I watched this movie for the first time recently. I wanted to get into Captain Harlock since I knew how important the character was to anime. And I'm glad to see there are still people who still enjoy talking about the character today. Rest in Peace Leiji Matsumoto.
Oui, merci à nos cousins français qui avaient un amour très développé pour l'animé Japonaise que nous étaient capable d'en profiter ici. Albator, Goldorak, La bataille des planètes, mais je me demande toujours s'ils ont pu jamais en profité des Pierrafeu à cause de nous!
Pirates? Yes. SPACE Pirates? Yes. Space Pirates that are also one of the most attractive characters in classic anime? I mean, what can you do? That's 3 for 3, it's just math.
Not to mention that in the OG anime, some episode definitly trended towards a western genre. Harlock is a great blend of genres which makes those space odysseys that much more interesting.
There’s something kinda sweet about one of the most famous and influential characters in anime essentially being the creator fanboying over his cool best friend from high school.
The Space Pirate vhs was my first introduction to Harlock. I think I was 14 at the time, I found it mixed in with random vhses at a Big Lots. But that one tape changed my outlook on anime forever. Since that day I have flown the black flag of freedom and ideals. While I love 999 for everything it does, I always come back to Arcadia as my home.
To be fair, announcing oneself in English will sound at least a little awkward/stilted no matter how you do it. IMO the least awkward is "here I am" but that just doesn't match the punchiness of any of the usual Japanese versions (kitaa(sp?), kenzan, sanjou, etc.).
The kicker for me is that this got into a Super Robot Wars/Taisen game. For those who don't know, it's a series of turn-based strategy games that takes a whole bunch of mecha anime, crosses them over and weaves at least some of their plots together into a surprisingly coherent whole. The protagonists (and side characters) of different series will team up to deal with their respective enemies, and oftentimes the plot will change - one notable instance is that the plot of Evangelion always turns out better because Shinji and company have a group of genuine badasses helping them develop as people. But the last few titles have had "ship-only" animes as part of their plot, and both Space Battleship Yamato 2199 and Arcadia of My Youth: Endless Orbit SSX got into different titles. And the Arcadia's ultimate attack in its appearance is punctuated by Harlock busting into the enemy and shooting them with his laser gun-sword.
Mazinger Z. A piece of media that shouts its theme in your face: "Technology can be either good or bad, it all depends on who is handling it." "An anime that champions technology as mankind's saviour". I demand now a full blown Mazinger Z analysis as PENITENCE. (JK I loved the video.)
For me the ova last ova of mazinger z have that idea, i doubt you have something like that today, to complex for modern anime, come on a figth like the one with mazinger and baron Asthra, were you see the weigth of the sword, how ironic, i feel more weigth in that figth a super robot, that in a suppose real robot gundam crap, honestly mecha anime is dead and gone, Evangelion kill it, even for all fanservice love of anime, the gender bender mazinger z manga i doubt we have something like that, with a sexy female koji kabuto, we wont have that, Ranma 1/2, wont have that is amaising that level of erotica even in mazinger wont have a lot. No, mecha wont return until force to do money
My parents showed it to me when I was a young child, but they showed me a casette with the SPCH series on it. I remember I fell in love with it when Harlock and Daiba are in the forest, about to face down the Mazon, and Harlock starts humming to calm Daiba down.
Toei has nothing to do with Space Battleship Yamato. It was independently produced by Yoshinobu Nishizaki. Matsumoto got his start with Toei Starzinger.
I’ve always wanted to watch this show but haven’t gotten around to it. With the recent news of the passing of Leiji Matsumoto I think I’m going to plan to do it soon. Here’s to a true romantic 🌹
If you haven't already I HIGHLY recommend finding a copy of the book "Anime Interviews: The First Five Years of Animerica Anime & Manga Monthly (1992-97)", basically a book collection of the interviews published in the long defunct anime magazine "Animerica", it has a variety of fascinating interviews with anime and manga creators from throughout the 20th century. In it is an an article interview with Leiji Matsumoto himself where he reveals a lot about his own personal history and what inspired his work. He grew up essentially in the post-war cultural vacuum that saw Japan open up to the world of international film and comics, he was heavily influenced by Disney and Fleischer animation and the "mountain of 10-cent comics left by American soldiers" from throughout the 1940's ranging from Superman to Spiderman, but he was also a HUGE movie fan who had devoured countless American films and particularly loved Errol Flynn's' buccaneer swashbucklers and westerns like 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' and knighthood stories. He also noted he loves science fiction movies like "Destination Moon", "Rocketship", "Forbidden Planet", etc. His female characters were influenced by European films particularly French ones of the 1950s like "Marianne de ma Jeunesse" known in Japan as "Waga Seishun no Marianne", which coincidentally served as the inspiration for the titling of this film "Waga Seishun no Arcadia". To me the most fascinating exchange in the interview regards Matsumoto's hobby shooting hunting rifles: ANIMERICA: "You mentioned previously that you shoot hunting rifles as a hobby. Have you hunted before?" MATSUMOTO: "I hunted in Africa. That's when I realized I couldn't be a hunter. It was because of American movies like Tarzan and King Solomon's Mines that I longed for Africa and exploration. But when I actually shot an animal, a strong sense of shock shot back at me. I concluded that I couldn't be a hunter.... The straightforward reason is that I have no need to shoot an animal. Since then, I've been shooting paper targets. I've been poking holes in paper." ANIMERICA: "Where it's more like bowling." MATSUMOTO: "Yes. I wouldn't want to kill another animal. Once was enough. A feeling of regret stayed with me for a long time. It's still with me. 'What cruel deed have I done?' I went there to realize a childhood dream, and the dream was realized... I went to Africa and hunted. But as I realized my dream, a strong feeling of regret, a shock, came to me. What I was doing was chasing a dream of the past. I was chasing man's dream from a time when humans were less reasoned. I partook in a little of that, and then, it came back to me as a strong shock." ANIMERICA: "Did you keep a material record from that time?" MATSUMOTO: "I have it, at home. It was a deed done, so I took responsibility and took it home. I don't usually show it to people, though." ANIMERICA: "We hear it's a gazelle...." MATSUMOTO: "Yes. I have a few other things, like bones. And stones from Africa--I have a lot of those. I was still in my thirties when I went there. That I went is something I have no regrets about--it was an invaluable experience. But that I'd be so shocked about the death of an animal... well, I didn't know it'd change me so much. As a memory, it was good that I realized a dream. But the doubts about 'Why did I pull the trigger?' remain in me. I reflect about it and feel bad, about that part."
I hold the position that Enlightenment devolved into strict materialism (or Materialistic Scientism) very quickly, so Romanticism was an immediate reactionary counterpoint. Both movements if left alone become insane, and therefore should never be left alone.
Inb4 Toei remembers they made this anime. In all seriousness, my first impression of Harlock was that of a grown up version of Kodai. I haven't watched much of the TV show at this point (I'm working through all of Yamato first), but Harlock is such an incredibly likable character.
I saw Arcadia of my Youth once in the mid- to late nineties on a rented VHS and didn't quite get it content wise. It was too slow for me back then, but I remember that I liked the animation and artwork. Btw, 18:10 looks like the Wetterhorn, a mountain in Switzerland.
Dude, you go above and beyond for each of these anime reviews. Along with Beyond Ghibli this channel truly captures the depth and beauty of anime as a true art form.
Haven’t seen anything remotely related to Harlock in more than a decade, and the feelings are still the same. Feelings of liberty, love, honour and willingness to fight for what one holds dear and matters.
I've been aware of Matsumoto's works for awhile now especially with the loving homage in Daft Punk's Interstella x Discovery project; but it wasn't until Super Robot Wars T is when I decided to watch this film and check out the other stuff. Harlock is such a chad in SRWT and the Arcadia is such a fun ship to customize.
