[ANIME] Roujin Z (1991)

I mention Katsuhiro Ootomo because it's his work, not created with him as a director though. Some find the need to compare it to Akira, but I find it really weird. First of all, it's two completely different stories, second of all, Katsuhiro did not direct this and lastly same people who expect Akira would say stuff like - this looks too much like Akira, if th story really resembled it and they would never feel satisfied that way or another.

Roujin Z mainly tells a story of a young woman Haruko who takes care of an elderly man as a caregiver. When suddenly this elderly man, Mr Takazawa, is selected as a subject to take part in testing Project Z. This project was initially directed at making the process of taking care of elderly people who are not capable to physically take care of themselves easier, but it also raises the question of robotics and also the moral question of is it really correct to leave elderly to cold machines.

Young Haruko whose grandma died in a lonely way cannot shake the conviction that this is wrong and elderly people need the human care and support. This is why she tries to help Takazawa-san who sent a SOS message through the computer.

The story takes a humorous and almost absurd path when failing to do so Haruko finds several elderly me i her hospital capable of hacking the main computer of Project Z, this bio-computer actually is partially AI and capable of self-development, but being awakened in such a way the computer, which used the voice of deceased wife of Mr Takazawa decides to take him on a journey to the beach because this is everything Mr Takazawa had been dreaming about these days.

But one thing is to wish for it, another is how public witnessed a huge bed-robot-machine drives through streets of Japan, wreaking havoc and demolishing things because it's that huge, while police and participants of this project try to stop it and return it to its place.

This anime does not discuss but still raises the question of elderly care. Is it really alright to leave them in the care of machines, even if machines are capable of providing all the care needed and even offer some form of entertainment. Although Takazawa is the central figure of this anime, but mainly he doesn't even speak well and only repeats the same thing over and over again. So is it really correct to deprive him from fulfilling some lasting wish to visit the beach where he remembers the happiness he felt together with his wife.

It's the type of story that is ridiculous, but also sad.

Well, and they really crashed that city.

RATE: 8/10.