The Art of Hunting a Wolf – Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade

Jin-Roh is definitely a surprising anime. Set in an alternate history where after Hiroshima, Japan enacted a policy focussed on heavy economic re-growth. This drew many out from the countryside and into the city, consequently creating huge slums, crime and even anti-government protestors. To deal against these protestors a special “police” (thus not military) force, called the Capitol Police, was made apart from Local Police. In response the protestors became even more violent and unified, becoming The Sect. This inturn leads to both public outcry and the creation of an elite Special Unit within the Capitol Police, called Kerberos. Jin-Roh thus follows one of the Special Unit (a man named Kazuki Fuse) and his inability to shoot a girl of The Sect before she blows herself up with a satchel bomb. From the first fifteen minutes where we see this whole history set out and a public riot exploited by The Sect, I expected more of an action film where the conflict would be about Fuse’s recovery from his demons (perhaps discovering the motivations of those he fights) and the Special Unit trying to destroy The Sect before the whole Capital Police are disbanded by the government. However, what we really get is a complicated internal conflict between the secretive and unknown “Wolf Brigade” who want to keep the Capital Police running, especially the Special Unit, and the Public Security Division who would rather see it disbanded for a more unified police force. I was looking for something more action based, but what I got was a much deeper and slow paced plot. From the outset the film shows its political sophistication, but this is not the topic of this post. I was definitely not disappointed just surprised, especially with the way the film had a fairly touching (although not entirely unpredictable) plot and character twists and how it achieved this through a very artistic manner.

From the opening I thought the film would be more action, as the armor suggests: http://www.deviantart.com/art/Jin-Roh-57129327

Because Jin-Roh is such a deep film I feel the need to briefly summarise it here, so hopefully you have watched the film first. As I said the film starts out with The Sect taking advantage a public riot but as the extremists escape in the sewers they are tracked by the Special Unit of the Capital Police. One girl, who is a courier for The Sect (nicknamed a Red Riding Hood), breaks off from the group and as they are killed she looks to escape. However, she runs into a member of the Special Unit, Kazuki Fuse, who doesn’t shoot her and she is left to determinedly pull the cord on her satchel bomb, killing herself but not him. Kazuki is sent back to military training for his hesitation to carry out orders. After talking to his now politically involved friend (Atsushi Henmi), he goes to the grave of the girl (Nanami Agawa) where he meets her older sister and they become romantically involved. The sister gives Kazuki a book of Red Riding Hood and takes him to a fairground to reveal she wants to run away. They date more and more, during this time Kazuki has a nightmare about her being eaten by wolves in the sewers. At the same as this, higher powers than Kazuki talk about a plan to combine all policing units and dissemble the Special Unit and thus to destroy the secretive Wolf Brigade who are all part of Special Kerberos Unit because they are ruthlessly doing whatever they want. It is thus revealed by Henmi that Fuse’s love interest is not Agawa’s sister, but is in fact a former Sect courier (named Kei Amemiya) now being used by Henmi, and the Public Security Division to help destroy the Kerberos Unit. Kazuki then gets a picture of this conversation. Kei then calls Fuse asking him to come to their meeting spot, but this is really a trap for him set up by Henmi and the Public Security Division. However, he realises this and is able to disarm the Public Security Division agents and escape with Kei to their rooftop amusement park. Kazuki then leads her to the sewers from the start of the film where they meet the other members of the Wolf Brigade. The leader of the brigade, Hachiro Tohbe the instructor of the academy, then explains how he knew Kei had a tracker in her bag and this will lead Henmi and the Public Security Division to the sewers and their demise. Kei breaks down thinking she had found her love and asks Kazuki not to kill them but he puts on his Capital Police armor and kills all the Public Security Division Agents and Henmi. Afterwards Kazuki is given a pistol and told to dispose of his lover Kei for the sake of the Wolf Brigade. After she tearfully quotes the ending of the Red Cap story Fuse shots her. Then a sniper looking to shoot both of them un-cocks his gun and Hachiro Tohbe then quotes the last line “… and then the wolf ate Red Riding Hood.”

