CPF Reviews #3: Remember a Day-A "Star Blazers" Retrospective
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- Опубликовано: 4 окт 2024
- CPF takes a nostalgic look back at the series that began the popularity of Japanese animation in the US, and examines why it remains one of its best examples thirty years later. And yes, I'm fully aware that there's a remake series...this was made before it came out.
Amazing video my man! Informative and entertaining at the same time. A true gem :)
Thanks. I've done several on the various Harlock dubs, as well. I wasn't nearly so happy with those dubs, to put it in a nutshell.
21:59 I remember one very early viewing party (it might have even been at the first Yamatocon in 83! Since the entire 2nd season was shown there end to end. And then New Journey and Be Foever Yamato after that! Man what a day! ) when Dash utters that infamous line:
“Knox got out right behind you! “
There was a brief groan and then someone called out -
“Yeah! In little meaty chunks!”
And brought the house down so hard that the tape had to be paused in order to let everyone recover! 🤣🤣🤣
I watched Star Blazers when I was in kindergarten in 1979, and it had a huge impact on the person I would grow up to be.
Eddie Allen's portrayal of Desslok is outstanding. How did this guy not get anymore real work in voice acting???
I always enjoyed his take on the character...he has that great "I'm just too spoiled and powerful to care" aristocratic coolness about him, though I recall him saying in an interview that the recording of his voice sounded higher-pitched than he thought he was actually voicing at the time.
Thank you SO much for making this! This show was as important to me as a 10 year old as Star Wars was. It’s hard to explain what the 70s were like to friends who weren’t there, and this is one of the best I’ve ever shared with them. You really nailed it!
well, dont worry folks, star blazers is back. starblazers 2199 is remaking the series and IT IS FANTASTIC. it carries the same weight that the original did, and its in glorious modern animation. long live the Yamato!
Excellent retrospective! This show stood above the rest and here's why.
'Far above the standards of our own programming.'
Nailed it. Everything else on TV was puerile by comparison.
How many Shaggy variants did we need? ;-)
Still a great documentary. I needed a nostalgia fix and this always fits the bill.
Thanks. I only wish the audio in the wrap-up bit wasn't so damned tinny. I've also done a series on Harlock dubs on this channel.
I love star blazer I’m only 12 and I love it and this video ur the best
Brilliant video dude. Brilliant.
Dude, right on with this.
Every word 🤘🏻
I was utterly captivated by Star blazers as a young kid. New gravity and drama along with cinematic quality really sucked me in. I didn't know any of those words when I was watching it but that's why I loved it so much and still do. I am not an anime fan but I am definitely a star blazers fan
Wow, I had not thought of Star Blazers in decades. Used to be on TV every morning when I was 10 or 11 before I had to leave for school; I was hooked!
At one point, the series was airing such that I had to leave for school halfway through, so I actually took a big, clunky black-and-white portable TV in the car and watched it in the back seat with a blanket over my head to keep the glare off the screen. Nothing was going to keep me from my Star Blazers, not even bad time slots.
As much as I enjoyed watching Inspector Gadget I always wanted it to hurry up and be over because Starblazers came on right after it. Also, Sandors limps were artificial, he lost his real ones in a freak roller-coaster accident was he was a child- he detonated them to destroy a really really really important piece of equipment - loved the video thank you
I know the story of Sandor's artificial limbs...nevertheless, showing a man getting a leg shot off in combat wasn't the sort of thing one saw in '80s animated programming, no matter what the context.
Wow. This is amazing. Thank you!
I had the same experience coming to American in 1977. I hated US Saturday Morning cartoons. I was used to seeing Astro Boy and The Amazing Three (Japanese) or Czech animation in Lima, Peru back in the 70s. Star Blazers was stimulating intellectually even for a child. Filmation was the only US exception; Tarzan Lord Lord of the Jungle was okay despite the fact that its based on Edgar Rice Burroughs racist White man complex. The actual animated series never had any Black people but addressed ethics and morals. Thanks for the RUclips documentary. Really well made.
