Space Battleship Yamato (also rendered as Space Cruiser Yamato) is the first theatrical movie based on the classic anime series (known as Star Blazers in the United States). Unlike the later films that would follow it, this is a compilation film consisting of various television episodes edited from the "Iscandar" arc of the television series. It originally had a new ending created for the theatrical release in which Starsha had died before the Yamato reaching Iscandar. This ending was removed for the TV broadcast and was lost until the DVD release. In English speaking countries it was known by the title, Star Blazers: The Quest for Iscandar.[1]
In the distant future, the war between the human race and the alien race known as the Gamilons has destroyed the Earth. Radioactive asteroids have devastated the planet making the planet's atmosphere uninhabitable. As a method to assist the Earth, Queen Starsha of the planet Iscandar offers the Earth Forces a device that can completely neutralize the radiation off the planet. In order to accomplish this, the space battleship Yamato is launched from the remains of its World War II ancestor on a 148,000 light-year journey. The crew of the Space Battleship Yamato has only one Earth year to travel to Iscandar and back, or the human race will become extinct.[2]
