A gate from another world opened in Japan without warning.
Japan, having defeated the invading army from the other side,
decides to send the Self Defense Force through the gate.
Itami Youji, a defense official who'd saved many lives in Ginza, was among the team.
But on the other side of the gate
was an army numbering in the hundreds of thousands.
Imperial Capital
It was an embarrassment, Your Majesty.
Marquess Casel
We lost 60% of the empire's military might.
What would you have us do?
How would you guide the state?
Marquess Casel, think about how the people must feel.
Emperor Molt
It is true that our latest losses have cost us our military advantage.
They worry that vassals of our state
and others may revolt and attack the Imperial Capital itself.
How pathetic.
Every time our empire is in danger, the Emperor,
the Senate, and the people become one to confront the danger,
and bring about even more progress.
No war is won without some loss.
Therefore I will not hold anyone responsible for our recent losses.
To think that another nation dares surround the Imperial Capital...
I trust that none of you will waste time in court.
To pass over all responsibility...
But what shall we do?
The army we sent was defeated in just two days.
And now the gate has been captured,
and the enemy is attempting to set up base on this side.
Of course, we attempted to take back the Hill as well.
But the enemies in the distance...
I have never seen such sorcery.
We ought to fight them!
If we do not have enough men, we need only to recruit them from our tributaries.
Attack the other side of the gate once more!
What good will brute force alone do?
It'll be another Godasen!
Yeah!
Fight them!
I do not wish to sit idly by.
Therefore, we must fight.
Send delegates to our tributaries and neighboring states.
Ask for help in defending the continent from these men from another world.
We will lead the Allied Army of Godu Rino Gwaban in an attack on Arnus Hill.
For Emperor Molt!
Glory to the Empire!
Your Majesty, it will be a bloodbath.
Duran
Your Majesty!
We have spotted what appears to be enemy scouts two hills ahead.
Leave them be.
We must hurry to meet the kings.
Episode 2 The Two Armies
The Imperial Army's commander isn't coming?
Our Imperial Army is facing the enemy at Arnus Hill as we speak.
The commander cannot leave.
That makes no sense.
I did not see many enemies on the hill.
Lord Duran, the Imperial Army is holding the enemy at bay in our place.
Lord Ligu.
We would like your armies to attack the enemy at sunrise tomorrow.
Understood.
My army will take the front line.
No, mine will.
Wait!
We will take the front lines this time!
We shall meet tomorrow at Arnus Hill.
I can't wait for morning.
My army will decimate them single-handed!
Unfortunately, my army could not take the front lines.
There are fewer than 10,000 enemies.
Our army is 300,000 men, altogether.
Do you believe that the only path to glory is to be at the forefront?
Then why do you not wish to be at the front?
I do not like the look of this battle.
Apparently even Duran, Lion of the Erbe Clan, is no match against the passing of time.
Forward!
The time is ripe to go into battle.
Reporting!
The Alguna and Mudwan armies, 10,000 in all, have approached the hill.
The army of the Principality of Ligu follows.
And the Imperial Army?
Well...
There is not a single Imperial soldier near the hill.
What?!
Why is the Imperial Army missing?
I do not know.
They couldn't have...
Do Not Enter Dangerous and Restricted Area Self Defense Force
My men!
What is this?!
No...
Is Arnus Hill erupting?
Where is the King of Alguna?
Where is the King of Mudwan?
Where is Duke Ligu?
We have less than half of the 100,000 men we set out with!
How could have this have happened?
Where is the Imperial Army?
What are they doing?
No, not even the Imperial Army could stand a chance against them.
Should we not retreat?
We cannot run off now.
Not before I have repaid them with an arrow.
But Lord Duran, we have hardly enough might!
Perhaps a night raid.
Tonight is a new moon.
In this darkness, we should be able to make it to the other side of the hill and ambush the enemy.
Be quiet.
Move lightly.
What?
Such brightness!
No!
Move!
All units, attack!
Knights, run!
Footmen, run!
Run!
Keep going!
Run!
Follow me!
Lord Duran!
We are coming!
Shields in front!
Run!
Run, everyone!
Curses!
How?
How could have this happened?
And so, the Self Defense Force Fought
I heard we killed roughly 60,000 of them.
They sent 60,000 to Ginza, too.
So that's 120,000 in all.
Are you worrying about the enemy?
Think about it. One hundred and twenty thousand.
What kind of nation are we fighting?
Your Majesty, we expect over 100,000 casualties in total among the nations.
The defeated armies have been left without leadership and are returning home.
All according to plan.
Our neighbors can no longer threaten the Empire.
Burn every village and town from Arnus to the Imperial Capital.
Poison their wells and take their food and livestock.
That will stop any army and leave them vulnerable.
Scorched earth tactics, I see.
I worry about defectors and the loss of tax revenue.
Defectors, you say?
There are motions to have you
recalled within the Senate, beginning with Marquess Casel.
This is a good opportunity to take care of the entire Senate in one swoop.
Let us order the Council to investigate.
Your Majesty.
My daughter.
What do you need?
It's about Arnus, of course.
I have learned that an allied army has faced miserable defeat,
and that the Empire's holy ground, Arnus Hill,
is occupied by enemy forces.
What are you doing at a time like this?
We will use this opportunity to take back the Hill.
What complacency!
That will not help us stop the enemy invasion!
Pinya, you are correct.
