BE FOREVER AND EVER Part 1
This month, Voyager Entertainment brings the fourth of the Space
Battleship Yamato movies to DVD, the magnificent (and still unequalled)
Be Forever Yamato. Originally released to theatres in August
1980 (between The New Voyage and the third TV series),
it accomplished the impossible, it actually topped its predecessors.
In an unbroken chain of blockbusters, this one busted the biggest
block. Everything about this movie was big, from the premise
and the film format right on through to the promotional events
that lead up to release. You'll be able to read about all
of it in detail in the special features on the new DVD, which
(in the true spirit of Be Forever) also tops its
predecessors. In addition to the film's trailer and program
book (presented in the same format as on previous DVDs), you'll
find extensive "making of" stories, art galleries,
and a huge photo-essay on the promotion of the film which included, get
this, an ocean cruise on a ship painted to look like the
Yamato.
Meanwhile, we present two essays on the film that were originally
published in Japan, one at the time of release and one more recent.
A true classic can always be identified by the praise of reviewers,
especially when that praise is undiluted by the passage of decades.
The first essay was originally published in a 1980 issue of OUT,
the monthly anime magazine that cemented the popularity of Yamato
in its early days and continued to cover the saga in detail.
The focus of this essay was Yamato music, and the writer was
Usuke Kitazawa.
A SERENADE DEDICATED TO YAMATO: TO THE LAST COUPLE OF THE EARTH
As I watch the film and listen to the music, the vocal introduction is wonderful. The vocalist, Ms. Kazuko Kawashima, who is very active, also sang the theme for another series, Space Soldier Baldios. When her voice, which is filled with sadness, floats through space, I am absorbed into the world of 2199, the world of Yamato.
The songs presented in other Yamato productions all have the basic theme of "love." Space Battleship Yamato," the main theme, shows young peoples' potential and empowerment through the brave Yamato which travels in space. The romance of departure is presented in the ending theme, The Scarlet Scarf. In The New Voyage, we have the hope and separation of Yamato, which takes off to save Mamoru and Stasha Also, in Sasha My Love, we feel the motherly love of Queen Stasha. These songs not only shape love in different ways but also show the humanity of the drama.
The success of Yamato's music lies in its thorough use
of acoustic symphonic sounds, avoiding synthesizer and other
electronic instruments. Though Yamato is set in space, the drama
is about humans. If the score relied too much on the fad of synthesizer
or electronic sounds, the music would not last 10 years or 20
years. In particular, strings, brass, woodwind, and percussion
instruments are divided in narrow parts and used in accordance
with the characters and sequences. This method accents the picture
and clarifies the theme. Such a method, which started with Disney,
is completed with Yamato as "music which listens with eyes."Yamato music is unique in that it creates magnificent symphonic sound by arranging minor melodies, which Japanese favor, with tight and spicy rhythm. This expresses with sound the Japanese style of love (preferential of tragic feelings) as the basis for the drama. It is clearly shown in the song performed by Kenji Sawada for the finale of Farewell to Yamato when comrades die one after another and Kodai uses a suicide attack to destroy the White Comet.
In "Be Forever Yamato," I am impressed with the melody "Sasha" which
expresses the emotion between Sasha and Kodai with guitar, piano
and violin. Also, the effective use of synthesizer and vocals
at the beginning of the movie is a new side of Yamato. The theme
of "to love, to believe" is expressed in Hiromi Isawaki's
finale song, Galactic Legend. Yamato shows different forms of love; the love between Kodai and Yuki, the sibling love between Susumu and Mamoru, the love between Stasha and Mamoru, the strange friendship between Dessler and Kodai, the love from Stasha to Sasha, they fight and get hurt in order to protect their love. In their world, you cannot protect love without fighting. In their world, you need to create the happiness of tomorrow with your own hands.
I want to dedicate a serenade to the ending of this movie. The fight will go on and the war will be endless. But when you are cornered to the extreme and you can depend on nothing but yourself, when you desire a brief rest, being exhausted by fighting, a march or a ballad would be too sad. Only a serenade would be appropriate.