Roujin Z
Encyclopedia
is a 1991 Japanese
anime
film
directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo
and written by Katsuhiro Otomo
.
. The Z-001 takes complete care of the patient: it can dispense food and medicine, remove excretory waste, bathe and exercise the patient lying within its frame. The bed is driven by its own built-in nuclear power
reactor — and in the event of an atomic meltdown, the bed (including the patient lying within) would become automatically sealed in concrete. The first patient
to be "volunteered" to test the bed is a dying widower named Kiyuro Takazawa. He is an invalid who is cared for by a young nursing student named Haruko. The electronic elements within the Z-001 somehow manage to transcribe Takazawa's thoughts through Haruko’s office computer, and he uses the communication to cry for help. Although she objects to such treatment of elderly patients, Haruko begrudgingly seeks the aid of a group of computer hackers in the hospital's geriatric
ward to create and install a vocal simulation of Takazawa's deceased wife in the Z-001. However, once Takazawa wishes to go to the beach, the Z-001 detaches itself from its moorings and escapes from the hospital with the man in its grasp. Haruko's fears are then justified, as it discovered that the bed is actually a government-designed, experimental weapons robot.
in association with other companies including Movic
, Sony Music Entertainment Japan
, Aniplex
and TV Asahi
. The film was directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo
, who previously directed the "A Tale of Two Robots" segment in the APPP anthology film Robot Carnival
. The story and screenplay were written by Katsuhiro Otomo
, the director of Akira
. The characters were designed by Hisashi Eguchi
, the manga artist
known for Stop!! Hibari-kun!. Eguchi also played part in some of the film's animation, such as its smoke effects, alongside key animator Takeshi Honda
. Both Otomo and Mitsuo Iso
were responsible for the mechanical designs. The late Satoshi Kon
acted as the film's art director and set designer. Kon previously wrote the script for Otomo's live-action dark comedy
World Apartment Horror, though Roujin Z was the first anime on which Kon worked. The musical score was composed by Bun Itakura. Anime localization pioneer Carl Macek
was the film's sound design producer. The closing song is performed by Mishio Ogawa.
with a script adaptation by George Roubicek
. The dub was produced by Manga Entertainment
UK (a division of Central Park Media
) in 1994, and was licensed by Kit Parker Films with a PG-13 rating in the United States. The film debuted in the US at an international film festival in Fort Lauderdale during November 1994. It was screened in more than 30 cities in the country such as New York City
's Angelika Film Center
on January 5, 1996. Manga Entertainment marketed the film in English-speaking regions as being "by the creator of Akira".
Roujin Z first saw VHS
and Laserdisc
releases in Japan in 1991 and its first Japanese DVD release on August 21, 1999. An "HD
Master Edition" DVD was released in the region on April 13, 2005. The English dub was initially released on VHS by Manga Entertainment in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand in 1994. Image Entertainment
distributed the English version on DVD
in the US on August 26, 1998. Central Park Media re-released the movie on DVD on April 9, 2002, then again on April 27, 2004 under the US Manga Corps label. The home video
version is currently out-of-print in the US. The film has also been broadcast on numerous television networks worldwide, including the Sci-Fi Channel
, ImaginAsian
, the International Channel
, and the Funimation Channel
in the US.
The Roujin Z Original Soundtrack was made available for sale in Japan by Epic Records
on November 21, 1991. Roujin Z was adapted into a manga
titled , featuring the story by Otomo and illustrated by Tai Okada. It was originally serialized in the Kodansha
publication Mr. Magazine from March to December 1991. A single tankōbon
bound volume was published in Japan on December 12, 1991. No official English version exists, but Glénat
published a French edition on January 22, 1997.
of The New York Times
called it an “amusing futuristic morality tale,” noting how it “takes sharp digs at yuppie medical students who welcome a device that will enable them to discard their aging parents and concentrate on their careers.” Joey O'Bryan, reviewing Roujin Z for The Austin Chronicle, called the film "briskly paced, intelligent, exciting, and darkly funny."
