Jin Roh is scripted by Mamoru Oshii, whose previous work included such classics of the genre as Ghost In The Shell, Uresei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer and both Patlabor movies. The director is Hiroyuki Okiura, who worked on both Ghost In The Shell and Akira. Aside from Hayao Miyazaki, Oshii is arguably the biggest name in Japanese Anime. That his name is attached to this new film brings a great deal of expectations and attention. In fact, few recent Anime releases have been as anxiously awaited as this one. Unfortuately, too many Anime releases simply sink under high expectations. Jin Roh may inevitably suffer the same fate.
It takes place in an alternate version of present day Tokyo, one which is similar to our own, but different in enough ways to seem new. This sort of setting is not uncommon to Anime. It was used effectively is Wings Of Honneamise and many others. In this world there are little major threats left, but civil unrest is still a problem. An elite force known as the Capitol Police deals with mostly terrorist activity. During a riot we meet Fuse, a young member of that force, who is faced with a young girl terrorist. When he fails to shoot her in a confrontation in a sewer, she explodes a bomb in front of him. This leads to his trial and questioning. In the ensuing scandal, he is sent back to training academy where he is to be "re-conditioned" as a soldier. He meets the sister of the girl and obsessively begins a relationship with her. Not coincidentaly, he is haunted by the image of the young girls death and his part in it. Ultimately, nothing is as it seems, not the girl, not Fuse, not his friends or his reason for being at the academy. It turns into a story of intrigues and betrayal as two different factions plot for power within the police force, yet the rumored "Wolf Brigade" stands in their way.
There are a number of things right with Jin Roh. It is masterfully animated. The backgrounds and character designs are flawlessly executed. It may not be the trend setter that Ghost In The Shell or Wings Of Honneamise was, but it lacks nothing in the department of visual spectacle. I was disappointed that the film was not directed by Oshii, who has the best sense of pacing and development of any Japanese director (Miyasaki included). The direction is still effective, slowly peeling away layers of the intrigue until the plot is exposed. Never in a hurry, when Jin Roh reaches its climax, you are shocked at the finality of the resolution. The music score by Hajime Mizoguchi is excellent and ranks with the best scores in recent anime films.
Ultimately, there are several things wrong with the movie as well. It is unnecessarily violent. People aren't just shot, they are ruthlessly blown to pieces with blood showering the screen. While this certainly reinforces the message of the film, that people can be beast when conditioned to be, it is still jarring to watch in such a beautifully animated film. The most important thing wrong with Jon Roh is the downbeat message of the film. You find yourself caring about the characters and certain that a proper resolution can be reached. When the final resolution does come, it leaves only a cynical disappointment. If the final message is only that the nature of humankind is ultimately dark and violent, it achieves that very well.
Following so closely after America's own bout with terrorism, Jin Roh ask some dark questions about the nature of humanity. The terrorist in this film are protrayed mostly as pawns, insignificant except as used to further the ambitions of those in power. Neither side is shown as neccessarily wrong, but each faction playing their role as they are programmed to do. It also points out that the sacrifices that we make when we seek to strengthen ourselves may cost much more than our weaknesses ever could. It is a well made and intriguing film. It is one which will have you thinking about whether the only way to overcome human frailty is to become a beast. To that extent, it is a film well worth watching. Unfortunately, the answers that the film itself provide are unrelentingly dark.