But we are far too ignorant regarding the enemy that occupies Arnus Hill.
This is perfect.
Could I ask you and your Order to scout their position?
Me?
With my Order?
Indeed.
If your Order is more than your plaything, of course.
I understand, Your Majesty.
What the hell is Japan doing?
They made it to the other side of the gate,
and now they're just sitting there like turtles.
The Self Defense Force must investigate the politics
within the Special Region and capture key locations.
The Gate is the new frontier.
There must be more resources on the other side than we can imagine.
It's a treasure trove.
How about it? Why don't we send our army in?
That might not necessarily be a good thing.
Many nations anticipate Japan's defeat.
Close the Gate! Close it! No Defense Force Invasions!
We ought to let Japan take the risks for us.
Yeah, we should avoid having our nation seen as an accomplice.
Fifth Division Base
So, we've come to the conclusion that we'll need to investigate the people,
industries, religions and politics of this region.
An investigation, huh?
That sounds good.
I'm not messing around!
You're the one going!
No way.
What?
Don't tell me I'm going alone.
Why would I say that?
First, we're going to form six deep recon teams.
Your mission will be to command one of them.
Make contact with the townspeople in your area and determine their nature.
If possible, establish a friendly relationship with them.
Right, I guess.
Good.
Second Lieutenant Itami Youji.
I hereby grant you command of Recon Team Three.
Fall in!
Recon Team Three reporting in!
Pops, uh...
Special Region Recon 3 Sergeant Second Class Kurata Special Region Recon 3 Sergeant First Class Tomita
Special Region Recon 3 Leading Private Tozu Special Region Recon 3 Sergeant Second Class Katsumoto Special Region Recon 3 Leading Private Azuma
Special Region Recon 3 Sergeant First Class Kuribayashi
Special Region Recon 3 Master Sergeant Nishina
Special Region Recon 3 Leading Private Sasakawa
Special Region Recon 3 Leading Private Furuta
Special Region Recon 3 Sergeant Major Kuwabara
Special Region Recon 3 Sergeant First Class Kurokawa
I'm Itami, commander of the Special Region Recon Team Three.
All because I missed the Yurikamome at Shinbashi that day.
And now I'm a squad commander.
All right, let's get going.
What's wrong with this guy?
Man your vehicles!
Coda Village
The sky's so blue.
It sure is a different world.
There are places like this in Hokkaido.
I imagined dragons and faeries flying around.
Everyone we've run into so far has been human.
What a bummer.
You really want to see some cat-eared girls, huh?
A cat girl, a voluptuous sorceress, whatever.
What about you? What's your deal, Commander?
Me?
Magical girls, I guess.
Seriously?
I love Emyu from Mei Com.
Oh, yeah?
Yeah. I'll kill you if you badmouth my waifu.
Oh, but I can sing the Mei Com opening.
What? Seriously?!
Seriously.
Right now, Mei Com! Mei Com!
Here we go!
What is this?
But why are all our weapons old issue?
I mean, our vehicle's current issue.
Budget problems, I'm sure.
There's a chance we might have to leave it and retreat.
So disposable weapons, huh?
Besides, even with all the electronics in the new gear,
our GPS receivers are useless without the satellites.
The right tools for the job.
Kurata, take a right at the stream here and follow it.
We should arrive at the forest that the Coda Village chief was talking about.
Roger.
It's a stream, just like he said.
We're all counting on you, Pops.
In that case, I'd like to provide my opinion, Commander Itami.
Let's set up camp in front of the forest.
Agreed.
It was already sent?
Shouldn't we go straight in?
If we went in now, the sun would set before we know what we're up against.
Besides, we'll end up intimidating any settlement there.
We're the Defense Force. The people love us.
Our mission is to make friendly ties with the people here, after all.
So...
Hello. How are you?
You sound stiff.
You'd be better off going to that language school by the station.
Shut up!
Ouch.
Huh?
No changing the topic.
Huh?
What the...
A fire.
It's burning.
Big time.
A freak of nature?
More like a giant monster movie.
Oh, my.
A one-headed King Ghidorah?
That stuff's so old, Pops.
Commander Itami, what shall we do now?
Kuribayashi-chan, I'm too scared to go alone.
Wanna come with?
No, thank you.
Oh, okay.
It's flying away.
Do you think that dragon really has a habit of burning down forests for no reason?
If you're interested in dragon behavior,
why don't you go after it yourself, Commander?
No, I mean, don't you remember what they were saying at Coda Village?
About there being a settlement in the forest.
Oh, crap.
Pops, it looks like we'll have to set up camp later.
Understood.
All units, prepare to move!
The ground's still hot.
It'll be a miracle if there are any survivors.
Commander, it's...
Don't say it.
Rest in peace.
Commander, there are 32 building-like structures in this settlement.
We've only confirmed 27 corpses. It's too few.
I believe they were caught under the rubble
when the buildings collapsed in the fire.
Assuming there were three people per building,
that means a hundred people died.
It's terrible.
We should make a report that the dragons here may attack settlements.
We barely managed to penetrate the small dragons we encountered
in the defense battle at the gate with 12.7mm armor-piercing bullets.
It's kinda tanky, yeah.
We'll have to find the dragon's nest and figure out where it shows up.
I just heard a clunk.
What was that?
A person.
There's a person here!
Episode 3: Fire Dragon
Next time on GATE: "Fire Dragon."