A retelling of the fairytale, Little Red Riding Hood, Hiroyuki Okiura's debut feature, the Animé film JIN-ROH, is a tale of personal crisis amid intra-bureaucratic skulduggery. The film is set in an alternate reality in which Japan has emerged from World War II as a totalitarian society. The population riots, a group called the Sect creates havoc, and the armored Special Unit of the Capitol Police Organization (CAPO) plots to acquire more power. A soldier named Fuse, who was once one of the most formidable men in the Special Unit, agonizes over the death of a young girl who worked for the Sect and in doing so he becomes a neurotic mess intent on befriending the dead girl's sister.

Okiura, who was the character designer of GHOST IN THE SHELL, creates an unforgettable image of the Special Unit soldier: a dehumanized, armored figure with feral red eyes. Okiura's drama unfolds against a backdrop of very complex crowd scenes; the scenes are even more impressive considering that most of the work was done using traditional cel-animation techniques. Mamoru Oshii (director of GHOST IN THE SHELL) scripted the project, based on his KENROU DENSETSU. Punctuated by brief moments of violence, JIN-ROH is a psychological drama in which nothing is as it seems.

Theatrical release (Japan): June 3, 2000

"Jin" means man; "roh" means wolf.

After finishing PATLABOR 2, Mamoru Oshii was asked to work on a six-part video series based on his manga KENROU DENSETSU. However, Oshii decided to work on GHOST IN THE SHELL instead. He assigned the third episode of KENROU to Okiura, which eventually became JIN-ROH.

Mamoru Oshii has created two live action films--AKAI MEGANE (THE SCARLET SPECTACLES) and STRAY DOGS: KERBOROS PANZER COPS--that are set in the same world as JIN-ROH.

Yoshikaju Fujiki, the voice of Fuse, starred as the hero of the live action film STRAYDOGS: KERBOROS PANZER COPS.

Excerpt: "We aren't men disguised as dogs. We're wolves disguised as men."--Fuse's superior to Amamiya Kei

"Stories of animals getting involved with humans always have bad endings. Animals should have animal stories."--CAPO officer in reflection

DVD Features:

Region 1
Keep Case
Anamorphic Widescreen - 16:9
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - Japanese, English
DTS (unspecified) - Japanese, English
Subtitles - English - Optional
Additional Release Material:
Trailers - 1. Theatrical Trailers
2. Previews
Interactive Features:
Interactive Animated Menus
Scene Selection

Hiroyuki Okiura: Japanese anime director
Mamoru Oshii: Director/Japanimation

Minoru Takanashi: producer
Hidekazu Terakawa: producer

Hajime Mizoguchi: composer

Shuichi Kakesu: editor

"...JIN-ROH is something to behold....The narration is beautifully delivered over a series of handsome black-and-white stills..."
"...There's some nice animation to look at..."
"...Okiura's skillful cutting and eye for striking imagery give the film a power....A grim, brooding film of exceptional power..."