Roujin Z
| Roujin Z | |
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Japanese film poster
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| Directed by | Hiroyuki Kitakubo |
| Produced by | |
| Screenplay by | Katsuhiro Otomo |
| Story by | Katsuhiro Otomo |
| Music by | Fumi Itakura |
| Cinematography | Hideo Okazaki |
| Edited by | Eiko Nishide |
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Running time
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84 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
Roujin Z (老人Z Rōjin Zetto?, lit. "Old Man Z") is a 1991 Japanese animated science fiction action thriller directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo and written by Katsuhiro Otomo.
Roujin Z is set in early 21st century Japan. A group of scientists and hospital administrators, under the direction of the Ministry of Public Welfare, have developed the Z-001: a computerized hospital bed with robotic features. The Z-001 takes complete care of the patient: it can dispense food and medicine, remove excretory waste, bathe and exercise the patient lying within its frame. The bed is driven by its own built-in nuclear power reactor—and in the event of an atomic meltdown, the bed (including the patient lying within) would become automatically sealed in concrete. The first patient to be "volunteered" to test the bed is a dying widower named Kiyuro Takazawa. He is an invalid who is cared for by a young nursing student named Haruko. The electronic elements within the Z-001 somehow manage to transcribe Takazawa's thoughts through Haruko's office computer, and he uses the communication to cry for help. Although she objects to such treatment of elderly patients, Haruko begrudgingly seeks the aid of a group of computer hackers in the hospital's geriatric ward to create and install a vocal simulation of Takazawa's deceased wife in the Z-001. However, once Takazawa wishes to go to the beach, the Z-001 detaches itself from its moorings and escapes from the hospital with the man in its grasp. Haruko's fears are then justified, as it is discovered that the bed is actually a government-designed, experimental weapons robot.
In his review of Rojin Z, Tony Rayns stated the film focuses on three primary issues: health care for the elderly, the stand-off between traditional values and modern technology and the Right's covert plants to re-militarise Japan.
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