This article describes Heikuro Todo from Space Battleship Yamato 2199 and its sequels, for his counterpart in the original Space Battleship Yamato and its sequels, see Heikuro Todo (OS). For his counterpart in the live action film, see Heikuro Todo (live action film).
We must avoid any situations where those kids have to be sent to the battlefield—Heikuro Todo, to Shiro Sanada and Yuki Mori[8]
Heikuro Todo (藤堂平九郎, Tōdō Heikurō), alternatively spelled Heikurou Toudou,[9] is an Earthling statesman and military officer who currently serves as the General Commanding Director of the Earth Federation Defense Force. He previously served as a high-ranking official of the United Nations, eventually becoming Chief Administrator of the Far-East District, and chief executive of Program Yamato Headquarters.[1][3]
During the reconstruction period that followed the Great Garmillas War he supported the construction of Wave-motion Gun equipped ships in defiance of the Earth Iscandar Treaty of Amity and Garmillas-Earth Interim Agreement. Later during the Gatlantis Campaign he became the main proponent of Project G.[3]
In the aftermath of the war and the abandonment of the Wave-motion Gun fleet plan, he promoted the new Earthling peaceful policy by founding the 65th Escort Corps. Following the Iscandar Incident, he secretly took the lead in preparing the Earth for a coming invasion by Dezariam. He planned Operation DAD in an attempt to stop the invaders and his sister Shino Todo's Dezariam sympathisers.
Biography[]
A photograph of the Todo Family
Early Life[]
Heikuro Todo was born on Earth in the Kochi prefecture, Japan, on Septemeber 25, 2140[1], the older brother of Shino Todo.[5] He wasn't initially a military man, but an administrator and executive working for the United Nations. Despite their different professions however, he was a long time friend and confident of Admiral Juzo Okita. Sometime before the Great Garmillas War he married Chiaki Todo and had a daughter, Saki Todo.[3]
The Great Garmillas War[]
Early War[]
At the start of the Garmillas War, he worked as Chief Administrator of the Far-East District. Probably due to the importance of his position, when Garmillas began bombing Earth in 2192, he and his family was among the first civilian transferred to the underground cities. This had a heavy toll on Chiaki's mental health, and the woman committed suicide.[10]
Program Yamato[]
In 2198, the Earth was contacted by the alien planet of Iscandar, which offered a special technology capable of healing Earth's biosphere, contaminated by the Garmillan bombing.
This led the UN to scrap Project Izumo, a desperate contingency plan to save humanity by abbandoning Earth, in favor of the new Program Yamato which sought to reach Iscandar and recieve the Cosmo Reverse;[11] Todo was put in charge of the project as Chief executive of Program Yamato Headquarters.[1] Todo was also put in command of the Strategic Planning Office of the UNCF, and when he came to realise that the supporters of the scrapped Project Izumo were trying to sabotage the Program Yamato, he recruited Toru Hoshina in the office and ordered him to work as a double agent in the rebellious faction.[12]
Todo met with the remaining UN leadership
Operation M and Yamato's take off[]
Todo and General Kotetsu Serizawa assisting to Yamato's take off
In early 2199, the UNCN First Fleet launched an assault on the garmillan fleet stationed near Pluto, Todo took part in the operations from the Headquarters of the Far-East District.[2]
Weeks later the Chief Administrator took part in a video meeting with other rapresentatives from the United Nations regarding the take off the ship chosen to reach Iscandar, the Space Battleship Yamato. Hours later, he assisted the take off operations of the battleship from the HQ.[11]
Waiting for Yamato's return[]
As time passed, the situation on Earth became more and more dire. Riots broke out everywhere in the Far East district, and Todo was forced to repress them with violence. The director began to express his doubts about the fate of Yamato to the UNCN commander Hijikata, when suddendly Yamato herself was spotted outside of the solar system, the chief administrator immidiately called the battleship. [13] Yamato returned to Earth on December 8th, 2199. [14]
Rebuilding the Earth[]
Sometime between 2199 and 2202, Todo became the General Commanding Director of the United Nations Joint Forces. During the rebuilding of Earth following the Great Garmillas War, he reluctantly supported the construction of a wave-motion gun-equipped fleet and the usage of the time fault.[3]
Battle at the eighth floating continent[]
Todo at the Andromeda cerimony
In late 2202, the Earth Federation joined the Greater Garmillan Empire for a joint mission against the Gatlantis Empire, to retake the Gatlantis-occupied eighth floating continent, Todo took part in the operation from the UNF Headquarters. As the tide of the battle turned against the joint forces, he agreed with Serizawa's decision to unleash the Andromeda, the new flagship of the Earth Federation. However as the new earth battleship moved in to destroy the remaining gatlantean warships, an apparently deactivated Calaklum-class reactivated and warped towards Earth with the intention of crashing down over the cosmo force's headquarters.
