Space Battleship Yamato

Found a bunch of vids of SBY and Star Blazers at YT... I think all 3 series are available online...

Symphony Space Battleship Yamato:

part 1 - part 2 - part 3 - part 4

The New Journey: part 1 (of 9)
Be Forever Yamato: part 1 (of 14)
Final Yamato: part 1 (of 15); ending; alternate ending (I don't think it was used for the theatrical release, was it? It was probably a bit too risque.)

wiki
Starship Schematic Database - Space Battleship Yamato

Info about the recent OAV series that was never completed: Space Battleship Yamato

I saw only the 1st and 2nd seasons--I'm not sure if the 3rd season was shown in the U.S., but I believe it is now available on DVD. Albert H. in my 5th grade class both watched the show; the only day I couldn't watch it was Tuesday, because of CCD, though I was able to catch a couple of minutes on a TV in one of the classrooms at St. Joe's because the helper for my sister's class was also a fan. Albert would draw pictures of the various earth vessels, including one of the Yamato (aka Argo).

Americans might be surprised by the realistic depiction of violence and death in a "cartoon" from the late 70s. (Iirc, much of this was toned down when the series was introduced as Star Blazers in the U.S., and the deaths of several characters were eliminated.) This is a staple of Japanese animation, in contrast to American cartoons on networks TV which have to be children-friendly, regardless of the age of the intended audience. In Japan accomodations are made in accordance with what older children can be exposed to. (In contrast, in the cartoon version of G.I. Joe, no one ever died, even though the G.I. Joe team was fighting against the "terrorist" organization COBRA.) Is there any Japanese series which has more heroic deaths than Space Battleship Yamato? (Of course, the deaths are mostly of "minor" characters, but there are a few major characters who sacrifice their lives for others, or die doing their duty, as well.)

Does the depiction of violence in AV media have a harmful impact on children? One might argue that there is a difference between receiving a story and active engagement in the representation of violence. Death is given a moral context in anime like Space Battleship Yamato (even if deemed simplistic by sophisticated academics), not like in certain first-person shooters or games like Grand Theft Auto IV, in which players are encouraged to be immoral. One plays the "good guy" in a game like Ghost Recon, Rainbow 6, Halo, or Call of Duty, so some morality is presupposed, but it could be easily ignored by gamers who are only interested in entertainment. Might it be that it is worse when people play against each other, head-to-head? Or is there no difference between the two situations with respect to moral formation, as game-playing itself conditions the child to easily shoot a gun at another human being? I am persuaded by Dave Grossman that such video games can have such a psychological effect on children, and I think he does make allowances for the moral framework of the game, but I'll have to reread what he has written on the subject.