I like the series. However, there are technical issues, which I will get into later on.
First, I like the character Capt. Kaieda. His extremely calm and determined commanding style is reminiscent of Admiral Thrawn in the Star Wars universe. Thus gives great satisfaction to viewer following him.
The incident which caused the political crisis is very well processed in this title. Although the idealist visions of the Kaieda are a bit of a long shot, I guess the viewer should take it as a sci-fi title for better immersion.
I especially liked the balance expressed between nations, the frustration of the JMSDF as being a defensive force possessing weapons but their limits in making use of them is very well portrayed. On the other hand, the ease of using the force on the USN side and its aggressive attitude, especially arrogance of the president is very well presented. Even though some American commenters expressed their discomfort of witnessing USA being arrogant and being so "bullyish" against other nations, I have to disagree. This is a cold hard fact that is put on the screen American citizens must confront IMO. I can agree that the overly flamboyant and condescending attitude of US officers is a bit off the charts but, there is a merit nevertheless, a straw will show which way the wind blows at the end of the day.
Now, with the critics, I have only critics in the technical part of the series as it seems they did not consult a Navy veteran or a specialist in any way so here it goes:
1- Vessels in this series do not employ decoys of any sort although this is the number one countermeasure against a torpedo. See the movie "Crimson Tide" and understand how it is effective. Captain Kaieda employs bubble masking several times but this is usually used to disrupt sonar signature rather than a countermeasure for an incoming torpedo.
2- Vessels in this series move at extreme speeds underwater. Especially torpedoes, they move like a rocket underwater ...? Ok unless you are a Russian submarine and firing a shkwal torpedo to a surface vessel, this is not realistic in any way.
3- Torpedoes seem to be never homing but fired as more like a lance. The real power of the torpedo is not in its speed but in its stubborn homing capability.
4- Here once the torpedo misses a submarine it seems to keep going away, in a straight line. That is funny, a torpedo never goes in a straight line after it misses its target, it immediately commences a circular search pattern until it detects the submarine again.
5- A submarine can never get so close to a carrier in RL. Once it is detected, screens will move on to intercept it and detection for a submarine is usually means death in RL.
6- Having said that, a submarine's real power is in its stealthiness. This seems to be never the case in these series, vessels there never have difficulty in detecting submarines, or torpedoes, albeit this is not true. When you are detected, it is mostly game over in RL.
7- Carriers and its screens never employ helicopters in this series, they seem to rely on sonars and other means to detect submarines. However ASW Helicopters are always in the air in RL if there is a submarine threat in the region. They deploy sonar buoys and once a submarine is detected they immediately release an airborne torpedo on top of it. Helicopters are very effective because they are above the sea water not touching it, since they do not emit any vibrations into the water, submarines cannot detect them or when they do, it is usually too late.
8- Carriers and their screens seem to rely on rockets above else. Hitting a ship with a rocket is not that easy unless you fill the air with swarms of missiles. Once anti-missile rockets do their jobs, if any missiles are going by, then the phalanx (CIWS) systems finish the rest of them. Each ship has one or two as the last line of defense, and cross-firing 4.500 rounds/min. CIWS systems are quite effective.
9- When a ship is hit with a torpedo, (not on the side but usually beneath it) the air bubble generated by the explosion lifts the ship above the water and breaks its belly. This is why torpedoes are powerful, and how a one-hit usually sinks a ship. Here they hit like a regular rockets and it doesn't cause such catastrophic damage to the vessels which is not that realistic.
10 - Fleet Screens in the series do not seem to be fond of ASROC (Anti-submarine rocket) though this is the first and foremost the most effective weapon in the ASW. In the series, destroyers usually fire a hedgehog system which is more or less like a "Navy" mortar firing forward and saturating the fore space of the destroyer with straight-line diving impact-detonated explosive shells. But this is WW2 technology. Hedgehog replaced the primitive depth charges in 1942, and now ASROC replaced hedgehogs after 70's. With the ASROC, a homing torpedo is carried to a maximum distance via a rocket before entering the sea and propelling itself to the target. This saves a lot of time and limits the time of the submarine to react to it.
11- A submarine can never survive a direct torpedo hit.
12- A nuclear sub can never be as small as SEA-BAT portrayed in the series. This is a diesel submarine.
All in all, I enjoyed the series. The concept and message behind it saves the day. Technical failures did not totally ruin the experience albeit it would be perfect if the producers just did their homework and studied other titles like "Crimson tide", "the hunt for Red October", even games like "Silent hunter", "Cold waters", etc. The outcome might have been golden.
