Taro Hakase joins the theme song for the completely new theatrical version of Yamato 2199, "Hoshiguru Ark!　He will play the violin to "that melody of Yamato that I was crazy about".

Taro Hakase will sing the theme song from the animated film "Space Battleship Yamato 2199: Ark of the Stars," which will be released on December 6, 2012.

Space Battleship Yamato 2199: The Ark of the Stars," which will be released on December 6 as a completely new work of the hit "Space Battleship Yamato 2199," which was produced by a new staff based on the first TV series in 2012, and "Space Battleship Yamato 2199: The Ark of the Stars," a special compilation film that looks back at the already released chapters 1 to 7 from a new perspective, which will be shown in theaters on October 11, 2012. Space Battleship Yamato 2199: The Voyage of Recollection" will be screened in theaters on October 11. In addition to the festive mood created by the consecutive releases of the film, production of a Hollywood live-action film version of "STAR BLAZERS" (tentative title) has begun in earnest, with the aim of releasing the film in 2017 or 2018.

This time, world-renowned violinist Taro Hakase will participate in the main theme song "Space Battleship Yamato 2199". In addition, it has been decided that an album "Space Battleship Yamato 2199 40th Anniversary Best Track Image Album" containing image covers of Yamato songs will be released on December 3, 2012, together with his labelmates* of the music label "HATS," for which Taro Hakase himself serves as the general music supervisor. The album will be released on December 3. The album will also include "YRA Radio Yamato HATS Special Edition" featuring Aya Uchida (Yuria Misaki) and Eriko Nakamura (Mikage Kiryu) as personalities.

Participating artists: Taro Hakase (Vn), Hiroki Kashiwagi (Vc ), Iwao Furusawa (Vn), Yukie Nishimura (Pf), Weiwei Wu (Erhu), Chisako Takashima (Vn), Yuji Toriyama (Gt), Guest artists: Takeshi Hakeda (Pf /guest), Yoshie Suzuki (Vo /guest), Arr. Arranged by Takeshi Hakeda, Yuji Toriyama, Hiroki Kashiwagi

Taro Hakase comments
When I first heard about this project, I couldn't believe it. I was surprised at the ideaof playing this song, which has a strong image of a song, on the violin.I wassurprised and at the same timeexcited to be able to playthat melody of Yamato, which I was crazy about as a child.I am truly honored, and at my age,each of my jobs is linked tomy life up to now, and I think it must become so again, so I am really happy.I really wanted to create a sound that had an image of thepastbut could only be created now. It's very nostalgic when you hear it quickly, but it's very exciting when you listen to it closely. So it has a beat and a modern sense of rhythm, but it also has Akira Miyagawa's gravitas and the worldview of Yamato all rolled into one, so I tried to follow everything.The melody had to be played on a single violin amidst agorgeousorchestration,so I tried to "put my heart and soul into every note" so that I could compete with theorchestra.Also, since the song has a strong image of singing, itwas really difficult to find away to connect the scale to the lyrics. There are not many songs that were this hard to write (laughs).

Shoji Nishizaki (producer) comments
I was thrilled to find that the sound I wanted was even better than I expected.I thinkthis soundwill pleaseboth old fans andthose who became fans with "2199".



<Tracks

01. space battleship yamato 2199 (taro hakase/ akira miyagawa/takeshi hageta)
02. overture(Takeshi Hakeda)
03. birth(Yuji Toriyama/Takeshi Hakeda)
04. red scarf(Keie Suzuki/Hiroki Kashiwagi/Takeshi Hakeda)
05. iskandar(hiroki kashiwagi)
06. hope for tomorrow(chisako takashima)
07. Sasha(Yuji Toriyama)
08. white comet
09. hero no oka(Weiwei Wu/Hiroki Kashiwagi)
10. omoide(Iwao Furusawa)
11. desu rarikite(Takeshi Hageta)
12. great love(Yukie Nishimura/Weiwei Wu/Hiroki Kashiwagi)
13. from Yamato with love(Yukie Nishimura/Yuji Toriyama)
Music: Yasushi Miyagawa, Akira Miyagawa (except-13 Katsuo Ohno) / M1Licensed by Voyager Music Publishing Co.