Faced with impending doom, Todo ordered to open the former underground capital and to move the population there, when suddently, space battleship Yamato, which was being repaired in an underwater dock, fired her shock cannons powered by wave motion cartridges directly into the Calaklum, destroying it completely. [15]
Terezart and the Yamato revolt[]
For this topic in more detail, see Yamato Revolt
Todo gives his ultimatum
During the Eighth Floating Continent Recapture Operation, almost all members of the former crew of Yamato were contacted by visions of their dead loved ones, urging them to board the battleship. Thanks to the intel of Ambassador Loren Burrell of Garmillas, Susumu Kodai, former tactics officer of Yamato, came to know about the existance of the Teresa of Terezart, and how the visions they recieved were presumably messages sent by the goddess.
Kodai also discovered the truth about the time fault, and tried to confront Todo about it while also asking for permission to send an exploratory mission towards Terezart. The commander strongly denied the existance of the Fault, and refused to allow Yamato to travel to Terezart.[16]
Later Todo, Serizawa and the HQ staff began surveiling the Yamato, in fear of a mutiny from the ship's crew; they soon found out that the cameras of the rapair dock had been tampered with and that the battleship was nowhere to be found, Todo suggested that Yamato had probably been moved to the underwater dock. As the rebellious crew was preparing for take off, Todo sent an ultimatum expressing his compassion and understanding, recognizing their contributions to Earth’s restoration. As Iscandar had once saved Earth, Yamato’s crew now wanted to go and rescue the being that called them for help; he reminded them, however, that their mission may endanger Earth. The commander-in-chief asked the crew to surrender the battleship, stating that they wouldn't face any repercussions. He gave them five minutes to consider his offer. At the end of the five minutes, a contingent of troops moved in to seize the ship, but Yamato menaged to take off anyways.[17]
Todo calling Barel
After being forced to send the main UNCN fleet to stop Yamato, Todo called Barel to ask him help to calm down the situation, in turn Varel had a conversation with the Earth Federation President, who agreed to ratify Yamato's mutiny to avoid accusations of political misjudgment.[3]
Todo later broadcasted a message to all Earth ships, telling them to cease pursuing Yamato and that all charges of trason had been lifted, then, adressing the Yamato's crew directly, he ordered to uncover the truth behind the new crisis, and to return home safely. [18]
Later when Yamato recieved a messenger from the 11th planet who revealed to them that the planet had been attackked by Gatlantis, Kodai contacted Todo to ask to lead a rescue mission there. Todo however denied his permission, due to the UNCN inability to operate on the planet without Garmillan permission.[19]
The Gatlantis Campaign[]
The invasion and the Battle of Saturn[]
