sageb1
04-18-2004, 04:13 AM
*note: This review was made December 28, 2002 so links may be broken.
Jin-roh - Wolf Brigade
Writer: Mamoru Oshii
Director: Hiroyuki Okiura
1999 Mamoru Oshii / Bandai Visual - Production I.G.
2001 Bandai Entertainment - Viz Communications
1881
DVD Only
Released February 2001
Description (from English website at http://www.production-ig.com/JinRoh.html):
JIN-ROH is a tragic love story based on the classic children's fairy tale, "Little Red Riding Hood." The movie is set the 60's in Japan during an alternate time. Civic unrest is high prompting the formation of an underground terrorist movement determined to undermine the current political power. The main character of the story, Fuse, must come to terms with the true nature of his existence and decide between love and duty.
Rating: Adult with mature theme; blood and violence. NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 18.
SPOILER: The review contained in this guide may describe some scenes from Jin-Roh, as it is based on a subtle fusion of the author's thoughts after viewing the movie on DVD (the US edition) and his research on Jin-Roh on the Internet, including reading a few of the reviews given in the Links section of this guide.
Technical Details
The DVD works best with the DVD player software for your DVD player. It has not been tested on commercial DVD player units.
The DVD player software displays a menu to view the movie, select specific scenes of the movie to view, set up the player for language in English and Japanese for soundtrack and subtitles, view trailer previews of other movies and view credits for DVD production.
This menu has a background music loop consisting of drums, cymbals, and electric guitar in a 4/4 beat to set the mood.
Structure of DVD
Copyright
Bandai and Viz
Bandai Entertainment presents Emotion
Dolby
Menu
Play (movie)
Scene Select
18 Scenes are offered, 6 per page on 3 pages.
Setup (languages)
Setup Selections
English Dolby 5.1 Subtitles (On/Off)
Japanese Dolby 5.1
Japanese DTS 5.1
Trailers
Credits
I watched this movie in Japanese Dolby 5.1 with Subtitles turned on.
Main Characters:
Constable Kazuki Fuse (said "foo-seh") - a member of the Special Unit of the Capital Police, similar to police riot squad in real life, but with weapons limited to German history of alternate time period.
Nanami Agawa aka "Kurzes Haar" of terrorist cult "The Sect" - for the first part of the film
Kei Amamiya aka "Langes Haar" of terrorist cult "The Sect" - as plot device for character development of Fuse
Thoughts on Jin-Roh - Wolf Brigade
Introduction.
My thoughts on Jin-Roh are going to be streamed from my consciousness, and tend to jump around a lot.
So I'll try to place headers where appropriate so that it remains somewhat cohesive.
Indeed, these thoughts on Jin-Roh are coming from a quasi-leftist perspective with mild anti-government and anarchist rhetoric, limited by a strong non-violent pacifism.
Also, I've been reading other reviewers' impressions of Jin-Roh, and will refine this comprehensive spoiler/guide/review into a more cohesive article as I build up the links to gain a wider perspective of Jin-Roh.
The Politics of the 1990s Brings Nostalgia For 60's Style Revolutionary Revival
Jin-Roh is an alternate history rather than reality.
Yet, much of this alternate history is based on political thought popular at the time and place that it was set in (1960s).
According to Dan Delorme's review (http://dan42.com/jinroh/e/reviews.html), the time is 10 years after Nazi Germany defeated Japan, which implies that war dragged on until the mid- to late-1950s.
In this alternate history, Nazi Germany won the war - and possibly the US played no active part because the attempted coup by business men sympathetic to Germany may have overthrown Roosevelt.
Thus, from purely speculative position, Jin-Roh has several elements of political thought that need to be addressed.
Combined with the hindsight of the 1990s when society underwent a revival of revolutionary thought as the New Left coalesced into a powerful political group of the masses that helped bring down the Berlin Wall, pro-democracy groups aided in the overthrow of the Soviet state which had been weakened economically by invading Afghanistan and installing a puppet government allied with the Soviet Union.
The underground terrorist movement mentioned in the description on the English website for Jin-Roh is named "The Sect". The terrorists give German names to their operatives and organizations.
This implies that German culture infiltrated Japanese society after approximately 20 years of the Occupation by Nazi Germany.
In the movie, the terrorist who blows herself up is named Nanami Agawa, and given the code name "Kurzes Haar", or "Short Hair".
The terrorist who befriends Fuse is named Kei Amamiya, with the code name "Langes Haar", or "Long Hair".