Matsumoto's dad was a military officer in WWII, he came by that romanticism of duty naturally. He was also an established Mangaka, when the major student riots etc hit (unlike certain creators who were in the middle of it, some taking it pretty seriously, Oishii taking the mickey out of it). One scene you left out (which is notable, because it's been stolen 2-3 times by just one notable series). The bit in the Flashback where Harlock's ancestor checks on Toshiro's hiding in the fuselage of the Bf-109. Peeking through that hatch, look familiar? "Cheap Plug".. One big difference in a Matsumoto plot. His heroes go on Journeys to learn to live with their actions, more often than not, their biggest battles happen BEFORE they get on the Three-nine or Arcadia. Being the lead in a classic Matsumoto, is a voyage through self-examination and therapy. Which is probably why a fair amount of fan art implies a certain famous female lead already has a seat reserved the next time the Arcadia lifts off. Even better than the early adoption, both Arcadia and Kamui no Ken were licensed "Dub only" when first released in the US. This let Animeigo pick them up fairly early on (sub only and uncut of course). It always surprises me, but Matsumoto is easily one of the top three most internationally regarded Mangaka. I wouldn't say he's notably cosmopolitan, but he is so clearly individual focused that his works appeal across cultures. With Tomino, I worry that he really doesn't understand how politics etc works (he just thinks he does). Matsumoto doesn't CARE about that sort of thing and it makes his work much more approachable than you'd think for a creator I've called "Every Weeaboo's favorite Wehraboo".
I actually had the Space Pirates VHS growing up, as well as other obscure foreign animes like Little Nemo, Bumpety Boo, and several others. My grandma used to get cheap cartoons and such from the local grocery store, and it had them all, lmao.
When I saw "Arcadia of My Youth" and "KaiserBeamz" together in my notifications, I immediately clicked. I got into the Leijiverse last year with the Galaxy Express 999 movie (now one of my comfort movies, as odd as that may sound) and fell in love with the series, particularly with the characters and world of Captain Harlock. I wasn't really "huge" per se on anime space operas/odysseys before, but Galaxy Express 999 and Captain Harlock wound up changing that. Great video on the movie, and hoping to maybe see your thoughts on Endless Orbit SSX! :D
Kinda random but, as a kid I was exposed to "Galaxy Express 999" through a laserdisc arcade cabinet called"Freedom Fighter". My early beginnings into Anime! 😁
@@shmousestudio I'd heard tell about that! Yeah I think I've seen footage of it before. They did pretty good in integrating it into a LaserDisc game _á la_ Cliff Hanger (which also used footage from anime movies, specifically the Lupin III movies Mystery of Mamo and Castle of Cagliostro)
I actually bought and still have the uncut English dubbed vhs called My Youth in Arcadia from Best Film & Video along with the AnimEigo Subtitled version
This video is great! I'll have to check out this film sometime, as I've been meaning to watch something with Captain Harlock for awhile now. Also, the ideals in this movie of following your dreams and making your own path reminds me a lot of One Piece.
People tend to call Miyazaki the Walt Disney of Japan, but I think that honor belongs to Matsumoto. You can't take three steps in the context of anime with seeing something that has his fingerprints all over it, or was heavily influenced by him.
How humorous that this do-nothing make-nothing lumpenprole with a fake job would label socialism as a good idea, even though it's responsible for the deletion of 100 million people, far more than those "bad ideologies".
Any reason our fantastic genres like scifi or fantasy are getting cynical these days since the 70s & 80s is because certain creators and fans demand their favourite stuff to acknowledge the "real world" eg corruption, violence, abuse, class struggles etc. I get the valid points behind these. However, is it possible for positive shows or movies to acknowledge the "real world" and still be wholesome? Shows like Mr Rogers & Sesame Street, with their urban setting yet fantastic characters, proved they can work. Modern movies such as Spider-verse, Lego Movie & the overall MCU also proved there's still potential.
I think there has been a loss of innocence and the scales falling from the eyes. Someone commented America lost its innocences with Watergate and Viet Nam, which has been further battered by Iran-Contra and most recently 9/11 (and Japan with the full revelation of their involvement in WWII). It's hard to carry forward any idealism when the very foundations have proven to be rotten.
Great review and analysis of the movie KaiserBeamz! I especially loved the analysis of Matsumoto's ideals and his ways to share them through his operas. i'd like to share my own personal "headcanon analysis" related the analogies of Harlock's ancestry though: it's kinda overlooked in the video(for obvious reasons i suppose), but to me personally, the fact that he was a german pilot adds to the whole picture of throwing the choices out of the window and following your heart. Like you've said about gundam's example: romanticism was viewed cinically because it came from the "bad guys" of those universes and that's it, there was no incentive to go further than that because they were the main objective to destroy, meanwhile, like you've said, Matsumoto was against this cynism. Harlock's ancestor, as a character, fills the role of answer to itself more than continuity. Like you've said, Harlock isn't really famous for being interlocked that well inbetween the various medias, why would he add such a provocatory detail? The 2nd world war was an act of hate against various nations, it was basically pent up hate that got more and more severe the further the war went, no matter which country or nationality, you could still find pain and sadness to it. Despite what is considered one of the worst conflicts happening all around him, Harlock's ancestor never tried to end the war itself: he was an Iron Crossed-wearing german pilot and he, along with his friend, KNEW that it was a useless and painful event, despite this, his choice wasn't to revolt against it, but to escape from it. Why would he want to resist anyways? His job was to take down allied aircrafts, he owed germany his services and Tochiro designed aircraft weapon sights, there's no incentive to rebel to it and no one would've listened in such trying and violent times. Even his choice to run away with Tochiro wasn't a happy choice for him In the end: the war got to Harlock because he was running away from his duty, never opposing to it. Captain Harlock had a similar experience: him being the commander of a battleship before becoming a pirate and the bloodline factor are noticeable parallelisms, on the other hand he became someone who his ancestor was not, a prime example of Nietzsche's Overhuman for the people who wanted to follow his ideals, the same ideals that inspired many people to rebel to the german regime and destroyed it. The title of German fighter pilot, in my own eyes, can be considered as both the antithesis and the answer to these "new" pessimistic anime morals you've listed: it's true and undeniable, war was an act started by terrible people who twisted the same romantic ideals that were against it for the goodwilled people, but at the same time the corruption is what makes the ideals of truth and purpose sprout and get stronger, the ones Phantom F. Harlock couldn't follow because he was part of the machine, but Captain Harlock wasn't and succeded in it along with his comrades. As a side thing, i like to compare (as a neat little analogy or coincidence more than anything) the beginning of the movie to the ending of "forse che si forse che no" by D'annunzio: a broken man trying to lose a life in his biplane deciding halfway through that he wants to live and actually overcomes the obstacle, making it against all odds and actually becoming famous in the process. It's not a 1:1 provable reference of any kind, but considering the analogies to Nietzsche's ideals i like to think it's some form of homage to the author and his history(for some context: D'annunzio is famous for claiming the town of Fiume as Italian territory without italy's military forces. I suppose some parallelism could be made with Harlock's character if you look for them long enough, im no anime historian though).
Oh wow, I have had odd scenes from this franchise running through my head, but never knew where they originated from. Making emphatic the Romanticism aspect made clear some running themes I gravitate towards, but with no through line as to what tied them altogether.
I can't help but immediately think of Kenny's video regarding Harlock (th-cam.com/video/HNTVshTXFwA/w-d-xo.html): "How did you get in here? ... I jumped!" "It was the same person I chased this morning! Only it wasn't a person, dad! I think it was a _woman!"_ "They looked like beautiful women, but their tissues were made of paper. That's why they burned.. like paper."
I think there only few modern character creations that tower so high over everything else that their influence, as you pointed out, became so massive that it's almost unbelieveble to tie it back to that one creation. Three of those characters are: Captain Harlock Conan the Barbarian - though Captain Harlock has traits of Conan as well. Don Quixjote - one word about why Don Quixjote is so special: I suppose most of you haven't read the BOOK. So I'd say, most you one got the character wrong .... including the many methaphors taken from the book. Don Quixjote is THE embodiment of "anti-hero"! DQ is NOT the clumsy old man who rides out to fight for peace and love. DQ is a delusional, senile madman who causes severe trouble for everyone around him. DQ is so of the tracks that he actually starts fighting BULDINGS! Yes, the famous methaphor "fighting windmills" has nothing to do with taking up an seemingly impossible fight, it has everything to do with being completely out of your mind because you can't make a difference anymore between buildings and people. So when you tell somoone "your are fighting windmills" you actually say to him: "You belong into mental health care!" ;)
In Matsumoto's defense, women to the Romantics were seen as ideals. They weren't seen as ordinary people. It would take Mary Shelley and her mother Mary Wollstonecraft to give women in Romanticism a voice. So the "flaws" in writing women that you point out in the movie are actually consistent with Classical Romanticism. And if you take into account that this story is all from Harlock's perspective then it makes even more sense. Great video. I'm grateful that Captain Harlock, as well as Mazinger Z, and Gatchaman were my first introduction to anime. Matsumoto really was a Romantic Poet.
