Well, who here has ever heard of the Argo (Yamato)? If you were a child who watched cartoons in the 70’s and 80’s, then you know what I am talking about. Anime had its television beginning in America with Speed Racer in the 60’s. It was soon followed by the likes of Star Blazers, Battle of the Planets (G-Force), Mobile Suit Gundam, and Voltron (GoLion and Dairugger XV). There were three seasons of the cartoon that were fueled by the release and success of four theatrical movies and one television movie.
Now (in 2002) after many years of wrestling in the Japanese court system, rights to the franchise have finally been given to Yoshinobu Nishizaki, the show’s original producer. He has not been idle these past few years either. There is a new movie, Yamato:Rebirth, to be released in Japan on December 12! The US release is set for straight to DVD in spring, 2010. There is even a live-action release (already in production) planned for the holiday season of 2010! Now it is speculated that this live movie will only be released in Japan, but I doubt it will take very long to be brought to the states.
One might cringe at the thought of a live-action movie to be a great way to destroy the franchise, but I was pleasantly surprised at the recent G.I. Joe movie. So who knows, this may be the “rebirth” of something great? Well for now, enjoy the extended trailer. It is in Japanese, but the CG-anime is awesome!
I would be very surprised if the live-action did not make it here if only on DVD. To be crass about it, there is too much money to be made.