Welcome to Leijiverse, the.Otaku.com-based fan-site WORLD that focuses on the anime and manga works of legendary manga author Leiji Matsumoto (such as Space Pirate Captain Harlock, Galaxy Express 999, Submarine Super 99, Cosmowarrior Zero, The Galaxy Railways, Queen Millenia, The Ultimate Time-Sweeper Mahoroba, SF Sayuiki Starzinger, Danguad Ace, etc) as well as the late Yoshinobu Nishizaki's most legendary sci-fi franchise Space Battleship Yamato (which Matsumoto himself helped create). This will also focus on non-Leiji Matsumoto-created movie and T.V. projects based on the master's characters and works.

If you wish to submitt your own posts on a topic that has anything to do with Leiji Matsumoto's works, please PM me first, and I'll add you to the "guest posters" list, then I'll PM you back an O.K. to add your posts to this WORLD.

Here are some interesting weblinks you should check out:

Ukiyo-e and leijiverse

Word has it that a 6-image Ukiyo-e series focusing on three of Leiji Matsumoto's most major works is currently in the works, and Anime News Network has shown all the six images. apparently, each of the Matsumoto trinity (Space Battleship Yamato, Captain Harlock, and Galaxy Express 999) is the focus of two images in the Ukiyo-e series. Here's an example from the illustration series below, and visit Anime News Network to see the rest. Note that the black ship with the numbskull insignia in the example image shown here is Harlock's Deathshadow from Cosmoship Yamato, Matsumoto's manga adaptation of the first Space Battleship Yamato television series (the other ship in the picture is of course the Yamato), but I'm sure some may notice that black ship from watching Galaxy Express 999: The Movie.

External Image

Image source: Anime News Network

11:04 PM Canada ET

Forum Arcadia: How to Celebrate 60 Years of Leiji Matsumoto's Visual Career

So far, I managed to establish a forum post series for DC and Marvel Assemble 1 month ago. Now today, I establish a forum post series for Leijiverse 999, and I call it "Forum Arcadia" after of course Captain Harlock's spaceship Arcadia. In this forum post series, I will be presenting per post, a topic that has to do a with an anime or manga work of Leiji Matsumoto's (like Space Pirate Captain Harlock and Galaxy Express 999) or an anime or manga that's not by Matsumoto himself but based on his work (like say for instance Space Battleship Yamato 2199, which retells the plot of the 1974 Space Battleship Yamato anime without Matsumoto's involvement in making the recent anime itself), while you the raders, post your responses in the post's comment box. Like in the case of the DC and Marvel Heroes Forum, adding topic posts for Forum Arcadia will not be daily as they will show up when new ideas on what to discuss will pop up in mind.

For the opening post of this forum series, given that this year is the 60th anniversary of Leiji Matsumoto's career, I am curious about how you, the fans of his work, plan to celebrate (that is, if you know what to do)? Maybe it's doing a fan art series focusing on his fictional characters (such as Captain Harlock, Tochiro Oyama, Tadashi Daiba, Tetsuro Hoshino, Emeraldas, Kei Yuki, Maetel, etc.) and/or mecha (such as the Train 999 from Galaxy Express 999, the Arcadia from Space Pirate Captain Herlock: Endless Odyssey, the Big One from Galaxy Railways, the Yamato from Space Battleship Yamato, the Mahoroba from the upcoming film Cosmo Super Dreadnought Mahoroba, etc.). Maybe it's trying to buy all the Star Blazers episode DVD volumes or watch all the episodes themselves at Manga Entertainment's YouTube channel (note that "Star Blazers" refers to the North American dubbings of the 1st three SBY anime series), collecting all three Galaxy Express 999 films on DVD from Discotek, looking out for the English sub DVD set of 1978's Space Pirate Captain Harlock, or even starting your collection of Leiji Matsumoto anime mecha model kits. Or maybe it's doing a fan-made comic series for online viewing. Or maybe you are planning a Leiji Matsumoto anime cosplay group for appearance at an upcoming anime convention from within this year. Any ideas in mind?

6:09 PM Canada EST

A Guide To Yamato Resurrection

Author's Note: Two year's ago, I wrote for theOtaku.com, a guide to the "Space Battleship Yamato" (Star Blazers) franchise, mainly focusing on its 1970s and 1980s...

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Space Battleship Yamato

Space Battleship Yamato: The Classic Anime Saga Author's Note: In past years I've been at theOtaku.com, it seemed as if no one other than...

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Yamato/Star Blazers BGM tracks on YouTube

Not much to post, but if you ever want the opportunity to experience the amazing music of the legendary Sci-Fi Anime franchise known as "Space Battleship Yamato" (known in North America as "Star Blazers"), now you can on YouTube. Here are the yout...

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