Academy Productions - Space Battleship Yamato (1974/75) Original animation cel VERY RARE Hand-drawn by an official animator who worked on the anime It’s made during the production and for the production. Very rare and incredible artwork See photos. Space Battleship Yamato (Japanese: 宇宙戦艦ヤマト, Hepburn: Uchū Senkan Yamato; also called Cosmoship Yamato and Star Blazers) is a Japanese science fiction anime series written by Yoshinobu Nishizaki, directed by manga artist Leiji Matsumoto, and produced by Academy Productions. The series aired in Yomiuri TV from October 6, 1974 to March 30, 1975, totaling up to 26 episodes. It revolves around the character Susumu Kodai (Derek Wildstar in the English version) and an international crew from Earth, tasked during an interstellar war to go into space aboard the space warship Yamato, derived from the World War II battleship of the same name, in response to a message of aid from the planet Iscandar in order to retrieve a device which is able to reverse the radiation infecting Earth after being bombed by the Gamilas (Gamilons). Space Battleship Yamato is one of the most influential anime series in Japan. Its turn toward serious themes and complex storylines influenced later works in the medium, including Gundam, Macross, and Evangelion, in addition to influencing the style of video games such as Space Invaders.