Anime: Jin-Rou

Incredible movie. Wonderful plot, awesome atmosphere, awesome characters. It is about 70% drama and 30% action. Very similar to Ghost in the Shell type pacing and storytelling. Without a doubt one of the best anime (or even overall) movies I have ever watched. The soundtrack is also top notch. The plot mainly revolves around a socio-political situation involving two opposing governmental bodies trying to survive in the midst of a conflict between anti-government forces and said governmental bodies. Our two main characters are caught between a rock and a hard place so to speak in the midst of all of this. Do not miss this if you are a fan of sombre, mature animes.

Mamoru Oshii, his name has some weight in the anime world, and Jin-Roh is part of that identity, not a crucial one (he did direct Ghost in the shell film, what else can stand next to that on its own), but rather a telling one. But I dare not speak about his whole output here, it's Jin-Roh I've just seen. furthermore, Jin-Roh is directed by Hiroyuki Okiura, who has worked closely with Oshii, though, on other projects and on this one, too.

Art & Animation

excellent. the movie has a realistic setting, and it is portrayed extremely well. the designs, the bleak colours (sort of washed out, yet vivid, much like pictures of older times look) all contribute greatly to the sense of times gone by, and not only that, but the loneliness of a man in these times. animation is, likewise, technically excellent, although the contents portrayed are not the most demanding in terms of character movements etc. of special note is, umm, "camerawork" - focus shifts from foreground to background and other camera transitions are executed masterfully.

this section gets a 9. it is technically excellent, and stylistically consistent.

Sound

fitting voicework and music themes, yet little more than that. good sound effects, too - steps in the water, the sounds of metal armor, gun shots - all done very atmospherically. weirdly enough, in the english version (the one I have, anyway) final titles are not accompanied by music (as in the japanese version), but it has deep silence instead. perhaps it's a glitch, but given the film's ending I found the silent titles to be that much more impressive.

section gets an 8 for a good, but not distinctive job.

Story & Character

Jin-Roh is both a glimpse into older, more chaotic times (or perhaps simply less hidden - who knows what's happening today) and a symbolic retelling of an old folk tale using the already mentioned setting of a country still somewhat shaken up by a just lost war. it is rather a character study than a thriller, even though it has its fair share of tension and blood, but this tension just paints in the background for the central characters - it is in these conditions that they suffer their own particular brand of loneliness and alienation, collision of which is at the core of this film.

a question that is asked in the beginning of the film characterizes the core of the film well - it's a question "why?". it is not a question that asks for perfect arguments, there probably aren't many that would work here (though, if there were, they'd be totally fine to use as an answer), but it rather asks for personal reasons - why are you doing this, this hard and thankless action. the story, given the setting, its premises, is not a hard one - viewer is being told on every corner what's gonna happen. however, it is the character reactions to what is happening that is the 'meat' of this movie. being exploited and kept in the dark, even more than they think, the portrayed people struggle to find a place, and we, viewers, can only perhaps lament their condition and consider the "why" of what they did.

setting is original, interesting and very mature, even outside of anime. the characters are realistic, and the story is maybe a bit simplistic, but effective, mature and, ultimately, well, depressing, if perhaps more cerebrally, than emotionally.

I believe the film is a bit on the slow side, and some scenes were not entirely necessary, but perhaps it's my skewed memory. there are some things I do not entirely understand yet, particularly the extent of the symbolism present in the film, but I dare say this not-understanding is a result of film being more complex than I can chew at once, and not because it was confusing in a stupid, ass-pull kind of way.

after these considerations, I have to give this a 9 in both story and characters.

Value

it is a mature piece with no compromises - as such it should be cherished among anime, which suffers from increasing amounts of silliness and lazy, "effective" writing. it can be rewatched, even if just to properly dig some deeper into the characters, their situation and the surrounding symbolism. the film has rather narrow focus, though, preventing it from having a classic status - the themes are rather specific, even though not uncommon in serious films and literature etc. that also illustrates that this film has pretensions of being art, not mere entertainment.
all that deserves, imo, an 8/10 or so.

Enjoyment

I did enjoy it. It was not a cheerful piece, but it had something to show, and, thus, it couldn't be further away from substanceless "enjoyment". something to watch, absorb, think about. 9/10, even though it's not something I can watch often.

ANIMATION

The animation was good, nothing terrible, nothing excellent, but good none the less. The characters were drawn to look more realistic, and the washed out colors used give the series that old 60s feel to it.

As for the action, the violence was amazingly realistic. Especially the scene where the girl was shot repeatedly and how her body moved limp like with each bullet entering her was horrifyingly real, and the part with the wolves....well you get the point, it was gruesomely terrific.

As for the CAPO, if you have played Killzone for the PS2 they look just like the Helghast only the CAPO are elite soldiers of justice (or they're suppose to be) very cool design IMO.

SOUND

Nothing really outstanding, the voice acting was okay but not amazing, each character seemed a bit bored in their part giving the film a very monotonistc sound, like a lecture from Ben Stein in Japanese. The music really didn't stand out in my mind either, most of the time there was none.


STORY

In an alternate Tokyo of the 1960's, public unrest has driven the country of Japan into near anarchy, as riots and civil disputes are common place among the headlines. To combat the social outcry the government forms the highly trained Capital Police Force (CAPO). These highly trained officers are the hand of justice that sweep through the scenes of chaos unnoticed yet undeniably effective. On one such raid, a young member of CAPO witnesses a girl blow herself up infront of him in an outcry for change. The young officer broods over the girls actions throughout the film meeting her sister along the way. To make matters worse the CAPO have a vigalante group within their ranks known only as the Wolf Brigade. Striking down their enemies, friend or foe, effectively weeding out the corruption of society

The series of events that fall in thereafter serve to fuel the complexity of the human psyche and leave one to ponder the extent of human loyalty and how much you know about the person next to you.

