YAT Anshin! Uchū Ryokō


YAT Untroubled Space Tours is an anime series produced by Group TAC.
It aired on NHK in Japan from October 1996 to September 1997; a second series aired from April to October 1998.
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Plot

The series is set in the year 5808; human civilization has taken gigantic steps in the conquest of the space, and with the creation of the three-dimensional tunnel, people can travel to any Galaxy in the universe. "The Gentleman of the Cosmos" is a company that manages the tunnel and has come to dominate the tourism industry.
The main characters of the series are part of Yamamoto Anshin Travel, with the plot revolving around Goro Hoshiwatari, an adolescent who has left his home to travel by the space and to find the whereabouts of his father, who disappeared fifteen years ago during the explosion of the main transporting center of the three-dimensional Tunnel that he created. Goro falls in love with Katsura, the commander's daughter; and becomes the YAT mechanic/janitor after an accident that he was responsible for, so he tags along to pay for the damage and to find his father as well. Finding his father turns out not to be his only problem, since Kanea, a young lady whose mother is the owner of "the Gentleman of the Cosmos", is in love with him. In addition, Kanea's mother had a mysterious and conflicting past with Yamamoto.
The second series takes place six months after the first. YAT ships and crew are transported to a very far universe. They soon discover that the person responsible is Professor Nota, a scientific who is working on a teletransportation device, helped by a cat-like girl with psychic powers called "Pinky". Then, Emperor Ganon kidnaps the professor, who wants to use the device to rule the universe. The aim of the YAT crew is finding the kidnapped professor and going back to Earth.

Characters

Main

  • Goro Hoshiwatari: Protagonist of the series. He works in YAT to clear off damage costs he had inadvertently caused for the company. Like many shounen heroes, Goro is very brave and has an innate sense of righteousness, along with his longstanding goal of searching for his missing father. He is bossed around by Kaoru for the majority of the series, while he has a deep crush on his daughter Katsura.
  • Katsura Tenjoin: Kaoru's adopted daughter. She is sweet and affectionate, but she possesses superhuman strength which allows her to lift 100 tonnes of heavy objects easily even only one hand is used. Also she instinctively defends herself with martial arts whenever she feels she is in danger. She is a cheerful girl all around and it often rubs off on other people, regardless of their mood. She has some unique paranormal abilities that complement her skills in fighting.
  • Kaoru Yamamoto: Director of YAT and captain of the YAT Dove. Considered an old wolf of space, he was a pirate who was feared by all until he retired. He is very ambitious and egoistic, and organizes trips to cheap destinations. Despite his grumpy personality, he has a good heart. He devotes much of his life to his beloved daughter Katsura.
  • Ucchi: The Pilot of the YAT ship who dreams about having his own ride. Although a sensible person, he is easily depressed. He has the ability to change his appearance or impersonate people, regardless of their gender. He has solved problems for Goro and Katsura, which reflects his good side.
  • Kanabi: The navigator of the YAT ship. Although the tours rely on his skills, the ship sometimes arrives at unexpected destinations. While clearly a robot, he has displayed various emotions, although much of it in seemingly pointless arguments with Ucchi.
  • Bukki: Mascot of the company and apparently Katsura's pet lizard, although many people are scared of its mean appearance.

Captain Rock's crew

Captain Rock : Leader of the pirates. When he appears, he always sings the same song with the rest of his crew. Long ago, he was part of Yamamoto crew and he is still in Yamamoto's old ship, Nevermore. He is a parody of Captain Harlock. Nanako : Pirate crewmember. She plays electric guitar and is very good at controlling computers on Nevermore. She was also, part of Yamamoto crew in the past. She married with Hacibee later in the series. She is a parody of Yuki in the Captain Harlock series. Hachibee : Pirate crewmember. He plays a digital piano. He loves mechanics and is a parody of Yattaran in the Captain Harlock series. He and Nanako became a couple.

Minor characters

Ann Marigold : President of the "Gentleman of the Cosmos". She was part of Yamamoto's crew 15 years ago. She stole data about a prototype and used it to become rich and powerful. She married Donzu Marigold, who was a friend of Goro's father, and had a daughter with him. However, due to serious incident of Maza dimension tunnel which nearly destroy the Earth, the United Earth Federation then closed all dimensional tunnels and deprived the exclusive franchise of dimension tunnels from the Gentleman of the Cosmos, so the company was bankrupted. Ann was arrested because of her pirate career. Donzu Marigold : Late husband of Ann Marigold. He was a friend of Goro's father, Daigo. He died 10 years before the start of the first series, when he was only 34 years old. Kanea Marigold : Daughter of Donzu and Ann Marigold. She is hyperactive, rich, and bad-tempered. She is in love with Goro, although he is not interested in her. She leads her own ship, which resembles an enormous cruiser. At the end of season one, after the Gentleman of the Cosmos had bankrupted, Kanea promised to her mother that she would rebuild the Gentle of the cosmos. Daniel : Caretaker of Kanea Marigold, whose her mother is always working and does not have much time to spend with her. Daniel was fired by Ann because he had known too much and hence he exposed Ann was once a wanted criminal during the opening ceremony of Maza dimension tunnel for revenge. After that, he realised his mistake and went to rescue Kanea's mother and nearly sacrificed during the accident of Maza dimension tunnel. After the Gentleman of the Cosmos had bankrupted, Daniel was the only staff who still willing to follow Kanea to rebuild the company. MAM: The most important computer in Kanea's ship. It has feelings, because it was designed to take care of Kanea. It has substituted Ann Marigold's role. Daigo Hoshiwatari : Goro's father. He invented the 3D tunnel and created the "Daigo System". While working on the prototype of the tunnel, he was absorbed by the gravitational energy which came from the tunnel, leaving him in a different dimension for 15 years, although he is still 30, because in his world the accident occurred only 20 days before. Haruka Hoshiwatari : Goro's mother. She drives a big truck and has a very strong personality. She had raised her only son, Goro, alone since her husband disappeared 15 years before. Mr And Mrs Toukichi : An elderly couple who love travelling with YAT and they appear in nearly all episodes of the first series. They are hoping that something will happen, because it's a tradition in YAT travels.