The relationship between Kei and Kazuke ends up being a main focus of the film, not just action:  http://www.zerochan.net/1599409 

Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade had a very complicated plot and was in fact much more artistic and complex than it would first seem. This is because Jin-Roh’s very intricate and deliberate plot is set against that of Red Riding Hood. What is used is an alternate and early version of Red Riding Hood, or rather Rotkäppchen ('Red Cap'), which is narrated by various characters throughout the film. Red Riding Hood is put in metal clothing by her mother and said once she has worn out her clothing she can come visit mother in her cottage in the forest. Once Red Riding Hood has worn out her clothing by rubbing them against the wall she makes some food as a gift for her mother and goes off to visit her mother. On the way she meets a wolf who asks her what she is doing and which path to the cottage she will take: the path of pins or the path of needles. Red Riding Hood answers the path of pins so the wolf quickly goes down the path of needles, gets to the cottage before the girl, eats her mother and disguises itself as its victim. When Red Riding Hood gets there she is told to just come in, and even though the door won’t open she comes in through a hole in the wall. Red Riding Hood then says she is hungry and thirsty and is told by the wolf in the mother’s guise, to eat the meat in the cupboard and the wine in the pot. Although the girl is warned by a cat and a bird that she is eating her mother’s flesh and drinking her blood she ignores them after advice from “her mother”. Red Riding Hood then says she is sleepy so the wolf says to come and lie in the bed with it. After Red Riding Hood notices the wolf’s large ears, eyes, claws and teeth, the wolf proceeds to eat her.

A picture inspired by the film and its adaption of Red Cap: http://www.deviantart.com/art/The-Girl-and-the-Wolf-24196034

So now that we have gone through the two stories, Jin-Roh’s creators used the Red Cap story for many great purposes. They played upon was the idea of being a wolf and the characteristics of a wolf and who was the Red Riding Hood, the victim of the vicious wolf. A wolf will eat up one’s trapped victims, despite their connection to you, just as the wolf in the story of Red-Cap eats the girl without caring about her despite the love she shows for her mother. The wolf is seen as something that is a villain, despicable and ruthless; something that is a beast and not human; something that will do whatever it needs to do for its own sake; and something that is emotionless in achieving its goals. The start of the film says if something is like a wolf it is to be cast out, basically that it cannot be human. The very secretive Wolf Brigade will do whatever it takes to achieve their goals. The Red Riding Hood character is the one that falls into the trap of the wolf after talking and providing information for the wolf, just as Red-Cap befriends the wolf and tells it about her mother’s house but is then trapped. These characterisations from the original Red Cap story enhance THREE connected aspects of the film: the twists of the story, the internal conflict within Kazuki and the emotion that we feel for Kei. 

Another piece of fanart showing appreciation of the adaption: http://www.deviantart.com/art/A-cruel-fairy-tale-17754857

First of all, the twists of the story are based on who can truly put their emotions aside and actually who is really involved in the Wolf Brigade. Is the emotionally prone Kazuki really part of this division; or is it his friend Henmi, who is willing to let his friend Fuse take the fall to destroy the Special Unit; or is it some other higher ranking official like Muroto who has their hands in multiple pots at once. We have Kazuki who is the main suspect of course. Others talk about him like he is part of the Wolf Brigade, mainly Henmi, and the imagery around him, such as where he chooses to meet Henmi to get information, is all about wolves. So too the imagery of his dream shows he is part of a pack, a brigade, of wolves. However Kazuki is first hesitant to shoot the protestor, then continues this hesitancy during his training, and also seemingly shows sympathy towards the members and family of The Sect. However, as the hints and imagery suggest it is Kazuki is the wolf and not Menmi who in fact becomes the Red Riding Hood, coming into the drawn into sewers following the “insurance” homing chip he put into the girls satchel bag, and subsequently being shot by the wolf. Interestingly in the sewers it is like Henmi is saved to last, just as Red Hiding Hood is saved by the wolf until he has eaten the mother. It is thus revealed Kazuki is part of the Wolf Brigade and his trainer Tohbe is the leader of Jin-Roh, despite providing information to Henmi previously. Tohbe mentions how the Wolf Brigade are not humans disguised as wolves but really wolves in human disguises. All the roles of this Red-Cap reenacting become truly apparent in the last part of this film.

