This article describes Mamoru Kodai as depicted in Space Battleship Yamato 2199 and its sequels. For his counterpart in the original Space Battleship Yamato, Yamato: The New Voyage, and Be Forever Yamato, see Mamoru Kodai (OS). For the similarly named character in the live action film, see Mamoru Kodai (live action film).
Before I die, there are two things I wish to say. The first is that we can come to an understanding with the aliens. Since I arrived, I have learned that. I hope you won't forget it.
—Mamoru Kodai, to Yamato crew[2]
Mamoru Kodai (古代守, Kodai Mamoru) was an Earthling officer in the United Nations Cosmo Navy and the older brother of Susumu Kodai. As a weapons officer aboard the space battleship Kirishima, he was the first Earthling to fire a shock cannon during the Second Battle of Mars.
Kodai was selected for Program Yamato, and commanded the destroyer Yukikaze at the disastrous First Battle of Pluto. Following the battle, he was captured by the Greater Garmillan Empire but crashlanded on the planet Iscandar, where he spent the last months of his life in the company of Queen Stasha Iscandar. With her, he concieved his daughter, Sasha Iscandar Kodai.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Kodai gives Sanada his book of poems
Mamoru Kodai was born around 2171 in Japan.[1] He was the son of Tsuyoshi and Maki Kodai and the older brother of Susumu Kodai.[8] Around the start of the Great Garmillas War, he enrolled in the National Space Defense Academy. As a cadet, he became best friends with a scientifically-oriented classmate named Shiro Sanada. Eventually, he began to date Sanada's younger laboratory assistant, Kaoru Niimi. Sometime in 2192, Kodai visited Sanada's lab, where he informed him and Niimi that the United Nations Cosmo Force would soon start a large-scale operation to beat back the Garmillas forces beyond Mars. When Niimi questioned where he was getting the information from, he playfully replied that it was a secret. When she tried to chastise him for entering the lab without permission, he replied that Niimi should not have been there either, and stated that he had only come to bring Sanada something he had requested, a book of poems from Chuya Nakahara. Sanada then showed him the security cameras outside of the lab, showing that Susumu had come to pick him up. Kodai suddenly remembered that he was supposed to meet up with his brother, and quickly exited the room.[9]
Kodai gives the young Susumu their father's harmonica
Kodai's family was killed by a planet bomb launched by the Greater Garmillan Empire around 2192,[10] leaving only one surviving relative, Susumu, who had went to the nearby spaceport to welcome Kodai back home. Sometime before or after this loss, Mamoru gave Susumu a harmonica that their father had once given to him.[8][9] In late 2193, as the planet bombing began to intensify, Kodai visited Sanada in his lab and informed him that Rio de Janeiro had been hit by another meteorite. At his suggestion, the two exited the lab and watched the terrible view of the sky turning red due to the bombing. Sanada asked him if he intended to join the UN Cosmo Navy after graduating, and he confirmed it, asking his friend what he wanted to do. Sanada replied that he didn't think he'd be cut out for the military, but affirmed that there had to be something he could do to help. Smiling, Kodai replied that Sanada would most certainly find something that he would never be able to do. He compared themselves to a poem and an equation, two opposites that strived to protect the Earth in their own ways.[9]
A photo of the Kirishima crew around the time of the Second Battle of Mars
Kodai followed a different path from Sanada and Niimi, but he remained close to both of them. During his time in the Cosmo Navy, he was assigned as a weapons officer to the space battleship Kirishima under Admiral Juzo Okita and earned the admiral's respect. Under Okita's command, he fought at the Second Battle of Mars, and became the first Earthling to ever fire a shock cannon. By late 2198, Lieutenant Commander Kodai was granted command of the destroyer Yukikaze, and was scheduled to lead the tactics department on a new interstellar ship under construction, the space battleship Yamato. On the eve of the UNCN fleet's departure to engage enemy forces at Pluto, he and Niimi ended their relationship, although he continued to be fond of her. Kodai met with Sanada one last time immediately before leaving, and refused Sanada's attempt to return a book of poetry that Kodai had loaned him years earlier.[9][4][11][12][3]
Operation M[]
- For more details, see First Battle of Pluto (2199)
Kodai takes Yukikaze into combat.
