Rating: 
Summary: what a waist of my time
Review: Finally- a movie with an original plot! Very, very funny anime, definitely worth seeing.
Rating: 
Summary: well...
Review: I bought this movie on a whim, what i got was worth the money, but jus barely. the story in general was very funny, well planned and really makes you think about how we treat our elders (Not as people but as burdens) and the characters were very fun and you could easly relate to them however, there is little action and the animation is somewhat poor. I would recomend this movie to people who understand wit, sarcasm, and social satire. In other words, any one who thought that dumb and dumber was an excelent flim will hate this movie.
Rating: 
Summary: One of my 10 favorite movies
Review: I'm not that much of a fan of anime but this along with Sailor Moon are the only two animes that appeal interest to me.This is a great story about an old man Takazawa, being put into a bed, the Z-001 created by Terada, a big bully like man. The bed will do anything for Takazawa and his nurse Haruko (who looks like my sister) knows that Takazawa doesn't like being inside of it. Thus begins a wild ride as the bed later begins thinking it's Takazawa's wife and it goes bezerk across the city en route to the beach at Kamakura. This movie is also pretty funny especially the three old men who Haruko meets in the hospital. I certanly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: "Old Man" Z -- Original DVD Review (Not Special Edition)
Review: INTRO: To start, I was kinda' dissapointed when I figured out this wasn't the DVD release with the extras on it. But then I found out that the "movie" itself wasn't too bad either. :) DVD: The DVD basically was easy enough to get to the movie so I can't say anything bad about the menus or anything. The basic - Jap/Eng audios are available, which is always a must for anime or foreign films. EXTRAS: There are none on this version of the DVD so I can't complain too much since its my own fault...by the Special Edition for extras. STORY/PLOT: This movie is very good. It almost (but not quite) beats Akira (also by Katsuhiro Otomo) in the fact that it mixes a lot of aspects from Akira and incorporates it into a PG-13 (at most) rated movie. Even though they say this movie is about PG-13, I could show this to a kid with no worries really. But then again, that's just me...The movie explains about taking care of the elderly and manages to mix in some great action as well. Its too strange to explain, so just see it to believe me. OVERALL: Overall, I really liked this movie/dvd. I recommend it to anyone that likes Anime, AKira, or works by Katsuhiro Otomo. I will still get the Special Edition for the extras, but this version (the one that started it for me) will always remain in my DVD library.
Rating:
Summary: "Old Man" Z -- Original DVD Review (Not Special Edition)
Review: INTRO: To start, I was kinda' dissapointed when I figured out this wasn't the DVD release with the extras on it. But then I found out that the "movie" itself wasn't too bad either. :) DVD: The DVD basically was easy enough to get to the movie so I can't say anything bad about the menus or anything. The basic - Jap/Eng audios are available, which is always a must for anime or foreign films. EXTRAS: There are none on this version of the DVD so I can't complain too much since its my own fault...by the Special Edition for extras. STORY/PLOT: This movie is very good. It almost (but not quite) beats Akira (also by Katsuhiro Otomo) in the fact that it mixes a lot of aspects from Akira and incorporates it into a PG-13 (at most) rated movie. Even though they say this movie is about PG-13, I could show this to a kid with no worries really. But then again, that's just me...The movie explains about taking care of the elderly and manages to mix in some great action as well. Its too strange to explain, so just see it to believe me. OVERALL: Overall, I really liked this movie/dvd. I recommend it to anyone that likes Anime, AKira, or works by Katsuhiro Otomo. I will still get the Special Edition for the extras, but this version (the one that started it for me) will always remain in my DVD library.
Rating:
Summary: Roujin Z, big robots and old men make strange bed fellows
Review: It's an unspoken rule in film production that any movie with an all star cast or crew is going to be terrible, take the recent movie "A.I." for example. Roujin Z manages to break the mold. The film was designed by Katsuhiro Otomo, (famous for his previous work AKIRA)directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo (worked on Patlabor-The Movie with Mamoru Oshii) and animated by Fumio Iiada (Wings of Honneamise). The visual style is an interresting blend between Iiada's and Otomo's artwork, the animation is very high quality (though somewhat outdated), and the character designs and motion capturing are some of the best I've ever seen. The story takes place in Japan, where the government is having difficulting dealing with it's aging population. The solution? The new Z-001, a robotic bed to cover a patients every need. Elderly invalid Takazawa is volunteered by his family to test the new bed, and is thus stripped from his volunteer nurse, Haruko. When Takazawa's bed sends out a distress signal Haruko and her friends race to the rescue, but the bed has become more than just a simple care unit. Now the bed has become an unstoppable robot, imbued with the personality of Takazawa's deceased wife and hell bent on visiting the beach! It should be noted that this film was published in the US by USMANGA Corps, the sorriest bunch of adled sods that have ever disgraced the animation industry (disney aside). The dubbing is, of course, horrible beyond belief, so stick to the subtitles.
