(ジパング Jipangu?) is a twenty six episode anime series directed by Furuhashi Kazuhiro and produced by Studio Deen. It aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System in Japan from late 2004 to early 2005, and was licensed for release in North America by Geneon Entertainment with DVD release starting in September 2006. It was adapted from the manga of the same name by Kaiji Kawaguchi.
The series is well paced and makes a nice mature change from the usual themes in anime – for one thing most of the cast are in their thirties or older, a rarity in youth fixated anime.
Some of the final episodes evidence lower quality animation, a common symptom of rushed deadlines and tightened budgets, but the general quality level of the show as a whole is adequate.
Plot
The newest, most modern warship in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, the guided missile destroyer Mirai sets sail from Japan on a training exercise with the U.S. Navy. Enroute, they encounter a strange meteorological anomaly. The Mirai loses contact with her sister ships but finds herself sailing by the unmistakable shape of the battleship Yamato.
The Mirai eludes the Imperial Japanese fleet and, reluctantly, the crew realizes that they have traveled sixty years into their past to the early days of World War II. Their first desire is to return home, and to insure that they have a home to which to return they decide to do nothing that will change history. That good intention does not last long, however, and gradually they are drawn into the conflict, though they continue to refuse to choose one side over another. The struggle of the crew from a modern, peaceful, and wealthy Japan to resist the nationalistic appeal of defending their country, knowing that in this time it is ruled by a brutal, totalitarian and militaristic government is the central theme of Zipang.
The basic premise of Zipang, a modern warship thrown back in time to World War II, was used over twenty years earlier in the movie, The Final Countdown (1980). In that movie, the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Nimitz is transported back to the day before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. But the Nimitz returns to its own time before it can have any observable impact on history. In the Axis of Time novels by John Birmingham, a US-led naval task force from the near future is sent back in time, also to the Battle of Midway. In Birmingham’s novels history is immediately changed when the modern ships appear so there is no attempt to remain neutral or to not interfere. Though all three of these works of fiction start with a very similar premise, each has a completely different outcome.
Episode Synopses
The following episode synopses are based on the North American DVD release which is not yet complete.
- Episode 1. The Mirai Sets Sail – The JDS Mirai sets sail from Japan as one of a four ship squadron going to Hawaii to participate in a joint exercise with the U.S. Navy. In the vicinity of Midway Island they encounter a strange meteorological anomaly. The Mirai loses contact with her sister ships but finds herself sailing straight for what can only be the Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Yamato.
- Episode 2. Midway – The Mirai eludes the Imperial Japanese fleet and, reluctantly, the crew realizes that they have traveled sixty years into their past, on the eve of the Battle of Midway. They witness the battle but make the difficult decision to not become involved so as not to effect history.
- Episode 3. Drifters – Kadomatsu rescues an Imperial Japanese Navy officer, Lt. Commander Kusaka, from a sinking seaplane. The Mirai’s crew is split over the fact that they may have changed history. The Mirai is discovered by an American submarine.
- Episode 4. Mirai’s Battle – The Mirai narrowly escapes the American sub’s torpedoes. A panicked sailor in the CIC launches an ASROC. Captain Umezu considers sinking the sub but, at the last moment, self-destructs the ASROC. The Americans escape with knowledge of a new Japanese ship with incredible capabilities. Kusaka knows the ship is from the future.
- Episode 5. Kusaka’s Choice – Kusaka is given access to the Mirai’s library and learns the outcome of the war and the future of Japan. He decides to throw in his lot with the Mirai. The VTOL Umidori is sent on a recon mission to a Japanese Naval base. The over-confident pilot is engaged by two Japanese floatplane fighters.
- Episode 6. Order of Attack – The VTOL recon plane damages the two fighters without injuring their pilots, but its weapon systems officer is killed, the Mirai’s first casualty. Kusaka proposes that the Mirai go to a Japanese colony, Singapore, to refuel and reprovision.
Zipang 6: Target Mirai (Ws Sub)
- Episode 7. Malay Railway – Kadomatsu and Kusaka travel by the Malay Railway to Singapore. Kadomatsu gets a view of a colonized people and has a close call with a brutal Imperial Army patrol.
Zipang, Vol. 7: Return to the Future
- Episode 8. The Pursuer – The two from the Mirai arrange for a tanker loaded with fuel and provisions to rendezvous with the destroyer. But another intelligence officer, Lt. Tsuda, has recognized Kusaka and replaces the tanker’s crew with his own men.
- Episode 9. Deadline – Kadomatsu convinces Tsuda that force will not work. The two crews interact and learn about each other. Tsuda has difficulty coping with knowledge of the future. Captain Umezu plans to change the outcome of the Battle of Guadalcanal.
- Episode 10. Interchange – The two crews from the 21st and 20th centuries continue to learn about each other. Plans for Guadalcanal are developed. Kusaka proposes to convince Admiral Yamamoto to withdraw Japanese forces and so avoid battle.
- Episode 11. Guadalcanal Island – Kusaka is flown in the Umidori to meet Yamamoto at Truk Island. The IJN staff find the idea of a ship from the future hard to believe. American Marines in the attacking task force discuss stereotypes of the Japanese soldiers and get a more realistic view from their commanding general.