Ginga Nagaraboshi Gin. And excellent tv series full of the old bloodgore, and the manly man man 80s anime goodness. And the female characters aren't weak or boring.
Silver Fang seems to be a cash cow seinen manga franchise for a pretty long while now, even though its eponymous first instalment was for older male teenagers.
“We will not pray for anything. Nor will we seek help from anyone. Never again will we fight under another's flag. We will keep on fighting only for what we believe in, under only OUR flag, as long as we live! Under MY flag!” Yeah, he still does it for himself. Harlock isn't a collectivist, even if he recognizes the value of comradery and cooperation.
This was a necessary video for me to learn from. I was introduced to the Yamato franchise from an early age and it's influence reached to me falling in love with the Dreamcast title Eternal Arcadia (Or Skies of Arcadia in the west as I am familiar with it). This video does a great job of making me understand the character of Harlock and why he is more relevant to the game than the crew of the Yamato ever were. The only incarnation of Harlock I have watched to this point is the CGI adaptation and while the film is certainly stylish, it seems to fall short of representing what makes the character so important. It seems he is a tricky character to pin down with the absence of a definite canon. One thing is certain though, that is a badass spaceship. :p
Well I'm Team Enlightenment, but thing is it isn't really a dichotomy, the two spheres are simply situationally divided. You can compare them in terms of importance but thats comparing apples to oranges. So I never took up Harlock as being Team Enlightenment I found pirates contrary to the rule of law and hence distasteful. But as time goes on i find myself enjoying classical shojo drama, my favourite being Rose of Versailles (oh the drama!), and what is that if not Romanticism, complete with classical music, if not the lofty pinnacle of Dvořák. They all die tho so I class that as a win for Team Enlightenment still lol! So it is a place that I visit fondly, but I'd never live there. But these are just some personal ramblings of mine - SUPERB VIDEO, just so well researched, well argumented, well presented, this is what I look for in the analyses of film, just bravo!
I have been watching anime since 1978. It wasn't until 1992 when I first watched the American version of this movie called, "Vengeance of the Space Pirate". A cut from the original version and it was titled "My Youth in Arcadia" on vhs. It cut all violence scenes from the American version. I like the other version better. Also, did you know that Space Battleship Yamato was originally called, "Asteroid Ship Icarus"? It was created by Yoshinobu Nishizaki back in 1973. Leji stepped up to the plate and helped him with the project, but decided to replace the asteroid with the WW2 Battleship Yamato. Both creators kept the same plot, Earth ruined by radiation bombs from Gamilon who was trying to take over the planet for their home. The scene where Halrock's Arcadia ship takes off is simular to SBY taking off from Earth's surface. I enjoy Harlock's friendship with Tochiro, Emeraldus, Maya, etc to Harlock's and Tochiro's ancestor's when they first met in WW2 and how Harlock's ancestor's gave the c12d gunsight to Tochiro's ancestor, and back 1000 years later.
Awesome video. I would say however, that it certainly wasn't just "kids" who connected with Captain Harlock, as the adult otaku community, (even back then,) were well aware of what his crew represented, (like the obsessed model building Yattaran!) 😎 From what I understand, it was around this time that the word "otaku" in general started to circulate!
For me i watch the serie and never manage to finish it, but i remember a way that Harlock at difference of many other, he is a hero that ask you to try, to dream and beleive in your dreams and figth. But the idea the setting, of human becoming comlaicent and weack, sound so much, and how both Harlock the crew and his main rival are so unnique, and yet the moment it sound more was in episode 6 i think was, Tadashi grab a gun and shoot a flag of earth and said that flag doesnt represent me, on how earth goverment let her father, Dr Kuzko die and they frame Tadashi with treason for boarding the Arcadia, Harlock a character like him wont ever be in moder anime, a character like him, Esmeralda or even Toshiro cant exist in modern anime
I've been a huge fan of Space Battleship Yamato, and I also like Captain Harlock and I have watched this movie (i.e. "Arcadia of my youth"). I think the reason Captain Harlock didn't succeed as much as Yamato is that Harlock is a bit more romanticized than what is needed. Yamato has huge elements of romanticism, but also has a lot of war and personal drama, a lot of sci-fi elements, and really huge bad guy characters to go along with the main characters. Yamato is richer as a story, and Yamato also has a climactic ending that is often unparalleled both in the first and and the second series...also, in Yamato, Earthlings are united and Yamato is their representative, whereas in Harlock the main protagonist fights mostly for himself. Also, Yamato has incredible music, its main theme is simply the best ever theme written for such stories, and it is applied very cleverly to create the emotions needed to feel incredible thrilling moments. Finally, Yamato has the Wave Motion Gun, which is one of the cleverest plot elements, and it creates very tense moments, something that I never felt with Harlock...
I waited so long for you to do this, I love this series and the style was so beautiful. I always had a sense that the music was so tied in that it gave a new character to the movie itself. Toshiro is a character I have always wanted to cosplay, at least with the large hat, glasses and robe, I have loved his ties.
SPOILER ALERT! When the Yamato showed up with the Arcadia at the end of DNA Sights 999.9, I figured it was the "Ghost Ship" version from "Arrivederci, Yamato". It didn't occur to me it showed up because Matsumoto wanted it to.
so I guess the leiji-verse comments totally flush away my cinematic universe theory about interstella 5555 taking place in the yamato universe, huh? I had seen bits and pieces of this on pluto tv... may have to look this up to watch it from start to finish!!
3:40 “he has the most well known quantity and an unprecedented dominion over the medium at large” uuuhhhh…Space Battleship Yamato and its numerous sequels, reboots, OVAs, movies, games, and pretty much everything else might have something to say about that statement of yours, bud. And for good reason!
While it's easy to look back at Vengeance of the Space Pirate as a bit of a disaster, for its time it was amazing. The DiskoTek release thankfully includes the Vengeance dub and shows that it was a shockingly faithful translation and the rather stiff dub performances still worked alright. From the looks of things, it seems like the situation was something like Toei wanted to release the anime in the states and thus paying for a dub themselves, not finding a distributor, an eventually settling on Celebrity who then cut out 30 minutes because they were cheapskates who used crappy low capacity VHS taped while still selling anime at a rather high price. Still it contained one of the manliest lines I've ever heard. Just before Harlock duels the enemy commander, the commander says: "When we meet in hell, lets have a drink together." Friendly reminder that this was released under the "Celebrity's Just For Kids Home Video" label...the early days of anime were weird. But I can safely say that even in this mangled form, it was still a great movie. Certainly better than...other Harlock dubs of the age... "Only it wasn't a person, Dad, I think it's a woman!" -Thomas Hairball ... .....it goes without saying though, your video was great. I've just been trying to untangle the mystery of Celebrity's Just For Kids Home Video anime releases because they're so weird.
