Audience reviews
17 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
immosha
Part social commentary, part slapstick comedy, Roujin Z is a well-animated product of its time that has held up surprisingly well into the 2020s.
I will preface this review by saying I grew up watching the Kochikame 90s style of slapstick comedy - it's certainly not for everyone, but I will say Roujin Z does pull this type of comedy off extremely well. The 90s were Japan's first foray into lost decades, and this movie, being made in '91, kicked off the angst of these times by addressing clearly the primary terror gripping the Japanese youth - what are we going to do about our aging boomer population? Now obviously that problem has only gotten worse over the past three lost decades, but watching this movie in 2025 does make you question: why has Japanese animated media completely abandoned…
Read at the sourceNeimaj
Roujin Z is good. It surprisingly spoke more to me than what I was expecting. Roujin Z was created by Katsuhiro Otomo, the creator of one of, if not the most widely acclaimed and impactful anime movie of all time, Akira. I just want to preface that while I do think this movie is good for more personal reasons, don't go jumping in thinking it might be on the same level of quality as Akira. Although it really doesn't need to. Roujin Z is a "dark" comedy, sci-fi movie themed around cherishing and sympathizing with our elderly population. More specifically, Japan's elderly population. And it's pretty damn solid.
The three most important characters we're introduced to are Takashi Terada, Kijuro Takazawa, and Haruko Mihashi. Haruko is a college student and a student nurse who takes care of Mr.…
Read at the sourceBiisoo
An extremely underrated movie by Katsuhiro Otomo (The director and creator of Akira).
I honestly dont know how I stumbled upon this movie but it was actually a really good one.
Story : Its about a society which is trying its best to provide welfare and care for its older residents (This plot alone is very unique). Basically the goverment funds a bed that takes care of the needs of the elderly and then everything goes wrong.
It's a movie that doesnt make sense on paper, but while watching it I definitely learned some important stuff like that we should care for our elderly more and cherish them. The main character is a nurse who wants to take care of the elderly. If we are strictly talking about the message to be gained here, its a pretty respectable one.
Now I'm gonna be honest , I was n…
Read at the sourcemkat
I quite liked the first quarter or third of it. Then...it devolved. It seemed to have been written by a horny 14 year old boy which took away from it quite a bit. The sexual jokes became tiresome. I actually liked the main character as she was the only likable one imo. I also liked the animation. It was also pretty funny seeing the old men hack the system. But, it was poor plot development and tiresome humour which killed this movie especially because it was dealing with a very serious topic. I don't know what this film was going for... absurd thriller comedy? It certainly had potential but blundered it. This film definitely derailed and wasn't or rather couldn't be saved.
Read at the sourceAhiru229
"Roujin Z" is one of these cases where the concept is interesting, but fails because of the way it is executed.
Story and enjoyment(4/10):
The concept is interesting enough to develop many themes, but it ends up not taking this opportunity, making Roujin Z more of an action movie with a bit of silly comedy than a cyberpunk work with ambitious themes like Akira (Work by the same author). In my opinion this movie is wasted potential.
Add to that the film is quite boring, the pacing is slow and there are the changes in tone from serious to comedy that make it impossible for you to take the film seriously.
And I don't like the ending either, it doesn't make any sense.
Character (3/10):
The characters are the worst aspect of the movie, the whole cast is very flat and one-dimensional.
The only…
Read at the sourceAnemoianArts
Roujin Z is a film which I very much enjoyed watching through for a first time. I didn't really have any sort of expectations going into it and was blown away by the densely detailed set pieces and lovingly animated scenes, along with it's unique premise that manages to propose thoughtful ideas without going into a place that lingers on being too serious.
Roujin z is pleasantly lighthearted in many areas, but its main themes primarily revolve around a topic that ultimately goes undiscussed often: how societies treat their elderly and the relation that has to automation. Sounds like the premise to a depressing documentary, but this movie manages to roll with it in an entertaining way that personally kept me gripped all the way to the end, not really knowing what was going to happen next, as…
Read at the sourceMaride2xro
I really don't know why this movie is classified as comedy because I didn't laugh in any moment. Anyways a great movie that make you think as a person and as part from a society who we treat our old people, this world makes us think that when you reach some age you do not serve for society, we are an egoistic society that we only look for people who can serve to us for something.
Another thing that this movie talk, and for me as a med student touch me so close home is how the health industry is working towards makes money and not for the and not for the common good of our patients, money is important of course but us as a health workers need to think in our patients too and how good or bad all those new things are doing to them.
I would have loved to see a little more in-depth developm…
Read at the sourcerooster_
Roujin Z is a somewhat underappreciated film from a time when anime was unafraid to directly satirize or undermine the shortcomings of industrial society, instead of obfuscating its criticism by way of fanciful terminology and fantasy world-building. The premise has only become more relevant with time: in the near future, an appliance that serves all the physiological and mental needs of the elderly is invented, finally liberating families from the bothersome task of taking care of the old. The consequences of ultra-busy contemporary society invalidating the emotional needs of the elderly and infirm spiral into a nuclear-powered disaster straight out of mecha anime. The fairly short movie's story gets to the point fast, and intends to have its message clearly heard. However, in its rush to…
Read at the sourcebullitbaby
Hey folks, another down to earth review from bullitbaby.
So ya say ya wanna blow off 90 minutes and have littlweto show for it but a silly smile on your face and a giggle in your chest. THEN YOUVE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE!
This movie comes with tongue in cheek futurism and a surprise ending that i loved. Why? Because its perfectly silly and a GREAT LAUGH.
No spoilers, cmon lets waste 90 minutes.
