Japan's Top Class Military Experts Discuss War in Anime and Special Effects Films
Source: Bungeishunju Ltd. press releases

GODZILLA VS. SELF-DEFENSE FORCES cover art. Photo courtesy of Bungeishunju Ltd. Godzilla TM & © TOHO CO., LTD.

Bungeishunju Ltd.. (Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Shigeyuki Iikubo) will release a new paperback book, Godzilla vs. Self-Defense Forces: The ‘Theory of War’ in Anime (ゴジラvs.自衛隊　アニメの「戦争論」, Gojira vs. Jieitai Anime no Sensō-ron), by Yu Koizumi, Sugio Takahashi, Hiroyuki Ohta, and Marei Mentlein, on January 17, 2025. 

 

How did the capital air defense communication in MOBILE POLICE PATLABOR actually look to the eyes of the Self-Defense Forces?

In the world of NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, the Soviet Union has not collapsed.

The Bakagarasu aircraft in NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND is operated in the same way as the Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant developed in Nazi Germany.

Is the multi-layered space carrier in SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO operated in the same way as the Imperial Navy's three-tiered aircraft carrier Akagi?

Are the nuclear weapons being considered for use in SHIN GODZILLA named differently?

In "fiction" and "reality," the essence of war remains the same.

Military experts and specialists in various fields have a serious discussion about the portrayal of war in anime and tokusatsu (special effects).

 

■Comment from Author Yu Koizumi

When we talk about anime, special effects, or fictional war stories, it seems that we often end up talking about something else that has been projected onto them. The theme of "Postwar Japan" projected on GODZILLA is one that has been discussed repeatedly, not just in this book. But what about Japan in EVANGELION? In the world of [alternate history novelist] Daisuke Sato? What about Japan as seen from Germany? And so our conversation goes off on endless tangents. This book can be read as a collection of subculture-style commentaries on current affairs, with anime as the starting point.

 

■Table of Contents

Chapter 1: War and Weapons in Anime by Yu Koizumi, Sugio Takahashi and Hiroyuki Ohta

The multi-layered aircraft carrier in SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO and the aircraft carrier "Akagi" / The reality of GUNDAM that only intended to produce Zaku mobile suits/ Soviet design bureaus during the Cold War just didn't get along / The realistic communication scene with GCI in PATLABOR 2 / Tor Mekia's Bakagarasu is a Me-321 Gigant / The connection of the Ingram license plate and paint with everyday life / The appeal of stories about the military protecting civilians / "Tell them you're stupid!" is modeled on Bastogne's "Nuts!" / The Soviet presence in NEON GENESIS EVANGELION / "Eva" and and apocalypticism / Sunao Katabuchi and Hayao Miyazaki on IN THIS CORNER OF THE WORLD / My wife got angry when I let my children watch ROYAL SPACE FORCE

 

Chapter 2: Godzilla vs. Self-Defense Forces by Yu Koizumi, Sugio Takahashi and Hiroyuki Ohta

The legs of the Zero Fighter alone are enough to get people excited / Can a 16-inch cannon defeat Godzilla? / When Godzilla is depicted realistically as a living creature, it becomes less scary / Godzilla is not a thing that will die from water pressure / Godzilla fighting battleship “Yamato” / Did all the otakus notice the ejection seat on the Shinden in GODZILLA MINUS ONE!? / Forming a squadron with four "Takao"-class heavy cruisers to defeat Godzilla / The steps for fantasy to create "reality" / Strategic similarities between unmanned conventional railroad bombs and Soviet nuclear submarines / Is it okay for America to be the villain? / Godzilla should be defeated by long range  howitzers

 

Chapter 3: Japanese-German EVANGELION Otaku Showdown by Yu Koizumi, and Marei Mentlein

Is it bad if your parents see EVA?! / A Russian points a gun at you and says, "Get in the Eva quickly!" / Getting a real German to confirm my "imaginary Germany" / Asuka actually couldn't speak German / The crazy feeling of Saenger's space bomber / Soviet MOE (Ministry of Education) and the Human Instrumentality Project / Asuka doesn't speak German in the NEW MOVIE EDITION?! / Chancellor Scholz's black eyepatch is a delusion of granduer / Asuka's German is pretty weird

 

Chapter 4: Hayao Miyazaki's Love of Machines by Yu Koizumi, Sugio Takahashi and Hiroyuki Ohta  with guest Kishu Omori (Sculptor)

Hayao Miyazaki wanted to visualize the Battle of the Yellow Sea. / A mysterious obsession with "I won't release planes with wheels" / The dirtier the plane, the cooler it is / “Bird” is the origin of Hayao Miyazaki's planes / Miyazaki's works, cigarettes and Russian ethics / The super technology of Nazi Germany 80 years ago / Americans had no concept of “serial animation” / “Toulehammer”, “Grand Cannon”, and the “Solar Ray”... a battlefield of giant artillery weapons / Wars don't happen in space without choke points

 

Chapter 5: The Theory of War in EVANGELION by Yu Koizumi, Sugio Takahashi, Hiroyuki Ohta, Marei Mentlein and guest Daisuke Kamijima (Marei's Husband)

Making a date with Hayao Miyazaki's Miscellaneous Thoughts Notebook / I hate and love EVANGELION / Japan's national anthem “Thesis of the Cruel Angel” / Let's build a "Matsu"-class destroyer with dad / Koizumi-san likes Asuka / The use of weapons in EVANGELION" is special effects / The difference in fetishes between GODZILLA MINUS ONE and SHIN GODZILLA / What if Asuka was a real European? / Do Germans value efficiency and support the Human Instrumentality Project!?

