You know, I have seen thousands of movies in my life and a quarter of those films were animated. This has GOT to be the only time in my life that I have ever seen (or am likely to ever see) a movie about an asinine solution to the problem of health care for the aged.
The story: The Health Department decided that there are just too many old people in the world and not enough people who want to take care of them. So the solution comes in the form of a ridiculous contraption called the Z-001. Now get this: This is a robotic sickbed run by a sixth generation computer that an elderly invalid will be strapped into. The Z-001 will feed them, give them medicine take care of their basic functions, give them a bath and be their doctor. There is even a television on board.
The only person who seems to hate the Z-001 is the former nurse of the poor sod currently strapped into the prototype. She tries to help him escape but a complication arises. The computer has gone haywire and has taken of the personality of the old man's late wife. That's where the story REALLY gets interesting.
I would have had trouble imagining this story in any kind of movie live or animated. This is one of those wacky animated movies that come out of Japan and get lost on the video shelves here in the states. I have never seen anything like 'Roujin-Z'. No American animator would dare tackle a satire with this much bite, it is just too politically incorrect. I simply could not believe the level of mad genius and courage that went into making a movie like this.
It isn't perfect, the animation doesn't hold up to other anime features like 'Ghost in the Shell' or 'Grave of the Fireflies'. This one is sort of low rent. You have never seen a movie like 'Roujin-Z and are never likely to again.
The story: The Health Department decided that there are just too many old people in the world and not enough people who want to take care of them. So the solution comes in the form of a ridiculous contraption called the Z-001. Now get this: This is a robotic sickbed run by a sixth generation computer that an elderly invalid will be strapped into. The Z-001 will feed them, give them medicine take care of their basic functions, give them a bath and be their doctor. There is even a television on board.
The only person who seems to hate the Z-001 is the former nurse of the poor sod currently strapped into the prototype. She tries to help him escape but a complication arises. The computer has gone haywire and has taken of the personality of the old man's late wife. That's where the story REALLY gets interesting.
I would have had trouble imagining this story in any kind of movie live or animated. This is one of those wacky animated movies that come out of Japan and get lost on the video shelves here in the states. I have never seen anything like 'Roujin-Z'. No American animator would dare tackle a satire with this much bite, it is just too politically incorrect. I simply could not believe the level of mad genius and courage that went into making a movie like this.
It isn't perfect, the animation doesn't hold up to other anime features like 'Ghost in the Shell' or 'Grave of the Fireflies'. This one is sort of low rent. You have never seen a movie like 'Roujin-Z and are never likely to again.