''The Great War of Archimedes'' (アルキメデスの大戦, Arukimedesu no taisen) is a 2019 Japanese historical film about the building of the battleship ''

Yamato was originally the area around today's Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a name for the whole of Japan. Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial House of Japan. Japanese his ...

''. Based on a manga by

Norifusa Mita is a Japanese manga artist born in 1958 from Iwate Prefecture. He is best known for ''Dragon Zakura'' for which he received the 29th Kodansha Manga Award. ''Dragon Zakura'' has been adapted to live-action television series in Japan and South Kor ...

, the movie is a fictionalized telling of the political maneuvers, specifically around budget and cost issues, that led to the decision to build the ''Yamato''. The movie was dubbed into various languages and distributed worldwide.

Plot

To replace an aging battleship, a new super battleship (the future ''Yamato'') is proposed to the Navy. Admirals Yamamoto and

Nagano Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Universi ...

believe that battleships are becoming obsolete, and advocate building a new aircraft carrier instead, but they are opposed by the Navy's old guard. Yamamoto and Nagano enlist Tadashi Kai, an eccentric, headstrong, and pacifist mathematics prodigy on the

autism spectrum The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

with an obsession for measuring things. Kai is at first unwilling to help Yamamoto and Nagano, but becomes convinced that a super battleship will be seen by other nations as an aggressive threat, leading Japan and the world toward war, and agrees to work for them. Much of the film revolves around Kai's efforts to prove that the cost of the ''Yamato'' will be much higher than its designers claim. This he finally does, using mathematical formulas that, in a dramatic scene, are shown to be very accurate when applied to the cost of earlier ships. Kai thus demonstrates that the battleship will cost about double the estimate. But battleship champion

Shigetarō Shimada was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. He also served as Minister of the Navy. He was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment. Early life and education A native of Tokyo, Shimada graduated from t ...

, when caught in his lie, appeals to patriotism: he had deliberately underestimated the cost of the battleship so that it would be approved, as he believed it to be vitally necessary for the Navy. Shimada's scheme was to underpay the shipyard for the cost of the battleship, making up the difference by overpaying for some cruisers. His reason is that this is a deception to other nations to underestimate the performance of Yamato, as the proposed budget is available to other nations. Despite the exposed fraud, the proposal to the build the ''Yamato'' is approved.

Cast

* Masaki Suda as Lt. Commander / Commander Tadashi Kai *

Hiroshi Tachi is a Japanese actor and singer. His ancestors were samurai of the Owari Domain and the family of the former samurai. He graduated from Chiba Institute of Technology. He was a leader of a rock 'n' roll group ''Cools'' but he left the group so ...

as Rear Admiral / Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto *

Tasuku Emoto is a Japanese actor represented by Alpha Agency. His father is actor Akira Emoto, his mother is actress Kazue Tsunogae, his brother is actor Tokio Emoto, and his wife is actress Sakura Ando. Biography Emoto was born in Tokyo on 1986. In 2001 he ...

as Ensign Shōjirō Tanaka * Minami Hamabe as Kyōko Ozaki *

Min Tanaka is a Japanese dancer and actor. Biography Tanaka was trained in ballet and modern dance, but in 1974, turned his back on these forms. He began his solo career with a series of nearly-naked primarily outdoor improvisational dances that took place ...

as Vice Admiral Tadamichi Hirayama * Jun Kunimura as Vice Admiral

Osami Nagano was a Marshal Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy and one of the leaders of Japan's military during most of the Second World War. In April 1941, he became Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff. In this capacity, he served as the n ...

Isao Hashizume is a Japanese actor. He also worked as a narrator for documentaries, both on television and film. He trained as an actor at Bungakuza. 週刊現代6月5日号「私の地図」第485回 p84-86 Selected filmography Film Television Awards a ...

as Rear Admiral

* Eita Okuno as Sub-lieutenant Kunihiko Takato * Katsuya Kobayashi as Admiral

Mineo Ōsumi Baron was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and served twice as Minister of the Navy of Japan during the volatile 1930s. Biography Early life Ōsumi was born in what is now the city of Inazawa, Aichi. He was a graduate of the 24th class o ...

* Hajime Yamazaki as Rear Admiral Yoshio Fujioka * Fumiyo Kohinata as Captain Sekizō Uno * Shōfukutei Tsurube II as Kiyoshi Ōsato *

Kenichi Yajima is a Japanese actor. Career Graduating from Meiji Gakuin University, Yajima debuted as an actor in 1981. A frequent player in the films of Masato Harada, Yajima often plays yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organize ...

as Tomekichi Ozaki

Production

Voice actors for the dubbing into English include Luis Bermudez, Brent Mukai, Lizzy Laurenti, and Dylan Mobley.

Accolades

At the 2020 Japanese Academy Awards, Tasuku Emoto was nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category, and Masaki Suda was nominated in the Best Actor category, for their work in this film.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Great War of Archimedes, The 2019 films Japanese historical films 2010s Japanese-language films Films directed by Takashi Yamazaki Live-action films based on manga Films set in the 1930s Films about navies