The story racks at your mind with its complexity from start to finish leaving the viewer to wonder what the hell more than once. The plotline is very dark. It warps the innocence of a fairy tale ending into the most realistic conclusion that makes one come to terms with the harshness of reality.

CHARACTERS

The main character, Fuse, throughout the majority of the anime acts the role of the silent lone wolf type with few friends. Add to that the incident with the girl exploding, and you have one severly depressed and confused individual. He is overly depressing, weak minded, and to attatched to false ideals of justice for his chosen profession at first. But towards the end everything we thought we knew...just watch to find out!!! :P

As for the girls sister who Fuse meets, she seems innocent at first but as the movie progresses you find out her true purpose in the story and how the connection between her and Fuse was never really established at any level.

Once again red-riding hood for real!

VALUE

This is worth a watch to anyone seeking a darker themed, sad, or confusing anime. Definetly not for anyone easily depressed. The movie is a rude awakening showing the darker side of human nature.

ENJOYMENT

I liked the film, it was a deffinte change from the happy, good-guy, bad-guy, live happily ever after ending shows that appear everywhere nowadays. The movie is very dark, from start to brutal finish and shows the darker truth of reality and human nature.

ANIMATION

The animation was good. The Characters were drawn very realistic, and the background colors really gave a sense that the story takes places in the 60's. The Soldiers from CAPO were superbly drawned, with a great design, creepy outfits. The riots, and the sewers actions, got lot's of violence, and it's superbly done, very realistic also.

SOUND

I was really impressed about the voice acting, i have watched in Original and English Dub, and i really liked the voice of the little Red Riding Hood in japanese. I Also liked the first ending song of the movie, after you watched the end and started to think about the movie, the music enters your heart perfectly, just try it.

STORY

The Story takes place in the 60's. Anarchy is instaled in Japan, Riots takes place lot's of times, and the local police can't contain these disturbs, to combat these riots governaments trains a specials units, called CAPO. The Main caracter it's an CAPO soldier, and he witness a girl die in front of his eyes, with a bomb she trigger herself, after this he falls a part a looked to be a confused and disturbed man, then the story becames to be a bit confusing, Since he meets another girl with similar appearence of the one that died in front of his eyes, and the plot uncovers, but the last part of the movie is really intense, and it explains everything with a climax ending.

CHARACTERS

The Story focuses on Fuse and the Girl she meet after the disturbing incident. Fuse looks like an lone wolf, and vunerable, and the government wants to put a blame on someone, and imagine a way to put that blame on Fuse, in the end the plot takes a massive twist, and the true nature of the lone wolf is revealed. (Superb Ending)

VALUE

I'll rewatch again in the future, it's a great story. It's the story of the Little Red Riding Hood but in a darker way.
It also show the animal instint in the humans.
"The Difference Between Humans and animals"

ENJOYMENT

Good story and good animation, I enjoyed this movie a lot. Despite some "violent" pictures, it's a must watch anime.

Fairy tales bring the most out of human beings. Though as adults, we look upon them as childish and silly fantasy, they resemble the ideal worlds that we strive to make ours similar to. Jin-Roh takes the story of Little Red Riding Hood, and cultivates this ideology into a reality.

The story. Our main character has just witnessed the death of a teenage girl, who seems to have died in vain. It seems as though he cannot get over this harsh reality.
There is an association with his Special Unit known as the Wolf Brigade - a group that strikes enemies who wish to strike them first. Although some say that it is only a myth.

I didn't understand this at all when I first watched it; Jin-Roh has a very complicated plot. However, once I slept on it, I understand fully the meaning of the story. If all else fails, listen to the fairy tale told in the movie to understand completely what had gone on. I think it is daring and creative to turn such an innocent story into the destruction that should have ultimately happened, should the story have been told originally a less optimistic way.

Character and sound are well mixed.

The voice acting impressed me the most here. I've never heard Little Red Riding Hood told in such a cold, heartless way. It chills me thinking about the tone of the girl's voice, as well as the sounds of the guns fired. Also, the music is very subliminal, intensifying as the plot becomes more and more confusing. Finally at the end, it feels like a silence, facing the ultimate reality that the tales men who survive war would tell.

The animation is almost as horribly good as the voice acting. I recall a certain scene of a girl being shot to death, watching her body dance as bullets enter her. The action itself provoked me to stop this movie and delete it, in fear of seeing what I didn't want to see. Nevertheless, I resisted the temptation and continued to watch the movie. The blood level in Jin-Roh is extremely high, and some of the scenes are very graphic and almost frightening. Actually, there are very few scenes of actual slaughter, it's just that they are sickeningly real from time to time.

I don't want to see this again...ever.

I loved the story, I loved the content - but I hated the ending with a passion. It could have been avoided, and even have kept a more realistic face than the one it presented throughout the story. I felt similar emotions towards Grave of the Fireflies' conclusion as well. If you hated Grave of the Fireflies, this one will be just as intense to watch.

Who would like this? Pretty much anyone is free to see this - I feel that my opinion can only suffice those who look for a less outrageous conclusion. If anyone wants to see great looking characters, giving them a glimpse of the Special Unit costumes should give them an interest as well. Cold, brutal, and unbelievable in the end, Jin-Roh brings a new meaning to a fairy tale.

One of the masterpieces of anime, combining a gritty alternate future with a very allegoric storyline.

Jin-Roh has excellent animation with a unique drawing style. When the soldiers in their special gear go through the dark sewers it is a sight to behold.

Very packed atmosphere, excellent story that works on multiple levels, combining elements of philosophy, fairy tails (gotta love little red riding hood) and science fiction action.

Do not expect a cheap ride on a sci-fi flick but a much darker journey.