I have tried to watch some episodes but I never got into Space Battleship Yamato. It is a quite confusing plot-line and the pacing feels very slow. However I loved the intro and it was even more awesome when I found out that the original series had the same intro but with a poorer 70s art style. Sometimes people have a lot of nostalgia for old animation, but I think the comparison of the both intros shows that anime has come a long way.
70s Opening
2012 Opening
I always found it hillarious that Spacebattleship Yamato was redubbed to "Star Blazers" in the US, only to hide the fact that the old WW2 Warship was an inspiration for the series. The more I enjoyed when I saw US Marines play an orchestra version of the song.
The government might try to play information wars by censoring anime. Anime often get censored in America for petty reasons like "too many satanist symbols". However the soldiers are sane people and are willing to show their respect by playing a song that honors an enemy they once fought. In modern warfare the respect for the enemy is often lost and maybe I am interpreting way too much into a simple gesture but it almost drove me to tears.