Kodai took off aboard Yukikaze as part of an advance team for Operation M in July of 2198.[13][N 1] The First Fleet arrived at Pluto months after on January 17, 2199, withYukikaze taking the forward position and reporting on the disposition of Garmillas forces. Dozens of enemy ships approached and opened fire, and within moments the fleet was torn apart by the aliens' superior numbers and technology. Kodai realized the nature of the situation and ordered his destroyer to reverse course. Yukikaze spotted one Garmillas vessel closing in for a kill on Admiral Okita's Kirishima, and intervened to destroy it before it could strike.[4]
Kodai salutes Okita and bids him farewell
Okita signaled for the only two surviving ships, his own and Kodai's, to retreat. Instead, Kodai held his destroyer's position while Kirishima continues on course. The admiral opened a channel and demanded that Yukikaze join them. Kodai refused, arguing that Okita was too valuable to the future of Earth and that at least one ship had to survive to keep protecting their homeworld. Okita told him that the true goal of the battle had already been accomplished and that Earth needed Kodai just as much, but the young lieutenant commander politely rebuffed him. As the destroyer prepared for the coming Garmillas onslaught, Kodai was momentarily stunned as his bridge crew, including first officer Eiji Ishizu, began to sing joyfully, but he gave the order to fly toward the enemy. Yukikaze wildly dodged weapons fire and took out at least one more Garmillan vessel. Kirishima escaped just before a large explosion ripped through Kodai's destroyer.[4]
Final Months on Iscandar, and beyond[]
Although Yukikaze's damage was severe, a portion of the crew survived and the ship made its way toward the inner solar system. The destroyer eventually impacted the icy surface of the saturnian moon Enceladus. The wreck and Kodai's personal sidearm were discovered weeks later by his younger brother who was now serving aboard Yamato in the position that had been intended for the elder brother, and it was assumed that all aboard had died. In truth, Garmillan forces had located Yukikaze, captured Kodai, Ishizu, and possibly others, and sent them on a prison transport to the Garmillas homeworld one hundred sixty-eight thousand light years away to be used as biological research specimens. The transport suffered mechanical problems as it neared its destination, and crashed into an open field on the nearby planet of Iscandar. The crash killed everyone aboard except Kodai.[14][2][3]
Kodai urges the crew of Yamato to seek peace.
Queen Stasha Iscandar kept him safe on Iscandar and was able to temporarily treat his injuries from the crash. The two grew closer over the next few months. Stasha found a companion with whom she could be emotionally open, and Mamoru came to understand that peace with the alien enemy, Garmillas, was possible. They began a romantic relationship, and conceived a child. Stasha's medical treatment failed, though, and Mamoru's life fades. He recorded a holographic message for the crew of Yamato that he hoped were still on their way to Iscandar, and concluded it with a personal greeting to his younger brother Susumu, asking him to live for the both of them on the restored Earth. As he finally died, Iscandarian technology was used to preserve his consciousness as pure energy. In this new form, Kodai would become the centerpiece of the Cosmo Reverse System, a device Stasha had promised to the Earth that could help the Earthlings restore their dying home planet.[2]
Stasha conferes with Kodai's consciousness
Yamato arrived shortly thereafter, and upon learning about Yamato's troubling use of technology she had given to Earth, Stasha struggled with whether she should help them any further. She communicated with the consciousness of Kodai and showed him her despair over the possibility of something worse happening. She also suffered at the idea of actually giving the CRS to the Earthlings, as that would take Kodai away from her. Stasha made her decision, and the following morning, she came to Yamato with the device. Stasha did not inform Yamato's crew about Kodai's spirit being the driving force in the Cosmo Reverse, but she walked privately with Susumu to his brother's grave and gave him his last message.[3][2]
Kodai gives his life to activate the Cosmo Reverse, saving Mori
During the long voyage home, the Yamato crew sensed Kodai's presence, but only on the margins of awareness, as reflections or as a supposed ghost wandering the decks. He also visited Admiral Okita in his dreams. Eventually Shiro Sanada, now Yamato's technical officer, put the pieces together and concluded that his best friend was somehow a part of the alien device. The ship comes under a surprise attack two months after leaving Iscandar, and Susumu's new love, Yuki Mori, is fatally wounded. Knowing the dying Okita would take his place in the Cosmo Reverse, and seeing his younger brother grieving over Mori's body, he self-activated the Cosmo Reverse, using the last of his energy to bring Mori back to life. His last thoughts went to Niimi and Sanada, before his spirit dissipated.[3]
Post mortem and legacy[]
The spirits of Kodai, Okita and Admiral Hijikata materialize in front of Susumu and Mori's eyes
Mamoru Kodai appeared at least once to Sanada in 2203 as part of a telepathic vision sent to the crew of Yamato by the goddess Teresa, urging them to continue their journey to the planet Terezart.[15] Months later, as Susumu and Mori made their final stand aboard Yamato against the Gatlantis Empire, Kodai's spirit appeared on the battleship's first bridge together with those of other deceased Yamato crew members as Teresa descended from her dimension to regular space.[16]
Kodai's legacy lives on primarily in his younger brother, Susumu. The influence he had over Susumu in his childhood led him to develop a strong idealism, which still accompanies him to this day.[9][17] Kodai also greatly influenced Stasha, so much so that Merda Ditz believed that only Susumu, in virtue of his relation with Kodai, could persuade the Queen to leave Iscandar at the height of the Iscandar Incident.[18]
Personality[]
Shiro Sanada (left) and Mamoru Kodai watching the sky.
