History Headscratchers / SpaceBattleshipYamato2199

* Why wasn't Izumo Plan kept as a backup? I understand the Yamato Plan became a more attractive alternative and all resources were diverted to complete it as soon as possible, but putting all your eggs in one basket is insane. They could have ''delayed'' the Izumo Plan, then continued with it as the Yamato sailed to an alien world, in case the Yamato failed. Everyone on Earth was just waiting for the Yamato to return... they could have spend the time doing the Izumo Plan if the Yamato never returned... or returned empty handed.

* Where are non-Japanese contributions to the war? I realize that the ''Yamato'' crew has to be Japanese because it was so in the original series, and they found a way to justify it in-universe with the near impossibility to move people and material from a part of the world to the other (thus the ''Yamato'' having to be built under the old warship's relic for camouflage with Japanese resources and crewed with Japanese men), but this series makes a big deal of the Cosmo Force depending from the United Nations, yet during Operation M all the ships mentioned (''Kirishima'', ''Yukikaze'' and ''Izumo'') have obviously Japanese names (Kirishima being the name of a Japanese volcano with a city and a battleship sank at Guadalcanal in 1942 named after it, Yukikaze being a typical name for Japanese destroyers until the end of WorldWarII, and Izumo being an ancient Japanese city with a cruiser sank in 1945 named after it), and the ''Yukikaze'' was stated to be an '''''Isokaze'''''-class destroyer (''Isokaze'' was another widely used name for Japanese destroyers, with the ''Isokaze''-class of four ships being in service from 1916 to 1936 and another ship of that name being sunk with the ''Yamato''). Was it too difficult to mention a ship named ''Nelson'' for the British, a ''Monitor'' for the Americans, or a ''Prinz Eugen'' for the Germans, Austrians and Italians at the same time (the ''Prinz Eugen'' ships being named after an Italian general who fought for the Hapsburgs, Eugenio di Savoia), or to say that the ''Yukikaze'' was a ''La Combattante''-class destroyer (named after French ships with the added bonus that the name means 'the fighting one')?

** ''Yamato 2202'' Sees a greater amount of cooperation, we see ships named [[spoiler:''Saratoga'', ''Iroquois'', ''Independence'', ''Intrepid'', ''Ticonderoga'']], and [[spoiler:''Defiant'']]. The EDF Main Battleship from ''Yamato 2/Comet Empire'' is now the [[spoiler:''Dreadnought'']] class.

*** ''Yamato 2202'' compensates for this, we see ships named [[spoiler:''Saratoga'', ''Iroquois'', ''Independence'', ''Intrepid'', ''Ticonderoga'']], and [[spoiler:''Defiant'']]. The EDF Main Battleship from ''Yamato 2/Comet Empire'' is now the [[spoiler:''Dreadnought'']] class.

*** ''Yamato 2202'' compensates for this, we see ships named [[''Saratoga'', ''Iroquois'', ''Independence'', ''Intrepid'', ''Ticonderoga'']], and [[''Defiant'']]. The EDF Main Battleship from ''Yamato 2/Comet Empire'' is now the [[''Dreadnought'']] class.

** Hawking Radiation perhaps? Since it generates and fires micro black holes, you want them to spin so they discharge that energy and dissapate

*** ''Yamato 2202'' compensates for this, we see ships named ''Saratoga'', ''Iroquois'', ''Independence'', ''Intrepid'', ''Ticonderoga'', and ''Defiant''. The EDF Main Battleship from ''Yamato 2'' is now the ''Dreadnought'' class.

** The very fact Shultz is wondering that suggests there are precedents. And we have a similar one in our own history: when the Romans conquered a country they suddenly became (relatively) soft as soon as they surrendered, but when they were to put down a rebellion or deal with a perceived betrayal from a former ally they would [[RapePillageAndBurn rape all women, sack the city, enslave all the survivors that could be sold well and burn the place]], [[SaltTheEarth and then salting the Earth if they were in a foul mood]] (Creator/GaiusJuliusCaesar became famous as lenient because, when he repressed a rebellion, he simply ''chopped the right hand off every single adult male in the town'' instead of applying the usual policy).

** The very fact Shultz is wondering that suggests there are precedents. And we have a similar one in our own history: when the Romans conquered a country they suddenly became (relatively) soft as soon as they surrendered, but when they were to put down a rebellion or deal with a perceived betrayal from a former ally they would [[RapePillageAndBurn rape all women, sack the city, enslave all the survivors that could be sold well and burn the place]], [[SaltTheEarth and then salting the Earth if they were in a foul mood]] (GaiusJuliusCaesar became famous as lenient because, when he repressed a rebellion, he simply ''chopped the right hand off every single adult male in the town'' instead of applying the usual policy).