This is classic early 90s anime designed with a relatively simple plot common in the 90s. What wwas it? Computers will someday do everything for us but it will end in disaster when the machines take over.
What was 1991?
Teminator 2 (the long awaited)
WWW made available to everyone in august 91
year of 386 and debut of 486
Color computers for apple system 7 and adobe photoshop 2.0 release changes…
Read at the sourcejordanhig92
Roujin Z is bad. People say if you like Akira you will like this. Now I like Akira a lot even though I think its flawed but this is just bad. The story is boring and is paced horrifically slow feels like its dragging, the characters are unlikable and annoying at times and have a lot of dumb moments and the ending comes out of nowhere and makes absolutely no sense. The only good thing going for Roujin Z is its animation which is quite good but apart from that this is not worth your time as it will be a massive disappointment as it was for me.
Read at the sourceephemerry
I thought Roujin Z, or Old Person Z, was a really cool movie. I wasn't aware of how visually iconic it was until watching it and realizing the things that had taken inspiration from its visual style. It brought to life all of my fears of being elderly and having all of your human rights taken away from you by a medical establishment. This film takes that trepidatious thought a step further and imprisons an old man in a care-taking robot, that then adopts the personality of his deceased wife and comes to life because biotechnology.
• Next time you think of bio-tech, just think of the iPhone Ten, X, whatever you want to call itーwith its crazy, larger than life bio-chip… then think of Roujin Z. We are so close to androids and organic technology that it is frightening! Your iPhone may start f…
Read at the sourceKUNYIT
Story: 9 (this is not shallow. this is not lack of development. this is parsimonious model of story)
Art: 9 (i like the art, animation, and pale color...typical old anime style)
Sound: 5 (not so engaging, but that's okay)
Character: 7
Enjoyment: 9
Overall: 10
When coming to Mecha, often i see similar theme that was either wars between parties involved to get limited resources or protecting their home from evil darkness. This theme was okay for us at appropriate amount but human being cannot accept this amount when it exceed the inflection point where, after that point, the level of enjoyment becomes gradually decreasing. Unfortunately, back from the history of anime to the recent anime years, this theme has exceed our inflection point. It is just telling the same theme and pattern but at…
Read at the sourceLuquillo
Growing tired and frustrated with caring for the elderly simply because it's cost demanding and physically taxing. The government plans on putting to action "Project Z". They build a supercomputer dubbed Z-001, which is in the form of a bed that is linked to a persons brainwaves, and in theory provides all of the essential needs to care for them, which sounds like a great idea. However, it's devoid of the caring emotion that one needs from other people. Their first unwilling patient is Mr. Takazawa. The nurse caring for him named Haruko is uneasy about his situation, and she attempts to free him but there is more to the bed itself than expected.-summary
I'm not a rocket scientist and I never claimed to be one, but it doesn't take one to see the primary reason why this anime film is hailed…
Read at the sourceggultra2764
A somewhat serious, yet funny look into Japan's ignorance of its elderly population, Roujin Z explores an elderly man being dumped upon a machine to take care of all his needs at the cost of the man's personal dignity and independence. The feelings of ignorance towards the elderly are shown through Haruko and her group of friends seen at points throughout the film. While her friends and many among the public see the new Z-001 unit as a new convenience that frees up time and stress from caring for the elderly, Haruko sees it as taking away the personal interactions that the elderly can get from others caring for them. Takazawa and the Z-001 fleeing from their "caretakers" for the beach could also be seen symbolically as the elder man regaining the dignity and independence that was taken awa…
Read at the sourceBoltz
Roujin Z is a very imaginative and unique anime, unlike any other you've ever seen. If we take our elders from the loving hands of human beings and tug them under computer supervision, there are bound to be some unforeseen consequences. But I bet you never in your life could have imagined a computer nursing bed, turning into a self-upgrading mecha xD. The sole idea of it is incredibly hilarious!
In this satirical tone Katsuhiro Otomo(director of Akira) sets out to discuss the ever incresing problematic of aging population, which is even more actual today, than it was 20 years ago, when Roujin Z came to life. And he does so in a blatantly direct way, unlike many other anime that choose to address social problems in a more abstract way, under the cover of fantasy.
Roujin Z raises an import…
Read at the sourceRobdeFR
The story is pretty entertaining and the Otomo vibe is definitely there. You can see Otomos trademark for example in the character of a guy pretty similar to the character of the colonel of Akira and in the animation too, which is pretty good and you feel familiar with it, even though Otomo being not credited for the animation I get the feeling that he did something in that department.
The story is about a new invention, a super bed that is able to take care of the elders like a nurse can take and even more. The thing is that this new invention goes berserk as there is more to it than meets the eye.
We also had a little of a Akira vibe in the story perfectly mixed with Shynia Matsumoto “Tetsuo the Iron Man”, in the department when [spoiler]the machine went berserk and started to assemble…
Read at the sourceArchaeon
Roujin Z is a futuristic, satirically funny, morality tale written by the reknowned Otomo Katsuhiro, more well known for the classic manga and anime Akira. The movie was directed by Kitakubo Hiryuki (Blood: The Last Vampire, Black Magic M-66), and received a great degree of critical acclaim, partly because it was written by Otomo Katsuhiro, but mainly because it was a movie that showed how anime was able to deal with themes that conventional filmmakers would find extremely difficult to cope with, especially given the time of it's release.
The story is set in the 21st century, and opens with the alarming news that there are too many old people in the world. Now, as everyone knows, healthcare is always a hot topic in political circles, and Roujin Z is no exception. The story in Roujin Z is…
Read at the source