G.I. Samurai

During a defensive exercise, a wildly mixed group of Japanese SDF forces, including a tank, an APC, a patrol boat and a helicopter, are swept 400 years into the past by a time slip. They find themselves stranded behind feudal lines and immediately come under attack by samurai forces. Their acting commanding officer, Second Lieutenant Yoshiaki Iba, assesses the strange new landscape and begins to chart a way to survive. The event sets the stage for unlikely alliances and a clash of eras.

Iba encounters Nagao Kagetora, a powerful war leader under lord Koizumi, and the two men form a cautious alliance. Iba sees the potential value of his modern weapons in this new world, while Kagetora recognizes a formidable ally. Their rapport seeds a partnership that could alter the balance of power in feudal Japan.

Seeing the SDF weaponry in action, Kagetora persuades Iba to aid him in his struggle for supremacy. Iba agrees, driven by loyalty to his troops and the pragmatic need to survive. The alliance between modern soldiers and feudal forces grows into a common cause.

Iba's men wrestle with the desperate wish to return to their own time, while some strike out to contact locals or even live as pirates. Private Mimura finds a consort who begins following him, highlighting the personal bonds forming in the strange world. The group fractures as discipline falters and loyalties waver.

The internal rifts cause the unit to shrink from 21 to 11 as mutinies and reckless impulses spread. Iba works to calm his men and keep them focused on survival and mission. The dwindling numbers test their resolve and threaten the alliance's cohesion.

Iba reframes their struggle as a paradox that could restore time itself, arguing that fighting history might grant them a chance to return home. He and Kagetora continue to fight side by side on the front lines. The idea to bend history becomes a unifying creed amid chaos.

Iba and Kagetora confront Takeda Shingen's forces in a decisive battle. Shingen's tactics outmaneuver the SDF unit, forcing them to abandon vehicles and major weapons while several soldiers die in the fighting. The clash tests their resolve and the limits of their alliance.

In a desperate push, Iba fights his way to Shingen's command post and kills the warlord in a sword duel. The battlefield shifts as the loss of a feared leader unsettles Shingen's forces. Iba's victory comes at the cost of his unit's cohesion and safety.

As the march toward Kyoto continues, Kagetora comes under pressure from his family and the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki to rid himself of Iba. He intercepts Iba's group at an old temple, setting the stage for a climactic confrontation. The alliance is strained by political machinations as they advance.

At the old temple, Iba prepares to challenge Kagetora for his betrayal, but Kagetora shoots him first. The rest of the soldiers are felled by Kagetora's archers, and Mimura's consort delivers the fatal blow to Mimura. The temple becomes a scene of sudden, brutal treachery.

Remorseful for the losses, Kagetora orders a dignified burial for Iba and his men. The fallen are laid to rest with ceremony, a somber note amid the feudal power play. The survivors mourn as the path to Kyoto remains fraught with danger.

Only Private Mokichi Nemoto survives, having left the main group to help a boy and his family whose father was killed. His choice underscores a thread of humanity amid war and time-slippage. The story closes on a note of endurance and quiet hope for the future.