Who part of the Kerberos Unit was in the Wolf Brigade is a bit of a twist, or who is the wolf is a twist: http://www.zerochan.net/920998

Thus the characterisation of the wolf and Red Riding Hood plays a large part of the twists of the plot and what make the film very interesting to watch. In fact it is also notable that there is no huntsman in the Red Cap story they tell. It makes us wonder whether the Wolf Brigade will win in the end, even if they eat their Red Riding Hood. Tohbe even plays on this saying we only have stories of humans beating wolves because there would be no one alive to tell the tale if the wolf won. Thus the story of the Red Cap also gives us a twist of who will win.

Fanart inspired by Tohbe’s line about the Wolf Brigade and their disguise as men: http://www.deviantart.com/art/Jin-Roh-204421134

Who is part of the Wolf Brigade is not the only twist but, simultaneous to the struggle between the Wolf Brigade and the Public Security Division, is Kazuki’s inner conflict. Thus at the same time to this plot of who is the wolf is whether or not Kazuki can suppress his wolf urges and be a human. Does he have human emotions and feelings or is he really just a ruthless wolf-like killer. The beginning of the film says how the wolf is different to the human and the two cannot coexist and Tohbe reminds us of this when talking to Kei in the sewer. However, this question is raised of Kazuki’s characteristics right from the off. It starts when he doesn't shoot the girl in the sewer and then cannot explain why in his trial. As I noted above he is reluctant to shoot others  in training exercises, and he shows a concern for others of the opposite side. He looks to almost empathise with his victims, namely the fake older sister, and The Sect generally. He asks several others, such as Henmi and Kei, whether he is to blame for the girl’s death, implying he has feelings of remorse and guilt. The only reason he joined the Kerberos Unit was because he felt like he belonged, and now he almost looks to understand where the Sect are coming from and their views on society. Most importantly this whole inner conflict is all alluded to with Kazuki’s dream practically at the half way the film. As he gets closer and closer with Kei, the fake older sister, he dreams of following her into a sewer. We notice her face changes from her “sister’s” back into hers but she remains in the same red cloak that her “sister” wore when she died. As he follows and chases her a group of wolves, representations of the other members of Jin-Roh, joins him. Throughout this chase we get glimpses of wolves eating her and her being shot by some member of the Capital Police. As this chase goes on Kazuki and his wolf companions are blocked by a gate, where Kei, on the other side, says you know you cannot come with me. This represents how she wants to run away but how Kazuki cannot. Finally the wolves catch her and eat her, as Kazuki tries to stop them. We have one final shot of Kazuki on a snowy mountain surrounded by wolves, which then turns to a solitary wolf in the same spot as Kazuki was, with the full moon behind it. The imagery is powerful to suggest, with some hindsight of course, that Kazuki is definitely part of the Wolf Brigade but that the real conflict of the movie will be whether he truly feels if he is a wolf.