Roger Ebert
, writing in the Chicago Sun-Times
, observed: “I cannot imagine this story being told in a conventional movie. Not only would the machine be impossibly expensive and complex to create with special effects, but the social criticism would be immediately blue-penciled
by Hollywood executives.”
Roujin Z won the Mainichi Film Award for animation in 1991. In 2001, Wizard Entertainment
listed the film at number 42 of its top 50 anime to be released in North America. The publisher's magazine Anime Insider
listed Roujin Z as the seventh-best anime comedy in its January 2004 issue.
Cinema of Japan
The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world – as of 2009 the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. Movies have been produced in Japan since 1897, when the first foreign cameramen arrived...
anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo
Hiroyuki Kitakubo
is a Japanese director, animator, and screenwriter.Kitakubo began work in the anime industry as a teenager, having worked on the 1979 Mobile Suit Gundam television series. He debuted as a director with the Cream Lemon episode "Pop Chaser" in 1985, then worked on films including Black Magic M-66...
and written by Katsuhiro Otomo
Katsuhiro Otomo
is a Japanese comic book creator, screenwriter and film director. He is best known as the creator of the manga Akira and its animated film adaptation. Otomo has also directed several live-action films, such as the 2006 feature film adaptation of the manga Mushishi.-Biography:Katsuhiro Otomo was...
.
Plot
Roujin Z is set in Japan during the early 21st century. A group of scientists and hospital administrators, under the direction of the Ministry of Public Welfare, have developed the Z-001, a computerized hospital bed with robotic featuresHome automation for the elderly and disabled
The form of home automation called assistive domotics focuses on making it possible for the elderly and disabled to remain at home, safe and comfortable. Home automation is becoming a viable option for the elderly and disabled who would prefer to stay in the comfort of their homes rather than move...
. The Z-001 takes complete care of the patient: it can dispense food and medicine, remove excretory waste, bathe and exercise the patient lying within its frame. The bed is driven by its own built-in nuclear power
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
reactor — and in the event of an atomic meltdown, the bed (including the patient lying within) would become automatically sealed in concrete. The first patient
Patient
A patient is any recipient of healthcare services. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, advanced practice registered nurse, veterinarian, or other health care provider....
to be "volunteered" to test the bed is a dying widower named Kiyuro Takazawa. He is an invalid who is cared for by a young nursing student named Haruko. The electronic elements within the Z-001 somehow manage to transcribe Takazawa's thoughts through Haruko’s office computer, and he uses the communication to cry for help. Although she objects to such treatment of elderly patients, Haruko begrudgingly seeks the aid of a group of computer hackers in the hospital's geriatric
Geriatrics
Geriatrics is a sub-specialty of internal medicine and family medicine that focuses on health care of elderly people. It aims to promote health by preventing and treating diseases and disabilities in older adults. There is no set age at which patients may be under the care of a geriatrician, or...
ward to create and install a vocal simulation of Takazawa's deceased wife in the Z-001. However, once Takazawa wishes to go to the beach, the Z-001 detaches itself from its moorings and escapes from the hospital with the man in its grasp. Haruko's fears are then justified, as it discovered that the bed is actually a government-designed, experimental weapons robot.
