Product Details

• Actors: Yoshikazu Fujiki, Sumi Mutoh, Hiroyuki Kinosha, Yukio Hiroda, Yukihiro Yoshida
• Directors: Hiroyuki Okiura
• Writers: Mamoru Oshii, Robert Chomiak
• Producers: Hidekazu Terakawa, Kenji Horikawa, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, Shigeru Watanabe, Tsutomu Sugita
• Format: Anamorphic, Animated, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, Live, Special Edition, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Japanese (Dolby Digital 5.1), Japanese (DTS 5.1)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Bandai
• DVD Release Date: March 5, 2002
• Run Time: 102 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (145 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005UW7F
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #51,043 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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• For more information about "Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (Special Edition)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Written by Mamoru Oshii (the director of the cult favorite Ghost in the Shell) and directed by Hiroyuki Okiura (a key animator on Akira), Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade offers a violent but compelling vision in animation. The story is set in a fictionalized version of the recent past, when a repressive Japanese government is battling the Sect, a violent revolutionary organization that uses adolescent girls they call "Red Riding Hoods" as couriers. During a raid, Capitol Police Constable Kazuki Fuse (pronounced "foo-seh," voice by Michael Dobson) balks at killing Nanami Agawa (Maggie Blue O'Hare), one of the Red Riding Hoods. She commits suicide with a powerful bomb. While Fuse undergoes retraining, he meets Nanami's older sister, Kei (Moneca Stori), and initiates an odd romance. Soon both characters are caught in a web of plots and counterplots that center on the possibility that Fuse may be a "wolf," a member of a secret cabal within the Capitol Police.

Jin-Roh is drawn in a comic book style that recalls the work of the popular graphic novelist and film designer Jean "Moebius" Giraud; Okiura's skillful cutting and striking imagery transcend the limited animation. Although anime continues to grow in popularity in America, it's rare for a Japanese feature to receive even a limited theatrical release, as this one did: a dark, brooding film of exceptional power, Jin-Roh deserves to be seen by a large audience.

Suitable for ages 18 and up: considerable violence, profanity, and tobacco use. --Charles Solomon

Additional features

The special edition of this dark, compelling feature comes with a CD of Hajime Mizoguchi's excellent score, which is unavailable separately in the states. The "extras" disc includes Japanese and English trailers, a selection of pre-production drawings, and an eight-part set of interviews, primarily with writer Mamoru Oshii and director Hiroyuki Okiura. Jin-Roh began as a video series based on an earlier manga by Oshii but gradually developed into a theatrical feature. As Oshii was "swamped" on Ghost in the Shell, Okiura was asked to direct. He accepted but insisted the film tell an original story with a romance at its center. Although Oshii praises Okiura's work, he regrets not directing the film himself. These interviews lack the tone of friendly banter that pervades American making-of discussions: the two artists like and respect each other but seem reluctant to admit it. --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

144 of 154 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars DON'T BUY THE SPECIAL EDITION, June 26, 2002

By	menkey "menkey" (Raleigh, NC United States) - See all my reviews

First, the good news: this movie is astounding. The opening riot scene is so realistic it's scary. The story, the artwork, the visuals, the soundtrack, all excellent. Some have complained it's too slow. I don't know why. There's no need to complain about how long it takes to get from Point A to Point B if the journey is as interesting as this one is. It's an excellent anime that is not too hard to follow (looking at the personnel flowchart helps keep track of who's who), yet it shows an intelligence and complexity far above the typical anime offering. And the visuals are so gorgeous, so realistic. Even the muted color scheme is evocative of the tone of the movie.

So, why only 4 stars? Well, if you buy the 2-disc Special Edition, I have one question: How's your Japanese? Oh, the menu for the extras disc is in English, but all the interviews, everything, is in Japanese. No alternate audio. No subtitles. All Japanese all the time. Please note that the movie has both English audio and subtitles (as well as the original Japanese), but the extras disc does not. So, unless you speak fluent Japanese, save your money and just buy the single-disc movie-only version.

61 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Anime of the new millenium so far...., July 14, 2001

By	Mathew P. Peters "mdpeters" (Brier, WA USA) - See all my reviews

I just saw this film in theaters.It has got to be the most emotional film that got to me since perhaps Schindler's List. JIN-ROH, THE WOLF BRIGADE could maybe be described as a "politico-military love tragedy thriller". Produced by the renowned studio Production I.G., with a script by Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell), this is a very strong debut for young director Hiroyuki Okiura.

This film looks incredible from beginning to end. Unfortunately, this may be the last anime movie to be done using hardly any computer assistance. The anime employs over 80,000 hand-painted cells and has taken 3 years to make. The character designs are excellent and individualistic(characters actually look Japanese.No large eyes to be found). There is great attention to detail in the movements of the people and objects on screen. Everything moves realistically down to the last motion. I also liked the dark and muted color scheme. There were many instances where I could question if I was watching animation or not. In fact, I think this movie looks more realistic than the real world.

The sound is excellent. There is sound everywhere in this film from the murky and creepy sounds of the tunnels to the chirping birds flying through the town. The guns used by the Panzers sound *powerful*, the cars cough, and the trees rustle. Like the animation, everything is done down to the last detail.

The music is written by Hajime Mizuguchi (Please Save My Earth/Vision of Escaflowne) which is melancholic, eerie and beautiful. It fits the film perfectly. I only wish that there was more of it since the film doesn't have much music in it. Everything is well composed and creates the perfect atmosphere for the scene it's in. I own the OST myself and listen to it almost everyday. The one track that I know will stick in your head is the ending theme which was composed by Yoko Kanno (Macross Plus/Vision of Excaflowne). The ending theme brought me to tears the first time I heard it in the movie (which I'd like to note is sung by Gabrielle Robin). I highly recommend that you buy the soundtrack.

All of the Japanese voice actors voices fit perfectly and every voice expresses the character's emotions. From the cold and serious voice of Fuse to the quiet and sincere voice of Kei, this film delivers some great voice acting.

The version of the film I saw in theaters was English dubbed but it was done carefully and each of the voices fit the characters excellently.

Jin-roh tells a dark tale, of the tragedy of the failure of the human spirit. The way out seems to be there, but is it? The fairy tale must reach its ending. A wolf is still a wolf even if for a while he can masquerade as a man. Hopefully this movie will be released soon in the US so more people can experience it strange and dark beauty.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jinroh - Enthralling story made in classic Oshii fashion, February 22, 2002

By A Customer

A Masterpiece! Its hard for some to understand the Genius of Oshii. This man is a visionary. For those who thought Jinroh slow must not understand Oshii's style. Mamoru Oshii weilds morals, and ethics like a master story teller when creating his scripts. Oshii's movies aren't for the action hungry fan boys. Sure, for some jinroh is a slow paced movie with only bits and pieces of intense action, but the subtle moral drama, the build up of his characters, and the technical detail of this movie makes it worth while. Understanding Oshii isn't difficult. All one has to do is give up all preconcieved notions of what Anime is and should be. Anime like Jinroh, Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor I and II, and Akira define themselves as the anime genre. If you're only interested in watching big breasted girls, and giant robots than skip this movie (don't get me wrong. i enjoy the girls and robots too!). But if you enjoy story and content above action than Jinroh is a must watch.