In early 2203 the Gatlantis Empire started to engage UNCF forces with hit and run attacks in the solar system. While Serizawa was firmly convinced that a large navy built in accordance to the Wave-motion Gun fleet plan would be key to stopping Gatlantis' advance, Todo supported Project G, a plan created as a descendant of Project Izum. Saki and her cruiser, Ginga, would be the centerpoint of the plan.[3] Todo and Serizawa attended a meeting with various Garmillan and Earth officials, where General Serizawa revealed that Gatlantis was planning an invasion. Later the Commander watched as the President officially declared a state of war, while the bulk of the UNCN warped towards Saturn to engage the enemy. [20]
Todo observed the Battle of Saturn from the Headquarters, and watched in horror as the Ark of Destruction ridded itself of the White Comet camouflage and detroyed Saturn itself. [21]
Facing the future[]
Todo observes the Third Battle of Mars
Todo witnessed as the Gatlantean forces broke through the defense line at Saturn, hoping for the missing Yamato , which had been lost during the Battle of Saturn, to return to the frontlines.[10]
Following the Earth forces defeat at Mars, and the creation of another front near the Earth, the commander-in-chief had a call with his daughter Saki, now captain of the Experimental Wave-motion Ship Ginga, the two reconciliated and Saki announced that she had finally understood her mother's philosophy.[9]
Following the Golem Assault Battle, as the Ark of Destruction reactivated itself. Todo stood and watched as Yamato rammed the ark trying to slow it down, in order to give the Earth more time to evacuate. Instead the battleship was engulfed by the power of the goddess Teresa, and destroyed the ark completely, saving the planet once again.[22]
The referendum[]
Todo at the meeting
Half a year after the end of the War, the Yamato resurfaced inside the time fault, aboard the ship, the believed dead ensign Akira Yamamoto. The fighter pilot explained that the ship didn't get destroyed at the end of the war, but rather was transported to the Higher Dimension were Teresa resides, with the ship's captain Susumu Kodai and the operational officer Yuki Mori still on board and now stuck there.
Following the event various member of the military had a meeting with the President, Todo and Serizawa, they revealed that in order to save Kodai and Mori the time fault would need to be sacrificed to make Yamato able to travel to the higher dimesion again and rescue the two officers. Despite the initial opposition from general Serizawa a referendum was held so that the citizens of Earth could decide for themselves.
In the end the referendum ended with the option to sacrifice of the Time Fault winning. Yamato thus entered the higher dimension and carried out the rescue operation on the 31st of December 2203. Todo was present on Ginga's bridge together with UNCN commander Yamanami and Serizawa to welcome Yamato back, happily noticing Serizawa shedding tears of joy as the battleship neared Earth.[23][8]
The 65th Escort Corps takes off[]
Two years after the end of the Gatlantis Campaign Todo met with Yuki Mori and Shiro Sanada, the commanders of Hyuga and Asuka, two ships of the newly formed 65th Escort Corps. He later watched from his headquarters as the fleet took off for the first time towards planet Iscandar[24][25].
Weeks later he was informed by his daughter Saki that Garmillas had been destroyed by an unkown enemy, and that planet Iscandar had somehow been warped outside of its orbit[26].
