Zipang (manga)

Zipang
Cover of volume 43 of the manga Zipang by Kaiji Kawaguchi, as published by Kodansha
ジパング (Jipangu)
Genre	Historical, Political, Science fiction, War
Manga
Written by	Kaiji Kawaguchi
Published by	Kodansha (Japanese and English)
Demographic	Seinen
Magazine	Weekly Morning
Original run	2000 – 2009
Volumes	43
Anime television series
Directed by	Kazuhiro Furuhashi
Written by	Kazuhiro Furuhashi Yuichiro Takeda
Music by	Toshihiko Sahashi
Studio	Studio Deen
Licensed by	NA Geneon Entertainment USA
Original network	TBS
Original run	October 7, 2004 – March 31, 2005
Episodes	26 (List of episodes)

Zipang (Japanese: ジパング, Hepburn: Jipangu^?) is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Kaiji Kawaguchi. It was first serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Morning magazine from 2000 until 2009, and published in 43 volumes. Four volumes have been translated into English by Ralph McCarthy for the Kodansha Bilingual Comics library. It was adapted into an anime in 2004.

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 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 realises 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.