Zipang episodes

On board the I-21, Kadomatsu tries to get a warning to the Mirai via Morse code but is stopped by Taki. At first, Mirai attempts to leave the scene, rather than stand and fight, but Taki forces the issue by ordering the I-21 to surface so that it would be left vulnerable to an air attack. Rather than leave I-21 to be attacked by the Americans, Captain Umezu decides to stay around and face the attack. Oguri thinks they should engage the Americans afar, taking advantage of their technological advantage, but Kikuchi argues that they should wait until the range closes, since the supply of the long range Standard missiles is limited. In fact, Kikuchi thinks he can spare lives by demonstrating Mirai's firepower to destroy only a fraction of the American strike force, so that the rest would be frightened away. The strike force from the USS Wasp finds the destroyer. Using its advanced weapons, the Mirai shoots down two-thirds of the American aircraft in less than a minute. However, although the Americans are shocked, they don't slacken their attack, leaving the Mirai's crew dumbfounded. Commander Hutton, in particular, presses his attack by diving his plane into the bridge of the ship from the future (though bailing out at the last second so it is not suicide). The Mirai is damaged and suffers numerous casualties.

The JDS Mirai monitors radio traffic indicating that the Wasp is preparing a second strike. Since the radar and the main cannon are damaged, Gunnery Officer Kikuchi recommends launching a Tomahawk missile to destroy the Wasp rather than wait for the second wave to strike. Lt. Commander Oguri suggests instead that a Harpoon missile be used instead to damage the flight deck instead. Kikuchi counters, however, that during the Battle of Coral Sea, USS Yorktown (CV-5) was back in operation only after three hours' repairs after a similar damage, and besides, since JDS Mirai came back in time, Allied forces have constantly seen it as an enemy and sought to destroy it, Mirai can't run forever and hold back punches if its crew are to survive. Captain Umezu agrees but first sends a warning to the Wasp and orders that the Tomahawk be self-destructed if the American ship calls off the second attack. Unfortunately, the American Admiral Noyes believes the warning is a bluff. The I-21 observes the launch of the Tomahawk and Kadomatsu lays the blame for the upcoming loss of lives on Taki, which makes an impression on Capt. Shimamoto, the submarine's commander. It is revealed that, just two months before they were to graduate from the Maritime Defense Academy, the Persian Gulf War broke out and the prospect of Japan sending warships in support of American operations against Iraq was raised. Kikuchi decided to drop out rather than risk the possibility of being involved in killing — which led to Kadomatsu and Oguri coming to blows. Kikuchi decided to stay in the SDF only for the sake of their friendship.

The Tomahawk missile hits the Wasp. Its explosion and resulting secondary explosions from the carrier’s munitions and armed aircraft destroy the ship and it sinks with heavy casualties, leaving Admiral Noyes and Captain Gray dumbfounded as they join the survivors on board lifeboats. On the opposite side, Gunnery Officer Kikuchi is racked with guilt over his decision, even though he still believes it the only acceptable option. On the I-21, Lt. Commander Taki wants to launch torpedoes to sink the Mirai, but Kadomatsu says the sub will have to surface to make the attack, since its batteries are nearly dead from following the destroyer at high speed submerged. Surfacing will make it vulnerable to retaliation. Captain Shimamoto, the submarine's commander, supports Kadomatsu’s statement, even though it is not really true. Afterward, Captain Shimamoto tells Kadomatsu that Captain Umezu's decision to stay behind and needlessly endanger his ship and men was foolish, but that he admires his humanism regardless. Taki is ordered to abort his mission and report back to Japan, but warns Kadomatsu that he will not find safety in Japan as they are many like him who wish to see the Mirai stopped.

