is a 1991 Japanese
animated
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
action thriller film
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
directed by
Hiroyuki Kitakubo
is a Japanese director, animator, and screenwriter.
Kitakubo began work in the anime industry as a teenager, having worked on the 1979 ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' television series. He debuted as a director with the ''Cream Lemon'' episode "Pop Chas ...
and written by
Katsuhiro Otomo. The animation for ''Roujin Z'' was produced by
A.P.P.P. in association with other companies including
Movic
is a Japanese company which specializes in the publication of trading cards, figures, CDs, and other general media related to the anime industry. Movic is a part of the Animate group.
Anime involved in
*'' Ah! My Goddess: The Movie'': Producti ...
,
Sony Music Entertainment Japan,
Aniplex
is a Japanese anime, music production and anime licensee company owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Established in September 1995, Aniplex has been involved in the production and distribution of several anime series, such as both '' Fullm ...
and
TV Asahi
JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Comp ...
.
Plot
''Roujin Z'' is set in early 21st-century Japan. A group of scientists and hospital administrators, under the direction of the Ministry of Public Welfare, have developed the Z-001: a computerized
hospital bed with robotic features.
The Z-001 takes complete care of the patient: it can dispense food and medicine, remove excretory waste, bathe and exercise the patient lying within its frame. The bed is driven by its own built-in
nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced ...
reactor—and in the event of an atomic meltdown, the bed (including the patient lying within) would become automatically sealed in concrete.
The first
patient
A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other hea ...
to be "volunteered" to test the bed is an 87-year-old dying widower named Kijuro Takazawa. He is an invalid who is cared for by a young nursing student named Haruko.
The electronic elements within the Z-001 somehow manage to transcribe Takazawa's thoughts through Haruko's office computer, and he uses the communication to cry for help.
Although she objects to such treatment of elderly patients, Haruko begrudgingly seeks the aid of a group of computer hackers in the hospital's
geriatric
Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a medical specialty focused on providing care for the unique health needs of older adults. The term ''geriatrics'' originates from the Greek γέρων ''geron'' meaning "old man", and ιατρός ''iatros ...
ward to create and install a vocal simulation of Takazawa's deceased wife in the Z-001.
However, once Takazawa wishes to go to the beach, the Z-001 detaches itself from its moorings and escapes from the hospital with the man in its grasp.
Haruko's fears are then justified, as it is discovered that the bed is actually a government-designed, experimental weapons robot.
Cast
Themes
In his review of ''Rojin Z'', Tony Rayns stated the film focuses on three primary issues: health care for the elderly, the stand-off between traditional values and modern technology and the Right's covert plans to re-militarise Japan.
Production
The animation for ''Roujin Z'' was produced by
A.P.P.P. in association with other companies including
Movic
is a Japanese company which specializes in the publication of trading cards, figures, CDs, and other general media related to the anime industry. Movic is a part of the Animate group.
Anime involved in
*'' Ah! My Goddess: The Movie'': Producti ...
,
Sony Music Entertainment Japan,
Aniplex
is a Japanese anime, music production and anime licensee company owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Established in September 1995, Aniplex has been involved in the production and distribution of several anime series, such as both '' Fullm ...
and
TV Asahi
JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Comp ...
.
The film was directed by
Hiroyuki Kitakubo
is a Japanese director, animator, and screenwriter.
Kitakubo began work in the anime industry as a teenager, having worked on the 1979 ''Mobile Suit Gundam'' television series. He debuted as a director with the ''Cream Lemon'' episode "Pop Chas ...
, who previously directed the "A Tale of Two Robots" segment in the APPP anthology film ''
Robot Carnival
is a Japanese anthology original video animation (OVA) and anime film released in 1987.
The film consists of nine shorts by different well-known directors, many of whom started out as animators with little to no directing experience. Each has ...
''.
Katsuhiro Otomo provided the film's story and screenplay.
The characters were designed by
Hisashi Eguchi, the
manga artist known for ''
Stop!! Hibari-kun!''.
He used his now current wife as a model for Haruko.
