Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade

"A story of a man burdened with the destiny of a beast and a woman who dreamed of love."

1999 1h 42m JA

👍

7.4

SOLID

🥫

52%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

7.3

IMDB

★7.4TMDB · 598🥫52%Rotten Tomatoes●59Metacritic★7.3IMDB · 20,441

AnimationThrillerScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A member of an elite paramilitary counter-terrorism unit becomes traumatized after witnessing the suicide bombing of a young girl and is forced to undergo retraining. However, unbeknownst to him, he becomes a key player in a dispute between rival police divisions, as he finds himself increasingly involved with the sister of the girl he saw die.

“A story of a man burdened with the destiny of a beast and a woman who dreamed of love.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Yoshikatsu Fujiki
Kazuki Fuse (voice)
Sumi Mutoh
Kei Amamiya (voice)
Hiroyuki Kinoshita
Atsushi Henmi (voice)
Kohsei Hirota
Bunmei Muroto (voice)
Yukihiro Yoshida
Hajime Handa (voice)
Ryuichi Horibe
Shiro Tatsumi (voice)
Eri Sendai
Agawa Nanao (voice)
Kenji Nakagawa
Isao Aniya (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Hiroyuki Okiura
Writers: Hiroyuki Okiura, Mamoru Oshii, Mamoru Oshii
Languages: English, Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

27 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Japanese.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Kerberos Saga Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Hiroyuki Okiura, shot by Hisao Shirai. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Hajime Mizoguchi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Shuichi Kakesu shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Yoshikatsu Fujiki and Sumi Mutoh and Hiroyuki Kinoshita carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A story of a man burdened with the destiny of a beast and a woman who dreamed of love.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Hiroyuki Okiura directs. Hisao Shirai behind the camera. Hajime Mizoguchi scores. Shuichi Kakesu cuts. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in English, Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

127 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Japanese.
3Part of the "Kerberos Saga Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Hiroyuki Okiura, shot by Hisao Shirai. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Hajime Mizoguchi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Shuichi Kakesu shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Yoshikatsu Fujiki and Sumi Mutoh and Hiroyuki Kinoshita carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "A story of a man burdened with the destiny of a beast and a woman who dreamed of love.".
9IMDB entry: tt0193253 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 12 themes, including "japan", "resistance", "dystopia", "little red riding hood".
11Released under 16 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Hisao Shirai
Original score: Hajime Mizoguchi
Editing: Shuichi Kakesu
Sound: Koji Fukushima
Runtime: 102 min · 1h 42m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $94,072
Original language: JA
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (1999)
Rotten Tomatoes: 52% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 59/100
IMDB rating: 7.3/10 · 20,441 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

4 wins & 2 nominations total

Part of

Kerberos Saga Collection

Released in reverse chronological order, all 3 films feature Japan's elite Kerberos police squad and are part of the greater Kerberos Saga multimedia series.