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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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| Buy | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
 Ggultra2764
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[series:1092#1552] |
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This original little work offers up an alternate history of events from World War II when modern members of the Japanese SDF find themselves time traveling back to the time period aboard their military's latest destroyer ship, the Mirai. The modern warship's presence in World War II Japan brings about some interesting subjects to explore with the time travel plot device. The members of the Mirai's crew find themselves at odds at points over how much they should intervene in the major naval battles fought between Japanese and American forces as their involvement effects future events in their present timeline, as well as having their moral beliefs challenged as they come at odds with the wartime mentality commonplace with many Japanese soldiers during the war while the SDF's organization is primarily self-defense in modern Japan. The show also explores what one would desire if they came to know of all the major events that shaped their country in the future shown through Kusaka's knowledge of such events when he is brought aboard the Mirai in the earlier episodes of the series and whose actions put him at odds with the ship's commander Kadomatsu, as well as tensions rising between the Mirai crew and prominent members of the Japanese military due to the knowledge and advanced technologies that the ship and its crew have on them. The series is quite believable in focusing on key details of Showa era Japan and the events faced by Japan's navy during the time period in World War II showing some prominent military and political figures, famous Japanese battle ships, the technologies employed and some of the major battles fought in 1942. It shows as much believability as well in showing off the modern weaponry and technological advances that the Mirai have on them. The visual presentation to Zipang is a bit of a mixed bag. It offers up some good-looking CG rendered shots of various naval ships and planes though they stick out quite prominently from the regular animation seen within the series. The character designs are a bit below par in quality for a mid 2000s anime as details on them were a bit plain, simple and rough. On the plus end, scenery shots are vast with good details and believable in showing the prominent features of Showa era Japan, as well as having moments of fluid movement in battle scenes coming from missiles being fired and having planes engage enemy ships. The series does suffer from a couple minor flaws. Zipang isn't too character-driven as the most focus given to the crew of the Mirai comes from Kadomatsu as he adapts to and understands the condition of Japan in World War II, as well as deal with Kusaka's motives. It also lacks a proper ending as some major events with Kadomatsu and the Mirai crew are left hanging in the show's final episode. Still though, Zipang did do well in engaging me with its original look into a "what if" scenario if the modern crew of a Japanese naval ship were to enter World War II and handling the various historical and moral complications faced by the crew of the Mirai and the Japanese military of the time period. It's worth a look if you wish to learn more of Japan's history within the Showa era and World War II, with a small dose of time travel thrown in the mix. Last updated Wednesday, February 29 2012. Created Wednesday, February 29 2012. | ||||||||
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 Stretch
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[series:1092#628] | ||||||
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(All episodes watched): I think I know where the creator(s) of Zipang got their idea--back in 1980 there was an American movie called "The Final Countdown", in which the modern-day nuclear aircraft carrier USS Nimitz is time-warped back to December 1941 and has a chance to prevent the attack on Pearl Harbor. That movie, however, had a runtime of only 103 minutes whereas Zipang is a full 26 episodes long, so I wonder where the plot material will come from if the JMSDF ship doesn't intervene in some way. The makers of Zipang have definitely done their homework, and the show opens with a fascinating (at least if you're a military otaku) look at life aboard a high-tech ship of the present-day Japanese navy. One thing that annoys me is that the character designs (the captain, for example) seem rather goofy for a show that is trying to be technically and visually realistic, and also a plausible science fiction story. But the first episode, which sets up the basic premise of the show, left me intrigued and eager to see where the show would go from there. Come to think of it, one thing this show seems to do well is to end each episode in a manner which leaves me wanting more. There are some holes in the logic of the plot; for instance, a plan is devised to hijack fuel oil from the Japanese Navy of 1942--but even if the plan succeeds, what then? Won't they have merely postponed the most important decision, namely what should be done with the Mirai and its crew? I never detected a well thought-out decision to become involved in the fighting with precise objectives, rather it's more a case of the crew of the ship wandering about with an vaguely defined goal to prevent a costly battle through surgical strikes (but again, what then?) and becoming provoked to defend themselves with their high-tech weaponry when something goes wrong. This is kind of frustrating; I'd have greatly preferred the officers of the Mirai to agree upon a well-defined course of action, their own "rules of engagement" you might say, which I think would have made the plot less muddled and confusing. I'm also impatient for somebody to notice the irony that the fantastic weapons that the ship is often using against the Americans (Harpoons, Tomahawks, Sea Sparrows, etc) are actually American inventions! Perhaps this show relies too much on technology rather than character development, and I have my doubts about the high-tech as well (like a anti-aircraft missile deflecting an 18" shell?). I feel I haven't really gotten to know more than one or two crewmen. With the benefit of hindsight, I think the series would have worked better if it had really concentrated on the conflict between officer Kadomatsu of the Mirai and Imperial Japanese Navy officer Kusaka, who Kadomatsu rescued early in the series, but who was then unwisely given an in-depth lesson on the history of the future, and became a threat when he decided to change the course of history. This battle of wills is an ongoing plot thread, but not a predominant element--at least that's what I thought. The final episode was kind of touching, to a greater extent than the remainder of the show, but felt distinctly incomplete. I asked myself, could there have been more than 26 episodes? What will happen to the crew if they carry out a plan they've devised? (you might want to skip the preview of the final episode, which gives this away). Why did they suddenly decide to do this? Has anything worthwhile been accomplished through their actions? What's the deal with Kadomatsu's pursuit of Kusaka? It's like, we get no real answers and are given a last minute attempt to end the show in an artsy and touching manner instead--very frustrating! I wonder if this is one of those shows based on an as yet incomplete manga, in which some sort of premature ending had to be devised by the production staff. I am distinctly disappointed, but all complaints aside, Zipang is still a neat show--if only for the action and delicious alternate history as it addresses an era which anime seldom delves into. Just don't get your hopes up too high about how the story will conclude! P.S: You can learn a lot about the capabilities of the modern Japanese navy by playing the (non-computer) wargame "7th Fleet"! Last updated Monday, April 30 2007. Created Sunday, November 05 2006. | ||||||||
Other Sites
| Name | URL |
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| Official Japanese Series Web Site | http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime-zipang/ |
| Geneon USA - Company Web Site | http://www.geneonanimation.com/ |
| Wikipedia Listing for the anime series | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zipang_%28anime%29 |