Rating: 
Summary: why is it so hard to find great animation with a great story
Review: It's an unspoken rule in film production that any movie with an all star cast or crew is going to be terrible, take the recent movie "A.I." for example. Roujin Z manages to break the mold. The film was designed by Katsuhiro Otomo, (famous for his previous work AKIRA)directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo (worked on Patlabor-The Movie with Mamoru Oshii) and animated by Fumio Iiada (Wings of Honneamise). The visual style is an interresting blend between Iiada's and Otomo's artwork, the animation is very high quality (though somewhat outdated), and the character designs and motion capturing are some of the best I've ever seen. The story takes place in Japan, where the government is having difficulting dealing with it's aging population. The solution? The new Z-001, a robotic bed to cover a patients every need. Elderly invalid Takazawa is volunteered by his family to test the new bed, and is thus stripped from his volunteer nurse, Haruko. When Takazawa's bed sends out a distress signal Haruko and her friends race to the rescue, but the bed has become more than just a simple care unit. Now the bed has become an unstoppable robot, imbued with the personality of Takazawa's deceased wife and hell bent on visiting the beach! It should be noted that this film was published in the US by USMANGA Corps, the sorriest bunch of adled sods that have ever disgraced the animation industry (disney aside). The dubbing is, of course, horrible beyond belief, so stick to the subtitles.
Rating:
Summary: Too sterile
Review: Movies in general and anime in particular are a medium of art, and can be used to intrigue, provoke, and express criticism (in the case of this movie, social criticism), which is all welcome; but some movies get so caught up with the point they're trying to make that they forget they are not just some manifesto but also a piece of entertainment, and in this respect Roujin Z is too unfocused. Is it an action movie? No, since there's in fact only one action scene at the end. Is it a comedy? It could have been, and it had great potential, especially with some of the older characters, but it just doesn't make an effort to be a comedy. Is it a drama? Hardly - how can it be with one of its lead characters (the old man) saying maybe three or four sentences during the movie? In short, the movie is so involved with the message it is trying to get across that it forgets it also has to entertain, and a movie which does not entertain is, in my eyes, as good as a piece of art which does not provoke some sense ot beauty, or a book which you have to struggle to get through.
On the technical side, animation quality isn't so high at the beginning of the movie, but towards the end and the action that accompanies it, it makes a quantum leap and reaches very high standards (*anime* standards, that is), say, those of Wings of Honneamise or some Miyazaki movie. As always I salute the animators for breathing such life into the characters, but this does not redeem the movie. In short, rent before you buy.
Rating:
Summary: A very, very funny anime...one heck of a ride!
Review: Roujin Z is the story of Haruko, a young nurse caring for Takazawa, an invalid. A corporation, wishing to rid the world of the care the elderly, builds the Z-001, a hospital bed capable of tending to Takazawa's every need. Haruko decides it's her responsiblity to save him, and things go nuts when the Z-001 begins believing it is his dearly departed wife, which is what Takazawa really needs. This film is written and designed by Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira) so you know it's gotta be cool. Even if you're not a big fan of anime, or cartoons in general, you owe it to yourself to check it out...it's a jewel.
Rating:
Summary: an anime classic
Review: The premise is simple: to ease the caring for the elderly, the government decides to experiment with automating said care, until the robot caretaker decides to take its charge on a trip to the beach! The result is both humorous and a biting commentary on how we view our elders. Roujin Z is a fun down-to-earth story with a doozy of an ending. I'd recommend it to newcomers to the anime genre - even above other classics like "Akira" - because the story is so much more human and focused. Just don't expect an action-fest. The DVD itself is quite sparse with only a language choice and chapter select. The only annoyance I had was the movie starts without going through the menu first. But the excellent story makes this one worth owning regardless.
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