Thus, the revolutionary thought that may guide The Sect is derived from 19th Century German socialism.
Indeed, according to the story synopsis at Viz, Japan lost a war to Nazi Germany.
"JIN-ROH's setting is Tokyo–not the Tokyo of the future, but of an alternate past. In the bizarre, ironic tradition of Philip K. Dick’s THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE, JIN-ROH presents a Japan that lost a different Second World War–not to America, but to Nazi Germany. Now, more than ten years after the defeat, the occupation troops have left, but their legacy is JIN-ROH’s twilight-zone city where the domestic terrorism of "The Sect" plays out in everyday bombings and street battles against the counterterrorist Capital Police–and their elite armored, helmeted, and red-goggled Special Unit." -- http://jin-roh.viz.com/story.html
Train The Police With Madness
"MADNESS COMES FROM FAIRY TALES"
–Political grafitti, postwar Germany
(http://jin-roh.viz.com/story.html)
One "training manual" for Fuse appears to be the original German fairy tale, Rottkäppchen (Red Cap Girl), which is familiar to the West as Little Red Riding Hood.
This "fairy tale" has elements of ritual cannibalism, talking animals that warn the girl about the truth, and filial piety to a "wolf in sheep's clothing", the Wolf masquerading as the girl's grandmother.
Here are different versions of Little Red Riding Hood in English:
http://www-dept.usm.edu/~engdept/lrrh/inventt.htm
What Jin-Roh Is Not About
Jin-roh - Wolf Brigade is not about Fuse being betrayed by a former Sect member and terrorist named Kei Amamiya in the aftermath of hesitating to shoot the young female Sect terrorist, Nanami Agawa, before she could blow herself up.
Rather, it is about a well-trained paramilitary member of the Special Unit force named Constable Fuse attached to Capital Police, who is scapegoated and later set up for a scandal.
He later figures out that he is being set up and uses his training to preserve the integrity of the Special Unit.
The love story about Fuse and Kei is mostly from Kei's point of view, for Fuse is actually on a training mission to redeem himself after hesitating to shoot Nanami and prevent her from blowing herself up.
A subtle undercurrent to the movie is how it objectifies terrorists as the "bad guys" when in truth, both the terrorists and the police are active players in a volatile political arena in an colder, darker alternate history.
Thus, there are no bad guys or good guys in reality; there are just active and passive players in real politics.
Everything else is just ephemeral - at least from the viewpoint of pessimistic realists.
Hence, Jin-Roh takes a fairy tale, a myth about morals and filial piety, complete with respect for the hunter and diabolization of the male stranger as Wolf, and twists it into a cold world of political machinations that treats females in a sexist way, all in the name of excessive violence, high-tech body armour and twist plot development.
Other reviewers can give a more comprehensive synopsis about Jin-Roh than I can; all I am expressing is a counterpoint to theirs.
Jin-roh as Preliminary Paramilitary Training for Agents of State Terrorism
In Jin-Roh, the story is in part about how terrorists are treated both by counter-terrorist "Special Units" and counter-intelligence in "Public Security" in an alternate future where post-war Japan, about twenty years after the Occupation, forms a Capital Police unit with Special Units consisting of "dog soldiers" in heavy armour suits, trained by the Special Unit commanders to counteract terrorism.
Jin-Roh illustrates what kind of training agents of state terrorism must undergo in order to fit into an elite branch of counter-terrorism which includes counter-intelligence.
After he hesitated to kill the girl known as Nanami Agawa, who sets off the bomb she is carrying, Fuse was made the scapegoat to bring down the Special Unit and embarass the Capital Police by Public Security executives.
Instead, counterintelligence within Special Unit and Capital Police use Kei as part of the training for the Wolf Brigade, of which Fuse is a well-trained member.
A Cold World Where Women are Pawns
This movie shows Kei as a weak emotional pawn being controlled by men.
Indeed, this sexist element is essential to the plot of the story, since a stronger emotional element would be escapist.
The subtle meaning is that love and romantic entanglements would interfere with the duties that Fuse must perform as member of the Special Unit.
This would also explain the snow scene in the hallucination Fuse experiences i.e. emotional detachment leads to cooling towards the inviting warmth of human relationships.
The attitude of the Special Unit commanders is that of training men who are more beasts than men, thus not treating them as human but as tools used to counteract a real threat to the State, terrorism.
The State Tailors Human Into Useful Tools Through Military Training
Fuse's meeting with Kei at Nanami's crypt wasn't a chance meeting, but well set up.