Voice cast
| Character | Japanese | English |
|---|---|---|
| Haruko Mitsuhashi (三橋晴子) | Chisa Yokoyama Chisa Yokoyama is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Tokyo. She is founder and head of her own voice company called Banbina after leaving Arts Vision. When she was a high school student, she was an assistant of Jump Broadcasting Station of Weekly Shōnen Jump... |
Toni Barry Toni Barry Toni Barry is a British voice actress. She is also known to fans of the television show Press Gang as Spike's American girlfriend Zoe.-Selected filmography:*Project A-ko - Asa*Dangaioh - Dira... |
| Takashi Terada (寺田卓) | Shinji Ogawa Shinji Ogawa is a Japanese voice actor and actor from Setagaya, Tokyo. He is affiliated with Office Osawa.He is best known as the dubover artist for Michael Douglas and Timothy Dalton, and for voicing Hyō in Fist of the North Star.-Television animation:... |
Allan Wenger |
| Nobuko Ohe (大江信子) | Chie Satō Chie Satō Chie Satō is a Japanese voice actress who has been featured in a number of anime shows. She is most known for portraying various characters on a number of Pokémon television shows and as Bo-chan in Crayon Shin-chan.-Anime :* Seigi Choujin vs... |
Barbara Barnes |
| Mitsuru Maeda (前田満) | Kōji Tsujitani Koji Tsujitani is a Japanese voice actor credited for voicing many anime and video game characters. Tsujitani is formerly affiliated with Sigma Seven.-Notable voice work:*3x3 eyes *Blood+ *Bola Kampung *Bondage Queen Kate... |
Adam Henderson |
| Kijuro Takazawa (高沢喜十郎) | Hikojiro Matsumura | Ian Thompson |
| Yoshihiko Hasegawa (長谷川良彦) | Shinsuke Chikaishi | John Fitzgerald Jay |
| Haru Takazawa (高沢ハル) | Masa Saito | Nicolette McKenzie |
| 1st Ache (老人A) | Huai Liu'er | Sean Barrett Sean Barrett (actor) Seán Barrett is a British actor and voice actor.He began acting as a child appearing on BBC children's television and in films such as Bang! You're Dead, War and Peace, The Genie and Four Sided Triangle.Years later he made many appearances in television and films including ITV Television... |
| 2nd Ache (老人B) | Hikojirou Matsumura | Blair Fairman |
| 3rd Ache (老人C) | Takeshi Aono Takeshi Aono is a Japanese voice actor and actor from Asahikawa, Hokkaidō affiliated with Aoni Production. He graduated from Hokkaidō Asahikawa Higashi High School.... |
Nigel Anthony Nigel Anthony Nigel Anthony, is a British theatre and television actor, who has also worked notably in radio with many broadcasts to his credit He is married to the actress Kate Binchy and is also an accomplished drummer with a wide knowledge of jazz.His theatre work includes The Taming of the Shrew, Happy... |
Production
The animation for Roujin Z was produced by Studio APPPStudio APPP
is a Japanese animation studio founded on June 22, 1984 and based in Suginami, Tokyo, Japan. A subsidiary company called Super Techno Arts distributed many of their properties in North America. The current president of APPP, Kazufumi Nomura, got his start working at Mushi Production...
in association with other companies including Movic
Movic
is a Japanese company which specializes in the publication of trading cards, figures, CDs, and other general media related to the anime industry. Movic is a part of the Animate group.-Anime involved in:*Ah! My Goddess: The Movie: Production...
, Sony Music Entertainment Japan
Sony Music Entertainment Japan
is Sony's music arm in Japan. SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Corporation and independent from the United States-based Sony Music Entertainment due to its strength in the Japanese music industry....
, Aniplex
Aniplex
, formerly known as Sony Pictures Entertainment Visual Works Inc. and Sony Music Entertainment Visual Works Inc., is a Japanese anime and music production and distribution enterprise owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan and established in January 1997...
and TV Asahi
TV Asahi
, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....
. The film was directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo
Hiroyuki Kitakubo
is a Japanese director, animator, and screenwriter.Kitakubo began work in the anime industry as a teenager, having worked on the 1979 Mobile Suit Gundam television series. He debuted as a director with the Cream Lemon episode "Pop Chaser" in 1985, then worked on films including Black Magic M-66...
, who previously directed the "A Tale of Two Robots" segment in the APPP anthology film Robot Carnival
Robot Carnival
is a Japanese anime anthology film released in 1987. It consists of nine shorts by different directors, many of whom started out as animators with little to no directing experience...
. The story and screenplay were written by Katsuhiro Otomo
Katsuhiro Otomo
is a Japanese comic book creator, screenwriter and film director. He is best known as the creator of the manga Akira and its animated film adaptation. Otomo has also directed several live-action films, such as the 2006 feature film adaptation of the manga Mushishi.-Biography:Katsuhiro Otomo was...
, the director of Akira
Akira (film)
is a 1988 Japanese animated cyberpunk science fiction film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, written by Otomo and Izo Hashimoto, and starring the voices of Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama and Taro Ishida. The screenplay is based on Otomo's manga Akira....
. The characters were designed by Hisashi Eguchi
Hisashi Eguchi
is a Japanese manga artist. He made his professional manga debut with Susume!! Pirates in the manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump in 1977. Other notable works include Stop! Hibari-kun and, more recently, the gag series Charamono. Eguchi married Japanese idol Mizutani Mari in 1990.-External links:...
, the manga artist
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
known for Stop!! Hibari-kun!. Eguchi also played part in some of the film's animation, such as its smoke effects, alongside key animator Takeshi Honda
Takeshi Honda (animator)
is a Japanese animator, designer, and animation director.Honda dropped out of Tokyo Design Academy and joined the original Gainax team. At Gainax, Honda debuted in drawing supervision at age 22. His debut as character designer was on the series Metal Fighter Miku, and he continued animating,...
. Both Otomo and Mitsuo Iso
Mitsuo Iso
Mitsuo Iso is a Japanese key animator, designer, anime screenwriter and director.His work mainly includes key animation starting in the late 1980s. Iso is known for his offbeat key animation in the prologue of Gundam 0080, large portions of Asuka's battle in The End of Evangelion and the first...
were responsible for the mechanical designs. The late Satoshi Kon
Satoshi Kon
was a Japanese anime director and manga artist from Kushiro, Hokkaidō and a member of the Japanese Animation Creators Association . He was a graduate of the Graphic Design department of the Musashino Art University. He is sometimes credited as in the credits of Paranoia Agent...
acted as the film's art director and set designer. Kon previously wrote the script for Otomo's live-action dark comedy
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
World Apartment Horror, though Roujin Z was the first anime on which Kon worked. The musical score was composed by Bun Itakura. Anime localization pioneer Carl Macek
Carl Macek
Carl F. Macek was an American writer and controversial anime pioneer and producer of the 1980s and 1990s.-Robotech and Harmony Gold USA:...
was the film's sound design producer. The closing song is performed by Mishio Ogawa.
Soundtrack
Release and marketing
Roujin Z premiered theatrically in Japan on September 14, 1991. An English-dubbed version was directed by Michael BakewellMichael Bakewell
Michael Bakewell is a British television producer. He is best known for his work during the 1960s, when he was the first Head of Plays at the BBC after Sydney Newman divided the drama department into separate series, serials and plays divisions in 1963...
with a script adaptation by George Roubicek
George Roubicek
George Roubicek is an actor, and a dialogue director and script adaptor for English-language versions of foreign films and television shows. Born in Austria in 1935, Roubicek appeared in a number of small roles throughout the 1950s, 60s and 70s, including the films The Bedford Incident, Billion...
. The dub was produced by Manga Entertainment
Manga Entertainment
Manga Entertainment is a producer, licensor and distributor of Japanese animation in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Australia and New Zealand...
UK (a division of Central Park Media
Central Park Media
Central Park Media was an American multimedia entertainment company based in New York City, New York, that was active in the distribution of East Asian cinema, television series, anime, manga and manhwa titles in North America prior to its bankruptcy in 2009...
) in 1994, and was licensed by Kit Parker Films with a PG-13 rating in the United States. The film debuted in the US at an international film festival in Fort Lauderdale during November 1994. It was screened in more than 30 cities in the country such as New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's Angelika Film Center
Angelika Film Center
Angelika Film Center is a movie theater chain in the United States that features independent and foreign films. It operates theaters in New York City and Texas. Its headquarters are in New York City.-History:...
on January 5, 1996. Manga Entertainment marketed the film in English-speaking regions as being "by the creator of Akira".
