Farewell To Space Battleship Yamato: In the Name Of Love

A tame entry, Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato: In the Name of Love is a standard sci-fi space opera in the Star Wars and Star Trek vein, in which young commander Derek Wildstar and his fiancée Nova have to put their upcoming wedding plans on hold in order to save the universe. Basically, a bad guy named Prince Zordar is doing the old European colonialism bit: kick butt, use slave labor, find another civilization, repeat. Wildstar and Zordar close in on one another for the better part of 90 minutes and then duke it out in space for the last half hour. The animation is fairly limpid, the story line average, and the ending a little strange. Wildstar not only decides to go down with the ship, but his commentary mixes equal parts of hari kari ideology and Christian resurrection ("true joy is the sacrifice of life so that others may live; in death I shall be born again.") This is more than going gentle into that good black hole; Wildstar approaches death with something like suicidal fervor. Too weird for the younger audience for which it's intended. Not recommended. (R. Pitman)