The attendant leading that woman turns up at the sewer as one of the five people of Special Unit to ready Fuse as dog soldier so he can eliminate Public Security's mop-up crew.
This movie illustrates that military and paramilitary training dehumanizes men so that they do not let emotions and feelings interfere with their work as agents for state terrorism.
Indeed, we know so little about Fuse, other than that as a Special Unit member, he found a place where he fits in.
So, we can speculate that he's a loner, who has been well-trained to assemble and clean his machine gun, who knows how to take down enemies with stealth, and who works well on his own.
At the same time, we get to know Kei, even if she is playing a role as disposable plot device, as a way of Fuse redeeming himself and saving Special Unit from being dismantled by Public Security machinations in collaboration with the local police.
As for the fantasy sequences that run through Fuse's mind, they are inspired by the original tale of Little Red Riding Hood, called Rottkäppchen (Red Cap Girl), which Kei gave him after their carefully arranged meeting at Nanami's crypt in the mausoleum.
In the end, so to ensure that Special Unit stays intact, Kei is shot by Fuse as she finishes reciting the part in Rottkäppchen where the girl gets into bed with the Wolf.
This recitation is done with hysterics that almost make Fuse lose his nerve again.
What's With the Grey VWs?
In this alternate past history, one vestige of German Occupation is that everyone drives Volkswagon cars.
Almost all the automobiles in this film are based on 1930s vintage VWs.
One gets a feeling that Japan became a vassal state of Nazi Germany, which makes one seriously wonder how the alternate world fared under the Nazis.
Perhaps Philip K. Dick's THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE might shed some light on what kind of world this might be -- along with movies like Barbwire and other similar movies put out on future worlds coloured by cultural values and philosophical ideals that reflect the close intertwining between fascism, patriarchal values, and right-wing conservative values.
Even so, this movie's salute to Volkswagons is tongue-in-cheek, since the vintage depicted in scenes is the pre-war model.
What's With the Wolves?
The extinction of Special Unit and the Capital Police is symbolized by the wolves, which as depicted in the film were local to Japan until the early 20th Century.
'There are also points in the film that may be difficult to understand for people who aren't very familiar with Japan. One is the (models of) wolves in the museum, which appear many times in the story. A review in some newspaper (sorry - I forgot which) criticized this is an example of "too much symbolism" of the film.
'Well, indeed there may be "too much symbolism", but people don't seem to be aware that those wolves are (most probably) of a kind called "Japanese wolves" (Nihon-Ookami), which were exterminated in the early 20th century. This implies the fate of Fuse or of the special unit as a whole.' -- http://dan42.com/jinroh/e/words.html#HowJinRohCameToBeMade
Like the Japanese wolves, the fate of the Special Unit and the Capital Police are being threatened by post-war prosperity and rivalry between Public Security, Capital Police and local police.
Thus, to avoid becoming extinct as a Special Unit member, one must not be led astray by petty emotional escapades involving love and romantic get-aways.
Hm... there seems to be a minor battle between logic/reason and emotion/feelings in Jin-Roh.
The members of the Sect are being guided by their feelings, the vital roots of their rebellion against a fascist government of a defeated Japanese nation, now vassal state of world Nazi dominance.
The police seem to be be guided by logic and reason, and being trained to transcend emotions and feelings, thus becoming effective and useful tools of the State.
One fantasy sequence shows Kei being ripped to shreds by wolves, which is alluding to her later execution by Fuse, after members of his team arrive in the sewers to ready Fuse for the final showdown with Public Security operatives, including Fuse's friend.
Fuse's Evolution as Character
After the girl with the satchel charge blows herself up, Fuse meets his friend at the museum to learn more about Nanami, and follow the trail to her crypt.
There, he meets with Kei to find out more about Nanami and to learn more about himself.
They spend time at a park, and later at a rooftop amusement park.
Later in the film, when he learns Kei is being chased by strange men in a telephone call, he decides to proceed there with caution.
This is after his friend gives him a warning about Kei.
He escapes with Kei and proceeds to where they last grew close: the amusement park.
This is when Kei admits her role as captured Sect terrorist, a pawn in the machinations by Public Security, the local police and Capital Police.
I feel this isn't so much character development as restricting the role of Constable Fuse to dog soldier.
Kei's Evolution As Character
Kei Amamiya first meets Fuse as sister of Nanami at her crypt.
When her role as "Little Red Riding Hood" is reveal, it is enough for us to see her as pawn not independent agent of change in this movie.
