The Eternal Zero (永遠の0)

Oishi Family Funeral

I never thought Grandpa would cry so much.

Never saw him like that.

Well, he loved her so much.

When you think about it,

Grandma sure had a happy life.

But she had a hard time in the war.

Her first husband died as a Kamikaze.

She was married before?

Wait a second. I never knew this...

Really?

Of course...

That was my actual father...

Hello?

How come you're still in bed?

Are you confident you?! pass the Bar this year?

Get lost. What do you want?

Don't you want to find out more about Grandma's first husband?

After it came up the other day, Mom said it'd been on her mind.

She didn't tell me. You go ahead...

Don't sulk, idiot...

It's your real grandpa. Surely you care...

Look, I haven't got my head around it yet.

It's the war's 60th anniversary next year. Wouldn't this make a good book?

You're not hearing me.

I need to take my writing to a new level.

So that's what this is about...

Suit yourself. I'm going now.

Wait, wait! I'll pay you.

Oishi Residence.

You're still working these pro-bono cases, Grandpa?

Lawyers make a ton of money out in the real world.

So you're studying hard?

I knew it...

Flunking four years in a row makes you reconsider.

Maybe the Bar just isn't for me.

It's probably lack of willpower. I thought I'd follow your footsteps but...

Poor Kentaro...

We're not here to talk about this, eh?

You're the one who wanted permission before digging deeper.

Deeper into what?

Vase...

I didn't want to go poking around behind your back.

It's okay.

I want you to know about him.

For your own sakes...

Kyuzo Miyabe, born Tokyo, 1918.

Joins Navy in 1934.

In 1945, killed in the East China Sea.

Didn't write a will. Left barely a trace.

He married Grandma in 1941. Mom was born the next year.

But in their four years together, he was at the front almost the entire time.

He died at the age of 26.

26 years old?

Same age as you now.

Why that look?

I can't read this...

That generation's handwriting is just too sophisticated.

Where did you get this?

Found a bunch of veteran groups online. Wrote to see if anyone knew Kyuzo Miyabe.

These are all the replies.

There are so many...

Hasegawa-san, you knew our grandfather?

I sure did.

We're trying to find out what kind of a man he was.

That man

was the biggest damn coward in the whole Navy.

All he cared about was survival.

What do you mean by that?

Exactly what I said. Clinging on to life no matter what.

We pilots put our lives at the nation's disposal.

But that wasn't the case with Kyuzo Miyabe.

All he cared about was saving his own damn skin.

The day I lost my arm his plane barely had a scratch.

Not a single bullet hole.

After aerial combat like that...

it was an impossibility!

He failed to do his duty...

Sat out the fight miles away.

With all due respect, he died on a Kamikaze mission.

That hardly sounds like cowardice...

I can imagine how he cried

as he realized that was one duty he couldn't shirk.

Anything wrong?

Mom, can I ask...

Didn't you ever enquire about him?

I sure did.

I asked what my real father was like.

And?

Your grandma would just smile but said nothing...

Maybe it wasn't a very happy marriage.

Supposing he wasn't regarded very highly...

Is that true?

Just for instance...

Supposing we find out something like that...

It would explain why she never spoke of him.

A disgrace to the Imperial Navy.

That's what they called him...

Always flew away from the fight.

We lost several bombers

because of his negligence on patrol...

Let's go home.

Our grandfather...

Was a total coward, right?

Where did you hear that?

Everyone says so. They say he's a disgrace...

Go home.

I've nothing to say to you.

Wait a minute...

I told you to get lost!

Think about it. If he was a coward,

why was he in the Kamikaze?

You want to quit?

Mention his name and they all say the same thing.

He only thought about himself, he was a coward... A disgrace, even.

Think about it. It's not worth getting yelled at...

Why get cold feet just before another interview?

Look...

I'll stick it out one last time.

It's weird having his blood in our veins...

A coward.

People said that about him, for sure.

But that was just inevitable.

Unfortunately for the Flight Chief,

he was a brilliant fighter pilot.

He was a good pilot?

The absolute best of the best.

With a guy like that leading you.

Of course you'd want him blasting enemy planes left and right.

You'd get your hopes up.

But in his case,

he'd just soar away.

Combat would start and he'd just climb.

Sit up aloft as a spectator from afar.

He just hated to be caught up in the dogfights.

So of course they bitched about him.

Do you know the Zero fighter?

Not really...

The Zero...

Simply put, was an outstanding plane.

Excellent turning radius, fast

and very well-arm ed.

It also had incredible range.

Single seaters in those days might fly several hundred kilometers.

The Zero's range was 1,800 nautical miles.

So it could fly 3,000 kilometers with ease.

Your grandfather and the Zero fighter...

They were just an unbeatable combination.

Yet he'd just soar up and away...

The fact that they all called him a coward...

That was just bound to happen.

1941 (16th year of Showa reign)

No. 66, undercarriage down, deck hook clear.

Clear for landing!

Here he comes!

Steady, steady...

A real carrier landing's a far cry from practice drills.

A choppy sea makes a ship a bucking bronco.

Undercarriage down, deck hook clear, clear for landing!

He's down!

That was superbly done.

He's from the 12th Air Group.

Were you carrier-based before?

No, this is my first time. I just followed instructions.

I'm Kyuzo Miyabe, nice to meet you.

Petty Officer Izaki.

Hey!

Don't start to admire Miyabe or you'll be in for disappointment.

He's the biggest coward in the entire Imperial Navy.

Thinks his life's the most precious...

We were plunged into intense training.

The infamous "eight-day week" regime.

In those days, I think I can say without exaggeration,

our air force was the best in the world.

We had the best airplane

coupled with the best pilots.

Even in that company, the Flight Chief's ability

was still a cut above the rest.

It wasn't long before those skills were put to the test.

War in the Pacific had begun.

It was the attack on Pearl Harbor.

December 8th, 1941.

Cleared for take-off!

Banzai! Banzai! Banzai!

So then,

as we crested Barber's Point, there was Ford Island.

All their battleships were lined up like sitting ducks

as the pride of the Imperial Navy slammed torpedoes into each one!

Then I saw the Arizona erupt

in a huge cloud of black smoke.

Like a massive volcano!

Chief Officer Miyabe!

Izaki, it's you.

Why so gloomy? Aren't you happy?

We didn't find a single carrier.

Without that, I think today's mission was a failure.

What's more...

They say 29 planes didn't make it back.

Today,

I witnessed a plane hit the water.