Zipang (ジパング) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kaiji Kawaguchi. It was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Morning from 2000 to 2009, with its chapters collected in forty-three tankōbon volumes. It tells the story of the members of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force who are transported back in time more than 60 years to 1942. A twenty-six episode anime television series by Studio Deen and directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi was broadcast on TBS from 2004 to 2006. It was licensed for English release in North America by Geneon Entertainment. In 2002, Zipang won the 26th Kodansha Manga Award for the general category.

Plot

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. En route, 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 JAPANESE BATTLESHIP Yamato, a ship which was sunk in 1945. As the crew scans with their radar, numerous other ships, including a Nagato-class battleship, are sighted. Two destroyers from the unknown fleet attempt to intercept the Mirai, but she manages to escape. After examining the situation, the crew realizes that the ships they passed are part of the Imperial Japanese Navy and that they have somehow been transported back in time more than 60 years to June 4/5, 1942, the first day of the Battle of Midway. Knowing that an American attack will soon devastate the four aircraft carriers of the Kido Butai, some Mirai crew members believe that they should intervene, to save the carriers and the 3,000 Japanese lives that will be lost. With the Mirai's advanced technology and weaponry, which is far superior to anything possessed by the United States (or any other nation) in this era, the crew realize that they could potentially alter the course of the Second World War. However, they agree that their top priority is to return home, and to ensure that they have a home to which to return they decide to do nothing that will change history. Despite their initial intentions not to alter history, they soon find themselves gradually drawn into the war, 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. Their rescue of an Imperial Japanese Navy officer from the past, Lt. Commander Kusaka, who would have perished in the normal timeline, causes unstoppable and devastating changes in the past when he seeks to create a stronger Japan no matter what the cost.

Characters

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Kaiji Kawaguchi, Zipang was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Weekly Morning from July 2000 to November 2009. Kodansha collected its chapters in forty-three tankōbon volumes, released from January 23, 2001, to December 22, 2009.

Anime

An anime adaptation of Zipang was produced by Studio Deen and directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi. Tokyo Broadcasting System Television broadcast the anime series in Japan from October 7, 2004, to March 31, 2005. Since a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force official on active service was involved in the production, some unrealistic scenes were cut from the anime version. In 2017, scholar Takayoshi Yamamura noted that anime was produced in the collaboration with the JMSDF. At the 2006 Anime Expo, the company Geneon announced that it has licensed Zipang for distribution in North America. The first DVD was released in September of that year.

Video game

A video game version of Zipang for PlayStation 2 was released by Bandai in Japan on May 26, 2005.

Reception

Zipang won the 26th Kodansha Manga Award for general manga in 2002. Some foreign readers and viewers were uncomfortable with the storyline. There were many arguments among the South Korean critics that the series were promoting Imperial Japan.