After meeting Fuse at the crypt, a planned encounter, she fell in love with Fuse.
Yet, with her admission that she isn't living her life under her own will, Kei Amamiya is only a pawn in the power struggle between local police and Capital Police as they integrate into a cohesive whole to counteract the terrorism wrought by The Sect.
Her admission of love at the critical scene is clearly contrived.
When Constable Fuse, in his armour and with his trusty machine gun, goes off to wipe out most of the local police and Public Security members aiming to gun him down, he does so cleanly and efficiently.
As for Kei, she's whisked off to the junkyard to be terminated by Fuse.
I feel then Kei was relegated to mere plot device to ensure that the theme of "man-wolf", of agents of state terrorism as "beasts", and of political machinations that will eventually eliminate members of the Special Unit is retained.
For Weapons Enthusiasts
See Dan42's site regarding weapons at http://dan42.com/jinroh/e/words.html#TheFirearmsOfJinRoh to see how uch authenticity the writer Mamoru Oshii added to this movie by paying specific attention to the details of weaponry used by The Sect, the Police and by Special Unit members.
Final Thoughts about Jin-Roh After Letting My Impressions Jump Around In My Mind
This movie is saturated in blood when the bullets fly.
It's a violent and nasty film, not suitable for children under 18, unless parental supervision is given.
There's even a few frames that reveal a breast briefly when the wolves tear Kei apart in the fantasy sequence.
I find the movie to be a cautionary tale, since it diabolizes terrorism and spends more time dealing with in an alternate history, allowing only for shallow development of characters, and instructing us to tolerate bloodshed at the sake of character development.
However, the plot is well done, since it emphasizes patriarchal values and treats emotions, feelings and the beginnings of love and romance as vain, useless tools of a dedicated terrorist.
Terrorism is the "bad guy" here, so Nanami's death by explosion and Kei's death by gunshot at Fuse's hand then become excuseable, handled more tastefully than the blood-drenched gunfire when a dog soldier springs into action.
Even Fuse is not a tragic figure: he's a gray horse, since it isn't until the end of the movie that we figure out his role in the grand scheme of things, as a tool of the State to counteract terrorism.
One can assume with some reservations that the subtle implication is that the State is the "good guy."
Overall though, this is not a movie where good and evil actually are motives for the characters, but are actually obstacles to be transcended or to get around through violence and subterfuge.
Jin-roh shallowly emphasizes the on-going training of Constable Fuse as a useful tool against terrorism, and the trivializing of love and romantic ideals as obstacles to such training.
The discerning viewer should look beyond the fancy big machine guns and think deeply what it means to be a member of the Special Unit.
Finally, Jin-Roh needs a fan base to write fan fiction (fanfic) and develop Fuse and other character beyond the shallowness of this movie.
About the Animation
Production I.G. does the animation cells for Jin-roh very life-like. When Kei gets up from the swing at the schoolyard/park, she swipes off dust or dirt from her skirt, just as a young Japanese woman might do.
The same thing seems to apply for scenes at the rooftop amusement park and throughout the length of the movie. Thus, I.G.'s current work with the new Ghost In The Shell movie in the works as well as the anticipated TV series should be as realistic.
Links
http://www.production-ig.com/JinRoh.html
The English site for Production I.G.'s Jin-roh.
http://www.jin-roh.net/
JIN-ROH Official Website
http://jin-roh.viz.com/story.html
JIN-ROH: The story -- a short breathless review that doesn't pick up on certain parts of the film.
http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/2000/dx001510.htm
This site is in Japanese - but gives the information off the DVD for the music in the movie.
http://www.production-ig.co.jp/anime/jin-roh/index.html
This is the Production I.G. website in Japanese.
http://members.aol.com/miyuki/jinroh.html
Miyuki gives a review of Jin-Roh.
http://www.ex.org/4.4/14-event_jinroh.html
Movie Premiere at the UCLA Anime Festival May 8, 1999
Synopsis of story and interview of Jin-Roh's director Okiura Hiroyuki.
http://dan42.com/jinroh/
Fan site by DAN42 gives more information on other stories that either inspired Jin-Roh -- the manga Kenrou Densetsu (Kerberos Panzer Cop) in Japan; and Hellhounds: Panzer Cops, published by Darkhorse Comics in America -- or is set in the Jin-Roh universe -- Jigoku no banken: Kerubersu (a.k.a. Stray Dogs) and Jigoku no banken: Akai megane (a.k.a. The Scarlet Spectacles). The review is recommended reading.
