Interview with "Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Warriors of Love" Chapter 7 "Shinsei-Arc" <Final Chapter>! What happened to the astonishing ending?　We asked series composer Harutoshi Fukui!

Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Warriors of Love," which began screening in theaters in February 2017, has finally come to an end with the final chapter, "Shinsei-hen," currently showing in 35 movie theaters nationwide.

Yamato's long voyage, which lasted about two years, has now come to an end, but what is of interest is how the film will end. Will they prepare a different ending from the shocking suicide attack depicted in "Farewell Space Battleship Yamato" made about 40 years ago or ......? We interviewed Harutoshi Fukui, the series composer and screenwriter of this film!

Whether you have already completed the last voyage or are about to witness the final act, we hope you will read through the interview to the end!

The last part of the final chapter will probably make you cry 100% of the time when you actually see it on film!

--The long "Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Warriors of Love" finally comes to an end with the seventh chapter, "Shinsei-hen.

Fukui: I think fans are wondering whether the film will end with a suicide mission like the previous "Farewell Space Battleship Yamato" and "Space Battleship Yamato 2" (hereafter referred to as "the previous works"), or whether it will end with everyone just surviving. I can tell you clearly that it will be neither.

--In the interview I asked you about before, you also said that you did not want to do the same thing.

Fukui: That's right. If you ask me which way I will go, I won't go either way.

--I'm looking forward to it. I am curious about the development of the last part of the film, but from your point of view, do you feel that it went well?

Fukui: I saw the finished film, and at that point I thought it was 100% successful. Whether or not it would be acceptable to everyone is another story entirely, but the reason I took on "Farewell Space Battleship Yamato" in this era was precisely because I had this last part in mind, and in that sense, I was able to give form to what I had initially thought of.

--So you had a rough idea of the direction or landing point of the ending when you were offered the film?

Fukui: Yes, I did. I had an idea of where it would end up.

--So, the storyline was moving toward the point where you thought it should end up?

Fukui Yes, that's right. I think we got into it well.

--Fukui Well, it was a work of art that I was very proud of, wasn't it?

Fukui Well, that is always the case after making a film. After making the film, I can only reflect on it. But in this day and age, if I were asked to make "Farewell Space Battleship Yamato" under certain conditions, this would be the only way to end it! I think I have done enough to be able to say, "This is the only way.

--The catchphrase for this seventh chapter, "Shinsei-hen," is "Defying all expectations, we are on our way to the true 'last' part. I know there are many things you cannot say at this point, but can I assume that there is a very surprising development waiting for us at the end of this work?

Fukui: If I try to explain it in words, it may not be that big of a deal. But if you actually see it on film, you will probably cry 100% of the time. The older you are, the more you cry.

--Fukui: So it seems that "love" in "Warriors of Love," which is the main theme of the film, and "karma," which is often mentioned in the film, will be deeply involved in the final chapter as well.

Fukui: That is exactly right. I don't like to say this because it is a commonly used phrase, but when asked the question, "If you were to sum up this work in one word, what would it be? I think "It's your story" is the best way to put it.

--Fukui: I mean, it could happen to anyone, and it could be anyone's story?

Fukui: Well, the situation in Japan is quite different today than it was about 40 years ago when the old films were made. I think that the considerable difference has accumulated in a state of stress for many people around our age. So the story is about people who are under the same stress and are cathartic in the same way.

--I see. I would like to change the subject, but towards the end of the film, we see more changes in the characters on the Gatlantis side rather than the Earth side.

Fukui: In the old works, Gatlantis is depicted as a symbol of power, rather than as a human being. It was a symbol of the oppression of the youth and a symbol of the society that will be swallowed up in the future. In other words, it is "globalism. I think it was the old work of 40 years ago that said "No!" to the "power" that told everyone to study for entrance exams and prepare for the coming money-rights-oriented world.

But the generation that is making and watching this film now is from a world that has already been swallowed up long ago. If I were to say the same thing to them again, it would not resonate at all. So, when I asked myself what the root of their (Gatlantis') thinking was, I came to the conclusion that all human beings tend to go in that direction. Perhaps even the earth could have taken such a future. In that sense, the earth may be fighting against the worst future of another earth.

--I think that the difference between the situation in Japan 40 years ago, when the old film was made, and the situation in Japan today has a strong influence on this film. In the period when the old films were made, there was a strong atmosphere of Japanese people fighting with their unique spirit against the American-oriented materialism that was threatening to overtake Japan, but now there is not that much difference between the two countries.

Fukui: Yes. Japan has long since moved in that direction.

--Fukui Yes, Japan has long since moved in that direction.

Fukui Yes, yes.

We have all been killing off the "ancient progressives" in our hearts one by one.

--Fukui: The "time fault" is one of the keywords of this work, and it will lead the earth down the path of military expansion. But on the other hand, it also serves as a deterrent to Gatlantis. In response to this great contradiction, the crew of Yamato, as well as top-class personnel such as Hijikata and Yamaminami, are beginning to feel that perhaps they were wrong.

Fukui: It's not so much that they were wrong, but rather that they realized that if they continued as they were, there would be terrible things awaiting them in the future. However, if I were to ask if there were any other options, I would not be able to say that there were, and I could not stop now. That is the situation we are in now.

--Although there are contradictions, this is the only option.

Fukui: In Japan today, there are many things that we rely on even though we think it is a bad idea. This is one of the symbols of such things. Wave motion guns are one such example. Actually, everything will be revealed in the last chapter (laughs).

--(Laughs.) Wow, I'm curious! (Laughs) However, I feel that the current situation in Japan is closely incorporated in this work.