@@CocoHutzpah I'm hopefully optimistic about a future Kyoto Video episode on Galaxy Fraulein Yuna. Saying "hopefully optimistic" because I kinda.... you know... legit hope that that he doesn't hate it like other people do. Because it's a VERY special anime to me, for several reasons. And because the more I looked into it, the more fascinating it became to me. IMO there's so much to talk about, like.... 1. Mika Akitaka's popularization of the "Mobile Suit Girl" phenom. One of my favorite sub-tropes of all time is a cute anime girl with a bad-ass mech suit tailored to fit her body with insane weaponry fitted to it like a living Gundam arsenal. Akitaka was not only an actual artist for Gundam but spun off the idea of girls with mech suits. That is to say, no androids or cyborgs, but somehow girls that lug around these gigantic suits and look as adorable as they do awesome. 2. How such a series as big as GFY in Japan, was only able to get one (well two, but they bundled both sets of OVA's together in one package) anime adaptation from ADV overseas even though literally none of the games from Hudson were ever released here, and knowledge of the games is more or less required for context. Something that has led a few hardcore US Yuna fans to do independent research into GFY themselves just to find out. 3. How the anime (particularly the second OVA series) managed to be incredibly dark but incredibly impactful, and was one of the earlier works of someone who would later go on to direct Puella Magi Madoka Magica and how this actually predated and served as a bit of a soundboard for some of the themes of existential horror and emotional nihilism that Madoka would go on to perfect. 4. How underrated and honestly kind of shocking the (double) death of Ayako in that second OVA would be portrayed. I'd seen a lot of anime before I watched that, and was no stranger to emotionally sad moments, but Akako's death in particularly hit me super hard. Harder than most things i'd seen. Subtle yet horrifying things such as the fact that the death of a living android was so brutal and depressing, compounded with the rather horrifying context of her dying amidst a pile of broken mannequin parts, just to drive the point home. Or how, contrary to most deaths depicted in anime and video games of the 90's, where the characters die content in their last moments, and passing on some sage wisdom before they die.... Ayako died mid-sentence, sputtering and pleading for her life from fate, now that she found a friend to love and the cruelty of mortality, and how she just wanted to stay and wanted to live. And how again, her second death coming at the hands of a tearful Yuna as the last remnants of Ayako's soul guided her hand to the trigger. ..........this stuff messed me up, man. Messed. Me. Up. 5. That infamous...... infamous........ infamous dub. Speaking as someone who generally likes and almost always prefers the English language of anime 9 times out of 10, I think Galaxy Fraulien Yuna, interestingly stands as.... honestly my vote for the single worst dub that ADV has ever produced, ever. I find it so wretched and unlistenable in many places, that it's almost worth talking about and roasting in and of itself. It is literally the dub I've hated the most out of the many i've heard in my day. It almost begs for an impassioned AVGN-esque WHAT WERE THEY THINKING at many points. From the fact that they cast actors in singing roles that clearly could not sing, and stumbled blindly into every sour note possible as if they were metaphorically blindfolded and shoved into a saw mill. How multiple actresses that could not sing on key were seemingly recorded SEPARATELY without harmonizing with one another, creating a godawful cacophony of ear-bleeding sound. Or how even heavy HEAVY vocoder and reverb effect could not save it. To Yuna's detestably squeaky and screechy English voice caterwauling the majority of her lines, to the fact that the majority of the sound mix and awkward line delivery rendered a lot of most character's lines borderline inaudible or calling into question at times what they're even SAYING at points.... It is the worst dub ever handled by ADV, which is saying something. I absolutely love Galaxy Fraulein Yuna and speaking as a dub lover myself, this is one of the few anime that I would only ever watch in English if I woke up that day deciding that I hated myself and was overdue for some form of cosmic punishment. So while I think there's a lot to love (and a lot of historical interest in how and why ADV released this with no purchasable game series to promote with it) and a lot to talk about when it comes to Hudson Soft, The contrasting styles of both OVA put together, Mika Akitaka's MS Girls artbook that started this IP, it's success in Japan, it's connections as a prototypical sounding board for concepts that would paint how Galaxy Fraulein Yuna walked so that Madoka Magica and it's concepts could run, and that awful, awful, awful dub..... It is just an anime and a franchise that has always fascinated me deeply on several levels, in a variety of ways both worthy or praise and criticism in equal measure, that is still my ultimate guilty pleasure. Granted, I have no idea how Kaiser himself views GFY or if he thinks any of this is even remotely as interesting as I do. But I do know the only other person to review this anime on youtube, imo, did an absolutely godawful job of fairly or substantially reviewing it with any measure of fairness. So I would hope that at least one competent review of this anime exists someday.
I did grew up with Harlock and had a strong bind with him but in this movie is too - perfect, and the exhacerbated drama does not help. What am expecting it will NEVER happen canon, because Harlock is the heroic alter ego of Matsumoto, but i really wish to see the flawed side of the hero: waking up scruffy (ok this is easy), sitting in the toilet with a morning wood struggling to pee, getting coffee grumpy, shaving, doing the marital deeds with Meeme (beyond the camera), etc.
And all your videos I've noticed one thing you never include the English dubbing the cast, why don't you mention them. Or is it that English dubbing cast is so trashy that you don't feel like they deserve credit. I also have a question for you as far as the harlock TV series is it an English dub in its entirety? I have seen on VHS tapes several of the episodes.
What are you talking about? Go check any of his other videos, if anything he mentions them too much and to be honest I couldn´t care less about the english dub as I´m not from the US or UK.
Uhm. He talks about it often in MANY of his videos when applicable. And honestly, it's one of the reasons I think he's one of the good anime reviewers with a channel dedicated to anime that's actually worth watching becuae he cares about and gives great dubs the respect that they rightfully deserve, unlike most of the toxic and idiotic morons in this fanbase that ignorantly dismiss or refuses to give them and their industry most of the attention, recognition and respect it rightfully needs and deserves.
Wow. You successfully avoided combining Romanticism and Fighting WWII not only on the wrong side but the LOSING side. [Space Battleship Yamamoto looms menacingly] Care to try again? Look, you called the design of the Arcadia "iconic" But. Not. WHY. Mmm, Imperial Japan porn or "Make Japan Great Again." I like Tomino, I love Ooshi. I do NOT care for Matsumoto.
Every side in any conflict thinks their views and actions are fully justified. It's not like the mustachioed villains of propaganda. I know of US tank crews that run with pictures Rommel because he was an honorable man and a worthy opponent.
@@quintessenceSL Did you know Japanese citizens never saw any images of the Yamamoto when it was afloat? And since the WWII naval strategy was ultimately aircraft carriers and not battleships, what are they celebrating here? Rommel lost but his desert campaign had its moments so when his name comes up in Girls Und Panzer, the show doesn't.... it's hard to explain as the series is both highly satirical when it comes to politics but also apolitical as it doesn't promote WWII era ideologies. "It's a Sherman. Lots of Shermans!" "It's the Maus!" "It's the Type 89 [snicker]" They stay away from Nazi Germany and I understand why but they roast the hell out of Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan. Meanwhile, the generations following WWII is using the image of the Yamamoto how exactly? A symbol of the underdog, of power and prestige? "They're, We're, They're the good guys." And that brings us to WWII Revisionism.
I watched this movie for the first time recently. I wanted to get into Captain Harlock since I knew how important the character was to anime. And I'm glad to see there are still people who still enjoy talking about the character today. Rest in Peace Leiji Matsumoto.
Harlock was hugely popular here in Québec under the translated name of Albator.
Oui, merci à nos cousins français qui avaient un amour très développé pour l'animé Japonaise que nous étaient capable d'en profiter ici. Albator, Goldorak, La bataille des planètes, mais je me demande toujours s'ils ont pu jamais en profité des Pierrafeu à cause de nous!
Le voilà Albator le capitaine corsaire 🎶
Je suis sur que c'est parce que son histoire ressemble à c'elle de Charles De Gaulle
@@lawrenceofarabia3385 Pourtant Harlock n'a pas tué d'Algérien...
@@adelhasnaoui5232 🎶 Albator, on gardera de toi, une image, un trésor, d'un capitaine au cœur d'or... 🎶
Pirates? Yes.
SPACE Pirates? Yes.
Space Pirates that are also one of the most attractive characters in classic anime? I mean, what can you do? That's 3 for 3, it's just math.
Not to mention that in the OG anime, some episode definitly trended towards a western genre. Harlock is a great blend of genres which makes those space odysseys that much more interesting.
There’s something kinda sweet about one of the most famous and influential characters in anime essentially being the creator fanboying over his cool best friend from high school.
The Space Pirate vhs was my first introduction to Harlock. I think I was 14 at the time, I found it mixed in with random vhses at a Big Lots. But that one tape changed my outlook on anime forever. Since that day I have flown the black flag of freedom and ideals. While I love 999 for everything it does, I always come back to Arcadia as my home.
The transition from Wagner to City Pop was one helluva whiplash!
Captain Harlock: "I have come"
The audience: "and so have we"
Dub Harlock: "I am here"
The Audience: "good for you"
To be fair, announcing oneself in English will sound at least a little awkward/stilted no matter how you do it.
IMO the least awkward is "here I am" but that just doesn't match the punchiness of any of the usual Japanese versions (kitaa(sp?), kenzan, sanjou, etc.).
I liked the English delivery a lot actually, maybe that's just me
The kicker for me is that this got into a Super Robot Wars/Taisen game.
For those who don't know, it's a series of turn-based strategy games that takes a whole bunch of mecha anime, crosses them over and weaves at least some of their plots together into a surprisingly coherent whole. The protagonists (and side characters) of different series will team up to deal with their respective enemies, and oftentimes the plot will change - one notable instance is that the plot of Evangelion always turns out better because Shinji and company have a group of genuine badasses helping them develop as people. But the last few titles have had "ship-only" animes as part of their plot, and both Space Battleship Yamato 2199 and Arcadia of My Youth: Endless Orbit SSX got into different titles.
And the Arcadia's ultimate attack in its appearance is punctuated by Harlock busting into the enemy and shooting them with his laser gun-sword.
