Read more about Rory Mercury at: Wikipedia Official Site: A-1 Pictures , is a Japanese fantasy novel series written by Takumi Yanai and illustrated by Daisuke Izuka and Kurojishi. Originally, it was serialized from 2006 to 2009 on the user-generated novel publishing website Arcadia until it was acquired by publisher AlphaPolis in 2010. A manga adaptation illustrated by Satoru Sao began in July 2011, and three spin-off manga began in 2015. The first half of an anime television series adaptation aired from July to September 2015, and the second half aired from January to March 2016. The series has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks in North America. A sequel novel series, Gate Season 2: Jieitai Kano Umi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri, began publication in 2017. In modern-day Ginza, Tokyo, a portal from another world suddenly appears and a legion of Roman-styled medieval soldiers and monsters emerge to attack the city. Using modern weaponry and tactics, the Japan Self-Defense Forces easily repels the enemy and passes through the Gate to establish a forward operating base and initiate peace negotiations with the Empire of the other world. However, Japan's exclusive access to the Gate is envied by the other nations of the world, who wish to exploit the for their own purposes. Also, the JSDF's activities are closely monitored by their government, which hesitates to involve itself any further into the Special Region's affairs out of fear of public disapproval. YÅji Itami is a reserve JSDF officer sent to investigate the other world, where magic, dragons and elves are real, using his knowledge of fantasy stories to make his way in this new environment. While exploring the Special Region, he ends up selflessly aiding its people—including Imperial Princess Piña Co Lada—against an ancient dragon and a band of marauders, thus paving the way for negotiations and saddling himself with a group of local girls who have developed feelings for him. However, when he humiliates Imperial Crown Prince Zorzal in order to rescue a Japanese prisoner from his clutches, the latter decides to make Japan pay in blood, seizing power as a dictator and preparing for an all-out war. Thus the JSDF is eventually forced to engage in aggressive combat action to maintain the status quo and bring negotiations with Zorzal's father, Molt Sol Augustus, to a peaceful conclusion. Following the JSDF's liberation of Princess Piña, the Emperor and the anti-war senators from the Imperial capital, Zorzal go into hiding and engages in a guerilla war, having his men, wearing imitation camouflage uniforms, and monsters commit terror acts against the civilian population in order to discredit the Japanese and draw them out; but the JSDF's allies and sympathizers rally to their side to defeat the rogue prince. However, as the goddess Hardy relates to Itami, the Gate itself poses another serious problem. Initially opened by Hardy, but enlarged and stabilized by the Empire's magicians, it begins to cause a series of cataclysmic disruptions as the Special Region and Earth begin to drift away from this mutual anchor point. Thus, the Japanese must struggle to both end the civil war and close the Gate in time before both worlds rip each other to pieces. |