On Dec 29 2005, I took my father-in-law (73 years old) to see this film--he is a bit of a military 'otaku' type and I expected a typical apologetic, war-glorifying TOEI effort. Wrong! -- this movie is _very_ good, hits you in the heart early on and never lets go. The battleship Yamato is the backdrop--what the film focuses on is the 17-18 year-old group of young sailors who did the dirty work on board the ship. Their interpersonal relationships, their girlfriends back home, their mothers--it is heart-rending. The battle scenes are unforgettable. The whole of the audience stayed till the last credits had rolled & left dewy-eyed. I myself went to see it again on Jan 2nd -- just to confirm I hadn't missed anything from the Japanese dialogue. See it! The West deserves an English sub-titled uncut version-- really... The best Japan-made movie I have ever seen!