29:51 Was Spike and Julia's scene in Cowboy Bebop paying homage to this one?
(even Julia's and Vicious' design to some extent)
Captain Harlock was my first anime! 😍
Mazinger Z.
A piece of media that shouts its theme in your face: "Technology can be either good or bad, it all depends on who is handling it."
"An anime that champions technology as mankind's saviour".
I demand now a full blown Mazinger Z analysis as PENITENCE.
(JK I loved the video.)
Can KB do a review on Mazinkaiser next?
For me the ova last ova of mazinger z have that idea, i doubt you have something like that today, to complex for modern anime, come on a figth like the one with mazinger and baron Asthra, were you see the weigth of the sword, how ironic, i feel more weigth in that figth a super robot, that in a suppose real robot gundam crap, honestly mecha anime is dead and gone, Evangelion kill it, even for all fanservice love of anime, the gender bender mazinger z manga i doubt we have something like that, with a sexy female koji kabuto, we wont have that, Ranma 1/2, wont have that is amaising that level of erotica even in mazinger wont have a lot.
No, mecha wont return until force to do money
My parents showed it to me when I was a young child, but they showed me a casette with the SPCH series on it. I remember I fell in love with it when Harlock and Daiba are in the forest, about to face down the Mazon, and Harlock starts humming to calm Daiba down.
I've been a fan of Matsumoto since I was a kid. Thank you for this excellent feature! I really love your channel and its deep dives!!
Toei has nothing to do with Space Battleship Yamato. It was independently produced by Yoshinobu Nishizaki.
Matsumoto got his start with Toei Starzinger.
I’ve always wanted to watch this show but haven’t gotten around to it. With the recent news of the passing of Leiji Matsumoto I think I’m going to plan to do it soon. Here’s to a true romantic 🌹
Me too. I just discovered Galaxy Express 999 around the time he died.
I hope you both enjoy the leijiverse as myself and many others have. Welcome aboard.
I thank you for this excellent analysis. See you in the Sea of Stars!
Sooo...with all those hints i speculate that a video about Irresponsible Captain Tylor is not far away...
Games Workshop owes Harlock and Space Battleship Yamoto soooo much for Rogue Trader and just the Imperial Navy in general.
If you haven't already I HIGHLY recommend finding a copy of the book "Anime Interviews: The First Five Years of Animerica Anime & Manga Monthly (1992-97)", basically a book collection of the interviews published in the long defunct anime magazine "Animerica", it has a variety of fascinating interviews with anime and manga creators from throughout the 20th century. In it is an an article interview with Leiji Matsumoto himself where he reveals a lot about his own personal history and what inspired his work. He grew up essentially in the post-war cultural vacuum that saw Japan open up to the world of international film and comics, he was heavily influenced by Disney and Fleischer animation and the "mountain of 10-cent comics left by American soldiers" from throughout the 1940's ranging from Superman to Spiderman, but he was also a HUGE movie fan who had devoured countless American films and particularly loved Errol Flynn's' buccaneer swashbucklers and westerns like 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' and knighthood stories. He also noted he loves science fiction movies like "Destination Moon", "Rocketship", "Forbidden Planet", etc. His female characters were influenced by European films particularly French ones of the 1950s like "Marianne de ma Jeunesse" known in Japan as "Waga Seishun no Marianne", which coincidentally served as the inspiration for the titling of this film "Waga Seishun no Arcadia".
To me the most fascinating exchange in the interview regards Matsumoto's hobby shooting hunting rifles:
ANIMERICA: "You mentioned previously that you shoot hunting rifles as a hobby. Have you hunted before?"
MATSUMOTO: "I hunted in Africa. That's when I realized I couldn't be a hunter. It was because of American movies like Tarzan and King Solomon's Mines that I longed for Africa and exploration. But when I actually shot an animal, a strong sense of shock shot back at me. I concluded that I couldn't be a hunter.... The straightforward reason is that I have no need to shoot an animal. Since then, I've been shooting paper targets. I've been poking holes in paper."
ANIMERICA: "Where it's more like bowling."
MATSUMOTO: "Yes. I wouldn't want to kill another animal. Once was enough. A feeling of regret stayed with me for a long time. It's still with me. 'What cruel deed have I done?' I went there to realize a childhood dream, and the dream was realized... I went to Africa and hunted. But as I realized my dream, a strong feeling of regret, a shock, came to me. What I was doing was chasing a dream of the past. I was chasing man's dream from a time when humans were less reasoned. I partook in a little of that, and then, it came back to me as a strong shock."
ANIMERICA: "Did you keep a material record from that time?"
MATSUMOTO: "I have it, at home. It was a deed done, so I took responsibility and took it home. I don't usually show it to people, though."
ANIMERICA: "We hear it's a gazelle...."
MATSUMOTO: "Yes. I have a few other things, like bones. And stones from Africa--I have a lot of those. I was still in my thirties when I went there. That I went is something I have no regrets about--it was an invaluable experience. But that I'd be so shocked about the death of an animal... well, I didn't know it'd change me so much. As a memory, it was good that I realized a dream. But the doubts about 'Why did I pull the trigger?' remain in me. I reflect about it and feel bad, about that part."
That's so interesting, thank you. He's such a fascinating and mysterious person.
5:52 | Well, I definitely *needed* that perspective, since I actually never heard of the Captain before today. So thank you for that, KB.
I hold the position that Enlightenment devolved into strict materialism (or Materialistic Scientism) very quickly, so Romanticism was an immediate reactionary counterpoint. Both movements if left alone become insane, and therefore should never be left alone.
Older anime will always be loved and appreciated ❤❤❤
Inb4 Toei remembers they made this anime.
In all seriousness, my first impression of Harlock was that of a grown up version of Kodai. I haven't watched much of the TV show at this point (I'm working through all of Yamato first), but Harlock is such an incredibly likable character.
I saw Arcadia of my Youth once in the mid- to late nineties on a rented VHS and didn't quite get it content wise. It was too slow for me back then, but I remember that I liked the animation and artwork.
Btw, 18:10 looks like the Wetterhorn, a mountain in Switzerland.
RIP Leiji Matsumoto
Dude, you go above and beyond for each of these anime reviews. Along with Beyond Ghibli this channel truly captures the depth and beauty of anime as a true art form.
Haven’t seen anything remotely related to Harlock in more than a decade, and the feelings are still the same. Feelings of liberty, love, honour and willingness to fight for what one holds dear and matters.
Thanks for the video, KB, great stuff! Hope you do the Galaxy Express 999 movie eventually, as that is easily my favorite part of the Leijiverse.
I've been aware of Matsumoto's works for awhile now especially with the loving homage in Daft Punk's Interstella x Discovery project; but it wasn't until Super Robot Wars T is when I decided to watch this film and check out the other stuff. Harlock is such a chad in SRWT and the Arcadia is such a fun ship to customize.
you can't talk about old anime without going in head first into the Leijiverse.
great job luv hearing about all these movies from my youth . you do a good job of capturing the feeling
Can you do a review of Record of Lodoss War?
Yes please!
@@DiegoB0525 I recently got the blu ray. I hope he gets to it someday along with Urusei Yatsura Beautiful Dreamer
Matsumoto's dad was a military officer in WWII, he came by that romanticism of duty naturally. He was also an established Mangaka, when the major student riots etc hit (unlike certain creators who were in the middle of it, some taking it pretty seriously, Oishii taking the mickey out of it).
One scene you left out (which is notable, because it's been stolen 2-3 times by just one notable series). The bit in the Flashback where Harlock's ancestor checks on Toshiro's hiding in the fuselage of the Bf-109. Peeking through that hatch, look familiar? "Cheap Plug"..
One big difference in a Matsumoto plot. His heroes go on Journeys to learn to live with their actions, more often than not, their biggest battles happen BEFORE they get on the Three-nine or Arcadia. Being the lead in a classic Matsumoto, is a voyage through self-examination and therapy. Which is probably why a fair amount of fan art implies a certain famous female lead already has a seat reserved the next time the Arcadia lifts off.
Even better than the early adoption, both Arcadia and Kamui no Ken were licensed "Dub only" when first released in the US. This let Animeigo pick them up fairly early on (sub only and uncut of course).
It always surprises me, but Matsumoto is easily one of the top three most internationally regarded Mangaka. I wouldn't say he's notably cosmopolitan, but he is so clearly individual focused that his works appeal across cultures. With Tomino, I worry that he really doesn't understand how politics etc works (he just thinks he does). Matsumoto doesn't CARE about that sort of thing and it makes his work much more approachable than you'd think for a creator I've called "Every Weeaboo's favorite Wehraboo".