What I find interesting is that while Carl Macek laid the groundwork for American anime fandom via Streamline Pictures, he had nothing to do with the big bang that brought anime to the mainstream via Dragon Ball Z. And yet, he tried. In an alternate universe where the Harmony Gold dub of Dragon Ball was a success, we might have seen the Z fandom emerge years earlier with Macek at the helm. What could have been...
Great documentary! You put so much work into the editing! Awesome!
Thanks, though I kind of wince at the video quality now. The ones I'm doing today look so much better (I also started scripting them entirely in advance after this one, which feels a bit sloppy in places (I use the word "actual" way too many times, for example).
I'm subscribed now and trying to catch up.
That won't be hard. I've only recently been making these with any degree of rapidity.
This is a very good documentary. I am always recommending it to friends and acquaintances, people who can relate to a subject so dear to so many of us.
Used to hurry home from school so I wouldn't miss an episode
Same here.
I am glad I am not the only 50-year-old nerd who enjoyed Star Blazers
Not by a long shot, friend!
Yes; there's a few new bits on various aspects of the show, plus I added more scenes from the series over the boring parts of me in the chair, along with more music from the soundtrack, along with trimming some overlong parts. It's actually just slightly shorter than the old version.
Bravo! Well done sir!
22:00 Dash: well I didn't say he was ALIVE
I suppose, somewhat.
5:55
My point! As a child (albeit no one believes me), I wanted the Super-Friends to be more serious (like the comics) and get rid of the STUPID teenagers who flanked them and the teenagers' IDIOTIC dog, the same with the Wonder Twins' monkey. Serious animation, other than anime, would not arrive until I was an ADULT, with the advent of "Batman: The Animated Series". As contradictory as it may be, I love "The Transformers", too.
Starblazers was shown in a few US markets in '74.
Star Blazers, the US import version, didn't even exist until 1979. If there were any episodes shown before that, they were original Yamato episodes. I know several shows that were shown with some rudimentary subtitles on Kiku-TV, and possibly other networks.
Damn show made me late for school for half a year
I actually used to watch it on a portable TV on the way in. At the commercial break, we'd head out to the car, and then I'd watch the second half lying down in the back seat with a blanket over me and the TV to keep the sun glare off the screen. VCRs thankfully put an eventual end to that sort of insanity.
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks It was pulled off the air in South Florida when a group of teachers and parents raised a huge fuss because of kids being late and well the content of the show. The network showed ads for season 2 for months and on the day it was to premier there was some crap instead without a word of explanation. I only found out what really happened years later when I met this girl's mom who was a teacher and had been part of it.
Christ...parents. Why won't they shut up? There's a lot to miss about the 80s, but those gangs of Moral Majority thought police and their "ban everything" bandwagons are not amongst them.
As it turns out, Yamato 2199 is so much better than the live action movie. They actually kept the original spaceship designs, and didn't turn the Gamilons into the Drej from Titan A. E. 2199 is a true gem in my opinion.
I can't say it turned out that way for me...I only got about halfway through 2199 before I just lost interest. The father-son dynamic between Kodai and the captain (which the live-action film emphasized) was nowhere to be found, and I don't recall either of the two leads getting much character time, which instead was turned over to giving all the supporting cast backstories when I'd rather have spent time with Kodai and Shima. Also, the endless T and A shots just amped the pandering-to-nerds factor way too much.
That opening was pretty epic. The appearance of 7-Zark-7 right after it sort of quelled the granduer, though. It seemed to be a '70s thing: the intro to The Six MIllion Dollar Man was awesome, too. The show itself, not so much.
Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2199 is finally on Crunchyroll. The series is also on the Funimation site dubbed in English.
It's a pity the original series doesn't seem to be streaming anywhere. It's not even on RUclips anymore. All that's left are those lousy DVDs and whatever copies people made when it aired in the old days.