Roujin Z first saw VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and Laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
releases in Japan in 1991 and its first Japanese DVD release on August 21, 1999. An "HD
HD DVD
HD DVD is a discontinued high-density optical disc format for storing data and high-definition video.Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisioned to be the successor to the standard DVD format...
Master Edition" DVD was released in the region on April 13, 2005. The English dub was initially released on VHS by Manga Entertainment in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand in 1994. Image Entertainment
Image Entertainment
Image Entertainment, Inc. is an independent licensee, producer and distributor of home entertainment programming and film & television productions in North America, with approximately 3,000 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 250 exclusive CD titles in domestic release, and approximately 450...
distributed the English version on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in the US on August 26, 1998. Central Park Media re-released the movie on DVD on April 9, 2002, then again on April 27, 2004 under the US Manga Corps label. The home video
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
version is currently out-of-print in the US. The film has also been broadcast on numerous television networks worldwide, including the Sci-Fi Channel
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
, ImaginAsian
ImaginAsian
ImaginAsian Entertainment is a multi-media company based in New York City. Its main feature is a television network, iaTV, which premiered in 2004 and which focuses on entertainment featuring people of East Asian and South East Asian descent. There is also some South Asian content...
, the International Channel
AZN Television
AZN Television promoted itself as "the network for Asian America". It was run by International Networks, a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast Corporation. The channel’s programming targeted the fast-growing, young, affluent, English-speaking Asian American community...
, and the Funimation Channel
FUNimation Channel
The FUNimation Channel is a 24-hour cable network which broadcasts anime series in the United States. OlympuSAT was chosen as the exclusive distributor of the network....
in the US.
The Roujin Z Original Soundtrack was made available for sale in Japan by Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
on November 21, 1991. Roujin Z was adapted into a manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
titled , featuring the story by Otomo and illustrated by Tai Okada. It was originally serialized in the Kodansha
Kodansha
, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...
publication Mr. Magazine from March to December 1991. A single tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
bound volume was published in Japan on December 12, 1991. No official English version exists, but Glénat
Glénat (publisher)
Glénat Editions SA is a French publisher with its head office in Grenoble. The company publishes many things, including comic books and manga in France, Benelux, and Spain; it was founded by Jacques Glénat. The Spanish subsidiary has its head office in Barcelona. The Benelux subsidiary, Glénat...
published a French edition on January 22, 1997.
Reception
Critical reaction was positive: Stephen HoldenStephen Holden
Stephen Holden is an American writer, music critic, film critic, and poet.Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called it an “amusing futuristic morality tale,” noting how it “takes sharp digs at yuppie medical students who welcome a device that will enable them to discard their aging parents and concentrate on their careers.” Joey O'Bryan, reviewing Roujin Z for The Austin Chronicle, called the film "briskly paced, intelligent, exciting, and darkly funny."
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
, writing in the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
, observed: “I cannot imagine this story being told in a conventional movie. Not only would the machine be impossibly expensive and complex to create with special effects, but the social criticism would be immediately blue-penciled
Blue pencil (editing)
A blue pencil is a pencil traditionally used by an editor or sub-editor to show corrections to written copy. The colour is used specifically because it will not show in some lithographic or photographic reproduction processes; these are known as non-photo blue pencils...
by Hollywood executives.”
Roujin Z won the Mainichi Film Award for animation in 1991. In 2001, Wizard Entertainment
Wizard Entertainment
Wizard Entertainment, formerly known as Wizard Press, was a New York-based publisher of Wizard and ToyFare magazines, along with various special issues for each magazine and the annual Toy Wishes holiday guide....
listed the film at number 42 of its top 50 anime to be released in North America. The publisher's magazine Anime Insider
Anime Insider
Anime Insider was a monthly magazine published by Wizard Entertainment, consisting of news and entertainment pieces relating to the Japanese anime and manga subculture....
listed Roujin Z as the seventh-best anime comedy in its January 2004 issue.