** Hawking Radiation perhaps? Since it generates and fires micro black holes, you want them to spin so they discharge that energy and dissapate

* Why is the WaveMotionGun rifled? I can understand with the main and secondary battery of shock cannons that work both as energy weapons and as standard artillery (even if smoothbores would have worked too for the kinetic weapons and been better for the energy ones), but the WMG is only energy.

*** That was a request to the fleet they were facing, not the government.

** But didn't they again ask for surrender during Operation M, the answer at the time was "Nuts" obviously, but project Yamoto had an horrible chance of success and humanity was literally two years away from extinction. You would think we would have thought it over a bit more if that was the only time it was offered.

** The very fact Shultz is wondering that suggests there are precedents. And we have a similar one in our own history: when the Romans conquered a country they suddenly became (relatively) soft as soon as they surrendered, but when they were to put down a rebellion or deal with a perceived betrayal from a former ally they would [[RapePillageAndBurn rape all women, sack the city, enslave all the survivors that could be sold well and burn the place]], [[SaltTheEarth and then salting the Earth if they were in a foul mood]] (GaiusJuliusCaesar became famous as lenient because, when he repressed a rebellion, he simply ''chopped the right hand off every single adult male in the town'' instead of applying the usual policy).

** Considering the reveal that the Earth fleet actually fired at the Gamilons first, Gamilas probably would not have accepted any sort of human surrender anyways, considering how ruthlessly they put down planetary rebellions. The high ranking Earth officials who ordered the attack probably realized this as well and decided standing and fighting was their only chance at survival.

***** The thing is, how can he do it? He doesn't have that power over either the Security Council or the military... Unless the Gamilans asked for surrender only once before starting bombing, he couldn't have done anything.

*** Perhaps true but another possible explanation is that if the UN Space Forces are organized anything like today's UN operations, then each nation's forces are organized independently. But if THAT were the reason, then why was the Japanese force assigned Operation M? In the WMG section, it is postulated that the various nations of earth each began building their own battleships designed to use the Wave Motion Core being sent by Iscandar. The first ship to be completed would get the core and the mission to Iscandar while the other ships would be completed with cores copied from the original. But in order to ensure that the warp core reached Earth unobserved, Operation M was drawn up. The operation would require a major commitment but there is the oft overlooked fact that even if the ''Yamato'' plan succeeded, there would still be a need to prserve a fleet in being to prevent the Gamilons to simply move in and finish off Earth while ''Yamato was away. Assume that the Japanese, American, Russian, Chinese, European Commonwealth, and the British Fleets represent the main strength of UN forces. The likelihood of winning at Pluto without horrendous casualties was virtually nil. The fleet dispatched to Pluto was going to be a write-off. Therefore the commitment of Japanese forces to Operation M was the price Japan paid for getting their Battleship up first and getting the honor of the mission to Iscandar. The other surviving fleets would have to defend Earth in the interim while ''Yamato'' was away and until the other new battleships (''Arizona, Borodino, Bismarck, Andromeda, Prince of Wales, '') could be completed. Considering that most of the Gamilon fleet was cutoff on the wrong side of the warp gate when it was destroyed, this becomes even more important. Indeed there is almost a full year's worth of battles and stories going on closer to home while ''Yamato''completes the Iscandar mission.

** While operating under UN auspices, the Earth Fleets at this time are still 'national' Just like in UN operations today. The reason that Operation 'M' was an all Japanese show had to do with politics I think. It has been suggested that ''Yamato'' was not the only Space Battleship being built in 2198 and that each of the major powers had a ship being built. Let us speculate: The Russian Federation Battleship ''Borodino'' seemed to be nearing completion before the other ships but US analysts believed ''Borodino'' was too small to make the journey alone. The US manages to divert supplies earmarked for their ''Arizona'' to aid in accelerating the launch of ''Yamato'' So ''Yamato'' gets the nod and therefore gets the warp core from Iscandar. But a diversion is needed: Operation "M". At this point, two things are certain: One is that Earth will still need a 'Fleet in being' So sending everyone's fleets out is out of the question. Second is that the fleet that goes to Pluto will likely be spent in the operation. In exchange for getting the warp core and the mission to Iscandar, the Japanese draw the task of decoying the Gamilons at Pluto. With the Japanese Fleet reduced to ''Kirishima'', the burden of holding the Sol system while the ''Yamato'' is away, falls to the US, European, and Russian Fleets. At this time it is acknowledged that the smaller ''Borodino'' will be better for series production but construction on the other battleships continues. ''Andromeda'' will be selected as fleet flagship, partly on political grounds. In the meantime, there is almost a year of battles left to fight. (Possibly ''intensifying'' after ''Yamato'' passes Balun and destroys the gate... Not incidentally leaving huge Gamilon forces on the "wrong" side of space)

