Source: Shochiku Co., Ltd. Author: Tim Eldred, Cosmo DNA Official Site: yamato2199.net The history of SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO is dotted with unusual product tie-ins, and the new collaboration with the Sendai City Transportation Bureau easily fits into that category. From November 22 to December 19, six subway stations in Sendai are playing host to promotional displays for the upcoming film SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO 2199: THE STAR-VOYAGING ARK (???????2199 ?????, Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199 Hoshi Meguru Hakobune), and visitors to all six could win prizes in a "stamp rally." Participants would collect ink stamps in a booklet and turn them in for a special clear file and a STAR-VOYAGING ARK card case to hold an I.C. transit swipe card. In return, Sendai`s public transportation system got a special boost from Starsha Iscander herself in a promotional video played on the LCD monitors in trains and stations. Anime footage was culled from SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO 2199 Episode 2 with a rewritten script. Starsha’s voice actor Kikuko Inoue and Captain Juuzo Okita’s voice actor Takayuki Sugo read new lines instructing Sendai commuters in the use of the I.C. card.

For more information on SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO please see the earlier coverage here on SciFi Japan:

• The Miyagawa Legacy
• SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO, Part 1: The Anime Classic That Nearly Wasn`t
• SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO, Part 2: From Valley to Peak
• SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO, Part 3: ARRIVEDERCI YAMATO Goodbye Dark Ages, Hello Global Village
• SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO, Part 4: We`re Off to Outer Space
• SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO, Part 5: THE NEW VOYAGES Plural
• SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO, Part 6: BE FOREVER YAMATO...and the Kitchen Sink
• SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO, Part 7: SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO III: The Ground Shifts
• SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO, Part 8: FINAL YAMATO: The Legacy Begins
• SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO, Part 9: Dessler`s War and More: SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO IN THE 80s
• SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO, Part 10: The Rollercoaster: SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO in the 90s
• SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO, Part 11: The Leiji Matsumoto Renaissance, SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO in the 21st Century
• YAMATO REBIRTH: An Eyewitness Account of the New Beginning
• SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO: RESURRECTION
• SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO: Triumph and Tragedy
• SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO on Australian DVD and Blu-ray
• Win Tickets to SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO, CURE or ZOMBIE ASS at Japan Cuts!
• J-POP Summit Festival Announces Japan Film Festival of San Francisco
• Bluefin Bandai Tamashii Nations Space Battleship Yamato 2199 in Feb 2014
• SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO Finally Hits North American Theaters in October 2013
• SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO North American Presskit
• Live-Action SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack in April
• STAR BLAZERS 2199 on Blu-ray and DVD this Month
• STAR BLAZERS 2199 Vol.2 Blu-ray and DVD in April
• Win the SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack!
• SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO Celebrates 40th Anniversary with Two 2199 Movies
• SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO 2199 Event in Osaka
• SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO 2199 Partners with Japan Sankei
• SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO 2199: ARK OF THE STARS Update
• SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO 2199 Movie Update
• SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO 2199: A VOYAGE TO REMEMBER Blu-ray/DVD Commercial
• SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO 2199: A VOYAGE TO REMEMBER Opening Day Report
• SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO 2199: A VOYAGE TO REMEMBER Update
• New SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO 2199 Movie Tie-In Album