The owner of the distribution rights to Star Blazers, Voyager Entertainment, suspended all sales (of both the original and 2199) back in 2014. Near as I can tell, Voyager Entertainment is just some guy in Red Bank, NJ operating out of a small office building. Star Blazers is the only property the company owns, and he doesn't have the resources to do anything with it. After so many years of nothing, I was beginning to think Voyager would never sell the rights to someone competent for digital distribution, much less dubbing.
When the original series was on RUclips, it was part of the Manga Entertainment Channel. That channel no longer exists, although it's sister channel Manga UK is still around, but doesn't have Star Blazers.
Voyager used to be a one-man operation, but prior to dropping the sales of the existing DVDs, the Japanese arm of Voyager re-acquired the US company. It initially looked promising that they might be interested in re-releasing the series on a remastered blu-ray, but they suddenly severed all ties with the individuals who would've been doing the job and took down the existing website. It got rebuilt as ourstarblazers.com, but it devolved into unnecessary unpleasantness on their part. They could use a few pointers about how to and how NOT to establish a positive relationship with their core demographic.
I remember reading a few years ago that Voyager had gone to San Diego Comic-Con with an English dub of the first episode of 2199, but of course nothing ever came of it. I scoured the internet in an attempt to find anyone who had seen it, and found nothing. I'm not entirely convinced that it was ever made. I've been to ourstarblazers.com a couple of times, but the site's absurd layout and general kept me from returning with any regularity.
Corn Pone Flicks I managed to get all 3 seasons through Amazon streaming video last summer. I had to buy them (as opposed to any kind of rental), but my 7 year old loves it. I spoke to an Amazon rep, and he assured me that once I paid for it, it couldn't be taken from my library no matter who aquires the overall rights.
Sandy Frank's B.o.t.P. Intro and Outro were pretty awesome though.
Nice info about star blazer.
I like the 2199 compare to originals in some cases, but hey it's back to everyone taste, but I do know if I haven't watched the 2199 version I wouldn't know about this amazing franchise (I Stream the Star Blazer online from season 1 to 3 after finish watching the 2199)
Also some fun facts, the 2nd season of Original Space Battleship Yamato or the Star Blazer was modified, the original was supposed to be a movie called "Farewell Space Battleship Yamato" in this story, Yamato was completely lose and didn't get help from Teresa (the queen that takes the zordan out), many of the main characters die including the Doctor, The XO, and the Ace pilots, and the movie ended with Yamato, piloted by Kodai (Wildstar)with Yuuki (Nova) crashing to the comet empire, they both die.
However this version wasn't accepted even in japan because of the main character doing that kind of suicide runs, the remake of 2nd seasons (Space battleship Yamato 2202) use the Farewell Battleship Yamato version however, which is why maybe many fans doesn't seems recognize the plots.
The original second story WAS a movie called Arrivederci Yamato, which I've seen many, many times, and it was, in fact, incredibly popular. Young girls would throw bouquets of flowers at the screen when the hero sacrificed himself according to contemporary accounts, and the 2010 live-action movie also used that ending. The second season was originally going to end the same way, but it was changed along the way because it closed off the series for future installments.
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks very interesting
14:59 Is it just me, or does Zordar sound like he's voiced by Christopher lee?
I'm given to understand that there is a tradition in Japan's popular entertainments, that the main antagonist is given the deepest voice. I seem to recall seeing a clip from the original version, with Desslok speaking in a (Japanese) basso that bore no resemblance whatever to those rather fey tones of his that we Americans heard. Since Zordar is a much more thoroughgoing villain than Desslok, it makes sense for him to have the deeper voice - and I think it works marvellously. 😉
_schoolgirls fighting monsters_
But even there, the show went places no American cartoon would dare: scaredy-cat to brave, same-sex romance, personal sacrifice.