Jin-roh - Wolf Brigade
Writer: Mamoru Oshii
Director: Hiroyuki Okiura
1999 Mamoru Oshii / Bandai Visual - Production I.G.
2001 Bandai Entertainment - Viz Communications
1881
DVD Only
Released February 2001
Description (from English website at http://www.production-ig.com/JinRoh.html):
JIN-ROH is a tragic love story based on the classic children's fairy tale, "Little Red Riding Hood." The movie is set the 60's in Japan during an alternate time. Civic unrest is high prompting the formation of an underground terrorist movement determined to undermine the current political power. The main character of the story, Fuse, must come to terms with the true nature of his existence and decide between love and duty.
Rating: Adult with mature theme; blood and violence. NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 18.
SPOILER: The review contained in this guide may describe some scenes from Jin-Roh, as it is based on a subtle fusion of the author's thoughts after viewing the movie on DVD (the US edition) and his research on Jin-Roh on the Internet, including reading a few of the reviews given in the Links section of this guide.
Technical Details
The DVD works best with the DVD player software for your DVD player. It has not been tested on commercial DVD player units.
The DVD player software displays a menu to view the movie, select specific scenes of the movie to view, set up the player for language in English and Japanese for soundtrack and subtitles, view trailer previews of other movies and view credits for DVD production.
This menu has a background music loop consisting of drums, cymbals, and electric guitar in a 4/4 beat to set the mood.
Structure of DVD
Copyright
Bandai and Viz
Bandai Entertainment presents Emotion
Dolby
Menu
Play (movie)
Scene Select
18 Scenes are offered, 6 per page on 3 pages.
Setup (languages)
Setup Selections
English Dolby 5.1 Subtitles (On/Off)
Japanese Dolby 5.1
Japanese DTS 5.1
Trailers
Credits
I watched this movie in Japanese Dolby 5.1 with Subtitles turned on.
Main Characters:
Constable Kazuki Fuse (said "foo-seh") - a member of the Special Unit of the Capital Police, similar to police riot squad in real life, but with weapons limited to German history of alternate time period.
Nanami Agawa aka "Kurzes Haar" of terrorist cult "The Sect" - for the first part of the film
Kei Amamiya aka "Langes Haar" of terrorist cult "The Sect" - as plot device for character development of Fuse
Thoughts on Jin-Roh - Wolf Brigade
Introduction.
My thoughts on Jin-Roh are going to be streamed from my consciousness, and tend to jump around a lot.
So I'll try to place headers where appropriate so that it remains somewhat cohesive.
Indeed, these thoughts on Jin-Roh are coming from a quasi-leftist perspective with mild anti-government and anarchist rhetoric, limited by a strong non-violent pacifism.
Also, I've been reading other reviewers' impressions of Jin-Roh, and will refine this comprehensive spoiler/guide/review into a more cohesive article as I build up the links to gain a wider perspective of Jin-Roh.
The Politics of the 1990s Brings Nostalgia For 60's Style Revolutionary Revival
Jin-Roh is an alternate history rather than reality.
Yet, much of this alternate history is based on political thought popular at the time and place that it was set in (1960s).
According to Dan Delorme's review (http://dan42.com/jinroh/e/reviews.html), the time is 10 years after Nazi Germany defeated Japan, which implies that war dragged on until the mid- to late-1950s.
In this alternate history, Nazi Germany won the war - and possibly the US played no active part because the attempted coup by business men sympathetic to Germany may have overthrown Roosevelt.
Thus, from purely speculative position, Jin-Roh has several elements of political thought that need to be addressed.
Combined with the hindsight of the 1990s when society underwent a revival of revolutionary thought as the New Left coalesced into a powerful political group of the masses that helped bring down the Berlin Wall, pro-democracy groups aided in the overthrow of the Soviet state which had been weakened economically by invading Afghanistan and installing a puppet government allied with the Soviet Union.
The underground terrorist movement mentioned in the description on the English website for Jin-Roh is named "The Sect". The terrorists give German names to their operatives and organizations.
This implies that German culture infiltrated Japanese society after approximately 20 years of the Occupation by Nazi Germany.
In the movie, the terrorist who blows herself up is named Nanami Agawa, and given the code name "Kurzes Haar", or "Short Hair".
The terrorist who befriends Fuse is named Kei Amamiya, with the code name "Langes Haar", or "Long Hair".
Thus, the revolutionary thought that may guide The Sect is derived from 19th Century German socialism.
