Yamato 2520 was Yoshinobu Nishizaki's attempt at a sequel to Space Battleship Yamato, set several hundred years after the original series. However, Nishizaki was sued by Leiji Matsumoto for breach of copyright. Ultimately, Yamato 2520 was left unfinished after only three episodes were released.

The OVA series features mechanical designs by Syd Mead and a soundtrack by jazz musician David Matthews.