The harem shows are a bit of a guilty pleasure. I even started writing one of my own, but THAT would never make American TV either.
By the time those rose to prominence, though, you had American cartoons such as The Simpsons, which, though clearly very different, weren't kids' cartoons, either. Star Blazers/Yamato had something rather special beyond the simple allure of being different from domestic cartoons. It was always different from its surrounding media material...giant robot shows dominated the airwaves when the first series was released in Japan. It didn't conform to the cliches of the time. By the 90s, it seemed that cliches were all that was left. Giant Robo was the last thing I really liked. I basically tuned out after that.
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks
There were things which seemed to take a little from _Yamato._ _Macross_ had plucky humans dealing with an alien threat using alien technology they didn't quite understand, and even _Star Trek III: The Search for Spock_ had some suspicious similarities to the first few Comet Empire eps.
I was SO pissed off at the Sci-Fi Channel! A few years back they brought "Blazers" to there network and I thought, "Great! now a new generation can get a taste of classic anime." But they put in on at 2am on Weekdays! WTF? Needless to say it didn't last.
+Jetset906 Cartoon Network did the same exact thing.........
+jptang1701 Really? Geez cant any network get it right? I honestly believe that if they gave Blazers and maybe Battle of the Planets a decent time schedule, it would be revived hit. They could call it "Old School Anime".
Love your video!! Where did you get the video game footage animation from?
What video game footage?
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks Oh, I thought the CGI animation of captain aviators flagship at the begining of the video was from a video game.
@@DanThrams-md6ip No, I did that. I could do a damn sight better these days, but this IS a thirteen year-old video.
It's Space Battleship Yamato, not Space Cruiser.
It was written as "Space Cruiser" for decades before they decided to revise the name to reflect the more accurate translation. Every single book, poster, etc. that I own for the series refers to it as "Space Cruiser Yamato," and that's how I knew it growing up.
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks its a bit complex.. Even the main theme english version sang by Isao Sasaki himself uses the term "space cruiser" clearly.. However in the original japanese is clearly space battleship (Uchu Senkan) as thats what the original Yamato was classified as
@@Corn_Pone_Flickseven says as much in the end credits.
Star Blazers is very much alive and well.The series is on Hulu and Manga Entertainment on RUclips.If you really a hardcore fan,the original Yamato series and films (including the awesome Yamato 2199) can be seen online courtesy of Kissanime.
+Lee Jordan It's alive, but "well" is pushing it. The official releases of the second series are in absolutely terrible shape, and Voyager seems totally indifferent to the fact. My thirty year-old, six-hour speed off-air VHS copies sound better, which is why I used those to make my video, and not the DVDs. It's pretty shameful, especially given how many releases Robotech has had over the years.
+xerxestireirondada I've just finished watching the series on Hulu and begin watching the new series on Kissanime.And l agree,Voyager has done a poor job on the DVDs.Why won't they let Funimation do the releasing of this awesome series?
+Lee Jordan It wouldn't be that simple. I was in discussion on this subject for years with a friend who worked for Voyager, and the masters they were given after re-acquiring the series from Kidmark were already deteriorated. A new distributor wouldn't solve things. It would take a full-on Criterion-style restoration job, which would cost more money than they will ever spend on it. Hell, Voyager shut down the old official website and stopped selling the DVDs they had. All they seem interested in now is 2199. A thirty-six year-old dub of the original series isn't a priority for them.
+xerxestireirondada What do think is the difference between Yamato 2199 and the classic series? Also,I think some elements of 2199 was influenced by the Americanized Star Blazers.
