"Space Cruiser Yamato III" (1980) "Uchû senkan Yamato III" (original title), TV series 1980-1981

Director:

Eiichi Yamamoto

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

11 October 1980 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Sci-Fi

Plot Keywords:

Honor | 23rd Century | Anime | Battleship

Cast

Kei Tomiyama

...

Susumu Kodai (unknown episodes)

Series Directed by
Eiichi Yamamoto		(unknown episodes)

Series Produced by
Yoshinobu Nishizaki	....	producer (unknown episodes)

Series Original Music by
Hiroshi Miyagawa		(unknown episodes)

Series Animation Department
Yoshinori Kanada	....	animator (unknown episodes)

Also Known As:

"Uchû senkan Yamato III" - Japan (original title)
"Star Blazers: Bolar Wars" - USA (dubbed version)

Runtime:

Japan:30 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Movie Connections:

Follows Space Cruiser Yamato: The New Journey (1979) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Yamato yo Towa ni (Be Forever Yamato)

Underrated chapter of the saga

Space Battleship Yamato III gets frequently overlooked in favour of it's predecessors - I believe a major contributor to this may be the fact that it's English-dubbed version, Bolar Wars, was released years later after Star Blazers and sporting an entirely new voice cast and a slipshod translation which didn't win it any favours.

The original version is, in my opinion, not merely as good as the previous two series but *better*. While the basic premise is pretty much the same, earth is in danger, Yamato heads out to get help...but that's where the similarities end. This time around, earth is in the same predicament as Gamilus was in the first series, and most of the series, Yamato (with several other unnamed ships which are implied to be upon the same task) seeks for another planet for humanity to migrate to. Somewhere deep in space, Desslok is engaging in a war against another superpower, the Bolar Federation, and soon Musumu Kodai and his friends are in the middle of this armed conflict. While Yamato spends much of the first half in battle, the story takes a turn into something far more interesting when Desslok discovers that Yamato is now involved in his campaign, and the story does not let go until the end.

Why does Yamato III rate better than it's predecessors in my opinion? It falls victim far less frequently the kind of stupidity series 1, 2 and especially New Voyage and Be Forever suffered from; namely characters foolishly getting themselves killed or acting just downright stupid for no reason and getting *others* killed instead (looking at you, Mamoru and Starsha).

If you enjoyed Yamato and Yamato II, you're going to enjoy Yamato III as well.