Indeed, according to the story synopsis at Viz, Japan lost a war to Nazi Germany.
"JIN-ROH's setting is Tokyo–not the Tokyo of the future, but of an alternate past. In the bizarre, ironic tradition of Philip K. Dick’s THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE, JIN-ROH presents a Japan that lost a different Second World War–not to America, but to Nazi Germany. Now, more than ten years after the defeat, the occupation troops have left, but their legacy is JIN-ROH’s twilight-zone city where the domestic terrorism of "The Sect" plays out in everyday bombings and street battles against the counterterrorist Capital Police–and their elite armored, helmeted, and red-goggled Special Unit." -- http://jin-roh.viz.com/story.html
Train The Police With Madness
"MADNESS COMES FROM FAIRY TALES"
–Political grafitti, postwar Germany
(http://jin-roh.viz.com/story.html)
One "training manual" for Fuse appears to be the original German fairy tale, Rottkäppchen (Red Cap Girl), which is familiar to the West as Little Red Riding Hood.
This "fairy tale" has elements of ritual cannibalism, talking animals that warn the girl about the truth, and filial piety to a "wolf in sheep's clothing", the Wolf masquerading as the girl's grandmother.
Here are different versions of Little Red Riding Hood in English:
http://www-dept.usm.edu/~engdept/lrrh/inventt.htm
What Jin-Roh Is Not About
Jin-roh - Wolf Brigade is not about Fuse being betrayed by a former Sect member and terrorist named Kei Amamiya in the aftermath of hesitating to shoot the young female Sect terrorist, Nanami Agawa, before she could blow herself up.
Rather, it is about a well-trained paramilitary member of the Special Unit force named Constable Fuse attached to Capital Police, who is scapegoated and later set up for a scandal.
He later figures out that he is being set up and uses his training to preserve the integrity of the Special Unit.
The love story about Fuse and Kei is mostly from Kei's point of view, for Fuse is actually on a training mission to redeem himself after hesitating to shoot Nanami and prevent her from blowing herself up.
A subtle undercurrent to the movie is how it objectifies terrorists as the "bad guys" when in truth, both the terrorists and the police are active players in a volatile political arena in an colder, darker alternate history.
Thus, there are no bad guys or good guys in reality; there are just active and passive players in real politics.
Everything else is just ephemeral - at least from the viewpoint of pessimistic realists.
Hence, Jin-Roh takes a fairy tale, a myth about morals and filial piety, complete with respect for the hunter and diabolization of the male stranger as Wolf, and twists it into a cold world of political machinations that treats females in a sexist way, all in the name of excessive violence, high-tech body armour and twist plot development.
Other reviewers can give a more comprehensive synopsis about Jin-Roh than I can; all I am expressing is a counterpoint to theirs.
Jin-roh as Preliminary Paramilitary Training for Agents of State Terrorism
In Jin-Roh, the story is in part about how terrorists are treated both by counter-terrorist "Special Units" and counter-intelligence in "Public Security" in an alternate future where post-war Japan, about twenty years after the Occupation, forms a Capital Police unit with Special Units consisting of "dog soldiers" in heavy armour suits, trained by the Special Unit commanders to counteract terrorism.
Jin-Roh illustrates what kind of training agents of state terrorism must undergo in order to fit into an elite branch of counter-terrorism which includes counter-intelligence.
After he hesitated to kill the girl known as Nanami Agawa, who sets off the bomb she is carrying, Fuse was made the scapegoat to bring down the Special Unit and embarass the Capital Police by Public Security executives.
Instead, counterintelligence within Special Unit and Capital Police use Kei as part of the training for the Wolf Brigade, of which Fuse is a well-trained member.
A Cold World Where Women are Pawns
This movie shows Kei as a weak emotional pawn being controlled by men.
Indeed, this sexist element is essential to the plot of the story, since a stronger emotional element would be escapist.
The subtle meaning is that love and romantic entanglements would interfere with the duties that Fuse must perform as member of the Special Unit.
This would also explain the snow scene in the hallucination Fuse experiences i.e. emotional detachment leads to cooling towards the inviting warmth of human relationships.
The attitude of the Special Unit commanders is that of training men who are more beasts than men, thus not treating them as human but as tools used to counteract a real threat to the State, terrorism.
The State Tailors Human Into Useful Tools Through Military Training
Fuse's meeting with Kei at Nanami's crypt wasn't a chance meeting, but well set up.
