Reviews for Star Blazers: The Comet Empire

Well, as stated in my previous review, the first season of Space Battleship Yamato was excellent to me. I kinda wanted to have more of it. Luckily, the second season, the Comet Empire, appeared as I googled it. I had my doubts though, since Leiji Matsumoto could have blown the soul of the anime with a weird / not fitting sequel of what the great Quest for Iscandar was (somethig that is very common in movies /tv shows nowadays). Anyways, I decided to give it a try, so after 6 days and something of downloading (and me praying for seeders that never seemed to come!),I managed to watch all of the 26 episodes.

The story:

The Comet Empire? What the... ok, I was kinda skeptical when I heard about it. But the storymakers made it good. The new enemy of planet Earth is even more cruel and powerful than Gamilus and Desler were, much more I would dare to say. Lord Desler, a character I liked a lot in the first season, reappeared here (don't whine for this spoiler, he is present from very early on anyways!), which made things interesting. His revival was also credible to some point. Earth is then in danger again, but this time, it has somewhat of a force to defend against the White Comet. The Yamato needs to travel this time, but not to visit Starsha in Iscandar, but Teresa in Teresart! Although this might sound boring to you readers, it is not! The plot is very different from the first season. Many new characters appear, new ships, Yamato abilities and so and so on. I did also really like the fact, that this season presented battles ans scenarios in a much more tactical way than the presquel did, which someone like me, who likes strategy games or MMOs like Ogame or EVE, made me very happy. Another good thing about these chapters is the lack of cheesy and cliche romance between Kodai and Yuki that you would expect after the end of last season. They asume their roles in a very professional way and don't tend to occupy a lot of the plot with tears, kisses or other romantic bla bla. Violence/guns/explosions > romance! (at least regarding this anime). The ending did disappoint me, but just a very little tiny bit. Although good enough, I wanted jussssst a bit more action from the Yamato... Well I am not going to tell what happened!

So, I think story deserves a good 9.

Note: I think Star Wars, movies which appeared 2+ years after this anime, could have actually taken ideas and concepts out of it. One hint, the Death Star!(Don't get me wrong, I love Star Wars, i'm not critizicing any aspect of it, in any way!)

Art:

Although art was already very OK to me in the first season, I think the art department did really improve in this season. More vivid explosions, gun firing... Everything was better done this time. The battle scenes did also look very good to me, again, better than in Quest for Iscandar. I cannot forget about the new ships and features that were created for this season. The Andromeda looks very cool and stylish, the new enemy battleships did also improve and you can't forget a WOW at the end with the mega battleship from... Ok, no spoiler. Teresa was also well achieved, she looked pretty much as good as Starsha, so no complaints there. Well, as I said in my last review, it is a very old anime, you can't compare the artwork with today's one.

Leaving that aspect aside, art deserves a 10.

Sound:

Yes! The original opening from Isao Sasaki is also present in this season. His song was way to epic to be replaced by another one. Although the song about Teresa in the credits is not as good as Makka na scarf, it is good enough to make the credits be bearable :). Much of the good sound effects and ambience music were also included in this season. I think they did good, since most of the sounds were good enough to be replaced in just one year. Many new effects and atmosphere music were included though, most of them very good.

Can't say much more about this topic, so I'll just give it a good 9 for now.

Characters:

Well, without Okita, Kodai endeavours as the acting captain of the Yamato. He is much more mature than in the first season, and his decisions as a captain are also good in 95% of the cases. I have to say, he is much more likeable in this sequel. Shima also evolves in this season, I can't say why, because it would spoil the story. Sanada, intelligent as always, saves the Yamato from more than one situation, just as like last season. Definitively one of the best characters. Yuki, although a bit annoying regarding her love for Kodai, stays calm for pretty much the whole chapters. She is also a bit more mature now. One character I forgot last review was Analyzer, a robot that is also vital for the Yamato and it's crew. Hijikata, altough more tough than Okita, is as honorable as him, maybe a bit less intelligent, but his personality and actions are also cool. Well, the villains, Lord Zorder lacks the honor and intelligence that Desler had, but it suits his role. Desler, intelligent and also honorable as always, did not let me down this season. Genitz and the other guys, are also similar to other Gamilus generals. But Sabera, that stupid woman annoyed me a bit. But her foolish actions did save the Yamato a couple of times, luckily...

I can say that I liked Starsha more than Teresa. Teresa comes to be annoying to a certain point (i.e Watashi wa Teresa! (My name is Teresa) was probably transmitted 20 times to the Yamato crew, argh). Well, I forgive her, for her key role in the series and the power she has. I almost forgot Saito. He is also very annoying in the beginning, but you learn to appreciate his efforts in the end.

One thing I have to say is, that some crewmembers are not appearing in the third season :) (well, I think so at least, I need to watch it first). Anyways, characters, although some with tiny flaws, deserve a 10.

