Yamamoto Yohko...
One of Right Stuf's early releases was Yamamoto Yohko...
Yamamoto Yohko centers around the exploits of the title character and her adventures in a future where war has been replaced with a bloodless form of gladiatorial combat in dueling spaceships. There is a lot of action, but, no bloodshed or gore. There is some mild fan service including skimpy attire, some bare skin and even a bare breast missing its nipple. Yamamoto Yohko is just a treat to watch. If our heroine Yohko, wasn't already the star of the show, she would definitely steal the show. At this point, the series is about twenty years old and showing its age in some spots, but, Yamamoto Yohko still manages to hold up very well. I gave Yamamoto Yohko a 3 out of 5.
John, a contributor to the AnimeNaton blog, provides some background for the series and discusses the differences between the OVA and the TV series (by the way, the TV series was not released in the U.S.)...Volume 1
A thousand years from now, the great battles between civilizations have been reduced to the shoulders of a handful of chosen champions. When a war is waged, each side picks its representatives, gives them spaceships and the fight is on! Of course if their champion looses, they must admit defeat and give into the wishes of the other. Very handy, very civilized ... unless you don't happen to have any good fighters...
Terra team has had it tough lately: Ness' "Red Snappers" team has had things their way. Even with technically superior ships, things are bleak for Terra...
To make matters worse, they only have three pilots. Despite a concerted effort to recruit girls from the past, the team simply keeps losing! Now they desperately need someone special...Someone powerful, capable, and who possesses a killer instinct. A pilot of extraordinary skill to crew the new model ship. They need ... Yamamoto Yohko!
Now if they can just convince her that a better life awaits her in the future, with new friends, new videogames and some very powerful hypertechnology (well some things just take less convincing than others!), Terra might be able to defeat the Red Snappers for a change!
Are you ready?
Volume 2
Rouge, it seems, isn't all bad after all. Oh sure, in battle there are few tougher opponents, but there is also a side which craves beauty and peace in the universe. Her mom was much the same, and her task was a noble one ... but is sadly incomplete. Worse, all her effort is in jeparody as the laboratory (with an unstable nuclear reactor) is on a collision course with Earth!
Volume 3
There is an ancient legend on a distant planet which states (among other things) that four goddesses will one day descend from the skies and all will be right with the world.
Of course meanwhile, Yohko and the rest of the Terra team (with one straggler) have crashed on a backwater world, and they have to figure out a way off before their new charge ... gets hungry again!
Every so often, a celebration takes place in one of the most beautiful places in the Universe ... a cosmic Sakura fest! Since the Terra Team has been doing so well, one of them is invited to join the high command as they meet their opposite numbers from NESS. It’s a time of celebration and a time of peace ... but it seems that someone didn’t get the message!
I don't mind going into a lot of detail with Yamamoto Yohko because it's been one of my favorite series since I first encountered it around five years ago. Soreyuke! Uchu Senkan Yamamoto Yohko (a parody of the classic title Uchu Senkan Yamato, Space Battleship Yamato) originated as a series of novels written by Shoji Takashi (who also created the popular psychic battle series Tokyo Jyushouden). Takashi actually created two different series of Yamamoto Yohko novels. The first series included 11 books published between 1993 and 1999. The "Opt." series of 8 novels was published between 1994 and 1999.
The popular series spawned a tabletop RPG game in 1996 and a series of 4 manga written by Takashi with art by Youichi Kadoi, published between 1996 and 1998. The series was popular enough to become a 3 part OAV series in early 1996. Three radio drama adaptations were broadcast in Tokyo in March and April of 1997, followed that summer by the promotional video "Soreyuke! Uchuu Senkan Yamamoto Yohko II Stage: 0 Get Ready!!" which led directly into the second, three episode OAV series. In April 1999, Yamamoto Yohko was revived for the 26 episode TV series.
While the two OAV series maintained a single continuing continuity, the TV series featured new character designs by Akio Watanabe (SoulTaker, Court no Nakano Tenshi Tachi). However, like both OAV series, the TV still featured fantastic vocal theme songs by Masami Okui (Utena opening, Jungle de Ikou themes, etc.) and voice performances by famous seiyuu including Megumi Hayashibara, Tamagawa Sakiko (Natsumi of You're Under Arrest), Yuko Miyamura (Asuka Shoryu Langley), Minami Takayama (Nabiki Tendo, Dilandau), Yasunori Matsumoto (Gourry Gabriev, Dick Saucer), and Yuuji Ueda (Sanosuke, Tenkawa Akito). The TV series was an entirely new, self contained story, though, with some major changes to the characters' personalities - especially the decision to make Momiji an old fashioned, rustic "tough guy" with a soft heart and the dramatic inclusion of emotional depth and intensity to Rouge of the Redsnappers.
The TV series, while not a tremendous smash on Japanese televison, was mildly successful and remains, in my personal opinion, one of the best and most underappreciated anime TV series of the past several years. While the OAV series was a fun but ephemeral diversion, the TV series, with its significantly longer running time, delved into a surprising amount of character development and story, and featured excellent direction, cinematography and a wonderful sense of originality and extra effort on the part of the production staff. Unfortunately, either there is no American license for the TV series, or RSI (or whichever company owns the translation rights) is being very secretive about it.
Yamamoto Yohko centers around the exploits of the title character and her adventures in a future where war has been replaced with a bloodless form of gladiatorial combat in dueling spaceships. There is a lot of action, but, no bloodshed or gore. There is some mild fan service including skimpy attire, some bare skin and even a bare breast missing its nipple. Yamamoto Yohko is just a treat to watch. If our heroine Yohko, wasn't already the star of the show, she would definitely steal the show. At this point, the series is about twenty years old and showing its age in some spots, but, Yamamoto Yohko still manages to hold up very well. I gave Yamamoto Yohko a 3 out of 5.
