Why leave out the Japanese Akizuki class when the not-yet-in-service Fletcher class was discussed?
Short answerBecause Fletcher was treated as the mature result of an incremental American design sequence, while Akizuki represented a more distinct development rather than the same kind of evolutionary endpoint.
NotesA viewer asks why Akizuki was omitted when the later Fletcher class was still allowed into the discussion. The answer treats Fletcher as the cumulative refinement of a sequence of American destroyers, each modifying its predecessor until the design became exceptionally effective. Akizuki is characterized as more of a new development than the same kind of continuous evolution. The distinction concerns design lineage and comparison framing, leaving Akizuki's overall quality outside the argument.