Enjoyment:

Oh my lord... I enjoyed every single second of this great sequel. The plot was so epic, the battles, the strategies, the drama,... Everything was very well achieved. I had to bite my nails in some cases, and watching only one episode at a time was not always possible ;). That Earth had somewhat of a defense made the battles more interesting (not only the poor Yamato needs to take the shots). Pew pew with the Wave Motion Gun(s!), planets been turned to dust... Things were so creative in this season, that the story planners need some kind of reward. Really. I think they do! Well, this season was without a doubt full with action and interesting scenarios. I am glad about it. Enjoyment has a 10!

Overall:

Who said that every sequel sucks / is worse than the first season / movie? The Comet Empire, although a rare exception, deserves to be one. I enjoyed every single aspect of it, every second. That I had to wait 6 days for its download... it was worth it! Well, the Quest for Iscandar fans might want to locate me and kill me. Chill guys, the Quest for Iscandar is still very good to me. But I think Matsumoto and his people improved with this season.

I recommend this sequel to everyone who liked Quest for Iscandar. In my opinion, the Comet Empire will not let you down... Be Forever Yamato!

(Btw, a 10 overall).

This story line was the second part of the overall story. It grew up in many ways from the first one. Better art work and direction, writing all added more to a good story. We saw Derik Wildstar (if that was his name or how it was spelled?) as a older, more mature person than in the first one. He fit into the Commanders shoes and learned wisdom. They had a terrible new enemy coming at Earth and so the Star force once again felt a need to help save others as well as earth. It had it's dumb parts as wellbut what can one say about that. everything has dumbness in it as well as greatness.

They met up with a old enemy from the first series who wanted revenge.

The Space battles were pretty darn good, a lot better than the first series but this is to be expected as they got better as they went, all the writers and artists and every part seemed to mesh better.

And Derik and Nova's love for each other really came together in this series. While it was not a love series or a soap opera they gave it just enough of a touch so it wasn't enough to screw up the series but just enough to make the expected come to pass.

It was again, a very good Science Fiction series that was matured and well worth watching.

Leiji Matsumoto is back yet again, and with the sequel to the 1974 Yamato, aka Star Blazer. After watching the first season, I not only wanted to watch more of Matsumoto’s work, but had to watch more Yamato. The other man of note was Kenzou Koizumi whom did storyboard and chief animation director (known for story board on Lupin III, animation Galaxy Express, list goes on forever). Now did the sequel live up to the original or did it turn out much like the anime sequels of today? Earth is about to be destroyed / conquered again, but this time by an alien race called the“Comet Empire.” Basically, they destroy everything in their path on their quest to conquer the universe... much like an alien race out of Doctor Who. Much like the original, Earth is at a technological disadvantage from the beginning, an attractive alien woman sends a mysterious message, so the Yamato treks out into space yet again. So very much like Yamato 1974. However, the anime starts out extremely slow without much of anything happening. Even the quest this time is unexciting, and missing the impending doom factor the original had.

When it came to art and sound, it was almost identical to the original all the way down to the theme music. Sure the theme of the Yamato was original and cool, but something a little different would have been nice. All the characters remained from the original, and much more mature. This makes sense since the crew had endured so much together from their quest to Iscander. However, this leaves all of the characters way too one dimensional.

Now, the action is intense after the slow start. The battles raged on with some tactics, but the wild tactics were not there, but actual strategy. This lead to an extremely good arc from middle to almost the end, leaving the viewer on the edge of their seat However, the slow start and the “cop-out” ending really hurt this show in the end. If you were a fan of the first one, this is a normal 26 episode show. Just get through the beginning, a couple annoying characters, and this is a fine sequel to the captivating original.

The second season of Space Battleship Yamato was a definite improvement over the original, while the story’s more or less the same, that story being the Yamato, the same one used by the IJN, underwent renovation to make it suitable for combat in space, by just kind of flying out of the ocean in pristine condition, and it is humanity’s last hope, and the Yamato must travel to a distant planet to find a mysterious woman and avert complete destruction by an evil empire. And that’s what they do, with how much the story is practically a rehash of the original, it seems strange tome that rather than seeking out the mysterious woman because she holds something that they need in order to live, they just do it because, apparently, if some voice over the space-radio tells you that it needs help, then you have to help, even if it’s light years away. Additionally, I rather liked how Gamilus, the Space Nazis from last time, needed to take Earth in order to live themselves, which gives them a little bit more depth than Gatlantis, who are just plainly evil and conquer everything because that’s just what evil people do.

If we actually look at the Yamato itself, it’s got some definite peculiarities, since you’d think that the Earth Defense Force would only make sure the very best are onboard, but the opposite seems to be true, you’ve got Kodai, Shima, Yuki, and Tokugawa, but everyone else seems to be complete muppets, it is a bit peculiar that, to give one example, the only doctor they could find to board the Yamato is perpetually drunk, but that is something I can perhaps dismiss since it’s being used for comic relief, what I can’t really overlook is Saito and the Space Marines under his command, who are about as well disciplined as the Chinese army in the 1890s, in other words, as undisciplined as conceivably possible, and Saito’s the worst of the lot, he should’ve been court-martialled after about 2 episodes, maybe if it was one incident I’d not make a big deal out of it, but for basically the whole season he just dosses about and compromises the rest of the Yamato, countless times, he gets to redeem himself exactly twice, but, point is, while not everyone has to be Duke Nukem (who should be here considering the existence of the EDF), it’s strange that the majority of the Yamato’s crewmen seem to be some of the most undesirable personnel imaginable. The size of the Yamato itself is a bit strange, since it looks about as large as the real Yamato (i.e. the size of an actual battleship), but it seems to have enough spare parts knocking about to repair it getting critically damaged any number of times, not to mention, the fact that at one point they said it had 3,000 Cosmo Tiger fighters, which is quite a fucking lot, and, more importantly than that, the presence of any fighters at all means that they turned the Yamato into a hermaphrodite battleship, what happened to death before dishonour?