Episode list

Season one (1996–1997)

  1. Leave it to YAT! 1996-10-05
  2. Good place known to few people in space! The hot-spring tour 1996-10-12
  3. The ice planet, large pinch! 1996-10-19
  4. Katsura's prophecy! 1996-10-26
  5. Girl from outer space! 1996-11-02
  6. The cosmopolitan success!? 1996-11-09
  7. Survival! Wild Kanea 1996-11-16
  8. Delicious explosion! The Gourmet tour 1996-11-23
  9. Useless Couple 1996-11-30
  10. Meet the space pirate, Rock! 1996-12-04
  11. Fighting spirit! The decisive battle for the king of space 1996-12-14
  12. The terrifying planet Daikyokuten! 1996-12-21
  13. Surprise! The man who knows YAT? 1996-12-28
  14. Super Express! Transport the Princess 1997-01-11
  15. Rock's rescue mission! 1997-01-18
  16. President Yamamoto!? 1997-01-25
  17. Intensive training tour for preparatory students! 1997-02-01
  18. Holiday for YAT! 1997-02-08
  19. Reunion! Father appears? 1997-02-15
  20. Secret treasure of Captain Kid! 1997-02-22
  21. Big shock! The President is captured 1997-03-01
  22. 8 friendly customers! 1997-03-08
  23. Out of control! No. Queen Marigold 1997-03-15
  24. Fierceness! Mother's distinctive road 1997-03-22
  25. The mysterious father! 1997-03-29
  26. Crack, break, the puzzle is unraveled! 1997-04-05
  27. Absolute desperation, tour for the unrequited love!? 1997-04-12
  28. Kanea leaves home! 1997-04-19
  29. Goro and little Goro! 1997-04-26
  30. The lovely Kaoru-chan!? 1997-05-03
  31. The talkative Bukki! 1997-05-10
  32. Kanopi's first love! 1997-05-17
  33. Kanea is taken away!? 1997-05-24
  34. Ucchi's date! 1997-05-31
  35. Defeat the villainous extraterrestrial! 1997-06-07
  36. Dimensional tunnel SOS! 1997-06-14
  37. Ann Marigold's ambition! 1997-06-21
  38. Daniel's love strategy!? 1997-06-28
  39. Reclaim Katsura-san! 1997-07-05
  40. Captain Rock stops being a pirate! 1997-07-12
  41. Goodbye, regular customer! 1997-07-19
  42. Big escape! The blazing spaceship 1997-07-26
  43. The mysterious ancient ruins! 1997-08-02
  44. Long, long ago, in space...! 1997-08-16
  45. Clear! The 'Mother' dimensional tunnel 1997-08-23
  46. The encounter that transcends time! 1997-08-30
  47. The truth of the 15th year! 1997-09-06
  48. Contain the reckless "Mother" 1997-09-13
  49. Self-sacrificing 'Mother'-halting strategy 1997-09-20
  50. Separation of the moment! '''1997-09-27'''

Season two (1998)

  1. Sailing off to a New Journey! 1998-04-11
  2. Protect Maron! 1998-04-18
  3. Search for Food, Large Pinch! 1998-04-25
  4. Monica becomes Small! 1998-05-02
  5. Goodbye, Maron!? 1998-05-09
  6. Reclaim YAT Dove! 1998-05-16
  7. The 3 people who were Caught! 1998-05-23
  8. Talk of such a Night! 1998-05-30
  9. Everyone Katamarl!? 1998-06-06
  10. Monica in Love!? 1998-06-13
  11. Small Companions! 1998-06-20
  12. Duel! YAT Jumbo 1998-06-27
  13. Come back, Mr President! 1998-07-04
  14. The President who becomes the Enemy!? 1998-07-11
  15. Who is the Leader!? 1998-07-18
  16. Mysterious Pyramid! 1998-07-25
  17. Large Strife from the Bottom of the Hotspring! 1998-08-01
  18. Queen of Planet Molfas! 1998-08-08
  19. Three Wishes! 1998-08-22
  20. Monarch Ganon's Conspiracy! 1998-08-29
  21. YAT Jumbo Blast?! 1998-09-05
  22. YAT Desperation! 1998-09-12
  23. Time to Strike! 1998-09-19
  24. The Last Battle! 1998-09-26
  25. Aiming toward Home! '''1998-10-03'''

Theme music

First series

;Opening theme:
  • "Heaven"
;Ending theme:
  • "Dame yo! Dame yo! Dame yo!"
  • "Moonlight"

Second series

;Opening theme:
  • "Everlasting Loop"
;Ending theme:
  • "Jun"

Incident

On March 29, 1997, there was an incident involving episode 25 "The Mysterious Father" in which viewers, including four children, were taken to hospitals after reportedly watching a scene in the episode with rapidly flashing red and white colors. Later in the year, NHK confirmed that at least 25 people in 9 prefectures were confirmed to have been affected.
The reasons behind this incident were discovered when another similar - albeit larger - incident occurred 9 months later with the infamous Electric Soldier Porygon episode of Pokémon.
A recall was issued for physical copies of the video which, by December 18th, had already sold 1300 copies. Later broadcasts of this episode were edited so that the flashes were not as fast, unlike the Pokémon episode, which was completely banned.