30s
It's basically 'your Yamato doesn't cut it' energy
That's picking a fight head-on, isn't it
Instead, the production credit lists the company as 'Shin-Office Academy'
Wasn't that good enough?
It wasn't bad — that's exactly why they're reusing Izubuchi
It's just that 2199 went off the rails partway through, so maybe Anno wants to fix that
Haven't heard that name in ages
The OVA version is a masterpiece
'Adesso e fortuna' is a god-tier track too
Yep, that's right
They didn't have an air dock yet back then
As far as Anno was concerned, by episode 21 of the TV series he'd already revealed that Rei Ayanami's true identity was Yui Ikari
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But nobody picked up on that at all, and Rei just became wildly popular, leaving him going 'huh?? huh??'
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That made it awkward to reveal that Kaworu's true identity was Gendo, or that Kaworu and Rei were actually a married couple
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But then Kaworu became wildly popular too, and he learned that leaving the mysteries unsolved is better for business
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So in the Rebuild films, he never revealed that Mari's true identity was Kyoko Zeppelin
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Fans kept yelling 'Mari's obviously based on his wife Moyoco! Cut the crap!' and that's where Anno and Studio Khara's story ends ← we are here
These old guys sure stick with it
I can't picture who's actually demanding these endless, plodding remakes
Is it just nostalgia keeping it afloat?
There was already a '真·Rider' ('True Rider,' a 1992 TV special) and he still went and made a 'シン·Rider' ('Shin Kamen Rider') — both read exactly the same way
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
The ‘Yamato’ franchise is a long-running property — 52 years since its 1974 TV debut, having marked its 50th anniversary in 2024 — and it already underwent one remake with 2012–2014’s ‘2199,’ for which Yutaka Izubuchi handled character and mechanical designs. What stands out about this new project is the pairing of that same Izubuchi with Hideaki Anno, who has built a track record of revisiting classic works through his ‘Shin’ series — ‘Shin Evangelion,’ ‘Shin Godzilla,’ ‘Shin Kamen Rider,’ and ‘Shin Ultraman.’ On the thread, this touched off a guessing game over ‘what’s getting the Shin treatment next.’ Opinions split over how much Yamato still resonates with younger audiences, with some arguing it’s propped up purely by nostalgic older fans, against others who pointed to the sheer impact of the work itself. Note: crude, unverifiable personal attacks regarding producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki have been excluded from this article.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread ‘[Movie] Hideaki Anno × Yutaka Izubuchi Present Theatrical Feature Anime ‘Space Battleship Yamato √(Route)2199’ — Production Greenlit, First Visual Revealed.’
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