 

Chapter 6: Daisuke Sato and the Drone War by Yu Koizumi and Sugio Takahashi

Is Daisuke Sato's Distant Star completed!? / Longing for the "Cold War" / Daisuke Sato, America, and Bubble Japan / Amazing research into the Self-Defense Forces in CRAYON SHIN-CHAN / Bipedal robots should be used in hand-to-hand combat / Are the world's classes in GUNDAM random? / The current X trends are like 90s anime / The possibility of the Self-Defense Forces rebelling / The philosophical zombie problem of ChatGPT / The future seen in a novel written by Putin's aide

 

■ About the Authors

・Yu Koizumi

Born in Chiba Prefecture in 1982, Yu Koizumi is the Associate Professor at the University of Tokyo's Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology. He received his M.A. from the Graduate School of Political Science, Waseda University. After working in the private sector, he stayed in Russia from 2009-10 as an expert analyst at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a visiting researcher at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He specializes in Russian military and security affairs. His publications include Russia Sketches: The Real Face of Putin's Empire Seen from the Street Corner (ロシア点描 まちかどから見るプーチン帝国の素顔, Roshia Tenbyō Machi Kado Kara miru Pūchin Teikoku no Sugao) from PHP Research Institute, 200 Days of the Ukrainian War (ウクライナ戦争の200日, Ukrainian Sensō no 200 Nichi), and An Endless War: The Future Of The World As Seen From Ukraine (終わらない戦争 ウクライナから見える世界の未来, Owaranai Sensō Ukuraina Kara Mieru Sekai no Mirai).

 

・Sugio Takahashi

Born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1972, Sugio Takahashi is Director of the National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS).  Completed a master's course at the Graduate School of Political Science at Waseda University in 1997 and a graduate course at George Washington University in 2006. He also served in the Office of Strategic Planning, Defense Policy Division, Defense Policy Bureau, Ministry of Defense from 1998 to 2001 and from 2008 to 2016. He specializes in security theory and the Japan-US alliance. His main works include The End of Nuclear Oblivion (「核の忘却」の終わり, `Kaku no Bōkyaku' no Owari) from Keiso Shobo and SF Anime and War (ＳＦアニメと戦争, SF Anime to Sensō) for Tatsumi Shuppan.

 

・Hiroyuki Ohta

Born in 1964, Ohta is a reporter for the Asahi Shimbun newspaper. After graduating from the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Education at the University of Tokyo, he joined the Asahi Shimbun Company. After working in the editorial departments of Asahi Shimbun's Asahi Weekly and AERA, he began covering social security issues in general, including public pensions, in the Lifestyle Department in 2003. His books include 50 Questions and Answers on Pensions You Will Definitely Lose Out of If You Don't Know Now (いま、知らないと絶対損する年金50問50答, Ima, Shiranaito Zettai Sonsuru Nenkin 50-mon 50-tō) from Bunshun Shinsho, and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind: An Interpretation in Times of Crisis (危機の時代に読み解く「風の谷のナウシカ」, Kiki no Jidai ni Yomitoku `Kaze no Tani no Naushika') for Tokuma Shote). He plans to publish a book on the theme of "Battleship Yamato and Space Battleship Yamato" in 2025.

 

・Marei Mentlein

Marei Mentlein was born in 1983 in Kiel, a port town in northern Germany and studied at Himeji Shikanishi High School and Waseda University. She has lived in Japan since 2008 after graduating from the University of Bonn, and has appeared in NHK GERMAN LANGUAGE COURSES and other programs. Since the end of 2015, she has been a producer for the German TV Tokyo bureau. She also works as a commentator for information programs. She calls herself a “German by profession” because of her wide range of work, including translation, interpretation, writing, and program production.

 

Godzilla vs. Self-Defense Forces: The ‘Theory of War’ in Anime Book Details

Authors: Yu Koizumi, Sugio Takahashi, Hiroyuki Ohta, Marei Mentlein
Release Date: January 17, 2025 (Japan)
Specifications: Paperback Pocket Edition, 320 Pages
Price: 1,243円 (Approximately $7.89 U.S., Tax Included)
ISBN: 978-4-16-661480-6

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Author Yu Koizumi. Photo courtesy of Bungeishunju Ltd.

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