Interview with Koichi Yamadera as Deshler! Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Warriors of Love - Chapter 4 - Tenmei-Arc" "I am extremely grateful" for the first postrecording in almost 4 years

The theatrical screening of the animated film "Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Warriors of Love Chapter 4, Tenmei-Arc" will finally begin this weekend on January 27 (Saturday), and a long interview with Koichi Yamadera, who plays Deshler, has arrived.

Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Warriors of Love" is a sequel to "Space Battleship Yamato 2199," a remake of the classic "Space Battleship Yamato" that became a hot topic. As the title suggests, the film is inspired by the 1978 animated film "Farewell Space Battleship Yamato: Warriors of Love." Three years after Yamato completes its voyage to Iskandar, the threat of the battle nation of Gatlantis, the Imperial Star, looms over a recovering Earth, and the Yamato crew faces a new voyage to confront it. The executive producer is Shoji Nishizaki, the director is Nobuyoshi Habara of "Blue Sky Fafner," the assistant director is Makoto Kobayashi of "Space Battleship Yamato: Resurrection," and the series composition and screenplay are by Harutoshi Fukui of "Mobile Suit Gundam UC. The fourth chapter, "Tenmeihen," the latest in the series, is scheduled to be screened from January 27, 2018 (Saturday).
⇒Animation Film Screening Schedule

Following the recently released interview with Daisuke Ono, who plays Susumu Ancient, we now bring you a long interview with Koichi Yamadera, who plays Deshler.

It has been almost 4 years since the end of "2199". How do you feel about playing the role of Death Rider after such a long absence?

Yamadera: The poster for Chapter 4 says, "It's been a long time, Yamato people..." I felt exactly the same way. In "2199," we had to separate the Yamato side and the Gamilas side to enter the studio due to the large number of people, and we also had to record separately, so I didn't have a chance to record with everyone. I was very nervous, though I could say only one word: "I am extremely grateful.

─ ─ The third chapter was really the last word. So the waiting time must have been quite long?

Yamadera: The postrecording was done for each episode, so it took about 30 minutes, but I had not been involved in "2202" at all, so I was waiting while learning from everyone. My wife (Rie Tanaka) has been playing the role of Rei Yamamoto for a long time, so I had heard most of what was going on, but I had not actually seen the full anime.　What do you mean?" (laugh).
(laughs) As someone who has watched "Space Battleship Yamato" since the first grade of junior high school, I was very curious as a Yamato fan about how it would be different from the old days. As was the case with "2199," I wondered what would be the same and what would be changed in "2202" from the original work. I don't need to worry about every single thing, because the former works are great and they are definitely built on them, but a new Yamato is being born and it is expanding rapidly. Each camp has many things going on, and each character is deeply drawn. It's the same with all the characters that come out. And yet, it makes sense in many ways. It is very detailed. We will see glimpses of this in the fourth chapter.

─ I am also interested in the position of Dessler and his state of mind.

Yamadera: Yes, Deshler is one of them. We have a vague idea of his current position based on the past situation and Zoeder's words, but we can only imagine what has yet to be said. But, of course, it's a gut feeling, isn't it? Of course, in "2199" it was with the crew of Yamato, but this time it is Gatlantis and Deshler. Now, Gamilas has formed a coalition with Earth, and the Yamato has Gamilas people on board.... Deshler's position is also completely different from the original "Saraba" and "Yamato 2" to begin with.

─ ─ If that is the case, will the words "Show me your persistence" that Zhoder says to you at the end of Chapter 3 be a key phrase that goes beyond just addressing Yamato?

Yamadera: I cannot go into details. It's even deeper because it's different in many ways from the original work. It is about what Deshler is for.... Now that Gamilas has formed a coalition with Earth, there is a view that "this is no time to talk about personal grudges," but on the other hand, that battle with Yamato was not for personal gain, but for the nation of Gamilas. It is very interesting to see what Dessler's thoughts are and what he does in "2202.

─ ─ When you did the recording for the first time for "2202," did the sound director make any requests such as "this is how the story will unfold, so this is how you should act"?