The attendant leading that woman turns up at the sewer as one of the five people of Special Unit to ready Fuse as dog soldier so he can eliminate Public Security's mop-up crew.
This movie illustrates that military and paramilitary training dehumanizes men so that they do not let emotions and feelings interfere with their work as agents for state terrorism.
Indeed, we know so little about Fuse, other than that as a Special Unit member, he found a place where he fits in.
So, we can speculate that he's a loner, who has been well-trained to assemble and clean his machine gun, who knows how to take down enemies with stealth, and who works well on his own.
At the same time, we get to know Kei, even if she is playing a role as disposable plot device, as a way of Fuse redeeming himself and saving Special Unit from being dismantled by Public Security machinations in collaboration with the local police.
As for the fantasy sequences that run through Fuse's mind, they are inspired by the original tale of Little Red Riding Hood, called Rottkäppchen (Red Cap Girl), which Kei gave him after their carefully arranged meeting at Nanami's crypt in the mausoleum.
In the end, so to ensure that Special Unit stays intact, Kei is shot by Fuse as she finishes reciting the part in Rottkäppchen where the girl gets into bed with the Wolf.
This recitation is done with hysterics that almost make Fuse lose his nerve again.
What's With the Grey VWs?
In this alternate past history, one vestige of German Occupation is that everyone drives Volkswagon cars.
Almost all the automobiles in this film are based on 1930s vintage VWs.
One gets a feeling that Japan became a vassal state of Nazi Germany, which makes one seriously wonder how the alternate world fared under the Nazis.
Perhaps Philip K. Dick's THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE might shed some light on what kind of world this might be -- along with movies like Barbwire and other similar movies put out on future worlds coloured by cultural values and philosophical ideals that reflect the close intertwining between fascism, patriarchal values, and right-wing conservative values.
Even so, this movie's salute to Volkswagons is tongue-in-cheek, since the vintage depicted in scenes is the pre-war model.
What's With the Wolves?
The extinction of Special Unit and the Capital Police is symbolized by the wolves, which as depicted in the film were local to Japan until the early 20th Century.
'There are also points in the film that may be difficult to understand for people who aren't very familiar with Japan. One is the (models of) wolves in the museum, which appear many times in the story. A review in some newspaper (sorry - I forgot which) criticized this is an example of "too much symbolism" of the film.
'Well, indeed there may be "too much symbolism", but people don't seem to be aware that those wolves are (most probably) of a kind called "Japanese wolves" (Nihon-Ookami), which were exterminated in the early 20th century. This implies the fate of Fuse or of the special unit as a whole.' -- http://dan42.com/jinroh/e/words.html#HowJinRohCameToBeMade
Like the Japanese wolves, the fate of the Special Unit and the Capital Police are being threatened by post-war prosperity and rivalry between Public Security, Capital Police and local police.
Thus, to avoid becoming extinct as a Special Unit member, one must not be led astray by petty emotional escapades involving love and romantic get-aways.
Hm... there seems to be a minor battle between logic/reason and emotion/feelings in Jin-Roh.
The members of the Sect are being guided by their feelings, the vital roots of their rebellion against a fascist government of a defeated Japanese nation, now vassal state of world Nazi dominance.
The police seem to be be guided by logic and reason, and being trained to transcend emotions and feelings, thus becoming effective and useful tools of the State.
One fantasy sequence shows Kei being ripped to shreds by wolves, which is alluding to her later execution by Fuse, after members of his team arrive in the sewers to ready Fuse for the final showdown with Public Security operatives, including Fuse's friend.
Fuse's Evolution as Character
After the girl with the satchel charge blows herself up, Fuse meets his friend at the museum to learn more about Nanami, and follow the trail to her crypt.
There, he meets with Kei to find out more about Nanami and to learn more about himself.
They spend time at a park, and later at a rooftop amusement park.
Later in the film, when he learns Kei is being chased by strange men in a telephone call, he decides to proceed there with caution.
This is after his friend gives him a warning about Kei.
He escapes with Kei and proceeds to where they last grew close: the amusement park.
This is when Kei admits her role as captured Sect terrorist, a pawn in the machinations by Public Security, the local police and Capital Police.
I feel this isn't so much character development as restricting the role of Constable Fuse to dog soldier.
Kei's Evolution As Character
Kei Amamiya first meets Fuse as sister of Nanami at her crypt.
When her role as "Little Red Riding Hood" is reveal, it is enough for us to see her as pawn not independent agent of change in this movie.
