#zipang

Zipang Vicious Nov. 2000

Even after watching this second round of episodes I can't decide if this anime is pro or anti-war. Especially in episode 25 when the general who comes on behalf of the people he commands. He's telling the mirai crew member that no matter what Japan can't win this war because history has seen the fall of countries that have had victories in war while the losers have always had some sort of revival a few years later. I find this confusing because he doesn't want the mirai crew from the future to get involved but then at the same time he's saying the war is needed for Japan's future.

Obviously it makes sense that Kusaka is trying to turn the war effort in Japan's favor so he previously stood in contrast to the mirai crew but now this general seems to also oppose Kusaka within his own timeline. Also though we see in these set of episodes Kusaka giving up his military sword so he seems less pro-war than he previously was. Yet in episode 13 when Kusaka sneaks into the smaller plane to make contact with the mirai crew the comment is made by them when asked if they support America's side that the blood of all people is the same according to the mirai. This yet again seemingly suggests that there is no right or wrong nor bad guys, just war.

Overall the tone I was getting from these four episodes was echoing a lot of similar rhetoric to what we've read in the past about how there's a common thing for events in Japanese history to be treated as unavoidable or meant to happen. Which often is used as a bit of an excuse for actions on the America side or a lack of accepting a loss on the Japanese side. Though I haven't seen the last episode obviously, I get the impression that the timeline is gonna be reset and history will resume its course by the end.

Solomon’s Key (Spinoffs/Ripoffs)

For some unfathomable reason, the 1990 Japanese fantasy samurai film Jipangu/Zipang spawned not one, but two very loosely related tie-in video games. The first one is the famously bizarre NES platformer Jigoku Gokuraku Maru AKA Kabuki Quantum Fighter, where the protagonist Jigoku becomes an US soldier who turns into a kabuki performer in a creepy virtual world. Then there’s Zipang for PC Engine, which is… Solomon’s Key in all but name. 

Toji Temple, thank you so very much for having us.

#ZIPANG #HYDE #YOSHIKI #東寺 #京都 #日本 #KYOTO #JAPAN