Following the previous episodes' events, people on all sides are having hard time coping with what has so far transpired. On a U.S. destroyer carrying the survivors of the battle against the Mirai, Commander Hutton is a drunken wreck, seized by the nightmares of the battle and melancholy over the many subordinates he lost. On the Mirai, the crew is also coping with the shock of the battle and loss of their comrades — to the point that Gunnery Officer Kikuchi had to be sedated. On Guadalcanal, where the Ichiki detachment has just been wiped out, Lt. Commander Okamura is tending to a group of tattered Japanese survivors. The survivors include a very dejected Lt. Colonel Tsuji. Okamura convinces Tsuji that he must report to the Imperial GHQ about the difficulties that the Japanese troops are facing on Guadalcanal and urge a prompt and total evacuation to save the lives of thousands. In Tokyo, General Ishiwara meets Admiral Yonai for a hot-pot lunch at the famous Dozeu Restaurant, near the Tokyo Train Station. Yonai, to surprise of Ishiwara, remarks that Mirai must be destroyed for the sake of Japan's future.

Upon "returning" to Yokosuka, the crew of Mirai find that the navy has arranged to have them dock away from the harbor, under the guns of a naval artillery battery. Feeling suspicious, Mirai contacts the Yokosuka Naval Base to demand that someone with real authority be sent to negotiate the conditions of their stay. The navy brass are divided over what to do, but Admiral Yonai enters the conference room to volunteer himself as the envoy and goes to Mirai alone. On board the Mirai, Yonai remarks to Captain Umezu and Kadomatsu that he'd rather see Mirai reduced to a pile of scrap metal. He reminds them that they are not of this era and that it is best that Japan lose the war to awaken her people from the allure of imperialism and militarism. Even if the defeat costs lives of millions, it is necessary to shock the Japanese people into rejecting the military dictatorship so that Japan could prosper for the next 100 years. Yonai suggests that the crew of Mirai should seek to preserve their lives so that they can help rebuild the postwar Japan, not involve themselves needlessly in changing the course of the war, even for the sake of saving lives. Kadomatsu has trouble accepting this line of argument. Meantime, the car carrying Lt. Commander Taki and another naval officer runs over a young boy near the harbor — who, in next episode, is revealed to be Kadomatsu's (in this period) eight year old father. At the same time, Lt. Tsuda meets Lt. Commander Kusaka at the Hotel New Grand in Yokohama, where the latter reveals his plans for 'Zipang' and announces that he will be soon leaving for Manchuria.

Having been granted a shore leave by the Japanese Navy, Kadomatsu goes to his father's home town in Tokyo's Fukugawa district to find him and unburden himself of old family ghosts — his father and grandfather had an extremely uneasy relationship. However, he finds out to his shock that his father, as an 8-year-old in this era, was hit by a car (carrying Lt. Commander Taki) and died three days before. Stunned, Kadomatsu finally accepts that Japan of this time is not the Japan of his future and decides to hunt down Kusaka, who is actively changing the past. He visits former Prime Minister Yonai with his new resolve and learns that Kusaka is most likely heading to Hsinking, Manchuria, seeking to fulfill his and General Ishiwara's dream of using Manchuria as the economic heartland of a powerful undefeated Japanese Empire. Admiral Yonai offers to arrange contact with his colleagues in Shanghai who might be able to help, but Kirin is far away from Shanghai. Kadomatsu returns to Mirai to inform the captain of his decision to leave the ship to pursue Kusaka on the Asian mainland and learns that the navy has agreed to provide Mirai with supplies on the condition that her crew submit to the Imperial Navy command and help them with strategic planning for the war, among other things. The crew has finally accepted that the only way to survive in this era is to cast their lot with the Japanese Empire after all. However, in case the navy might attempt to take over the ship against their will, the crew has rigged the ship with explosives. In the meantime, Lt. Commander Kusaka is heading to Manchuria in a train under an assumed name, Wang To-Hai (王拓海) (To-hai is "Takumi" in Chinese pronunciation), disguised as a Chinese. The episode ends in a cliffhanger: the future fate of the Mirai remains as uncertain as ever. Kadomatsu has just arrived at Shanghai, starting his search for Kusaka in China. Kusaka is engaged in his own schemes in China as he seeks to change the course of the war.