This is a real eye-opener. I absolutely must get hold of the original now. I always suspected something was being kept from me in the sanitized English version. Thanks for posting!
@80srama1 True. If they didn't edit Yamato at least enough to get past those censors, it would've never been broadcast on regular TV. And I wouldn't have had the chance to fall in love with this great anime as a kid.
What's so gripping is not only Domel's admission of admiration to Okita, but that the look in his eyes proves he's absolutely sincere. The look of agony on Domel's face is heart-breaking when he must turn down Okita's request. Although the Yamato episode is superior to the sanitized version in Starblazers, it's no wonder the writers had to tone it down for America. Yamato didn't pull emotional punches and even in Starblazers form, it was still strong . Any thoughts?
@Wingnutcaseman Much in agreement with you. American censorship unfortunately robbed Yamato of so much emotional depth, but the TV standards imposed on Kids TV in the 70's was ludicrous (look what they did to the Fantastic Four in 1977). So yes, Star Blazers deserves credit for trying to keep as much of the drama and violence of the original show intact, a cut even above Jason of Star Command.
The '77 Fantastic Four which left out Human Torch wasn't about censorship as most people believe. CBS purchased the television rights to the Human Torch, along with several other Marvel characters. Since CBS owned the rights, the animated series couldn't use the character. Unlike Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, The Incredible Hulk & Captain America, the Human Torch TV movie never got made. This was due to budgetary constraints though, rather than fear of children setting themselves on fire.
While we're pretty much in agreement that the unedited anime original has the greatest impact, remember that Star Blazers could've been a lot worse. The Voltron dub, for instance, edits out almost ALL deaths, explaining them away as stun gun blasts or being sent to another dimension. Or consider Yu-Gi-Oh, which replaces deaths with a trip to the shadow realm. Finally, Star Blazers chose not to delete the Comet Empire pilot's suicide crash, even though they've edited all other suicides.
Space Battleship Yamato was quite gritty, wasn't it? I remembered this scene when the Captain watches over their fallen comrades being buried in space. Mind you, it wasn't as bad as the episode when the Gamillons taunt the crew about what was happening on Earth...oooh...that wasn't nice at all. -_-
This is a real eye-opener. I absolutely must get hold of the original now. I always suspected something was being kept from me in the sanitized English version. Thanks for posting!
@80srama1 True. If they didn't edit Yamato at least enough to get past those censors, it would've never been broadcast on regular TV. And I wouldn't have had the chance to fall in love with this great anime as a kid.
WOW, SUPER... More... We Want More!!! Long Live Yamato
What's so gripping is not only Domel's admission of admiration to Okita, but that the look in his eyes proves he's absolutely sincere. The look of agony on Domel's face is heart-breaking when he must turn down Okita's request. Although the Yamato episode is superior to the sanitized version in Starblazers, it's no wonder the writers had to tone it down for America. Yamato didn't pull emotional punches and even in Starblazers form, it was still strong . Any thoughts?
@Wingnutcaseman Much in agreement with you. American censorship unfortunately robbed Yamato of so much emotional depth, but the TV standards imposed on Kids TV in the 70's was ludicrous (look what they did to the Fantastic Four in 1977). So yes, Star Blazers deserves credit for trying to keep as much of the drama and violence of the original show intact, a cut even above Jason of Star Command.
The '77 Fantastic Four which left out Human Torch wasn't about censorship as most people believe. CBS purchased the television rights to the Human Torch, along with several other Marvel characters. Since CBS owned the rights, the animated series couldn't use the character. Unlike Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, The Incredible Hulk & Captain America, the Human Torch TV movie never got made. This was due to budgetary constraints though, rather than fear of children setting themselves on fire.
The author Reiji Matsumoto has a lot of experiences in the last WWII. From Tokyo Japan.
While we're pretty much in agreement that the unedited anime original has the greatest impact, remember that Star Blazers could've been a lot worse. The Voltron dub, for instance, edits out almost ALL deaths, explaining them away as stun gun blasts or being sent to another dimension. Or consider Yu-Gi-Oh, which replaces deaths with a trip to the shadow realm. Finally, Star Blazers chose not to delete the Comet Empire pilot's suicide crash, even though they've edited all other suicides.
Space Battleship Yamato was quite gritty, wasn't it? I remembered this scene when the Captain watches over their fallen comrades being buried in space. Mind you, it wasn't as bad as the episode when the Gamillons taunt the crew about what was happening on Earth...oooh...that wasn't nice at all. -_-
wow that was awasom
much more effective in the original japanese, creepier!!! Thanx for the original soundtrack!!