Anime Review: Zipang

Review ZipangWritten by WarpshadowRating Excellent

Zipang is one of those rare shows that make me glad that I continue anime well into adulthood. This show is a rare and thought provoking classic.

The Mirai is the newest and most advanced ship of the JSDF navy. One night while on manuvers an unexplained weather phenomena hurtles the ship back in time to the battle of Midway in 1942. The only real contribution they make in the battle is the rescue of a drowning naval officer. Their problem is not only that are stuck in the past but that their every possible action could change the future in ways that they couldn’t imagine. Things become even more difficult when Kousaka (the rescued officer) decides to create his own ideal future for Japan.

One of the things that I really like in anime is philosophical ponderings and Zipang has that in spades. What makes this show really good though is that it’s musings don’t cover familiar territory or really talk down to the viewer. Even better it doesn’t force the plot to derail or characterization to break; the observations and musings feel natural. There are some small downsides, especially the character designs are a mixed bag; especially in the case of characters with flesh colored eyeballs. The show also ends at a fairly artificial place with an unlicensed manga leaving it’s English speaking fans stranded. Then again no one really cares where bad or mediocre shows end so I take that as a sign of the show’s quality. Overall I found Zipang to be one of the best shows that I have seen in course of my long reviewing history.