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Zipang, Episode 1 (2004)




Zipang is one of those shows my friends have pointed me to several times already. It's an animated TV series that ran first in Japan from 07 October 2004 to 31 March 2005 on the Tokyo Broadcasting System and had a total run of 26 episodes. It was adapted from the manga of the same name written by Kaiji Kawaguchi. I've been reluctant to pick it up since my relation to animes is somewhat ambiguous, because I have the subjective but distinct impression that Sturgeon's Law applies to the art form a lot more than to others (for those not in the know, Sturgeon's Law formulates that "Ninety percent of everything is crap."). Granted, that impression may have been tainted by the fact that America and Europe have basically been swamped with animes and mangas since the turn of the century, but of the literally thousands of series I have never been able to enjoy more than a handful (like, for example, the Hellsing series or the bittersweet Cowboy Bebop). Still, Zipang intrigued me because of its premise.




What then is Zipang? The series' premise can best be likened to author John Birmingham's Axis of Time trilogy, Final Countdown or, well, my own Wolf Hunt. Both play with the themes of modern day forces finding themselves transplanted by natural phenomena or accidents into the middle of decisive historical events. In The Final Countdown, the carrier USS Nimitz finds itself transported back in time to only hours before the Japanese suprise attack against Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Birmingham's protagonists find themselves smack in the middle of Admiral Spruance's fleet headed to face the Japanese at Midway, which leads to both sides inflicting heavy casualties on each other as one ship of the multinational future task force is from the Japanese Self Defense Force and is assumed to be hostile by Spruance's forces.



In Zipang 01 the crew of the newest, most advanced destroyer in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, the JDS Mirai, sets sail from Japan on a training exercise with the United States Navy. Enroute, they encounter a strange meteorological anomaly, causing the Mirai
to lose contact with her sister ships. After a short time, the crew
detects a fleet approaching, but can barely believe their eyes as a
massive battleship passes by them. The crew soon identify it as the Yamato , a ship which was sunk in 1945.





Kadomatsu Yosuke. JMSDF Commander and second-in-command of the Mirai. He adheres
strictly to the ideals of the postwar Self Defense Forces and considers
saving lives, regardless of consequences, as his most important duty.  
Kikuchi Masayuki. JMSDF Lt. Commander, Gunnery Officer of the Mirai, and a classmate
of both Kadomatsu and Oguri from the Officer Candidate School. He had
joined the Self Defense Force for economic reasons and consistently seek
to avoid situations where he might be forced to take lives. In 1991,
just the possibility of Japan sending warships to support U.S.
operations against Iraq during the Gulf War
was enough to cause him to resign from the academy — although his
commitment to friendship with Kadomatsu and Oguri is such that he
decided not to resign when his departure threatened to strain their
friendship. His fear of taking human life backfires on him badly when he
holds back punches against the U.S. naval aircraft attacking Mirai —
and results in a serious damage to the Mirai and many casualties.
In addition, he is extremely fearful of changing the past — and its
possible consequences: from the minute the Mirai goes back to the past, he warns everyone of the dire danger of changing the past.
Oguri Kouhei. JMSDF Lt. Commander, Navigation Officer of the Mirai, and a classmate to both Kadomatsu and Kikuchi. Unlike Katomatsu and Kikuchi, he is not racked by inner conflict following the Mirai's arrival in 1942. Rather, he is a happy-go-lucky character who believes that they went back in time for a reason.

Zipang is primarily of interest to me as the only show I know of that not only is based on an ISOT event but also tries to stick to a high degree of what I might call "narrative realism". The Mirai clearly is a game changer, but almost everybody's also aware of the limits of how much it can change the game.
 The animation quality is average, even for the time, even though the focus on technical realism and realistic character proportions positively distinguishes it from what feels like 90% of the rest of anime. As the production most likely began almost ten years ago by now the combination of hand-drawn elements and CGI doesn't really match up as flawlessly as more recent or higher-budgeted products (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, for example) do. As far as I can judge it the portrayal of the equipment, technology and setting is spot on (in this episode; I might find discrepancies once I rewatch the series in full).



As for the audio-side: ambient sounds fit right into the setting, and the voice acting seems to match the characters' personalities. I say "seems" since I watched the Japanese version with English subtitles. Where the episode - and much of the series, I'm afraid - fails is the musical score. The intro song is tedious, and far too many scenes rely on a saxophone-heavy pop-song score that couldn't be more out of place. In a way it's the Japanese version of the musical side of the otherwise excellent Ladyhawke (which would be ageless if it wasn't for its dreadful score).



All in all, Episode 1 does exactly what it's supposed to do: setting up the basic premise of the series and showcasing one half of the important characters. It also foreshadows some of the major problems I had with the series that I'll mention when they arise in full. It's certainly worth watching (individual episodes are less than 25 minutes in length). If you don't want to spend money on it you can easily find streams of it online on various anime-centric sites.



I'll continue this with Episode 2.