But, that doesn’t matter, the story’s more or less the same as the last one, and there are some peculiarities, but this is also about the IJN Yamato flying out of the ocean to fight Space Nazis, so it clearly isn’t too big of a deal, the point that really determines if it’s any good or not are the moment-to=moment setpieces, how the space voyages go, and they go very well, the combat is certainly good, and in many instances the Yamato’s ways of getting out of things are a lot more intelligent than I’ve come to expect from the sci-fi genre, and plenty is shown from the perspective of Gatlantis, who’ve now got Desler on their side, and while the strategies are perfectly good from both sides, they do give a very good look at how things are going internally, with various factions developing within who attempt to discredit or usurp the other for various reasons, which just adds another layer to things. In the very beginning when the EDF are of importance there’s some interesting bits about the problems inherent in leaving war in the hands of bureaucrats, but there’s also the fact having a CiC Saito would be a disaster, it displays a conflict of ideals that can’t be resolved, and it’d have been interesting if this was a central theme, but it never really comes up again.

The animation is also far better than it previously was, it’s certainly got its issues, it’s obviously not quite up to modern standards, and sometimes the lip syncing isn’t actually in sync, and some movements will look a bit off, or a few other things here and then in that manner, but on the whole, it looks consistently good, and the action, the core of the series, holds up equally well, and the visuals of the Yamato and the various computers and radar systems are quite advanced, as well, all very well done.

Overall, the second season of Space Battleship Yamato is a definite improvement over the first, it (effectively) tells the same story, but with a great improvement to the visuals, characters, and writing, and on the whole, this produces a considerably better experience, while it might not be perfect, it’s not bad in the slightest.

This is a review that i wrote after i watched the first season of this show remastered , in other words Space Battleship Yamato 2199 . Also beware , there are spoilers ahead , and some big ones i might add . By the way , i will compare this with the Yamato 20199 , so if you didn’t watch that i suggest that you won’t read this . First of all i have to say this season had some plot holes that could've been avoided , spoilers incoming . In the end Teresa could've just teleported Kodai near Zorder and killed him there andshe wouldn't had to die . Yamamoto could've ejected not salute Kodai like a idiot and Saito would've lived if he didn't go Guns Blazing ...

For some reason i find anime this old influenced by cartoons of the same age , you will see what i am talking about if you will watch Yamato 2199 and after that this as a second season , and no , i am not talking about the animation , sound , voice acting and so on , from my point of view this lacked the anime feeling that nowadays shows have .

The biggest dissapointment was character interactions , in the first season ( Yamato 2199 ) when Yuki ‘ died ‘ our protagonist was devastated in the least , he acted , if you can say that , like a normal anime character , but when Shima ‘ died ‘ in the second season he was trembling for a few seconds after that he had nothing , but why would he , it was just his best friend that just died , he was a minor character like that Arakome guy ( Rookie ) after all .

And that’s not all it felt like there was some kind of distance between characters , they acted like robots or maybe that’s what I was seeing .

If we get passed this point there is still something that bothered me , the plot holes that I talked about earlier . There were a lot of chances to avoid stupid battles and stupid deaths , but for some reason the author wanted some of the crew to die just to get things more emotional , I for one don’t find that a good idea , some of you might think that I watched to much Bleach where characters refuse to die , but meaningless death is retarded , even in anime .

Ok , now that I said what I didn’t liked about this , let me say what I liked about this show .

Lets start with the story , a generic one , like the first season they take Yamato and go to a lady that summoned them for a reason that will be told after a few episodes . Personally I don’t dislike this kind of story , even if it was used a hundred times at least , but saving the Earth from bad aliens never gets old .

Animation is good if you think 30 years in the past , as some other reviewer said the animation was top notch then by those standards and I have to agree with him/her .

The OST is just perfect for this anime , better said it wouldn’t fit for any other show except this . The opening song is something very catchy and I found myself listening to it almost every eps , talk about weird , the music when Yamato was in danger or when it was almost certain of victory fit like a glove . But what could’ve they done better was the sound of the engines of the ships and those lasers , damn that sounded like someone scratched the blackboard .

I think I said enough of the characters , if I will add some more someone might trace my IP and wait for me at nearest corner with a bat .

For some closure I will say that this could’ve been done better , but still I found this rather enjoyable .

My only wish is that this season and the third one will get a remaster version .

Thanks for reading .