Eguchi also played part in some of the film's animation, such as its smoke effects, alongside key animator
Takeshi Honda
is a former Japanese competitive figure skater. He is a two-time World bronze medalist (2002, 2003), two-time Four Continents champion (1999, 2003), and six-time Japanese national champion.
Personal life
Takeshi Honda was born on 23 March ...
.
Both Otomo and
Mitsuo Iso
is a Japanese animator, director, and screenwriter.
He began his career as an animator in the mid-1980s and worked as a freelance artist through Neomedia, Studio Zaendo, and Studio Ghibli.
Iso is known for his offbeat key animation in the prolo ...
were responsible for the mechanical designs.
Satoshi Kon
was a Japanese film director, animator, screenwriter and manga artist from Sapporo, Hokkaido and a member of the Japanese Animation Creators Association (JAniCA). He was a graduate of the Graphic Design department of the Musashino Art Univer ...
acted as the film's art director and set designer.
Kon previously wrote the script for Otomo's live-action
black comedy
Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discu ...
''World Apartment Horror'', though ''Roujin Z'' was the first anime on which Kon worked. Otomo opted to not direct the film, as he was more eager to work on ''World Apartment Horror''.
The musical score was composed by Bun Itakura.
Anime localization pioneer
Carl Macek was the film's sound design producer. The closing song is performed by Mishio Ogawa.
Soundtrack
Release and marketing
''Roujin Z'' premiered theatrically in Japan on September 14, 1991.
An English-dubbed version was directed by
Michael Bakewell
Michael Bakewell (born 1931) is a British television producer.
Bakewell was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire in England.
He is best known for his work during the 1960s, when he was the first Head of Plays at the BBC, after Sydney Newman divid ...
with a script adaptation by
George Roubicek.
The dub was produced by
Manga Entertainment
Manga Entertainment was a producer, licensee, and distributor of anime in the United States and the United Kingdom. Originally founded in the UK in 1987, the UK branch became Funimation UK and Ireland in 2021, also currently known as Crunchyr ...
UK (a joint venture of
Central Park Media and PolyGram Filmed Entertainment) in 1994, and was licensed by Kit Parker Films with a
PG-13 rating
A motion picture content rating system classifies films based on their suitability for audiences due to their treatment of issues such as sex, violence, or substance abuse; their use of profanity; or other matters typically deemed unsuitable for c ...
in the United States.
The film debuted in the US at an
international film festival
A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...
in
Fort Lauderdale
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
during November 1994. It was screened in more than 30 cities in the country such as
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
's
Angelika Film Center on January 5, 1996.
Manga Entertainment marketed the film in English-speaking regions as being "by the creator of ''
Akira''".
''Roujin Z'' first saw
VHS and
Laserdisc releases in Japan in 1991, in Great Britain, Europe and Australia in 1994, in North America in 1995, and its first Japanese DVD release on August 21, 1999. An "
HD Master Edition" DVD was released in the region on April 13, 2005. The English dub was initially released on VHS by Manga Entertainment in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand in 1994.
Image Entertainment
RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 34 ...
distributed the English version on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
in the US on August 26, 1998. Central Park Media re-released the movie on DVD on April 9, 2002, then again on April 27, 2004 under the US Manga Corps label. The
home video
Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...
version is currently out-of-print in the US.
The film has also been broadcast on numerous television networks worldwide, including the
Sci-Fi Channel
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. ...
,
ImaginAsian, the
International Channel, and the
Funimation Channel
Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specialize ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.
The ''Roujin Z Original Soundtrack'' was made available for sale in Japan by
Epic Records on November 21, 1991. ''Roujin Z'' was adapted into a
manga titled , featuring the story by Otomo and illustrated by Tai Okada. It was originally serialized in the
Kodansha publication ''Mr. Magazine'' from March to December 1991. A single ''
tankōbon
is the Japanese term for a book that is not part of an anthology or corpus. In modern Japanese, the term is most often used in reference to individual volumes of a manga series: most series first appear as individual chapters in a weekly or ...
