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lead=yes is a 1991 Japanese anime science fiction action thriller film directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo and written by Katsuhiro Otomo. The animation for Roujin Z was produced by A.P.P.P..
The first patient to be "volunteered" to test the bed is an 87-year-old dying widower named Kijuro Takazawa. He is an invalid who is cared for by a young nursing student named Haruko. (2026). 9781933330105 ISBN 9781933330105 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 geriatrics ward to create and install a vocal simulation of Takazawa's deceased wife Haru in the Z-001. However, once Takazawa wishes to go to the beach near Kamakura to relive his happier times with Haru, 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.
Once the Ministry learns of the bed's escape, their field representative Mr. Terada and Mr. Hasegawa decide to give chase in the latter's corporate helicopter, only for Haruko to force her way in as it takes off. The bed incorporates multiple machines, including cars and excavators, into itself while using Haru's voice to argue with Terada, agreeing to return to the hospital as it rampages into the last tunnel on the road to the beach. Hasegawa and Terada argue upon landing, while Haruko and the elderly hackers (working via radio link) successfully persuade the bed to release Takazawa. The bed, however, continues its rampage. Hasegawa then reveals a more advanced prototype of the Z-001, commanding it to subdue the bed while he prepares a cybernetic ambulance to take Takazawa to the hospital, only for the ambulance to malfunction with Takazawa inside.
Terada works to disconnect and smash the bed's peripherals and safely escort Takazawa onto the beach, while the hackers are able to program the Haru simulacrum to help Haruko destroy the bed's chip core by blowing up an oxygen tank. In her dying moments, the Haru simulacrum promises a despondent Takazawa she will see him again. They watch the sunset, while unbeknownst to everyone, a cat runs off with the chip core's remnants.
In the epilogue, Hasegawa is arrested and Terada says the Ministry will not comment until the trial (though he notes documents on the bed and ambulance have been leaked, implied to be Haruko's doing). The reassembled bed makes a surprise visit to the hospital, this time much larger (with the large Kamakura Buddha incorporated in her upper body) and as willing as ever to take Takazawa to the beach, much to his delight.
Roujin Z first saw VHS and Laserdisc releases in Japan in 1991, in Great Britain, Europe and Australia in 1994, in North America in 1995, and its first Japanese DVD release on August 21, 1999. An "HD DVD Master Edition" DVD was released in the region on April 13, 2005. The English dub was initially released on VHS by Manga Entertainment in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand in 1994. Image Entertainment distributed the English version on DVD in the US on August 26, 1998. Central Park Media re-released the movie on DVD on April 9, 2002, then again on April 27, 2004, under the US Manga Corps label. The home video version is currently out-of-print in the US. The film has also been broadcast on numerous television networks worldwide, including the Syfy, ImaginAsian, the AZN Television, and the Funimation ChannelFunimation Channel aired Roujin Z only with licensing from Funimation. in the United States.
The Roujin Z Original Soundtrack was made available for sale in Japan by Epic Records on November 21, 1991. Roujin Z was adapted into a manga titled Zeddo, featuring the story by Otomo and illustrated by Tai Okada. It was originally serialized in the Kodansha publication Mr. Magazine from March to December 1991. A single tankōbon bound volume was published in Japan on December 12, 1991. No official English version exists, but Glénat published a French edition on January 22, 1997.
Manga Entertainment UK re-released Roujin Z on Blu-ray Disc in June 2012 in conjunction with Kazé UK, the European subsidiary of Viz Media as they hold the rights to the English dub, which they produced in-house in 1994.
From retrospective reviews, Helen McCarthy in 500 Essential Anime Movies called Roujin Z a "gripping movie - an action thriller whose star is even older than Bruce Willis". She stated that it is a "funny film that will keep you entertained and make you think", noting that it is also "one of the most original anime you'll ever see".Helen McCarthy. 500 Essential Anime Movies: The Ultimate Guide. — Harper Design, 2009. — P. 28. — 528 p. — In 2001, Wizard Entertainment listed the film at number 42 of its top 50 anime to be released in North America. The publisher's magazine Anime Insider listed Roujin Z as the seventh-best anime comedy in its January 2004 issue.
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