Jin-Roh [a.k.a. The Wolf Brigade] (1998)

Anime movies (of which this is one example) rarely get paid much attention in Britain or America by mainstream reviewers. They are frequently stereotyped - often incorrectly - as being merely eye candy full of giant robots, explosions and scantily clad teenage girls. While there are a fair number of anime movies that fit this stereotype, other examples of the genre are far superior and rival the best of American and European cinema in the quality stakes. This film - written by the director of the acclaimed “Ghost In The Shell” - definitely falls into the latter category.

From the start - a lengthy opening narration which sets up a post-World War 2 Japan where an oppressive government sets up an elite “Special Unit” of soldiers to fight anti-government terrorists - it is clear that this is not going to be an action-packed ride. Although there are a few violent and convincing action scenes, most of the movie consists of slow, thoughtful, character-driven scenes. The main plot of the movie deals with a Special Unit soldier who is sent back to training after being unable to shoot a female suicide bomber who then blows herself up. The soldier - named Fuse - becomes involved with the girl’s sister and also gets used as a pawn in a conspiracy by the ordinary city police to discredit the Special Unit. Another facet of the story deals with a rumoured organisation within the Special Unit called “The Wolf Brigade” which consists of “wolves in human form” who the government believe are dangerous and should be exterminated.

As can be seen from the plot synopsis there is plenty of depth in the storyline and the turmoil the character of Fuse experiences is well portrayed. The music and animation manage to convey a relentlessly downbeat mood which reflects well the themes of the movie. Although not much happens for long periods, the movie is still well enough drawn that it never really becomes dull and the general slowness of the plot increases the impact of the visceral violence that occasionally occurs. The soldiers of the Special Unit are particularly impressive, their battle armour and red-glowing night-vision goggles make them far more imposing than the giant battle robots of lower-quality anime movies.

As the movie goes on, the plot gets slowly more intricate until a shockingly abrupt climax. Unfortunately it also leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Although the movie never lacks in intelligence it doesn’t go out of its way to explain things either. By the time the movie ends we haven’t really learned much about the titular Wolf Brigade and the motivations of many of the characters are still shrouded in mystery. It is still possible to follow what is going on but it’s not a movie that gives up it’s secrets easily. It would be nice to have more explanation of the inter-departmental rivalries, the motives of the terrorist groups and in particular more exposition on what the Wolf Brigade is would be welcomed. There is something to be said for a movie which doesn’t blatantly explain it’s theme but I still feel the movie would benefit from more detail.

Another potential problem is the fact that the undeniably downbeat story doesn’t allow for much empathy with the characters. In fact, apart from Fuse and the terrorist’s sister it’s hard to care what happens to any of them, and we don’t ever learn much about even the main characters. Although the dystopian society is well portrayed, it’s not really all that interesting and is rather reminiscent of the dystopias in countless other sci-fi films.

To summarise, this is an excellently-drawn animated movie which is slow, thoughtful, frustrating and, ultimately, slightly uninvolving.

Rating : 7 / 10

All content ©2003 William Marnoch.

Comments? Agree/Disagree with the Reviews? Suggestions? Random Ramblings? Whatever you might want to say, feel free to e-mail me at william@wmarnoch.freeserve.co.uk .