- Episode 12. The Arrow of Sagittarius – A landing party from the Mirai on Guadalcanal has close calls with both the Japanese on the island and with the attacking American forces. The Mirai witnesses the destruction of a US Naval patrol by the Japanese Eighth Fleet.
- Episode 13. The Land of Gold – Kadomatsu and his landing party use a laser designator to guide a Harpoon missile to strike the American supply depot, an attack which harms no one but demonstrates their ability to do so. But the Americans do not retreat as the Mirai’s crew expect. Meanwhile, the Imperial Fleet, led by the battleship Yamato, arrives. Kusaka reveals to Kadomatsu his vision for a new country that is neither the militaristic empire of his time nor the defeated Japan of the future. He calls his ideal land Zipang.
- Episode 14. Collision – The Yamato fires on the American forces on Guadalcanal, but the Mirai uses its Aegis combat system and Sea Sparrow missiles to intercept and destroy the shells in flight.
- Episode 15. The Living and the Dead – On Kusaka’s advice, Yamamoto calls off the attack and orders a withdrawal from Guadalcanal. While trying to reach their helicopter for extraction, the Mirai’s landing party is forced into close combat with American Marines. They kill them but the taking of other human lives leaves them in shock. It is especially hard on Kadomatsu.
- Episode 16. The Will of Lieutenant Okamura – The Mirai landing party assists in the evacuation of the Japanese engineers from Guadalcanal. Kadomatsu goes into the jungle to look for stragglers. He encounters Lieutenant Okamura (who was actually a Major). Okamura displays admirable bravery and dedication by staying behind to look for the rest of his men.
- Episode 17. Zipang Initiation – The Mirai goes to the Japanese naval base at Truk Island, under Admiral Yamamoto’s sponsorship. The crew looks forward to the shore leave. The Army and the Navy disagree about the operation to recapture Guadalcanal. Dissenting members of Yamamoto’s staff focus on acquiring the Mirai’s combat capability. Kusaka conspires with an Army general to meet the “man who started the war.”
- Episode 18. Reunion – Kadomatsu tries to stop Kusaka but fails. Yamamoto invites the Mirai to base itself at Yokosuka, its home port in the 21st century. Lt. Taki, a staff officer, plots to destroy the Mirai by arranging that the Americans can decode radio messages about her movements. Kusaka meets General Kanji Ishiwara, a famous officer who is out of power for criticizing the war.
- Episode 19. The Other Staff Headquarters – When some of the Combined Fleet staff balks at sending badly needed destroyers to escort the Mirai, Taki proposes that the new submarine, the I-21, be sent with him onboard to observe. Together, Kusaka and General Ishiwara develop a plan to create Kusaka’s vision of Zipang, an undefeated Japan. Commander Hutton, squadron leader on the USS Wasp, learns about the Mirai from the US submarine commander that had attacked the mystery ship right after its transfer from the future.
- Episode 20. Submarine I-21 – Kadomatsu goes to the I-21 to consult about a scout plane they have detected. Taki takes Kadomatsu prisoner and the I-21 submerges, leaving the Mirai’s crew confused and unsure about what to do, as time runs out. The USS Wasp launches a massive air strike to find the Mirai.
- Episode 21. 1 versus 40 – On the I-21, Kadomatsu tries to get a warning to the Mirai but is stopped by Taki. The strike force from the USS Wasp finds the destroyer. Using its advanced weapons, the Mirai shoots down two thirds of the American aircraft in less than a minute. The Americans are shocked but Lt. Commander Hutton presses his attack, diving his plane into the ship from the future (though bailing out at the last second so it is not suicide). The Mirai is damaged and suffers numerous casualties.
- Episode 22. Warning – The Mirai monitors radio traffic stating that the Wasp is preparing a second strike. Gunnery Officer Kikuchi recommends launching a Tomahawk missile to destroy the Wasp. Captain Umezu agrees but sends a warning to the Wasp and orders that the Tomahawk be self-destructed if the American ship calls off the second attack. Unfortunately, the American commander believes the warning is a bluff. The I-21 observes the launch of the Tomahawk and Kadomatsu lays the blame for the loss of lives on Taki, which makes an impression on Shimamoto, the submarine’s commander.
- Episode 23. Sinking the Wasp – The Tomahawk missile hits the Wasp. Its explosion and resulting secondary explosions from the carrier’s munitions and armed aircraft destroy the ship and it sinks. The crew abandons ship before it goes down so not all are lost. Gunnery Officer Kikuchi is wracked with guilt over his decision, even though he still believes it the only acceptable option. On the I-21, Lt. Commander Taki wants to launch torpedoes to sink the Mirai, but Kadomatsu says the sub will have to surface to make the attack, since its batteries are nearly dead from following the destroyer at high speed submerged. Surfacing will make it vulnerable to retaliation. Captain Shimamoto, supports Kadomatsu’s statement, even though it is not really true. Taki warns Kadomatsu that he will not find safety in Japan.