'' bound volume was published in Japan on December 12, 1991. No official English version exists, but
Glénat published a French edition on January 22, 1997.
Manga Entertainment
Manga Entertainment was a producer, licensee, and distributor of anime in the United States and the United Kingdom. Originally founded in the UK in 1987, the UK branch became Funimation UK and Ireland in 2021, also currently known as Crunchyr ...
UK re-released ''Roujin Z'' on
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
in June 2012 in conjunction with
Kazé
Kazé is a French publishing company that specializes in anime and manga. Its head office is in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. Founded in 1994, the company debuted by publishing '' Record of Lodoss War'' on VHS. It is currently run by Sony thr ...
UK, the European subsidiary of
Viz Media
VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...
as they hold the rights to the English dub, which they produced in-house in 1994.
Reception
From contemporary reviews, ''Roujin Z'' won the
Mainichi Film Award
The
are a series of annual film awards, sponsored by Mainichi Shinbun (毎日新聞), one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan, since 1946. It is the first film festival in Japan.
History
The origins of the contest date back to 1935, ...
for animation in 1991. From Western critics,
Stephen Holden of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' called it an "amusing futuristic morality tale," noting how it "takes sharp digs at
yuppie
Yuppie, short for "young urban professional" or "young upwardly-mobile professional", is a term coined in the early 1980s for a young professional person working in a city. The term is first attested in 1980, when it was used as a fairly neu ...
medical students who welcome a device that will enable them to discard their aging parents and concentrate on their careers."
Joey O'Bryan, reviewing ''Roujin Z'' for ''
The Austin Chronicle
''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...
'', called the film "briskly paced, intelligent, exciting, and darkly funny."
Roger Ebert, writing in the ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...
'', observed: "I cannot imagine this story being told in a conventional movie. Not only would the machine be impossibly expensive and complex to create with special effects, but the social criticism would be immediately
blue-penciled by Hollywood executives." Tony Rayns (
Sight & Sound
''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...
) felt the film was "engaging entertainment, not least because it so resolutely counters the expectations of the adolescent males who made up the core audience for ''Akira''."
Rayns also noted that "the only real let down in the film was the character design of Haruko", finding her to be "the round-eyed moppet of the type seen everywhere in Japanese schlock made-for-video animation"
From retrospective reviews,
Helen McCarthy
Helen McCarthy (born 27 February 1951) is the British author of such anime reference books as ''500 Manga Heroes and Villains'', ''Anime!'', ''The Anime Movie Guide'' and '' Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation''. She is the co-author o ...
in ''500 Essential Anime Movies'' called ''Roujin Z'' a "gripping movie - an action thriller whose star is even older than
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...
". She stated that it is a "funny film that will keep you entertained and make you think", noting that it is also "one of the most original anime you'll ever see". In 2001,
Wizard Entertainment
Wizard Entertainment Inc., formerly known as GoEnergy and Wizard World, is a producer of multi-genre fan conventions across North America. The company started as the holding company for Strato Malmas' interests in the energy business.
Gareb Sham ...
listed the film at number 42 of its top 50 anime to be released in North America. The publisher's magazine ''
Anime Insider
''Anime Insider'' was a monthly magazine published by Wizard Entertainment, consisting of news and entertainment pieces relating to the Japanese anime and manga subculture. In its earliest incarnation it was published from Fall 2001 till Fall 20 ...
'' listed ''Roujin Z'' as the seventh-best anime comedy in its January 2004 issue.
See also
*
List of Japanese films of 1991
References
External links
*
*
Entryin ''
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo, Locus and British SF Awards. Two print editions appeared in 1979 and 1993. A third, continu ...
''
{{Mainichi Film Award - Animation Film Award
1990s science fiction films
1991 anime films
1991 manga
Action anime and manga
Animated action films
Animated thriller films
Aniplex
Central Park Media
Films set in the United States
Japanese action thriller films
Japanese animated science fiction films
Japanese science fiction action films
Katsuhiro Otomo
Medical-themed films
Thriller anime and manga
Films directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo
1990s American films