Mamoru Kodai was a natural leader, comfortable with command and able to take on its burdens even at a relatively young age, and motivating those who served under him. Unlike other officers, he favored a more casual style, which he displayed in his preference for wearing uniforms open and loose. He was unflinchingly dedicated to his duty, even when facing the most difficult circumstances.[1][4][9] He was also flexible and able to adapt. Despite suffering great personal loss and the near-extinction of his people, Kodai was convinced by Queen Stasha to embrace the potential for mutual understanding and cooperation with Earth's alien enemies. His message of trust deeply resonated with the crew of Yamato after his passing.[2][12]
Kodai was a man who operated on instinct, a trait that contrasts with the cool, calculating personality of Shiro Sanada. While he admired his friend's scientific talents and appreciated how their different approaches complemented one another, Kodai encouraged Sanada to explore his way of looking at the world by sharing his favorite poetry with him.[9]
Guiding and supporting his younger brother Susumu continued to be an important part of Mamoru's life until his final days.[8][2]
Novelization[]
In the Space Battleship Yamato 2199 novelization a dialogue between Kodai and Okita, cut from the series but included in the original screenplay,[19] is shown and takes place immediately before his spirit disappears.[20]
Behind the Scenes[]
Mamoru Kodai's redesign for Space Battleship Yamato 2199 was made by Nobuteru Yuki.[21] He's portrayed by Mitsuru Miyamoto in Japanese and Zach Bolton in English.[4]
English subtitles in "Messenger of Iscandar" mistakenly give Kodai's rank as major, which is the army equivalent of the naval rank of lieutenant commander.[4]
In the original screenplay for Space Battleship Yamato 2199 there was a scene in which Mamoru's spirit offered to help Okita, but he refused stating he regretted nothing about his life.[19]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Yamato 2199 official website Character entry for Mamoru Kodai
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 "The Distant Promised Land"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Memories of the Blue Planet"
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 "Messenger of Iscandar"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Era of Space Battleship Yamato: Choice of 2202
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Space Battleship Yamato 2199 Model Sheet Design Collection EARTH p.232
- ↑ "Hello Sasha"
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "The Whisper of the Witch"
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 "Out of the Forest of Memory"
- ↑ Space Battleship Yamato 2199 Model Sheet Design Collection EARTH p. 192 states that Susumu was 14 years old when the planet bomb fell. Comparing this with his official birth dates means that the bomb must have fallen between July 2192 and July 2193
- ↑ "Toward a Sea of Stars"
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Space Battleship Yamato 2199: Odyssey of the Celestial Ark"
- ↑ Trajectory of YAMATO official 2024 calendar
- ↑ "Gravestone on a Frozen Field"
- ↑ "Bewitching - The Space Fireflies Beckon a Crisis"
- ↑ "Farewell, Space Battleship Yamato"
- ↑ "Space Battleship Yamato 2199: Odyssey of the Celestial Ark"
- ↑ "Immigrant Fleet Rescue Operation. Go Beyond the Dimensional Wall!"
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Space Battleship Yamato 2199 Complete Works Screenplay Collection p. 251
- ↑ Space Battleship Yamato 2199 Vol.2 Chapter 14: And the Ship Goes pp. 356-357
- ↑ Space Battleship Yamato 2199 Model Sheet Design Collection EARTH p. 232
- ↑ This is a retcon of a previous date mistake made in "Out of the Forest of Memory". For this topic in more detail, see Yamato 2199 timeline inconsistencies