Yamadera: There was no such request (laughs). (Laughs.) All he said was, "You will play an active role," and we had to read it from the script. It was only recently that I was shown a memo written by Mr. Fukui that I could not show to outsiders, saying, "This is how it is going to turn out. There, I learned a lot of things about Dessler. That was the first time I learned many things. I was like, "Why didn't you tell me about this earlier? (Laughs.) Maybe I learned a little bit during the postrecording, but no, not at all. Director Habara has been a great help to me since my debut. He also helped me with "Bogman the Super Sound Warrior" and "Shurat the Sky Warrior," and since we are of the same generation and have worked together in this way, I was very much looking forward to it, and I thought he would tell me a lot, but nothing special happened... (laughs).
Maybe it would actually be better to know everything, but I don't know. But each line in the script made sense to me, or rather, there was a part of me that said, "I see. So I acted the role as I imagined "that must be what it means. There are many good lines in this fourth chapter.

Yamadera: If you have a favorite line, please let us know.

Yamadera: "It's been a long time, Yamato boys" is a famous line that I used to imitate when I was a child. It is used here at the beginning of the film, but I wonder under what circumstances it will be said in the main part of Chapter 4. Of course, he says it when confronting the ancients, but it is very important to know how he feels and where he says it. I would like you to watch this part of the film.
I grinned when he said, "It seems that nothing has changed on that ship. (laugh) I don't know if I'm saying this myself, but I think it's Deathler who says these lines, and I find him attractive. The nostalgia of meeting them after a long time, and the feeling that they haven't progressed in any way. You can imagine the feelings of Death Rider in many ways. He doesn't show his heart, so of course he doesn't take his words at face value, but there is a lot going on behind the scenes. It changes depending on who he is talking to, so I hope that you will actually watch the movie and see what he says.

─ ─ On the side of Deathler is Mill of Gatlantis, isn't he?

Yamadera: The conversation with Mill is interesting. To be honest, there are not that many facial expressions in the picture, so I was trying to find out what to say without hesitation and what to say with a grin to be effective.

─ Speaking of the "60-second theater trailer," I was surprised to see you firing the Dessler Cannon.

Yamadera: It came out of nowhere. I thought it appeared suddenly at the end of the third chapter, and then it was shot in the fourth chapter, so I thought it was too soon. And since it is the Dessler gun, it might as well end here (laughs). Unfortunately, this is the end of this series.... But for those who are looking forward to the future, rest assured the work will continue. The title may change. Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Dessler's Arc" (laughs).

─ ─ That's a long time (laughs).

Yamadera: Then it will be "Space Battleship Neu Dessler" (laughs).

───Although it is not used in the PV, I heard that you have a favorite cool line in the scene where the Deathlrah cannon is shot.

Yamadera: It's a really good line. I can't tell you about it before the screening, but I don't know how to explain it... I am speaking in general terms, but for Dessler, I can take it as if it is about himself, and I think this is something that everyone can relate to. It could be a key word for us now, I would say it is the most important, but it is also a double-edged sword, we could lose everything. I'm not sure what to say about that.
Not only Deshler's lines, but also the relationships between the characters in "2202" are naturally connected to our lives today. It is good that you can sympathize with the same parts of the characters as yourself, or even if they do not overlap with you at all, you can convince yourself that "that's what it was all about" if you change your perspective just a little bit. It is like what we were taught in our moral education class when we were small children: "Put yourself in the other person's shoes. You may think, "Why do I have to put myself in the shoes of the Gatlantians?" But I think that's what the staff wanted to depict in this film. People who seem to be a bunch of barbarians, a bunch of unbelievable people with no feelings, are actually.... They really do have feelings for each other, but what's in their hearts..." That's what I wanted to portray in this reboot of "21. I think this is one of the great things about "2202," which is connected to the "2199" reboot. Chapter 4 shows a lot of that, and Chapter 5 goes even further... (laughs).

─ ─ Last but not least, could you give a message to the "Yamato" fans and Death Row fans who are looking forward to Chapter 4?

Yamadera: It has been a long time . Deshler has finally made his appearance, and now everyone will be able to see him in action. Of course, there are many other characters in "2202" that you may be interested in. In this fourth chapter, we will gradually unravel the mysteries that you have been wondering about these characters. New developments are also waiting for you. Chapter 4 "Tenmeihen". We hope you will enjoy it in the theater and on the big screen.

Movie Information
Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Warriors of Love Chapter 4 "Tensei-hen
Limited theatrical screenings at 29 theaters nationwide from January 27, 2018 (Saturday).
All seven chapters of the series will be screened sequentially in theaters.

Special limited edition Blu-ray on sale at theaters for the first time
Digital cell-phone version will also be available at the same time.

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