Was there any difference between "Star Blazers" and "Space Battleship Yamato"?


Were there any differences between the original _Space Battleship Yamato_ and
the U.S. Syndicated _Star Blazers_ other than the westernized names of the
characters? Specifically, were there plot elements that were altered, or re-
arranged? Were there any scenes that were removed?

I know that Syndicated had modified some of their other properties (like
Gatchaman) but I can't remember if this was the case with Star Blazers.




Yes, there were changes.

The changes made were not as drastic as in some expurgated shows (even back in
the 1970s, things were being removed for censorship purposes). Wikipedia
mentions that another 1970s anime, [_Battle of the
Planets_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Planets), was made with
far more revisions to [its original
series](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_Ninja_Team_Gatchaman). It also
notes that, unlike some series, _Star Blazers_ retained "practically all of
its uniquely Japanese characteristics in terms of content, plot, character
development, and philosophy."

Wikipedia's section on [_Star Blazers_
production](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Blazers#Production_and_release)
covers this pretty well ( _boldface and []-comments are mine_ ):

> Principal changes in the change-over to _Star Blazers_ included
> **westernization of character names, reduction of personal violence, toning
> down of offensive language and alcohol use** (references to
> [sake](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sake) were changed to "spring water,"
> and the Doctor's perpetually drunken state was portrayed as merely good
> humor), **removal of sexual[fan
> service](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_service), and reduction of
> references to World War II**, although the sunken battleship ruins were
> still identified as the [Battleship
> Yamato](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battleship_Yamato) in dialogue. The
> most significant reference removed—and the longest single edit in the
> series—was a section from episode two depicting the Battleship _Yamato_ 's
> final battle during World War II, including imagery of the captain tied to
> the helm as he went down with his ship. (This section WAS NOT in the bonus
> content on the _Voyager Entertainment Series 1, Part II_ English-language
> DVD release.)
>
> ...
>
> The most significant change made by Griffin-Bacal [the company responsible
> for dubbing/editing] was purely narrative: In the original series the
> _Yamato_ and its crew were regarded as a single entity, the narrator each
> week urging " _Yamato_ , hurry to Iscandar!" In English, the significance of
> the name _[Yamato](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamato_people)_ as a word
> the viewers can identify with, signifying the land, people, and spirit of
> Japan is lost, so **in _Star Blazers_ the crew were named the _Star Force_**
> and became the focus of the show.
>
> — [_Star Blazers_ , Wikipedia, March 30,
> 2013](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Star_Blazers&oldid=546901996)

It seems two of the three references
([[1]](http://www.starblazers.com/html.php?page_id=180),
[[2]](http://www.desslok.com/INFO/didntsee.htm)) for this section were lost by
dead links (though they may be put back up in the future). However, [this
reference](http://www.starblazers.com/images/jun09/images/Starlogpages.PDF) is
still available.




Yes, there were changes.

The changes made were not as drastic as in some expurgated shows (even back in
the 1970s, things were being removed for censorship purposes). Wikipedia
mentions that another 1970s anime, [_Battle of the
Planets_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Planets), was made with
far more revisions to [its original
series](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_Ninja_Team_Gatchaman). It also
notes that, unlike some series, _Star Blazers_ retained "practically all of
its uniquely Japanese characteristics in terms of content, plot, character
development, and philosophy."

Wikipedia's section on [_Star Blazers_
production](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Blazers#Production_and_release)
covers this pretty well ( _boldface and []-comments are mine_ ):

> Principal changes in the change-over to _Star Blazers_ included
> **westernization of character names, reduction of personal violence, toning
> down of offensive language and alcohol use** (references to
> [sake](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sake) were changed to "spring water,"
> and the Doctor's perpetually drunken state was portrayed as merely good
> humor), **removal of sexual[fan
> service](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_service), and reduction of
> references to World War II**, although the sunken battleship ruins were
> still identified as the [Battleship
> Yamato](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battleship_Yamato) in dialogue. The
> most significant reference removed—and the longest single edit in the
> series—was a section from episode two depicting the Battleship _Yamato_ 's
> final battle during World War II, including imagery of the captain tied to
> the helm as he went down with his ship. (This section WAS NOT in the bonus
> content on the _Voyager Entertainment Series 1, Part II_ English-language
> DVD release.)
>
> ...
>
> The most significant change made by Griffin-Bacal [the company responsible
> for dubbing/editing] was purely narrative: In the original series the
> _Yamato_ and its crew were regarded as a single entity, the narrator each
> week urging " _Yamato_ , hurry to Iscandar!" In English, the significance of
> the name _[Yamato](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamato_people)_ as a word
> the viewers can identify with, signifying the land, people, and spirit of
> Japan is lost, so **in _Star Blazers_ the crew were named the _Star Force_**
> and became the focus of the show.
>
> — [_Star Blazers_ , Wikipedia, March 30,
> 2013](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Star_Blazers&oldid=546901996)

It seems two of the three references
([[1]](http://www.starblazers.com/html.php?page_id=180),
[[2]](http://www.desslok.com/INFO/didntsee.htm)) for this section were lost by
dead links (though they may be put back up in the future). However, [this
reference](http://www.starblazers.com/images/jun09/images/Starlogpages.PDF) is
still available.

