Star Blazers - The Quest for Iscandar - The Complete Series I Collection (Episodes 1- 26)

Amazon.com

The first animated work from Leiji Matsumoto, who would create the popular Captain Harlock saga, Star Blazers (Uchu Senkan Yamato or Space Cruiser Yamato, 1974) was a landmark program in Japan and America. When it aired in syndication in the U.S. in 1979, the character names were anglicized (Susumu Kodai became Derek Wildstar; Admiral Okita, Captain Avatar, etc.), the violence and drinking were heavily censored, and the World War II connections of the Yamato were tactfully downplayed. The Quest for Iscandar comprises the first 26-episode continuity; two additional TV series and several features would follow. In the year 2199, the war with the planet Gamilon has turned the Earth's surface into a radioactive desert. The radiation will penetrate the bedrock protecting humanity's underground cities in another year, destroying all remaining life. A message arrives from Queen Starsha of the planet Iscandar, offering a way to eliminate the deadly radiation and providing plans for an engine that can power a ship across the 148,000 light-year gap. Scientists convert the ruined shell of the battleship Yamato into a starship in a desperate attempt to save the planet, and the perilous voyage begins. The animation and character designs look very dated, but Gen-Xers who grew up watching it remember Star Blazers vividly. The bonus materials include a virtual tour of the Argo, an interactive map of the journey to Iscandar, and some footage deleted from the American broadcast version. Unrated; suitable for ages 8 and up: Violence largely restricted to spaceship and robot attacks. --Charles Solomon

Description

The original Sci-Fi adventure series that created a generation of anime fans-and still stands at the head of the pack-is finally available on DVD! The star blazers series 1 DVD collection contains the entire 26-episode series on 6 DVDs, each in its own package and loaded with bonuses, from deleted scenes to music tracks to brand new image galleries. Relive all the drama and excitement as the star force launches for the first time in the space battleship Argo on their epic 148,000 light year quest for Iscandar! Standing against them is Desslock and the might of the Gamilon Empire... and the fate of Earth hangs in the balance!

Customer Reviews:

What Great Memories.......2007-08-25

I just received my copies of series 1 and 2 and started watching 1 and it felt like I was sitting there with of all people, my older sister who turned me on to the show in 1982. Her day was not complete until she watched Geberal Hospital at 3 and than Star Blazers at 4pm. She would tell me its like a soap opera for guys but there is something that has me hooked and I think you will like it, she was right.

As I watch at an older age I like it even more, the emotional rollercoaster you are taken on makes me wonder if the producers of another great show 24 watched Star Blazers at some point.

Some of the reviews I have read had great insite into the show and its quality. The DVDs are not too bad considering that years ago people watched on black and white tvs and sometimes no cable its an improvement.

JIm Kelly

Star Blazers deserves better! A more technical review........2007-04-08

Star Blazers, ah the memories of rushing home from school in the early 80's to catch the next adventure of the Star Force's journey to Iscandar. Knowing the opening and closing themes word for word and even being able to recite the narrator's form intro at the start of every episode (In the year 2199, Earth is under severe attack from the mysterious planet Gamilon...)

So why only the 3 star review? Voyager Entertainment Inc.'s (VEI) horrible handing of the series they unfortunately have the rights to... When they initially acquired the rights from Kidmark they cleaned up the picture and made it more watchable. That was a good thing, for 1994... But for a 2001 DVD release it's unacceptable... Especially for what they charge.

In 1995 I collected VEI's VHS release of this series in the 13 individual volumes (2 eps per volume). What I didn't like about them (I'll use volume 1 as an example) was that they would use the opening theme, show episode 1, then it would just roll into episode 2, and then the ending theme. Back then VEI also offered a more economical 6 volume box set. In doing so some of the opening recaps were cut as they would string 5 episodes together almost like a movie. Example; volume 1 of the box set would go; opening theme, episode 1,2,3,4,5, ending theme. This six volume VHS box set is important in this review because it is THIS very set that VEI "shoveled" onto DVD. Yes, they used the old VHS box set masters for this DVD release. There was actually more on the individually sold 2-episode volumes that they released 12 years ago on VHS! Now, on the DVD it seems like you can choose an individual episode and watch it that way (with opening and ending themes). Nope, if you choose episode 1 it will automatically go to episode 2 without opening and ending themes. The going theme for VEI (other than VHS masters shovelware) seems to be treating each VOLUME (whether it has 2 episodes or 5) as one whole smashed together episode. Now? Each disc is treated the same way, as one episode. Very sloppy and very disappointing.

I would've also liked to have seen the commercial bumpers and the "Stay tuned for scenes to the next Star Blazers!" in Derek Wildstar's voice. Not vital but goes with the nostalgia that makes this series so special to us fans. They did this for Robotech and the Transformers. Why not Star Blazers?

The extras are nice but be aware that a lot of the last names for a lot of the characters were made up years after the show was off the air. Names like "Nova Forrester, Dashell Jordan, Abraham Avatar." These characters among others never had last names in the series as we saw it on TV years ago. It was just "Nova, Dash, Captain Avatar, Eager, Conroy, etc." I'm not bashing the invented names but just be aware that they were made up by fans that did a comic for VEI back in 1995-96. On the deleted scene of the sinking of the original battleship Yamato, the scene that was used here is from the Space Battleship Yamato movie and NOT the TV series which was a longer scene.

