TV Review | The Silent Service Season 1 – The Battle of Tokyo Bay
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Thomas Storai 
“The Silent Service is a captivating thriller filled with political intrigue. This is a cautionary tale tackling issues the world is facing today. It will leave you with a lot to think about.”
Last year, Amazon MGM Studios produced its first Japanese-language theatrical film The Silence Service. It launched on September 29 in Japan, distributed by TOHO. As of December 10, the film has grossed 9.2 million USD. The Silent Service is based on the popular manga series of the same name by Kaiji Kawaguchi. Fans of the manga across the world will finally be able to experience this adaptation in the form of a series. The Silent Service Season 1 – The Battle Of Tokyo Bay includes the story of the film with scenes not shown in cinemas and the story afterward. So even if you have seen the film, you will want to check all the episodes as there is additional content!
The series premieres today with its first six episodes while the final two will release on February 16 on Prime Video in Japan and in more than 240 countries around the world.
THE PREMISE
The Silent Service tells the story of Captain Shiro Kaieda (Takao Osawa) who has been secretly assigned to work on the nuclear submarine Sea Bat, secretly built by Japan in cooperation with the United States. However, when Kaieda goes rogue declaring Sea Bat as the independent nation of Yamato, he is seen as terrorist by the US who decide to hunt him. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force tasks Hiroshi Fukamachi (Hiroshi Tamaki) in charge of the diesel submarine Tatsunami to capture Sea Bat before the US and bring it back to Japan.
A CAPTIVATING THRILLER
Watching this, I could definitely feel the inspiration from Tom Clancy’s The Hunt for the Red October. Kaieda is the lead of the series but the Japanese government is also an important player in the story so is the American president and the characters hunting Kaieda. In each episode, the story goes back and forth between all these characters. This story is a perfect fit for a series, it’s an ensemble cast. It is a captivating thriller. At the same time, it follows the hunt of Sea Bat while also exploring the political intrigue of what this means for the relationship between Japan and the United States.
The atmosphere is tense all throughout with the threat of another war, sometimes keeping you on the edge of your seat. The relationship between Japan and the United States is a lot more complex than it seems. Their alliance is put to the test with this crisis. Beyond that, the intrigue also relies on how the Japanese government wants to handle this situation. The answer is not easy for them. It is enthralling to see the Japanese government trying to figure out a solution.
However, throughout the series there are a few scenes featuring three characters who work onboard the Tatsunami. It doesn’t lead anywhere and left me wondering what was the intent with these three. If these scenes had been cut, it wouldn’t have changed anything to the overall storyline of the series. I thought that maybe the intent was to give more humanity to the crew but it was already there without these scenes. The characters and their motivations are well developed.
A CAUTIONARY TALE
The original manga takes place during the Cold War while the series has moved the events to the present. And honestly, it couldn’t have been a more fitting story for our time. It is undeniable that we live in dangerous times. This series with the fictional story of Kaieda tackles the issues the world is facing today. This is a cautionary tale that will leave you with a lot to think about. It asks the right questions. Overall, The Silent Service aims to deliver a peaceful message. I think people definitely need to hear what this series has to say.
DEPICTION OF AMERICA
Moreover, this series is not for everyone. It is a story that will likely not resonate with American audience but rather with audience from the rest of the world especially in Europe and Japan. Indeed, this series depicts America as a superpower nation that thinks they are all powerful and that the only way to assert peace is through military force. America is presented as the world’s police force deciding of what’s right and wrong. The American military is presented as a caricature. They are mostly arrogant men with moustache, the admiral who commands the army has sunglasses. You can see why it is not going to please Americans.
But, this is actually how the rest of the world sees America. So, the criticism of America that is made in the series is definitely something that will be understood by worldwide audience. I think it is refreshing to see a story that reflects on our current world from the point of view of a country that is not the United States. This way you get a different perspective. It is really interesting to see this.
LANGUAGES
In the series, characters are speaking Japanese and English as it features both American and Japanese characters. So, when American characters are on their own, they speak English with each other. And even with the Japanese they speak English. It’s the Japanese characters who speak English or they also have translators. I think it’s great that they are doing this. It adds to the realism that the characters actually speak their native language. It would be weird to see a scene at the White House with just Americans but they speak Japanese.
In recent years, Hollywood has made efforts when it comes to foreign characters speaking their native language when they’re with each other instead of speaking English. For example, Shang-Chi has done this. But, I wish this would be the norm. They should definitely take example on this Japanese series. This is the way to do it.
CAST
Takao Osawa delivers a masterful performance as Kaieda. Osawa captures with his performance the fierce leadership of Kaieda. I love that you can never really tell what his character is up to. There is always some kind of mystery with this character. And that’s thanks to how Osawa plays him. Hiroshi Tamaki also delivers a great performance as Fukamachi. He conveys the inner conflicts of his character in an earnest way. This is why for me Fukamachi is the most interesting character. There is so much to him than just a Japanese captain hunting Kaieda. Moreover, I want to mention Aleks Paunovic who plays the mad American admiral. You will love hating his character!
VISUALS & SOUNDTRACK
Furthermore, Yoshihiro Ike has composed the score. He has done a great job delivering a powerful music score that really helps building the tense atmosphere. The theme song ‘Dignity’ by Ado that was used in the film is also used as the theme song of the series. It can be heard during the end credits. It’s a good song and the lyrics are quite fitting with what the series is about. However, I didn’t expect the melody to be this light, I expected a song with a more serious melody.
On top of that, the series features an opening credits. Ike’s theme is somber and sets the mood. The opening is so well designed borrowing the imagery of a submarine’s sonar.
Because it is a series that takes place at sea with submarines and military boats, it requires a lot of CG. There are some CG shots which are questionable but overall the VFX team has done a pretty good work. The scenes with the US fleet and the Japanese fleet are quite impressive. The combat scenes also feel realistic, you can tell research was done on the subject matter before making the series.
VERDICT
The Silent Service is a captivating thriller filled with political intrigue. This is a cautionary tale tackling issues the world is facing today. It will leave you with a lot to think about. When the season ends, the story is far from being over so I am definitely hoping for a second season.
The first six episodes of The Silent Service release today on Prime Video and the last two episodes release on February 16.
Collectables and Anime Editor for Future Of The Force.
Star Wars expert and Japan connoisseur.