Fukui: For example, when we are in an economic recession like we are in now, even if someone manages to turn the economy around, what if he says that would be a breach of a promise to a benefactor? It is not a formal contract, but an oral agreement, which is not usually accepted in the adult world. But for the person concerned, it may be unavoidable and the most important thing in order to survive. In the old Yamato era, I think there were many people who sympathized with such a way of life. At least in the world of fiction. But if we did that now, it would be nothing more than a pictorial illusion.

In that sense, Susumu Koshin is a man who has the good old values we know and love. He is playing out in the world of the year 2202 to show how out of place he is in today's 21st century Japan. But in the hearts of people of our generation, he is still there somewhere. That he is suffering very much. How many times have we betrayed "him" in our hearts each time we have grown up and entered society over the past 40 years? How can he be regenerated, or not, after being wounded each time? It is the "time fault" as something to make everything converge in such a place. In that sense, the previous work "Space Battleship Yamato 2199," which left us with the homework that we should not use the Wave Motion Cannon, was really significant. Without this, we would not have been able to do it. If it had not been for this setup, I might have done the same thing.

--The secret of that will be revealed in the final chapter.

Fukui: Regarding the Wave Motion Gun, in the middle of this work, I said, "Don't worry about it alone; we should all carry it. Let's all live our lives being aware of what we are carrying on our backs." This is, so to speak, a deception of words. After all, the more guns we fire afterwards, the more debt accumulates in our hearts. That is what we have to do about it.

--Once again, "love" is a major theme of "2202," and I think that many different forms of love were presented in this film. Most recently, there was the story of Saburo Kato, a crew member of Yamato, who betrays Yamato in order to keep his own child alive. It would be easy to condemn Kato, but when I put myself in his shoes, I find this story of love to be very poignant.

Fukui In the end, we have been killing off the ancient advancements within us one by one. This is how we remember them. So I think it was extremely stressful for the viewers. But if they don't remember this stress, they won't feel the catharsis of finally recovering from it. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that there is no work more unsuitable for people who watch anime as a way to escape from reality (laugh).

(laugh) -- You have to worry while watching it, don't you?

Fukui But I think that's how fiction was originally meant to be, and "Yamato" and "Gundam" are still popular today because they took a step away from just being fun anime and went in a different direction, and they are definitely different from heroic works. So we decided to go back to the basics.

--Did you succeed in fulfilling the theme of "Warriors of Love," which is also in the subtitle, throughout "2202"?

Fukui: As you can probably tell from watching the film so far, "Warriors of Love" is, in a sense, an ironic title. It does not affirm love at all. Rather, it is about how much we must betray ourselves for the sake of love. The story so far has been about how humans cannot live this long without betraying their original "justice," "beliefs," and human ideals at every moment because they have come to know love. If that is the case, then the choice of "right" or "wrong" comes at the end, and it is not God, Teresa, or Zoeder, but the people who are watching this work who will decide. People who have not been on the screen before will make the final choice. That is how it should be.

In the final chapter, the viewer is confronted with a final choice. What would you do then?

--Fukui: The director, Mr. Habara, was very helpful.

Fukui: The director, Mr. Habara, did a very good job of organizing the production site. At the production site, there is a tendency that when one thing becomes difficult, the entire production site becomes tense. When things are about to get tense, the director's skill is tested by how well he or she can alleviate the tension. In that sense, Mr. Habara was tough. It was really tough, but I think he held up well and made it through to the end.

--Fukui: I have a feeling that the total workload for this film was much larger than for a typical animated film.

Fukui: Everyone is a veteran, so we did our best not to waste time on unnecessary steps. The screen looks as if it has been enhanced to a certain extent, but I felt that they were doing what they could do smartly. I learned a lot from them. There are various ways of making a film, depending on the work.

--I think you were able to entrust the work to us with a sense of security.

Fukui: I'm not so sure that I could trust them with my work. I was deeply involved in the project from its inception, and I had to bear about half of the responsibility, so it was very difficult until the very end. I left the drawing to them completely, but I took care of the storyboarding as well. I also worked hard on the final sound work.

--I was also involved in the final sound work with a lot of gusto.

Fukui: That's right. There were no major breakdowns, but it was very hard work to avoid major breakdowns (laughs).

(laughs) -- Finally, now that your great voyage through "Yamato" has come to an end, please tell us how you are feeling now.

Fukui: To be honest, I don't feel that it is over until the film is screened in theaters, but I would like people to watch it anyway, because a work is not complete until everyone has seen it. It is often said. This time, without exaggeration, we are going to a different place from what you might imagine when you hear the words "Space Battleship Yamato".

I was working on "Gundam (UC/NT)" in parallel with this work, and I thought that both works were truly Japanese. Everything is symbolic of Japan, even the shape of the ship Yamato is symbolic of Japan. I was naturally drawn to something Japanese, not only because the characters are all Japanese, but because of that, I ended up talking about how Japan is today in relation to the old works of 40 years ago.

But we were not just criticizing something or raising an issue; we were saying, "Let's think together and be cathartic together. If we could do that, then I thought it would be meaningful to re-create the tragedy of 40 years ago. I feel that I have done everything I initially thought I could do. I hope that everyone will watch the film and feel something from it.

--Fukui: It certainly makes you think about a lot of things, doesn't it?

Fukui: There is certainly a lot to think about until the halfway point, and at the end you are faced with a real choice, so you will feel like the baton has been passed on to us. Up until now, various characters have been forced to make a devil's choice, but in the final chapter, it finally comes to the audience. What would you do? The question "What would you do?