In a recent article in the New York Times today’s crop of anime films were hailed as the “Second New Wave” of Japanese Films. Now for those of you who don’t know much about Japanese Film history, the New Wave was a period of time from the late 1950s to the early 1970s (with much of the best work coming out during the 1960s) when a series of very talented directors such as Akira Kurosawa (The Seven Samurai) made films that wowed the entire world. This period, also known as the Golden Age of Japanese Cinema, brought great acclaim from critics and much admiration from western filmmakers (even George Lucas drew inspiration from Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress when making Star Wars).

Animation during this time was not so hot. A company called Toei Douga produced films that were (for the most part) what Americans would think of when seeing an animated film. Now times have drastically changed. Since the mid-1980s and another gigantic leap in 1995, Japanese animation keeps gaining more respect in its own country and abroad. This film is a prime example of how far anime has developed since the Pseudo-Disney years of the 1960s, in a way it is shows how this era of anime is a spiritual successor to the Great “New Wave” films of the 50s and 60s.

Odd isn’t it that this film takes place in an alternate reality based in 1960s Japan. The real 1960s in Japan were filled with turmoil. Threats of Fascist in the Japanese Government as well as quick sweeping economic reforms led to massive protests from radical left wing factions. By the 1970s things had stabilized and the protests fell apart. This was like the 60s in America, only on a much bigger scale. In the movie (which does not explain a lot of key elements) Japan lost the war to Germany. After Germany’s occupation ended the Government of Japan was ruled by Fascists. These leaders implemented sweeping economic reforms (sometimes at the expense of the people). The People organize into many different protest groups, the Government responds with a militaristic police force. This police force is at odds with the local Tokyo Police force (which is elaborated in the manga Hellhounds Panzer Cops(1)) and a new more organized terrorist cell called the sect.

That is basically what you hear (only with a bit more detail in the first 5 minutes). The story is very detailed, but a little lacking on many points. What was Germany like, what happened during the occupation? Despite these lapses Jin-Roh has an interesting world where nobody is really good or evil. People in fact really don’t have any side; they just loyally (like puppy dogs) follow whichever group they fall into.

The introduction to the movie, while wordy, is quite well done. Low color stills show all of the events that lead up to the beginning of the movie. They are done masterfully with Hajime Mizoguchi’s music really setting the stage for what looks to be an interesting film. Although it seems overlong, the backstroke (which in the comic was one whole page on the inside cover) could not really be conveyed in any other effective way.

The opening scene is reminiscent of Akira. This is no surprise since Hiroyuki Okiura was one of the head key animators of that film. I thought that these scenes were much more refined than anything in Akira was, but almost as well (if not better) animated than that sequence.

In fact the animation is among the most impressive that I’ve seen in anime. It may not have the highest frame rate, but it is incredibly realistic and consistent. Subtle emotions are conveyed through the characters very well (something that many western animation theorists thought was impossible in animation.). Believe it or not, this animation is even better than much of Studio Ghibli’s work. It really is convincing realistic animation.

Unlike a lot of Mamoru Oshii’s other work (Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor 1 and 2), the characters can be identified with. It appears that Okiura wanted Oshii to put more emotion into his characters than normal. Not to mention the odd love story between the wolf and the little girl (which is mirrored through a telling of the original violent version of Little Red Riding Hood) adds a something that the viewer can latch onto without understanding the political maneuvers behind it. In other words unlike Oshii’s other works, even people who find the political aspect uninteresting would be able to still appreciate the story. I highly praise Okiura for suggesting that Oshii add these elements. It really strengthens the overall film.

The politics behind the story are quite complicated. Many critics dismissed this film simply because the political maneuvers were too murky (I also think a bias against animation also helped). This is really the weakest aspect of the story. You really need to watch this film more than once, and read the manga before getting an idea of what the goals of the parties involved are.

For those of you who are craving action though, despite a couple of very violent scenes scattered throughout the film there is very little action. This is more of a mutilayered character study than an action film. Even I found a couple of sequences (particularly when watching it dubbed) tiresome. Sometimes the characters are a bit too talky. This is something that is common in Oshii’s films, which is the reason why he has the nickname “Talking Head” in Japan (2).

Another strong aspect of this film is its atmosphere. It is dark and gloomy with a sort of fear lurking around every corner. Jin-Roh reminds me of a darker more intense version of the original (the one shown on Fox) Batman Animated series. The sound track really helps set this mood. Hajime Mizoguchi, who is Yoko Kanno’s husband and a frequent collaborator (such as in Escaflowne), did a really excellent job with the soundtrack, making it hauntingly beautiful and powerful at the same time. I am really glad that the Special Edition came with the soundtrack, it was well worth the extra money.

The version that I got also contained a second disk full of interviews. The interview segments were fascinating. It was interesting to see how the film was made, and some of the thoughts from its screenwriter. I would really like to see the same sort of thing with one of Studio Ghibli’s films, hopefully, if what I read on the internet is correct, Central Park Media will be releasing a new edition of Grave of the Fireflies along with a series of interviews. (Hopefully they’ll fix some of the glitches with the credits and the main title.) Bandai and Viz did a great job with this DVD set.

Surprisingly Ocean Studios, the company who produced the dub, with cooperation from Okiura did a good job. When I first heard that Ocean was going to do the dub, I groaned. Oceans previous jobs I was not very impressed with (particularly Escaflowne). This dub really stands above their other work, and probably is on par with the best work from Animaze (who dubbed Cowboy Bebop). Despite the dub being very well done, I think it still pales in comparison to the voice acting in the Japanese version.

I will end this by saying that the end was very intense. Those of you who are quite emotional to movies may not be able to take it. It really was skillfully done, and is quite moving in a disturbing sort of way. It gave me the chills when I saw the credits role. Oshii praised the ending saying that it was one of the few films he’d seen where the ending was moving.

My brother described this as sort of a twisted love story between fundamentalists; the description fits very well. Even if you don’t entirely like animation, Jin-Roh is worth your time. It really shows just how far anime films have come from their Pseudo-Disney roots, and how a new age of sophisticated animated films has begun in Japan.

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(1) The manga, called Hellhounds Panzer Cops is really hard to find in English. In order to get it I had to search through about four different comic shops, and even then I was only able to get the silly issues of it (a way of distributing comics that is useless and outdated, particularly if alternative comics over take the mainstream market) and not the trade paperback. The manga really helps one understand the anime (in fact, if you’ve already read the manga add a half star to my review). If I start my own webpage, which I am thinking about, I will probably include a review of it.

(2) One of Oshii’s live action films is called Talking Head, in a sort of jab at his nickname. It has something to do with murders taking place at an anime studio during the production of an anime series or movie. I hope a distributor picks this one (as well as his other live action films) up.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD