Roujin Z

Roujin Z is a theatric production by Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira) that originally premiered in Japan in 1991 which comes up with a solution of what to do with the, then, soon to be large elderly population.

    Tackling a problem that Japan is now beginning to face as the baby boomer generation is retiring; Roujin Z takes place in the 21^st century and centers around one of the government’s answers for how to effectively manage the growing healthcare problem with the elderly. In a world where there are more old people than young there are many who do not receive adequate enough care to maintain a comfortable existence. A group of scientists and heath care professionals have designed a robotic hospital bed that can automatically do all the things a nurse would do for a typical elderly patient. With this invention the aged can remain in the comforts of their home and live their lives as they want to without being cooped up in a nursing home or hospital. Kiyuro Takazawa is their unwitting test subject as he is an aged and dying widower with no other family members. The bed malfunctions and begins to transmit messages of suffering to the nursing student, Haruko, who cared for him before he was ‘volunteered’ to test out the bed. Soon the bed goes haywire and begins to develop a minor AI that thinks it is Takazawa’s dead wife. With the help of a band of geriatric hackers Haruka rushes to her old patients rescue before the military destroys the bed with him inside of it.

    This is a very light and comedic movie which becomes somber as it progresses. Otomo uses the comedic situations in the story to send a few messages to the audience; messages about abandoned elderly, relying too much on technology to replace humanity and the encroaching problem facing Japan as its population gets older and older. The character and mech designs are pure Otomo style. The characters are based on normal people, so you won’t find any huge eyes, small mouths and enlarged breasts. The story moves quickly and is self contained with only enough character development that is needed for the few major characters. It is what an anime movie should be. The only reason it is anime is because it is animated, it could easily be made live action with today’s technologies…but it doesn’t need to be. The animation is dated, but the story is not, especially now when Japan is beginning to face the problem of what to do with the large number of retired citizens and the rapidly decreasing youth population.

    This is a little remembered movie by one of the most respected people in the field. If you are a fan of Memories or A Girl who Leapt Through Time this is a movie that will fit in well with your tastes.