Arrivederci Yamato - Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato 720p - (1978 Lang: Japan, Russian, Sub: English Russian)

Saraba uchû senkan Yamato: Ai no senshitachi:

The Comet Empire!

This movie was even better than Space Battleship Yamato the movie The Comet Empire threat made Gamilus look like wimps. Was the Comet Empire "ship" larger in size than the artifical Dark Nebula Empire planet in Be Forever Yamato or the giant Urban Satellite Uruk in Final Yamato? Arrivederci Yamato was also darker, with many more deaths and noble suicides of major characters. Every time you think the Arrivederci story ends, surprise! the Comet Empire has another trick up its sleeve. I heard a rumor that the Japanese fans were so outraged at Arrivederci basically ending the storylines that they demanded more Yamato, and so Space Battleship Yamato 2 the series was made, with Telezart having a much bigger role, Desslar/Desslok and Kodai/Derek Wildstar switching roles during their final confrontation, and the Dreadnought blasting Earth instead of the Moon. Arrivederci was less confusing than the sometimes choppy plot of Space Battleship Yamato the movie, except for the ending where you can completely misinterpret what happens w/o some kind of translation if you don't speak Japanese. This is the only entry in the 5 movies and 3 series where the Earth Defense Fleet kicks major alien buttocks.

Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato (さらば宇宙戦艦ヤマト 愛の戦士たち Saraba Uchū Senkan Yamato Ai no Senshitachi, literally "Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato: Warriors of Love"), also called Arrivederci Yamato, is the second film based on the classic anime series Space Battleship Yamato (known as Star Blazers in the United States). The same storyline was reused and expanded on later in the year on TV in Space Battleship Yamato II, albeit with a more upbeat ending.

The Yamato and her crew face the onslaught of the Comet Empire, a civilization from the Andromeda Galaxy that seeks to conquer Earth, led by Zwordar the Great (Prince Zordar in the English dub). The Earth ship is aided by an antimatter woman, Teresa of Telezart (known as Trelaina in the English dub), while the Comet Empire has revived Earth's greatest enemy, the Gamilas' leader Desslar, who is eager for revenge. After an immense battle destroys the forces of both Earth and the Comet Empire, the Yamato destroys the White Comet's cover, revealing the Empire City that hid inside it. After a long battle, Susumu Kodai orders everyone else off the Yamato before ramming her into the Emperor's ship head-on, sacrificing his life and the ship to defeat Zwordar and save humanity.

Even as a dyed-in-the-wool Star Blazers fan with the Comet Empire series ingrained somewhere in my brain, I still watched this on the edge of my seat. Granted, there are differences--big differences--and those differences alone make it worth watching. I do like the mecha aspect, but it's the human dynamic captured by this film that sets it above all others. All I'm going to say, though, is that if I were Yuki Mori, I would have found another love interest sometime before the film begins. But hey, that's me. It's true that this film aroused such a response in Japan that the Comet Empire series was made to meet audience demand. An issue of the comic (yeah, okay, I'm a real geek) explained the various scenarios depending on what storyline you're following. Thus this film is both the end and an interesting diversion. Take your pick.

You'd think I hadn't been through this story before...