I actually had the Space Pirates VHS growing up, as well as other obscure foreign animes like Little Nemo, Bumpety Boo, and several others. My grandma used to get cheap cartoons and such from the local grocery store, and it had them all, lmao.
I've been having a lot of suicidal ideation lately. The last few moments of the video may or may not be making me misty-eyed right now.
When I saw "Arcadia of My Youth" and "KaiserBeamz" together in my notifications, I immediately clicked. I got into the Leijiverse last year with the Galaxy Express 999 movie (now one of my comfort movies, as odd as that may sound) and fell in love with the series, particularly with the characters and world of Captain Harlock. I wasn't really "huge" per se on anime space operas/odysseys before, but Galaxy Express 999 and Captain Harlock wound up changing that. Great video on the movie, and hoping to maybe see your thoughts on Endless Orbit SSX! :D
Kinda random but, as a kid I was exposed to "Galaxy Express 999" through a laserdisc arcade cabinet called"Freedom Fighter". My early beginnings into Anime! 😁
@@shmousestudio I'd heard tell about that! Yeah I think I've seen footage of it before. They did pretty good in integrating it into a LaserDisc game _á la_ Cliff Hanger (which also used footage from anime movies, specifically the Lupin III movies Mystery of Mamo and Castle of Cagliostro)
I actually bought and still have the uncut English dubbed vhs called My Youth in Arcadia from Best Film & Video along with the AnimEigo Subtitled version
Albator 78 and 84 was huge in french !
It is interesting to see that thousands of years later the souls of HARLOCK and his little buddy found each other again.
This has always been one of my favorite anime films. It was my introduction to the Harlock series and plenty of other 80s anime.
This is such a good insight on a film that was a big part of my childhood and reflects on my art even though I never realized it.
This video is great! I'll have to check out this film sometime, as I've been meaning to watch something with Captain Harlock for awhile now.
Also, the ideals in this movie of following your dreams and making your own path reminds me a lot of One Piece.
Keep the legends coming!!!!!
Thanks for this video
People tend to call Miyazaki the Walt Disney of Japan, but I think that honor belongs to Matsumoto. You can't take three steps in the context of anime with seeing something that has his fingerprints all over it, or was heavily influenced by him.
How humorous that this do-nothing make-nothing lumpenprole with a fake job would label socialism as a good idea, even though it's responsible for the deletion of 100 million people, far more than those "bad ideologies".
Any reason our fantastic genres like scifi or fantasy are getting cynical these days since the 70s & 80s is because certain creators and fans demand their favourite stuff to acknowledge the "real world" eg corruption, violence, abuse, class struggles etc.
I get the valid points behind these. However, is it possible for positive shows or movies to acknowledge the "real world" and still be wholesome? Shows like Mr Rogers & Sesame Street, with their urban setting yet fantastic characters, proved they can work. Modern movies such as Spider-verse, Lego Movie & the overall MCU also proved there's still potential.
Agreed. As much as I like deconstructions, I'm also sick and tired of Reality ruining my enjoyment of something...
I think there has been a loss of innocence and the scales falling from the eyes.
Someone commented America lost its innocences with Watergate and Viet Nam, which has been further battered by Iran-Contra and most recently 9/11 (and Japan with the full revelation of their involvement in WWII).
It's hard to carry forward any idealism when the very foundations have proven to be rotten.
Great review and analysis of the movie KaiserBeamz! I especially loved the analysis of Matsumoto's ideals and his ways to share them through his operas.
i'd like to share my own personal "headcanon analysis" related the analogies of Harlock's ancestry though:
it's kinda overlooked in the video(for obvious reasons i suppose), but to me personally, the fact that he was a german pilot adds to the whole picture of throwing the choices out of the window and following your heart.
Like you've said about gundam's example: romanticism was viewed cinically because it came from the "bad guys" of those universes and that's it, there was no incentive to go further than that because they were the main objective to destroy, meanwhile, like you've said, Matsumoto was against this cynism.
Harlock's ancestor, as a character, fills the role of answer to itself more than continuity.
Like you've said, Harlock isn't really famous for being interlocked that well inbetween the various medias, why would he add such a provocatory detail?
The 2nd world war was an act of hate against various nations, it was basically pent up hate that got more and more severe the further the war went, no matter which country or nationality, you could still find pain and sadness to it.
Despite what is considered one of the worst conflicts happening all around him, Harlock's ancestor never tried to end the war itself:
he was an Iron Crossed-wearing german pilot and he, along with his friend, KNEW that it was a useless and painful event, despite this, his choice wasn't to revolt against it, but to escape from it.
Why would he want to resist anyways? His job was to take down allied aircrafts, he owed germany his services and Tochiro designed aircraft weapon sights, there's no incentive to rebel to it and no one would've listened in such trying and violent times.
Even his choice to run away with Tochiro wasn't a happy choice for him In the end: the war got to Harlock because he was running away from his duty, never opposing to it.
Captain Harlock had a similar experience: him being the commander of a battleship before becoming a pirate and the bloodline factor are noticeable parallelisms, on the other hand he became someone who his ancestor was not, a prime example of Nietzsche's Overhuman for the people who wanted to follow his ideals, the same ideals that inspired many people to rebel to the german regime and destroyed it.
The title of German fighter pilot, in my own eyes, can be considered as both the antithesis and the answer to these "new" pessimistic anime morals you've listed:
it's true and undeniable, war was an act started by terrible people who twisted the same romantic ideals that were against it for the goodwilled people, but at the same time the corruption is what makes the ideals of truth and purpose sprout and get stronger, the ones Phantom F. Harlock couldn't follow because he was part of the machine, but Captain Harlock wasn't and succeded in it along with his comrades.
As a side thing, i like to compare (as a neat little analogy or coincidence more than anything) the beginning of the movie to the ending of "forse che si forse che no" by D'annunzio:
a broken man trying to lose a life in his biplane deciding halfway through that he wants to live and actually overcomes the obstacle, making it against all odds and actually becoming famous in the process.
It's not a 1:1 provable reference of any kind, but considering the analogies to Nietzsche's ideals i like to think it's some form of homage to the author and his history(for some context: D'annunzio is famous for claiming the town of Fiume as Italian territory without italy's military forces. I suppose some parallelism could be made with Harlock's character if you look for them long enough, im no anime historian though).
Oh wow, I have had odd scenes from this franchise running through my head, but never knew where they originated from.
Making emphatic the Romanticism aspect made clear some running themes I gravitate towards, but with no through line as to what tied them altogether.
I can't help but immediately think of Kenny's video regarding Harlock (th-cam.com/video/HNTVshTXFwA/w-d-xo.html):
"How did you get in here? ... I jumped!"
"It was the same person I chased this morning! Only it wasn't a person, dad! I think it was a _woman!"_
"They looked like beautiful women, but their tissues were made of paper. That's why they burned.. like paper."
I think there only few modern character creations that tower so high over everything else that their influence, as you pointed out, became so massive that it's almost unbelieveble to tie it back to that one creation. Three of those characters are:
Captain Harlock
Conan the Barbarian - though Captain Harlock has traits of Conan as well.
Don Quixjote - one word about why Don Quixjote is so special: I suppose most of you haven't read the BOOK. So I'd say, most you one got the character wrong .... including the many methaphors taken from the book. Don Quixjote is THE embodiment of "anti-hero"! DQ is NOT the clumsy old man who rides out to fight for peace and love. DQ is a delusional, senile madman who causes severe trouble for everyone around him. DQ is so of the tracks that he actually starts fighting BULDINGS! Yes, the famous methaphor "fighting windmills" has nothing to do with taking up an seemingly impossible fight, it has everything to do with being completely out of your mind because you can't make a difference anymore between buildings and people. So when you tell somoone "your are fighting windmills" you actually say to him: "You belong into mental health care!" ;)
I think captain Harlock have some Charles De Gaulle vibes and it's why he is so loved here in France, under the name of Albator
In Matsumoto's defense, women to the Romantics were seen as ideals. They weren't seen as ordinary people. It would take Mary Shelley and her mother Mary Wollstonecraft to give women in Romanticism a voice. So the "flaws" in writing women that you point out in the movie are actually consistent with Classical Romanticism. And if you take into account that this story is all from Harlock's perspective then it makes even more sense. Great video. I'm grateful that Captain Harlock, as well as Mazinger Z, and Gatchaman were my first introduction to anime. Matsumoto really was a Romantic Poet.
