DHBirr Wrote:I'm presuming the varying colors of UNCF uniforms are branch/department codings. Has anyone seen a listing that spells out what color means what area of work?
Haha... sorry. I'm amused at myself for never even
considering there would be people who
wouldn't know about this. But of
course many won't! This show is bringing in lots of new fans who don't have the background on the old series and assumptions! I'm sure the uniform colors and other things are spelled out on one of the new official websites and such, but until things get translated, here's what I know based on the old series (and some online sources of new material). So far most of it tracks directly to the new series:
So - pic of all the crew members we've seen so far:
![[Image: 69616.JPG]](http://www.starblazers.com/images/jun12/images/69616.JPG)
And here's the explanation for all the color-coding:
Captain Okita - well - he's the CAPTAIN. Duh! He's the dude in THE HAT. If you have THE HAT you don't NEED color coding! ^_^
Ahem. Moving along...
Red trim on White = Tactical Group. Kodai (Wildstar) of course. He's the head of Tactical group. And Nambu (Dash) who sits behind and to his left on the bridge is also part of Tactical. Nambu is in charge of the main guns and targeting and is subordinate directly to Kodai. If Kodai is off in his Cosmo Zero interceptor, then Nambu is directly in charge and reports to Captain Okita. Tactical group are the gunners and artillery men on the ship. If there are shots of crewmen operating the guns or missile/torpedo stations, they'll be in the Tactical group colors. Tactical group also has some overlap in training with the air group and can fly fighters and support craft. You'll often see them as pilots (especially of support craft) if it's not a "Black Tiger" flying.
Green trim on White = Navigation and sensors. This is the group Shima (Venture) is the head of. Ota (Eager), also part of this group, sits over on the far right of the bridge behind Sandor and Nova. Duties are mostly self-explanatory. Handles the navigation and piloting of the Yamato herself. Also handles what you'd think of as "tactical plotting". Ota (Eager) is a pretty busy guy, really! He's the one who puts together all the data and throws it up on the main screen for people to see. (Yuki (Nova) might be the one reading the actual radar (more on that below), but she and Ota theoretically are working together to plot where the ship is and where the enemy is.) On the old show, the 2nd bridge was mostly devoted to these guys. (Kind of like the backroom guys at Mission Control Houston who were NOT in the main room at the famous consoles.)
Blue trim on White = Technology. Also pretty obvious, especially from context. Sanada's (Sandor) group. Everything Spock did on the Enterprise, Sanada and the guys in blue do here. Oversees scientific analysis, information analysis, development, and
engineering. (Other than the technology leader, Sanada also holds the post of
first mate to Captain Okita.) The duties and responsibilities of Technology group overlap a lot with the Engineering group. Sanada and Tokugawa (Orion) used to work together pretty closely on the old show. Not sure if they're more separate here or not, yet. You might see guys in the Blue and White mixed in with the guys in Orange on White (Engineering) if they show shots of crew repairing the ship.
(Also - Sandor has funny eyes, yes. His eyes look funny because he's got no eyebrows. And they've always drawn him that way. It may be related to his... But if you don't know about him yet... hmmm... maybe I shouldn't spoil things. Besides - I don't know 100% if they're going to do the same thing with him here that they did in the original. So... )
Black on Dark Blue = Intelligence. Apparently this is a new subdivision invented for 2199. Kaoru Niimi (Hot chick with the glasses with an eye on Sanada) is part of this group and her specialties include enemy tactical and data analysis. (She also has a doctorate in psychology and acts as the ship's counselor.)
Orange on White = Engineering. Everything that has directly to do with the Wave Motion Engine, the two Auxiliary Engines, and propulsion of the Yamato in general (this includes things like the attitude jets.) Tokugawa (Orion) is Chief Engineer, just as he was in the original. Not a complicated guy. But has a LOT of experience. And much of it was with Captain Okita.
Engineering also works with Technology on Damage control. And Yamazaki (who in the original show, appeared as Chief Engineer after the Comet Empire storyline) is Assistant Engineer and head of Damage control. (Boy, did YOU pick a position with job security, buddy!)
One note related to both Technology and Engineering groups, because they
both have overlapping duties in regards to servicing and repairing it;
The Yamato, in addition to having artificial gravity inside the ship
(except apparently in the hanger bay, where they leave it turned off
most of the time) also has a "mass cancellation" system that masks a
significant portion of the ships mass. This is why those tiny attitude
jets can steer something huge like the Yamato. Between the gravity
control and the mass cancellation, this is how and why the Yamato can
make planetary landings and rest lightly on the ground when they're not
floating in water (and NOT crush the third bridge!).
Black
on Yellow = Operations Division, headed by Yuki Mori (Nova). Operations seems to be kind of a "catch-all" or miscellaneous section that covers ship duties and responsibilities that aren't covered by the other more tightly defined divisions. That's the way it was in the original show, and that's the way it appears to be in 2199 as well. As an example of the varied duties Operations can cover, note that in addition to the various duties Yuki covers, including radar (more of which, below), Aihara the communications (radio) operator is also part of this group. And when Akira Yamamoto first boarded the ship, she was assigned as an ensign in the accounting division and wore the black on yellow of Operations. And Hajime Hirata who manages the food supply is ALSO part of Operations!
And Yuki (Nova) - wow... She is "leader of ship affairs in charge of information, electronics,
communications, coding, hull demagnetization. Air Captain First Class in
charge of radar and radio communications on the first bridge." That's an impressive resume! But at least it all seems to tie in with a similar technological background.
And in the original show she was ALSO Dr. Sado's nurse! I think they made a wise decision to at least take the medical duties off her hands and give them to another character. Probably the only reason she was also shown as a nurse in the original was due to cultural and gender attitudes of the time and the fact that Producer Nishizaki flat out
ordered the writers and animators not to show any other female crew after he saw the finished version of episode 10! (That was the farewell to Earth episode) Thankfully we have a new generation doing the show that's a little more reasonable and realistic about such things.
Speaking of nurses -
Black
on Pink is apparently a uniform worn ONLY by Makoto Harada, the rather... spathic... young woman who serves as Nurse (and nursemaid... >.>) to Dr Sado. She's apparently a civilian assigned to the medical division.
Medical Division apparently has no official colors other than Red Cross on White. (Or white cross on red, as it appears here.)
Yellow on Black = Space Combat Fighter Squadron. (Otherwise known from the previous version of the show as the "Black Tigers". I haven't seen any reference to the name "Black Tigers" in the new show yet. So the reference is
only in regard to the original.) Saburu Kato (Conroy) is head of this group. Later on, Yamamoto (Akira - or "Rei") joins them officially, after being transferred from accounting after she provided unauthorized (and spectacular!) fire-support/rescue of Kodai, Yuki, Makoto and AU-9 ("Analyzer") on Enceladeus (sp?).
Black
on Grey = Security Division. This is a completely NEW division invented for 2199 and has a couple of minor characters (Shinya Itou and Toru Hoshina) shown to be a part of it. Security is the military police - the MPs. Pretty obvious.
And as to whether or not White Hair and red eyes nicknamed "Rei" is a shout-out... Well... let's just say that when we got to the "Rei" bit, I face-palmed. But in a good way.
