Editing Space Battleship Yamato (section)

== Legacy and impact ==
Initially, ''Space Battleship Yamato'' was ignored – the original 1974 anime was forced to halve its episode count due to low ratings and viewership. However, with the release of the 1977 film, it had a surge in popularity, and ultimately achieved a [[cult status]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kane|first=Aaron|title=Repackaging Grand Narrative: From Narrative to Database in the Remakes of Space Battleship Yamato and Gundam|publisher=University of Vermont|year=2016|pages=23}}</ref> During the original broadcast, despite the general lack of interest, [[Leiji Matsumoto]] received a "very surprising" amount of [[fan mail]] from women who had watched the show, which came as a surprise due to the fact he had intended for it to be watched mostly by a male audience.<ref>{{cite web|title=Leiji Matsumoto 1976 Interview|url=https://ourstarblazers.com/vault/303/|website=Cosmo DNA|date=29 June 2013 |access-date=2020-11-21|archive-date=2020-11-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117184554/https://ourstarblazers.com/vault/303/|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{Quote|Two or three months after the broadcast started, fans began to make frequent appearances at the studio. There were enthusiastic girls who came by plane from [[Kyushu]] and we gave them [[cel]]s and background paintings as souvenirs because they had taken such great pains. Those cels now have the same street value as drugs, but in those days they were just a waste of space.|Noboru Ishiguro, 1980<ref>{{cite web |title=Noboru Ishiguro Essay, 1980 |url=https://ourstarblazers.com/vault/367/ |website=Cosmo DNA |date=26 June 2013 |access-date=2020-11-21 |archive-date=2020-10-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031093155/https://ourstarblazers.com/vault/367/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

Prior to the release of ''Yamato'' in 1974, [[anime]] was called ''terebi [[manga]]'' (TV manga). The success of ''Yamato'', both because of its tone and themes that were ambitious for an anime at that time, and the fact it was an original work, made it influential in the move towards the term anime.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Day it All Changed|url=https://ourstarblazers.com/vault/42/|website=Cosmo DNA|date=29 June 2013 |access-date=2020-11-23|archive-date=2020-08-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813080553/https://ourstarblazers.com/vault/42/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Cultural impact===
''Space Battleship Yamato'' is one of the most influential anime series in Japan. Its turn towards more serious themes and complex storylines influenced future works in the sci-fi and mecha genre, including ''[[Gundam]]'', ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion (franchise)|Evangelion]]'',<ref>"''Yamato'' also caused a paradigm shift in animation. Departing from the usual plot of "good vanquishes evil" so common in children's programming, it acknowledged the enemy's necessity in attacking Earth: the Gamilons must relocate, as their home planet is doomed to die. The highly realistic design of "mecha" (meka) — mechanical vessels and weapons — also set the standard for the genre of "mecha-robot anime". Without ''Yamato'' there would have been no ''Gundam'' or ''Evangelion'' (pls. 30, 33)." [http://www.gwern.net/docs/2005-little-boy#space-battleship-yamato "Space Battleship Yamato"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140112202452/http://www.gwern.net/docs/2005-little-boy#space-battleship-yamato |date=2014-01-12 }} entry in ''Little Boy'' 2005 ed. [[Takashi Murakami]] {{ISBN|0300102852}}</ref> and ''[[Macross]]''.

