Zipang (manga)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the manga series; for the medieval European name of Japan, see Cipangu.
| Zipang | |
|---|---|
| ジパング (Jipangu) |
|
| Genre | Science fiction, Historical, War |
| Manga | |
| Authored by | Kaiji Kawaguchi |
| Publisher |  Kana Kodansha (Japanese and English) |
| Serialized in | Weekly Morning |
| Original run | 01/23/2001 – Current (As of 04/21/2006) |
| No. of volumes | 23 |
| TV anime | |
| Directed by | Furuhashi Kazuhiro |
| Studio | Studio DEEN |
| Network | Tokyo Broadcasting System QTV |
| Original run | 10/7/04 – 3/31/05 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
Zipang (ジパング Jipangu?) is a manga by Kaiji Kawaguchi. It was first serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Morning magazine in 2000, and has continued to 23 volumes. Its popularity has extended to middle schoolers who enjoy history. Four volumes have been translated into English by Ralph McCarthy for the Kodansha Bilingual Comics library (ISBN 4-7700-2908-X, ISBN 4-7700-2909-8, ISBN 4-7700-2910-1, ISBN 4-7700-2911-X).
Contents |
[edit] Outline
- Won the 26th Kodansha Manga Award in 2002.
- Tokyo Broadcasting System started broadcasting an anime series in 2004-10-07 based on the original manga, but as a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force official on active service was involved in the production, some unnatural scenes were cut from the anime version. The anime series has been licensed for release in North America by Geneon Entertainment. A release date has not yet been set.
[edit] Synopsis
A Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Yukinami-class Aegis escort vessel, the JDS Mirai (みらい, meaning "future"), while enroute on foreign dispatch is timewarped to the Pacific Ocean just prior to the Battle of Midway of World War II. After rescuing an Imperial Japanese Navy commissioned officer, Takumi Kusaka, the Mirai and its crew go on to affect the course of history itself.
[edit] Main characters
- Yosuke Kadomatsu (角松 洋介, Kadomatsu Yōsuke) Seiyū: Tetsu Inada
The protagonist of the series. Executive officer and second in command aboard the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force escort vessel Mirai. He takes over the position of captain after Captain Umezu is injured. He always respects human life, and the action of saving Kusaka's life took priority over the implications this would have on the course of history. He felt responsibility for however history may have been changed because of Kusaka, and tried but failed to stop Kusaka's actions. While attempting to protect Puyi, he is shot by Kusaka and seriously injured. From then on, he begins a campaign in which he utilizes military power and whatever information he possesses to save as many lives as possible that would otherwise have been lost during the war. After the New Guinea evacuation operation, he is ousted from the ship following a coup by Kikuchi, but succeeds in his determination to take the ship back. As Kikuchi is injured at the islands of Makin and Tarawa, however, Kusaka blockades the Mirai and confines its crew to an uninhabited island. As his own father dies in a vehicle accident at a young age in the alternate history, Kadomatsu becomes a person who does not exist.
(translation in progress)
[edit] Foreign Licensing and Distribution
At the 2006 Anime Expo, the company Geneon announced that it has licensed the Zipang! anime for distribution in North America. The first DVD is scheduled to be out in September.
French Translation of the manga is in progress, edited by Kana. Volume 9 was released at the end of July 2006