**** Unless he's fanning the "They will not let us surrender!" flames like crazy. There seems to be no active communication between Earth and Gamilas, and Serizawa may figure that bad things will happen to him if Earth surrenders (likely extraditing him?) and thus decides he (and by extension Earth) rather go down fighting or find another solution. Wouldn't be the first "And after me the flood!" Type of Authority figure in fiction after all.

*** Serizawa is a '''general''', and doesn't seem to have any political power (there is no apparent military government, and there is at least Heikuro Todo above him anyway). He managed to screw the first contact up because the UN sent military ships under his command (and this makes me wonder why he wasn't hanged for that), but surrender is a ''political'' decision, one for either the General Assembly (that we don't know if it's still around) or the Security Council of the United Nations (that we ''did'' see. France was apparently replaced by the European Union, but the Security Council still exists).

** There is a general called Kotetsu Serizawa responsible for this.

* I'm asking Shultz's same question: why didn't Earth just surrender? 'Till Yurisha's arrival, Earth had ''no way'' to stop the Gamilas fleet, the planetary bombs and the HostileTerraforming, and it had been that way for years...

* Where are non-Japanese contributions to the war? I realize that the ''Yamato'' crew has to be Japanese because it was so in the original series, and they found a way to justify it in-universe with the near impossibility to move people and material from a part of the world to the other (thus the ''Yamato'' having to be built under the old warship's relic for camouflage with Japanese resources and crewed with Japanese men), but this series makes a big deal of the Cosmo Force depending from the United Nations, yet during Operation M all the ships mentioned (''Kirishima'', ''Yukikaze'' and ''Izumo'') have obviously Japanese names (Kirishima being the name of a Japanese volcano with a city and a battleship sank at Guadalcanal in 1942 named after it, Yukikaze being a typical name for Japanese destroyers until the end of WorldWarII, and Izumo being an ancient Japanese city with a cruiser sank in 1945 named after it), and the ''Yukikaze'' was stated to be an '''''Isokaze'''''-class destroyer (''Isokaze'' was another widely used name for Japanese destroyers, with the ''Isokaze''-class of four ships being in service from 1916 to 1936 and another ship of that name being sunk with the ''Yamato''). Was it too difficult to mention a ship named ''Nelson'' for the British, a ''Monitor'' for the Americans, or a ''Prinz Eugen'' for the Germans, Austrians and Italians at the same time (the ''Prinz Eugen'' ships being named after an Italian general who fought for the Hapsburgs, Eugenio di Savoia), or to say that the ''Yukikaze'' was a ''La Combattante''-class destroyer (named after French ships with the added bonus that the name means 'the fighting one')?

* Where are non-Japanese contributions to the war? I realize that the ''Yamato'' crew has to be Japanese because it was so in the original series, and they found a way to justify it in-universe with the near impossibility to move people and material from a part of the world to the other (thus the ''Yamato'' having to be built under the old warship's relic for camouflage with Japanese resources and crewed with Japanese men), but this series makes a big deal of the Cosmo Force depending from the United Nations, yet during Operation M all the ships mentioned (''Kirishima'', ''Yukikaze'' and ''Izumo'') have obviously Japanese names (Kirishima being the name of a Japanese volcano with a city and a battleship sank at Guadalcanal in 1942 named after it, Yukikaze being a typical name for Japanese destroyers until the end of WorldWarII, and Izumo being an ancient Japanese city with a cruiser sank in 1945 named after it), and the ''Yukikaze'' was stated to be an '''''Isokaze'''''-class destroyer (''Isokaze'' was another widely used name for Japanese destroyers, with the ''Isokaze''-class of four ships being in service from 1916 to 1936 and another ship of that name being sunk with the ''Yamato''). Was it too difficult to mention a ship named ''Nelson'' for the British, a ''Monitor'' for the Americans, or a ''Prinz Eugen'' for the Germans, Austrians and Italians at the same time (the ''Prinz Eugen'' ships being named after an Italian general who fought for the Hapsburgs, Eugenio di Savoia), or to say that the ''Yukikaze'' was a ''La Combattante''-class destroyer (named after French ships with the added bonus that the name means 'the fighter')?