Bismarck and Yamato as competing resource choices

Which was the greater waste of resources, Bismarck or Yamato?

Yamato, although both projects were understandable; Japan needed carriers more urgently, while Germany might have benefited from additional heavy raiders.

Both ships were prestige projects intended to deliver qualitative superiority. Bismarck made sense as Germany's attempt to create a navy flagship, while Yamato fitted Japan's drive for superiority in every category. The more useful test is what forces each navy actually needed. Germany might have gained more from several large heavy cruisers designed for surface raiding, and Japan more from carriers. On that resource test, Yamato is judged the greater waste.