The Ladies of Space Battleship Yamato

As requested by a reader at another site I contribute to, here are the female cast members of the 2010 Japanese sci-fi film, Space Battleship Yamato, which could be considered a more action-packed Japanese version of American space sci-fi films like Star Trek or Battlestar Galactica. (The latter I’ve sat through only because Grace Park was in the cast.)

Since this movie was spawned by the TV anime series that debuted in 1974, I decided to do a little research on the series first. When I did, I discovered there was only one notable female character in it, so I thought this would wind up as a feature on just the actress in the role of “Black Tiger Team” member, Yuki Mori (Meisa Kuroki, above). However, I was pleased to find out that the most notable departure the film took from the TV series was that two male key characters in the series, are female in the movie.

The following are the three ladies in the main cast. An excellent page to find out more information on this movie and the supporting cast actresses (that have “don’t blink or you’ll miss them” parts) is here.

As seen here, anime character Yuki Mori (not to be confused with the Asian-America porn actress of the same name) received a bit of a makeover for the film in the form of actress/singer Meisa Kuroki. Yuki is the only female member on the the battleship’s tactical unit, the “Black Tiger Team.” Meisa was actually not the first choice to fill the form-fitting yellow and black suit of Yuki. The actress originally slated for the role, the often controversial Erika Sawajiri, was dismissed and Aoi Miyazaki reportedly turned down the part before it was offered to Meisa.

Maiko Skorick (whose much-searched-for name has led many readers
to this article) is communications officer Aihara, a character who was
male in the anime series. Google “マイコ” to see more on her.

Veteran actress Reiko Takashima as the ship’s doctor, Dr. Sado, a
character who was a very unattractive male in the anime series.

Instead of posting the film’s trailer (which just contains brief glimpses of the ladies);
here’s Reiko Takashima in some choice scenes from the 1993 film
Samayoeru nouzui (Wandering Brain). Definitely NSFW.


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About the author

Editor-in-Chief at // More articles

Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Chris flirted with the music business there and in Nashville before joining the U.S. Army and serving in South Korea. He remained in Asia for several years afterwards, teaching English, traveling, and covering the regional entertainment scenes. Currently in a mindset between Seoul and San Francisco, besides Idol Features, you can also catch his writings in the print edition of the monthly magazine, Effective.

2 Comments

  1. This looks excellent, I couldn't tell if it actually was released at the start of the year or not. Do you know? I would really love to see it, especially with the gorgeous cast.

    • It was released in theaters in Japan last December and in Hong Kong in February. Don’t count on it being released in the US anytime soon but the DVD will be available there in the very near future.

      So far, the DVD is available here but only for region code 2. Just be patient and thanks for your comment!

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