I see a lot of reviews saying they would've prefered to have the original Japanese episodes on here as well. I couldn't agree more... But the fact is, VEI only owns the rights to Star Blazers NOT the original Japanese TV series. They have the rights to distribute the Yamato films but not the TV series. The other problem is that Star Blazers was heavily edited for time and violence. The episodes would not be compatible for a dual language track. Our best bet for seeing Yamato TV with English subtitles other than illegal bootlegs is for a domestic anime company like AnimEigo or ADV to get the licensing rights. And for Star Blazers to get the proper remastering it deserves? A good anime company would have to buy it from VEI. Unfortunately I just don't see that happening. They've had the rights for 14 years now and still can't get it right.

Am I Missing Something Here???.......2007-03-15

I'm giving the set three stars based on how much I enjoyed watching Star Blazers as a kid - being 37 years old, I have a lot of pleasant nostalgia for the show - and NOT on the product itself (box art, bonus features, quality of the discs, etc) because I'm not going to buy THIS set. So why am I even writing a review for something I don't even have?

Every early anime that I know of that was shown in early-80's America is out on DVD now - most notably Gatchaman (edited and packaged as both G-Force & Battle Of The Planets) and Voltron. These old shows have been packaged onto DVD's not only completely unedited, but also with the option to watch the show in Japanese with subtitles - you know, the way it originally was. This gave me the option to not only relive old memories by seeing the English version, but also to hear the REAL voices of the characters, and see how different the dialogue was. While Gatchaman was the biggest surprise, seeing Voltron in Japanese was the biggest trip. Also, these shows cost next-to-nothing at a used DVD store, or even here at Amazon.

So why in the world - HOW in the world - could I possibly pay a HUNDRED dollars for edited English-only early anime? Deleted scenes??? Put the friggin' scenes BACK in the episodes and sell us non-wealthy fans unedited episodes! And there's just NO excuse for not having a Japanese soundtrack - every other anime does except for OLD stuff like Astro Boy, Speed Racer, and Gigantor. (And even Speed Racer has a Spanish track...)

I'd have left all of this alone, and not written this review, if not for that unbelievable price tag. It just seems wrong to me. Hopefully someday there'll be an 'ultimate' version - heck, a LOT of anime releases updated boxsets. 'Complete Collection', 'Ultimate Collection', then 'Anime Legends' collection in a thinpack... maybe, hopefully, someday that will happen for Star Blazers too.

Still the best - put up with the minor things..........2006-09-03

Okay, people, stop griping about the small stuff. I mean, come on - how many people "hate" Star Trek because the Klingons changed foreheads? It's a cartoon, it's made up, we're called on to suspend our disbelief watching anything, so have a little mercy and forgive a couple mistakes. If you have so much pride or so little self-esteem that you need to point out a couple production flaws or the transfer rate, well, then your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries.

Okay, that being said...

I've always been hooked by a great story. Epic masterpieces are hard to find, especially on TV, and I was hooked by Starblazers immediately. Of course, at first you get into the Wave Motion Gun blasting things to bits and all the battles with Desslok and the Gamilons. I watched it in the mornings when I was a kid, and the last episode was on the first day of school. We were one of the first families to get a VCR, and I begged my mom to tape the last episode for me. You can imagine the suspense - a whole school day in (I think) 2nd grade waiting to see if they would save the earth with the Cosmo-DNA, and what happens but my mom taped the wrong channel. AAAAGGH! I had to wait a year for it to recycle and you better believe I saw it then.

(spoiler alert - this paragraph) I rewatched the series once I received it (now in my 30's) and realized how genius it really was. It has everything that good epic stories have to have - great character development, a death of a major character, struggles that really mean something, connections to anyone in the audience - you name it, Starblazers has it. I related to Wildstar - some things in his actions and his family are awfully familiar. I can relate to his struggles with not having anyone, and that makes it all the more special when Nova likes him for who he is. The episode where he doesn't have anyone to talk to at home really hits me; it's also probably when Nova realizes he's more than just a flashy guns-blazing type. Then you get episodes where the unlikely characters are the hero - IQ-9 protecting Nova on the "Bees" episode, Royster (I think that was his name - Sandor's helper) with the Wave Motion Gun idea for firing themselves out of the tube thing, and Nova being willing to give herself to save the ship (and earth) by activating the Cosmo-DNA, to name a few. That whole scene is as brilliant an example of writing as I've ever encountered, including any literature, TV, movies, etc. Sandor is forced to watch helplessly, and Wildstar has already tried to be the hero and can do nothing more; Nova does what she has to do and willingly gives herself for the crew and the earth. Stealing a little from the Bible, there's brilliant ending where Avatar sees earth "one more time" as he wished (Moses seeing the promised land but not going in), and, the sacrifice having proven successful, Nova comes out of her coma. It's such a great way to end the series.

I showed Starblazers to a couple friends who had never seen it; one stayed up all night and watched the whole series, and the other finished it over the course of a week, only because he didn't want to lose his job! He would come home from work and take over the TV. This is a man in his late 20s at the time. Five stars, no question. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll sing along. Buy it.

as I remember it.......2006-08-25

I am pleased with the overall presentation. Having the original format gives it the feel of retro-realism. My only complaint is that the portion showing the sinking of the Yamato in WWII is corrupted and chops through the entire clip. The only recording flaw I have detected.
I had recollections of Deslock changing from fair skinned to blue skinned. Watching the episodes verified for me that he changed along with other characters to the unifying blue skin color between episode 10 & 11. No explanation for this change is given though (unless I missed it somewhere).
I look forward to viewing the Comet Empire in the near future.

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