Roujin-Z

In the early 21^st century, Japan faces a crisis as it’s medical resources are being overwhelmed by the number of elderly patients in need of care.  To combat this issue, the Ministry of Public Welfare creates the Z-001: a fully automated hospital bed that can tend to any elderly patients needs.  It’s built to be perfect…but the truth is far from it.  When messages from the prototypes test subject, Kijuro Takazawa, begin reaching out to his beloved nurse, Haruko Mitsuhashi, it’s only the beginning of something more than a simple malfunction.  Soon, the Z-001 shows its true colors and it’s determined to help fulfill Takazawa’s wishes and no one is safe from the rampage its about to unleash.

I remember seeing a small portion of Roujin-Z during an Anime Night screening on the SciFi Channel when I was a kid and was always fascinated by it. Not only is the title cool (hey, given how young I was if the title had Z in it that automatically made it cool), but you had some sort of sentient robot bed with an old man at its core causing havoc in poor Tokyo, how can you not be curious about that.  Having now watched it from beginning to end, I can certainly say it is a very fun scifi action comedy from two of Anime’s most celebrated masters.  And while it has messages that kind of get drowned out by an insane second half, Roujin-Z still succeeds by being a dumb fun 80min flick that many can appreciate.
 
Roujin-Z comes to us from a man who needs little introduction in the Anime world: Katsuhiro Otomo, who came up with the original concept and did the screenplay, though he sits out directing duties in favor of Hiroyuki Kitakubo (Blood: The Last Vampire).  While the film does have some of the same elements that made Akira the much lauded master work that it is, Roujin-Z’s tone is very much the opposite.  What begins as a film with a message/warning about trying to replace human care for the elderly with pure technology eventually decides to just let a sentient robotic hospital bed go amok and let the audience have fun with it.  Essentially, Roujin-Z trades in the graphic violence and mature storytelling of Akira in favor of a might light hearted comedic disaster flick.  As a side effect, it doesn’t result in the same depth and thought provoking themes as Akira.  But I’d hardly call that a bad thing.  If nothing else, Roujin-Z shows audiences that Katsuhiro Otomo can do more than just blood soaked cyberpunk brilliance.  He also knows when to just have some fun with a zero bodycount. 
 
I really liked the cast of this movie, especially the three leads.  I feel so bad for Takazawa being thrust into such a unique but painful looking situation.  While he only has a few lines in the movie, the look on his face says all you need to know about how the old man feels being locked into a machine that doesn’t know what he really wants.  Haruko is something of a strange protagonist.  You don’t understand why she’s so dedicated to her patient and even the film only speaks of it once in a bit of dialogue that almost feels like it’s a throw away rather than a critical part of her character.  Still, Haruko’s a cute and seriously committed nurse that every elderly patient would be lucky to have.  Tarada almost steals the entire show as he goes from idealistc and excited over the Z-001 to the point of pure stubbornness over the clear problems its showing, to a true hero who comes to Haruko’s aid when the going gets rough.  Special shout out to the old men in the Old Folks ward who turn out to be pretty skilled and hilarious hackers, these guys deserve their own movie for sure.
 
The animation quality is pretty good for an early 90’s Anime feature, about as good looking as Patlabor: The Movie, which honestly the plot and Haruko’s character design gave me vibes from.  There’s so much going on during the big action chase scene in the second half it’s just crazy.  The way the Z-001 absorbs and assimilates various structures, vehicles and little odds and ends could not have been an easy thing to animate and you feel the effort put into every little movement the mecha bed makes.  I also really like the darker, more foreboding bits in the first half.  When hints are dropped about Takazawa’s caretaking machine, it’s done in a room with little to no light and the way messages flash or slight hints are dropped, there’s almost a very horror centric vibe to it.  Director Hiroyuki Kitakubo uses the same kind of tactics to build to an incredible pay off that he did with Blood: The Last Vampire, only it’s with a mecha bed with a kind voice and not a ravenous Vampiric monster.
 
It might not break the same boundaries or push the same limits as Akira, but Roujin-Z still deserves to be counted as one of Katsuhiro Otomo’s best projects.  It’s a movie meant to just be a wildly fun thrill ride about an old man’s last wish being carried out by a sentient transformable mecha and the super cute nurse who will see her job done no matter what.  It’s meant to be funny, it’s meant to be action packed, it’s meant to be the kind of strange but visually rewarding experience that Anime always is.  Hey, when I get to be Takazawa’s age, I wouldn’t mind this kind of medical protection from the Z-001…just as long as all the city destroying bugs are worked out first (also the last scene of the movie, freaking brilliant).
 
9/10