+Lee Jordan I haven't seen all of 2199, so I can't say in any over-arching sense, but aside from the animation quality, 2199 has more fanboy pandering in the sense of sophomoric sexualizing of the female characters (rather undoing the progress it had made by including more of them), often for humorous purposes, and a lamentable lack of interest in developing either Kodai or Shima in favor of having backstories for Talan's assistant's janitor and such. Maybe it got better in its latter half, but I was disappointed in Kodai's portrayal, for the exact same reason I didn't like Rey in the new Star Wars: there's no room to watch your impassioned but inexperienced young hero grow and mature when they're already competent-verging-on-perfect. That's not a story arc, it's a story line, as in flat. The greater attention to accurate science was appreciated, but getting rid of the entire dynamic between the hero and his mentor wasn't. I liked the live-action movie much more for that reason: it remembered the emotional core of the original.
There's a new dubbed version of Yamato 2199 on kissanime, you should check it out. The subbed version is rather convoluted in my opinion, and at first I also disliked many of the changes. However, the dub is more coherent and gives you a better idea (as an English speaker) of what they were actually trying to accomplish with the changes they made.
I watched about half of the series, and just lost interest. It seemed an unnecessary attempt at reinventing the wheel. A decent dubbed version isn't going to change the fact that the two main characters got short shrift compared to what were supposed to be secondary characters in terms of development. The new Kodai is like Rey from the new Star Wars films: starts off really competent and in control, and stays that way. That's not a journey, it's a flatline.
Fair enough. If you didn’t like 2199, you won’t want to know what they did to The Comet Empire with 2202. Talk about putting your childhood in a blender... kind of made me feel like I did when I watched The Last Jedi, ironically...
My childhood is just fine. It already happened, and it's unchangeable. I don't resent people for making films or series I don't like, but nothing says I have to partake of them, either.
should do a new one with yamato 2199 and thoughts on the live action
I've never actually seen all of 2199, so that would require a bit more research that honestly, I'm unlikely to do. I wasn't really a fan of a lot of the changes. I did like the live-action film, though, because even though it was arguably even more different, they changed different things that I didn't mind nearly as much.
What were the changes on 2199 that you didn't like?
Well, I wasn't at all a fan of the fact that they basically got rid of the entire symbolic father/son relationship with Kodai and Okita, and made Kodai so level-headed and responsible from the get-go that there was little room for character growth. He and Shima both were really overlooked in terms of character, and instead we get more goofy scenes of Nurse Chesty McBoobsalot and such; more female crew members makes more sense, but having them all wearing thong leotards was ridiculous. I liked the more accurate science, and the battle scenes were cool, but I wasn't a fan of the Gainax-looking character designs. If I'd liked the handling of the plot more, I could've overlooked things like that more easily, but it just comes off to me like another unnecessary remake.
Fair enough, 2199 definitely did cater more to modern anime fanservice and tastes. I suppose it helps that I'm not a fan of the originals so I don't have much to compare it to.
Nurse Chesty McBoobsalot was nice, but I preferred Nurse Yuki Badonkadonk. Fan-service, you is my woman!
Have you added some new footage to this?
Good News there is a remake called space battleship yamato / star blazers 2199 i do recommened it
I saw about half of it, but lost interest. I still prefer the original.
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks was it in Japanese or the recent english dubbed version?
It was Japanese with subtitles. I've never seen the dub.
where di you get that ad at 3:36?
That was sent to me years ago by another fan of the show when I was trying to collect all the next-episode previews for a project that ultimately went nowhere. He had recorded it off of TV back when the show was new.
@@Corn_Pone_Flicks thank you! for the quick reply! dang. it's not posted anywhere?
@@tehcheef I don't know. All I know is how I got it.
24:33
What about it?
I just LOVE watching the Wave Motion Gun fire.
1:04 thats the problem with Star Wars resistance... i get its targeted at a very young audience.. but it was writen by someone who thinks 10 year olds are idiots who only want to see slips, falls, farts, bites, smacks and stupidity..
I've never seen that show, and based on that description I expect I never will. I haven't had any interest in Star Wars since Disney took it over...the only way they can seem to make their films feel like Star Wars is to just rip off the old films. When they venture into their own territory, they make it clear that they don't know what the hell they're doing.