Ask John: Are There Anime That Illustrate Historical Modern Wars in Detail?

Question:
Are there any anime that take on the consequences of war and show wars in detail like Vietnam, WWI, WWII?

Answer:
There may be, and probably are examples that I either don’t recall, or am not familiar with, but I can’t seem to think of any very illustrative examples of anime that illustrate modern historical wars with the sort of on-the-ground focus of live action films like Saving Private Ryan or Flags of Our Fathers. There are anime set during historical wars which offer brief glimpses of battle, such as The Cockpit and Zipang. But these titles don’t put themselves into the perspective of a soldier on the ground, engaged in combat. Possibly as a matter of tact, in light of Japan’s current pacifistic state, anime that depict graphic warfare are usually fictional or non-specific. Speed Grapher, for example, briefly depicts contemporary warfare, but isn’t specific about its location. The first episode of Blood+ depicts a scene that’s likely set during the Vietnam War, but details aren’t specifically clarified. Although not actually based on a real historical war, the 2006 anime series Flag bears mentioning because one of its primary themes is an exploration of the impact of a contemporary Middle Eastern civil war on the citizens of the embattled country and the impact of the war on the psyche and lives of the international soldiers assigned to contain the fighting.

While actual combat in realistic, historical detail is not often depicted in anime, realistic depiction of the consequences of war and the effect of war on civilians is a relatively common subject for anime. Graveyard of Fireflies may be the best known anime film about the terrible effects of WWII on Japanese civilians, but there are actually numerous anime films that depict the impact of war, particularly WWII. Just some of the anime films that deal with the effects of WWII include Barefoot Gen, Rail of the Star, Who’s Left Behind, Ashita Genki ni Nare!, Glass no Usagi, Nagasaki 1945 ~Angelus no Kane~, and Boku no Boukuugou. World War II is particularly relevant to Japanese citizens and civilians because no modern war has had a greater impact on the lives of Japanese citizens than WWII.

Addendum added February 14, 2007
A kind reader informed me of Tatsunoko’s 1971 anime documentary television series “Animentari Ketsudan,” (“Anime Documentary: Decision”) which chronicled the Pacific theater of WWII.