The all important opening scene, that starts Kazuki’s inner conflict reenacted with Team Fortress Two models: http://www.deviantart.com/art/SFM-The-Terrorist-399954125

This inner conflict continues after his dream. Whilst he dates Kei he shows emotional detachment often, but this also seems just like reluctance to embrace her because he killed her sister. Also when breaks through Henmi’s honey trap to rescue Kei he shows all the cunning and instinct of a wolf but at the same time he never shoots or kills anyone. After they run away they go back to the rooftop amusement park where Kazuki admits his love for Kei, gives her his jacket and kisses her (but at the same time says they can’t run away). This emotion within him all seems to be faked when he emotionlessly suits up to kill the Public Security Division, whilst Kei crying confesses her love for him, and then Kazuki ruthlessly shoots his supposed friend Henmi. However, it all comes to a head when he is asked to shoot his lover. He argues that Kei is potentially valuable for the conflict with the Public Security Division, but Tohbe, Jin-Roh’s leader, throws this argument out the window saying she is better off dead. Tohbe leaves Kazuki with a pistol to shoot Kei. Kei, again crying, recites the ending of the Red Cap story, and Kazuki yells out as if to release all his feelings and pressure he has on him from the Wolf Brigade and his lover. At this moment is the true climax and twist of the story. Will Kazuki turn into a wolf like in his dream? Can Kazuki run away with Kei and is he really sympathetic to others from The Sect? As he yells his face seemingly turns into the snout of a wolf and he then shoots Kei. This inner conflict also beckons the main question asked throughout the film, why did Kazuki not shoot Asami in the first place? Was he really a wolf throughout and was doing it as a way to destroy the Public Security Division, was he really becoming human, or is it a bit of both? The ending to this conflict is so uncertain that the leader of the Wolf Brigade had even order a sniper to make sure he shot her.

This inner conflict culminates when Kazuki must shoot his lover: http://randomcase.deviantart.com/art/And-then-the-Wolf-330923583

Anyway, this inner conflict is also a part of the most emotional part of the film, Kei as an innocent victim within the conflict between Menmi and Kazuki, or rather the Public Security Division and the Wolf Brigade. Kei is the true Red Riding Hood in the story, the truly innocent victim in it. She is used by both sides of the conflict for information, just as the wolf uses Red Riding Hood for information about her mother. She is used by Henmi and his higher-ups to get Kazuki in hot water and then destroy the Special Unit (and the Wolf Brigade at the same time). Simultaneously she is more emotionally used by Kazuki and his higher ups as a fake mole which means she leads Henmi and his unit to the Wolf Brigade and ultimately their death. It is how she is used by Kazuki that gets her the most sympathy and creates the most emotion in the film. We are led to believe Kazuki is not a wolf because he shows such care for his victim’s sister and continues to question his role in the Special Unit. It seems like he falls in love with her as they run away to the amusement park on the roof, but she was using him for Menmi’s purposes. However, the harsh reality was that he was really using her and she truly loves him. She reveals this as he suits up to kill Menmi and how all she wanted to just run away with him or at least die together. She just wanted to feel loved but all this is gone, as Kazuki ignores her only putting on his impassive mask, further alienating her. She realises now she will never be loved by him. She reveals her fear that she will be forgotten, like the destroyed building they saw at the playground on one of their past dates, and that this fear has now come true. Although the real question of whether she will be killed is not answered until the end, we feel the greatest sympathy in the sewers as her she is really in tears, she must face her fears and she realises she has never really been loved. Although the art and entwining of two stories is the best part of this film for me, it is Kei’s story that has the most feeling with it and it is because of the characterisations that the Red Cap provides is why it has such pathos.

This is where Kei earned the most sympathy in the film: http://www.zerochan.net/921162#full

I feel like Jin-Roh as a film is a rather underrated masterpiece. It creates such an emotional and twisting story with a deep internal conflict for the protagonist. However, one piece of it stands above and helps all the other dimensions of the film. This is how the main narrative is intertwined with the narrative of the Red Cap story. It is notable which Red Cap story is used of course too. There is no huntsman to save the day. This double narrative and they way they play off of each other allows the film to be truly great in many narrative aspects. Thus the creators use the characterisation of the Red Riding Hood character, namely Kei, to create a truly emotional piece of cinema. At the same time the wolf character is used for twists, both for who is really the wolf and for whether or not the main character is a wolf or human.

The relationship and its adaption is really great: http://www.zerochan.net/921003