After meeting Fuse at the crypt, a planned encounter, she fell in love with Fuse.
Yet, with her admission that she isn't living her life under her own will, Kei Amamiya is only a pawn in the power struggle between local police and Capital Police as they integrate into a cohesive whole to counteract the terrorism wrought by The Sect.
Her admission of love at the critical scene is clearly contrived.
When Constable Fuse, in his armour and with his trusty machine gun, goes off to wipe out most of the local police and Public Security members aiming to gun him down, he does so cleanly and efficiently.
As for Kei, she's whisked off to the junkyard to be terminated by Fuse.
I feel then Kei was relegated to mere plot device to ensure that the theme of "man-wolf", of agents of state terrorism as "beasts", and of political machinations that will eventually eliminate members of the Special Unit is retained.
For Weapons Enthusiasts
See Dan42's site regarding weapons at http://dan42.com/jinroh/e/words.html#TheFirearmsOfJinRoh to see how uch authenticity the writer Mamoru Oshii added to this movie by paying specific attention to the details of weaponry used by The Sect, the Police and by Special Unit members.
Final Thoughts about Jin-Roh After Letting My Impressions Jump Around In My Mind
This movie is saturated in blood when the bullets fly.
It's a violent and nasty film, not suitable for children under 18, unless parental supervision is given.
There's even a few frames that reveal a breast briefly when the wolves tear Kei apart in the fantasy sequence.
I find the movie to be a cautionary tale, since it diabolizes terrorism and spends more time dealing with in an alternate history, allowing only for shallow development of characters, and instructing us to tolerate bloodshed at the sake of character development.
However, the plot is well done, since it emphasizes patriarchal values and treats emotions, feelings and the beginnings of love and romance as vain, useless tools of a dedicated terrorist.
Terrorism is the "bad guy" here, so Nanami's death by explosion and Kei's death by gunshot at Fuse's hand then become excuseable, handled more tastefully than the blood-drenched gunfire when a dog soldier springs into action.
Even Fuse is not a tragic figure: he's a gray horse, since it isn't until the end of the movie that we figure out his role in the grand scheme of things, as a tool of the State to counteract terrorism.
One can assume with some reservations that the subtle implication is that the State is the "good guy."
Overall though, this is not a movie where good and evil actually are motives for the characters, but are actually obstacles to be transcended or to get around through violence and subterfuge.
Jin-roh shallowly emphasizes the on-going training of Constable Fuse as a useful tool against terrorism, and the trivializing of love and romantic ideals as obstacles to such training.
The discerning viewer should look beyond the fancy big machine guns and think deeply what it means to be a member of the Special Unit.
Finally, Jin-Roh needs a fan base to write fan fiction (fanfic) and develop Fuse and other character beyond the shallowness of this movie.
About the Animation
Production I.G. does the animation cells for Jin-roh very life-like. When Kei gets up from the swing at the schoolyard/park, she swipes off dust or dirt from her skirt, just as a young Japanese woman might do.
The same thing seems to apply for scenes at the rooftop amusement park and throughout the length of the movie. Thus, I.G.'s current work with the new Ghost In The Shell movie in the works as well as the anticipated TV series should be as realistic.
Links
http://www.production-ig.com/JinRoh.html
The English site for Production I.G.'s Jin-roh.
http://www.jin-roh.net/
JIN-ROH Official Website
http://jin-roh.viz.com/story.html
JIN-ROH: The story -- a short breathless review that doesn't pick up on certain parts of the film.
http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/2000/dx001510.htm
This site is in Japanese - but gives the information off the DVD for the music in the movie.
http://www.production-ig.co.jp/anime/jin-roh/index.html
This is the Production I.G. website in Japanese.
http://members.aol.com/miyuki/jinroh.html
Miyuki gives a review of Jin-Roh.
http://www.ex.org/4.4/14-event_jinroh.html
Movie Premiere at the UCLA Anime Festival May 8, 1999
Synopsis of story and interview of Jin-Roh's director Okiura Hiroyuki.
http://dan42.com/jinroh/
Fan site by DAN42 gives more information on other stories that either inspired Jin-Roh -- the manga Kenrou Densetsu (Kerberos Panzer Cop) in Japan; and Hellhounds: Panzer Cops, published by Darkhorse Comics in America -- or is set in the Jin-Roh universe -- Jigoku no banken: Kerubersu (a.k.a. Stray Dogs) and Jigoku no banken: Akai megane (a.k.a. The Scarlet Spectacles). The review is recommended reading.