Customer Reviews

Jin-Roh - The Wolf Brigade

5 star:		(84)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

"Jin-Roh" has got to be the darkest, most morbid movie I've ever seen, anime or otherwise. Make no mistake, this movie has no fairy tale ending and is black as the night. But it is a morbid masterpiece. The film is intricately woven with such epic complexity and depth that it might have collapsed under the weight of its own story under lesser filmmakers. A morbid spin on the old "Rotkäppchen" (Little Red Riding Hood) story is seamlessly and ingeniously integrated into the entire movie as the omnipresent theme. "Wolf" is given so many layers of meaning in this movie, as it is meant to. Jin-Roh also creates a dark gothic world with stunning effectiveness and believeability. This movie stays with you, with its chilling quotes and its unforgettable and shocking ending. The ending will make you sick to your stomach, yet at the same time will have you begging for more. I guarantee it. "We are not men disguised as mere dogs. We are wolves, disguised as men". "It is only in tales written by men that the hunter kills the wolf in the end."

A very impressive anime that works most effectively as a drama with suspenseful elements and some brutally real violence. The story of Fuse, member of the Wolf Brigade, a special military unit in a fictionalized Japan is captivating and very bleek. As he struggled to deal with a young girl's death and find his own humanity, I was completely involved in the character. In fact, as I watched I often thought to myself of how this story could have been made perfectly into a live action film, something that can't be said for the average animated feature. It's a very real, grim story, the love angle is handled with care and you can definitely feel for the characters. The only thing that REALLY bothered me was the entire wolf symbolism. About halfway through the film I was thinking "okay, I get it already." Between the images and dialogue it's delivered with all the subtlety of a Spike Lee movie, and I personally found it a little distracting at times. And still, when the conclusion comes it redeems itself entirely and everything comes together so neatly. Altogether it's an outstanding work with a few flaws, but will likely get better with age.

This is actually a very easy anime to recommend since it is easy to describe: it is plainly story-driven, dark in both theme and imagery, and with limited (yet still bloody, and even disturbing) violence. It defines feature-length story-driven anime aimed at adults looking for dialogue and intrigue, not action.

This does not mean overlap is nonexistant, just that other favorites such as Ninja Scroll are action-oriented videogame movies for adults, and Jin-Roh is akin to slow, sophisticated movie.

Each has its place in my collection, but know what you are getting if you are interested only in a specific subgenre of anime. Jin-Roh is thus definitely not for those who >>only<< want uber-colorful panty-fests and robot smasheroos...

Extras: all very nice, with great interviews (which jack up the film length rating, the movie is really 1:40--which reveals some reviewers didn't really watch the movie), and nice soundtrack.

I own a region 2 version of this film ,I saw this special edition in Region 1 and picked it up for the extra features,and
boy was I in for a surprise,the colors on the r1 version are all
muddy and details are all fuzzy,it has a muddy unsaturated look all over ,I put the region2 disc and wham the movie just comes alive.I dont know how the director could have allowed a transfer which is like this.I viewed it on a progressive scan dvd player connected to a progressve scan 16:9 television.The film is a beauty though.I think to really have an idea of the superb production of Jin-Roh backgrounds and characters one needs to see the r2 version.

There are few movies that leave me breathless.
"Perfect blue" did, but other than that I can't remember the last time I just sat and stared with my mouth hanging open as the credit titles roled up across the screen.
Jin-roh is more intense and powerfull than any anime I have ever seen. Of course it seems foolish to compare it to the likes of Akira, or Ghost in the shell, because they both are much more action oriented and Jin-roh is it's own thing.
Some people have called it "boring" others "purely political". Well, I don't know what movie they were watching, because the Jin-roh that I saw was about complex people, real emotions, devistating truths in other words heart gripping drama. Sure, there was a little politics in it too, but don't let that scare you off.
For action buffs there's even a fair share of decent action sprinkled throughout the movie. For me it never got boring. I can only recommend that people stay with it untill the end. The heart shattering climax is worth the wait. That and the wonderful score pushes the movie up into a league of its own.

For a mature adult seeking to be truly moved by a film, Jin-Roh is the one. Jin-Roh is essentially the Little Red Riding Hood story told from the wolf's point of view. In a typical American film the virtuous hero has crisis and falls from grace. He battles back until the very end where he is give the choice to reclaim his true nature and become the man he was always intended to be. Jin-Roh asks, how would this story look from a "wolf's" point of view? A hero falls from grace by going against his nature - by being bad. But a wolf falls from grace by being good and showing compassion.

Jin-Roh is the story of a man trained to be a killer whose personal crisis is showing compassion for a young girl. As the story progresses, he battles back and is given the chance to redeem his true nature - that of a wolf. The climax will keep you guessing and in awe for days after you see it.

All the negative reviews are from people who thought this would be a candy-coated action film. It's not. No apologies, no concessions - this film will blow you away.

It is sad to realize that some reviewers have completelely missed the aim of the film and even felt outraged by it, giving away part of the plot in the process.

First of all, this is not a Disney-like film, though if you are reading it, I think you are fully aware of the differences. The story told is for grown-ups, not on account of fornification or violence, but because of its depth. We are dealing here with a sad. pessimistic and depressing story. Take this into account when renting or buying the film. This is about people living in a period of hardship, opression and darkness. Of people trying to survive, love and reach happiness, unaware of the powerful forces that are shaping their present and future. If you are expecting light entertainment, non-stop action or fornification, save your money and pick up another film.

Another interesting point is that this film is also a fairy tale, a variation on a very famous one, Little Red Riding Hood, only that the version used is not the one everyone knows. Personally, I consider it as a story more touching, misterious and evocative than the most spred one. Take also into account that the version the characters of the film read was not written for the film, is one alternative, as ancient and valid as the one your grandpa or grandma told you when you were a child

About the animation, you can see some mistakes, but, being the film taking place in the fifties, you can realize is completely deliberate to create the athmosphere

To conclude, for those who will watch the film, at first sight you can thing that the characters seem unconcerned and withdrawn. Wait for the end and you will realised why they refuse to love and show human feelings