This video, these likes and these comments should be multiplied by 100, such a great review. Thank you!
Wow just recently watched this again.
7:32 Ah yes, Space Battleship Yamato, well known for featuring the Soyokaze ::p
(a Tylor is fine too)
Only this movie and Hokuto no Ken made me shed manly tears😢😢
Ginga Nagaraboshi Gin. And excellent tv series full of the old bloodgore, and the manly man man 80s anime goodness. And the female characters aren't weak or boring.
Silver Fang seems to be a cash cow seinen manga franchise for a pretty long while now, even though its eponymous first instalment was for older male teenagers.
CANCEL👏HARLOCK'S👏GREAT👏GREAT👏GREAT👏GRANDPA!👏
“We will not pray for anything. Nor will we seek help from anyone. Never again will we fight under another's flag. We will keep on fighting only for what we believe in, under only OUR flag, as long as we live! Under MY flag!”
Yeah, he still does it for himself. Harlock isn't a collectivist, even if he recognizes the value of comradery and cooperation.
Please make a video about Devilman Lady please
I still remember this space pirate the way I first met him . . . in French. Capitaine Albator
This was a necessary video for me to learn from. I was introduced to the Yamato franchise from an early age and it's influence reached to me falling in love with the Dreamcast title Eternal Arcadia (Or Skies of Arcadia in the west as I am familiar with it). This video does a great job of making me understand the character of Harlock and why he is more relevant to the game than the crew of the Yamato ever were. The only incarnation of Harlock I have watched to this point is the CGI adaptation and while the film is certainly stylish, it seems to fall short of representing what makes the character so important. It seems he is a tricky character to pin down with the absence of a definite canon. One thing is certain though, that is a badass spaceship. :p
I first saw Harlock in 1978, dubbed in Italian
Well I'm Team Enlightenment, but thing is it isn't really a dichotomy, the two spheres are simply situationally divided. You can compare them in terms of importance but thats comparing apples to oranges. So I never took up Harlock as being Team Enlightenment I found pirates contrary to the rule of law and hence distasteful. But as time goes on i find myself enjoying classical shojo drama, my favourite being Rose of Versailles (oh the drama!), and what is that if not Romanticism, complete with classical music, if not the lofty pinnacle of Dvořák. They all die tho so I class that as a win for Team Enlightenment still lol! So it is a place that I visit fondly, but I'd never live there. But these are just some personal ramblings of mine - SUPERB VIDEO, just so well researched, well argumented, well presented, this is what I look for in the analyses of film, just bravo!
I have been watching anime since 1978. It wasn't until 1992 when I first watched the American version of this movie called, "Vengeance of the Space Pirate". A cut from the original version and it was titled "My Youth in Arcadia" on vhs. It cut all violence scenes from the American version. I like the other version better. Also, did you know that Space Battleship Yamato was originally called, "Asteroid Ship Icarus"? It was created by Yoshinobu Nishizaki back in 1973. Leji stepped up to the plate and helped him with the project, but decided to replace the asteroid with the WW2 Battleship Yamato. Both creators kept the same plot, Earth ruined by radiation bombs from Gamilon who was trying to take over the planet for their home. The scene where Halrock's Arcadia ship takes off is simular to SBY taking off from Earth's surface. I enjoy Harlock's friendship with Tochiro, Emeraldus, Maya, etc to Harlock's and Tochiro's ancestor's when they first met in WW2 and how Harlock's ancestor's gave the c12d gunsight to Tochiro's ancestor, and back 1000 years later.
03:12 What is this music in your intro?
14:28 Which anime was this picture is from?
Awesome video. I would say however, that it certainly wasn't just "kids" who connected with Captain Harlock, as the adult otaku community, (even back then,) were well aware of what his crew represented, (like the obsessed model building Yattaran!) 😎 From what I understand, it was around this time that the word "otaku" in general started to circulate!
For me i watch the serie and never manage to finish it, but i remember a way that Harlock at difference of many other, he is a hero that ask you to try, to dream and beleive in your dreams and figth.
But the idea the setting, of human becoming comlaicent and weack, sound so much, and how both Harlock the crew and his main rival are so unnique, and yet the moment it sound more was in episode 6 i think was, Tadashi grab a gun and shoot a flag of earth and said that flag doesnt represent me, on how earth goverment let her father, Dr Kuzko die and they frame Tadashi with treason for boarding the Arcadia, Harlock a character like him wont ever be in moder anime, a character like him, Esmeralda or even Toshiro cant exist in modern anime
Ha! It IS Dvorak! I've wondered that for years
Maybe Blue by Okuda Tamio/Unicorn 02:55 min
Love you series and hope to take a look at Starzinger AKA Spacekateers, Leiji Matsumoto's other slightly more lighthearted space epic
Harlock is definitely
the most Based Anime character!
Joining the other commenters who would like you to do a video on the Galaxy Express 999 movie
I've been a huge fan of Space Battleship Yamato, and I also like Captain Harlock and I have watched this movie (i.e. "Arcadia of my youth").
I think the reason Captain Harlock didn't succeed as much as Yamato is that Harlock is a bit more romanticized than what is needed. Yamato has huge elements of romanticism, but also has a lot of war and personal drama, a lot of sci-fi elements, and really huge bad guy characters to go along with the main characters. Yamato is richer as a story, and Yamato also has a climactic ending that is often unparalleled both in the first and and the second series...also, in Yamato, Earthlings are united and Yamato is their representative, whereas in Harlock the main protagonist fights mostly for himself.
Also, Yamato has incredible music, its main theme is simply the best ever theme written for such stories, and it is applied very cleverly to create the emotions needed to feel incredible thrilling moments.
Finally, Yamato has the Wave Motion Gun, which is one of the cleverest plot elements, and it creates very tense moments, something that I never felt with Harlock...
Finally, some good food
I waited so long for you to do this, I love this series and the style was so beautiful. I always had a sense that the music was so tied in that it gave a new character to the movie itself.
Toshiro is a character I have always wanted to cosplay, at least with the large hat, glasses and robe, I have loved his ties.
SPOILER ALERT!
When the Yamato showed up with the Arcadia at the end of DNA Sights 999.9, I figured it was the "Ghost Ship" version from "Arrivederci, Yamato". It didn't occur to me it showed up because Matsumoto wanted it to.
I wonder if you will do the sequel TV show next.
Sorry for asking but when is the merrie history of looney tunes part 7 coming out
You mean it cannot be OVERstated. If it cannot be understated that means it had no impact at all.
That toast has different meaning in Madison Wisconsin......Gorham is a semi-famous street name up here.
so I guess the leiji-verse comments totally flush away my cinematic universe theory about interstella 5555 taking place in the yamato universe, huh? I had seen bits and pieces of this on pluto tv... may have to look this up to watch it from start to finish!!
3:40 “he has the most well known quantity and an unprecedented dominion over the medium at large”
uuuhhhh…Space Battleship Yamato and its numerous sequels, reboots, OVAs, movies, games, and pretty much everything else might have something to say about that statement of yours, bud. And for good reason!
A multiple-choice past story of a beloved character that's highly remembered despite the amount of fridging?
So it's like The Killing Joke?
While it's easy to look back at Vengeance of the Space Pirate as a bit of a disaster, for its time it was amazing. The DiskoTek release thankfully includes the Vengeance dub and shows that it was a shockingly faithful translation and the rather stiff dub performances still worked alright. From the looks of things, it seems like the situation was something like Toei wanted to release the anime in the states and thus paying for a dub themselves, not finding a distributor, an eventually settling on Celebrity who then cut out 30 minutes because they were cheapskates who used crappy low capacity VHS taped while still selling anime at a rather high price.
Still it contained one of the manliest lines I've ever heard. Just before Harlock duels the enemy commander, the commander says:
"When we meet in hell, lets have a drink together."
Friendly reminder that this was released under the "Celebrity's Just For Kids Home Video" label...the early days of anime were weird. But I can safely say that even in this mangled form, it was still a great movie. Certainly better than...other Harlock dubs of the age...
"Only it wasn't a person, Dad, I think it's a woman!" -Thomas Hairball
...
.....it goes without saying though, your video was great. I've just been trying to untangle the mystery of Celebrity's Just For Kids Home Video anime releases because they're so weird.
