Act 1
The First Fleet of Earth fights a battle near Pluto with the Gamilas, aliens who have been attacking Earth for past 8 years. The First Fleet's weapons aren't very effective against the alien fleet. The alien fleet inflicts heavy damage on the space ships from Earth. Commander Okita, leader of the fleet, doesn't give the order to retreat until he has retrieved word that Operation M has been a success. The Amaterasu has made it to Mars with its precious cargo.
Okita gives the order to retreat but there are only two ships left: the Kirishima, the flagship, and the Yukikaze, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Mamoru Kodai. The Yukikaze stays behind to cover the retreat of the Kirishima. Okita tries talking Kodai into falling back to Earth but Kodai respectfully refuses to do so. The men aboard the Yukikaze valiantly fight on, singing as they turn to face the enemy. They don't last more than a few minutes against the overwhelming firepower of the enemy fleet.
The Uzume, a small spaceship, is sent to Mars after a coded message, the Stone Door of Heaven in Opening, is received from the First Fleet. The Uzume is there to retrieve what is left from the Amaterasu which crashes near the remnants of Port Acadia. They discover a beautiful but dead blonde alien woman holding a capsule about the size of her hand. It seems like she must be an alien who was bringing a piece of alien technology from her people to Earth. The hope seems to be that it will help in the war with the Gamilas.
Susumi Kodai, commander of the Uzume and brother of Mamoru Kodai, and his co-pilot bury the beautiful alien woman on Mars. On her grave they write Here Lies a Visitor From a Distant Star.
Nuts - Okita's response to the Gamila's when asked to surrender; see also Genera Patton
Enemy ships not as colorful as Earth ships
Act 2
The Kirishima returns to Earth three months after the battle near Pluto. Susumi Kodai is eager for news of his brother. He overhears a conversation between a couple people who work in the command center. One of them is sharing a rumor he heard, that the operation near Pluto was disastrous and that the sailors and troops who were aboard those ships didn't know what they were really there to do.
A teacher in a classroom helps to fill in some of the background. She tells the class how 8 years ago Earth with made first contact with aliens. The aliens were warlike and sent "planet bombs", asteroids packed with explosives, to Earth. In the ensuing years the Earth has been reduced to a shell of what it once was. Humans are forced to live in underground cities.
Kodai heads to the hospital and confronts Commander Okita. He wants information about his brother. Okita is apologetic about what happened to Mamoru. Okita and Commander Hijikata briefly discuss the role of the capsule recovered from the Amaterasu and that it will help them put Plan Yamato into operation.
In the final scene, Kodai and his co-pilot steal a Type Zero Space Model 52 fighter plane (aka the Cosmo Zero) that is assigned to Saburo Kato, the top ace. They attempt to take out an alien scout ship only to discover that the plane was not armed. They crash land near the remains of an ancient battleship.
Thoughts
The story is a little hard to follow. I watched the episode twice and paused it many time to make notes the second time I watched it. I know the general gist of the story, I watched the original 35+ years ago, but there's a lot I don't remember. Clearly Kodai and Okita are going to be two of the central characters of the show. I expect that Saburo Kato, Kodai's co-pilot, and the female officer (whom Kodai encountered briefly when he overheard the rumor about the First Fleet) will also play important roles in the story.
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