Then, a tall, gangling, and mysterious upperclassman released himself not with the customary hi there but by confiding that he knew basically each line in Space Battleship Yamato (Star Blazers) by heart. By the time he was 20-4, although still a university student filmmaker, Anno was staying mentored by Hayao Miyazaki, who gave him critical operate on Nausicaa - and hailed as a soaring star.