Funny, I'm watching this while playing "Skies of Arcadia," which was (obviously) inspired by it.
Anyways, three-nine when? 😁
Fifth video of me asking you to do legends of the galactic heroes
Bro give them some time, that series is over 100 episodes long 😭
Nothing better to do then
@@P3achyPro totally understand that it's mostly for the meme of bullying a creator into doing something after making the same comment week after week
Might as well tack Gaiden on there while we're asking
@@CocoHutzpah I'm hopefully optimistic about a future Kyoto Video episode on Galaxy Fraulein Yuna.
Saying "hopefully optimistic" because I kinda.... you know... legit hope that that he doesn't hate it like other people do.
Because it's a VERY special anime to me, for several reasons.
And because the more I looked into it, the more fascinating it became to me.
IMO there's so much to talk about, like....
1. Mika Akitaka's popularization of the "Mobile Suit Girl" phenom. One of my favorite sub-tropes of all time is a cute anime girl with a bad-ass mech suit tailored to fit her body with insane weaponry fitted to it like a living Gundam arsenal. Akitaka was not only an actual artist for Gundam but spun off the idea of girls with mech suits. That is to say, no androids or cyborgs, but somehow girls that lug around these gigantic suits and look as adorable as they do awesome.
2. How such a series as big as GFY in Japan, was only able to get one (well two, but they bundled both sets of OVA's together in one package) anime adaptation from ADV overseas even though literally none of the games from Hudson were ever released here, and knowledge of the games is more or less required for context. Something that has led a few hardcore US Yuna fans to do independent research into GFY themselves just to find out.
3. How the anime (particularly the second OVA series) managed to be incredibly dark but incredibly impactful, and was one of the earlier works of someone who would later go on to direct Puella Magi Madoka Magica and how this actually predated and served as a bit of a soundboard for some of the themes of existential horror and emotional nihilism that Madoka would go on to perfect.
4. How underrated and honestly kind of shocking the (double) death of Ayako in that second OVA would be portrayed. I'd seen a lot of anime before I watched that, and was no stranger to emotionally sad moments, but Akako's death in particularly hit me super hard. Harder than most things i'd seen. Subtle yet horrifying things such as the fact that the death of a living android was so brutal and depressing, compounded with the rather horrifying context of her dying amidst a pile of broken mannequin parts, just to drive the point home. Or how, contrary to most deaths depicted in anime and video games of the 90's, where the characters die content in their last moments, and passing on some sage wisdom before they die.... Ayako died mid-sentence, sputtering and pleading for her life from fate, now that she found a friend to love and the cruelty of mortality, and how she just wanted to stay and wanted to live. And how again, her second death coming at the hands of a tearful Yuna as the last remnants of Ayako's soul guided her hand to the trigger. ..........this stuff messed me up, man. Messed. Me. Up.
5. That infamous...... infamous........ infamous dub. Speaking as someone who generally likes and almost always prefers the English language of anime 9 times out of 10, I think Galaxy Fraulien Yuna, interestingly stands as.... honestly my vote for the single worst dub that ADV has ever produced, ever.
I find it so wretched and unlistenable in many places, that it's almost worth talking about and roasting in and of itself. It is literally the dub I've hated the most out of the many i've heard in my day. It almost begs for an impassioned AVGN-esque WHAT WERE THEY THINKING at many points.
From the fact that they cast actors in singing roles that clearly could not sing, and stumbled blindly into every sour note possible as if they were metaphorically blindfolded and shoved into a saw mill. How multiple actresses that could not sing on key were seemingly recorded SEPARATELY without harmonizing with one another, creating a godawful cacophony of ear-bleeding sound. Or how even heavy HEAVY vocoder and reverb effect could not save it. To Yuna's detestably squeaky and screechy English voice caterwauling the majority of her lines, to the fact that the majority of the sound mix and awkward line delivery rendered a lot of most character's lines borderline inaudible or calling into question at times what they're even SAYING at points.... It is the worst dub ever handled by ADV, which is saying something.
I absolutely love Galaxy Fraulein Yuna and speaking as a dub lover myself, this is one of the few anime that I would only ever watch in English if I woke up that day deciding that I hated myself and was overdue for some form of cosmic punishment.
So while I think there's a lot to love (and a lot of historical interest in how and why ADV released this with no purchasable game series to promote with it) and a lot to talk about when it comes to Hudson Soft, The contrasting styles of both OVA put together, Mika Akitaka's MS Girls artbook that started this IP, it's success in Japan, it's connections as a prototypical sounding board for concepts that would paint how Galaxy Fraulein Yuna walked so that Madoka Magica and it's concepts could run, and that awful, awful, awful dub..... It is just an anime and a franchise that has always fascinated me deeply on several levels, in a variety of ways both worthy or praise and criticism in equal measure, that is still my ultimate guilty pleasure.
Granted, I have no idea how Kaiser himself views GFY or if he thinks any of this is even remotely as interesting as I do. But I do know the only other person to review this anime on youtube, imo, did an absolutely godawful job of fairly or substantially reviewing it with any measure of fairness. So I would hope that at least one competent review of this anime exists someday.
DVORAK IN ANIME SIGHTING... er... HEARING
Glad you at least touched on the Nazi stuff in this movie, I randomly sat down and watched this with a friend last year and we were like !?1?
Oh yeah, I'm definitely gonna get more into detail about Matsumoto's WWII themes when I eventually do a video on The Cockpit.
Pronouncing taciturn as tackiturn is kinda funny ngl
Please can you do more looney tunes
I have this on vhs, original first usa release, any one want to buy it? Not joking, being legit here.
I always liked Harlock but. He's irrational. Everything he says is pure crazy. Maybe it's just a bad translation.
Captain harlock...my lord and savior
I did grew up with Harlock and had a strong bind with him but in this movie is too - perfect, and the exhacerbated drama does not help.
What am expecting it will NEVER happen canon, because Harlock is the heroic alter ego of Matsumoto, but i really wish to see the flawed side of the hero: waking up scruffy (ok this is easy), sitting in the toilet with a morning wood struggling to pee, getting coffee grumpy, shaving, doing the marital deeds with Meeme (beyond the camera), etc.
you dont know the meaning of positive and negative
And all your videos I've noticed one thing you never include the English dubbing the cast, why don't you mention them. Or is it that English dubbing cast is so trashy that you don't feel like they deserve credit. I also have a question for you as far as the harlock TV series is it an English dub in its entirety? I have seen on VHS tapes several of the episodes.
What are you talking about? Go check any of his other videos, if anything he mentions them too much and to be honest I couldn´t care less about the english dub as I´m not from the US or UK.
Uhm. He talks about it often in MANY of his videos when applicable.
And honestly, it's one of the reasons I think he's one of the good anime reviewers with a channel dedicated to anime that's actually worth watching becuae he cares about and gives great dubs the respect that they rightfully deserve, unlike most of the toxic and idiotic morons in this fanbase that ignorantly dismiss or refuses to give them and their industry most of the attention, recognition and respect it rightfully needs and deserves.
More negative ideas? That description seemed awfully subjective and opinionated.
Unsubscribed.
Wow. You successfully avoided combining Romanticism and Fighting WWII not only on the wrong side but the LOSING side.
[Space Battleship Yamamoto looms menacingly]
Care to try again? Look, you called the design of the Arcadia "iconic" But. Not. WHY.
Mmm, Imperial Japan porn or "Make Japan Great Again." I like Tomino, I love Ooshi. I do NOT care for Matsumoto.
Every side in any conflict thinks their views and actions are fully justified. It's not like the mustachioed villains of propaganda.
I know of US tank crews that run with pictures Rommel because he was an honorable man and a worthy opponent.
@@quintessenceSL Did you know Japanese citizens never saw any images of the Yamamoto when it was afloat?
And since the WWII naval strategy was ultimately aircraft carriers and not battleships, what are they celebrating here?
Rommel lost but his desert campaign had its moments so when his name comes up in Girls Und Panzer, the show doesn't.... it's hard to explain as the series is both highly satirical when it comes to politics but also apolitical as it doesn't promote WWII era ideologies.
"It's a Sherman. Lots of Shermans!"
"It's the Maus!"
"It's the Type 89 [snicker]"
They stay away from Nazi Germany and I understand why but they roast the hell out of Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan.
Meanwhile, the generations following WWII is using the image of the Yamamoto how exactly? A symbol of the underdog, of power and prestige? "They're, We're, They're the good guys."
And that brings us to WWII Revisionism.