Preparing for Dezarium's invasion[]
and Todo recieved a report from Sanada, stating that Dezariam, the enemy that had destroyed Garmillas and Iscandar, would soon invade the Earth. The two began planning an anti-Dezariam operation, Operation DAD, and became aware that Dezariam sympathizers had infiltrated the Earth society. Following the 65th Escort Corps' return from what became known as the Iscandar Incident, Todo personally reorganized the fleet, suspending its captains and relocating its crews. This was done to assume responsability for the event, both at home in the Earth Federation and abroad.[27] However, he also hid the Yamato and Sasha, the orphaned daughter of Queen Starsha, in a secret location. He secretly mobilized all sorts of personnel, including Commander Seiya Kitano and Lt. Commander Shima Daisuke, to prepare for the coming invasion.[5]
Heikuro meets Shino
Despite these preparations, when the invasion started in October 2207, the defense force fell under the enemy attack. Todo was also confronted by the reality that his own sister Shino, who had become the Earth forces' Chief of Intelligence, was the leader of the Dezariam sympathizers.[5] As the enemy took over key E.F. locations, he entrusted the execution of Operation DAD to Mori.[28]
Personality[]
Todo notices Serizawa's reaction to the Yamato's return in late 2203
Todo is a caring but determined man, he showed great patience and understanding towards the Yamato crew during their mutiny even going as far as offering to pardon them for their crimes if they stood down, and playing a big role in the eventual ratification of their journey by the Federal Government.[17][18]
Despite approving the plans for the wave motion fleet, he started to grow unsure if he had taken the right decision,[3] as the Gatlantis Campaign raged on, he stopped believing in the Earth's extremist plans for survival, such as Project G and the Wave-Motion Fleet, and began hoping for Yamato to turn the tide of the war.[29]
Battles[]
Great Garmillas War[]
Gatlantis Campaign[]
Others[]
Behind the scenes[]
Heikuro Todo was portrayed by Shinji Ogawa in Space Battleship Yamato 2199 and in Space Battleship Yamato 2199: Odyssey of the Celestial Ark, but due to Ogawa's death in 2015 he was replaced by Toshihiko Kojima in all subsequent projects. In the english dub for Space Battleship Yamato 2199 and its sequels he is voiced by Bradley Campbell. Unlike his original series counterpart, Todo is not a military man in his first appearance in Space Battleship Yamato 2199, but is put in charge of the United Nations Forces by the time of Space Battleship Yamato 2202: Warriors of Love.[1][3] However, his uniform has a United Nations Cosmo Force patch since his first appearance.[2] His uniform is similar to the one his original counterpart used in his first appearance in Space Battleship Yamato.
His design was handled by Nobuteru Yuki.[31]
His name probably comes from Tōdō Heisuke of the Shinsengumi.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Official Space Battleship Yamato 2199 website Character entry for Heikuro Todo
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "Messenger of Iscandar"
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 Official Space Battleship Yamato 2202 website CHARACTER & MECHANIC entry for Heikuro Todo
- ↑ a EFCF/UNCF patch is seen on Todo's uniform
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 starblazers-yamato CHARACTERS Be Forever Yamato: REBEL 3199 second entry for Heikuro Todo (archived on Cosmo DNA)
- ↑ starblazers-yamato.net CHARACTERS Be Forever Yamato: REBEL 3199 entry for Heikuro Todo
- ↑ "Begin the Secret Operation! Head For the New Yamato!!"
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "A Galactic War is About to Break Out! Assemble the Yamato Fleet!!"
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "The Fated Showdown!"
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Escape from the Nightmare"
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Toward a Sea of Stars"
- ↑ "A Choice for the Future"
- ↑ "Odyssey of The Celestial Ark"
- ↑ "Memories of the Blue Planet"
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 "AD 2202 - Revive, Space Battleship Yamato"
- ↑ "Tension – Reach the Embassy on the Moon"
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 "Departure to the unknown!"
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Clash! Yamato vs. Andromeda"
- ↑ "Battle to the Death – The 11th Planet Rescue Operation!"
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Naval battle off Saturn’s shore –Assemble the Wave-Motion Gun fleet!"
- ↑ "Yamato in Crisis - The Devil's Alternative Once More"
- ↑ "Farewell, Space Battleship Yamato"
- ↑ "Earth, Yamato is..."
- ↑ "A Galactic War is About to Break Out! Assemble the Yamato Fleet!!"
- ↑ "Yamato, a New Departure!"
- ↑ "Save Iscandar! Rebellion of the Young Heroes!!"
- ↑ starblazers-yamato CHARACTERS Be Forever Yamato: REBEL 3199 first entry for Heikuro Todo (archived on Cosmo DNA)
- ↑ starblazers-yamato CHARACTERS Be Forever Yamato: REBEL 3199 entry for Yuki Mori
- ↑ "Warriors of Love"
- ↑ "Escape From the Nightmare!"
- ↑ Space Battleship Yamato 2199 Model Sheet Design Collection EARTH p. 230