''Yamato'' would go on to influence many later anime, including ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]]'' and ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''. Its popularity subsequently lead to various parodies and references, such as in ''[[Sgt. Frog]]'',<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kurland|first=Daniel|title=10 Parody Anime That Are Actually Better Than What They Were Satirizing|url=https://www.cbr.com/parody-anime-better-than-what-they-were-satirizing/|website=Comic Book Resources|date=22 June 2020|access-date=21 November 2020|archive-date=29 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129053636/https://www.cbr.com/parody-anime-better-than-what-they-were-satirizing/|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Haruhi Suzumiya]]'' and ''[[Space Battleship Tiramisu]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Frye|first=Patrick|title='Space Battleship Tiramisu' ('Uchuu Senkan Tiramisu') Anime Is A 'Mobile Suit Gundam'/'Yamato' Parody [Review]|url=https://www.inquisitr.com/4876877/space-battleship-tiramisu-uchuu-senkan-tiramisu-anime-is-a-mobile-suit-gundam-yamato-parody-review/|website=Inquisitir|date=24 April 2018|access-date=21 November 2020|archive-date=29 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129085155/https://www.inquisitr.com/4876877/space-battleship-tiramisu-uchuu-senkan-tiramisu-anime-is-a-mobile-suit-gundam-yamato-parody-review/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Hideaki Anno]] has ranked ''Yamato'' as his favorite anime<ref>{{cite web|url=//home.comcast.net/~hasshin/shimamoto.html|title=Kazuhiko Shimamoto and Hideaki Anno|date=7 April 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050407200800/http://home.comcast.net/~hasshin/shimamoto.html|archive-date=7 April 2005}}</ref> and credited it with sparking his interest in anime.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Yamato Discussion with Hideaki Anno, Leiji Matsumoto, and Hiroshi Miyagawa; translated from the 1998 Railway of Fantasy Concert Program|url=http://starblazers.com/html.php?page_id=252|publisher=Starblazers.com|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129004733/http://starblazers.com/html.php?page_id=252|archive-date=29 November 2010}}</ref> ''Yamato'' was also the first anime series or movie to win the [[Seiun Award#Best Media of the Year|Seiun Award]], a feat not repeated until the film ''[[Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (film)|Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind]]'' (1984).

The later 1977 film ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' bears a number of similarities to the original 1974 ''Yamato'' series. For example, both are [[space opera]] works with militant empires, star ships and space battles; the robot R2D2 bears a strong resemblance to Analyzer in ''Yamato'', in terms of both design and narrative function; and both works involve ship design blue-prints which are delivered by the female leads. Several critics have suggested that ''Yamato'' may have influenced ''Star Wars'', though [[George Lucas]] did not mention it among his Japanese influences (such as [[Akira Kurosawa]]'s [[samurai films]]).<ref>{{cite web |title=To Japan and back: A brief look at Star Wars, Kurosawa and Japanese influences |url=https://www.phoenix.org.uk/blog/to-japan-and-back/ |website=[[Phoenix Square]] |date=4 February 2016 |access-date=30 March 2021 |archive-date=2 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702211417/https://www.phoenix.org.uk/blog/to-japan-and-back/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Ollie|last=Barder|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2015/12/21/understanding-the-japanese-influences-behind-star-wars/|title=Understanding The Japanese Influences Behind 'Star Wars'|magazine=Forbes|location=New York City|date=December 21, 2015|access-date=November 10, 2016|archive-date=December 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229164229/https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2015/12/21/understanding-the-japanese-influences-behind-star-wars/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=McCarthy |first1=Helen |last2=Ashmore |first2=Darren-Jon |title=Leiji Matsumoto: Essays on the Manga and Anime Legend |date=21 January 2021 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |isbn=978-1-4766-4085-3 |pages=78–9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T7EWEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA78 |access-date=30 March 2021 |archive-date=2 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702225001/https://books.google.com/books?id=T7EWEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA78 |url-status=live }}</ref>

''Yamato'' also had an impact on [[video games]]. It was cited as an inspiration behind the influential [[shoot 'em up]] game ''[[Space Invaders]]''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kohler|first=Chris|title=Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life|date=2016|publisher=[[Courier Dover Publications]]|isbn=9780486801490|page=19|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lD4fDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA19|access-date=2018-03-05|archive-date=2020-08-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819141428/https://books.google.com/books?id=lD4fDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA19|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Tomohiro Nishikado – 2000 Developer Interview|journal=Game Maestro|date=2000|volume=1|url=http://shmuplations.com/nishikado/|access-date=2018-03-05|archive-date=2019-06-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608174731/http://shmuplations.com/nishikado/|url-status=live}}</ref> Game designer [[Takashi Nishiyama]] also credits the Wave Motion Gun as the origin of the [[Hadouken]] move in the ''[[Street Fighter]]'' series.<ref>{{cite news|title= The Man Who Created Street Fighter |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160526013901/http://www.1up.com/features/the-man-who-created-street-fighter?pager.offset=1 |date=2011-12-14 |url=http://www.1up.com/features/the-man-who-created-street-fighter |archive-date=2016-05-26 |url-status=dead}}</ref>