neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
	Hiroyuki Okiura Voices of Michael Dobson, Mike Kopsa 1999 Special edition — two-disc set plus the soundtrack on CD; widescreen; Japanese, English audio tracks; English subtitles; special edition gatefold/slipcase; director/creator interviews; cast interviews; 12-page booklet; production art gallery; trailers.		An alternate post-World War II past, wherein the Nazis annexed and oppressed former Axis ally Japan, is the back story for one of the best, most ingenious animated features to ever flicker through a lens. Now that it's been dubbed into English, American audiences can appreciate its astonishing blend of realistic, distinct character design and speculative fiction. It has all the most appealing aspects of high-quality Japanese anime — detailed matte work, richly textured plots, displays of valor and emotion, evocative use of color and shading — and none of the idiosyncratic, off-putting stuff — the histrionics, the anatomical distortion and the confusingly similar facial features. The script by Japanese animator Mamoru Oshii ("Ghost in the Shell") traces the conflict between the police force and a cell of domestic terrorists that arises after the occupation. In the middle of the strife, Kazuki Fuse of the Wolf Brigade counter-terrorism unit is tortured by the image of a young rebel girl who dies in front of him.