In the very early story planning of the original animated series, the antagonists were faceless aliens, which the humans never saw, called the "Legendra." At different points in the planning, the aliens were non-corporeal and non-humanoid, respectively. So, Director Yamazaki went all the way back to the early stages of the original series — which most diehard YAMATO fans in Japan are very familiar with. So, those things were interesting takes to me, when he employed them in his film. As for the ending, he just took the most famous — and celebrated — ending from the original YAMATO films, FAREWELL, YAMATO (1978) for maximum emotional response. This, of course, left no room for a sequel. My only problem was using this ending, as they could have easily turned the story into a trilogy. But, no matter — it's still the best live-action YAMATO film ever produced.  

If the Americans do get to produce their own film — dusting off the failed attempt in the mid-1990s by Disney — it will most certainly be adapted from the US version, STAR BLAZERS, since Voyager Entertainment (who owns the North American rights), does not have the rights to the Japanese versions, names, etc. Those rights are held by Tokushinsha Co., Ltd. I also do not give a wit if a US version calls the ship the "Yamato" or not — although that would be cool — but I don't think that it should be the Arizona, either. If we're doing STAR BLAZERS in live action, let's just stick to "The Argo"!

Last Edited By: Hachigatsu Sep 20 11 8:51 PM. Edited 1 times.